Space Operations
On March 24, 1996, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis flew
to a rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir, docked with
it, and the six-astronaut crew of Shuttle flight STS-76 joined
the three cosmonaut crew of the orbiting station.
Among the Americans was mission specialist Shannon W. Lucid,
a veteran of five Shuttle flights who was reporting for duty
aboard Mir as a cosmonaut researcher. Lucid was to spend almost
six months on Mir, then return to Earth on another Shuttle/Mir
rendezvous/docking mission. Her arrival at Mir kicked off a two-year
span of continuous U.S. presence in orbit.
U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid helps her cosmonaut crewmates
inventory newly-delivered food supplies in the base block module
of Russia's Mir space station. At left is Mir commander Yuri
Onufriyenko and in the background is flight engineer Yuri Usachev.
STS-76 marked the third docking flight with Mir and the fifth
in a multistep preliminary agenda intended to provide a framework
for International Space Station assembly operations, which begin
in 1997. Known as Phase I of the International Space Station
developmental program, this agenda is intended to lay the foundation
for Phases II/III through integration of U.S. and Russian hardware,
working methods and scientific procedures; risk reduction, or
mitigation of potential surprises; and early initiation of joint
scientific and technological research. Prior flights included:
- STS-60, Orbiter Discovery, launched February 11, 1994, in
which cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev served on the Shuttle crew as
a mission specialist.
- STS-63, Orbiter Discovery, launched February 3, 1995 to a
rendezvous with Mir and a slow "flyaround," in which
the Orbiter circled the station at a distance of about 450 feet
for photography and communications tests. The rendezvous and
flyaround validated a number of techniques for subsequent employment
in docking missions, such as those essential to orbital assembly
of the International Space Station.
- STS-74, Orbiter Atlantis, launched November 12, 1995 to the
second Shuttle/Mir docking. The flight focused on delivery of
equipment to Mir and demonstration of the Russian-built docking
system. STS-74 underlined the international flavor of the space
station effort: the Shuttle crew was made up of four Americans
and a Canadian mission specialist; hardware in the payload bay
included the U.S.-built Orbiter Docking System, the Russian docking
module, the Canadian Remote Manipulator System, and two Russian-built
solar arrays. The Mir was staffed by two Russian and one German
cosmonauts, who were operating Russian and European Space Agency
equipment.
The crew of STS-74 (two-tone shirts) join the crew of the
Mir space station for a group portrait after their November 1995
Shuttle/Mir linkup. The Shuttle members are, from left, STS-74
commander Kenneth D. Cameron; pilot James D. Halsell Jr.; Canadian
mission specialist Chris Hadfield; NASA mission specialists Jerry
L. Ross and William S. McArthur Jr.
On STS-76, Atlantis and Mir remained docked for five days
during which the crews transferred to Mir some 1,500 pounds of
water and two tons of scientific equipment, and moved to Atlantis
a number of experiment samples and miscellaneous equipment. They
also conducted joint experiments with the ESA's Biorack experiment
rack housed in a SPACEHAB pressurized module aboard the Orbiter;
the Biorack work embraced 11 separate investigations of the effects
of microgravity on a variety of living materials. Another highlight
was the first U.S. EVA (extravehicular activity) around two mated
spacecraft, a six-hour "walk" performed by mission
specialists Linda M. Goodwin and Rich Clifford. STS-76 landed
at Edwards Air Force Base, California on March 31, 1995.
At Spinoff publication time (midyear 1996), the Orbiter Atlantis
was poised for its fourth docking with Mir in mid-August. It
was to pick up Shannon Lucid and deliver her replacement, astronaut
John Blaha. After that, the Phase I plan contemplated three more
Shuttle/Mir hookups in December 1996, May 1997 and September
1997. Each flight will involve pickup of the American crew member
of Mir and delivery of a replacement; all flights will be made
by Atlantis, the only Orbiter equipped for docking with Mir.
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