Jan 12 1997
From The Space Library
In the first spaceflight of 1997, Shuttle Atlantis launched for a linkup mission with the Mir space station. Mission STS-81 was the fifth Shuttle voyage to bring supplies and new crew members to the Russian space station. Atlantis carried the SPACEHAB module in the payload bay of its orbiter, with experiments for Atlantis's crew, as well as equipment for Mir. Michael A. Baker, making his fourth Shuttle flight, commanded the mission, with Brent W. Jett Jr. serving as Pilot. Astronaut Jerry M. Linenger was also aboard, set to replace astronaut John E. Blaha as the representative of the United States aboard Mir. Blaha had spent nearly four months aboard the orbiting station, roughly the same tenure planned for Linenger. So that Atlantis could rendezvous with Mir, the Shuttle had launched at precisely 4:27 a.m. (EST). Atlantis would spend two days orbiting, periodically firing its engines to draw closer to Mir, approximately 240 miles (386 kilometers) above Earth. The United States and Russia planned for the Shuttle Mir missions to contribute to the international team's development of procedures and techniques for use on the International Space Station (ISS). NASA and the Russian Space Agency referred to the missions as Phase I of the ISS effort.
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