Mar 24 1996
From The Space Library
NASA astronaut Shannon W. Lucid became the first female resident of the Mir space station. Lucid traveled aboard Shuttle Atlantis to reach Mir, planning to remain on the Russian station for five months. She joined Russian cosmonauts Yuri I. Onufrienko and Yury V. Usachev for the long-term stay. Atlantis's crew unloaded more than 5,000 pounds (2,300 kilograms) of supplies and 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) of experiment samples and equipment during the Shuttle's docking. Lucid replaced U.S. astronaut Norman E. Thagard, who had spent 110 days with the Russian crew. Lucid's arrival generated some controversy. In attempting to convey Russia's openness to having a woman aboard Mir, cosmonaut Yuri N. Glazkov commented that the crew would appreciate Lucid's presence, because "we know women love to clean." Not surprisingly, some people resented his remark.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
