Sep 25 1997
From The Space Library
NASA's Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for Mission STS-86. The launch took place only hours after an independent task force chaired by astronaut Lieutenant General Thomas P. Stafford II reported that the Mir mission was sufficiently safe for the American astronauts. Specifically, the panel had determined that sending astronaut David A. Wolf to replace C. Michael Foale aboard the Russian space station would be reasonable, as well as important to continuing scientific research. NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin made the last-minute decision for the mission to go forward after weighing the panel's findings against NASA's risk reports and the opinions of the House Committee on Science and Technology. Committee Chairperson F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) had been particularly aggressive in calling for the end of the program to place astronauts aboard Mir for significant periods. James D. Wetherbee served as Commander of Space Shuttle Atlantis, embarking on his fourth flight to space. The Shuttle also carried Jean-Loup Chretien of the French Space Agency, Vladimir G. Titov of the Russian Space Agency, Pilot Michael J. Bloomfield, and Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, [[Wendy B. Lawrence], and David A. Wolf. The Shuttle carried the SPACEHAB module in its payload, with supplies for Mir research and logistical equipment aboard.
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