Documents - STS-63 Biographies

STS-63 Biographies

James D. Wetherbee, Commander

NAME: James D. Wetherbee (Captain, USN) NASA Astronaut

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Born November 27, 1952, in Flushing, New York. Considers his hometown to be Huntington Station, New York. Married to the former Robin DeVore Platt of Jacksonville, Florida. They have two children. He enjoys tennis, skiing, softball, running, and music. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dana A. Wetherbee, reside in Huntington Station, New York. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry T. Platt, Jr., reside in Jacksonville, Florida.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Holy Family Diocesan High School, South Huntington, New York, in 1970; received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1974.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Flying Cross; Navy Achievement Medal; two Meritorious Unit Commendations.

EXPERIENCE: Wetherbee received his commission in the United States Navy in 1975 and was designated a naval aviator in December 1976. After training in the A-7E, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 72 (VA-72) from August 1977 to November 1980 aboard the USS John F. Kennedy and logged 125 night carrier landings. After attending the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1981 he was assigned to the Systems Engineering Test Directorate. He was a project officer and test pilot for the weapons delivery system and avionics integration for the F/A-18 aircraft. Subsequently assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 132 (VFA-132), he flew operationally in the F/A-18 from January 1984 until his selection for the astronaut candidate program. He has logged over 5,000 hours flying time and 345 carrier landings in 20 different types of aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in May 1984, Wetherbee became an astronaut in June 1985. A veteran of four space flights, Wetherbee has logged over 955 hours in space. He was the pilot on STS-32 in 1990, and was the mission commander on STS-52 in 1992, STS-63 in 1995 and STS-86 in 1997. Wetherbee is Director of the Flight Crew Operations Directorate and is currently in training to command the STS-102 mission scheduled for launch in 2001.

STS-32 Columbia (January 9-20, 1990) included the successful deployment of the Syncom IV-F5 satellite, and retrieval of the 21,400-pound Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) using the remote manipulator system (RMS). The crew also operated a variety of middeck experiments and conducted numerous medical test objectives, including in-flight aerobic exercise and muscle performance to evaluate human adaptation to extended duration missions. Mission duration was 173 orbits in 261 hours and 01 minute.

STS-52 Columbia (October 22 to November 1, 1992) successfully deployed the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (LAGEOS), a joint Italian-American project. The crew also operated the first U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP) with French and American experiments, and successfully completed the initial flight tests of the Canadian-built Space Vision System (SVS). Mission duration was 236 hours and 56 minutes.

STS-63 Discovery (February 2-11, 1995), was the first joint flight of the new Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir, operation of Spacehab, and the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. The mission was accomplished in 129 orbits in 198 hours and 29 minutes.

STS-86 Atlantis (September 25 to October 6, 1997) was the seventh mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Highlights included the delivery of a Mir attitude control computer, the exchange of U.S. crew members Mike Foale and David Wolf, a spacewalk by Scott Parazynski and Vladimir Titov to retrieve four experiments first deployed on Mir during the STS-76 docking mission, the transfer to Mir of 10,400 pounds of science and logistics, and the return of experiment hardware and results to Earth. Mission duration was 169 orbits in 259 hours and 21 minutes.

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Eileen M. Collins, Pilot

NAME: Eileen Marie Collins (Colonel, USAF) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York. Married to Pat Youngs, originally from San Antonio, Texas. They have one child. She enjoys running, golf, hiking, camping, reading, photography, astronomy. Her parents are James and Rose Marie Collins, from Elmira, New York. His parents are Pat and Jackie Youngs, from San Antonio, Texas.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Elmira Free Academy, Elmira, New York, in 1974; received an associate in science degree in mathematics/science from Corning Community College in 1976; a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University in 1978; a master of science degree in operations research from Stanford University in 1986; and a master of arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Air Force Association, Order of Daedalians, Women Military Aviators, U.S. Space Foundation, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Ninety-Nines.

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury, October 1983), and the NASA Space Flight Medal.

EXPERIENCE: Collins graduated in 1979 from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, where she was a T-38 instructor pilot until 1982. From 1983 to 1985, she was a C-141 aircraft commander and instructor pilot at Travis AFB, California. She spent the following year as a student with the Air Force Institute of Technology. From 1986 to 1989, she was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, where she was an assistant professor in mathematics and a T-41 instructor pilot. She was selected for the astronaut program while attending the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California, from which she graduated in 1990.

She has logged over 5,000 hours in 30 different types of aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in January 1990, Collins became an astronaut in July 1991. Initially assigned to Orbiter engineering support, she has also served on the astronaut support team responsible for Orbiter prelaunch checkout, final launch configuration, crew ingress/egress, landing/recovery, worked in Mission Control as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) for numerous Shuttle missions, and served as the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems Branch Chief. A veteran of three space flights, Collins has logged over 537 hours in space. She served as pilot on STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995) and STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997), and was the first woman Shuttle commander on STS-93 (July 22-27, 1999).

STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995) was the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir, operation of Spacehab, the deployment and retrieval of an astronomy satellite, and a space walk. Collins' first mission was accomplished in 129 orbits, traveling over 2.9 million miles in 198 hours, 29 minutes. She was the first woman pilot of a Space Shuttle.

STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997) was NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. During the flight, the crew conducted a number of secondary experiments and transferred nearly 4 tons of supplies and experiment equipment between Atlantis and the Mir station. In completing this 9-day mission, she traveled 3.8 million miles in 145 orbits of the Earth logging a total of 221 hours and 20 minutes in space.

STS-93 Columbia (July 22-27, 1999) was the first Shuttle mission to be commanded by a woman. STS-93 highlighted the deployment of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Designed to conduct comprehensive studies of the universe, the telescope will enable scientists to study exotic phenomena such as exploding stars, quasars, and black holes. Mission duration was 118 hours and 50 minutes.

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C. Michael Foale, Mission Specialist

NAME: : C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born January 6, 1957, in Louth, England, but considers Cambridge, England, to be his hometown. Married to the former Rhonda R. Butler of Louisville, Kentucky. They have two children. He enjoys many outdoor activities, particularly wind surfing. Private flying, soaring, and project scuba diving have been his other major sporting interests. He also enjoys exploring theoretical physics and writing children's software on a personal computer. His parents, Colin and Mary Foale, reside in Cambridge, England. Her parents, Reed & Dorothy Butler, reside in Louisville, Kentucky.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Kings School, Canterbury, in 1975. He attended the University of Cambridge, Queens College, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in Physics, Natural Sciences Tripos, with 1st class honors, in 1978. While at Queens College, he completed his doctorate in Laboratory Astrophysics at Cambridge University in 1982.

EXPERIENCE: While a postgraduate at Cambridge University, Foale participated in the organization and execution of scientific scuba diving projects. Pursuing a career in the U.S. Space Program, Foale moved to Houston, Texas, to work on Space Shuttle navigation problems at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation. In June 1983, Foale joined NASA Johnson Space Center in the payload operations area of the Mission Operations Directorate. In his capacity as payload officer in the Mission Control Center, he was responsible for payload operations on Space Shuttle missions STS-51G, 51-I, 61-B and 61-C.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June 1987. Before his first flight he flew the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) simulator to provide verification and testing of the Shuttle flight software, and later developed crew rescue and integrated operations for International Space Station Alpha. Foale has served as Deputy Chief of the Mission Development Branch in the Astronaut Office, and Head of the Astronaut Office Science Support Group. In preparation for a long-duration flight on the Russian Space Station Mir, Foale trained at the Cosmonaut Training Center, Star City, Russia. A veteran of five space flights, Foale has logged over 168 days in space including three space walks totaling 18 hours and 49 minutes. He was a mission specialist on STS-45, STS-56, STS-63 and STS-103, and served as Board Engineer 2 on Mir-24 (ascent on STS-84 and return on STS-86). He currently serves as Chief of the Astronaut Office Expedition Corps, while continuing his duties as Assistant Director (Technical), Johnson Space Center.

STS-45 (March 24 to April 2, 1992) was the first of the ATLAS series of missions to address the atmosphere and its interaction with the Sun.

STS-56 (April 9-17, 1993) carried ATLAS-2 and the SPARTAN retrievable satellite which made observations of the solar corona.

STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995) was the first rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir. During the flight he made a space walk (extravehicular activity) for 4 hours, 39 minutes, evaluating the effects of extremely cold conditions on his spacesuit, as well as moving the 2800-pound Spartan satellite as part of a mass handling experiment.

Foale next spent 4-½ months aboard the Russian Space Station Mir. He launched with the crew of STS-84 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 15, 1997. Following docking, he joined the crew aboard Mir on May 17, 1997. Foale spent the following 134 days conducting various science experiments and helping the crew resolve and repair numerous malfunctioning systems. On September 6, 1997 he and Commander Anatoly Solovyev conducted a 6-hour EVA to inspect damage to the station's Spektr module caused by the June 25 collision with a Progress resupply ship. Foale returned on October 6, 1997 with the crew of STS-86 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Most recently he served aboard STS-103 (December 19-27, 1999), an 8-day mission during which the crew successfully installed new instruments and upgraded systems on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). During an 8 hours and 10 minute EVA, Foale and Nicollier replaced the telescopes main computer and Fine Guidance Sensor. The STS-103 mission was accomplished in 120 Earth orbits, traveling 3.2 million miles in 191 hours and 11 minutes.

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Janice E. Voss, Mission Specialist

NAME: Janice Voss (Ph.D.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born October 8, 1956, in South Bend, Indiana, but considers Rockford, Illinois, to be her hometown. She enjoys reading science fiction, dancing, volleyball, flying. Her parents, Dr. & Mrs. James R. Voss, reside in Dupont, Indiana.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in 1972; received a bachelor of science degree in engineering science from Purdue University in 1975, a master of science degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in aeronautics/astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977 and 1987, respectively. From 1973 to 1975 she took correspondence courses at the University of Oklahoma. She also did some graduate work in space physics at Rice University in 1977 and 1978.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

SPECIAL HONORS: NASA Space Flight Medals (1993, 1995); Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowship (1982); Howard Hughes Fellowship (1981); National Science Foundation Fellowship (1976).

EXPERIENCE: Dr. Voss was a co-op at the NASA Johnson Space Center from 1973 to 1975. During that time she did computer simulations in the Engineering and Development Directorate. In 1977 she returned to the Johnson Space Center and, for a year, worked as a crew trainer, teaching entry guidance and navigation. She completed her doctorate in 1987 and accepted a job with Orbital Sciences Corporation. Her responsibilities there included mission integration and flight operations support for an upper stage called the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). TOS launched the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) from the Space Shuttle in September 1993, and the Mars Observer from a Titan in the Fall of 1992.

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Voss became an astronaut in July 1991. She is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Her technical assignments have included working Spacelab/Spacehab issues for the Astronaut Office Mission Development Branch, and robotics issues for the EVA/Robotics Branch. She served aboard STS-57 in 1993, STS-63 in 1995, STS-83 & STS-97 in 1997, and STS-99 in 2000. A veteran of five space flights, Dr. Voss has logged over 49 days in space, traveling 18.8 million miles in 779 Earth orbits.

Dr. Voss first flew on STS-57 (June 21 to July 1, 1993). Mission highlights included retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) with the Shuttle's robotic arm, a spacewalk by two crew members, and an assortment of experiments in the first flight of the Spacehab middeck augmentation module.

She next flew on STS-63 (February 3-11, 1995). Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir, the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204, and the third flight of Spacehab.

She also flew as payload commander on STS-83 (Apr 4-8, 1997). The STS-83 Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) Spacelab mission was cut short because of problems with one of the Shuttle's three fuel cell power generation units.

The entire crew and payload reflew on STS-94 (July 1-17, 1997). The STS-94 MSL-1 Spacelab mission focused on materials and combustion science research in microgravity.

Most recently she served on STS-99 (February 11-22, 2000). This was an 11-day flight during which the international crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour worked dual shifts to support payload operations. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission mapped more than 47 million miles of the Earth's land surface.

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Bernard A. Harris, Jr., Mission Specialist

NAME: Bernard A. Harris, Jr., (M.D.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born June 26, 1956, in Temple, Texas. Married to the former Sandra Fay Lewis of Sunnyvale, California. They have one child. He enjoys flying, sailing, skiing, running, scuba diving, art and music. Bernard's mother, Mrs. Gussie H. Burgess, and his stepfather, Mr. Joe Roye Burgess, reside in San Antonio, Texas. His father, Mr. Bernard A. Harris, Sr., resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sandra's parents, Mr. & Mrs. Joe Reed, reside in Sunnyvale.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Sam Houston High School, San Antonio, Texas, in 1974; received a bachelor of science degree in biology from University of Houston in 1978, a doctorate in medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 1982. Dr. Harris completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in 1985. In addition, he completed a National Research Council Fellowship at NASA Ames Research Center in 1987, and trained as a flight surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, in 1988. Dr. Harris also received a master's degree in biomedical science from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1996.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the American College of Physicians, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Aerospace Medical Association, National Medical Association, American Medical Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, Harris County Medical Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Texas Tech University Alumni Association, and Mayo Clinic Alumni Association. Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association. Association of Space Explorers. American Astronautical Society. Member, Board of Directors, Boys and Girls Club of Houston. Committee Member, Greater Houston Area Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Member, Board of Directors, Manned Space Flight Education Foundation Inc.

SPECIAL HONORS: 1996 Honorary Doctorate of Science, Morehouse School of Medicine. Medal of Excellence, Golden State Minority Foundation 1996. NASA Award of Merit 1996. NASA Equal Opportunity Medal 1996. NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal 1996. The Challenger Award, The Ronald E. McNair Foundation 1996. Award of Achievement, The Association of Black Cardiologists 1996. Space Act Tech Brief Award 1995. Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Zeta of Texas Chapter 1995. Election of Fellowship in the American College of Physicians 1994. Distinguished Alumnus, The University of Houston Alumni Organization 1994. Distinguished Scientist of the Year, ARCS Foundation, Inc., 1994. Life Membership, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. NASA Space Flight Medals 1993, 1995. NASA Outstanding Performance Rating 1993. JSC Group Achievement Award 1993. Physician of the Year, National Technical Association, 1993. Achiever of the Year, National Technical Association, 1993. American Astronautical Society Melbourne W. Boynton Award for Outstanding Contribution to Space Medicine 1993. Achievement Award, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity 1993. Who's Who Among Rising Young Americans Citation 1992. Certificate of Merit, Governor of Texas 1990. City of San Antonio Citation for Achievement 1990. NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award 1989. NASA Outstanding Performance Rating 1988. NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award 1988, 1989. National Research Council Fellowship 1986, 1987. Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society 1985. Outstanding Young Men of America 1984. University of Houston Achievement Award 1978. Achievement Award 1978.

EXPERIENCE: After completing his residency training in 1985 at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Harris then completed a National Research Council Fellowship at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. While at Ames he conducted research in the field of musculoskeletal physiology, and disuse osteoporosis, completing his fellowship in 1987.

He then joined NASA Johnson Space Center as a clinical scientist and flight surgeon. His duties included clinical investigations of space adaptation and the development of countermeasures for extended duration space flight. Assigned to the Medical Science Division, he held the title of Project Manager, Exercise Countermeasure Project. Dr. Harris holds several faculty appointments.

He is an associate professor in internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch; an assistant professor at the Baylor College of Medicine; a clinical professor at the University of Texas School of Medicine; and is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health. He is a member, Board of Regents for the Texas Tech University Health Science Center in Lubbock, Texas. Fellow, American College of Physicians. He is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications. In addition, Dr. Harris has been in group medical practice in internal medicine with both the South Texas Primary Care in San Antonio, Texas, and with the San Jose Medical Group in San Jose, California. Dr. Harris is also a licensed private pilot.

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Harris became an astronaut in July 1991. He is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews. He served as the crew representative for Shuttle Software in the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch. A veteran of two space flights, Dr. Harris has logged more than 438 hours in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-55 (April 26 to May 6, 1993), and was the Payload Commander on STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995).

Dr. Harris was assigned as a mission specialist on STS-55, Spacelab D-2, in August 1991, and later flew onboard Columbia for ten days, (April 26 to May 6, 1993), marking the Shuttle's one year of total flight time. Dr. Harris was part of the payload crew of Spacelab D-2, conducting a variety of research in physical and life sciences. During this flight, Dr. Harris logged over 239 hours and 4,164,183 miles in space.

Most recently, Dr. Harris was the Payload Commander on STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995), the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir, operation of a variety of investigations in the Spacehab module, and the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. During the flight, Dr. Harris became the first African-American to walk in space. He logged 198 hours, 29 minutes in space, completed 129 orbits, and traveled over 2.9 million miles.

Dr. Harris left NASA in April 1996. He is Chief Scientist and Vice-President of Science and Health Services.

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Vladimir G. Titov, RSA, Mission Specialist

NAME: Vladimir Georgievich Titov (Colonel, Russian Air Force) Russian Cosmonaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born January 1, 1947, in Sretensk, in the Chita Region of Russia. Married to the former Alexandra Kozlova of Ivanovo Region, Russia. They have two children. He enjoys tennis, hunting, and spending time with his family. His mother, Vera Titova, resides in Star City, Russia. His father, Georgie Titov, died in 1961. Her parents, Ruric and Alevtina Kozlov, reside in Ivanovo Region.

EDUCATION: Graduated from secondary school in 1965, from the Higher Air Force College in Chernigov in the Ukraine in 1970, and the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy in 1987.

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and recipient of the Order of Lenin (1983, 1988). In 1988, the French awarded him the title of Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur, and in 1990 he and Manarov were awarded the U.S. Harmon Prize -- the first Soviet citizens to win the award -- in recognition of their world endurance record.

EXPERIENCE: In 1966, Vladimir Titov enrolled at the Higher Air Force College in Chernigov in the Ukraine, graduating in 1970. Until 1974, he served at the College as a pilot-instructor and was responsible for the graduation of twelve student pilots. He later served as a flight commander with the air regiment where the cosmonauts carry out flying practice. He has flown 10 different types of aircraft, has logged more than 1,400 hours flying time, and holds the qualifications of Military Pilot, 1st Class, and Test Pilot, 3rd Class.

Vladimir Titov was selected to join the cosmonaut team in 1976, and in September 1981 was paired with Gennady Strekalov. The two men served as the back-up crew for Soyuz T-5 in 1982 and Soyuz T-9 in 1983. A veteran of five space flights, Titov served as commander on Soyuz T-8 and Soyuz T-10 in 1983 and Soyuz TM-4 in 1987, and flew on the crew of STS-63 in 1995 and STS-86 in 1997. He has logged a total of 18 hours, 48 minutes of EVA, and has spent a total of 387 days, 52 minutes, 18 seconds in space (including the Soyuz T-10 launch abort).

Titov made his first space flight on April 20, 1983, as commander of Soyuz T-8. He and Strekalov had been specifically trained to repair the faulty Salyut 7 solar array. He was supposed to dock with Salyut 7, but once in orbit the Soyuz rendezvous radar antenna failed to deploy properly. Several attitude control maneuvers at high rates were made but failed to swing the boom out. (The postflight inquiry later discovered that the antenna had been torn off when the Soyuz payload shroud separated.) With FCC permission, the crew attempted a rendezvous using only an optical sight and ground radar inputs for guidance. During the final approach, which was made in darkness, Titov believed that the closing speed was too great. He therefore attempted a braking maneuver, but felt that the two spacecrafts were still closing too fast. He aborted the rendezvous to avoid a crash, and no further attempts were made before the three men returned to Earth after a flight lasting just 2 days, 17 minutes, 48 seconds.

Titov and Strekalov were then scheduled for launch onboard what should have been Soyuz T-10 on September 27, 1983. However, a valve in the propellant line failed to close at T-90 seconds, causing a large fire to start at the base of the launch vehicle only one minute before launch. The fire quickly engulfed the rocket, and the automatic abort sequence failed as the wires involved burned through. Two launch controllers manually aborted the mission by sending radio commands from the launch blockhouse. This was accomplished 12 seconds after the fire began. The Soyuz descent module was pulled clear by the launch escape system, and after being subjected to 15-17 G's, the crew landed safely some 2.5 miles (4 km) from the launch vehicle, which apparently exploded seconds after the Soyuz separated. The two men were given a medical check-up, but had sustained no injuries during their brief flight which lasted 5 minutes, 30 seconds.

Titov was next assigned to command Soyuz TM-2. He and his flight engineer, Alexander Serebrov, were scheduled for a long-duration flight onboard Mir 1. Six-days prior to launch, due to doubts about Serebrov's health, they were replaced by the back-up crew. Titov continued training for a long-duration mission, and in April 1987 was paired with Musa Manarov. Later that year, he graduated from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy while continuing his work at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

His next assignment came as the commander of Soyuz TM-4, which launched on December 21, 1987. Together with Musa Manarov and Anatoli Levchenko, he linked up with the orbiting Mir 1 space station and her crew. After a short period of joint work, Romanenko, Alexandrov, and Levchenko returned to Earth handing over the space station to Titov and Manarov. The two men settled down to a long program of scientific experiments and observations, and played host to the visiting Soyuz TM-5 and TM-6 missions. At the end of the Soyuz TM-6 visit, one of its crew, Dr. Valeri Polyakov, remained onboard with Titov and Manarov.

On February 26, 1988, the two cosmonauts carried out an EVA lasting 4 hours and 25 minutes, during which they removed one of the sections of the solar panel and installed a new one. They also installed some new scientific experiments and removed samples of material that had been left exposed to open space, and inspected the Progress 34 spacecraft.

On June 30, 1988, they attempted a repair on the Roentgen X-ray telescope. The telescope had not been designed for repair or replacement so the EVA was a difficult one. As they sliced through the 20-layer thick thermal blanket to expose the telescope's faulty X-ray detector unit, the two men had to stop and rest several times, as they had nowhere to anchor themselves, and had to take turns holding each other steady. Their bulky gloves made removing the small bolts very difficult, and it took 90 minutes instead of the 20 allocated. When a special wrench they were using suddenly snapped, the EVA had to be aborted, and the two men returned inside the Mir, having spent 5 hours, 10 minutes in open space.

On October 20, 1988, repairs were successfully completed, and the X-ray telescope recommenced operations. The cosmonauts also installed some anchor points for the EVA scheduled for the joint Soviet-French mission, installed a new shortwave aerial, and took samples of a film which had formed over one of the portholes, before returning inside the Mir after 4 hours and 12 minutes. They then settled down to their program of experiments and observations. In November 1988, they played host to the joint Soviet-French mission. After three weeks of joint work, Titov and Manarov returned to Earth together with the French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chretien. Titov and Manarov returned to Earth after a mission lasting 365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes, setting a new record, and exceeding one year in space for the first time.

On October 28, 1992, NASA announced that an experienced cosmonaut would fly aboard the STS-60 Space Shuttle mission. Titov was one of two candidates named by the Russian Space Agency for mission specialist training at the Johnson Space Center. In April 1993, he was assigned as back-up mission specialist for Sergei Krikalev, who flew on STS-60 the first joint U.S./Russian Space Shuttle Mission (February 3-11, 1994). In September 1993, Titov was selected to fly on STS-63 with Krikalev training as his back-up.

From February 2-11, 1995, Titov was a mission specialist aboard the Orbiter Discovery, on STS-63, the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir, operation of Spacehab, and the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. In completing this mission, he logged an additional 8 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes in space.

Titov served on the crew of STS-86 Atlantis (September 25 to October 6, 1997) NASA's seventh mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Highlights included the exchange of U.S. crew members Mike Foale and David Wolf, the transfer to Mir of 10,400 pounds of science and logistics, and the return of experiment hardware and results to Earth. Vladimir Titov and Scott Parazynski performed a 5 hour, 1 minute spacewalk during which they retrieved four experiments first deployed on Mir during the STS-76 docking mission, tethered the Solar Array Cap for use in a future Mir spacewalk to seal any hole found in the hull of the damaged Spektr module, and evaluated common EVA tools which may be used by astronauts wearing either Russian or American-made spacesuits. Mission accomplished in 169 orbits in 10 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes.