| STS-84 | Crew | Payload | Mission |
STS-84
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launched:
May 15, 1997, 4:07 a.m. EDT
Kennedy Space Center, Pad 39-A
Orbit:
184 nautical milesInclination:
51.6 degreesLanded:
May 24, 1997, 9:27 a.m. EDT Kennedy Space CenterMission:
9 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes
STS-84
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| STS-84 | Crew | Payload | Mission |
STS-84 Crew
Commander Charles J. Precourt
Third Shuttle flightPilot Eileen M. Collins
Second Shuttle flightMission Specialist Carlos I. Noriega
First Shuttle flightMission Specialist Edward T. Lu, Ph.D.
First Shuttle flightMission Specialist Jean-François Clervoy
European Space Agency
Second Shuttle flightCosmonaut Elena V. Kondakova
Russian Space Agency
Second spaceflightMission Specialist C. Michael Foale, Ph.D.
Third Shuttle flight; remaining on MirMission Specialist Jerry M. Linenger, Ph.D., M.D.
Third Shuttle flight; returning from Mir
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| STS-84 | Crew | Payload | Mission |
Payload
Space Habitation (Double) Module
Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor
Radiation Monitoring Equipment
Shuttle Ionospheric Modification With Pulsed Local Exhaust
Liquid Motion Experiment Protein Crystal Growth
Single-Locker Thermal Enclosure System
Midcourse Space Experiment
Electrolysis Performance Improvement Concept Study
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| STS-84 | Crew | Payload | Mission |
Mission: May 15 - 24, 1997
STS-84 delivered U.S. astronaut Mike Foale to Mir and brought back to Earth astronaut Jerry Linenger. The crews transferred 249 items between the two spacecraft, including approximately 7,500 pounds of water, experiment samples, supplies, and hardware. Included in the exchange were Elektron oxygen-generating units. These were especially important after the fire that had occurred during Linengers residency, and the Shuttle proved again that one of its main values is in bringing back from orbit faulty equipment for testing and analysis.
The May 15, 1997, predawn liftoff was perfect, after a flawless countdown and no unplanned "holds." Atlantis roared into orbit normally; and, as it began to pursue Mir, the STS-84 crew busied themselves with docking preparation activities. They installed the centerline camera in the Orbiter docking system, extended the capture ring on the docking system, and tested the handheld laser device used for range and closure rates with Mir. The crew also began activities with Biorack, their main science activity.
On May 17, Atlantis completed the U.S.s sixth docking with Mir. Commander Charlie Precourt greeted Mir-23 Commander Vasily Tsibliev before the Shuttle crewmembers floated into Mirs core module (Base Block) for a welcoming ceremony. After setting up tubes from Atlantis to help ventilate Mir, the 10 crewmembers shared a meal before getting back to a full day of work. In addition to transferring materials, astronauts continued working on the Biorack facility and the Mir structural dynamics experiments, which gathered data on the effects of firing thrusters on either the Shuttle or the Mir.
The official handover from Linenger to Foale came on May 18, when Foale, Linenger, and Commander Tsibliev installed Foales seat-liner in the Russian Soyuz capsule. Foale told Mission Control in Houston, "Your NASA-5 crewmember would like to report that he has fully switched over to the Mir side." Linenger added, "I stand relieved of duties on the Mir. Its good to be back on U.S. soil."
The crews took time to share an international dinner with foods from the homelands of crewmembers: Russia, Peru, France, Britain, China, and the United States. Commander Precourt, who speaks several languages, later said that sharing meals is rare on Shuttle flights. "So, on -84, that was one of the things I insisted [on], that we find the time in the flight plan for both the Russian flight controllers and the American flight controllers to leave us totally alone. With this one meal, I made sure they gave us this total freedom to be together for about two hours; and it was just a really, really memorable experience." For his own contribution, Precourt brought Texas barbecue to the meal.
Hatches between the two spacecraft were closed on May 21, setting the stage for the undocking at around 9 p.m. EDT. The initial separation was performed by springs that gently pushed the Shuttle away from the docking module, placing it in a "free-drift" mode. Once the docking mechanisms springs pushed the Shuttle to a distance of about two feet, the Shuttles steering jets were fired to begin slowly moving away from Mir.
Atlantis then continued to a distance of approximately 3,000 feet below Mir, where it stopped to test a European laser-docking sensor before continuing its journey back to Earth.
Read more about the STS-84 mission and crew.
Collision and Recovery!