STS-79 was the 17th flight of
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
''Atlantis'', and the 79th mission of the
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its ...
. The flight saw ''Atlantis'' dock with the Russian space station
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
to deliver equipment, supplies and relief personnel. A variety of scientific experiments were also conducted aboard ''Atlantis'' by her crew. It was the first shuttle mission to rendezvous with a fully assembled Mir, and the fourth rendezvous of a shuttle to the space station.
Crew
Mission highlights
STS-79 was the first shuttle mission to a fully completed Mir space station, following the arrival of its
Priroda
The Priroda (russian: Природа; en, Nature) (TsM-I, 77KSI, 11F77I) module was the seventh and final module of the Mir Space Station. Its primary purpose was to conduct Earth resource experiments through remote sensing and to develop and ...
module. ''Atlantis'' carried the
Orbiter Docking System. This spaceflight was highlighted by the collection of American astronaut Shannon Lucid after 188 days in space, the first American crewmember exchange aboard the Russian
Space Station Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
, and the fourth Shuttle-Mir docking.
Lucid's long-duration spaceflight set a new American record, as well as worldwide spaceflight record for a woman astronaut.
She embarked to Mir March 22 on the
STS-76 mission. Succeeding her on Mir for an approximately four-month stay was John Blaha, who returned in January 1997 with the STS-81 crew. American astronaut
Jerry Linenger
Jerry Michael Linenger (born January 16, 1955) is a retired Captain in the United States Navy Medical Corps, and a former NASA astronaut who flew on the Space Shuttle and Space Station Mir.
Background
Born January 16, 1955, and raised in East ...
replaced him.
STS-79 also marked the second flight of the SPACEHAB module in support of a Shuttle-Mir docking and the first flight of the SPACEHAB Double Module configuration.
The forward portion of the double module housed experiments conducted by the crew before, during and after ''Atlantis'' was docked to the Russian space station. The aft portion of the double module housed the logistics equipment to be transferred to Mir, which included food, clothing, experiments, supplies, and spare equipment.
The mass of the module was .
The Shuttle-Mir link-up occurred at 15:13 UTC on September 18, following R-bar approach. Hatches opened at 05:40 on September 19, and Blaha and Lucid exchanged places at 11:00. Awaiting Blaha on Mir were Valery Korzun, Mir 22 commander, and Alexander Kaleri, flight engineer.
During five days of mated operations, the two crews transferred more than of supplies to Mir, including logistics, food, and water generated by ''Atlantis's'' fuel cells. Three experiments were also transferred: the Biotechnology System (BTS) for study of cartilage development; the Material in Devices as Superconductors (MIDAS) experiment to measure electrical properties of high-temperature superconductor materials; and the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), containing several smaller experiments, including self-contained aquatic systems.
About of experiment samples and equipment were transferred from Mir to ''Atlantis'' and the total logistical transfer to and from station of more than was the most extensive to date.
During her approximately six-month stay on Mir, Lucid conducted research in the following fields: advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, microgravity research and space sciences. Specific experiments included: Environmental Radiation Measurements to ascertain ionizing radiation levels aboard Mir; Greenhouse-Integrated Plant Experiments, to study effect of microgravity on plants, specifically dwarf wheat; and Assessment of Humoral Immune Function During Long-Duration Space Flight, to gather data on effect of long-term spaceflight on the human immune system and involving collection of blood serum and saliva samples. Some of this research was conducted in the newest and final Mir module, Priroda, which arrived at station during Lucid's stay.
Three experiments remained on ''Atlantis'': Extreme Temperature Translation Furnace (ETTF), a new furnace design allowing space-based processing up to 871 degrees Celsius (1,600 degrees Fahrenheit) and above; Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) complement of 128 individual samples involving 12 different proteins; and Mechanics of Granular Materials, designed to further understanding of behavior of cohesionless granular materials, which could in turn lead to better understanding of how Earth's surface responds during earthquakes and landslides.
As with all Shuttle-Mir flights, risk-mitigation experiments were conducted to help reduce development risk for the International Space Station. Flying for first time was the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS), an experiment rack designed to cushion payloads from vibration and other disturbances.
Conducted near the end of STS-79 was a test using ''Atlantis's'' small vernier jets to lower her orbit. A similar maneuver was made at end of second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission,
STS-82
STS-82 was the 22nd flight of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' and the 82nd mission of the Space Shuttle program. It was NASA's second mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, during which ''Discovery's'' crew repaired and upgraded the tel ...
, to re-boost Hubble to a higher orbit while still in orbiter payload bay.
Gallery
Image:STS-79 rollout.jpg, An overhead view of ''Atlantis'' as she sits atop the mobile launcher platform
A mobile launcher platform (MLP), also known as mobile launch platform, is a structure used to support a large multistage space vehicle which is assembled (stacked) vertically in an integration facility (e.g. the Vehicle Assembly Building) and t ...
(MLP) before the launch of STS-79.
Image:Mir entre l'espace et la Terre edit.jpg, ''Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
'' as seen during the undocking of ''Atlantis''.
File:STS-79 Launch.jpg, Launch of STS-79
See also
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List of human spaceflights
This is a list of all human spaceflights throughout history. Beginning in 1961 with the flight of Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, human spaceflight occurs when a human crew flies a spacecraft into outer space. Human spaceflight is distinguished f ...
*
List of Space Shuttle missions
*
Outline of space science
The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Space science encompasses all of the branches of science, scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and ...
References
External links
NASA mission summary
{{Use American English, date=January 2014
Spacecraft launched in 1996
STS-079