STS-84

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-84
insignia = Sts-84-patch.png shuttle = Atlantis
launch_pad = 39-A
launch = May 15, 1997, 4:07:48.62 am EST
landing = May 24, 1997, 9:27:44 am EDT, KSC, Runway 33
duration = 9 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes, 47 seconds
altitude = 184 statute miles
inclination = 51.6 degrees
distance = 6 million km
crew_photo = STS-84_crew.jpg
crew_caption =
previous = STS-83
next = STS-94

STS-84 was a Space Shuttle "Atlantis" mission to the Mir space station.

Crew

*Charles J. Precourt (3), Mission Commander
*Eileen M. Collins (2), Pilot
*Jean-Francois Clervoy (2), Mission Specialist 1 - flag|France ESA
*Carlos I. Noriega, (1), Mission Specialist 2
*Edward T. Lu (1), Mission Specialist 3
*Yelena V. Kondakova (2), Mission Specialist 4 - flag|Russia RKA

Launched and stayed on Mir

*C. Michael Foale (4), Mission Specialist 5 - flag|UK/flag|USA (dual citizen)

Landed and returned from Mir

*Jerry M. Linenger (2)

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter landing with payload:" 100,285 kg
**"Spacehab-DM:" 4,187 kg
**" Orbiter Docking System:" 1,822 kg
**"Cargo delivered to Mir:" 3,318 kg
*Perigee: 377 km
*Apogee: 393 km
*Inclination: 51.7°
*Period: 92.3 min

6th Mir docking mission

*Docked: May 17, 1997, 02:33:20 UTC
*Undocked: May 22, 1997, 01:03:56 UTC
*Time Docked: 4 days, 22 h, 30 min, 36 s

Mission highlights

The STS-84 mission is the 6th Shuttle/"Mir" docking mission and is part of the NASA/Mir program which consists of nine Shuttle-Mir dockings and seven long duration flights of U.S. astronauts aboard the Russian space station. The shuttle previously "Mir" missions were STS-71, STS-74, STS-76, STS-79 and STS-81. The U.S. astronauts will launch and land on a Shuttle and serve as "Mir" crew members while the "Mir" cosmonauts use their traditional Soyuz vehicle for launch and landing. This series of missions will expand U.S. research on "Mir" by providing resupply materials for experiments to be performed aboard the station as well as returning experiment samples and data to Earth.

STS-84 will involve the transfer of 7,314 pounds (3,318 kg) of water and logistics to and from the "Mir". During the docked phase, 1,025 pounds (465 kg) of water, 844.9 pounds (383.2 kg) of U.S. science equipment, 2,576.4 pounds (1,168.6 kg) of Russian logistics along with 392.7 pounds (178.1 kg) of miscellaneous material will be transferred to "Mir". Returning to Earth aboard "Atlantis" will be 897.4 pounds (407.1 kg) of U.S. science material, 1,171.2 pounds (531.2 kg) of Russian logistics, 30 pounds (14 kg) of ESA material and 376.4 pounds (170.7 kg) of miscellaneous material.

Sixth Shuttle-"Mir" docking highlighted by transfer of fourth successive U.S. crew member to the Russian Space Station. U.S. astronaut C. Michael Foale exchanged places with Jerry Linenger, who arrived at "Mir" January 15, 1997 with the crew of Shuttle Mission STS-81. Linenger spent 123 days on "Mir" and just over 132 days in space from launch to landing, placing him second behind U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid for most time spent on-orbit by an American. Another milestone reached during his stay was one-year anniversary of continuous U.S. presence in space that began with Lucid's arrival at "Mir" March 22, 1996.

Other significant events during Linenger's stay included first U.S.-Russian space walk. On April 29, 1997 Linenger participated in five-hour extravehicular activity (EVA) with "Mir" 23 Commander Vasili Tsibliev to attach a monitor to the outside of the station. The Optical Properties Monitor (OPM) was to remain on "Mir" for nine months to allow study of the effect of the space environment on optical properties, such as mirrors used in telescopes.

On February 23, a fire broke out on the 11-year-old station. It caused minimal damage but required station's inhabitants to wear protective masks for about 36 hours until cabin air was cleaned. Besides Linenger, crew members aboard "Mir" at the time included two "Mir" 22 cosmonauts and a German cosmonaut, and two "Mir" 23 cosmonauts.

STS-84 docking with "Mir" occurred May 16 at 10:33 p.m. EDT above the Adriatic Sea. Hatches between two spacecraft opened at 12:25 a.m., May 17. Greetings exchanged between STS-84 crew and "Mir" 23 Commander Vasili Tsibliev, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Lazutkin and Linenger, followed by a safety briefing. Linenger and Foale officially traded places at 10:15 a.m. EDT.

Transfer of items to and from "Mir" proceeded smoothly and was completed ahead of schedule. One of first items transferred to station was an Elektron oxygen-generating unit. Altogether about 249 items were moved between the two spacecraft, and about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of water moved to "Mir", for a total of about 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg) of water, experiment samples, supplies and hardware.

Research program planned for Foale featured 35 investigations total (33 on "Mir", two on STS-84, and another preflight/postflight) in six disciplines: advanced technology, Earth observations and remote sensing, fundamental biology, human life sciences, space station risk mitigation, and microgravity sciences. Twenty-eight of these were conducted during previous missions and were to be continued, repeated or completed during Foale's stay. Seven new experiments were planned in biological and crystal growth studies and materials processing.

Undocking occurred at 9:04 p.m. EDT, May 21. Unlike prior dockings, no flyaround of the station by the orbiter was conducted, but orbiter was stopped three times while backing away to collect data from a European sensor device designed to assist future rendezvous of a proposed European Space Agency resupply vehicle with the International Space Station.

Other activities conducted during the mission included investigations using the Biorack facility, located in the SPACEHAB Double Module in "Atlantis"’s payload bay, a photo survey of "Mir" during docked operations, environmental air samplings and radiation monitoring.

Orbiter performance was nominal from launch to landing.

ee also

* Space science
* Space shuttle
* List of space shuttle missions
* List of human spaceflights chronologically

External links

* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-84/mission-sts-84.html NASA mission summary]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle84.htm STS-84 Video Highlights]