STS-91/Discovery

NASA and Russia close out the Shuttle-Mir Program

 

****UNDER CONSTRUCTION****

Prime Crew: Charles J. Precourt (Commander)

Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie (Pilot)

Wendy B. Lawrence (Mission Specialist)

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz (Mission Specialist)

Janet L. Kavandi (Mission Specialist)

Valery V. Ryumin (Cosmonaut; Mission Specialist)

Andrew S. W. Thomas (MIR Download/Mission Specialist)  

Shuttle Orbiter: Discovery (OV-103)

June 2, 1998

MIR Docking: 12:58 PM EDT, June 4, 1998 

MIR Undocking:  12:01 PM EDT,  June 8, 1998

Mission Duration:  9 days 19 hours 53 minutes

155 Orbits

Landing: June 12, 1998-Runway 15 (Shuttle Landing Facility), John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL

 

 

The final crew members scheduled to visit Russia's Mir Space Station pose for a crew portrait during training at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Pictured with their helmets in front are astronauts Dominic C. Gorie (left) and Charles J. Precourt. Others, from the left, are Wendy B. Lawrence, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Janet L. Kavandi, Valeriy V. Ryumin and Andrew S. W. Thomas. Precourt is mission commander, and Gorie, pilot, for Discovery's summer 1998 mission to Mir. Thomas, who will have been serving as a guest researcher on Mir since late January, will return to Earth with the crew members. Lawrence, Chang-Diaz, Kavandi and Ryumin are all mission specialists. Ryumin represents the Russian Space Agency (RSA). Discovery will carry the single module version of SPACEHAB for the scheduled nine-day mission. NASA Photo.

 

Franklin Chang-Diaz and Janet Kavandi check out the tunnel adapter during the Crew Equipment Interface Test in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 on Apr. 10. For every mission, a crew has to know their payloads and harware inside-out. NASA Photo.

 

Apr. 27: Discovery emerges from the OPF and is rolled into the VAB transfer aisle for mating to the tank and SRBs. Orbiters are "rolled over" on these trailers instead of their landing gear to save wear and tear on expensive Shuttle tires. NASA Photo.

 

May 2, 1998: Discovery rolls out to Pad 39A under the rising sun. STS-91 is the first mission to use the new Super LightWeight Tank (SLWT) External Tank, which is the same size (154 ft. long and 27 ft. in diameter) as the external tank used on previous launches but 7,500 lb. lighter. The tank is made of an aluminum lithium alloy and the tank's structural design also has been improved making it 30% stronger and 5% less dense. The walls of the redesigned hydrogen tank are machined in an orthogonal waffle-like pattern, providing more strength and stability than the previous design. These improvements will provide additional payload capacity to the International Space Station. NASA Photo.

 

Valery Ryumin and Janet Kavandi practice an emergency egress in a slidewire basket during a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The ride starts at the end of the Crew Access Arm up on the 195-foot level and ends on the ground about a half-mile away. And no, NASA doesn't sell rides. NASA Photo.

 

When the crew arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility a few days before launch, they are met by Valery Ryumin's (right) wife-Cosmonaut and STS-84 veteran Elena ("Betty Sue") Kondakova (center). Charlie Precourt (left) was also on that mission. Much has been written over the years about the spouses of astronauts and Cosmonauts and how they feel about watching their husbands/wives riding rockets into space; one wonders how that experience feels when the spouse has taken that ride as well. NASA Photo.

 

Jun. 2, 1998-Launch Day. The crew suits up in the Operations & Checkout Building. Dominic Gorie, seen here with a suit technician, is suiting up for his first mission, as is Janet Kavandi. NASA Photo.

 

June 2, 1998, 6:06:24 PM EDT. The final Shuttle-Mir mission lifts off from historic Pad 39A aboard Discovery. Although night launches have been the norm for Shuttle-Mir missions thus far, the last one takes place in late afternoon on a beautiful summer's day. NASA Photo.

Video: Docking, docked operations & greetings, and undocking (MPEG)

 

 

Discovery swoops down over the Florida marshlands just before the moment of touchdown, at precisely 2:00 PM EDT, June 12, 1998. When the Orbiter rolls out to a stop a couple of miles later, the Shuttle-Mir program is over. NASA Photo.

 

Mission Commander Charlie Precourt (at microphone) presents an American flag, a special tool, and an optical disc to NASA Administrator Dan Goldin following Discovery's landing, as Phase I Shuttle/Mir Program Manager Frank Culbertson and the other members of the STS-91 crew look on. Although the Shuttle-Mir program is over, it is looked upon by the Russian Space Sagency and NASA as Phase 1 of the cooperative International Space Station program, and during the course of this sometimes troubled joint venture, the two sides learned much about space station operation and construction techniques-as well as about each other. NASA Photo.