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STS-81

Launched: January 12, 1997, 4:27:23 a.m. EST

Landing: January 22, 1997, 9:22:44 a.m. EST, Kennedy Space Flight Center, Florida

Space Shuttle: Atlantis

Crew: Michael A. Baker (Commander), Brent W. Jett, Jr. (Pilot), John M. Grunsfeld (Mission Specialist), Marsha S. Ivins (Mission Specialist), Peter J. Wisoff (Mission Specialist) and Jerry M. Linenger (Mission Specialist).

 

The first shuttle flight of 1997 which was highlighted by the return of U.S. astronaut John Blaha to Earth after 118-day stay aboard the Russian Space Station Mir and the largest transfer to date of logistics between the two spacecraft. Atlantis also returned carrying the first plants to complete a life cycle in space — a crop of wheat grown from seed to seed. This fifth of nine planned dockings continued Phase 1B of the NASA/Russian Space Agency cooperative effort, with Linenger becoming the third U.S. astronaut in succession to live on Mir. Same payload configuration flown on previous docking flight -- featuring SPACEHAB Double module -- flown again.

 

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: STS081-s-001

Date: June 1996

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Uploaded on January 22, 2015
Taken on January 12, 1997