Release:  J97-27

ASTRONAUT WOLF CONTINUING AMERICAN PRESENCE ON 
MIR, JOINT U.S.-RUSSIAN SPACEWALK HIGHLIGHT STS-
86 MISSION

     The continuing cooperative effort in space 
exploration between the United States and Russia and a 
joint spacewalk will be the focus of NASA's seventh 
Shuttle mission of 1997 with the launch of Space Shuttle 
Atlantis on Mission STS-86.

     This is the seventh of nine planned missions to Mir 
and the fourth one involving an exchange of U.S. 
astronauts. Astronaut Mike Foale, who has been on Mir 
since mid-May, will be replaced by astronaut David Wolf. 
Wolf will spend more than four months on the orbiting 
Russian facility. He will return to Earth on Space 
Shuttle Mission STS-89, scheduled for launch in January 
1998.

     The STS-86 crew will be commanded by Jim Wetherbee 
who will be making his fourth Shuttle flight. The pilot, 
Mike Bloomfield, will be making his first flight. There 
are five mission specialists assigned to this flight. 
Vladimir Titov, a Russian cosmonaut, serving as Mission 
Specialist-1, is making his fourth space flight and 
second flight on the Space Shuttle.  Mission Specialist-
2 Scott Parazynski is making his second flight.  Jean-
Loup Chretien of the French Space Agency (CNES) is 
Mission Specialist-3 and is making his third flight and 
first on the Shuttle.  Mission Specialist-4 Wendy 
Lawrence and Mission Specialist-5 David Wolf are making 
their second space flight.  Shortly after docking, Wolf 
and Foale will conduct their handover with Wolf becoming 
a member of the Mir 24 crew and Foale becoming a STS-86 
Mission Specialist through the end of the flight.

     Atlantis is targeted for a late evening launch on 
September 25, 1997 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center 
Launch Complex 39-A. The current launch time of 10:34 
p.m. EDT may vary slightly based on calculations of 
Mir's precise location in space at the time of liftoff 
due to Shuttle rendezvous phasing requirements. The STS-
86 mission is scheduled to last 9 days, 20 hours, 24 
minutes.  An on-time launch on Sept. 25 and nominal 
mission duration would have Atlantis landing back at 
Kennedy Space Center on October 5 just before sunset at 
6:58 p.m. EDT.

     Atlantis' rendezvous and docking with the Mir 
actually begin with the precisely timed launch setting 
the orbiter on a course for rendezvous with the orbiting 
Russian facility. Over the next two to three days, 
periodic firings of Atlantis' small thruster engines 
will gradually bring the Shuttle within close proximity 
to Mir.

     The STS-86 mission 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 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.

     Atlantis will again be carrying the SPACEHAB module 
in the payload bay of the orbiter. The double module 
configuration will house experiments to be performed by 
Atlantis' crew along with logistics equipment to be 
transferred to Mir.

      Parazynski and Titov will conduct a five-hour 
spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), on the 
fourth day Atlantis is docked with the Mir. It will be 
the first U.S. spacewalk to include participation by a 
foreign astronaut.

     Parazynski and Titov will leave Atlantis' airlock 
to retrieve four suitcase-sized experiments called the 
Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) from the 
exterior of  Mir's Docking Module. The experiments, 
which were attached to the Docking Module by astronauts 
during Shuttle mission STS-76 in March 1996, are 
studying the effects of exposure to the space 
environment on a variety of materials. 

     In addition to transferring the MEEP back to 
Atlantis, Parazynski and Titov will leave an item on the 
exterior of Mir.  A solar array cap to be placed on the 
damaged Spektr module on a later Russian space walk will 
be brought out of the shuttle airlock and tethered to 
the exterior of the Docking Module.  The solar array cap 
is too large to be transferred through Mir, and the cap 
is needed to seal off the base of the damaged array on 
Spektr if and when the array is jettisoned by 
cosmonauts.  

      Parazynski and Titov also will continue an 
evaluation of the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER), 
a small jet-backpack designed for use as a type of life 
jacket during station assembly.  Parazynski and Titov 
also will evaluate equipment designed to be compatible 
for use by spacewalkers on the U.S. and Russian segments 
of the International Space Station. 

     The current Mir 24 mission began when cosmonauts 
Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel 
Vinogradov were launched on August 5, in a Soyuz vehicle 
and docked with the Mir two days later.  Mike Foale 
began his stay on the orbiting Russian facility with the 
Mir 23 crew in mid-May with the docking of STS-84.  He 
became a member of the Mir 24 crew and continued his 
science investigations when the Mir 23 crew returned to 
Earth on August 13.  Wolf is scheduled to be replaced by 
another NASA Astronaut when Endeavour docks with Mir in 
January 1998. 

The STS-86 mission and the work performed by Wolf during 
his time on the Mir station will include investigations 
in the fields of advanced technology, Earth sciences, 
fundamental biology, human life sciences, International 
Space Station risk mitigation, microgravity sciences and 
space sciences.  Because of his previous  Space Shuttle 
extravehicular activity (EVA) spacewalk training along 
with Mir EVA training done at the Gagarin Cosmonaut 
Training Center in Star City, Russia, Wolf also may 
perform spacewalk activities during his tour of duty on 
the orbiting Russian facility.

     When Atlantis undocks from Mir, the separation 
manevers performed will have two objectives.  First, 
just after undocking, the Shuttle will continue to back 
away through a corridor similar to that used during 
approach with periodic stops to "stationkeep" in order 
to collect data for the European laser docking sensor.  
Atlantis will continue away from Mir until it reaches a 
distance of 600 feet below the Mir.

     Following evaluations of the European sensor, 
Atlantis will then begin a re-approach to a distance of 
240 feet while Mir maneuvers to an orientation that 
provides adequate viewing of the damaged areas of its 
Spektr module.  After reaching the 240 foot range, 
Atlantis will begin a flyaround to photograph the damage 
from the Progress collision. Once the flyaround/photo 
survey activities are complete, Atlantis will perform a 
separation burn to move to an orbit below and ahead of 
Mir.  Because of propellant constraints, this undocking 
profile may be modified during the mission.

     STS-86 will be the 20th flight of Atlantis and the 
87th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle 
program in April 1981.



MEDIA SERVICES INFORMATION

NASA Television Transmission

     NASA Television is available through the GE2 
satellite system which is located on Transponder 9C, at 
85 degrees west longitude, frequency 3880.0 MHz, audio 
6.8 MHz.  

     The schedule for television transmissions from the 
orbiter and for mission briefings will be available 
during the mission at Kennedy Space Center, FL; Marshall 
Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL; Dryden Flight 
Research Center, Edwards, CA; Johnson Space Center, 
Houston, TX; and NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. The 
television schedule will be updated to reflect changes 
dictated by mission operations.  

Status Reports

     Status reports on countdown and mission progress, 
on-orbit activities and landing operations will be 
produced by the appropriate NASA newscenter. 

Briefings

     A mission press briefing schedule will be issued 
before launch.  During the mission, status briefings by 
a flight director or mission operations representative 
and when appropriate, representatives from the payload 
team, will occur at least once each day.  The updated 
NASA television schedule will indicate when mission 
briefings are planned.

Internet Information

     Information on STS-86 is available through several 
sources on the Internet.  The primary source for mission 
information is the NASA Shuttle Web, part of the World 
Wide Web.  This site contains information on the crew 
and its mission and will be regularly updated with 
status reports, photos and video clips throughout the 
flight.  The NASA Shuttle Web's address is: 

http://shuttle.nasa.gov

     If that address is busy or unavailable, Shuttle 
information is available through the Office of Space 
Flight Home Page:

http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/

     


     General information on NASA and its programs is 
available through the NASA Home Page and the NASA Public 
Affairs Home Page: 

http://www.nasa.gov

or http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/index.html 

     Information on other current NASA activities is 
available through the Today@NASA page:

http://www.nasa.gov/today.html 

     The NASA TV schedule is available from the NTV Home 
Page: 

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

     Status reports, TV schedules and other information 
also are available from the NASA Headquarters FTP (File 
Transfer Protocol) server, ftp.hq.nasa.gov.  Log in as 
anonymous and go to the directory /pub/pao.  Users 
should log on with the user name "anonymous" (no 
quotes), then enter their E-mail address as the 
password.  Within the /pub/pao directory there will be a 
"readme.txt" file explaining the directory structure:

     * Pre-launch status reports (KSC):  
ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/statrpt/ksc 
     * Mission status reports(JSC):  
ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/statrpt/jsc 
     * Daily TV schedules:  
ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/statrpt/jsc/tvsked. 

     NASA Spacelink, a resource for educators, also 
provides mission information via the Internet. Spacelink 
may be accessed at the following address:

http://spacelink.nasa.gov


Access by CompuServe

     Users with CompuServe accounts can access NASA 
press releases by typing "GO NASA" (no quotes) and 
making a selection from the categories offered.

                    STS-86 QUICK LOOK

Launch Date:          Sept. 25, 1997
Launch Site:           KSC Launch Pad 39-A
Launch Time:          10:34 PM EDT
Launch Window:        Approximately 7 minutes
Orbiter:              Atlantis (OV-104), 20th flight
Orbit Altitude: 160 nautical mi., (213 nm for docking) 
Orbit Inclination:    51.6 degrees 
Mission Duration:     9 days, 20 hours, 24 minutes
Landing Date:         October 5, 1997
Landing Time:         6:58 PM EDT
Primary Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, FL
Abort Landing Sites:
   Return to Launch Site - KSC
   Transoceanic Abort Sites - Zaragoza, Spain;  Ben 
Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain
    Abort-Once Around - KSC

Crew:  
  Jim Wetherbee, Commander , 4th  flight
  Mike Bloomfield, Pilot , 1st  flight
  Vladimir Titov, Mission Specialist 1, 4th   flight
  Scott Parazynski, Mission Specialist 2, 2nd   flight
   Jean-Loup Chretien, Mission Specialist 3, 3rd   flight
  Wendy Lawrence, Mission Specialist 4), 2nd flight
  David Wolf, Mission Specialist 5 up, 2nd flight
  Mike Foale, Mission Specialist 5 down,  4th flight

EVA Crew:  
  Scott Parazynski (EV 1), Vladimir Titov (EV 2)

Cargo Bay Payloads:
                 Spacehab Double Module
                    Orbiter Docking System
                    European Proximity Sensor
                    MEEP Carriers
                    SEEDS-II
                    
In-Cabin Payloads:
                  RME's
                    KidSat
                    CPCG
                    CREAM
                    CCM-A
                    MSX
                    SIMPLEX          




                        CREW RESPONSIBILITIES

Payloads                Prime         Backup

Rendezvous and Docking     Wetherbee        Bloomfield
Undocking and Flyaround    Bloomfield       Wetherbee
Rendezvous Tools           Parazynski       Titov
Orbiter Docking System     Parazynski       Chretien
Russian Language           Chretien         Titov
Spacehab                   Chretien         Titov
Logistics Transfers        Titov            Chretien
Water Bag Fills            Titov            Others
EVA                        Parazynski       Titov
Intravehicular Crewmember  Bloomfield       ------
CPCG                       Bloomfield       ------
CCM-A                      Wetherbee        ------
SIMPLEX                    Bloomfield       Wetherbee
MSX                        Bloomfield       Wetherbee
KidSat                     Bloomfield       ------
SEEDS-II                   Chretien         ------
Earth Observations         Parazynski       Others
Ascent Seat on Flight Deck Titov            ------
Entry Seat on Flight Deck  Chretien         ------
Recumbent Seat Setup       Titov            Foale



STS-86 ORBITAL EVENTS SUMMARY
           (based on a September 25, 1997 Launch)

EVENT           MET           TIME OF DAY (EDT)

Launch            0/00:00         10:34 PM, September 25

Mir Docking       1/18:56          5:30 PM, September 27

Mir Undocking     7/13:12         11:46 AM, October 3

KSC Landing       9/20:24          6:58 PM, October 5

Developmental Test Objectives / 
Detailed Supplementary Objectives/ 
Risk Mitigation Experiments

DTO 259:        Tuned Notch Filter Test
DTO 312:        External Tank TPS Performance
DTO 671:  EVA Hardware for Future Scheduled EVA Missions
DTO 700-9A:
   Orbiter Evaluation of TDRS Acquisition in Despreader 
Bypass Mode
DTO 700-10:
        Orbiter Space Vision System Videotaping
DTO 700-12:
  Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System
DTO 700-13A:
 Signal Attenuation Effects of ET During Ascent
DTO 700-15:
        Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System
DTO 700-16: S-Band Sequential Still Video Demonstration
DTO 805:        Crosswind Landing Performance
DTO 1118:
  Photographic and Video Survey of Mir Space Station 
DTO 1125: 
  Measurements of Dose as a Function of Shielding 
Thickness
DTO 1213:  Station Docking Target Evaluation
RME 1303-1:
   Shuttle/Mir Experiment Kit Transport, Enhanced 
Dynamic Loads
RME 1303-2:
   Shuttle /Mir Experiment Kit Transport, Mir Auxiliary 
Sensor Unit
RME 1303-3:
   Shuttle/Mir Experiment Kit Transport, Water 
Experiment Kit
RME 1303-5:   Space Portable SpectroReflectometer
RME 1304:      Mir Environmental Effects Payload
RME 1314:      ESA Proximity Operations Sensor
RME 1317:      Mir Structural Dynamics Experiment
RME 1320:      Radiation Monitoring Equipment-III
RME 1324:      Volatile Organics Analyzer
RME 1332:      Space Station - Test of PCS Hardware
DSO 207:
  Adaptation to Linear Acceleration after Space Flight

PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHTS

Vehicle/Payload                      Pounds

Orbiter (Atlantis) empty and 3 SSME's      152,174

Shuttle System at SRB Ignition           4,514,873

Orbiter Weight at Landing with Cargo       251,730
 
Spacehab                                    14,447

Orbiter Docking System                       4,016

                  MISSION SUMMARY TIMELINE
                    
Flight Day 1:
Launch/Ascent
OMS-2 Burn
Payload Bay Door Opening
Spacehab Activation

Flight Day 2:
EMU Checkout
SAFER Checkout
Rendezvous Tool Checkout
Centerline Camera Installation
Orbiter Docking System Ring Extension

Flight Day 3:
Rendezvous and Docking
Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony

Flight Day 4:
Soyuz Seat Transfer and Installation (formal transfer of 
Wolf for Foale)
Logistics Transfer Operations

Flight Day 5:
Greenhouse Operations
Logistics Transfer Operations

Flight Day 6:
Logistics Transfer Operations
Hatch Closure for EVA
EVA Tool Preparation

Flight Day 7:
EVA (5 hours, Parazynski and Titov)
Hatch Opening

Flight Day 8:
Final Logistics Transfer Operations and Inventory
Joint Crew News Conference
Farewell Ceremony
Final Hatch Closure


Flight Day 9:
Undocking and Flyaround Inspection of Spektr Module
Seperation Maneuver
Off Duty Time

Flight Day 10:
Flight Control System Checkout
Reaction Control System Hot-Fire
Cabin Stowage
Recumbent Seat Setup

Flight Day 11:
Payload Bay Door Closing
Deorbit Burn
KSC Landing



SHUTTLE ABORT MODES

     Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward 
safe and intact recovery of the flight crew, Orbiter and 
its payload.  Abort modes for STS-86 include: 

-- Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine 
thrust late enough to permit reaching a minimal 105-
nautical mile orbit with the orbital maneuvering system 
engines.

-- Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine 
shutdown with the capability to allow one orbit of the 
Earth before landing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

-- Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of one or 
more main engines midway through powered flight would 
force a landing at either Zaragoza or Moron in Spain or 
Ben Guerir in Morocco.

-- Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one 
or more engines, and without enough energy to reach a 
TAL site, would result in a pitch around and thrust back 
toward Kennedy until within gliding distance.

STS-86 MIR RENDEZVOUS, DOCKING & UNDOCKING

     Atlantis' rendezvous and docking with the Russian 
Space Station Mir actually begins with the precisely 
timed launch of the shuttle on a course for the Mir, 
and, over the next two days, periodic small engine 
firings that will gradually bring Atlantis to a point 
eight nautical miles behind Mir on docking day, the 
starting point for a final approach to the station.

Mir Rendezvous & Docking-- Flight Day 3

     About two hours before the scheduled docking time 
on Flight Day Three of the mission, Atlantis will reach 
a point about eight nautical miles behind the Mir Space 
Station and conduct a Terminal Phase Initiation (TI) 
burn, beginning the final phase of the rendezvous. 
Atlantis will close the final eight nautical miles to 
Mir during the next orbit. As Atlantis approaches, the 
shuttle's rendezvous radar system will begin tracking 
Mir and providing range and closing rate information to 
Atlantis. Atlantis' crew also will begin air-to-air 
communications with the Mir crew using a VHF radio.

     As Atlantis reaches close proximity to Mir, the 
Trajectory Control Sensor, a laser ranging device 
mounted in the payload bay, will supplement the 
shuttle's onboard navigation information by supplying 
additional data on the range and closing rate. As 
Atlantis closes in on the Mir, the shuttle will have the 
opportunity for four small successive engine firings to 
fine-tune its approach using its onboard navigation 
information. Flying a slightly modified rendezvous 
profile for improved efficiency, Atlantis will aim for a 
point directly below Mir, along the Earth radius vector 
(R-Bar), an imaginary line drawn between the Mir center 
of gravity and the center of Earth. Approaching along 
the R-Bar, from directly underneath the Mir, allows 
natural forces to assist in braking Atlantis' approach. 
During this approach, the crew will begin using a hand-
held laser ranging device to supplement distance and 
closing rate measurements made by other shuttle 
navigational equipment.

     Atlantis will intercept the R-Bar at a point 600 ft  
below Mir. Commander Jim Wetherbee will fly the shuttle 
using the aft flight deck controls as Atlantis begins 
moving up toward Mir. Because of the approach from 
underneath Mir, Wetherbee will have to perform very few 
braking firings. However, if such firings are required, 
the shuttle's jets will be used in a mode called "Low-
Z," a technique that uses slightly offset jets on 
Atlantis' nose and tail to slow the spacecraft rather 
than firing jets pointed directly at Mir. This technique 
avoids contamination of the space station and its solar 
arrays by exhaust from the shuttle steering jets.

     Using the centerline camera fixed in the center of 
Atlantis' docking mechanism, Wetherbee will center 
Atlantis' docking mechanism with the Docking Module 
mechanism on Mir, continually refining this alignment as 
he approaches within 300 feet of the station.

     At a distance of about 30 feet from docking, 
Wetherbee will stop Atlantis and stationkeep momentarily 
to adjust the docking mechanism alignment, if necessary. 
At that time, a final go or no- go decision to proceed 
with the docking will be made by flight control teams in 
both Houston and Moscow.

     When Atlantis proceeds with docking, the shuttle 
crew will use ship-to-ship communications with Mir to 
inform the Mir crew of the shuttle's status and to keep 
them informed of major events, including confirmation of 
contact, capture and the conclusion of damping. Damping, 
the halt of any relative motion between the two 
spacecraft after docking, is performed by shock 
absorber-type springs within the docking device. Mission 
Specialist Scott Parazynski will oversee the operation 
of the Orbiter Docking System from onboard Atlantis.

Undocking and Separation 

Once Atlantis is ready to undock from Mir, the initial 
separation will be performed by springs that will gently 
push the shuttle away from the docking module. Both the 
Mir and Atlantis will be in a mode called "free drift" 
during the undocking, a mode that has the steering jets 
of each spacecraft shut off to avoid any inadvertent 
firings.

     Once the docking mechanism's springs have pushed 
Atlantis away to a distance of about two feet from Mir, 
where the docking devices will be clear of one another, 
Atlantis' steering jets will be turned back on and fired 
in the Low-Z mode to begin slowly moving away from Mir.

     The shuttle will continue to back away through a 
corridor similar to that used during approach with 
periodic stops to "stationkeep" in order to collect data 
for the European laser docking sensor.  Atlantis will 
continue away from Mir until it reaches a distance of 
600 feet below the Mir.  At this point, Atlantis will 
begin a re-approach to a distance of 240 feet while Mir 
maneuvers to an orientation that provides adequate 
viewing of the damaged areas of its Spektr module.  
After reaching the 240 foot range, Atlantis will begin a 
flyaround to photograph the damage from the Progress 
collision. Once the flyaround/photo survey activities 
are complete, Atlantis will perform a separation burn to 
move to an orbit below and ahead of Mir.  Because of 
propellant constraints, this undocking profile may be 
modified during the mission.


SHUTTLE-MIR ACTIVITIES & SCIENCE

EVA Development Flight Test (EDFT)

     Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Vladimir 
Titov will conduct a five-hour spacewalk, or 
extravehicular activity (EVA), on the fourth day 
Atlantis is docked with the Mir. It will be the first 
U.S. spacewalk to include the participation of a foreign 
astronaut.

     Parazynski is designated Extravehicular crewmember-
1 (EV-1) and will be identified by red bands around each 
leg of his spacesuit. Titov is designated EV-2. 
Parazynski and Titov will leave Atlantis' airlock to 
retrieve four suitcase-sized experiments called the Mir 
Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) from the exterior 
of  Mir's Docking Module. The experiments were attached 
to the Docking Module by astronauts Linda Godwin and 
Rich Clifford during Shuttle mission STS-76 in March 
1996.

     Parazynski and Titov will exit the upward-facing 
hatch in the tunnel between Atlantis' crew cabin and the 
Spacehab module and move up the Docking Module to 
release the MEEP packages. The retrieved packages will 
be folded and stowed in sidewall carriers in Atlantis' 
cargo bay, two carriers located in front of the Orbiter 
Docking System (ODS) and two located aft of the ODS. 
Within the MEEP packages, investigators are studying the 
effects of exposure to the space environment on a 
variety of materials. 

     In addition to transferring the MEEP back to 
Atlantis, Parazynski and Titov will leave an item on the 
exterior of Mir.  A solar array cap to be placed on the 
damaged Spektr module on a later Russian space walk will 
be brought out of the shuttle airlock and tethered to 
the exteritor of the Docking Module.  The solar array 
cap is too large to be transferred through Mir, and is 
needed to seal off the base of the damaged array on 
Spektr if and when the array is jettisoned by 
cosmonauts.  

     The spacewalk will continue a series of EVA 
Development Flight Test (EDFT) spacewalks that have been 
conducted on six past Space Shuttle missions. The tests 
are designed to evaluate equipment and techniques and 
build experience among astronauts and ground controllers 
in preparation for assembly of the International Space 
Station. Past EDFT spacewalks have evaluated equipment 
ranging from the labeling to be used on the exterior of 
the station to the nuts and bolts to be used as 
connectors.

     In addition to retrieving the MEEP, Parazynski and 
Titov will continue an evaluation of the Simplified Aid 
For EVA Rescue (SAFER), a small jet-backpack designed 
for use as a type of life jacket during station 
assembly. Originally evaluated on Shuttle mission STS-
64, the SAFER is designed to be worn by astronauts 
during station spacewalks to allow them to fly back to 
the station under their own power in the event they 
become untethered. The SAFER unit to be tested on STS-86 
is the first flight production model. Parazynski and 
Titov will be wearing the devices, and, while remaining 
tethered and in a foot restraint, they will evaluate the 
deployment of the hand controller and the firing of the 
automatic attitude hold feature. Firing the automatic 
attitude hold feature while the astronauts are in a foot 
restraint will test the firing mechanisms in the device, 
such as the valves and gas thrusters. The astronauts 
will not perform any free-flight testing of the SAFER as 
was performed on STS-64.

     Parazynski and Titov also will evaluate equipment 
designed to be compatible for use by spacewalkers on the 
U.S. and Russian segments of the International Space 
Station. The evaluations will include a Universal Foot 
Restraint designed to hold the boots of both U.S. and 
Russian spacesuits; common safety, equipment and body 
restraint tethers; and a common tool carrier.


MIR Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP)

     The Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) is 
managed by NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, 
and has been studying the frequency and effects of space 
debris striking the Mir space station.  MEEP has been 
gathering data on human-made and natural space debris, 
capturing some debris for later study.  It was attached 
to Mirs Docking Module during a spacewalk by two 
Shuttle astronauts during the STS-76 mission in March 
1996.

     The MEEP payload has also exposed selected and 
proposed International Space Station materials to the 
effects of space and orbital debris to determine the 
reactions of the materials to the space environment. 
Because the International Space Station will be placed 
in approximately the same Earth orbit as Mir, flying 
MEEP aboard Mir is giving researchers an opportunity to 
test materials for the International Space Station in a 
comparable orbital position. 

     MEEP consists of four separate experiments. The 
Polished  Plate Micrometeoroid and Debris experiment is 
designed to study how often space debris hit the 
station, the sizes of these debris, the source of the 
debris, and the damage the debris would do if it hit the 
station. The Orbital Debris Collector experiment is 
designed to capture orbital debris and return them to 
Earth to determine what the debris are made of and their 
possible origins.

     The Passive Optical Sample Assembly I and II 
experiments consist of various materials that are 
intended for use on the International Space Station.  
These materials include paint samples, glass coatings, 
multi-layer insulation and a variety of metallic 
samples.

     The four MEEP experiments have been attached to Mir 
for more than a year.  The data will be studied to 
determine what kind of debris hit the space station and 
how those contaminants can actually collect on some of 
the different surfaces of a space station, affecting its 
surfaces and long-term performance. 

     The four MEEP experiments will be carried back in 
Atlantis' cargo bay.  They will be contained in four 
Passive  Experiment Carriers (PEC)  two in front of, 
and two behind the Orbiter Docking System.

Phase 1 Research Program

    The Phase 1 Program consists of nine Shuttle-Mir 
dockings and seven long-duration flights of U.S. 
astronauts aboard the Russian space station between 
early 1995 and mid 1998. The U.S. astronauts will launch 
and land on a Shuttle and serve as Mir crewmembers for 
flight durations ranging from 127 to 187 days, while the 
Mir cosmonauts stay approximately 180 days and 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 Mir, as well as returning experimental 
samples and data to Earth. 

    The Mir 24 mission began when the cosmonaut crew 
launched on August 5, 1997, in a Soyuz vehicle and 
docked with the Mir two days later. Michael Foale joined 
the Mir 23 crew with the May 17, 1997, docking of 
Atlantis during Mission STS-84. The return of Atlantis 
on STS-86 will conclude some experiments, continue 
others and commence still others. Data gained from the 
mission will supply insight for the planning and 
development of the International Space Station, Earth-
based sciences of human and biological processes and the 
advancement of commercial technology. 

Science Overview 

    As scientists learn more about the effects of the 
space environment, they continue to develop questions 
from the fields of human life sciences, fundamental 
biology, biotechnology, material sciences, and 
spacecraft structural and environmental dynamics.  
Valuable scientific information regarding these subjects 
will be returned from the NASA/Mir Program disciplines 
of advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental 
biology, human life sciences, International Space 
Station risk mitigation, microgravity sciences and space 
sciences. This knowledge will assist researchers in 
developing future space stations, science programs and 
procedures for those facilities, and advance the 
knowledge base of these areas to the benefit of all 
people on Earth. 

    The advanced technology discipline will evaluate new 
technologies and techniques using Mir as a test bed.  
Self-contained experiments in biotechnology, as well as 
pioneering work in space based metallurgy, will be 
conducted.

    Earth sciences research in ocean biochemistry, land 
surface hydrology and meteorology will be performed. 
Observation and documentation of transient natural and 
human-induced changes will be accomplished with the use 
of  hand-held photography. Residence in Earth orbit will 
allow for documentation of atmospheric conditions, 
unpredictable events, and ecological and seasonal 
changes over long time periods. 

    Fundamental biology research continues  
investigations to study the radiation environment of 
Mir, particularly in the area of charged particles. 

    Human life sciences research consists of 
investigations that focus on the crewmembers' adaptation 
to weightlessness in terms of skeletal muscle and bone 
changes, the cardiovascular system, psychological 
interactions and metabolism. In the Space Medicine 
Program, environmental factors such as water quality, 
air quality, surface assessment for microbes, and crew 
microbiology will be assessed. These ambitious 
investigations will continue the characterization of the 
integrated human responses to a prolonged presence in 
space. 

    The International Space Station risk mitigation 
discipline consists of several technology demonstrations 
associated with human factors and maintenance of crew 
health and safety aboard the space station. In order to 
improve the design and operation of the International 
Space Station, information is gathered to fully evaluate 
the Mir interior and exterior environments. This 
discipline includes investigations of radio 
interference, particle impact on the station, docked 
configuration stability, water microbiological 
monitoring and radiation monitoring. 

     Microgravity research will advance scientific 
understanding through research in biotechnology, crystal 
growth and materials science. The ambient acceleration 
and vibration environment of Mir will be characterized 
to support future research programs. 

    Most of the Mir 24/NASA research will be conducted 
on the Mir; however, Shuttle-based experiments will be 
conducted in the middeck or Spacehab modules of STS-86. 

Human Life Sciences 

     The task of safely keeping men and women in space 
for long durations, whether they are doing research in 
Earth orbit or exploring other planets in our solar 
system, requires continued improvement in our 
understanding of the effects of spaceflight factors on 
the ways humans live and work. The Human Life Sciences 
(HLS) project has a set of investigations planned for 
the Mir 24/NASA 6 mission to determine how the body 
adapts to weightlessness and other space flight factors, 
including the psychological aspects of a confined 
environment and how they readapt to Earth's 
gravitational forces. The results of these 
investigations will guide the development of ways to 
minimize any negative effects so that crewmembers can 
remain healthy and efficient during long flights, as 
well as after their return to Earth. 



International Space Station Risk Mitigation

    The Space Portable Spetroreflectometer (SPSR) is a 
new tool designed to measure the effects of the space 
environment on spacecraft materials.  This is the first 
hand-held, battery-powered device of its kind, allowing 
astronauts to measure actual spacecraft devices, rather 
than relying on information gathered from samples.  
During Extravehicular Activity (EVA) operations 
scheduled later this year, cosmonauts and astronauts 
will use this device to measure how much energy is being 
absorbed by the thermal control coatings, or radiator 
surfaces, of the Mir space station.  Radiators, which 
are used to shed excess heat from the spacecraft, play a 
vital role as part of the station's cooling system.  

     Measurements will be used to determine the 
deterioration of radiator surfaces caused by the space 
environment. The radiator surfaces of Mir are very 
similar to those being manufactured for the 
International Space Station.  Based on ground testing, 
researchers have constructed models of expected 
deterioration for the Space Station. The SPSR will 
provide valuable data for determining how materials 
degrade when exposed to the space environment.    

     The Space Portable Spectroreflectometer was built 
for the Space Environments and Effects program at NASA's 
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL by AZ 
Technology, In. of Huntsville.
 
 Microgravity

    The Interferometer to study Protein Crystal Growth 
(IPCG) -- flying for the first time on STS-86 and the 
NASA 6 mission --  is an instrument designed to yield 
valuable preliminary data on how protein crystal growth 
differs in the microgravity environment of space.  
Researchers also hope to develop technologies and 
methods to improve the protein crystal growth process, 
which may help unlock future answers to the molecular 
structure of targeted proteins, leading to the 
development of new, disease-fighting drugs.

     The IPCG hardware will be transported to the Mir on 
STS-86 and installed in the microgravity glovebox for 
experiment operations.  Once installed, the 
interferometer, an instrument for measuring wavelengths 
of light, collects and stores optical information on a 
growing crystal in the facility, showing growth in form 
and structure, as well as in change in concentration of 
the protein solution surrounding the crystal.  A total 
of three experiments will be conducted on six fluid 
systems.   The IPCG hardware will be removed from the 
glovebox and returned to stowage at the completion of 
the experiments and returned on STS-89.
Dr. Alexander McPherson, University of California, 
Irvine, is the principal investigator of the IPCG 
experiment.

     The Canadian Protein Crystallization Experiment 
(CAPE) is a biotechnology flight experiment developed by 
Canadian Space Agency scientists that could help lead to 
advanced treatment and possible cures for some 
debilitating diseases as well as bacterial and viral 
infections.   Some of the diseases targeted include 
cancer, meningitis, cystic fibrosis, emphphysema, 
diabetes, Alzheimers, breast cancer and hypertension.
 
     CAPE consists of wells, or small test tubes, which 
will be processed over a period  of  several months 
aboard the Mir.  Of the 700 wells available for the 
project, the majority will contain samples of 32 
different proteins from 15 Canadian universities and 
research institutions.  Forty-four wells will contain 
student experiments. 

     Because protein crystals are fragile, it is 
difficult to grow adequately large or perfect protein 
crystals in Earth-based laboratories.  However, the 
microgravity environment of space does not present 
gravity-induced effects such as sedimentation and 
convection to disrupt the growth of  these fragile 
crystals.  The chance of growing larger, more perfect 
crystals is greatly improved. and may significantly 
accelerate drug development research.

    Coordination and integration of the experiment with 
the Shuttle/Mir Flight Program is managed by NASA's 
Microgravity Research Program at Marshall Space Flight 
Center in Huntsville, AL.


ESA ACTIVITIES ON STS-86

     The European Space Agency (ESA) is again sponsoring 
a test of a European laser docking system that will be 
tested for the second time during the Shuttle's approach 
and departure from Mir.  A GPS receiver and an optical 
rendezvous sensor on the Shuttle, together with 
equipment already installed on Mir, will be operated in 
an enactment of how ESA's unmanned Automated Transfer 
Vehicle (ATV) will approach and depart the International 
Space Station when it delivers supplies to it early in 
the next century.

     During the long-range approach to Mir (starting 3 
hours before docking), ESA's receivers on Atlantis and 
Mir will receive data from Navstar Global Positioning 
Satellites on the position of the other craft. The 
accuracy of that relative navigational data will later 
be compared with true data from the Shuttles rendezvous 
radar.

When the Shuttle is 170 feet from Mir, the short-range 
experiment will begin. Navigation will be handed over to 
the optical rendezvous sensor. Data will later be 
compared with "true" figures, this time supplied by the 
NASA Trajectory Control System (TCS), a laser ranging 
device in the payload bay.

     The experiments will be repeated during Atlantis' 
departure from Mir. As the Shuttle backs away from Mir 
through a corridor similar to that used during approach, 
periodic stops will be made to "stationkeep" in order to 
collect data for the European laser docking sensor.  
Atlantis will continue backing away from Mir until it 
reaches a distance of 600 feet below the Mir.

     This test is last in a series of three flight 
demonstrations. The GPS elements of the system were 
tested on STS-80 in November 1996 and the first full 
flight test was done on the sixth Shuttle-Mir docking 
mission in May 1997.


STS-86 EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES


SEEDS-II

     The Seeds in Space-II experiment will passively 
expose a group of tomato seeds, in hand-sewn dacron 
bags, to the vacuum of space.  Seeds flown in the SEEDS-
II payload will be compared with a control group of 
seeds and an experimental group of seeds located in an 
underwater habitat in Key Largo, Florida.  Upon 
completion of the mission, all of the seeds will be 
distributed to schools for education and outreach 
purposes.  The students will compare the experimental 
seeds with the control group seeds.  The experiment is 
designed to increase student awareness of the 
similarities and complexities involved in the hostile 
ocean and space environments.

     The SEEDS-II is a passive payload and does not 
require any power or crew interaction.  The payload will 
be self-contained within a standard, unsealed 2.5 ft GAS 
canister that will be exposed to space for the duration 
of the mission.


KIDSAT

     The STS-86 mission will support the third and final 
flight of KidSat, NASA's pilot education program that 
uses an electronic still camera aboard the Shuttle to 
bring the frontiers of space exploration to a growing 
number of U.S. middle school classrooms via the 
Internet.

     KidSat is a NASA-sponsored research and development 
project that links middle school, high school and 
university students to Space Shuttle missions.  The 
mission of KidSat is to understand and demonstrate how 
middle school students can actively make observations of 
the Earth by using mounted cameras onboard the Space 
Shuttle to conduct scientific inquiry in support of 
their middle school curricula.  Students engage in a 
process to select and analyze images of the Earth during 
Shuttle flights and use the tools of modern science 
(computers, data analysis tools and the Internet) to 
widely disseminate the images and results.  A team 
environment, modeling scientific research and space 
operations and promoting student growth, discovery and 
achievement, while helping students participate in 
solving real-world problems, is implemented.

     These students remotely operate a Kodak electronic 
still camera, mounted in the right overhead window on 
the flight-deck of the Space Shuttle, to take digital 
photographs of the Earth.  Middle school students are 
responsible for planning the photo requests, which 
involves calculating the longitude and latitude of a 
region, as well as the exact time the Shuttle flies over 
it.  High school and university students then compile 
the requests into a single control file that is 
forwarded by KidSat representatives at the Johnson Space 
Center (JSC) in Houston to the IBM Thinkpad connected to 
the camera.  Using special flight software, the Thinkpad 
automatically commands the camera to snap the pictures 
requested by the middle schools.  These pictures then 
retrace their path back down to Earth where they reach 
their final destination -- a computer archive.  Students 
then can access their pictures from this archive, using 
the Internet.

     KidSat has flown on two previous Shuttle missions:  
the first was in March 1996 (STS-76) and the second in 
January 1997 (STS-81).  STS-86 marks the third and final 
mission of this pilot program.  Three U.S. middle 
schools participated in the first flight.  Since then, 
KidSat has been growing; there were 15 schools 
participating during the STS-81 mission, and 52 schools 
will participate during the STS-86 flight.

     Over 300 photos were taken during STS-76, and 
another 500 were taken during STS-81.  These can be 
accessed at the following URL: 

                    http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat/ 

     The three-year pilot program is a partnership 
between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the 
University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and the 
Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic 
Advancement of Youth (JHU-IAAY).

     During the Shuttle mission, the KidSat mission 
operations center at UCSD is staffed by undergraduate 
and high school students.  The center is modeled after 
Mission Control at JSC.  The students receive telemetry 
from the Shuttle on their computer monitors and can 
listen to and receive instructions from NASA's flight 
controllers over direct channels to JSC. 

     The KidSat mission operations team monitors the 
Shuttle's progress around the clock and continually 
provides up-to-date information to the middle schools, 
which are using the Internet to send instructions to 
photograph specific regions of the Earth.  Since any 
change in the Shuttle's orbit can affect students' 
selections, UCSD constantly updates this information so 
that the middle schools may re-plan their photographic 
requests if necessary.  This is done through a 
sophisticated World Wide Web site that allows students 
access to interactive maps of orbit ground tracks to aid 
in photo selection.

     When the image requests have been verified by 
KidSat mission operations, they are compiled into a 
single camera control file and forwarded electronically 
to the KidSat representatives at JSC.  They pass this 
file on to flight controllers who uplink it to an IBM 
Thinkpad connected to the KidSat camera.  Software on 
the Thinkpad, developed by students working at JPL, uses 
these commands to control the camera.  These same 
students trained the astronauts on the use of the 
software and the installation of the KidSat camera in 
the Shuttle's overhead window.  

     After the photographs are taken, they are sent back 
down to the KidSat data system at JPL, staffed by high 
school students during the mission and posted on the 
World Wide Web for the students to study and analyze.  
The curriculum used by the middle school students and 
teachers is being developed by the JHU-IAAY and UCSD.

     Some of the topics the students explored during the 
previous KidSat missions were weather, biomes, the 
relationship between history and geography and the 
patterns of rivers on the landscape.  Additional 
interests for these missions included searching for 
impact craters and studying the relationships of center 
pivot irrigation fields to available water supply.

     The KidSat pilot program is sponsored by NASA's 
Office of Human Resources and Education, with support 
from the Offices of Space Flight, Mission to Planet 
Earth, and Space Science. 



COMMERCIAL PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROWTH (CPCG)

     The Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) 
payload is comprised of a Commercial 
Refrigerator/Incubator Module (CRIM) designed as a 
generic carrier, and the Commercial Vapor Diffusion 
Apparatus (CVDA) experiment.  The primary objective of 
the CVDA experiment is to produce large, high-quality 
crystals of selected proteins under controlled 
conditions in microgravity.  Crystals of sufficient size 
and suitable quality are essential for protein 
crystallographic analysis of molecular structures via X-
ray diffraction and computer modeling.

The vapor diffusion method of protein crystal growth is 
a technique by which protein crystallization is 
initiated through change in protein/precipitant 
concentrations.  Water vapor is transported from a 
droplet protein/precipitant solution at a given pH to a 
reservoir containing a relatively high concentration of 
precipitating agent.  The process is driven by drop-
reservoir vapor pressure difference in a closed volume.  
Typical precipitating agents are ammonium sulfate, 
sodium chloride, polyethylene glycol, and methyl pentane 
diol.

The CVDA design provides a better thermal environment 
for samples as well as providing a larger number of 
experiments per CRIM, 128 as compared with 60 per old 
VDA configuration.  Each CVDA Chamber Block consists of 
four experiment chambers per row.  The assembly will 
have eight rows of experiment chambers, thus 128 per 
assembly.


COSMIC RADIATION EFFECTS AND ACTIVATION MONITOR 
(CREAM)

     The Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor 
will be used to collect data on cosmic ray energy loss 
spectra, neutron fluxes and induced radioactivity as a 
function of geomagnetic coordinates and detector 
location within the orbiter.  Payload hardware consists 
of the active cosmic ray monitor, a passive 
scintillation crystal canister, two neutron 
spectrometers and 10 passive detector packages.  The 
active monitor will be used to obtain real-time spectral 
data, while the passive monitors will obtain data 
integrated over the mission duration.  An additional 
control passive detector package will be used for 
obtaining background data prior to launch.

     The CREAM active monitor is a box containing 
sensors and associated electronics and solid-state 
memory.  The active monitor will be rotated between two 
passive package locations throughout the mission.  CREAM 
uses three different types of passive detectors.  The 
first is a set of scintillation crystals packaged in an 
aluminum canister that will remain in a central location 
within Mir throughout the mission.
 
     There are also passive detector packages, which 
contain nickel and gold activation foils, neutron bubble 
dosimeters and thermoluminescent dosimeters.  Eight of 
these packages will be placed in four specific locations 
within Mir, while the remaining two will remain in the 
central location within Mir.  The third type of passive 
detector is the neutron spectrometer, which consists of 
three identical sets of six gel-filled test tubes.  The 
"test tubes," or neutron bubble detectors, are designed 
to measure specific energy thresholds of the neutron 
environment within Mir.


CELL CULTURE MODULE-A (CCM-A)

     The Cell Culture Module-A payload was formerly 
known as the Space Tissue Loss / National Institutes of 
Health-Cells Configuration A.  The payload objectives 
are to validate models for muscle, bone and endothelial 
cell biochemical and functional loss induced by 
microgravity stress; to evaluate cytoskeleton, 
metabolism, membrane integrity and protease activity in 
target cells; and to test tissue loss pharmaceuticals 
for efficacy.  The experiment unit fits into a single 
standard middeck locker that has a modified locker door 
with its panels removed.  The unit takes in and vents 
air to the cabin via the front panel.  The experiment is 
powered and functions continuously from pre-launch 
through post-landing.

     The analysis module includes the sealed fluid path 
assembly containing the cells under study, all media for 
sustained growth, automated drug delivery provisions for 
testing of candidate pharmaceuticals, inline vital 
activity and physical environment monitors, integral 
fraction collection capabilities and cell fixation 
facilities.

     Experiment activities can be performed without any 
crew intervention other than initiation of the 
experiment at the beginning of on-orbit payload 
operations and termination of the experiment prior to 
deorbit preparation.

SHUTTLE IONOSPHERIC MODIFICATION WITH PULSED 
LOCAL EXHAUST  (SIMPLEX)

     The Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed 
Local Exhaust payload of opportunity has no flight 
hardware; orbiter OMS thruster firings will be used to 
create ionospheric disturbances for observation by the 
SIMPLEX radars.  SIMPLEX has three different radar sites 
used for collecting data:  1) Arecibo, 2) Kwajalein, and 
3) Jicamarca.  One of the radar sites (Arecibo) will 
also use a low-level laser to observe the effects on the 
ionosphere resulting from the thruster firing.

     The objective of the SIMPLEX activity is to 
determine the source of Very High Frequency (VHF) radar 
echoes caused by the Orbiter and its OMS engine firings.  
The principal investigator (PI) will use the collected 
data to examine the effects of orbital kinetic energy on 
ionospheric irregularities and to understand the 
processes that take place with the venting of exhaust 
materials.  SIMPLEX sensors may collect data during any 
encounter opportunity when the orbiter support 
activities meet the criteria defined.



STS-86 CREW BIOGRAPHIES


James D. Wetherbee (Commander, USN) 
STS-86 Mission Commander

PERSONAL DATA -  Born November 27, 1952, in Flushing, 
New York. Considers Huntington Station, New York, his 
hometown. Married to the former Robin DeVore Platt of 
Jacksonville, Florida. They have two children. He enjoys 
tennis, skiing, softball,  running, and music. His 
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dana A. Wetherbee, reside in 
Huntington Station, New York. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. 
Harry T. Platt, Jr., reside in Jacksonville, Florida. 

EDUCATION - Graduated from Holy Family Diocesan High 
School, South Huntington, New York, in 1970; received a 
bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from 
the University of Notre Dame in 1974. 

ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the Society of Experimental 
Test Pilots. 

SPECIAL HONORS - Distinguished Flying Cross; Navy 
Achievement Medal; two Meritorious Unit Commendations. 

EXPERIENCE - Wetherbee received his commission in the 
United States Navy in 1975 and was designated a naval 
aviator in December 1976. After training in the A-7E, he 
was assigned to Attack Squadron 72 (VA-72) from August 
1977 to November 1980 aboard the USS John F. Kennedy and 
logged 125 night carrier landings. After attending the 
U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland, 
in 1981 he was assigned to the Systems Engineering Test 
Directorate. He was a project officer and test pilot for 
the weapons delivery system and avionics integration for 
the F/A-18 aircraft.  Subsequently assigned to Strike 
Fighter Squadron 132 (VFA-132), Wetherbee flew 
operationally in the F/A-18 from January 1984 until his 
selection for the astronaut candidate program. He has 
logged over 4,200 hours flying time and 345 carrier 
landings in 20 different types of aircraft. 

NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in May 1984, 
Wetherbee became an astronaut in June 1985. A veteran of 
three space flights, Wetherbee has logged over 696 hours 
in space. He was the pilot on STS-32 in 1990, and was 
the mission commander on STS-52 in 1992 and STS-63 in 
1995. From February to December 1996, Wetherbee served 
as Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center. 
Wetherbee will command an international crew on STS-86, 
NASA's seventh Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock 
with the Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled 
for September 1997.

STS-32 Columbia (January 9-20, 1990) saw the successful 
deployment of the Syncom IV-F5 satellite, and retrieval 
of the 21,400-pound Long Duration Exposure Facility 
(LDEF) using the remote manipulator system (RMS). The 
crew also operated a variety of middeck experiments and 
conducted numerous medical test objectives, including 
in-flight aerobic exercise and muscle performance to 
evaluate human adaptation to extended duration missions. 
Mission duration
was 261 hours, 01 minute, 38 seconds. 

STS-52 Columbia (October 22 to November 1, 1992) 
successfully deployed the Laser Geodynamic Satellite  
(LAGEOS), a joint Italian-American project. The crew 
also operated the first U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP) 
with French and American experiments, and successfully 
completed the initial flight tests of the Canadian-built 
Space Vision System (SVS). Mission duration was 236 
hours, 56 minutes, 13 seconds. 

STS-63 Discovery (February 2-11, 1995), was the first 
flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program.  
Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the 
Russian Space Station, Mir, operation of Spacehab, and 
the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. The mission 
was accomplished in 129 orbits, travelling over 2.9 
million miles in 198 hours, 29 minutes.


Michael J. Bloomfield (Major, USAF) 
STS-86 Pilot 

PERSONAL DATA - Born March 16, 1959, in Flint, Michigan. 
Considers Lake Fenton, Michigan, to be his hometown. 
Married to the former Lori Ann Miller. They have two 
children He enjoys reading, gardening, all sporting 
activities including running, softball, skiing, and any 
activity with his children His parents, Rodger and 
Maxine Bloomfield, reside in Linden, Michigan. Her 
parents, Dave and Donna Miller, reside in Albuquerque, 
New Mexico. 

EDUCATION - Graduated from Lake Fenton High School, 
Fenton, Michigan, in 1977. Bachelor of science degree in 
engineering mechanics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, 
1981. Master of science degree in engineering management 
from Old Dominion University, 1993. 

ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the United States Air Force 
Academy Association of Graduates, the Air Force 
Association, and the Society of Experimental Test 
Pilots. 

SPECIAL HONORS - Captain, 1980 United States Air Force 
Academy Falcon Football Team. Voted to the 1980 WAC All-
Academic Football Team. Commanders Trophy winner as top 
graduate from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training 
(1983).  Distinguished Graduate of USAF Test Pilot 
School Class 92A. Awarded the Air Force Meritorious 
Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the 
Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal. 

EXPERIENCE - Bloomfield graduated from the USAF Academy 
in 1981. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at 
Vance Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, in 1983, and was 
selected to fly the F-15. From 1983 until 1986, he 
served as a combat ready pilot and instructor pilot in 
the F-15 at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. In 1987, 
Bloomfield was re-assigned to Bitburg Air Base, Germany, 
where he served as an F-15 instructor pilot and 
completed the United States Fighter Weapons Instructor 
Course. In 1989 he was subsequently assigned to the 48th 
Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Langley AFB, Virginia. 
serving as an F-15 squadron weapons officer until 1992, 
when he was selected for the USAF Test Pilot School. 
Honored as a distinguished graduate in 1992, Bloomfield 
remained at Edwards AFB, California, where he conducted 
tests in all models of the F-16. While a member of the 
416th Flight Test Squadron, Bloomfield served as 
squadron safety officer and as squadron flight 
commander. In March 1995, he was assigned to NASA as an 
astronaut candidate. 

NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in December 1994, 
Bloomfield reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 
1995, has completed a year of training and evaluation, 
and is currently qualified for assignment as a shuttle 
pilot. He was initially assigned to work technical 
issues for the Operations Planning Branch of the 
Astronaut Office. He is currently assigned to serve as 
pilot on STS-86, NASA's seventh Shuttle mission to 
rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. 
Launch is scheduled for September 1997. 



Vladimir Georgievich Titov (Colonel, Russian Air 
Force) 
Russian Cosmonaut / STS-86 Mission Specialist

PERSONAL DATA - Born January 1, 1947, in Sretensk, in 
the Chita Region of Russia. Married to the former 
Alexandra Kozlova of Ivanovo Region, Russia. They have 
two children. He enjoys tennis, hunting, and spending 
time with his family. His mother, Vera Titova, resides 
in Star City, Russia. His father, Georgie Titov, died in 
1961. Her parents, Ruric and Alevtina Kozlov,
reside in Ivanovo Region. 

EDUCATION - Graduated from secondary school in 1965, 
from the Higher Air Force College in Chernigov in the 
Ukraine in 1970, and the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy 
in 1987. 

SPECIAL HONORS - Awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet 
Union, and recipient of the Order of Lenin (1983, 1988). 
In 1988, the French awarded him the title of Commandeur 
de la Legion d'Honneur, and in 1990 he and Manarov were 
awarded the U.S. Harmon Prize -- the first Soviet 
citizens to win the award -- in recognition of their 
world endurance record. 

EXPERIENCE - In 1966, Vladimir Titov enrolled at the 
Higher Air Force College in Chernigov in the Ukraine, 
graduating in 1970. Until 1974, he served at the College 
as a pilot-instructor and was responsible for the 
graduation of twelve student pilots. He later served as 
a flight commander with the air regiment where the 
cosmonauts carry out flying practice. He has flown 10 
different types of aircraft, has logged more than 1,400 
hours flying time, and holds the qualifications of 
Military Pilot, 1st Class, and Test Pilot, 3rd Class. 

Vladimir Titov was selected to join the cosmonaut team 
in 1976, and in September 1981 was paired with Gennady 
Strekalov. The two men served as the back-up crew for 
Soyuz T-5 in 1982 and Soyuz T-9 in 1983. A three-flight 
veteran, Titov served as commander on Soyuz T-8 and 
Soyuz T-10 in 1983, and Soyuz TM-4 in 1987. He has 
logged a total of 13 hours 47 minutes of EVA, and has 
spent a total of 367 days, 23 hours, 2 minutes, and 18 
seconds in space
(including the Soyuz T-10 launch abort).

Titov made his first space flight on April 20, 1983, as 
commander of Soyuz T-8. He and Strekalov had been 
specifically trained to repair the faulty Salyut 7 solar 
array. He was supposed to dock with Salyut 7, but once 
in orbit the Soyuz rendezvous radar antenna failed to 
deploy properly. Several attitude control maneuvers at 
high rates were made but failed to swing the boom out. 
(The postflight inquiry later discovered that the 
antenna had been torn off when the Soyuz payload shroud 
separated.) With FCC permission, the crew attempted a 
rendezvous using only an optical sight and ground radar 
inputs for guidance. During the final approach, which 
was made in darkness, Titov believed that the closing 
speed was too great. He therefore attempted a braking 
maneuver, but felt that the two spacecrafts were still 
closing too fast. He aborted the rendezvous to avoid a 
crash, and no further attempts were made before the 
three men returned to Earth after a flight lasting just 
2 days, 17 minutes, and 48 seconds.

Titov and Strekalov were then scheduled for launch on 
board what should have been Soyuz T-10 on September 27, 
1983. However, a valve in the propellant line failed to 
close at T-90 seconds, causing a large fire to start at 
the base of the launch vehicle only one minute before 
launch. The fire quickly engulfed the rocket, and the 
automatic abort sequence failed as the wires involved 
burned through. Two launch controllers manually aborted 
the mission by sending radio commands from the launch 
blockhouse. This was accomplished 12 seconds after the 
fire began. The Soyuz descent module was pulled clear by 
the launch escape system, and after being subjected to 
15-17 G's, the crew landed safely some 2.5 miles (4 km) 
from the launch vehicle, which apparently exploded 
seconds after the Soyuz separated. The two men were 
given a medical check-up, but had sustained no injuries 
during their brief flight which lasted 5 minutes and 30 
seconds.

Titov was next assigned to command Soyuz TM-2. He and 
his flight engineer, Alexander Serebrov, were scheduled 
for a long-duration flight on board Mir 1. Six-days 
prior to launch, due to doubts about Serebrov's health, 
they were replaced by the back-up crew. Titov continued 
training for a long-duration mission, and in April 1987 
was paired with Musa Manarov. Later that year, he 
graduated from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy while 
continuing his work at
the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

His next assignment came as the commander of Soyuz TM-4, 
which launched on December 21, 1987. Together with Musa 
Manarov and Anatoli Levchenko, he linked up with the 
orbiting Mir 1 space station and her crew. After a short 
period of joint work, Romanenko, Alexandrov, and 
Levchenko returned to Earth handing over the space 
station to Titov and Manarov. The two men settled down 
to a long program of scientific experiments and 
observations, and played host to the visiting Soyuz TM-5 
and TM-6 missions. At the end of the Soyuz TM-6 visit, 
one of its crew, Dr. Valeri Polyakov, remained on board 
with Titov and Manarov.

On February 26, 1988, the two cosmonauts carried out an 
EVA lasting 4 hours and 25 minutes, during which they 
removed one of the sections of the solar panel and 
installed a new one. They also installed some new 
scientific experiments and removed samples of material 
that had been left exposed to open space, and inspected 
the Progress 34 spacecraft. 

On June 30, 1988, they attempted a repair on the 
Roentgen X-ray telescope. The telescope had not been 
designed for repair or replacement so the EVA was a 
difficult one. As they sliced through the 20-layer thick 
thermal blanket to expose the telescope's faulty X-ray 
detector unit, the two men had to stop and rest several 
times, as they had nowhere to anchor themselves, and had 
to take turns holding each other steady. Their bulky 
gloves made removing the small bolts very difficult, and 
it took 90 minutes instead of the 20 allocated. When a 
special wrench they were using suddenly snapped, the EVA 
had to be aborted, and the two men returned inside the 
Mir, having spent 5 hours and 10 minutes in open space. 

On October 20, 1988, repairs were successfully 
completed, and the X-ray telescope recommenced 
operations. The cosmonauts also installed some anchor 
points for the EVA scheduled for the joint Soviet-French 
mission, installed a new shortwave aerial, and took 
samples of a film which had formed over one of the 
portholes, before returning inside the Mir after 4 hours 
and 12 minutes. They then settled down to their program 
of experiments and observations. In November 1988, they 
played host to the joint Soviet-French mission. After 
three weeks of joint work, Titov and Manarov returned to 
Earth together with the French cosmonaut Jean-Loup 
Chretien. Titov and Manarov returned to Earth after a 
mission lasting 365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes, setting 
a new record, and exceeding one year in space for the 
first time. 

On October 28, 1992, NASA announced that an experienced 
cosmonaut would fly aboard the STS-60 Space Shuttle 
mission. Titov was one of two candidates named by the 
Russian Space Agency for mission specialist training at 
the Johnson Space Center. In April 1993, he was assigned 
as back-up mission specialist for Sergei Krikalev, who 
flew on STS-60 the first joint U.S./Russian Space 
Shuttle Mission (February 3-11, 1994). In September 
1993, Titov was selected to fly on STS-63 with Krikalev 
training as his back-up. 

From February 2-11, 1995, Titov was a mission specialist 
aboard the Orbiter Discovery, on STS-63, the first 
flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. 
Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the 
Russian Space Station, Mir, operation of Spacehab, and 
the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. In 
completing this mission, he logged an additional 198 
hours and 29 minutes in space.

CURRENT EXPERIENCE - Colonel Titov will serve as a 
mission specialist on STS-86, NASA's seventh scheduled 
Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian 
Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for September 
1997. 


Scott E. Parazynski (M.D.) 
STS-86 Mission Specialist

PERSONAL DATA - Born July 28, 1961, in Little Rock, 
Arkansas. Considers Palo Alto, California, and 
Evergreen, Colorado, to be his hometowns. Married to the 
former Gail Marie Vozzella. They have one son. He enjoys 
mountaineering, rock climbing, flying, scuba diving, 
skiing, travel, and nature photography.

EDUCATION - Attended junior high school in Dakar, 
Senegal, and Beirut, Lebanon. Attended high school at 
the Tehran American School, Iran, and the American 
Community School, Athens, Greece, graduating in 1979. He 
received a bachelor of science degree in biology from 
Stanford University in 1983, continuing on to graduate 
with honors from Stanford Medical School in 1989. He 
served his medical internship at the Brigham and Women's 
Hospital of Harvard Medical School (1990). He then 
completed 22 months of a residency in emergency medicine 
in Denver, Colorado, when selected to the astronaut 
program.

ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the Aerospace Medical 
Association, the American Society for Gravitational and 
Space Biology, the Wilderness Medical Society, the 
American Alpine Club, and the Association of Space 
Explorers.

SPECIAL HONORS - National Institutes of Health 
Predoctoral Training Award in Cancer Biology (1983). 
Rhodes Scholarship finalist (1984). NASA Graduate 
Student Researcher's Award (1988). Stanford Medical 
Scholars Program (1988). Research Honors Award from 
Stanford Medical School (1989). NASA-Ames Certificate of 
Recognition (1990). Wilderness Medical Society Research 
Award (1991). NASA Space Flight Medal (1994).

While in medical school he competed on the United States 
Development Luge Team and was ranked in the top 10 in 
the nation during the 1988 Olympic Trials. He also 
served as an Olympic Team Coach for the Philippines 
during the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Canada.

EXPERIENCE - While an undergraduate at Stanford 
University, Dr. Parazynski studied antigenic variation 
in African Sleeping Sickness, using sophisticated 
molecular biological techniques. While in medical 
school, he was awarded a NASA Graduate Student 
Fellowship and conducted research on fluid shifts that 
occur during human space flight. Additionally, he has 
been involved in the design of several exercise devices 
that are being developed for long-duration space flight, 
and has conducted research on high-altitude 
acclimatization. Dr. Parazynski has numerous 
publications in the field of space physiology, and has a 
particular expertise in human adaptation to stressful 
environments.

NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in March 1992, Dr. 
Parazynski reported to the Johnson Space Center in 
August 1992. He completed one year of training and 
evaluation, and qualified for assignment as a mission 
specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews. Dr. 
Parazynski initially served as one of the crew 
representatives for extravehicular activity in the 
Astronaut Office Mission Development Branch. He first 
flew in 1994 on STS-66 and has logged over 262 hours in 
space. He was then assigned as a backup for the third 
American long-duration stay aboard Russia's Space 
Station Mir, and was expected to serve as a prime crew 
member on a subsequent mission. He spent 5 months in 
training at the Gargarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Star 
City, Russia. In October 1995, when sitting-height 
parameters raised concerns about his fitting safely in 
the Soyuz vehicle in the event of an emergency on-board 
the Mir station, he was deemed too tall for the mission 
and was withdrawn from Mir training. He presently serves 
as the Astronaut Office Operations Planning Branch crew 
representative for Space Shuttle, Space Station and 
Soyuz training, and is assigned to the crew of STS-86.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT - Dr. Parazynski will serve as 
Mission Specialist-2 (Flight Engineer) on STS-86, NASA's 
seventh scheduled Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock 
with the Russian Space Station Mir. While docked, he and 
Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Titov will perform a 5-1/2 
hour EVA to retrieve experiments first deployed on Mir 
during the STS-76 docking mission. Launch is scheduled 
for September 1997.



Jean-Loup J.M. Chrtien (Brigadier-General, French 
Air Force) 
CNES Astronaut - STS-86 Mission Specialist 

PERSONAL DATA - Born August 20, 1938, in the town of La 
Rochelle, France. Married to Amy Kristine Jensen of New 
Canaan, Connecticut. Five children (one deceased). 
Hobbies include skiing in Winter and sailing in Summer. 
He also enjoys golf, wind-surfing, car-rallying and 
woodworking. In addition, he plays the church organ, and 
took an electric one with him during his first stay in 
Star City, Russia. His father, Jacques, was a Navy 
sailor, and his mother, the former Marie-Blanche 
Coudurier, was a housewife. Her parents, Nels and Betty 
Jensen, reside in Tarpon Springs, Florida. 

EDUCATION - Chrtien was educated at L'Ecole communale a 
Ploujean, the College Saint-Charles a Saint-Brieuc, and 
the Lycee de Morlaix. He entered L'Ecole de l' Air (the 
French Air Force Academy) at Salon deProvence in 1959, 
and graduated in 1961, receiving a master's degree in 
aeronautical engineering. 

ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the board of the Accademie de 
l' Air et de l' Espace, and the French Air and Space 
Museum. Counselor for Space Activities (Manned) to the 
President of Dassault Aviation. Counselor to the 
President of Air France. Member of the American 
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the 
International Academy of Astronautics, and the 
Association of Space Explorers. 

SPECIAL HONORS - Awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet 
Union. Recipient of the Order of Lenin; the Order of the 
Red Banner of Labor; Commandeur de la Lgion d'Honneur 
(Commander of the Order of the Legion of Honor); 
Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mrite (Knight of the 
National Order of Merit); Titulaire de la Mdaille de 
l'Aronautique (Holder of the Aeronautics Medal), and 
honorary citizenship of Arkalyk. 

EXPERIENCE - Chrtien received his fighter pilot/pilot-
engineer wings in 1962, after one year of training on 
Mystere-4's. He was promoted to Lieutenant, and joined 
the 5th Fighter Squadron in Orange, in the Southeast of 
France, where he served for seven years as a fighter-
pilot in an operational squadron flying Super-Mystere 
B2's and then Mirage III interceptors. In 1970, he was 
assigned to the French test pilots school, EPNER (Ecole 
du Personnel Navigant d'Essais et de Rception), then 
served as a test-pilot at the Istres Flight Test Center 
for seven years. During that time he was responsible for 
supervising the flight test program for the Mirage F-1 
fighter. In 1977-78, he was appointed Deputy Commander 
of the South Air Defense Division in Aix en Provence, 
and he served in this position until his selection as a 
cosmonaut in June 1980. Chrtien remained a French Air 
Force officer but was placed on detachment to CNES for 
his space flight activities ensuring his availability 
for future flights with the Shuttle (NASA), Mir (Soviet 
Union) or Spacelab (ESA). He has accumulated over 6000 
hours of flying time in various aircraft, including 
Russia's Tupolev 154, MIG 25, and Sukoi 26 and 27. A 
veteran of two space flights, Chrtien was the 10th 
Intercosmos cosmonaut, and has spent a total of 32 days 
15 hours 57 minutes and 52 seconds in space. 

In April 1979, the Soviet Union offered France the 
opportunity to fly a cosmonaut on board a joint Soviet-
French space flight, along the same lines as the 
agreement to fly non-Soviet cosmonauts from member 
countries of the Intercosmos program. The offer was 
accepted, and France began a cosmonaut selection program 
in September 1979. Chrtien was one of two finalists 
named on June 12, 1980. He started training at the Yuri 
Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in September 1980. The 
following year he was named as the research-cosmonaut 
for the prime crew of the Soyuz T-6 mission. 

Soyuz T-6 was launched on June 24, 1982, and Chrtien, 
Dzhanibekov and Ivanchenkov  linked up with Salyut 7 and 
joined the crew of Berezovoi and Lebedev already on 
board. They spent nearly seven days carrying out a 
program of joint Soviet-French experiments, including a 
series of French echography cardiovascular monitoring 
system experiments, before returning to Earth after a 
flight lasting 7 days 21 hours 50 minutes and 42 
seconds. 

Following the mission he was appointed Chief, CNES 
Astronaut Office. 

Chrtien was selected as the back-up payload specialist 
for STS-51G. During 1984-85, he participated in mission 
training at the Johnson Space Center. 

Chrtien made his second space flight as a research-
cosmonaut on board Soyuz TM-7, which launched on 
November 26, 1988. Together with Volkov and Krikalev, he 
linked up with Mir 1 and joined the crew of Titov 
Manarov and Polyakov already on board. They spent 22 
days carrying out a program of joint Soviet-French 
experiments, including a 5 hour 57 minute EVA by Volkov 
and Chrtien during which the two men installed the 
French ERA experimental deployable structure and a panel 
of material samples. In making the EVA, he became the 
first non-American and non-Soviet cosmonaut to walk in 
space. In addition, he was the first non-Soviet 
cosmonaut to make a second space flight aboard a Soviet 
spacecraft. The mission lasted 24 days 18 hours and 7 
minutes. 

During 1990-93, Chrtien participated in Buran 
spacecraft pilot training at the Moscow Joukovski 
Institute. He has also flown the Tupolev 154 and MIG 25 
aircraft, flying simulators equivalent to the Shuttle 
Training Aircraft (STA). 

Chrtien is fluent in English and Russian. 

NASA EXPERIENCE - Chrtien attended ASCAN Training at 
the Johnson Space Center during 1995. He was initially 
assigned to work technical issues for the Operations 
Planning Branch of the Astronaut Office. He is currently 
assigned as a mission specialist on STS-86, NASA's 
seventh Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the 
Russian Space Station Mir. Launch is scheduled for 
September 1997. 



Wendy B. Lawrence (Commander, USN) 
STS-86 Mission Specialist

PERSONAL DATA - Born July 2, 1959, in Jacksonville, 
Florida. She enjoys running, rowing, triathlons and 
gardening. Her father, Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence 
(USN, retired), resides in Crownsville, Maryland. Her 
mother, Anne Haynes, resides in Alvadore, Oregon. 

EDUCATION - Graduated from Fort Hunt High School, 
Alexandria, Virginia, in 1977; received a bachelor of 
science degree in ocean engineering from U.S Naval 
Academy in 1981; a master of science degree in ocean 
engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
(MIT) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 
(WHOI) in 1988. 

ORGANIZATIONS - Phi Kappa Phi; Association of Naval 
Aviation; Women Military Aviators; Naval Helicopter 
Association.

SPECIAL HONORS - Awarded the Defense Superior Service 
Medal, the NASA Space Flight Medal, the Navy 
Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal. 
Recipient of the National Navy League's Captain Winifred 
Collins Award for inspirational leadership (1986).

EXPERIENCE - Lawrence graduated from the United States 
Naval Academy in 1981. A distinguished flight school 
graduate, she was designated as a naval aviator in July 
1982. Lawrence has more than 1,500 hours flight time in 
six different types of helicopters and has made more 
than 800 shipboard landings. While stationed at 
Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SIX (HC-6), she was 
one of the first two female helicopter pilots to make a 
long deployment to the Indian Ocean as part of a carrier 
battle group. After completion of a master's degree 
program at MIT and WHOI in 1988, she was assigned to 
Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light THIRTY (HSL-30) 
as officer-in-charge of Detachment ALFA. In October 
1990, Lawrence reported to the U.S. Naval Academy where 
she served as a physics instructor and the novice 
women's crew coach. 

NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected by NASA in March 1992, 
Lawrence reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 
1992. She completed one year of training and is 
qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on 
future Space Shuttle missions. Her technical assignments 
within the Astronaut Office have included: flight 
software verification in the Shuttle Avionics 
Integration Laboratory (SAIL); Astronaut Office 
Assistant Training Officer. She flew on STS-67 in March 
1995. She served as Director of Operations for NASA at 
the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, 
Russia, with responsibility for the coordination and 
implementation of mission operations activities in the 
Moscow region for the joint U.S./Russian Shuttle/Mir 
program. In September 1996 she began training for a 4-
month mission on the Russian Space Station Mir, but in 
July 1997 NASA decided to replace Lawrence with her 
back-up, Dr. David Wolf. This decision enables Wolf to 
act as a backup crew member for spacewalks planned over 
the next several months to repair the damaged Spektr 
module on the Russian outpost. Lawrence will also fly 
with the STS-86 crew because of her knowledge and 
experience with Mir systems and with crew transfer 
logistics for the Mir.

Lawrence flew as the ascent/entry flight engineer and 
blue shift orbit pilot on STS-67 in March 1995. This 
mission was the second flight of the ASTRO observatory, 
a unique complement of three telescopes. During this 
record-setting 16-day mission, the crew conducted 
observations around the clock to study the far 
ultraviolet spectra of faint astronomical objects and 
the polarization of ultraviolet light coming from hot 
stars and distant galaxies. Mission duration was 399 
hours and 9 minutes.


David A. Wolf (M.D.) 
STS-86 / Mir 24 / STS-89

PERSONAL DATA - Born August 23, 1956, in Indianapolis, 
Indiana. Single. He enjoys sport aerobatic flying, scuba 
diving, handball, running, and water skiing. His 
parents, Dr. and Mrs. Harry Wolf, reside in 
Indianapolis.

EDUCATION - Graduated from North Central High School, 
Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1974; received a bachelor of 
science degree in electrical engineering from Purdue 
University in 1978, and a doctorate of medicine from 
Indiana University in 1982. He completed his medical 
internship (1983) at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, 
Indiana, and USAF flight surgeon primary training at 
Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the Institute of Electrical 
and Electronics Engineers; the Aerospace Medical 
Association; the Experimental Aircraft Association; the 
International Aerobatic Club; and the Air National 
Guard.

SPECIAL HONORS - Recipient of the NASA Exceptional 
Engineering Achievement Medal (1990); NASA Inventor of 
the Year, 1992. Dr. Wolf graduated "with distinction" 
from the honors curriculum in electrical engineering at 
Purdue University and received an Academic Achievement 
Award upon graduation from medical school. He received 
the Carl R. Ruddell scholarship award for research in 
medical ultrasonic signal and image processing.  He is a 
member of Eta Kappa Knu and Phi Eta Sigma honorary 
societies. Dr. Wolf has received 11 U.S. Patents and 
over 20 Space Act Awards for 3-dimensional tissue 
engineering technologies earning the Texas State Bar 
Patent of the Year in 1994. He has published over 40 
technical papers.

EXPERIENCE - As a research scientist at the Indianapolis 
Center for Advanced Research from 1980 to 1983, he 
developed digital signal and image processing techniques 
utilizing matched filter detection of high time-
bandwidth product transmissions producing "state of the 
art" high resolution medical ultrasonic images to the 
100 micron level. He also developed new doppler 
demodulation techniques extending the range velocity 
product limitation of conventional pulsed doppler 
systems. He is a USAF senior flight surgeon in the Air 
National Guard (1982 to present) and is a member of the 
Board of Directors of the National Inventors Hall of 
Fame. He has logged over 2000 hours of flight time 
including air combat training as a weapons systems 
officer (F4 Phantom jet), T-38 Talon, and competition 
aerobatics (PITTS Special and Christen Eagle). 

NASA EXPERIENCE - In 1983, Dr. Wolf joined the Medical 
Sciences Division, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. 
He was responsible for development of the American 
Flight Echocardiograph for investigating cardiovascular 
physiology in microgravity. Upon completion he was 
assigned as chief engineer for design of the Space 
Station medical facility. In 1986 he was assigned to 
direct development of the Space Bioreactor and 
associated tissue engineering and cancer research 
applications utilizing controlled gravitational 
conditions. This resulted in the state of the art NASA 
rotating tissue culture systems. He has particular 
expertise in the design of real time computer process 
control systems, communications, bioprocessing, 
physiology, fluid dynamics, and aerospace medicine. Dr. 
Wolf is an active public speaker.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in January 1990, Dr. Wolf 
became qualified for spaceflight July 1991. His 
technical assignments have included Orbiter vehicle 
processing and test at Kennedy Space Center (1991-1992), 
STS-58 mission specialist (1993), and spacecraft 
communications (CAPCOM) (1994-1995). He is qualified for 
Extravehicular Activity  (Spacewalk), Remote Manipulator 
System (Robot Arm), and Rendezvous. He was the CAPCOM 
for the first and third Shuttle-MIR rendezvous. He 
recently completed  training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut 
Training Center in Star City, Russia in preparation for 
a 4-month stay on the Russian Space Station Mir in 
September 1997. He will launch aboard Space Shuttle 
Atlantis as part of the STS-86 crew.

Dr. Wolf served as a mission specialist astronaut aboard 
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-58), a 14 day dedicated 
Spacelab life sciences research mission (10/16/93-
11/1/93). During this record length shuttle mission the 
crew conducted neurovestibular, cardiovascular, 
cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and musculoskeletal research 
utilizing microgravity to reveal fundamental physiology 
normally masked by earth gravity.  They accomplished 225 
orbits in 336 hours, 13 minutes, 01 seconds.



C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.) 
STS-84 / Mir 23 & 24 / STS-86

PERSONAL DATA - Born January 6, 1957, in Louth, England, 
but considers Cambridge, England, to be his hometown. 
Married to the former Rhonda R. Butler of Louisville, 
Kentucky. They have two children. He enjoys many outdoor 
activities, particularly wind surfing. Private flying, 
soaring, and project scuba diving have been his other 
major sporting interests. He also enjoys exploring 
theoretical physics and writing childrens software on a 
personal computer. His parents, Colin and Mary Foale, 
reside in Cambridge, England. Her parents, Reed & 
Dorothy Butler, reside in Louisville, Kentucky.

EDUCATION - Graduated from Kings School, Canterbury, in 
1975. He attended the University of Cambridge, Queens 
College, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in Physics, 
National Sciences Tripos, with 1st class honors, in 
1978. While at Queens College, he completed his 
doctorate in Laboratory Astrophysics at Cambridge 
University in 1982.

ORGANIZATIONS - Member of the Cambridge Philosophical 
Society, England, and Aircraft Owners & Pilots 
Association.

EXPERIENCE - While a postgraduate at Cambridge 
University, Foale participated in the organization and 
execution of scientific scuba diving projects. With the 
cooperation of the Greek government, he participated as 
both a member of one expedition and the leader of 
another, surveying underwater antiquities in Greece. In 
the fall of 1981, he dove on the 1543 ocean galleon, 
"The Mary Rose," as a volunteer diver, learning 
excavation and survey techniques in very low visibility 
conditions. Pursuing a career in the U.S. Space Program, 
Foale moved to Houston, Texas, to work on Space Shuttle 
navigation problems at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft 
Corporation. In June 1983, Foale joined NASA Johnson 
Space Center in the payload operations area of the 
Mission Operations Directorate. In his capacity as 
payload officer in the Mission Control Center, he was 
responsible for payload operations on Space Shuttle 
missions STS-51G, 51-I, 61-B and 61-C.

NASA EXPERIENCE - Selected as an astronaut candidate by 
NASA in June 1987, Foale completed a one-year training 
and evaluation program in August 1988. Before his first 
flight he flew the Shuttle Avionics Integration 
Laboratory (SAIL) simulator to provide verification and 
testing of the Shuttle flight software, and later 
developed crew rescue and integrated operations for 
International Space Station Alpha. He has served as 
Deputy Chief of the Mission Development Branch in the 
Astronaut Office, and Head of the Astronaut Office 
Science Support Group. He trained at the Cosmonaut 
Training Center, Star City, Russia, in preparation for a 
long duration flight on the Russian Space Station Mir. 
He launched aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 15, 
1997. He is scheduled to return from Mir on STS-86 in 
September 1997.

A veteran of three space flights, Foale has logged more 
than 634 hours in space. He flew as a mission specialist 
on STS-45 (March 24 to April 2, 1992) the first of the 
ATLAS series of missions to address the atmosphere and 
its interaction with the Sun, and again as a mission 
specialist on STS-56, carrying ATLAS-2, and the SPARTAN 
retrievable satellite which made observations of the 
solar corona. Most recently, he served as a mission 
specialist on STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995), the first 
rendezvous with the Russian Space Station, Mir. During 
the flight he made a space walk (extravehicular 
activity) for 4 hours, 39 minutes, evaluating the 
effects of extremely cold conditions on his spacesuit, 
as well as moving the 2800-pound Spartan satellite as 
part of a mass handling experiment.



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