STS-86

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  24964 / 97055A Launch date - time  26 Sep 1997 - 02:34:19 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39A Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle Orbiter  Atlantis #20 (OV-104) Primary payload  Spacehab SH-09 Mass (kg)   Flight Crew  Wetherbee, Bloomfield, Titov, Parazynski, Chrétien, Lawrence, Wolf Docking date - time  27 Sept 1997 - 19:58 UT Target spacecraft/port  Mir/SO module Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee  354 x 381 km    - Inclination  51.6°    - Period  91.9 min Undocking date - time  03 Oct 1997 - 17:28 UT Landing date - time  06 Oct 1997 - 21:55:09 UT Landing location  KSC, Runway 15 Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  10d 19h 22m Nbr orbits  169 Landing crew  Wetherbee, Bloomfield, Titov, Parazynski, Chrétien, Lawrence, Foale  (crew STS-86 & STS-84)

Crew

Somary:

Mission details:

• Atlantis was launched on Sep 26, 1997 at 02:34 UTC on mission STS-86 to Mir. The TI rendevous terminal initiation burn was carried out at 17:32 UTC on Sep 27, and Atlantis docked with the SO (Docking Module) on the Mir complex at 19:58 UTC.
• As of 20:06 UT, the Shuttle took attitude control of the entire Mir complex. At 19:30 UT Commander Solovyev opened the Mir hatch, and after equalization of pressure Commander Wetherbee opened the Shuttle hatch at 19:45 UT, presenting the most welcome gift of Mir's new Motion Control Computer. The crew exchange was completed on Sep 28, with David Wolf replacing Michael Foale on the Mir crew.
• Cargo Bay Payloads:
  • Bay 1: Tunnel adapter / 2 Carriers for retrieved MEEP experiment
  • Bay 2-4: External Airlock / Orbiter Docking System / European Proximity Sensor
  • Bay 5-7: Long Tunnel / 2 Carriers for retrieved MEEP experiment
  • Bay 8-9: Spacehab Double Module
  • Bay 13S: GAS can (SEEDS-II)
  In-Cabin Payloads: RME′s; KidSat; CPCG; CREAM; CCM-A; MSX; SIMPLEX
• 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
  • DSO 207: Adaptation to Linear Acceleration after Space Flight
  • 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

  Payload And Vehicle Weights: Orbiter (Atlantis) empty and 3 SSME's; 69,000 kg; Shuttle System at SRB Ignition: 2,047,561 kg; Orbiter Weight at Landing with Cargo: 114,163 kg; Spacehab: 6,551 kg.

• On October 1 cosmonaut Titov and astronaut Parazynski conducted a spacewalk from the Shuttle payload bay while Atlantis was docked to Mir. The airlock was depressurized at around 17:25 UT and the astronauts emerged from the hatch on the tunnel adapter at around 17:35 UT. They retrieved the four MEEP (Mir Environmental Effects Payload ) exposure packages from Mir's SO module and installed the Spektr solar array cap. The experiments were attached to the Docking Module by astronauts Linda Godwin and Rich Clifford during Shuttle mission STS-76 in March 1996. The MEEP packages investigate effects of exposure to the space environment on a variety of materials. The solar array cap was 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. In addition to retrieving the MEEP, Parazynski and Titov were to 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. The airlock was repressurized at 22:31 UT.
• Atlantis undocked from Mir at 17:28 UT on October 3, leaving Dave Wolf aboard the station and bringing Mike Foale home. Just after undocking, the Shuttle continued 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 backed away in this manner until it reached a distance of 190 m below the Mir. The shuttle then moved back to within 70 m of the station and conducted a flyaround focused on the damaged Spektr Module to determine the location of the puncture in its hull. The Mir crew pumped air into the Spektr Module using a pressure regulator valve, and the Shuttle crew observed evidence that, as expected, the leak seemed to be located at the base of the damaged solar panel. A cap delivered by the Atlantis crew was designed to repair this puncture. Final separation of Atlantis from Mir took place around 20:28 GMT.
• After two landing attempts were waved off on October 5 due to heavy cloud cover, the crew fired the engines to deorbit at 20:47 GMT on October 6 and landed at Kennedy Space Center at 21:55.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Kennedy Space Center.

Docking cancel Korolev.

Landing cancel KSC.