Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-73) Payload Commander Kathryn Thornton works with the Drop Physics Module (DPM) in the United States Microgravity Laboratory 2 (USML-2) Spacelab Science Module cleaning the experiment chamber of the DPM.
STS071-117-032 (4 July 1995) --- In the docking vestibule of Russia's Mir Space Station, cosmonauts Anatoly Y. Solovyev, Mir-19 commander, and Nikolai M. Budarin, Mir-19 flight engineer, smile at the departing Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-71 crew prior to hatch closing. Later, the two manned the Soyuz vehicle as it was temporarily moved from the Mir complex for Atlantis' undocking.
STS063-711-069 (3-11 Feb. 1995) --- This close-up scene of Russian Mir Space Station's docking target was exposed by one of the STS-63 crew members using a handheld Hasselblad camera during close proximity operations between the space shuttle Discovery and Russia's Mir Space Station.
STS073-706-012 (22 October 1995) --- Each of the great bridges spanning San Francisco Bay are captured in this near-nadir photo of the San Francisco and Oakland, California, areas. Starting from the south (left in this photo), Dumbarton, San Mateo, Bay, Golden Gate, and San Rafael bridges are seen. Ribbons of run-off induced sediments color the bay, and multi-colored salt-production pens line the southernmost shore.
The single-seat F-16XL, NASA 849, joins up with an SR-71A, NASA 844, as crews set up for one of the flights in the recent sonic boom research program conducted by the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. During the missions, the F-16XL probed the shockwaves generated by the SR-71, while at lower altitudes sensors on an F-18 and on a YO-3A, and also on the ground, recorded data from the same shockwave.
S95-21276 (September 1995) --- Astronaut Linda M. Godwin, mission specialist, is briefed on the Mobile Foot Restraint (MFR) to be used in a scheduled Extravehicular Activity (EVA) during the March mission. Astronaut Ronald M. Sega, mission specialist, looks on. Astronaut Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, mission specialist, who will join Godwin on the EVA, is out of frame. Godwin and Clifford checked out the hardware before donning training versions of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit (see torso piece in background) in preparation for being submerged in a 25-feet deep pool at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F).
This is an artist's concept of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), fully developed in orbit in a star field with Earth. In 1999, the AXAF was renamed the CXO in honor of the late Indian-American Novel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It is designed to observe x-rays from high energy regions of the Universe, such as hot gas in the renmants of exploded stars. It produces picture-like images of x-ray emissions analogous to those made in visible light, as well as gathers data on the chemical composition of x-ray radiating objects. The CXO helps astronomers world-wide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-ray such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes, and other exotic celestial objects. The Observatory has three major parts: (1) the x-ray telescope, whose mirrors will focus x-rays from celestial objects; (2) the science instruments that record the x-rays so that x-ray images can be produced and analyzed; and (3) the spacecraft, which provides the environment necessary for the telescope and the instruments to work. TRW, Inc. was the prime contractor for the development the CXO and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for its project management. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations of the CXO for NASA from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Observatory was launched July 22, 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-93 mission. (Image courtesy of TRW).
In this photograph, James Carden uses a NASA-developed prosthesis to moved planks around his home. Derived from foam insulation technology used to protect the Space Shuttle External Tank from excessive heat, FAB/CAD, a subsidiary of the Harshberger Prosthetic and Orthotic Center, utilized the technology to replace the heavy, fragile plaster they used to produce master molds for prosthetics. The new material was lighter, cheaper and easier to manufacture than plaster, resulting in lower costs to the customer.
In this close-up of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the STS-74 crew is looking out the rear window. STS-74, launched on November 12, 1995, was the second Space Shuttle/Mir docking mission. Objectives accomplished included the delivery and installation of the Docking Module, making it possible for the Space Shuttle to dock easily with the Russian space station, Mir. The Orbiter Atlantis also delivered water, supplies, and equipment, including two new solar arrays to upgrade Mir, and returned to Earth on November 25, 1995 with experiment samples, equipment for repair and analysis, and products manufactured on the Station.
STS063-68-018 (3-11 Feb 1995) --- Russian cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov, mission specialist, handles vials of samples for the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) experiment in SpaceHab 3 Module onboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Discovery. Titov joined five NASA astronauts for eight days of research in Earth-orbit.
STS063-06-027 (3-11 Feb 1995) --- Seated at the commander's station on the Space Shuttle Discovery's flight deck, astronaut James D. Wetherbee, commander, was photographed by a crew mate during early phases of the STS-63 mission. A great deal of time was spent during the first few days of the mission to check a leaky thruster, which could have had a negative influence on rendezvous operations with Russia's Mir Space Station. As it turned out, all the related problems were solved and the two spacecraft succeded in achieving close proximity operations. Others onboard the Discovery were astronauts Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris Jr., payload commander; and mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.
DISTILLATION COLUMN
S95-16678 (September 1995) --- NASA astronauts Shannon W. Lucid and John E. Blaha next year will follow the lead of astronaut Norman E. Thagard's 1995 feat of extended stay aboard Russia's Mir Space Station. Lucid is to accompany the STS-76 crew in March and spend a little over four months aboard Mir before returning to Earth with the STS-79 crew. Blaha will go into space on the scheduled August mission of STS-79 and after four months aboard Mir will return to Earth with the STS-81 crew.
Astronaut Joe Lindquist and Kate Rupley conduct underwater testing on the International Space Station's power module in Marshall's Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS).
Onboard photo of space shuttle Columbia (STS-73) crewmembers Fred Leslie (foreground) and Catherine Coleman aboard the United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML) conducting experiments in a microgravitational environment available in the Orbiter's cargo bay while in low earth orbit.
The Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is launched atop an ATLAS-IIAS expendable launch vehicle. Liftoff from launch complex 36B at Cape Canaveral Air Station marked the 10th Atlas launch from the Eastern range for 1995. SOHO is a cooperative effort involving NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) within the framework of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics Program. During its 2-year mission, the SOHO spacecraft gathered data on the internal structure of the Sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind.
EXTENSIONAL RHEOLOGY EXPERIMENT
A pigment (phthalocyanine) is studied at the Marshall Materials and Processes Lab. The pigment has the ability to protect spacecraft against the harmful effects of the Sun's ultraviolet rays, and to increase the efficiency and life of solar cells.
STS063-712-068 (6 Feb 1995) --- Russia's Mir Space Station during rendezvous operations with the Space Shuttle Discovery. Docked at bottom (nearest portion where longest solar array panel is visible) is a Soyuz space vehicle. On the opposite end is a Progress spacecraft. This is one of 16 still photographs released by the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Public Affairs Office (PAO) on February 14, 1995. Onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris, Jr., payload commander; mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.
STS069-724-095 (7-18 September 1995) --- Prior to being re-captured by Space Shuttle Endeavour's Remote Manipulator System (RMS), the Wake Shield Facility (WSF) was recorded on film, backdropped against the darkness of space over a heavily cloud-covered Earth. Endeavour, with a five-member crew, launched on September 7, 1995, from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended its mission there on September 18, 1995, with a successful landing on Runway 33. The multifaceted mission carried a crew of astronauts David M. Walker, mission commander; Kenneth D. Cockrell, pilot; and James S. Voss (payload commander), James H. Newman and Michael L. Gernhardt, all mission specialists.
Senator John Glenn visit to Johnson Space Center (JSC). Views of Glenn sitting in cockpit of T-38 in Hangar 276 with John Young, George Abbey, David Leestma and Mark Polansky observing (11150). An engineer explains SPIFEX experiment hardware to Abby, Young and Glenn in Bldg 13 (11151, 11153). Glenn talks with astronaut Terrence T. Henricks and employees in Bldg 9C, Virtual reality lab (11152). Lunch in Bldg 17 Flight Crew support division with Dr. Ellen Baker, Robert "Hoot" Gibson and John Glenn (11154). Linda Godwin, Robert Cabana, Abbey, Young, Baker, Gibson and Glenn at lunch (11155). Astronaut Mark Lee shows Glenn and his aide how to use the virtural reality helmets (11156-7). Glenn shakes the hand of Franklin Chang-Diaz with his plasma rocket in the background in the Sonny Carter Training Facility (SCTF) (11158). Glenn in the Manipulator Development Facility (MDF) Remote Manipulator System (RMS) station mock-up in Bldg 9A with Abbey, Young and aide (11159, 11186). Glenn signs a book for Thomas D. Jones as Frederick Sturckow and Linda Godwin look on (11160). Glenn inside visual-vestibular trainer in Bldg 9B (11161). In conference room meeting with astronaut corps in Bldg 4S, Glenn shakes Robert Cabana's hand (11162). John Glenn and John Young pose for a group shot with Bldg 17 Food lab personnel (11163). Glenn thanks the food lab personnel (11164). Glenn visits Bldg 5 Fixed Base (FB) middeck simulator with astronauts Terrence Henricks and Mary Ellen Weber (11165). Glenn with Charles T. Bourland (11166). STS-70 crew Donald Thomas, Terrence Henricks, Mary Ellen Weber, Nancy Currie and Kevin Kregel with Glenn's advisor (11167). STS-70 crew Thomas, Henricks, Weber, Currie and Kregel with John Glenn (11175). Glenn with Thomas, Kregel, Weber, Henricks and trainer (11176-7). David J. Homan assists Glenn's aide with virtual reality goggles (11168) and Glenn (11174). John Young in Bldg 9C equilibrium trainer (11169). Glenn with Carl Walz in flight deck mock-up of MDF in Bldg 9NE (11170, 11187). Young, Abbey, aides, Glenn and Walz examine helium balloon in MDF (11171-2). Chang-Diaz shows Glenn's tour group the plasma rocket (11173). Glenn's presentation to astronaut corps (11178-81, 11184-5). Glenn is presented with framed picture of Sonny Carter Training Facility (SCTF) (11182) and framed picture of space station (11183).
NM18-309-026 (28 June 1995) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches the docking node on the Kristall module of Russia's Mir Space Station. The photograph was taken by one of the Mir-18 crew members aboard Mir prior to rendezvous and docking of the two spacecraft. The Spacelab Science Module and the tunnel connecting it to the crew cabin, as well as the added mechanism for interface with the Mir's docking system can be easily seen.
STS071-723-045 (27 June-7 July 1995) --- Docked already with the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Russia's towering Mir Space Station is partially visible through windows on the silhouetted ceiling of the space shuttle Atlantis' aft flight deck. A 70mm camera was used to expose the image.
N-243 NASA Ames VMS (Vertical Motion simulator) S-Cab: HSCT (High Speed Civil Transport) Simulation Throttles
CALF (Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter) / JAST (Joint Advanced Strike Technology) X-32 test-930 mounted at OARF
Astronaut and mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, receives assistance in donning a training version of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit, prior to an underwater training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near Johnson Space Center. This particular training was in preparation for the STS-87 mission. The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-87) was the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) and Spartan-201 satellite, both managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Astronauts Tamara Jernigan (#1) and David Wolf (#2) are training in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) at Marshall Space Flight center with an exercise for International Space Station Alpha. The NBS provided the weightless environment encountered in space needed for testing and the practices of Extravehicular Activities (EVA).
STS071-744-030 (29 June 1995) --- Russia's Mir Space Station is backdropped against blue and white Earth near its horizon, as photographed from the approaching space shuttle Atlantis on June 29, 1995. Five NASA astronauts and two cosmonauts were onboard Atlantis as it approached the Mir, which housed the three-member Mir-18 crew.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) No. 2036, the first of the new Block 1 engines to fly, awaits installation into position one of the orbiter Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility 2 during preparation of the spaceplane for the STS-70 mission. The advanced powerplant features a new high-pressure liquid oxygen turbopump, a two-duct powerhead, a baffleless main injector, a single-coil heat exchanger and start sequence modifications. These modifications are designed to improve both engine performance and safety.
S95-04323 (22 Feb 1995) --- In keeping with Russian tradition, astronaut Norman E. Thagard (seated, left), guest researcher, watches as Vladimir N. Dezhurov (seated, center), signs the diary of the late Yuriy A. Gagarin, the first Russian cosmonaut, as his Mir 18 crew mates and the subsequent Mir crewmembers look on. Cosmonauts Dezhurov, mission commander, and Gennadiy M. Strekalov (seated right, partially obscured), flight engineer, have been training with Thagard in both the United States and Russia for the past several months. Watching are, standing left to right, astronaut Bonnie J. Dunbar, Thagard?s alternate crew member; and cosmonauts Anatoliy Y. Solovyev, Mir 19 mission commander, and Nikolai M. Budarin, flight engineer.
An experiment vehicle plunges into the deceleration pit at the end of a 5.18-second drop in the Zero-Gravity Research Facility at NASA's Glenn Research Center. The Zero-Gravity Research Facility was developed to support microgravity research and development programs that investigate various physical sciences, materials, fluid physics, and combustion and processing systems. Payloads up to 1 meter in diameter and 455 kg in weight can be accommodated. The facility has a 145-meter evacuated shaft to ensure a disturbance-free drop. This is No.1 of a sequence of 4 images. (Credit: NASA/Glenn Research Center)
S95-09159 (27 Apr. 1995) --- Attired in a training version of the Shuttle partial pressure launch and entry garment, astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, is briefed on the use of the Sky-genie device by Scott Gill. The briefing was part of an emergency egress training session in the Johnson Space Center?s (JSC) Systems Integration Facility. Two high fidelity training facilities in this lab are used to help prepare crew members for emergency procedures and to provide realistic settings for rehearsals of the launch and entry phases.
The nearby intense star-forming region known as the Great Nebula in the Orion constellation reveals a bow shock around a very young star as seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Named for the crescent-shaped wave made by a ship as it moves through the water, a bow shock can be created in space where two streams of gas collide. LL Ori emits a vigorous solar wind, a stream of charged particles moving rapidly outward from the star. Our own sun has a less energetic version of this wind. The material in the fast wind from LL Ori collides with slow moving gas evaporating away form the center of the Orion Nebula, which is located in the lower right of this image, producing the crescent shaped bow shock seen in the image. Astronomers have identified numerous shock fronts in this complex star-forming region and are using this data to understand the many complex phenomena associated with the birth of stars. A close visitor in our Milky Way Galaxy, the nebula is only 1,500 light years away from Earth. The filters used in this color composite represent oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen emissions.
This composite image depicts one set of flow patterns simulated in the Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell (GFFC) that flew on two Spacelab missions. Silicone oil served as the atmosphere around a rotating steel hemisphere (dotted circle) and an electrostatic field pulled the oil inward to mimic gravity's effects during the experiments. The GFFC thus produced flow patterns that simulated conditions inside the atmospheres of Jupiter and the Sun and other stars. GFFC flew on Spacelab-3 in 1985 and U.S. Microgravity Laboratory-2 in 1995. The principal investigator was John Hart of the University of Colorado at Boulder. It was managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. (Credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)
STS063-S-015 (11 Feb. 1995) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery deploys its drag chute on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility as it wraps up an eight-day mission. Touchdown occurred at 6:50:19 a.m. (EST), February 11, 1995. Onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris Jr., payload commander; mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.
Marsokhod Russian Rover explores Kilauea, Hawaii via telepresence for Jason IV 'Island Earth' Projects (Volcano simulates Martian Terrain)
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Co-located on the Kennedy Space Center is the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, one of the finest refuges in the world. Here, birds, amphibians, mammals and other wild creatures thrive in a multitude of habitats untouched by the human hand. The refuge is living proof that high technology and nature can successfully co-exist. Photo credit: NASA
STS069-S-001 (May 1995) --- Designed by the crew members, the patch for STS-69 symbolizes the multifaceted nature of the flight's mission. The primary payload, Wake Shield Facility (WSF), is represented in the center by the astronaut emblem against a flat disk. The astronaut emblem also signifies the importance of human beings in space exploration, reflected by the planned spacewalk supporting space station assembly. The two stylized space shuttles highlight the ascent and entry phases of the mission. Along with the two spiral plumes, the stylized space shuttles symbolize a NASA first - the deployment and recovery on the same mission of two spacecraft (both the Wake Shield Facility and the Spartan). The constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor represent the astronomy objectives of the Spartan and International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH) payload. The two constellations also symbolize the talents and dedication of the support personnel who make space shuttle missions possible. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA
STS069-720-026 (17 September 1995) --- Hurricane Marilyn is captured on film as it moves over the Caribbean on September 17, 1995, in this 70mm frame. A motion picture lens on the handheld Hasselblad gives a "fish-eye" effect to the scene. Note the end of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, which stayed quite busy during the flight supporting a space walk and extensive operations with two temporarily free-flying spacecraft. During the 11-plus day mission, the astronauts aboard the Endeavour caught with their cameras at least two large oceanic storms. Another hurricane, named Luis, followed a similar path earlier in the flight. Endeavour, with a five-member crew, launched on September 7, 1995, from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended its mission there September 18, 1995, with a successful landing on Runway 33. The multifaceted mission carried the crew of astronauts David M. Walker, mission commander; Kenneth D. Cockrell, pilot; and James S. Voss (payload commander), James H. Newman, Michael L. Gernhardt, all mission specialists.
Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-73) Payload Commander Kathryn Thornton and Commander Ken Bowersox discuss the Drop Physics Module (DPM) experiment in the United States Microgravity Laboratory 2 (USML-2) spacelab science module.
STS074-344-003 (12-20 Nov 1995) --- Astronaut Chris A. Hadfield makes his way among supplies and docking hardware onboard Russia?s Mir Space Station. With five NASA astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the flight began with a November 12, 1995, launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended with landing there on November 20, 1995. The STS-74 crew members were astronauts Kenneth D. Cameron, mission commander; James D. Halsell Jr., pilot; William S. McArthur Jr., Jerry L. Ross and Canadian astronaut Hadfield, all mission specialists. On November 15, 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with Russia?s Mir Space Station, on which the NASA astronauts joined the Mir-20 crew. The Mir-20 crew is composed of cosmonauts Yuriy P. Gidzenko, commander; and Sergei V. Avdeyev, engineer; along with the European Space Agency?s (ESA) Thomas Reiter, cosmonaut researcher. Joint activities on the Mir Space Station and the Space Shuttle Atlantis ended on November 18, 1995, when the two spacecraft separated.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS. -- (JSC 595-10530) -- Official portrait of astronaut Michael J. Bloomfield, commander
Documentation of the new mission control center White Flight Control Room (FLCR). Excellent overall view of White FLCR with personnel manning console workstations (11221). Fisheye lens perspective from Flight Director station with Brian Austin (11222). Environmental (EECOM) workstation and personnel (11223).
S95-05777 (15 Mar. 1995) --- Astronaut Frederick W. (Rick) Sturckow, commander.
International Cooperation Phase III: A Space Shuttle docked to the International Space Station (ISS) in this computer generated representation of the ISS in its completed and fully operational state with elements from the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan, and Russia.
S95-11471 (1995) --- Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist.
This drawing depicts one set of flow patterns simulated in the Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell (GFFC) that flew on two Spacelab missions. Silicone oil served as the atmosphere around a rotating steel hemisphere (dotted circle) and an electrostatic field pulled the oil inward to mimic gravity's effects during the experiments. The GFFC thus produced flow patterns that simulated conditions inside the atmospheres of Jupiter and the Sun and other stars. The principal investigator was John Hart of the University of Colorado at Boulder. It was managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). An Acrobat PDF copy of this drawing is available at http://microgravity.nasa.gov/gallery. (Credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)
STS071-744-017 (29 June 1995) --- Russia's Mir Space Station is backdropped against the darkness of space, as photographed from the approaching space shuttle Atlantis on June 29, 1995. Five NASA astronauts and two cosmonauts were onboard Atlantis as it approached the Mir, which has been home for the three-member Mir-18 crew since March of this year.
STS069-732-048 (11 September 1995) --- Having earlier been released by the Space Shuttle Endeavour's Remote Manipulator System (RMS), the Wake Shield Facility (WSF) moves away from the Space Shuttle. The coast of Somalia can be seen in the lower left quadrant of the frame. STS-69 and the Space Shuttle Endeavour, with a five-member crew, launched on September 7, 1995, from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended its mission there on September 18, 1995, with a successful landing on Runway 33. The multifaceted mission carried a crew of astronauts David M. Walker, mission commander; Kenneth D. Cockrell, pilot; and James S. Voss (payload commander), James H. Newman and Michael L. Gernhardt, all mission specialists.
NM18-305-023 (March-July 1995) --- Cosmonaut Gennadiy M. Strekalov, Mir-18 flight engineer, is photographed during one of five space walks conducted by the Mir-18 crew. This is one of many visuals shown during a July 18, 1995, press conference in Houston, Texas.
STS074-S-017 (12 Nov 1995) --- With five astronauts aboard, the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center?s (KSC) Launch Pad 39A. Launch occurred at 7:30:43:071 a.m. (EST), November 12, 1995. The crew members were astronauts Kenneth D. Cameron, mission commander; James D. Halsell Jr., pilot; William S. McArthur Jr., Jerry L. Ross and Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, all mission specialists. On November 15, 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with Russia?s Mir Space Station, on which the NASA astronauts joined the Mir-20 crew. The Mir-20 crew is composed of cosmonauts Yuriy P. Gidzenko, commander; and Sergei V. Avdeyev, engineer; along with the European Space Agency?s (ESA) Thomas Reiter, cosmonaut researcher. Joint activities on the Mir Space Station and the Space Shuttle Atlantis ended on November 18, 1995, when the two spacecraft separated. The November 20, 1995, landing also took place at KSC.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Russian-built Docking Module is lowered for installation into the payload bay of the space shuttle Atlantis while it is in bay 2 of the Orbiter Processing Facility. The module will fly as a primary payload on the second Space Shuttle/Mir space station docking mission, STS-74. During the mission, the module will first be attached with the orbiter's robot arm to the Orbiter Docking System in the payload bay of the orbiter Atlantis and then be docked with the Mir. When Atlantis undocks from the Mir, it will leave the new docking module permanently attached to the space station for use during future shuttle Mir docking missions. The new module will simplify future Shuttle linkups with Mir by improving orbiter clearances when it serves as a bridge between the two spacecraft. The white structures attached to the module's sides are solar panels that will be attached to the Mir after the conclusion of the STS-74 mission. Photo Credit: NASA
STS071-763-007 (27 June-7 July 1995) --- Onboard the docked Soyuz spacecraft, cosmonauts Anatoly Y. Solovyev (left) and Nikolai M. Budarin, Mir 19 commander and flight engineer, respectively, conduct a checkout of communications systems. The two represent the new in a change of guard aboard Russia's Mir Space Station, as Mir-18 astronaut Norman E. Thagard and two Mir-18 cosmonauts prepare to come back to Earth with the STS-71 crew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Later in the joint mission, Solovyev and Budarin backed the Soyuz spacecraft away from the Mir/Atlantis tandem to allow for the space shuttle Atlantis to undock with its crew of six astronauts and two cosmonauts aboard.
Astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, mission specialist for STS-73, works in the glovebox on the portside of the science module aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in earth-orbit.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-67) lands at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California after successfully completing NASA's longest plarned shuttle mission. The seven-member crew conducted round-the-clock observations with the ASTRO-2 observatory, a trio of telescopes designed to study the universe of ultraviolet astronomy. Because of Earth's protective ozone layer ultraviolet light from celestial objects does not reach gound-based telescopes, and such studies can only be conducted from space.
STS073-727-045 (21 October 1995) --- Photographed by the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia is this scene over Lake Powell. The lake was formed by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. The vertical stabilizer of Columbia points northeastward. Navaho Mountain, northwest of the tail, according to NASA geologists, was formed by an intrusion of molten rock that uplifted older, layered rocks, then cooled, and has been exposed by erosion. The rest of the landscape is dominated by faulted layers of sandstone, shale, and limestone that were formed in shallow seas and great deserts 80 to 250 million years ago. These rocks of the Colorado Plateau were uplifted a few million years ago to be dissected by the meandering Colorado River, San Juan River, and their tributaries.
Pictured here is an artist's depiction of Lockheed Martin's Lifting Body Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) concept servicing the International Space Station. The development of the RLV is essential in the cost reduction of future space travel.
STS073-229-014 (20 October - 5 November 1995) --- Astronauts Kathryn C. Thornton, STS-73 payload commander, and Kenneth D. Bowersox, mission commander, observe a liquid drop's activity at the Drop Physics Module (DPM) in the science module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. The drop is partially visible at the center of the left edge of the frame. The two were joined by three other NASA astronauts and two guest researchers for almost 16-days of in-orbit research in support of the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission.
STS063-712-072 (6 Feb 1995) --- Russia's Mir Space Station over the blue and white Earth during initial approach for rendezvous operations with the Space Shuttle Discovery. Docked at bottom (nearest portion where longest solar array panel is visible) is a Soyuz space vehicle. On the opposite end is a Progress spacecraft. This is one of 16 still photographs released by the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Public Affairs Office (PAO) on February 14, 1995. Onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris Jr., payload commander; mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.
Pioneer Galileo separation (NASA artwork by Don Davis)
STS070-701-070 (13-22 JULY 1995) --- Dark surfaces of lunar mare can be identified on the ?tiny? Moon in the center of this clear 35mm frame, recorded by crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Discovery. A variety of cloud-types obscure land and water in the scene. Several tropical storms and tropical depressions were observed by the crew during its nine-day mission.
S95-06514 (14 March 1995) --- Astronaut Nancy J. Currie, mission specialist.
NM18-309-028 (28 June 1995) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches the docking node on the Kristall module of Russia's Mir Space Station. The photograph was taken by one of the Mir-18 crew members aboard Mir prior to docking of the two spacecraft. The Spacelab science module and the tunnel connecting it to the crew cabin, as well as the added mechanism for interface with the Mir's docking system can be easily seen.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) image of Space Shuttle Pressure Flow using Virtual Wind Tunnel
STS063-312-020 (3-11 Feb. 1995) --- Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, pilot, at the pilot's station during "hotfiring" procedure to clear leaking thruster prior to rendezvous with Russia's Mir Space Station. Others onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Bernard A. Harris, Jr., payload commander; mission specialists C. Michael Foale and Janice E. Voss, and cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov. This is one of 16 still photographs released by the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Public Affairs Office (PAO) on February 14, 1995.
S95-14061 (13 Jly 1995) --- Astronaut James S. Voss, mission specialist.
STS063-68-013 (3-11 Feb 1995) --- Astronaut Bernard A. Harris, Jr., a physician and payload commander, monitors several Spacehab-3 experiments which occupy locker space on the Space Shuttle Discovery's mid-deck. The Spacehab 3 Module is located in the cargo bay. Others onboard the Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.
STS071-310-001 (27 June-7 July 1995) --- Cosmonauts Nikolai M. Budarin (left) and Anatoly Y. Solovyev are seen on the space shuttle Atlantis' flight deck. Not long after this picture was made, the two Mir-19 crew members bade farewell to two other cosmonauts and six NASA astronauts who returned to Earth aboard Atlantis. Solovyev, Mir-19 commander, and Budarin, Mir-19 flight engineer, will stay onboard Russia's Mir Space Station for continuing research.
STS070-705-094 (13-22 JULY 1995) --- The southern half (about 70 miles in this view) of the Tifernine dunes of east-central Algeria appears on this view. The Tifernine dune-sea is one of the more dramatic features visible from the Shuttle when flying over the Sahara Desert. The dunes lie in a basin of dark-colored rocks heavily cut by winding stream courses (top right). Very occasional storms allow the streams to erode the dark rocks and transport the sediment to the basin. Westerly winds then mold the stream sediments into the complex dune shapes so well displayed here. North at bottom.
S95-04324 (22 March 1995) --- In keeping with Russian tradition, astronaut Norman E. Thagard (left), guest researcher, signs the diary of the late Yuriy A. Gagarin, the first Russian cosmonaut, as his Mir 18 crew mates look on. Cosmonauts Vladimir N. Dezhurov (center), mission commander, and Gennadiy M. Strkalov, flight engineer, have been training with Thagard in both the United States and Russia for the past several months. It is customary for each crew member about to aboard a Russian spacecraft to sign the diary.
STS074-S-013 (12 Nov 1995) --- With five astronauts aboard, the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center?s (KSC) Launch Pad 39A. Launch occurred at 7:30:43:071 a.m. (EST), November 12, 1995. The crew members were astronauts Kenneth D. Cameron, mission commander; James D. Halsell Jr., pilot; William S. McArthur Jr., Jerry L. Ross and Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, all mission specialists. On November 15, 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with Russia?s Mir Space Station, on which the NASA astronauts joined the Mir-20 crew. The Mir-20 crew is composed of cosmonauts Yuriy P. Gidzenko, commander; and Sergei V. Avdeyev, engineer; along with the European Space Agency?s (ESA) Thomas Reiter, cosmonaut researcher. Joint activities on the Mir Space Station and the Space Shuttle Atlantis ended on November 18, 1995, when the two spacecraft separated. The November 20, 1995, landing also took place at KSC.
STS-73 crewmember with the Glovebox
NM18-304-016 (March-July 1995) --- Cosmonauts Vladimir N. Dezhurov (left) and Gennadiy M. Strekalov study a small model of the Mir Space Station prior to one of their five space walks. At a July 18 press coonference in Houston, the two told reporters that the model was helpful in locating strategic points on the various modules, for example, hand rails and foot restraints. Along with astronaut Norman E. Thagard, the two went onto spend 115 days on Mir.
A Vought F-8A Crusader was selected by NASA as the testbed aircraft (designated TF-8A) to install an experimental Supercritical Wing (SCW) in place of the conventional wing. The unique design of the Supercritical Wing reduces the effect of shock waves on the upper surface near Mach 1, which in turn reduces drag. In the photograph the TF-8A Crusader with the Supercritical Wing is shown on static display in front of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The F-8 SCW aircraft, along with the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft were placed on display on May 27, 1992, at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the start of the two programs.
Astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, mission specialist, checks out an Astroculture sample on the mid-deck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Coleman was joined by four other NASA astronauts and two guest researchers for 16 full days of in-space research in support of the United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission.
While instruments on the pallets in the payload bay observed the universe, biological experiments were performed in the middeck of the Shuttle Orbiter Challenger. Studying life processes in a microgravity environment can shed new light on the functioning of biological systems on Earth. These investigations can also help us understand how living organisms react to prolonged weightlessness. One such experiment was the vitamin D metabolites and bone demineralization experiment. This investigation measured the vitamin d metabolite levels of crew members to gain information on the cause of bone demineralization and mineral imbalance that occur during prolonged spaceflight as well as on Earth. Research into the biochemical nature of vitamin D has shown that the D-metabolites play a major role in regulating the body's calcium and phosphorus levels. One major function of the most biologically active vitamin D metabolite is to regulate the amount of calcium absorbed from the diet and taken out of bones. This investigation had two phases. The first was the developmental phase, which included extensive testing before flight, and the second, or final phase, involved the postflight analysis of the crew's blood samples. This photograph shows a blood draw test kit and centrifuge used for the experiment aboard the Spacelab-2. Marshall Space Flight Center had management responsibilities of all Spacelab missions.
STS063-S-012 (11 Feb 1995) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery is about to touch down on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility to complete an eight-day mission. Touchdown occurred at 6:50:19 a.m. (EST), February 11, 1995. Onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris Jr., payload commander; mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.
No Caption ( unknown ) Voyager 2 close-up image of Jupiter's moon Ganymede.
STS073-S-047 (5 November 1995) --- The Space Shuttle Columbia makes its 18th landing, this time at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida - site of the majority of its more recent finishes. Landing occurred at 6:48 a.m. (EST), November 5, 1995. Onboard were five NASA astronauts and two guest researchers who had spent almost 16 full days in space in support of the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission.
STS073-351-035 (20 October - 5 November 1995) --- Three crew members are captured on camera at the end of their sleep shift on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Pictured are (left to right) astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, mission specialist; payload specialist Fred W. Leslie and astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, mission specialist. The trio joined four other crewmembers for 16 days of in-space research in support of the United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission.
S95-12711 (May 1995) --- Astronaut Leroy Chiao, assigned as mission specialist for the STS-72 mission, prepares to ascend stairs to the flight deck of the fixed base Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Chiao will join an international mission specialist and four other NASA astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for a scheduled nine-day mission, now set for the winter of this year.
After completion of another United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission, Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-73) and her seven member crew return to Earth on a clear November morning. Pictured is Columbia with her landing parachute deployed on final touchdown. Results from the mission's USML-2 will be sent to Marshall Space Flight Center who managed the mission.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-63: Discovery
STS074-322-036 (18 Nov 1995) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Cameron, STS-74 mission commander, shakes hands with cosmonaut Yuriy P. Gidzenko, Mir-20 commander, just prior to the undocking of the Space Shuttle Atlantis with Russia?s Mir Space Station in Earth-orbit. The STS-74 flight began with a November 12, 1995, launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended with landing there on November 20, 1995. The STS-74 crew members were astronauts Cameron; James D. Halsell, Jr., pilot; William S. McArthur, Jr., Jerry L. Ross and Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, all mission specialists. On November 15, 1995, Atlantis docked with Mir, on which the NASA astronauts joined the Mir-20 crew. The Mir-20 crew is composed of cosmonauts Gidzenko; and Sergei V. Avdeyev, engineer; along with the European Space Agency?s (ESA) Thomas Reiter, cosmonaut researcher. Joint activities on the Mir and the Atlantis ended on November 18, 1995, when the two spacecraft separated.
STS073-363-032 (20 October - 5 November 1995) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Bowersox, STS-73 mission commander, studies the movement of fluids in microgravity at the Geophysical Fluid Flow Cell (GFFC) workstation in the science module of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Bowersox was joined by four other NASA astronauts and two guest researchers for almost 16-days of Earth-orbit research in support of the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission.
C130 RADOME TEST
STS074-331-036 (12-20 Nov 1995) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Cameron floats into the Core Module of Russia?s Mir Space Station. The European Space Agency?s (ESA) Thomas Reiter checks out an array of tools. With five NASA astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the flight began with a November 12, 1995, launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and ended with landing there on November 20, 1995. The crew members were astronauts Cameron, mission commander; James D. Halsell, Jr., pilot; William S. McArthur, Jr., Jerry L. Ross and Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, all mission specialists. On November 15, 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Mir Space Station, on which the NASA astronauts joined the Mir-20 crew. The Mir-20 crew is composed of cosmonauts Yuriy P. Gidzenko, commander; and Sergei V. Avdeyev, engineer; along with Reiter, cosmonaut researcher. Joint activities on the Mir and the Space Shuttle Atlantis ended November 18, 1995, when the two spacecraft separated.
S95-12706 (May 1995) --- Astronaut Koichi Wakata, representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) and assigned as mission specialist for the STS-72 mission, checks over a copy of the flight plan. Wakata is on the flight deck of the fixed base Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). He will join five NASA astronauts aboard Endeavour for a scheduled nine-day mission, now set for the winter of this year.
These eerie, dark, pillar-like structures are actually columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars. The pillars protrude from the interior wall of a dark molecular cloud like stalagmites from the floor of a cavern. They are part of the Eagle Nebula (also called M16), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away, in the constellation Serpens. The ultraviolet light from hot, massive, newborn stars is responsible for illuminating the convoluted surfaces of the columns and the ghostly streamers of gas boiling away from their surfaces, producing the dramatic visual effects that highlight the three-dimensional nature of the clouds. This image was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emissions from singly-ionized sulfur atoms, green shows emissions from hydrogen, and blue shows light emitted by doubly-ionized oxygen atoms.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Hangar AO at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, payload processing technicians begin prelaunch checkout work of NASA’s X-Ray Timing Explorer XTE as it rests on a payload support structure after its arrival from the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 17 at the Cape on a Delta II rocket on Aug. 31, 1995. After launch, the XTE will gather data on X-ray sources in our galaxy and the universe. Photo Credit: NASA
STS071-741-057 (27 June-7 July 1995) --- Docked already with Russia's Mir Space Station, the space shuttle Atlantis' aft cargo bay and Spacelab science module are visible through a window on the Mir Space Station. A 70mm camera, carried into space by the STS-71 crew aboard Atlantis, was used to expose the image. The linkup enabled the seven STS-71 crew members to visit Mir and it allowed the three Mir-18 crew members, in space since March of this year, access to Spacelab. That module was quite busy with tests and data collection involving the three until Atlantis brought them home on July 7, 1995.
Onboard STS-73, USML-2: Mission Specialist, Payload Commander, Kathryn Thorton with (CGF) Crystal Growth Furnace
STS071-705-055 (27 June-7 July 1995) --- This vertical view over the central Andes Mountains was photographed from the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis during the ten-day STS-71 mission. It is one of many still visuals shown by the returning crew during its post-flight press briefing on July 18, 1995. Views of Earth from orbit often make landscapes seem flat, but this view taken with the Sun near the horizon and with a 250mm lens able to pick up detail reveals the conical peaks of numerous volcanoes. The dusting of snow makes the view more vivid as the peaks cast black shadows. The snow is a few days old in this view since several roads can be seen crossing dry lake beds (smooth white areas between mountains, top right), indicating that vehicles have crushed and melted the thin snow. According to NASA scientists observing the STS-71 photography, some volcanoes are not yet mapped. They believe that most of the snow-covered peaks reach more than 16,000 feet in altitude.
STS074-S-022 (20 Nov 1995) --- The drag chute of the Space Shuttle Atlantis is deployed as the space vehicle touches down on Runway 33 of Kennedy Space Center?s (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility, completing its STS-74 mission. The main gear touched down at 12:01:27 p.m. (EST), November 20, 1995.
New renovated NASA Ames Research Center 12ft Pressure Wind Tunnel (with clouds)
NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft #911 (left) and #905 (right) were nose-to-nose on the ramp at NASA Dryden in this 1995 photo.
Astronauts Susan Helms (#1) and Carl Walz (#2) are training in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) at Marshall Space Flight center with an exercise for International Space Station Alpha. The NBS provided the weightless environment encountered in space needed for testing and the practices of Extravehicular Activities (EVA).
Astronaut Wendy B. Lawrence, flight engineer and mission specialist for STS-67, scribbles notes on the margin of a checklist while monitoring an experiment on the Space Shuttle Endeavour's mid-deck. The experiment is the Protein Crystal Growth (PCG), which takes up locker space near the Commercial Materials Dispersion Apparatus Instruments Technology Associates Experiment (CMIX).
STS069-363-010 (7-18 September 1995) --- Astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell, pilot, looks over a logbook on Space Shuttle Endeavour’s flight deck during rendezvous operations involving one of two temporarily free-flying craft. Astronaut James H. Newman (background), mission specialist, eyeballs the target. Endeavour, with a five-member crew, launched on September 7, 1995, from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The multifaceted mission ended September 18, 1995, with a successful landing on Runway 33 at KSC.
Mir 21 crew portraits. Group portrait of Mir 21 prime and backup crews with American and Russian flags and shuttle/Mir model, top from left: Yuri Usachev, Shannon Lucid, John Blaha and Alexandr Lazutkin, bottom from left: Yuri Onufrienko and Vasiliy Tsibliev (16674). Backup crew portrait: Lazutkin, Blaha and Tsibliev (16675). Group portrait of Mir 21 prime and backup crews with Donald Puddy, special assistant in Russian Project Office (16676). Prime crew portrait: Lucid, Usachev and Onufrienko (16677).