February 26, 2010 Vol. 3, Issue 2
Fifteen years ago, Discovery embarked upon the second mission of the U.S.-Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, performing a memorable rendezvous about Mir.
Discovery being rolled out to launch pad 39B for launch on February 3, 1995. Photo Credit: NASA
On February 6, 1995, Discovery silently swept underneath the Mir Space Station, closing a 4,000-mile gap to 400 feet. It steadily climbed to begin circling the station, getting as close as 35 feet to the station before it would back away again and return home.
Once described as a “dance in the cosmos,” the STS-63 “Near-Mir” mission was the dress rehearsal for future missions that would dock with Mir. As Discovery reached its closest approach to Mir, STS-63 Commander Jim Wetherbee said, “As we are bringing our space ships closer together, we are bringing our nations closer together. The next time we approach, we will shake your hand and together we will lead our world into the next millennium.”
Discovery’s crew also included Eileen M. Collins, the first woman to pilot a shuttle into space; Vladimar Titov, the cosmonaut’s first mission aboard the shuttle; and mission specialists C. Michael Foale, Janice E. Voss, and Bernard Harris, Jr. In addition to testing the systems and techniques required to rendezvous with Mir, other highlights of the flight included deploying and retrieving the Spartan-204 (Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy) satellite, which obtained data on UV light that reflected off the shuttle and into space.
The STS-63 crew talks about their mission. Video Credit: National Space Society (www.nss.org)
SPACEHAB 3 was also onboard and carried several experiments related to crystal growth, plant studies, and the demonstration of a robot named Charlotte. The robot maneuvered about via a “web” of wires that allowed it to change experiment samples and perform routine procedures when astronauts were unavailable to do so.
Two days before Discovery returned home, Foale and Harris performed a five-hour spacewalk that tested the improvements made to the spacesuits and mass handling exercises, which included Harris moving around the 3,000-pound Spartan-204 satellite. Harris became the first African-American to perform an EVA in space.
Discovery touched down on the morning of February 11, 1995, completing its twentieth flight to space. The successful completion of this mission laid the foundation for the STS-71 Atlantis shuttle mission to successfully dock with Mir for the first time.
