Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing on Cape
Canaveral (
KSC).
It was the sixth Shuttle-MIR-Mission. The Spacehab-DM was onboard.
Following a two day solo flight the Atlantis docked with the MIR space station
on 17.05.1997. Common flight with the
23. MIR resident crew
(17. - 22.05.1997). The crew performed tests of a new developed
docking-maneuver. 3 tons of supplies were transferred (including a new
oxygen-aparature) from the Atlantis to the MIR.
Michael
Foale replaced Jerry
Linenger onboard the MIR and became member of the
23. MIR resident crew.
Undocking occurred on May 21, 1997. Unlike prior dockings, no flyaround
of the station by the orbiter was conducted, but orbiter was stopped three
times while backing away to collect data from a European sensor device designed
to assist future rendezvous of a proposed European Space Agency (
ESA)
resupply vehicle with the International Space Station.