STS-74 Fact Sheet

By Cliff Lethbridge

STS-74 — Atlantis

73rd Space Shuttle Mission

15th Flight of Atlantis

Crew:

Kenneth D. Cameron, Commander

James D. Halsell, Jr., Pilot

Chris A. Hadfield, Mission Specialist

Jerry L. Ross, Mission Specialist

William S. “Bill” McArthur, Jr., Mission Specialist

Orbiter Preparations:

Tow to Orbiter Processing Facility – July 7, 1995

Rollover to Vehicle Assembly Building – October 3, 1995

Rollout to Launch Pad 39A – October 12, 1995

Launch:

November 12, 1995 – 7:30:43 a.m. EST. Launch was originally scheduled for November 11, 1995 but was scrubbed due to unacceptable weather at all Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) sites. November 12 launch occurred as scheduled with no delays.

Landing:

November 20, 1995 – 12:01:27 p.m. EST at Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center. Rollout distance was 8,607 feet. Rollout time was 57 seconds. Mission duration was 8 days, 4 hours, 30 minutes, 44 seconds. Landing occurred during the 129th orbit.

Mission Summary:

This was the second docking mission with the Russian Mir Space Station. While the first docking mission centered around an historic crew exchange, this mission focused on the delivery of equipment to Mir.

The primary payload was the Russian-built Docking Module (DM) which became a permanent extension on Mir to facilitate better clearance between Mir and the Space Shuttle during docking operations.

Two solar arrays were stowed on the DM and later transferred to Mir by spacewalking cosmonauts.

The hatches between Mir and Atlantis were opened at 4:02 a.m. EST on November 15, 1995. Control of DM operation was transferred to the Mir 20 crew.

The Atlantis crew transferred numerous articles to Mir, including 1,000 pounds of water. Numerous experiment samples including blood, urine and saliva were transferred from Mir to Atlantis for a return to Earth.

The Atlantis crew also offered gifts, including maple sugar candy and a guitar.

Atlantis undocked from Mir at 4:15 a.m. EST on November 18, 1995 followed by a flyaround the space station at a distance of 400 feet.