Shannon Lucid, Ph.D.
Dates: 188 days – March 22,
1996 to September 26, 1996
Notes: Lucid holds the U.S.
space-endurance record. Her stay aboard Mir is chronicled in the IMAX film
Mission to Mir.
Current status: Still a NASA
astronaut.
John Blaha
Dates: 128 days – September
16, 1996 to January 22, 1997
Notes: Conducted experiments
in plant growth, medicine and biotechnology. Even though he was considered
one of the most fluent Russian speakers in the program, he commented on
feelings of isolation. This may be partly due to the crew he trained to
fly with was replaced at the last minute.
Current status: Blaha retired
from the Air Force in 1993 and resigned from NASA in 1997. Currently vice
president of applied research at USAA in San Antonio, Texas.
Jerry Linenger, M.D.
Dates: 132 days – January
12 to May 24, 1997
Notes: Experienced a near
catastrophic fire aboard Mir with his two Russian colleagues. During his
stay aboard Mir, the station was plagued with electrical and environmental
problems. Linenger also was the first American astronaut to perform a spacewalk
in a Russian spacesuit.
Current status: Resigned
from NASA and retired from the U.S. Navy in 1996. Recently wrote a memoir
of his Mir experiences titled Off the Planet: Surviving Five
Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir.
C. Michael Foale,
Ph.D.
Dates: 132 days – May 15
to October 6, 1997
Notes: During Foale’s time
aboard Mir, a Progress supply ship collided with the station’s Spektr module.
Foale assisted his crew mates in sealing off and isolating the module,
which was also his living quarters. He also conducted a spacewalk to make
repairs to the station.
Current status: Still a NASA
astronaut and an assistant director at Johnson Space Center. Foale flew
on the December 1999 shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
David Wolf, M.D.
Dates: 128 days – September
25, 1997 to January 31, 1998
Notes: Wolf resumed scientific
work hampered by Mir technical problems before his arrival. He also performed
one spacewalk while aboard the space station. Wolf replaced astronaut Wendy
Lawrence because he was qualified for spacewalks in a Russian spacesuit.
Before Mir, Wolf’s career was in jeopardy due to bad publicity. He inadvertently
became involved in an FBI sting operation targeted at Johnson Space Center
employees and contractors.
Current status: Still a NASA
astronaut.
Andrew Thomas, Ph.D.
Dates: 141 days – January
22 to June 12, 1998
Notes: Thomas’s flight got
off to a rocky start when he complained on the ground that his Russian
spacesuit didn’t fit, while engineers insisted it would work fine. The
Mir commander solved the problem by cutting leg straps inside the suit.
The Russians also complained Thomas’s language skills were not up to par.
In defense of Thomas, he had the least amount of time to train in Russia
because he had been a backup astronaut and wasn’t expected to fly. Thomas
proved his worth when he assisted his crew mates in a problematic spacewalk.
Current status: Still a NASA
astronaut.
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