CREW:
James D. Wetherbee, Commander; Michael J. Bloomfield, Pilot; Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist; Vladimir G. Titov, Mission Specialist, RSA; Jean-Loup Chretien, Mission Specialist, CNES; Wendy B. Lawrence, Mission Specialist; David A. Wolf, Mission Specialist (up); C. Michael Foale, Mission Specialist (down)

LAUNCH INFO:
Date: Sept. 25, 1997
Time: 10:31 p.m. EDT
Site: Kennedy Space Center, FL

SHUTTLE FLIGHT:
Orbiter: Atlantis (OV-104)
Orbit Altitude: 184 statute miles
Orbit Inclination: 51.6°
Mission Duration: 10 Days, 19 hours, 20 minutes

MIR DOCKING:
Docking: 7th Mir Docking
Dock Date: Sept. 27, 1997
Dock Time: 5:30 p.m. EDT
Undock Date: Oct. 3, 1997
Undock Time: 11:46 p.m. EDT

LANDING INFO:
Date: Oct. 6, 1997
Time: 5:56 p.m. EDT
Site: Kennedy Space Center, FL

PAYLOAD(S):
SPACEHAB-LDM Logistics Double Module (FU2/FU3)

[View Experiment Details]

[Download Mission Patch]

The SPACEHAB Logistics Double Module (LDM) was the primary payload aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on September 25, 1997 at 10:34 p.m. (EDT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-86. The fifth of seven planned SPACEHAB missions to the Russian Space Station Mir, STS-86 provided commercial logistics resupply services as part of Phase I of the International Space Station Program. The 7,500 pounds of cargo carried in the Logistics Double Module included Russian logistics items, food, and clothing. Along with these items, numerous scientific experiments were transferred to Mir and conducted by Dave Wolf during his long-duration stay.

The items carried in the SPACEHAB Modules during Shuttle-Mir Missions included vital equipment and supplies required by astronauts to live and work in space for extended periods. Specific items for STS-86 included the Individual Equipment Seat Liner specifically designed for astronaut Dave Wolf, which was switched out with Michael Foale's seat liner. The seat liner would have been used in case of an emergency return to Earth in a Russian Soyuz capsule. Also stowed in the SPACEHAB were a vast array of daily-use items such as computers and cables, batteries, mission schedule reference documents, food, clothing and personal "care" packages from the astronauts' and cosmonauts' families here on Earth.

The STS-86 flight delivered Dave Wolf to relieve astronaut Mike Foale, who had been on Mir since May 1997. Astronaut Wolf remained on Mir until January 1998 and performed numerous scientific experiments. He also took part in an EVA, or spacewalk, to assist in the repair of the damaged Spektr Module of the Space Station. In addition to his research in Life and Microgravity Sciences, Wolf conducted a number of smaller experiments called "risk mitigation experiments," or RME's, that were manifested to help in the design and construction of the International Space Station.

Due to recent issues with power and the depressurization of the Spektr Module of Mir, the SPACEHAB LDM carried 9 new large batteries that store solar power as well as three large air tanks (Air Pressurization Units) to leave on the Russian Space Station. Other pieces of hardware transferred during STS-86 included repair tools and supplies to be used by the Mir crew during spacewalks to repair the Space Station's damaged solar panels. Due to the unusually high amount of logistic cargo carried on this mission, several scientific payloads have been deferred to later missions.

Inside the LDM, most of the logistics items are housed in a soft stowage system. This system is a series of canvas-like bags, similar to backpacks or duffel bags, in various sizes that attach to the interior surfaces of the Module. The primary size bag is equivalent to a standard middeck locker to facilitate loading into the Module. Most bags are secured to the interior surface of the Module with a strap and buckle, similar to an automobile seat belt. To secure the contents inside the bags, foam is specially cut at SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility (SPPF) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to form-fit around the logistics items. The bags weigh less than standard middeck lockers which typically house science experiments and allow mission managers the ability to carry more and varied cargo in SPACEHAB Modules. The soft stowage system allows an average of up to 20% more cargo to be carried than standard lockers.

To facilitate the astronauts transfer of the bags to and from the LDM and Mir, a system was developed using a visual cue of color-coded cards in red, white, and blue. The contents of the bags marked with a red card were transferred to Mir and remain there, the contents of white coded bags could transfer out of the Module for use on-orbit, but were carried back to Earth in the Module, and the bags marked with a blue card remained in the Module and were filled with contents transferred from Mir.

SPACEHAB's anticipation of customer needs, flexible design, and payload processing experience once again enabled SPACEHAB to play a role to sustain the operations aboard the Mir Space Station and the Shuttle-Mir program -- a cooperative venture from which we all benefit.