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Atlantis slated for pre-dawn liftoff
Mir exchange scheduled for Tuesday
January 11, 1997
Web posted at: 8:45 p.m. ESTCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- The shuttle Atlantis was scheduled for a pre-dawn liftoff Sunday on a mission to exchange U.S. astronauts aboard the Russian space station Mir.
Jerry Linenger and five fellow astronauts were preparing for a launch from the Kennedy Space Center at 4:27 a.m., and a linkup with Mir on Tuesday.
NASA officials said Saturday the countdown was proceeding smoothly with no technical problems. Forecasters gave Atlantis a 70 percent chance of fair weather during its narrow seven-minute launch window.
Linenger, who is to take John Blaha's place on Mir, is a 41- year-old Navy captain and medical doctor. An astronaut for four years, he has only about 11 days space experience from a single shuttle flight in 1994.
"I think it will be a rapid learning curve on Mir," Linenger said. "On the other hand I have had a good experience [training] over in Russia, and I feel 100 percent ready to go."
Waiting for Linenger's return are a 1-year-old son and his wife, Kathryn, who is expecting their second child in June. Atlantis is supposed to return to Mir in May to bring him home.
The U.S. astronauts who stayed on Mir before him, including Norm Thagard, Shannon Lucid and Blaha, had each been on four space flights prior to visiting Mir. All were members of the NASA astronaut corps since before the space shuttle's maiden voyage in 1981, and all were 10 years his senior.
"John sure will be ready to come home, and happy to see his friends," Atlantis commander Mike Baker.
"The cosmonauts ... will be happy to see any visitors that arrive after their long stay in space. And Jerry, of course, will be happy to see his new crewmates, and ready to get on with his work in space."
Blaha tells CNN he's got plans for his return to Earth.
"The first thing I'm going to do is meet my wife. I'm going to hug her and kiss her real big, and take it from there," Blaha said.
At the end of the mission, Atlantis will fly around Mir to see if there has been any new damage since Blaha arrived. The pictures they take will tell NASA a lot about what could happen to the international space station when it gets into orbit at the end of this year.
Correspondent John Holliman and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- Atlantis undocks from fourth Mir docking - September 23, 1996
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