Front row (L-R): Front: Brent Jett, Michael Baker;
Back Row (L-R): John Grunsfeld, John Blaha, Peter Wisoff, Jerry Linenger, Marsha Ivins
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-81), launched January 12, 1997, was the fifth mission to the space station Mir. Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Brent Jett, Peter Wisoff, John Gunsfeld, Marsha Ivins and Jerry Linenger.
Linenger stayed on board Mir as part of Expedition EO-22 and John Blaha returned with the rest of the crew January 22. Linenger became the third American to live on Mir. Blaha had spent 118 days aboard.
Valery Korzun, born March 5, 1953 in the former Soviet Union, has been to space twice but spent over a year total in space.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-24 in August 1996 as part of Mir EO-22. He returned to Earth in March 1997 having spent almost 197 days on Mir.
His next trip into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-111) in June 2002 to the International Space Station. He joined Expedition 5 as commander. He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-113) December 7, 2002 after almost 185 days.
Jerry Michael Linenger, born January 16, 1955 in East Detroit, Michigan, is a veteran of 3 Space Shuttle flights and one mission aboard Mir. After graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1977 down here in Annapolis, Maryland, he went to medical school, eventually getting a Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in 1989.
His first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-64) in September 1994 as mission specialist. Dr. Linenger's second mission was on Atlantis (STS-81) in January 1997 to the space station Mir, where he stayed for 132 days as part of Expedition EO-22. While on board, he became the first American astronaut to conduct an EVA from a foreign spacecraft, wearing a foreign-made spacesuit.
He returned to Earth aboard Atlantis (STS-84) in May 1997.
