Discovery (STS-63) launched 1995

STS-63 crew

First row (L-R): Janice Voss, Eileen Collins, James Wetherbee, Vladimir Titov

Back row (L-R): Bernard Harris, Michael Foale

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-63), launched February 3, 1995, was the first space shuttle rendezvous with the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Eileen Collins, Bernard Harris, Michael Foale, Janice Voss, and Vladimir Titov (Roscosmos).  It was the first flight to have a female pilot.

Foale and Harris performed an EVA for over 4 1/2 hours.

They returned to Earth February 11.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Vladimir Titov!

Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov, born January 1, 1947 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of four space flights.

His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz T-8 as commander to Salyut 7 in April 1983 but the spacecraft failed to dock and they had to return to Earth two days later.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz T-10-1, which was also a planned trip to Salyut 7 in September 1983, but the spacecraft exploded on the launch pad, and he and fellow cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov had to use the escape system.

His next attempt was successful.  He blasted off in Soyuz TM-4 as commander in December 1987 to the Mir space station, as part of Mir EO-3 expedition.  He remained aboard for a year and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-6 in December 1988.

His third mission was aboard Discovery (STS-63) as mission specialist in February 1995 to Mir.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) to Mir September-October 1997 as mission specialist.  He performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Scott Parazynski for about 5 hours.

Soyuz TM-4 launched 1987

Soyuz TM-4 launch crew

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-4, launched December 21, 1987, was the fourth manned mission to the space station Mir.  Its crew at lift-off consisted of Commander Vladimir Titov, Musa Manarov and Anatoli Levenchenko.  Titov and Manarov were part of the expedition Mir EO-3 and stayed in space for a year returning to Earth.  Levchenko returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-3 a week later.

Soyuz TM-4 returned in June 1998 with crew of Mir EP-2:Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Viktor Savinykh and Aleksandr Aleksandrov.  They had arrived a week earlier on Soyuz TM-5.

Atlantis (STS-86) launched 1997

Front row (L-R): Michael Bloomfield, James Wetherbee, Wendy Lawrence; 

Back row: Jean-Loup Chrétien, Scott Parazynski, Vladimir Titov, Michael Foale.

(This picture must have been taken after the flight since Wolf is not in it.)

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-86), launched September 25, 1997, was the seventh shuttle mission to Mir and the last before Atlantis was taken out of service for maintenance and upgrades.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Michael Bloomfield, Vladimir Titov (Roscosmos), Scott Parazynski, Jean-Loup Chretien (National Center for Space Studies), Wendy Lawrence and David Wolf.

Wolf replaced Michael Foale as the resident U.S. astronaut on Mir, the decision made only the night before the launch by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin.  There had been political pressure on NASA to discontinue American astronauts on Mir after problems during Foale's residence and his predecessor Jerry Linenger. 

Parazynski and Titov conducted one EVA for about 5 hours.

The crew, with Foale instead of Wolf, landed October 6.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Scott Parazynski!

Scott Parazynski, born July 28, 1961 in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a veteran of five space shuttle missions and seven spacewalks.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-66) as mission specialist in November 1994.  It was the last solo flight for Atlantis until 2009.  Until then, her missions were either to Mir or the International Space Station.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) as mission specialist to Mir September-October 1997.  He performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Vladimir Titov (Roscosmos) which lasted about 5 hours.

Parazynski's third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-95) as mission specialist in October-November 1998.  John Glenn made history by going into space at 77 years old on this trip.


His fourth flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as mission specialist April-May 2001 to the International Space Station.  Parazynski performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Chris Hadfield for a total of almost 15 hours.

Scott's fifth and final flight was on Discovery (STS-120) as mission specialist October-November 2007.   He conducted four EVAs, three with Douglas Wheelock, and one with Daniel Tani, for a total of 27 hours and 14 minutes.

Soyuz T-8 launched 1983

Soyuz T-8, launched April 20, 1983, tried to dock with Salyut 7, but failed, returning to Earth two days later.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Titov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov and Research Cosmonaut Aleksandr Serebrov.

After they returned to Earth, it was determined that a rendezvous radar antenna boom had been torn off during launch when the payload shroud separated.  While in space, the crew believed the antenna boom to be attached but after several attempts to dock with Salyut 7, it was decided to cut the mission short to ensure the crew had enough fuel to return to Earth.

Soyuz T-10-1 explodes on launch pad, but crew survived 1983

Soyuz T-10-1, a mission scheduled to visit Salyut 7, the space station occupied by the Soyuz T-9 crew, exploded on the launch pad, September 26, 1983.  Miraculously, cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Gennady Strekalov survived via the launch escape system. 

While waiting for fueling of the booster to finish, a bad valve allowed pressurized nitrogen gas into a pump with no propellant.  The pump ruptured and started a fire which consumed the base of the launch vehicle.  The crew, realizing something was very wrong, could not initiate the escape system.  The launch control team could activate it but the control cables were already destroyed by the fire. 

The LES was activated by two launch personnel, but the procedure required them to press two buttons within 5 seconds of each other after receiving authorization.  It took 20 seconds to perform the operation and the booster and pad were in flames by that time.  The orbital module was separated from the lower part of the rocket by explosive bolts and then the escape system motor fired, breaking the crew free from the booster, which exploded just after. 

The cosmonauts landed badly bruised from the sudden acceleration but alive and well, four miles away.  They asked recovery crews for cigarettes to calm their nerves and were given shots of vodka to help them relax.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L