30 Years Ago: STS-63, First Shuttle and Mir Rendezvous Mission

NASA · February 3

The first shuttle mission of 1995, STS-63 included several historic firsts. As part of Phase 1 of the International Space Station program, space shuttle Discovery’s 20^th flight conducted the first shuttle rendezvous with the Mir space station, in preparation for future dockings. The six-person crew included Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Eileen Collins – the first woman to pilot a space shuttle mission – Payload Commander Bernard Harris, and Mission Specialists Michael Foale, Janice Voss, and Vladimir Titov. The spacewalk conducted during the mission included the first African American and the first British born astronauts to walk in space. The crew conducted 20 science and technology experiments aboard the third flight of the Spacehab module. The astronauts deployed and retrieved the SPARTAN-204 satellite that during its two-day free flight carried out observations of galactic objects using an ultraviolet instrument.

Mostly round mission patch showing a partial Mir space station and a nearby space shuttle, a US and Russian flag at the bottom and the names of the 6 astronauts around the edge of the patch. — The STS-63 crew patch.

A group photo of six astronauts, four in the front row wearing orange space suits and two in the back row in white spacewalking spacesuits — The STS-63 crew of Janice Voss, front row left, Eileen Collins, James Wetherbee, and Vladimir Titov; Bernard Harris, back row left, and Michael Foale.

A round patch showing a partial Earth at the bottom and a shuttle docked with the Mir space station. — The Shuttle-Mir program patch.

NASA announced the six-person STS-63 crew in September 1993 for a mission then expected to fly in May 1994. Wetherbee, selected by NASA in 1984, had already flown twice in space, as pilot on STS-32 and commander of STS-52. For Collins, selected in the class of 1990 as the first woman shuttle pilot, STS-63 marked her first spaceflight. Also selected in 1990, Harris had flown previously on STS-55 and Voss on STS-57. Foale, selected as an astronaut in 1987, had flown previously on STS-45 and STS-56. Titov, selected as a cosmonaut in 1976, had flown two previous spaceflights – a two-day aborted docking mission to Salyut-7 and the first year-long mission to Mir – and survived a launch pad abort. He served as backup to Sergei Krikalev on STS-60, who now served as Titov’s backup.

Image of a space shuttle stack rolling out to its launch pad along the crawlerway. — Space shuttle Discovery rolls out to Launch Pad 39B.

Group photo of six astronauts wearing blue flight suits. — The STS-63 crew during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test in the White Room of Launch Pad 39B.

Group photo of six astronauts wearing orange spacesuits walking in front of a silver van. — The STS-63 astronauts walk out of crew quarters for the van ride out to the launch pad.

Space shuttle Discovery arrived back at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 27, 1994, after a ferry flight from California following its previous mission, STS-64. Workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility the next day. Following installation of the Spacehab, SPARTAN, and other payloads, on Jan. 5, 1995, workers rolled Discovery from the processing facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with an external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. Rollout to Launch Pad 39B took place on Jan. 10. On Jan. 17-18, teams conducted the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, a dress rehearsal for the countdown to launch planned for Feb. 2, with the astronaut crew participating in the final few hours as they would on launch day. They returned to Kennedy on Jan. 29 for final pre-launch preparations. On Feb. 2, launch teams called a 24-hour scrub to allow time to replace a failed inertial measurement unit aboard Discovery.

Image of a space shuttle taking off on a pillar of flame at night. — Launch of space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-63.

View of a male astronaut sitting in the commander's seat of the space shuttle in orbit. — STS-63 Commander James Wetherbee on Discovery’s flight deck.

Image of a female astronaut sitting in the space shuttle's pilot seat in orbit. — STS-63 Pilot Eileen Collins on Discovery’s flight deck.

On Feb. 3, Discovery and its six-person crew lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at 12:22 a.m. EST, the time dictated by orbital mechanics – Discovery had to launch into the plane of Mir’s orbit. Within 8.5 minutes, Discovery had reached orbit, for the first time in shuttle history at an inclination of 51.6 degrees, again to match Mir’s trajectory. Early in the mission, one of Discovery’s 44 attitude control thrusters failed and two others developed minor but persistent leaks, threatening the Mir rendezvous.

Image of the tail of a space shuttle and the top half of a white flat topped module in its payload bay. — View of the Spacehab module in Discovery’s payload bay.

Image of a box-shaped gold and blue satellite, grappled by a robotic arm, suspended in front of the tail of the space shuttle. — The SPARTAN-204 satellite attached to the remote manipulator system or robotic arm during the flight day two operations.

On the mission’s first day in space, Harris and Titov activated the Spacehab module and several of its experiments. Wetherbee and Collins performed the first of five maneuvers to bring Discovery within 46 miles of Mir for the final rendezvous on flight day four. Teams on the ground worked with the astronauts to resolve the troublesome thruster problems to ensure a safe approach to the planned 33 feet. On flight day 2, as those activities continued, Titov grappled the SPARTAN satellite with the shuttle’s robotic arm and lifted it out of the payload bay. Scientists used the ultraviolet instrument aboard SPARTAN to investigate the ultraviolet glow around the orbiter and the aftereffects of thruster firings. The tests complete, Titov placed SPARTAN back in the payload bay.

Image of a module space station (Mir) against the blackness of space. — The Mir space station as seen from Discovery during the rendezvous.

Image of a space shuttle against a black sky, with parts of another spacecraft (Mir) visible in foreground. — Space shuttle Discovery as seen from Mir during the rendezvous.

Image of a module space station (Mir) against the blue and white background of the Earth below. — Mir during Discovery’s flyaround.

On flight day three, the astronauts continued working on science experiments while Wetherbee and Collins completed several more burns for the rendezvous on flight day four, the thruster issues resolved to allow the close approach to 33 feet. Flying Discovery manually from the aft flight deck, and assisted by his crew mates, Wetherbee slowly brought the shuttle to within 33 feet of the Kristall module of the space station. The STS-63 crew communicated with the Mir-17 crew of Aleksandr Viktorenko, Elena Kondakova, and Valeri Polyakov via VHF radio, and the crews could see each other through their respective spacecraft windows. After station-keeping for about 10 minutes, Wetherbee slowly backed Discovery away from Mir to a distance of 450 feet. He flew a complete circle around Mir before conducting a final separation maneuver.

A blue and gold box-shaped satellite floating free against the blackness of space, with the limb of the Earth visible below. — The SPARTAN-204 satellite as it begins its free flight on flight day five.

Image of a male astronaut working on an experiment in a module crowded with experiment hardware. — STS-63 crew member Vladimir Titov works on an experiment in the Spacehab module.

On the mission’s fifth day, Titov once again grappled SPARTAN with the robotic arm, but this time after raising it above the payload bay, he released the satellite to begin its two-day free flight. Wetherbee steered Discovery away from the departing satellite. During its free flight, the far ultraviolet imaging spectrograph aboard SPARTAN recorded about 40 hours of observations of galactic dust clouds. During this time, the astronauts aboard the shuttle continued work on the 20 experiments in Spacehab and prepared for the upcoming spacewalk.

Image of a female astronaut wearing a pink and blue striped polo shirt operating equipment on the space shuttle's flight deck. — STS-63 crew member Janice Voss operates the remote manipulator system during the retrieval of the SPARTAN-204 satellite.

Image shows two astronauts in spacesuits in the payload bay of the space shuttle during a spacewalk. — STS-63 astronauts Bernard Harris, left, and Michael Foale at the start of their spacewalk.

Wetherbee and the crew flew the second rendezvous of the mission on flight day seven to retrieve SPARTAN. Voss operated the robotic arm to capture and stow the satellite in the payload bay following its 43-hour free flight. Meanwhile, Foale and Harris suited up in the shuttle’s airlock and spent four hours breathing pure oxygen to rid their bodies of nitrogen to prevent decompression sickness, also known as the bends, when they reduced their spacesuit pressures for the spacewalk.

Image of two spacewalking astronauts in white spacesuits against the blackness of space. — Astronauts Bernard Harris, left, and Michael Foale during the spacesuit thermal testing part of their spacewalk.

Image of two spacewalking astronauts wearing white spacesuits, one standing vertically the other held horizontally by the shuttle's robotic arm. They and the tail of the shuttle are silhouetted against the blackness of space. — Foale, left, and Harris during the mass handling part of their spacewalk.

Foale and Harris exited the airlock minutes after Voss safely stowed SPARTAN. With Titov operating the robotic arm, Harris and Foale climbed aboard its foot restraint to begin the first phase of the spacewalk, testing modifications to the spacesuits for their thermal characteristics. Titov lifted them well above the payload bay and the two spacewalkers stopped moving for about 15 minutes, until their hands and feet got cold. The spacewalk then continued into its second portion, the mass handling activity. Titov steered Foale above the SPARTAN where he lifted the satellite up and handed it off to Harris anchored in the payload bay. Harris then moved it around in different directions to characterize handling of the 2,600-pound satellite. Foale and Harris returned to the airlock after a spacewalk lasting 4 hours 39 minutes.

A group photo of six astronauts, four men and two women, taken on the shuttle's flight deck. — The STS-63 astronauts pose for their inflight crew photo.

Image of a space shuttle touching down after its mission. — Discovery makes a successful landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The day following the spacewalk, the STS-63 crew finished the science experiments, closed down the Spacehab module, and held a news conference with reporters on the ground. Wetherbee and Collins tested Discovery’s thrusters and aerodynamic surfaces in preparation for the following day’s reentry and landing. The next day, on Feb. 11, they closed Discovery’s payload bay doors and put on their launch and entry suits. Wetherbee guided Discovery to a smooth landing on Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility, ending the historic mission after eight days, six hours, and 28 minutes. They orbited the Earth 129 times. The mission paved the way for nine shuttle dockings with Mir beginning with STS-71, and 37 with the International Space Station. Workers at Kennedy towed Discovery to the processing facility to prepare it for its next mission, STS-70 in July 1995.

Over the next three years, Wetherbee, Collins, Foale, and Titov all returned to Mir during visiting shuttle flights, with Foale staying aboard as the NASA-5 long-duration crew member. Between 2001 and 2005, Wetherbee, Collins, and Foale also visited the International Space Station. Wetherbee commanded two assembly flights, Collins commanded the return to flight mission after the Columbia accident, and Foale commanded Expedition 8.

Enjoy the crew narrate a video about their STS-63 mission.