STS-71 Day 7 Highlights

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On Monday, July 3, 1995, 6 a.m. CDT, STS-71 MCC Status Report # 12 reports:

The Florida State University Fight Song woke up the Atlantis/Mir crew members today in honor of former Seminole Norm Thagard, the Mir 18 cosmonaut-researchers who is in his 111th day on orbit and celebrating his 52nd birthday today.

Well under way on board the spacecraft are the joint U.S. and Russian biomedical investigations being conducted in the Spacelab module. Both the astronauts and cosmonauts will spend time on the treadmill or cycle ergometer today, and the Mir 18 crew members will continue to act as test subjects to see how extended exposure to a microgravity environment affects the body's ability to absorb medication and respond to viral infections.

All three crews will gather in Atlantis' Spacelab module for the traditional press conference. Media from JSC, KSC and Russia will have the opportunity to talk with the crew members in that event, scheduled to begin at 9:07 a.m. central time.

The final official meeting of the three Atlantis/Mir crews takes place at a farewell ceremony scheduled to begin at 12:32 p.m. on board Mir. Following the official farewell, crew members will complete the final minutes of equipment transfer, bid a personal adieu to their friends and colleagues, then close the hatches of each spacecraft to prepare for Tuesday's undocking.

In the meantime, transfer of equipment and water to the Mir continues. In addition to the continuing transfer of excess shuttle water, the SVET root module, which provides a growth medium for plants as part of the Mir Greenhouse experiment also will be transferred and stowed on board Mir.

By the time of Tuesday's undocking, more than one-half ton of water, along with 53 pounds of oxygen, and 80 pounds of nitrogen will have been transferred to the space station. The oxygen and nitrogen are being transferred to Mir by using the Shuttle's atmospheric system to raise the air pressure in the station.

On Monday, July 3, 1995, 5:30 p.m. CDT, STS-71 MCC Status Report # 13 reports:

With a final hug to departing cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov, Mir 19 Commander Anatoly Solovyev bolted the door of the Mir space station this afternoon. Atlantis' Flight Engineer Greg Harbaugh followed suit shortly afterward, performing a final check on a docking target the next visiting Shuttle will use and then closing the Shuttle's hatch.

Mir's hatch was closed at 2:32 p.m. Central today, and Atlantis' hatch was closed at 2:48 p.m. Central. Following the hatch closing, Harbaugh began depressurizing the tunnel that had connected Mir and Atlantis, venting the air overboard to equalize the tunnel with the vacuum of space in preparation for tomorrow's undocking. The air vented overboard slower than expected, but steadily; and a leak check showed both spacecraft hatches were securely closed. Flight controllers believe the slow depressurization was due to thermal blankets that partially obstructed the vent.

Prior to closing the hatches on the station and Shuttle, the ten cosmonauts and astronauts held a formal farewell ceremony. Atlantis' crew presented flight pins, watches, fresh fruit, and tortillas to the Mir 19 crew to wish them well as they start a two-month stay on Mir. Also today, medical examinations continued on the Mir 18 crew members, now Atlantis' passengers, in the Shuttle's laboratory module. The Mir 18 cosmonauts and astronaut Norm Thagard have been in orbit for 111 days.

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