STS-76 Mission Control Center 
Status Report # 12

Thursday, March 28, 1996, 7:30 a.m. CST

The Atlantis and Mir crews bid an emotional farewell to one another
early this morning, in what STS-76 Commander Kevin Chilton called
"a bittersweet moment."

The eight astronauts and cosmonauts exchanged handshakes and hugs in
the Mir core module, and then praised mission control centers in both
Houston and Kaliningrad for their support throughout the joint phase
of the mission.

"We just don't believe that in a few minutes the STS-76 crew will go
through the docking module and we'll say farewell," said Mir 21
Commander Yuri Onufrienko. "We will observe each other only through
the portholes -- they'll be looking at us and we'll be looking
at them.  It will be sad to say farewell to such a good team."

At the start of the farewell ceremony, the Mir crew received a call
from Vladimir Solovyev, Chief Flight Director at Mission Control
Kaliningrad, congratulating the crews on the success of the mission.

With the official goodbyes complete, the eight astronauts and
cosmonauts spent time together for a more personal farewell between
friends.  Hatches between the Shuttle and Mir were closed for the
final time at about 7:15 a.m. today, in preparation for Atlantis'
undocking at about 7:05 p.m. tonight.

When the capture mechanism on the docking module releases and Atlantis
moves away from the Mir Space Station, the STS-76 crew will leave
behind former crewmate Shannon Lucid to begin more than four months of
scientific research on board Mir.  Lucid is inaugurating a continual
American presence on board Mir that will continue to 1998.  Following
tonight's undocking from Mir, Atlantis will fly around the space
station for about an hour and a half, taking photos before firing its
engines at 8:53 p.m. and dropping into a lower orbit of about 220
nautical miles altitude.

Prior to this morning's hatch closure, the crews transferred about
two tons of scientific equipment, logistical material, and resupply
items between the two spacecraft, including 1,507 pounds of water in
15 containers.  They also performed a final check of their inventory
lists to ensure all the transfer activity was complete.

Shortly after 3 am. CST today, Atlantis and Mir commanders Chilton and
Onufrienko, along with spacewalkers Linda Godwin and and Rich
Clifford, took time out to talk with CBS' "Up to the Minute."
The space flyers discussed the success of their joint mission and the
6-hour spacewalk conducted Wednesday by Godwin and Clifford.

All systems on board Atlantis are continuing to perform well, and the
astronauts are turning their attention to final stowage activities as
they conclude the joint portion of the mission.  # # #