STS-76

Flag of the United States.svg
Amerikas Forenede Stater's flag

Blue male symbol.svg
Forfatter/Opretter: Kwamikagami, Licens: CC BY-SA 4.0
symbol of Mars. 16 × 16 pixel nominal dimensions, lines 2 pixel thick, square caps. Colour 75% blue: red=0 green=0 blue=191 (#0000BF).

Pink Venus symbol.svg
Forfatter/Opretter: F l a n k e r, Licens: CC BY 3.0
symbol of Venus. 16 una pertinacia restitit sententiae. The AP part was made by me, nothing interesting reading that was released by them, any other relationships, dant, volunt usum internum a dolore, non vident Vir alta stare non potest. quantum rogant populi miserata vale mater pia. × 16 pixel nominal dimensions, lines 2 pixel thich. Colour: red=223 green=43 blue=106 (#DF2B6A).

Shuttle Patch.svg
SVG version of PNG Space Shuttle Logo/Patch.

Atlantis taking off on STS-27.jpg
Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight on its STS-27 mission on December 2, 1988, 9:30 a.m. EST, utilizing 375,000 pounds thrust produced by its three main engines. The STS-27 was the third classified mission dedicated to the Department of Defense (DoD). After completion of mission, Orbiter Atlantis landed December 6, 1988, 3:36 p.m. PST at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

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The STS-77 crew patch displays the Shuttle Endeavour in the lower left and its reflection within the tripod and concave parabolic mirror of the SPARTAN Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE). The center leg of the tripod also delineates the top of the Spacehab's shape, the rest of which is outlined in gold just inside the red perimeter. The Spacehab was carried in the payload bay and housed the Commercial Float Zone Furnace (CFZF). Also depicted within the confines of the IAE mirror are the mission's rendezvous operations with the Passive Aerodynamically-Stabilized Magnetically-Damped satellite (PAM/STU) appears as a bright six-pointed star-like reflection of the sun on the edge of the mirror with Endeavour in position to track it. The sunlight on the mirror's edge, which also appears as an orbital sunset, is located over Goddard Space Flight Center, the development facility for the SPARTAN/IAE and Technology Experiments Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS) experiments. The reflection of the Earth is oriented to show the individual countries of the crew as well as the ocean which Captain Cook explored in the original Endeavour. The mission number 77 is featured as twin stylized chevrons and an orbiting satellite as adapted from NASA's logo. The stars at the top are arranged as seen in the northern sky in the vicinity of the constellation Ursa Minor. The field of 11 stars represents both the TEAMS cluster of experiments (the four antennae of GPS Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE), the single canister of Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE), the three canisters of Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE), and the three canisters of PAM/STU) and the 11th flight of Endeavour. The constellation at the right shows the fourth flight of Spacehab Experiments.

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These six NASA astronauts launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on March 22, 1996 for the STS-76 mission. Pictured on the front row, left to right, are astronauts Ronald M. Sega, mission specialist; Kevin P. Chilton, mission commander; and Richard A. Searfoss, pilot. On the back row, left to right, are mission specialists Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, Shannon W. Lucid, and Linda M. Godwin. The third U.S. Shuttle-Mir docking, STS-76 began a new period of international cooperation in space exploration with the first Shuttle transport of a United States astronaut (Lucid) to Russia's Mir Space Station for extended joint space research. Clifford and Godwin, pictured here in training versions of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), performed the first Extravehicular Activity (EVA) during Mir-Shuttle docked operations.

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STS-76 Mission Insignia

The STS-76 crew patch depicts the Space Shuttle Atlantis and Russia's Mir Space Station as the space ships prepare for a rendezvous and docking. The Spirit of 76, an era of new beginnings, is represented by the Space Shuttle rising through the circle of 13 stars in the Betsy Ross flag. STS-76 begins a new period of international cooperation in space exploration with the first Shuttle transport of a United States astronaut, Shannon W. Lucid, to the Mir Space Station for extended joint space research. Frontiers for future exploration are represented by stars and the planets. The three gold trails and the ring of stars in union form the astronaut logo. Two suited extravehicular activity (EVA) crew members in the outer ring represent the first EVA during Shuttle-Mir docked operations. The EVA objectives were to install science experiments on the Mir exterior and to develop procedures for future EVA's on the International Space Station. The surnames of the crew members encircle the patch: Kevin P. Chilton, mission commander; Richard A. Searfoss, pilot; Ronald M. Sega, Michael R. ( Rich) Clifford, Linda M. Godwin and Lucid, all mission specialists. This patch was designed by Brandon Clifford, age 12, and the crew members of STS-76.

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This image was recorded by astronauts as the Space Shuttle Atlantis approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the STS-76 mission. Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels, Mir is orbiting about 350 kilometers above New Zealand's South Island and the city of Nelson near Cook Strait.
Backdropped against the waters of Cook Strait near New Zealand's South Island, Russia's Mir Space Station is seen from the aft flight deck window of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The two spacecraft were in the process of making their third docking in Earth-orbit. With the subsequent delivery of astronaut Shannon W. Lucid to the Mir, the Mir-21 crew grew to three, as the mission specialist quickly becomes a cosmonaut guest researcher. She will spend approximately 140 days on Mir before returning to Earth.

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STS-75 Mission Insignia

The STS-75 crew patch depicts the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Tethered Satellite connected by a 21 km electrically conduction tether. The Orbiter/satellite system is passing through the Earth's magnetic field which, like an electric generator, will produce thousands of volts of electricity. Columbia is carrying the United States Microgravity Pallet to conduct microgravity research in material science and thermodynamics. The tether is crossing the Earth's terminator signifying the dawn of a new era for space tether applications and in mankind's knowledge of the Earth's ionosphere, material science, and thermodynamics. The patch was designed for the STS-75 crew by Space Artist Mike Sanni.