SPACEPHOTOS

(05/24/1997) --- This unusual view of the underside of the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis shortly before landing was taken by a fish-eye camera lens from KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The Vehicle Assembly Building is in the background at left. The Shuttle Training Aircraft can be seen in the distance, at center. Atlantis is wrapping up its nine-day STS-84 mission, which was the sixth docking of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Atlantis was docked with the Mir for five days. STS-84 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale replaced astronaut and Mir 23 crew member Jerry M. Linenger, who has been on the Russian space station since Jan. 15. Linenger is returning to Earth on Atlantis with the rest of the STS-84 crew, Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen Marie Collins, and Mission Specialists Carlos I. Noriega, Edward Tsang Lu, Elena V. Kondakova of the Russian Space Agency and Jean-Francois Clervoy of the European Space Agency. Foale is scheduled to remain on the Mir for approximately four months, until he is replaced by STS-86 crew member Wendy B. Lawrence in September. Besides the docking and crew exchange, STS-84 included the transfer of more than 7,300 pounds of water, logistics and science experiments and hardware to and from the Mir. Scientific experiments conducted during the STS-84 mission, and scheduled for Foale’s stay on the Mir, are in the fields of advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, International Space Station risk mitigation, microgravity sciences and space sciences