From NASANews@luna.osf.hq.nasa.govSun Jan 28 12:34:54 1996 Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 12:48:17 -0500 From: NASA HQ Public Affairs Office To: press-release-com@mercury.hq.nasa.gov Subject: Astronauts Foale, Voss Join Colleagues in Star City, Russia Ed Campion Headquarters, Washington, DC January 16, 1996 (Phone: 202/358-1778) Kyle Herring Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (Phone: 713/483-5111) RELEASE: 96-5 ASTRONAUTS FOALE, VOSS JOIN COLLEAGUES IN STAR CITY, RUSSIA Three-time Space Shuttle veteran C. Michael Foale, Ph.D., has joined fellow astronauts training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for stays on Russia's Mir space station. Foale will be the fifth and final astronaut currently scheduled to stay on Mir as part of the first phase of the International Space Station program. James S. Voss (Colonel, USA) will serve as Foale's backup. Foale will train as the backup to Jerry M. Linenger, who will be the fourth astronaut to stay aboard Mir as part of the first phase leading toward development and construction of the International Space Station. Foale then will be the prime crew member for a subsequent Mir stay targeted for late 1996. Shannon W. Lucid, the next astronaut to stay on Mir, will be launched on the third docking mission scheduled for March (STS-76). She will return home following a five-month stay and be replaced by John E. Blaha on the STS-79 mission of Atlantis. Blaha will spend about four months on Mir as a prime crew member for the Mir-22/23 crews. The two veteran Shuttle astronauts have been training in Star City since last February. Linenger will replace Blaha on Mir, launching aboard Atlantis on STS-81 for a five month mission with the Mir- 23/24 crews. Foale will launch on STS-84 to replace Linenger and will spend about four months on the space station with the Mir 24/25 crews. Voss will serve as a backup crew member and is not scheduled for a long-duration stay on Mir. "The current flight assignments reflect both prime and backup crew members for the docking missions to Mir," said Frank Culbertson, Acting Director, Phase I (Shuttle/Mir) Program. "Each of these individuals is extremely talented and all are proven performers in space flight. Both the U.S. and Russian programs will benefit from their experience and their expertise as we continue with these cooperative missions." The flight assignments for the five astronauts are: Flight Prime Back-up To Mir Return Mir 21/22 Shannon Lucid John Blaha STS-76 STS-79 Mir 22/23 John Blaha Jerry Linenger STS-79 STS-81 Mir 23/24 Jerry Linenger Mike Foale STS-81 STS-84 Mir 24/25 Mike Foale Jim Voss STS-84 STS-86 Foale, 38, flew on STS-45 aboard Atlantis in 1992, Discovery's STS-56 mission in 1993 and most recently on the STS-63 mission in February which saw Discovery rendezvous with Mir, approaching to within 37 feet of the space station. He considers Cambridge, England, his hometown. Foale completed his doctorate in laboratory astrophysics at Cambridge University in 1982. Voss, 46, flew on Altantis' STS-44 mission in 1991, STS- 53 aboard Discovery in 1992 and most recently on STS-69 aboard Endeavour in September. He considers Opelika, AL, his hometown. Voss earned a bachelor of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University in 1972 and a master of science degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado in 1974. -end- NASA press releases and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov. In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second automatic message will include additional information on the service. Questions should be directed to (202) 358-4043.