STS-81

Key takeaways

STS-81 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect STS-81 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-81 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-81 was a January 1997 Space Shuttle Atlantis mission to the Mir space station.

Crew

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

STS-81 was the fifth of nine planned missions to Mir and the second one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts. Astronaut John Blaha, who had been on Mir since September 19, 1996, was replaced by astronaut Jerry Linenger. Linenger spent more than four months on Mir. He returned to Earth on Space Shuttle Mission STS-84. Atlantis carried the SPACEHAB double module providing additional middeck locker space for secondary experiments. During the five days of docked operations with Mir, the crews transferred water and supplies from one spacecraft to the other. A spacewalk by Linenger and one of his Russian cosmonaut crewmates occurred after the departure of Atlantis. The STS-81 mission included several experiments in the fields of advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, microgravity, and space sciences. It was hoped that data would supply insight for the planning and development of the International Space Station, Earth-based sciences of human and biological processes, and the advancement of commercial technology. On January 18, while Atlantis was docked to Mir, Grunsfeld placed a telephone call to the NPR show Car Talk, hosted by two of Grunsfeld's fellow MIT alumni, Tom and Ray Magliozzi.

STS-81 involved the transfer of 2,710 kilograms (5,970 lb) of logistics to and from the Mir, the largest transfer of items to date. During the docked phase, 635 kilograms (1,400 lb) of water, 516.1 kilograms (1,138 lb) of U.S. science equipment, 1,000.7 kilograms (2,206 lb) of Russian logistics along with 121.7 kilograms (268 lb) of miscellaneous material was transferred to Mir. Returned to Earth aboard Atlantis was 570.0 kilograms (1,256.6 lb) of U.S. science material, 404.5 kilograms (892 lb) of Russian logistics and 97.3 kilograms (215 lb) of miscellaneous material. First Shuttle flight of 1997 highlighted by return of U.S. astronaut John Blaha to Earth after 118-day stay aboard Russian Space Station Mir and the largest transfer to date of logistics between the two spacecraft. Atlantis also returned carrying the first plants to complete a life cycle in space — a crop of wheat grown from seed to seed. This fifth of nine planned dockings continued Phase 1B of the NASA/Russian Space Agency cooperative effort, with Linenger becoming the third U.S. astronaut in succession to live on Mir. Same payload configuration flown on previous docking flight — featuring SPACEHAB Double module — flown again. Blaha joined Mir 22 crew of Commander Valeri Korzun and Flight Engineer Aleksandr Kaleri on September 19, 1996, when he arrived there with the crew of STS-79. Linenger worked with the Mir 22 crew until the arrival in February of the Mir 23 crew of Commander Vasili Tsibliev, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Lazutkin and German researcher Reinhold Ewald. Ewald returned to Earth with the Mir 22 cosmonauts after a brief stay on the station. Astronaut Michael Foale replaced Linenger on Mir when the STS-84 mission arrived in May 1997.

Docking occurred at 22:55 EST, January 14, followed by hatch opening at 00:57 January 15. Linenger officially traded places at 04:45 with Blaha who spent 118 days on the station and 128 days total on-orbit. During five days of mated operations, crews transferred nearly 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) of logistics to Mir, including around 725 kilograms (1,598 lb) of water; around 516 kilograms (1,138 lb) of U.S. science equipment; and 1,001 kilograms (2,207 lb) of Russian logistical equipment. About 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb) of materials returned with Atlantis from Mir. Crew also tested on Shuttle the Treadmill Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System (TVIS), designed for use in the Russian Service Module of the International Space Station. Another activity related to International Space Station involved firing the orbiter's small vernier jet thrusters during mated operations to gather engineering data. Undocking occurred at 09:15 EST, January 19, followed by fly around of Mir. No significant in-flight anomalies were experienced with Atlantis.

Wake-up calls NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-81

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-81 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to STS-81 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about STS-81 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of STS-81

In research: STS-81 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses STS-81 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: STS-81 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human spaceflights to Mir, Space Shuttle missions, Spacecraft launched in 1997, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-81 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study STS-81 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-81 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain STS-81 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-81 in simple terms?

STS-81 was a January 1997 Space Shuttle Atlantis mission to the Mir space station. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission highlights STS-81 was the fifth of nine planned missions to Mir and the second one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts.

Why does STS-81 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study STS-81?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on STS-81.