Low earth orbit

Episode Audio> Episode Audio # Photos> Photos # Dave Wolf reading Time Magazine in the base block. Note the cover story: "How I Survived Mir" told by Mike Foale! Wolf and Solovyev suit up for their EVA Christmas in space is always a festive occasion.

After much deliberation on the ground, the verdict is that Dave Wolf will indeed remain on Mir for his full mission! So what does he do while he’s up there? And who’s that in the window?

Dave Wolf didn’t think he was going to Mir for another six months, but when Russia decides Wendy Lawrence is too short, schedules change. Though if Congress has anything to say about it, Wolf might not be going anywhere after all.

It’s Kent Rominger’s birthday, so what better way to celebrate than launching into space? Along the way we’ll send CRISTA-SPAS out for one last adventure, try out a Japanese robot arm, take pictures of comets, and try to avoid Blue Screens of Death.

The crew, payload, and orbiter of STS-94 have unfinished business in low earth orbit thanks to a busted fuel cell on STS-83. Let’s kick the tires, light the fires, and then light around 200 more fires, but carefully.

New episode! In part 2 of our NASA-5 coverage, we’ll find out what the crew did next after surviving the immediate crisis following the Progress M-34 collision. Also, we’ll wonder why there’s so much water in Mir’s walls.

New episode! Mike Foale’s stay on Mir for NASA-5 ended up being so eventful that I had no choice but to break it up into two parts. Thankfully, the same cannot be said for Mir after Progress M-34 comes knocking.

On STS-84 we’ll deliver Mike Foale to Mir and bring Jerry Linenger back to Earth. We’ll also wonder how much Elektron really weighs, enjoy the music in the base block, and contemplate the mystical powers of a shouting Marine.

New episode! The crew of STS-83 is ready for a 16 day flight aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, with Spacelab packed full of materials science experiments. So why did the flight end up only being 4 days long?

On STS-82 we’ve got another ground-up rendezvous on our hands. But instead of flying to Mir, we’ll be visiting our old friend the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s been a few years since STS-61 fixed its optical flaw, and it’s due for an upgrade!

When we last left Jerry Linenger, we still had most of his mission to cover! On this episode we’ve got space-bound contraband, a LEO version of ‘crisscross crash’, and a historical EVA.

Jerry Linenger’s long duration mission on Mir was so action-packed that I had to break it up into two parts! Even with two parts, this is a pretty long episode, so enjoy!

On STS-81 we’ll deliver Jerry Linenger to his new orbital home, bring John Blaha back to Earth, throw some meat and cheese around in weightlessness, and try not to get lost in Mir’s darkened twist and turns.

On STS-80 we’ve got free-flying payloads, troublesome EVAs, a bunch of rats, and a reentry to remember. Strap in for the longest flight of the entire shuttle program! Don’t worry, we’ll step outside for a breath of fresh vacuum.

John Blaha will stay on Mir for four months and will encounter unexpected bubbles, limited communications, fourteen hour days, and the first ever NASA in-space handover. Let’s just hope his sanity survives the next few months.

Shannon Lucid has been waiting for her ride home and John Blaha is ready to swap in as America’s next long duration spacefarer. We’ll also fix our SRBs, try to heat up some metal, and enjoy some barbecue in Atlantis.

On STS-78 we’ve got a bunch of materials science, a bunch of muscles to study, and a bunch of wake-up songs to roll our eyes at. Let’s just hope we have enough fuel to make it to orbit in the first place!

On STS-77 we’ve got some experimental technology to try out that if nothing else lead to some pretty wild visuals. We’ll also get some work done on SPACEHAB and wonder why Marc Garneau loves hanging out with Australians so much.