This week in 1997, space shuttle Atlantis, STS-86, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on its way to dock with the Russian Mir space station. During nine Shuttle/Mir docking missions, NASA astronauts performed several experiments developed by researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. These experiments helped investigators prepare for experiments on the International Space Station. Here, Atlantis returns to Kennedy after its 10-day mission. The NASA History Program documents and preserves NASA’s remarkable history through a variety of products — photos, press kits, press releases, mission transcripts and administrators’ speeches. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the History Program’s Web page.
Image Credit: NASA