During the Jan. 13Ð19, 1993, flight of Endeavour,
commander John H. Casper and a crew of four deployed a data-relay
satellite
and ran biology X-ray astronomy studies. Two of the crew also conducted long space walks.
Commander Kenneth Cameron and his three-person crew aboard Discovery on April 8Ð17 released a solar-research
satellite and studied depletion of the ozone layer. Columbia's April 26ÐMay 6 mission, with commander Steven Nagel and his crew of six, including two Germans, conducted experiments for the German Space Agency and tested a robot arm. The 56th Shuttle mission, on June 21ÐJuly 1, involved commander Ronald Grabe and a crew of five aboard Endeavour with its "Spacehab" module. They retrieved the ESA's Eureca satellite. On September 12Ð23, commander Frank Culbertson, Jr., and a crew of four in Discovery retrieved a German ultraviolet telescope and released the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite. The Oct. 18ÐNov. 1, 1993, flight of Columbia, commanded by John Blaha with a crew of six, was another Spacelab medical-research mission, while the December 2Ð13 flight of Endeavour, commanded by Richard Covey with a crew of six, was devoted to a successful repair of the Space Telescope. The 60th Shuttle mission, flown on Discovery on Feb. 3Ð11, 1994, by commander Charles Bolden and a crew of five, failed in its attempt to launch a science satellite called the Wake Shield Facility. It was notable, however, in that one of its crew members was Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a U.S. spacecraft. On March 4Ð18 commander John Casper and a crew of four flew Columbia on a mission involving several scientific experiments. The Endeavour was flown April 9Ð20 by commander Sidney Gutierrez and a crew of four on an Earth-surveying mission. Columbia returned to space July 8Ð23, commanded by Robert Cabana with a crew of six, including Dr. Chiaki Naito-Mukai, a heart surgeon and Japan's first woman astronaut. The mission studied the effects of gravity on aquatic animals and other living systems. On September 9Ð20 commander Richard Richards and a crew of five flew Discovery on its 19th mission, which included a laser study of the atmosphere, solar studies, and an untethered space-walk test by two astronauts of a new jet backpack. Endeavour was flown Sept. 30ÐOct. 11, 1994, by commander Michael Baker and a crew of four on an environmental Earth-mapping mission using an advanced radar system. The last Shuttle mission of 1994 was flown by commander Donald McMonagle and a crew of five aboard Atlantis for ozone studies and the launch and retrieval of a German satellite. The 67th Shuttle mission, a preliminary test rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir, was flown Feb. 3Ð11, 1995, aboard Discovery by commander James Wetherbee and a crew of five, including Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot a NASA spaceship. Tests made of a new space suit model showed that it needed further improvement. Commanded by Stephen Oswald and with a crew of six, Endeavour flew the 68th Shuttle mission on March 2Ð18. The flight was devoted to ultraviolet-telescope studies and tests of communications and navigation techniques. On June 27 the 69th Shuttle mission lifted off toward a historic docking of the Atlantis with Russian space station Mir two days later. The crew of seven included Robert L. Gibson, the commander, and two Russian cosmonauts. The Russians transferred to Mir, while Atlantis in turn received two cosmonauts and American astronaut Norman Thagard, who had been launched in a Soyuz. Atlantis landed on July 7. The 70th mission was flown July 13Ð22 in Discovery by a crew of 5, including commander Terence Henricks. They deployed a NASA data-relay satellite and conducted medical and military experiments. On September 7Ð18, the Endeavour, commanded by David Walter with a crew of five, flew a mission troubled by satellite-experiment difficulties, but a test of new space-walk gear proved successful. After repeated des Columbia was launched on October 20 with commander Kenneth Bowerbox and a crew of 6. The science mission conducted microgravity experiments before the Shuttle landed on November 7. The 73d mission, and the last of 1995, was flown in Atlantis November 12Ð20 by commander Kenneth Cameron and a crew of four, including one Canadian. The Atlantis docked successfully with Mir for two days, as a further test of future space-station activities. The first flight of 1996 was made on January 11Ð20 in the Endeavour. The crew of six included Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to work full-time in the Shuttle program. The commander was Brian Duffy. During the mission a Japanese scientific satellite was retrieved from space, a NASA probe was released and retrieved, and three astronauts went outside the Shuttle to test new space suits. The 75th mission took place on Feb. 22ÐMar. 9, 1996, aboard Columbia. The crew of seven, commanded by Andrew M. Allen, included one Swiss and two Italian astronauts. The main mission goal was to tow a satellite through the Earth's magnetic field on a cable several kilometers long, thereby generating electricity. The effort failed, and the satellite was lost, however, when its cable snapped. The following Atlantis mission of March 22Ð31, commanded by Kevin Chilton with a crew of six, marked the first time that a Shuttle flight returned to Earth with one less person aboard than had been present at launch.