Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on an 11-day mission to dock with the Mir space station. In addition to routine supplies, replacement parts are brought to Mir to swap out with equipment damaged during the various incidents and accidents endured by Mir Expedition 23. The first-ever joint American/Russian spacewalk is conducted to undertake some of the repair activity and to try to find the location of the Spektr module hull breach. Aboard Atlantis for her 19th flight are Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Michael Bloomfield, and mission specialists Vladimar Titov, Scott Parazynski, Jean-Loup Chretien, Wendy Lawrence and David Wolf. Wolf remains on Mir to join the Expedition 24 crew, while Mir crewmember Michael Foale returns to Earth aboard Atlantis, having served 145 unusually eventful days in space.
