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STS-48
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on a five-day mission to deliver the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) into a low Earth orbit, where the satellite spends over a year studying the outer layers of Earth’s atmosphere. UARS also focuses on study of Earth’s ozone layer. Other experiments are carried out aboard the orbiter by Commander John Creighton, Pilot Kenneth Reightler, , and mission specialists Mark Brown, Charles Gemar and James Buchli.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on a mission lasting nearly a week, deploying both classified and unclassified payloads for the Defense Department. After the payload deployments, tests are conducted to determine the viability of the shuttle orbiters for long-duration missions. Manning Atlantis for this mission are Commander Frederick Gregory, Pilot Terence Henricks, and mission specialists Mario Runco, James Voss, Story Musgrave and Thomas Hennen.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off for an eight day Spacelab mission, with an multi-national crew participating in “IML-1” (International Microgravity Laboratory) experiments. Discovery’s crew for this flight consists of Commander Ronald Grabe, Pilot Stephen Oswald, mission specialists Norman Thagard, David Hilmers, and William Readdy, and payload specialists Roberta Bondar and Ulf Merbold. 
NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on the 46th shuttle mission, carrying the Spacelab-based ATLAS (Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science) experiment module. Aboard Atlantis for the nearly-nine-day flight are Commander Charles Bolden, Pilot Brian Duffy, Payload Commander Kathyrn Sullivan, mission specialists David Leestma and Michael Foale, and payload specialists Byron Lichtenberg and Dirk Frimout. NASA extends the mission by one day to accomodate additional experiments.
Space Shuttle Endeavour leaves Earth for the first time, carrying a crew of seven to orbit on the 47th shuttle mission. Over nearly nine days, three spacewalks are taken up with the tricky and dangerous task of capturing a four-and-a-half-ton communications satellite into Endeavour’s cargo bay to repair and relaunch it. (The satellite, Intelsat VI, had been stranded in the wrong orbit since its 1990 launch aboard a Titan rocket.) The record-setting spacewalks involved – each lasting over seven hours and marking the first time three astronauts have operated outside their vehicle – force NASA to cancel one of two experimental EVAs to test space station construction techniques. Endeavour’s first crew consists of Commander Daniel Brandenstein, pilot Kevin Chilton, and mission specialists Pierre Thuot, Kathryn Thornton, Richard Hieb, Thomas Akers and Bruce Melnick.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Columbia on the 48th shuttle mission (Columbia’s 12th trip into orbit). Using the Spacelab module, Columbia’s crew conducted the first USML (United States Microgravity Laboratory) flight, as well as testing a new system called the EDO (Extended Duration Orbiter) package, allowing the crew to stay in orbit longer than any previous shuttle (or, for that matter, lunar) flight. Aboard Columbia for the record-breaking 13-and-a-half-day mission are Commander Richard N. Richards, Pilot Ken Bowersox, Payload Commander Bonnie Dunbar, mission specialists Ellen Baker and Carl Meade, and payload specialists Lawrence DeLucasand Eugene Trinh.
Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on an eight-day mission to deploy two experiment packages developed jointly with the European and Italian space agencies. (The mission is extended by a day to accomodate more experiments.) Aboard Atlantis for her 12th flight are Commander Loren Shriver, Pilot Andrew Allen, mission specialists Jeffrey Hoffman, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Claude Nicollier and Marsha Ivins, and payload specialist Franco Malerba.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the 50th space shuttle mission (and its own first return flight to orbit). Carrying the Spacelab module in its cargo bay, Endeavour hosts the first Japanese shuttle astronaut and the first African-American woman in space. Over eight days, the crew performs various science experiments. Endeavour is flown by Commander Robert “Hoot” Gibson, Pilot Curtis Brown, Payload Commander Mark Lee, missions specialists Jan Davis, Jay Apt and Mae Jemison, and payload specialist Mamoru Mohri.
Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on the shuttle program’s 51st flight, a ten-day mission to launch Laser Geodynamic Satellite II and the cargo-bay-mounted U.S. Microgravity Payload experiment package. Aboard Columbia for her 13th flight are Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Michael Baker, mission specialists Charles Veach, William Shepherd and Tamara Jernigan, and payload specialist Steven MacLean.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on the 52nd shuttle flight, a seven-day mission to deploy a classified Department of Defense payload and conduct various science experiments within the shuttle itself. Flying Discovery on its 15th launch are Commander David Walker, Pilot Robert Cabana, and mission specialists Guion Bluford, James Voss and Michael Clifford.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the 53rd shuttle flight, a six-day mission to launch the fifth TDRS (Tracking & Data Relay Satellite) and perform assorted experiments. A five-hour spacewalk is conducted in the cargo bay to practice spacewalking techniques for future missions. Aboard Endeavour for her third flight are Commander John Casper, Pilot Donald McMonagle, and mission specialists Mario Runco, Gregory Harbaugh and Susan Helms.
Having drawn the European Space Agency and Japan into partnerships for the still-on-the-drawing-board Space Station Freedom project, NASA announces that it is reaching out to post-Soviet Russia, not just for ideas and engineering expertise, but to become partners in the new space station. With already-built modules sitting on the ground for a Mir 2 station that it cannot afford to launch and operate on its own, Russia becomes a full partner in what will now become the International Space Station. Plans are accelerated for proposed missions to dock the Space Shuttle to the existing Mir space station, and to use Russian Soyuz capsules for crew transfer and return.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off with the ATLAS-2 scientific payload for a nine-day mission. A free-floating platform to measure solar wind activity is also deployed and then retrieved before returning to Earth. Aboard Discovery for her 16th flight are Commander Kenneth Cameron, Pilot Stephen Oswald, and mission specialists Michael Foale, Kenneth Cockrell and Ellen Ochoa.
Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on a mission lasting nearly ten days, carrying the Spacelab laboratory module in its cargo bay. This flight, Spacelab D-2, includes medical and material experiments, with one experiment controlled by an Apple Macintosh computer carried into orbit. Amateur radio messages are exchanged with the crew of the Mir space station. Aboard Columbia for her 14th flight are Commander Steven Nagel, Pilot Terence Henricks, mission specialists Jerry Ross, Charles Precourt and Bernard Harris Jr., and payload specialists Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission lasting almost ten days to test the SPACEHAB pressurized lab module. A long-term exposure experiment is retrieved for ESA, though a spacewalk must be undertaken when its antennae fail to stow themselves away automatically for insertion into the cargo bay. Aboard Endeavour for her fourth flight into orbit are Commander Ronald Grabe, Pilot Brian Duffy, Payload Commander G. David Low, and mission specialists Nancy Sherlock, Peter Wisoff and Janice Voss.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on the 57th shuttle mission, a nine-day stay in orbit to release a communications satellite and test a new second stage engine designed to push that satellite into geosynchronous orbit. A free-floating ultraviolet spectography experiment is released from the shuttle’s cargo bay and retrieved before the end of the mission, and spacewalking techniques for the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope repair mission are practiced. Aboard Discovery for her 17th flight are Commander Frank Culbertson Jr., Pilot William Readdy, and mission specialists James Newman, Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz.
Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on the 58th shuttle mission, a two-week stay in orbit with the Spacelab module. This is the second Spacelab flight devoted to medical experiments and life sciences. Aboard Columbia for her 15th flight are Commander John Blaha, Pilot Richard Searfoss, mission specialists Rhea Seddon, William McArthur, David Wolf and Shannon Lucid, and payload specialist Martin Fettman.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on a ten-day mission to retrieve and repair the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990 with flawed optics. With the $2,000,000,000 telescope held steady in the cargo bay, Endeavour astronauts conduct repairs during spacewalks totaling over 35 hours of the mission, before releasing Hubble back into orbit with new eyes. Aboard Endeavour for her history-making fifth flight are Commander Richard Covey, Pilot Kenneth Bowersox, Payload Commander Story Musgrave, and mission specialists Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier, Jeffrey Hoffman and Tom Akers.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on the 60th flight of the shuttle program. During its eight days in orbit, Discovery hosts the first Russian cosmonaut ever to fly aboard an American spacecraft, initiating an ongoing agreement between the two countries’ space agencies that will eventually lead to shuttles visiting Mir and the construction of the International Space Station. Aboard Discovery for her 18th flight are Commander Charles Bolden, Pilot Kenneth Reightler, and mission specialists Jan Davis, Ronald Sega, Franklin Chang-Diaz and Sergei Krikalev.
Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off on the 61st shuttle mission, a two-week visit to Earth orbit carrying two cargo-bay-mounted experiment systems operated primarily from the ground. Crew members participate in experiments involving the side-effects of long-term space travel. The crew for Columbia’s 16th flight consists of Commander John Casper, Pilot Andrew Allen, and mission specialists Pierre Thuot, Charles Gemar and Marsha Ivins.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on an 11-day mission to carry the Space Radar Laboratory experiment into orbit. The radar systems map sites on Earth and test other applications for orbital radar. Aboard Endeavour for her sixth flight are Commander Sidney Gutierrez, Pilot Kevin Chilton, Payload Commander Linda Godwin, and mission specialists Jay Apt, Michael Clifford and Thomas Jones.
Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on the 63rd mission of the shuttle program. For two weeks, Columbia’s crew participates in the second IML (International Microgravity Laboratory) flight, conducting experiments relying on zero G around the clock. Columbia is also in orbit during the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11, the moon landing mission whose command/service module was also named Columbia. Aboard for Columbia’s 17th flight are Commander Robert Cabana, Pilot James Halsell, Payload Commander Richard Hieb, mission specialists Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Donald Thomas, and payload specialist Chiaki Naito-Mukai, the first Japanese woman in space.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on the 64th flight of the shuttle program. The cargo bay carries an experiment to test LIDAR applications from orbit, and is the site of a six-hour spacewalk to test an alternative to the retired MMU “jet pack” for EVA rescue purposes. Aboard Discovery for her 19th mission are Commander Richard Richards, Pilot Blaine Hammond, and mission specialists Jerry Linenger, Susan Helms, Carl Meade and Mark Lee.
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the shuttle program’s 65th mission. The eleven-day flight is a second round of space radar experiments, using a cargo-bay-mounted radar system that flew earlier in 1994 aboard Endeavour. The crew for this flight consists of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Payload Commander Thomas Jones, and mission specialists Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch and Peter Wisoff.
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on its first flight in two years, an 11-day mission to conduct studies of Earth’s atmosphere with the ATLAS package mounted in the cargo bay. Aboard Atlantis for her 13th flight are Commander Donald McMonagle, Pilot Curtis Brown, Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa, and mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Joseph Tanner and Jean-Francois Clervoy.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on the 67th flight of the shuttle program, a history-making mission that sees Discovery conducting rendezvous maneuvers at the Russian space station Mir. Though the shuttle isn’t equipped to dock at Mir, the close flyby is a necessary step before a docking mission can take place, and Discovery’s crew includes a former Mir cosmonaut. The crew for this flight is Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Eileen M. Collins, and mission Specialists Michael Foale, Janice Voss, Bernard Harris and Vladimar Titov.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on the longest flight of the shuttle program to date – over 16 and a half days – with the ASTRO astronomy experiment package mounted in the cargo bay. Some astronomical observations on this mission are conducted in tandem with the Hubble Space Telescope. Aboard Endeavour for her eighth flight are Commander Stephen Oswald, Pilot William Gregory, Payload Commander Tammy Jernigan, mission specialists John Grunsfeld and Wendy Lawrence, and payload specialists Ronald Parise and Samuel Durrance.
An American astronaut lifts off aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for the first time ever with the launch of Soyuz TM-21, a mission to the Mir space station. Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov are joined by astronaut Norman Thagard aboard Mir, where they remain for 115 days. During that time, they witness the arrival of the Spektr module, a new addition to the station, and they ultimately return to Earth aboard space shuttle Atlantis in July 1995; Soyuz TM-21 remains at the station, where a future Mir crew uses it to return to Earth. During the Atlantis mission, a new record is set for the number of humans in space, as the station and shuttle crews add up to 13 people in orbit at once.
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on an almost-ten-day mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir. The first docking proves to be a chore, as the Mir crew has to move one of the station’s modules to a different docking port to accomodate the shuttle. The historic docking – the first joint operation between the two countries since the Apollo-Soyuz mission almost exactly 20 years earlier – results in the largest man-made object in space to date. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Robert Gibson, Pilot Charles Precourt, and mission specialists Ellen Baker, Bonnie Dunbar and Gregory Harbaugh; cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyev and Nikolai Budarin are transported to Mir aboard Atlantis to become part of Mir Expedition 19, while Expedition 18 crew members Norman Thagard, Vladimir Dezhurov and Gannady Strekalov return to Earth after more than three months aboard Mir.
Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on the 70th shuttle flight, a nine-day mission to deploy a TDRS (Tracking & Data Relay Satellite) for NASA. The flight has seen many delays, including repairs made necessary by woodpeckers poking holes in the shuttle’s external fuel tank! The crew – consisting of Commander Terence Henricks, Pilot Kevin Kregel, and mission specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Donald Thomas and Mary Ellen Weber – conducts material and medical experiments after the deployment of the final satellite in the TDRS constellation.