[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE RETURN OF STS-79 AND ASTRONAUT SHANNON LUCID

  Mr. GLENN. Mr. President, earlier this morning, in fact, 8:13 this 
morning to be exact, the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis returned to 
Earth having completed another successful docking mission with the 
Russian Mir space station. I want to extend my heartiest 
congratulations to the Atlantis and the Mir crews, as well as the 
thousands of NASA employees and contractors who brought this mission to 
completion.
  Mr. President, this mission is one for the record books. When docked 
with the Mir, the shuttle-Mir structure represented the largest manmade 
structure ever put in orbit. It weighed more than 240 tons. The 
Atlantis crew also set a record by transferring nearly 5,000 pounds of 
equipment and supplies and water to the Mir, and returning with more 
than 2,150 pounds of Mir equipment, along with the experiments and, of 
course, some of the things they did not want to toss overboard, some of 
the trash.
  In addition, the return of STS-79 concludes a mission of experiments 
in a number of different fields. I think we too often lose sight of 
some of the things going on in the program. We think of the human 
experience up there, and we try to emote to that and think what it is 
like to be up there as long as some of the people were on this 
particular flight.

  But these missions are all to do research. They are basic, 
fundamental research. The experiments that they had on this mission 
included things in the fields of advanced technology, Earth sciences, 
fundamental biology, human life sciences, microgravity, and space 
sciences. These are things largely that will be of benefit to people 
right here on Earth.
  Data from this mission also will supply the insight for the planning 
and development of the international space station, Earth-based 
sciences of human and biological processes, and the advancement of 
commercial technology. In other words, this sets the stage for even 
more ambitious programs, and ones that I think will be even more 
productive.
  However, by far, the most significant event is the return of 
Astronaut Shannon Lucid. Dr. Lucid now has more time in space than any 
other U.S. astronaut. She is a veteran of six shuttle missions, 
including the latest STS-79. She has logged, as a grand total, 
including this mission, a little over 223 days in space, including 188 
days on this most recent mission. She has more cumulative time and more 
continuous time in space than any other U.S. astronaut.

  Now, we have to put this in perspective. She traveled on this flight 
some 75 million miles, the same as 157 round trips to the Moon and 
back, and she has completed on this mission and the others she was on, 
a total of 3,008 orbits of the Earth.
  Furthermore, when Dr. Lucid began her mission on Mir, she kicked off 
a 2-year period of continuous U.S. presence on the Mir spacecraft. This 
is a feat of a rather remarkable woman.
  I would like to provide my colleagues with a little background. 
Shannon Lucid, Dr. Lucid, was born January 14, 1943, in Shanghai, 
China. I believe her parents were missionaries. She considers Bethany, 
OK, to be her hometown. She is married with three children. She 
graduated from Bethany High School, Bethany, OK, in 1960, and received 
a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of 
Oklahoma in 1963, and a master of science and doctor of philosophy 
degrees in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma in 1970 and 
1973, respectively.
  As I mentioned earlier, Lucid holds the endurance record for American 
astronauts in space. STS-79 is her sixth space shuttle mission, having 
flown previously on STS 51-G in 1985, STS-34 in 1989, STS-43 in 1991, 
STS-58 in 1993, and STS-74 in 1996.
  Dr. Lucid began her record-setting mission when she joined the Mir 21 
crew with the March 24, 1996, docking of STS-76.
  In a recent interview, Dr. Lucid was asked the following question: 
What motivated you to get involved in the space program? I thought her 
answer was very interesting and I think we all may be able to learn a 
little from it.
  She said:

       You have to go way back to when I was a little girl. When I 
     was a little girl I was very interested in being a pioneer 
     like in the American West and I really liked those stories 
     and I thought, ``Well, I was born in the wrong time.'' And 
     then I thought, ``Well, I can just be an explorer,'' but then 
     I thought, ``When I grow up all the Earth will be explored.'' 
     And then I started reading about Robert Goddard and the 
     rockets he had done and so I read a little about that. And 
     then I started reading about science fiction. This was when I 
     was in fourth and fifth grade and I thought, ``Well, that is 
     what I can do when I grow up. I can grow up and explore 
     space.'' And of course when I talked to people about this 
     they thought that would be rather crazy because that was long 
     before America even had a space program. So I just think it's 
     pretty remarkable things turned out the way they did.

  That is a quote from Shannon Lucid. I think it is pretty remarkable, 
too. I think Dr. Lucid is truly a space pioneer and a hero for our 
young people. I think she represents what is best about our space 
program. She demonstrates setting goals, pursuing them, thinking about 
them, studying them, and with hard work and education can bring about 
truly momentous results.
  Mr. President, I welcome Dr. Lucid and the rest of the STS-79 crew 
back to Earth. In addition to Dr. Lucid, the STS-79 crew includes: Jay 
Apt, Terry Wilcutt, the pilot, William Readdy as the commander, Tom 
Akers, Carl Walz, John Blaha, who is replacing Dr. Lucid on Mir. Now, 
John Blaha will go ahead with the experiments that were left up there 
and some they took up just for him.
  I read from Aviation Week and Space Technology of September 9:

       After Atlantis departs, Blaha on Mir will begin work on 38 
     science investigations, including 26 being continued from 
     Lucid's mission. His major science topics and the number of 
     investigations planned in each includes: Advanced technology 
     (3); Earth remote sensing (8); biology (2); human life 
     sciences (10); microgravity/biotechnology (9), and tests to 
     reduce international station design risks (6).
       Blaha will also do significant Mir systems work, including 
     piloting attitude maneuvers and changing solar array angles 
     when his two Russian colleagues are working outside the 
     station. He is to remain on board Mir until picked up by 
     shuttle Mission 81 in mid-January.

  Mr. President, this was indeed a great transfer and it sets the stage 
for the space station. Some of the hardware on the space station will 
begin to be put up by the end of next year by 1997 if everything 
remains on schedule, and we certainly hope it does.
  All on this mission, and John Blaha, who is up there now, we wish him 
well, of course, and we welcome this whole crew back to Earth. 
Congratulations to them. From Dan Goldin at the top of NASA, the 
Administrator of NASA, to all the employees down the line, they all 
deserve a great round of applause from all of us. They deserve our 
thanks and congratulations on a job well done.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  
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