WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

STS-81 Mission Commander Michael A. Baker arrives at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility in his NASA T-38 jet. He and five other crew members will participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), a dress rehearsal for the planned Jan. 12 launch. STS-81 will be the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking. During the flight, Mission Specialist J.M. "Jerry" Linenger will transfer to the Russian Mir Space Station for an extended stay, replacing astronaut John E. Blaha, who will return to Earth on the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis at the conclusion of the scheduled nine-day STS-81 mission.