WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

STS-81 Mission Specialist Marsha S. Ivins prepares to step down from the cockpit of her NASA T-38 jet after arrival at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility for the M Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), a dress rehearsal for the planned Jan. 12 launch. STS-81 will be the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking. On the flight, Mission Specialist J.M. "JerryLinenger 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 mission.