WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis touches down on Runway 33 at 9:22:44 a.m. EST Jan. 22 to conclude the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking mission and return NASA astronaut John Blaha to Earth after four months in space. Blaha was replaced by STS-81 Mission Specialist Jerry Linenger during the five days of docked operations. At main gear touchdown, the STS-81 mission duration was 10 days, 4 hours, 55 minutes. This was the 34th KSC landing in Shuttle history. Mission Commander Michael A. Baker flew Atlantis to a perfect landing, with help from Pilot Brent W. Jett, Jr. Other returning STS-81 crew members are Mission Specialists John M. Grunsfeld, Peter J. K. "Jeff" Wisoff and Marsha S. Ivins. Atlantis also brought back experiment samples from the Russian space station for analysis on Earth, along with Russian logistics equipment.