Shuttle-Mir History/SM Background/Flight Docs

Since the Mercury Program, medical doctors have been very involved in NASA's human spaceflight efforts. "Flight docs" take part in astronauts' selection and training, in their physical health care and psychological support, and in the monitoring of the environment onboard spacecraft.

During Shuttle-Mir, NASA flight physicians expanded their roles. Besides overseeing the astronauts' health and the life support situation onboard Mir, they traveled to Russia to assist the astronauts during training and served as important communicators and facilitators during their Mir residencies.

In his Oral History, Mir astronaut David Wolf talks about how important the flight docs were. Wolf says, "The flight surgeons take on a new importance in a mission like this. They do more than what would traditionally be considered flight surgeon work. They are your alter ego. They're yourself on the ground, and they know the people you need to talk with and communicate with." According to Wolf, flight surgeons were the Mir astronauts' "gateways," for all sorts of information and communication.

Wolf praises Chris Flynn, his mission's flight surgeon, saying, "This takes a long relationship before the mission. He has to know you and your family, and you have to know him, and he's under a similar stress as you are on these long-duration missions..."

Interestingly, three of the U.S. Mir astronauts are also medical doctors: Thagard, Linenger and Wolf.

The following table gives the "flight docs" during Shuttle-Mir, with links to the physicians' profiles. Several excerpts about flight docs and the medical aspects of Shuttle-Mir are available in the links below the table.

NASA-1

Thagard Increment

Michael Barratt & David Ward

NASA-2

Lucid Increment

Galen Johnson

NASA-3

Blaha Increment

Pat McGinnis

NASA-4

Linenger Increment

Tom Marshburn

NASA-5

Foale Increment

Terry Taddeo

NASA-6

Wolf Increment

Chris Flynn

NASA-7

Thomas Increment

Pat McGinnis

A "Medical Support" chapter in the Phase 1 Program Joint Report discusses Shuttle-Mir medical support in depth, beginning on page 193.

Graphic version available

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Curator: Kim Dismukes
Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty

History

Shuttle-Mir Background - Flight Docs