STS-71   6/95

The STS-71 mission payload is in its final flight configuration after integration into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis and prior to payload bay door closing and rollover of the spaceplane from Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. In the foreground is the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) that is topped with the red Russian-built Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS). During the 11-day mission, the APDS will lock together with a similar system on the Russian Mir Space Station so that the two spacecraft can remain docked together for four days. The ODS features an airlock that will provide access to and from both the Mir and orbiter for the U.S. and Russian flight crews. A Spacelab transfer tunnel runs from the ODS to the Spacelab-Mir module, where joint U.S. medical experiments will be conducted during the 11-day spaceflight.
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Curator: Kim Dismukes Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty