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Vladimir Titov was the second Russian cosmonaut to fly on an American Space Shuttle. He served as mission specialist on STS-63, the first shuttle mission to rendezvous and fly around Mir. Titov flew again on STS-86, the seventh shuttle mission to dock with Mir, and the fourth that involved the transfer of American astronauts living on the station. STS-86 also featured a spacewalk by Titov and crewmate Scott Parazynski.
Titov graduated from the Higher Air Force College and from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy. He joined the cosmonaut corps in 1976. He is a veteran of five spaceflights, one of which lasted almost 366 days, setting a world record for a long duration flight. Another mission of Titov's lasted only 5 minutes due to a launch pad fire. An abort ejected the capsule holding Titov and crewmate Gennady Strekalov from the launch vehicle, which apparently exploded seconds after the getaway.
In his Oral History, Titov said: "[Y]ou have time in orbit and looking to the Earth and circle by circle, you can see no border, and in the America not printed 'America,' in Russia not printed 'Russia.' It is just planet. It's just my home. It's changing mind very much, very much."
Related
Links:
NASA
Biography: Vladimir Titov
Vladimir
Titov Oral History (PDF)
Vladimir
Titov Video (12 sec.) MPEG (909K) (No Audio)
U.S. Mir Residents | Astronauts | Cosmonauts | Teams | Oral Histories | Shuttle-Mir Stories
Curator:
Kim Dismukes
Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty