Shuttle-Mir History/People/U.S. Residents/Wolf

Dave Wolf was the sixth NASA astronaut to reside on the Russian Space Station Mir. Wolf, a medical doctor, arrived with the crew of STS-86 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis that launched September 25, 1997. After 119 days on Mir, he returned with the crew of STS-89 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which landed on January 31, 1998.

While on the Mir, Wolf assisted his Russian crewmates with systems work as well as continuing his science program that included a host of biology and life sciences experiments. His residency was extended, allowing the U.S. astronaut additional time to complete his Mir science program, as well as participating in the third spacewalk of Mir-24.

Calling the spacewalk "spectacular," Wolf completed almost four hours of EVA on January 14, 1998, and felt honored to gain this experience with veteran Russian cosmonaut, Anatoly Solovyev. In his Oral History, he said:

"When I was nine years old, I saw Ed White do the first American space walk, and it was that moment that I decided I'd like to be an astronaut and, in fact, I'd like to do a space walk as an astronaut. It was 31 years later that I did it. It was worth every minute of the wait. But I never dreamed it would be from a Russian spacecraft, in a Russian spacesuit, speaking Russian with a Russian who had been out 16 times, the most experienced space walker in the world, and that's what Anatoly Solovyev is. So it was a real first-hand lesson from the number-one guy in the field, and that was a privilege."

Wolf joined NASA's Medical Sciences Division at the Johnson Space Center in 1983. He directed the development of a space bioreactor that resulted in state-of-the-art rotating tissue culture systems. He was also assigned as chief engineer in charge of the design of the space station medical facility. Wolf became a NASA astronaut in 1991.

Graphic version available

This page is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher or Netscape 4.0 or higher.
Other viewing suggestions.

Curator: Kim Dismukes
Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty

People

U. S. Mir Residents - David A. Wolf