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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1996  (8:30 AM EDT)
LAUNCH DAY  --  FLIGHT DAY 1

KSC Public Affairs Contact: Bruce Buckingham (fax 407-867-2692)
E-mail: Bruce.Buckingham-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov


MISSION: STS-79 -- 4th MIR DOCKING & SPACEHAB DM (image)
All times are EDT

VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 (image)
LOCATION: Orbit
OFFICIAL LAUNCH DATE/TIME: Sept. 16 at 4:54:49 a.m. EDT
TARGET MIR DOCKING: Sept. 18 at about 11:17 p.m.
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Sept. 26 at about 8:12 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes
CREW: Readdy, Wilcutt, Akers, Blaha (up), Lucid (down), Apt, Walz (image)
ORBITAL ALTITUDE and INCLINATION: 196-245 statute miles/51.6 degrees

NOTE: The countdown for launch of Atlantis on mission STS-79 went
smoothly and Atlantis launched at the opening of the short five
minute window. Atlantis will now be maneuvered to begin its
rendezvous with Russia's Mir space station. Docking with Mir is set
for late Wednesday evening.

	Atlantis is scheduled to remain in orbit for about 10 days
and land back at Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 26 at about 8:12 a.m.
Returning with Atlantis will be Shannon Lucid, ending her record
breaking six-month stay on the Mir space station.

	The solid rocket booster retrieval ships have reported that
all booster components have been recovered and preparations are
underway to return the twin boosters to Hangar AF by tomorrow
afternoon. Also, initial post-launch assessments indicate minimal
damage occurred at Pad 39A during launch.

	The crew of mission STS-79 are: Commander Bill Readdy; Pilot
Terry Wilcutt; and Mission Specialists Jay Apt, Tom Akers, Carl Walz,
John Blaha (up), and Shannon Lucid (down).

        Mission status reports are issued daily by Johnson Space
Center, Houston, TX.
--end--
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