Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing on Cape
Canaveral (
KSC).
Primary payload was the Spacelab module. It was the first docking-maneuver
between an U.S. and a Russian spacecraft since 20 years; after docking Atlantis
with the MIR space station on 29.06.1995, the crews visited each other and
performed joint research work in the Spacelab and in MIR.
MIR resident
crew exchanged;
Soloviyov and
Budarin became the
19th resident crew.
The former
18th resident
crew (
Dezhurov,
Strekalov,
Thagard) returned to Earth with STS-71.
Later
Soloviyov and
Budarin performed three
EVAs on
14.07.1995 (5h 34m), 19.07.1995 (3h 08m) and 21.07.1995 (5h 50m). The
separation was observed from also separated Soyuz spacecraft, after a 7
day-flight.