Twenty Years Ago Today: Shannon Lucid Comes Home
After 188 days aboard the Russian space station Mir, NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid landed with the crew of STS 79 at Kennedy Space Center.
Lucid was the second American to enjoy an extended stay on-orbit through the Shuttle-Mir program, following Norm Thaggard. Thaggard is sometimes known as the first “American cosmonaut”, as the first NASA astronaut to reach space in the Soyuz capsule. Lucid launched aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in March of 1996, docking at the Russian space station on the 24th. She remained on the station, performing an array of research in physical and life sciences, until Atlantis returned in September. Lucid holds a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma.
Upon landing, Lucid held the American and female time-in-space records. She is also one of the longest-serving astronauts, recruited in the first class that accepted applications from women. She retired in 2012 after five flights and 24 years with the space program.
Shannon Lucid during her stay on Mir.
