Mark Hess/Ray Castillo

Headquarters, Washington, DC March 30, 1995

(Phone: 202/358-1778)

Kyle Herring
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 713/483-5111)

RELEASE: 95-39

LUCID PRIME FOR SECOND MIR STAY; LINENGER SELECTED

FOR THIRD

Astronaut Shannon W. Lucid, Ph.D., will be the second

American to be a prime crew member during a five-month stay
aboard Russia's space station Mir in 1996. Jerry M.
Linenger (Commander, Medical Corps, USN) will be the third
American to fly to the orbital laboratory, also in 1996.

John E. Blaha (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) will serve as

backup to Lucid and Scott E. Parazynski will act as backup
to Linenger. Lucid and Blaha have been training since
February in Star City, Russia. Linenger and Parazynski will
begin training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in
late May. Blaha and Parazynski will continue training at
Star City for stays aboard Mir on future missions.

These assignments continue the U.S./Russia human space

flight cooperation, which consists of a three-phased
program.

Phase one includes seven planned Space Shuttle-Mir

missions between 1995 and 1997, including rendezvous,
docking and crew transfers. The Space Shuttle will assist
with crew exchange, resupply and payload activities for Mir.
Russian cosmonauts have flown on two Shuttle Missions --
STS-60 in 1994 and STS-63 last month. Four or more U.S.
astronaut stays aboard Mir are planned, totaling nearly two
years of on-orbit time.

Phase two is the joint development of the core

international Space Station. Phase three is the expansion
of the Space Station to include all of the international
partners.

Lucid, 52, has flown four times aboard the Shuttle.

She was a mission specialist on STS-51-G in June 1985, STS-
34 in October 1989, STS-43 in August 1991 and STS-58 in
October 1993. She received her master of science and
doctorate of philosophy degrees in biochemistry from the
University of Oklahoma in 1970 and 1973, respectively.

Blaha, 52, has flown on four Shuttle missions, STS-29

in March 1989, STS-33 in November 1989, STS-43 in August
1991 and STS-58 in October 1993. He received a master of
science degree in astronautical engineering from Purdue
University in 1966.

Linenger, 40, flew on Discovery's STS-64 mission in

September 1994. He earned a doctorate in medicine from
Wayne State University in 1981 and a master of public health
degree in health policy and a doctor of philosophy degree in
epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in 1989.

Parazynski, 33, was a member of Atlantis' STS-66 crew

in November 1994. He completed medical school at Stanford
University in 1989 and served his medical internship at the
Brigham and Women's Hospital of Harvard Medical School in
1990.

-end-

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