KSC-97PC1506

Astronaut C. Michael Foale gets extra-special care back on Earth from his family and his flight physician after an approximate four-and-a-half-month stay aboard the Russian Space Station Mir. Dr. Terry Tadeo, a NASA physician who has been monitoring the astronaut’s health during his stay on the Mir, pushes the wheelchair holding Foale and the space flyer’s two children, 3-year-old Ian and 5-year-old Jenna, through the astronaut crew quarters of the Operations and Checkout Building. Foale’s wife, Rhonda, is in background at left. Foale’s family was at KSC for the late-night reunion after the Oct. 6 landing of the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis on the STS-86 mission. Foale, a member of the Mir 24 crew, was dropped off on the Russian space station during the STS-84 mission in mid-May. He joined the STS-86 crew aboard Atlantis for the return trip to Earth. STS-86 was the seventh docking of the Space Shuttle with the Mir. STS-86 Mission Specialist David A. Wolf replaced Foale on the Russian station