KSC-97pc784

STS-84 Commander Charles J. Precourt talks with fellow astronauts Frank Culbertson, at left, and William F. Readdy after their arrival at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facilty. Culbertson, NASA director of the Phase One Program of the International Space Station, and Readdy, manager, program development, in the Space Shuttle Program Office at Johnson Space Center, were the pilots of T-38 jets which brought STS-84 crew members to KSC for the launch. Culbertson’s passenger was STS-84 Mission Specialist Carlos I. Noriega; Readdy’s passenger was Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale. Liftoff of Space Shuttle Mission STS-84 is scheduled May 15. STS-84 will be the sixth docking of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. During the docking, Foale will transfer to the Russian space station to become a member of the Mir 23 crew, replacing U.S. astronaut Jerry M. Linenger, who will return to Earth on Atlantis. Foale is scheduled to remain on Mir about four months until his replacement arrives on STS-86 in September