Friday flashback

As the nation mourns the Feb. 1 death of the Columbia shuttle crew, IU Home Pages looks back to a happier time. In this 1997 photo, astronaut David Wolf, a Hoosier and alumnus of the IU School of Medicine, was ready for the Sept. 25 launch of space shuttle Atlantis, which delivered him to the Mir space station for a 119-day stay. And thanks to some IU and IUPUI technological wizardry, Wolf was able to enjoy a “virtual visit” with his family during the 1997 Thanksgiving holiday using the communication capabilities of University Information Technology Services and the IU School of Continuing Studies’ Virtual Indiana Classroom. Wolf returned with the crew of STS-89 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Jan. 31, 1998, completing a 128-day mission. The Mir program made partners out of the U.S. and Russian space programs, and in 1998, NASA and Russia began launching the first components of the 16-nation International Space Station. The Mir space station was retired in 2001, after 15 years of service—three times its life expectancy. The station survived the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which had launched it. The Russian word “mir” translates into English as “world,” “peace” or “village,” depending on context.

To read “From Mir to IUPUI,” go to:
http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/homepages/1212/text/from.htm