Astronaut recounts Mir Space Station adventure March 14 at Los Alamos

Contact: Steve Sandoval, (505) 665-9206 (00-028)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 6, 2000 -- Three years ago, Jerry Linenger and other United States astronauts and Russian cosmonauts captured the attention of the nation and the world after a fire broke out aboard the Mir space station.

On Tuesday, March 14, the former flight surgeon turned astronaut and author will speak at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory about his adventures as a NASA astronaut and how his personal responsibility for safety was key to his survival on Mir.

Linenger's talk begins at 9 a.m. in the Administration Building Auditorium and is free and open to the Laboratory workforce and the public. Los Alamos' Integrated Safety Management Program in the Director's Office and the Environment, Safety and Health Division are co-sponsoring Linenger's talk.

"Embracing Challenges and Change: My 132 Days Off the Planet," recounts the nearly five months Linenger spent on the Mir space station. He talks about the repeated failures of critical onboard systems, near collisions and the fire that threatened to penetrate the hull of the orbiting spacecraft.

"Jerry's and the other astronauts' personal regard for safety quite possibly saved his life aboard Mir," said Phil Thullen, Los Alamos' Integrated Safety Management Program manager. "His is a compelling story worth hearing that sends a critical message about the importance of safety. As we continue to spread the message across the Laboratory that safety is something we must practice every day at work and at home, Jerry's story is a different approach that encourages safe behaviors and attitudes," said Thullen.

Dr. Jerry Williams of Los Alamos' Occupational Medicine Group, who will introduce Linenger, heard the astronaut speak at a medical conference last year in New Orleans. "He delivers a powerful message on safety and everyone who attends will find it well worth their while," said Williams. "I'm looking forward to hearing him a second time."

The 45-year-old Linenger also flew a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in 1994, spending 10
days in space and logging 177 orbits. He is a former Navy flight surgeon and U.S. Naval Academy graduate. He received a bachelor's degree in bioscience in 1977; his doctoral degree in medicine from Wayne State University in 1981; a master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California in 1988; and another master's degree in public health policy from the University of North Carolina the following year. Linenger also has a doctoral degree in epidemiology from North Carolina.

Linenger wrote the book, "Off the Planet," which recounts in nontechnical terms his space adventures.

For more information, contact Fran Talley of the Laboratory's Public Affairs Office at 667-5225.

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