this mission carried two Spacehab modules instead of just one. In preparation for the mission, Collins completed one hundred hours of Russian language classroom training, but she usually relied on Precourt translating for her. The crew traveled to Star City to study Mirs systems and had dinner at the home of Kondakova and her husband, cosmonaut Valeri Ryumin, now the president of Energia, the Russian space agency. Atlantis lifted off from KSC on 15 May 1997. For Collins, it was the first and only time a launch had occurred without delays. Nor were there any leaking thrusters; Atlantis docked with Mir without incident the next day. This time, Collins felt no nausea. Crew members were exchanged, and of equipment, spare parts, experiments and supplies were transferred to Mir, of which was water. Collins spent most of the time filling bags with drinking water. She also carried out a photographic survey of the exterior of Mir through portholes on Mir and the overhead windows on Atlantiss flight deck. The Mir EO-23 mission commander, Vasily Tsibliyev produced a small bottle of Courvoisier cognac, and everyone had a couple of sips. Alcohol consumption was banned on the Space Shuttle, but not on Mir. The rest of the mission was taken up conducting experiments. Collins photographed Comet Hale–Bopp, the brightest comet seen in the sky for many years. Atlantis returned to KSC on 24 May after a flight lasting 9 days, 23 hours and 20 minutes. STS-93 The usual practice at this time was for a pilot astronaut to fly two missions as a pilot and then go on to command a mission. Collins had heard of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) and indicated to the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Bob Cabana, that she was interested in flying the mission to deploy it. A few months later, JSC deputy director Jim Wetherbee and director George Abbey informed her that she was to be assigned to the mission, which was designated STS-93. This would be the first time that a woman commanded a Space Shuttle mission, so the official announcement of her assignment was made by the first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on 5 March 1998. Jeffrey Ashby, a rookie astronaut, was assigned as Collins's pilot. To deploy the AXAF, she had NASA mission specialist astronaut Cady Coleman and French CNES astronaut Michel Tognini. Originally,