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"Sportboots" (Adidas® Sneakers) Mission: Soyuz TM-24 (up) STS-79 Atlantis (down)   Crew: Gennadi Manakov Launch: August 17, 1996   Landing: September 26, 1996   Duration: 30 days, 23 hours   Comment: A letter written to Manakov by Valeri Korzun while still on Mir accompanied these sneakers These sportboots, as described by cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov, were launched to the Mir Space Station with its 22nd crew on-board Soyuz TM-24 - the same flight and crew as Manakov was originally slated to command had medical problems not led to his being grounded fives days before launch. With not enough time to unpack the Soyuz, these Adidas® brand sneakers, sized for Manakov's feet, made the trip into space only to be discovered by Valeri Korzun, Manakov's replacement. Korzun stamped the toes of each shoe with ink postmarkers that were only on Mir and then shipped them back to Earth (and Manakov) with the visiting STS-79 crew on-board Space Shuttle Atlantis. back to Artifacts © 1999-2008 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved. Questions? E-mail contact@collectspace.com