January 23, 1997
Astronaut John Blaha returned to Earth on Wednesday after four months aboard the Russian space station Mir, and instead of playing the hero, he allowed himself to be carried off shuttle Atlantis on a stretcher. It was the first time an astronaut agreed to be carried off after a long space flight. The decision delighted NASA doctors, who wanted to gauge immediately the effects of long-term weightlessness, including dizziness and weakened bones. Paramedics gently carried the weak Blaha,...