Dwayne Brown/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington, DC                  November 28, 
2000(Phone: 202/358-1600)

RELEASE:  00-185

ENDEAVOUR PREPARES TO UNVEIL A BRIGHT NEW STAR

     Space Shuttle Endeavour and its five-member crew this week 
will open a new chapter in the saga of the International Space 
Station (ISS) with their launch, now set for 10:06 p.m. EST Nov. 
30. On a mission of space-flight firsts, the crew of STS-97 will 
unveil a new star on the horizon by adding a pair of giant solar 
wings to the orbiting platform.

Endeavour will carry a 17-ton package of immense solar arrays and 
associated batteries, electronics and cooling equipment to the 
space station -- the heaviest and largest station elements flown 
to date. Once deployed on ISS, this first set of solar sails will 
measure 240 feet tip-to-tip, a wingspan greater than that of a 777 
jumbo jetliner.

"When all the solar arrays are fully deployed, they will generate 
enough power to run 15 average-sized homes on Earth," said W. 
Michael Hawes, Deputy Associate Administrator for Space 
Development at NASA Headquarters. "People will be able to look up 
and see the brightest new star in the sky. Only the Moon and star 
Sirius will shine brighter."

Folded into two boxes only 20 inches thick for launch, the solar 
arrays contain more than 64,000 individual power-generating cells. 
The sails being unfurled to their full length should be one of the 
most stunning scenes ever transmitted from Earth orbit. 

Veteran astronaut Brent Jett (Cmdr., USN) will command the 
mission. Michael Bloomfield (Lt. Col., USAF) will serve as pilot. 
They will be accompanied by Mission Specialists Joe Tanner, Carlos 
Noriega (Lt. Col., USMC) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut  Marc 
Garneau. 

Astronauts Tanner and Noriega will serve as high-tech 
electricians, performing space walks to install the giant solar 
panels, connecting wires and cables. Special cameras affixed to 
their helmets will capture stunning views of their work in 
progress.

The current set of arrays will quintuple the amount of electrical 
power available on the station, paving the way for delivery of the 
first research laboratory, the U.S. Destiny module, on STS-98 in 
January. Once in orbit, the Destiny module will be the most 
sophisticated science laboratory ever launched into space.

The solar panels will provide a much-needed power boost to the 
station and its Expedition One crew, led by American Commander 
Bill Shepherd, allowing the crew to begin its first science 
experiments. 

Experiments include a student project that will study the effects 
of weightlessness on soybean and corn seeds; an experiment 
sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the 
U.S. Air Force that will study control mechanisms for future 
satellites; cameras and equipment that will be used to track 
environmental changes and other areas of scientific interest 
around the world as part of continuing Earth observations by the 
station crew; and several medical evaluations that will study the 
operation of the treadmill and resistive exercise equipment on the 
station.

Endeavour also will be the first shuttle to visit the Expedition 
One crew since it arrived at the station Nov. 1, and the crew of 
STS-97 will drop off additional supplies.

For more information on how to see the ISS in the night sky, 
visit:

     http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/
   http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html

For additional information on STS-97 and its crew, visit:

                http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

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