Mission Name: STS-87 (88)
  Columbia (24)
  Pad 39-B (40)
  88th Shuttle Mission
  24th Flight OV-102
  1st Heads-Up ascent
  41st KSC landing
  EDO
  EVA
 NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage
Crew:
  Kevin R. Kregel (3), Commander
  Steven W. Lindsey (1), Pilot
  Winston E. Scott (2), Mission Specialist
  Kalpana Chawla (1), Mission Specialist
  Takao Doi (1), (NASDA) Mission Specialist
  Leonid K. Kadenyuk(1), (NSAU) Payload Specialist
Milestones:
    OPF2 -- 07/17/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 7/17/1997)
     VAB -- 10/24/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/24/1997)
     PAD -- 10/29/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/29/1997)
Payload:
  USMP-4, SPARTAN-201-04, LHP/NaSBE, TGDF, SOLSE, EDFT-05, OARE-10, GAS(G-036 ), CUE, MGBX-02, AERCam/Sprint, SIMPLEX
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Oct 1997)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Nov 1997)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Dec 1997)
Mission Objectives:
  STS-87 will fly the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4), the
Spartan-201, the Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), the
EVA Demonstration Flight Test 5 (EDFT-05), the Shuttle Ozone Limb
Sending Experiment (SOLSE), the Loop Heat Pipe (LHP), the Sodium
Sulfur Battery Experiment (NaSBE), the Turbulent GAS Jet Diffusion
(G-744) experiment and the Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera/Sprint
(AERCam/Sprint) experiment.  Two middeck experiments are the Middeck
Glovbox Payload (MGBX) and the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment
(CUE).
 The United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) is a Spacelab project
managed by Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.  The
complement of microgravity research experiments is divided between two
Mission-Peculiar Experiment Support Structures (MPESS) in the payload
bay.  The extended mission capability offered by the Extended Duration
Orbiter (EDO) kit provides an opportunity for additional science
gathering time.
  Spartan 201-04 is a Solar Physics Spacecraft designed to perform
remote sensing of the hot outer layers of the sun's atmosphere or
corona. It is expected to be deployed on orbit 18 and retrieved on
orbit 52.  The objective of the observations are to investigate the
mechanisms causing the heating of the solar corona and the
acceleration of the solar wind which originates in the corona.  Two
primary experiments are the Ultraviolet Coronal Spectrometer from the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the White Light Coronograph
(WLC) from the High Altitude Observatory.  Spartan 201 has three
secondary experiments.  The Technology Experiment Augmenting Spartan
(TEXAS) is a Radio Frequency (RF) communications experiment which will
provide flight experience for components baselined on future Spartan
missions, and a real time communications and control link with the
primary Spartan 201 experiments.  This link will be used to provide a
fine pointing adjustment to the WLC based on solar images downlinked
real time.  The Video Guidance Sensor (VGS) Flight Experiment is a
laser guidance system which will test a key component of the Automated
Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) system.  The Spartan Auxiliary Mounting
Plate (SPAM) is a small equipment mounting plate which will provide a
mounting location for small experiments or auxiliary equipment of the
Spartan Flight Support Structure (SFSS) It is a honeycomb plate using
a experimental Silicon Carbide Aluminum face sheet material with an
aluminum core.
  The Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) is
a sophisticated materials science facility used for studying a common
method of processing semiconductor crystals called directional
solidification.  Solidification is the process of freezing materials.
In the type of directional solidification to be used in AADSF, the
liquid sample, enclosed in quartz ampoules, will be slowly solidified
along the long axis.  A mechanism will move the sample through varying
temperature zones in the furnace.  To start processing, the furnace
melts all but one end of the sample towards the other.  Once
crystallized, the sample remains in the furnace to be examined
post-flight.  The solidification front is of particular interest to
scientists because the flows found in the liquid material influence
the final composition and structure of the solid and its properties.
  The Confined Helium Experiment (CHeX) provides a test of theories of
the influence of boundaries on matter by measuring the heat capacity
of helium as it is confined to two dimensions.
  The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE) is a materials
science solidification experiment that researchers will use to
investigate a particular type of solidification called dendritic
growth.  Dendritic solidification is one of the most common forms of
solidifying metals and alloys.  When materials crystallize or solidify
under certain condition, the freeze unstably, resulting in tiny,
tree-like crystalline forms called dendrites.  Scientist are
particularly interested in dendrite size, shape, and how the branches
of the dendrites interact with each other.  These characteristics
largely determine the properties of the material.
  Designed for research on the directional solidification of metallic
alloys, the Material pour l'Etude des Phenomenes Interssant la
Solidification sur Terre et en Orbite (MEPHISTO) experiment is
primarily interested in measuring the temperature, velocity, and shape
of the solidification front (the point where the solid and liquid
contact each other during solidification.)  MEPHISTO simultaneously
processes three identical cylindrical samples of bismuth and tin
alloy.  In the first sample, the temperature fluctuations of the
moving solidification are measured electrically, with disturbing the
sample.  The position of the solid to liquid border is determined by
an electrical resistance technique in the second sample.  In the third
sample, the faceted solidification front is marked at selected
intervals with electric current pulses.  The samples are returned to
Earth for analysis.  During the mission, MEPHISTO data will be
correlated with data from the Space Acceleration Measurement System
(SAMS).  By comparing data, scientists can determine how accelerations
aboard the shuttle disturb the solid to liquid interface.
  The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS), sponsored by Lewis
Research Center, is a microprocessor-driven data acquisition system
designed to measure and record the microgravity acceleration
environment of the USMP carrier.  The SAMS has three triaxial sensor
heads that are separate from the electronics package for remote
positioning.  In operation, the triaxial sensor head produces output
signals in response to acceleration inputs.  The signals are
amplified, filtered, and converted into digital data.  The digital
acceleration data is transferred to optical disk memory for ground
analysis.  Each accelerometer has a mass suspended by a quartz element
is such a manner to allow movement along one axis only.  A coil is
attached to the mass and the assembly is placed between two permanent
magnets.  An applied acceleration displaces the mass form its resting
position.  This movement is sensed by a detector, causing SAMS
electronics to send a voltage to the coil, producing exactly the
magnetic field needed to restore the mass to its original position.
The applied voltage is proportional to the applied acceleration and is
output to the SAMS electronics as acceleration data.
  While flying separately in the cargo bay, the Orbital Acceleration
Research Experiment (OARE) is an integral part of USMP-04.  It is a
highly sensitive instrument designed to acquire and record data of
low-level aerodynamic acceleration along the orbiter's principal axes
in the free-molecular flow regime at orbital altitudes and in the
transition regime during re-entry.  OARE data will support advances in
space materials processing by providing measurements of the low-level,
low frequency disturbance environment affecting various microgravity
experiments.  OARE data will also support advances in orbital drag
prediction technology by increasing the understanding of the
fundamental flow phenomena in the upper atmosphere.
  The Extravehicular Activity Development Flight Test - 05 (EDFT-05)
consists of the payload bay hardware elements of Detailed Test
Objective (DTO) 671, EVA Hardware for Future Scheduled Extravehicular
Missions.  EDFT - 05's main objective is to demonstrate International
Space Station (ISS) on-orbit, end-to-end EVA assembly and maintenance
operations.  The other DTO's included in this test are DTO 672,
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Electrical Cuff Checklist and DTO
833, EMU Thermal Comfort and EVA Worksite Thermal Environment.
Another objective is to expand the EVA experience base for ground and
flight crews.  Two EVA's will be performed on this mission to
accomplish these DTO's.
  The objective of the Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE)
is to determine the altitude distribution of ozone in an attempt to
understand its behavior so that quantitative changes in the
composition of our atmosphere can be predicted.  SOLSE is intended to
perform ozone distribution that a nadir instrument can achieve.  This
will be performed using Charged Coupled Device (CCD) technology to
eliminate moving parts in a simpler, low cost, ozone mapping
instrument.  The experiment is housed in a Hitchhiker (HH/GAS)
canister with canister extension ring and equipped with a Hitchhiker
Motorized Door Assembly (HMDA).  Instrumentation includes an
Ultraviolet (UV) spectrograph with a CCD array detector, CCD array and
visible light cameras, calibration lamp, optics and baffling.  Once on
orbit a crew member will active SOLSE which will perform limb and
Earth viewing observations.  Limb observations focuses on the region
20 km to 50 km altitude above the horizon for the Earth's surface.
Earth viewing observations will enable SOLSE to correlate the data
with other nadir viewing, ozone instruments.
  The Loop Heat Pipe (LHP) test will advance thermal energy management
technology and validating technology readiness for upcoming commercial
spacecraft applications.  The LHP will be operated with anhydros
ammonia as the working fluid to transport thermal energy with high
effective conductivity in zero gravity.  LHP is a passive, two-phase
flow heat transfer device that is capable of transporting up to 400
watts over a distance of 5 meters through semiflexible, small-diameter
tubes.  It uses capillary forces to circulate the two-phase working
fluid.  The system is self-priming and totally passive in operation.
When heat is applied to the LHP evaporator, part of the working fluid
vaporizes.  The vapor flows through the vapor transport lines and
condenses, releasing heat.  The condense returns to the evaporator via
capillary action through the liquid transport lines.
  The Sodium Sulfur Battery Experiment (NaSBE) will characterize the
performance of four 40 amp-hour sodium-sulfur battery cells.  Each
cell is comprised of a sodium anode, sulfur cathode, and solid ceramic
sodium ion conducting electrolyte and separator.  The cells must be
heated to 350 degrees Celsius to liquefy the sodium and sulfur.  Once
the anode and cathode are liquefied, the cells will start to generate
electrical power.  Once on orbit a crewmember will active NaSBE and
then controlled by the GSFC Payload Operations Control Center (POCC).
  The Turbulent Gas Jet Diffusion Flames (TGDF) payload is a secondary
payload that will use the standard Get-Away Special (GAS) carrier.
It's purpose is to gain an understanding of the fundamental
characteristics of transitional and turbulent gas jet diffusion flames
under microgravity conditions and to acquire data that will aid in
predicting the behavior of transitional and turbulent gas jet
diffusion flames under normal and microgravity environments.  TGDF
will impose large-scale controlled disturbances on well-defined
laminar microgravity diffusion flames.  The will be on axisymmertic
perturbations to laminar flames.  The variables for the proposed tests
will be the frequency of the disturbance mechanism which will be
either 2.5 Hz, 5 Hz, or 7.5 Hz.
  Get-Away Special (GAS G-036) payload canister contains four separate
experiments that will hydrate cement samples, will record
configuration stability of fluid samples, and will expose computer
discs, compact discs, and asphalt samples to exosphere conditions in
the cargo bay of the orbiter.  The experiments are the Cement Mixing
Experiment (CME), the Configuration Stability of Fluid Experiment (CSFE),
the Computer Compact Disc Evaluation Experiment (CDEE) and the
Asphalt Evaluation Experimetn (AEE).
  The Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera/Sprint (AERCam/Sprint) is a small,
unobtrusive, free-flying camera platform for use outside a spacecraft.
The free-flyer has a self contained cold gas propulsion system giving
it the capability to be propelled with a 6 degrees of freedom control
system.  On board the free-flyer are rate sensors to provide data for
an automatic attitude hold capability.  AERCam/Sprint is a spherical
vehicle that moves slowly and is covered in a soft cushioning material
to prevent damage in the event of an impact.  The design philosophy is
to keep the energy low by keeping the velocities and mass low while
providing a mechanism to absorb any energy from an impact.  The
free-flyer platform is controlled from inside the Orbiter by using a
small control station.  The operator will input motion commands from a
single, Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER) device controller.  The commands
will be sent from the control station to he free-flyer via a Radio
Frequency (RF) modem link operating in the Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF)
range.
  The Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) Pallet is a 15 foot diameter
cryo-kit wafer structure.  Weighing 775 pounds, it provides support
for tanks, associated control panels, and avionics equipment.  The
tanks store 368 pounds of liquid hydrogen at -418 degrees Fahrenheit,
and 3,124 pounds of liquid oxygen at -285 degrees Fahrenheit.  Total
empty weight of the system is 3,571 pounds.  When filled with
cryogens, system weight is approximately 7,000 pounds. Oxygen and
hydrogen are supplied to the orbiter's three electrical power
generating fuel cells, where they are converted into sufficient
electrical energy to support the average 4 family-member house for
approximately 6 months.  About 3,000 pounds of pure drinking water is
also produced by the fuel cells.  With the EDO pallet, the orbiter can
support a flight for a maximum of 18 days.  Longer on-orbit missions
benefit microgravity research, Life Sciences research, Earth and
celestial observations, human adaptation to the zero-G environment,
and support to the Space Station.
  The Middeck Glove Box (MGBX) is a facility designed for materials
science and biological science experiment handling.  It consists of
two primary systems; an Interface Frame (IF) and a Glovebox (GB). The
MGBX facility (with associated electronics) provides an enclosed
working area for experiment manipulation and observation on the
shuttle middeck. The MGBX experiments on this flight are: WCI - The
objective of the Wetting Characteristics of Immiscibles is to
investigate the influence of alloy/ampoule wetting characteristics on
the segregation of immiscible liquids during microgravity processing.
The Enclosed Laminar Flames (ELF) experiment objective is to validate
the zero-gravity Burke-Schumann model and the gravity-dependent
Hegde-Bahadori extension of the model, investigate the importance of
the buoyancy-dependent flowfield as affected by oxidizer flow on flame
stabilization, examine the state relationships of co-flow diffusion
flames under the influence of buoyancy conditions (gravity versus
pressure), and study the flow vortex and diffusion flame interactions.
The Particle Engulfment and Pushing by Solidifying Interfaces (PEP)
experiment objectives will be to generate an accurate value for the
critical velocity in a convection-free environment, validate present
theoretical model, enhance fundamental understanding of dynamics of
insoluble particles at liquid/solid interfaces, and improve
understanding of physics associated with solidification of liquid
metals-ceramic particles mixtures.
  The Collaborative Ukraine Experiment (CUE) is a middeck payload
designed to study the effects of microgravity on plant growth.  The
CUE is composed of a group of experiments that will be flown in the
Plant Growth Facility (PGF) and in the Biological Research in
Canisters (BRIC).  The experiments also require the use of a Gaseous
Nitrogen (GN2) Freezer and the fixation hardware.  Investigators in
Ukraine and the United States selected the experiments as a model for
scientific collaboration between the two countries.  The PGF will
support plant growth for up to 30 days by providing acceptable
environmental conditions for normal plant growth.  The PGF is composed
of the following subsystems: Control and Data Management Subsystems
(CDMS), Fluorescent Light Module (FLM), Atmospheric Control Module
(ACM), Plant Growth Chambers (PGCs), Support Structure Assembly (SSA),
and the Generic External Shell (GES).  The complete PGF will replace
on middeck locker and operates on 28 V direct current (dc) power.  The
plant specimen to be studied in the PGF is Brassica rapa (turnip).
Launch:
  Launch November 19, 1997 14:46 EST. Launch window was 2 hours 30 minutes.
  On Wednesday, November 19, 1997, the countdown preceeded smoothly.
At 9:27am EST the count entered the hold at the T-minus 3 hour mark
and came out of the hold at 11:26am.  The External Tank was fully
loaded with liquid oxygen (LO2) and liquid Hydrogen (LH2) and was in
stable replenish mode.  At 11:30am the crew departed the astronauts
quarters in the KSC Operations and Checkout (O&C) building and arrived
at the launch pad at 11:47am EST.  By 12:49pm EST the entire crew was
strapped into their launch positions and orbiter closeout operations
began.  Air to ground voice checks were completed at 1:02pm EST and at
the T-minus 1 hour mark (1:20pm EST) the hatch was closed and locked
for flight.  At 2:05pm EST the countdown entered the T-minus 20 minute
hold and the launch team came out of the hold at 2:16pm EST.  At
2:27pm EST the launch team was polled and at 2:37pm EST, launch
director Jim Harrington gave a final clear for launch.  Launch occured
exactly on time at 2:46pm EST.  This launch was the first to use a
"heads-up" maneuver which has the SSME's automatically rotate the
orbiter from belly-up to belly-down approximately 6 minutes after
liftoff.  This procedure will be used on all future low inclination
(due East) launches.  It allows the orbiter to communicate 2.5 minutes
sooner with the space based tracking and data relay network (TDRS) system
and eliminates the need for the Bermuda tracking station.
  On Monday, November 17, 1997, loading of cryogenic reactants into
the power reactant storage and distribution system was planned for 1
p.m., but was delayed by about four hours due to lower than
acceptable helium readings in the orbiter midbody umbilical unit
cavity.  Helium is used to purge the tanks before reactant loading.
Workers were sent out to Pad 39B to inspect the purge line interfaces
and tightened the fittings.  Following those troubleshooting
activities, consoles in the firing room indicated an acceptable helium
concentration and reactant loading began at about 4:30 p.m. Mangers
expect to recuperate from the delay with no significant impacts to the
launch schedule.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 11/17/1997)
  On Sunday, November 16, 1997 the STS-87 flight crew arrived at KSC's
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at about 3:15 p.m. and underwent
routine pre-flight medical exams and final mission familiarization
briefings in the days leading up to launch. Commander Kevin Kregel and
Pilot Steven Lindsey practiced SLF approaches in the Shuttle Training
Aircraft (STA). The launch countdown for STS-87 began on time at 3 p.m.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 11/16/1997)
  Columbia began the roll out to Pad 39B at 7 a.m. Wednesday 10/29/97
and arrived at launch Pad 39B at about 2:45 p.m. after traveling 4.2
miles from the VAB atop the crawler transporter. Pad validations are
in work and a hot fire test of auxiliary power unit No. 2 scheduled
for later tonight.  Vertical payload installation begins Saturday
morning. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/29/1997)
 Columbia was mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters in
VAB high bay 3 on Saturday, 10/25/97 and the Shuttle interface test
concluded on 10/28/97.  The U.S. Microgravity Payload has been
transferred to the pad's payload change-out room and the payload
canister returned to the Operations and Checkout Building.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/27/1997)
  On 10/24/97, The Space Shuttle Columbia rolled into the VAB transfer
aisle at about 6 a.m. The orbiter will be mated to the external tank
and solid rocket boosters in high bay 3 over the weekend and is slated
to roll out to Pad 39B on Wednesday.  The USMP payload is now scheduled
for transfer to the pad on Monday 10/27/97. Workers continue to troubleshoot
gear mechanisms at the base of the Rotating Service Structure (RSS)
and functional tests are slated for Saturday. Managers
expect Pad 39B to be ready for payload activities next week; however,
support preparations for Pad 39A are under way in case it is
needed. No impact to the launch date is anticipated.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/24/1997)
  On 9/23/97, servicing of Columbia's ammonia system was completed and
installation of Columbia's main engines and freon coolant loop has
begun.  Workers will install GAS beams in the Shuttle's cargo bay for
installation of a secondary payload on Wednesday, 9/24/97.  Solid rocket
booster stacking operations are complete for STS-87 and work to mate
the external tank to the SRBs is slated to begin Thursday 9/25/97.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 9/22/1997)
  On 8/15/97, functional testing of the Shuttle's aft propulsion
system continues. Replacement of a flow valve on fuel cell No. 2 was
in work. In Columbia's crew module a fuel cell monitoring modification
was also underway. Removal of the Shuttle's oxidizer cross-feed line
from the orbiter maneuvering system scheduled for 8/16/97. Once the
line is isolated and draining activities are complete leak checks and
repair work will follow. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/19/1997)
  On 7/18/97, following Columbia's safe landing at KSC concluding
mission STS-94, the orbiter was rolled from the SLF to OPF bay 2 where
it was spotted at about 12:20 p.m. Postmission assessments are
currently underway. Initial assessments of tile damage from the 16-day
flight is reported to be less than average. The orbiter thermal
protection system sustained a total of 90 hits of which 12 had a major
dimension of 1-inch or larger. Integrated postflight securing and
deservicing of the onboard cryogenic system is in work today. The
payload bay doors are currently scheduled to be opened next Tuesday.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 7/18/1997)
  The launch was originally scheduled for October 9, 1997
but was slipped to mid November so that Columbia could refly
the STS-83 MSL-1 mission that was cut short due to a fuel cell
problem.
Orbit:
  Altitude: 150nm
  Inclination: 28.45
  Orbits: 252
  Duration: 15 days,  16 hours, 35 minutes,  01 seconds.
  Distance:  6.5 million miles
Hardware:
  SRB: BIO92
  SRM:
  ET :  SN-89
  MLP :
  SSME-1: SN-2031  (HPOTP 2133, HPFTP 6012)
  SSME-2: SN-2039* (HPOTP 8015, HPFTP 2130)
  SSME-3: SN-2037* (HPOTP 8020, HPFTP 6011)
Landing:
  KSC December 5, 7:20 am EST.  KSC Runway 33.
Main Gear Touchdown at 07:20:04 am EST.  (Mission Elapsed Time 15d 16h 34min 04sec)
Nose Gear Touchdown at 07:20:14 am EST.  (MET 15d 16h 34min 14sec)
Wheel Stop at 07:21:01am EST (MET 15d 16h 35min 1sec).
  On 12/5/97, KSC Weather conditions were favorable for a landing on
the first opportunity.  (Reference KSC Weather History 12/05/1997 0700).
At 5:56am EST, commander Kevin Kregel was given a go for the
deorbit burn and the 2 minute 32 second burn began at 6:23am EST.  The
burn reduced Columbia's orbital velocity by 250ft/sec into a 149nm by
9nm orbit.  The orbiter approached KSC from the northwest and took a
right overhead turn onto KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 33.
Landing approximately 2000 ft down the runway.
  At the time of landing, forecasters expected scattered clouds at
2,000 ft and 25,000 ft; visibility at 7 miles; winds from the
northwest at 10 knots, gusting to 16 knots. With plans to land
Columbia on KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 33, a head wind is
expected.  The two landing opportunities at KSC were at 7:20 a.m. and
8:55 a.m.  EST.
Mission Highlights:
  STS-87 Flight Day 1 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, November 19, 1997, 2:45 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #01
reports:
  The shuttle Columbia and its multi-national crew of astronauts
blasted off on time today from the Kennedy Space Center to begin a
16-day flight devoted to microgravity science, satellite-based studies
of the sun and a spacewalk to prepare for the assembly of the
International Space Station.
  Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Steve Lindsey, Mission Specialists
Kalpana Chawla, Winston Scott and Takao Doi and Payload Specialist
Leonid Kadenyuk lifted off at 1:46 p.m. Central time, the sixth time
this year that a shuttle has begun its mission right on time. All
eight flights this year launched on the day set in NASA's Flight
Readiness Review. Doi will become the first Japanese astronaut to walk
in space Monday night when he conducts a six-hour excursion into
Columbia's payload bay with Scott. Kadenyuk is the first Ukrainian to
fly in space.
  Six minutes into the climb to orbit, Columbia's computers commanded
the orbiter to roll from an inverted position under its fuel tank to
a."heads-up" position to provide early communications access to the
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. That will enable NASA to
phase out its Bermuda tracking station to save costs to the shuttle
program.
  Later today, the astronauts will activate experiments associated
with the United States Microgravity-4 payload in the cargo bay, which
will gather data for more than two weeks on the effects of
weightlessness on a number of materials. Chawla and Lindsey will also
unfurl and checkout Columbia's robot arm, which will be used tomorrow
to deploy the SPARTAN science satellite for two days of solar science
observations.
  The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 12:46
a.m. tomorrow morning and will be awakened at 8:46 a.m. to start
SPARTAN pre-deploy operations.
  Columbia is in an orbit about 150 nautical miles above the Earth,
circling the planet every 90 minutes.
The next STS-87 status report will be issued at about 6 a.m. Central
time Thursday.
  STS-87 Flight Day 2 Highlights:
 On Thursday, November 20, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #02
reports:
  Columbia's six-member crew will begin its first full day on orbit
with a wakeup call from Mission Control about 8:45 this morning.
Before turning in, Commander Kevin Kregel and the other members of
STS-87 were told that the Spartan satellite deploy would be delayed a
day, until Friday.
  Despite the one day delay in deployment of the satellite, Mission
Specialist Kalpana Chawla put the shuttle's robot arm through a
complete checkout in preparation for the deploy and retrieval
operations.  A deploy on Friday is now set for 4 p.m. with retrieval
two days later just after 8 p.m. Sunday.
  The Spartan is designed to gather information on the sun's corona
and solar wind during its two days of free flight away from Columbia.
The Spartan also is designed to bring back information that will be
useful in calibrating instruments on another orbiting satellite which
the ground lost contact with briefly yesterday prompting the delay in
the Spartan's deployment.
  The delay does not impact other planned activities for the flight,
which include microgravity science and a spacewalk to prepare for the
assembly of the International Space Station.
  Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Steve Lindsey, Mission Specialists
Kalpana Chawla, Winston Scott and Takao Doi and Ukrainian Payload
Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk launched at 1:46 yesterday afternoon to
begin Columbia's 24th mission into space and the 88th flight in the
shuttle program.
  In addition to the robot arm checkout, late last night the
astronauts activated experiments on the United States Microgravity
Payload, which for more than two weeks will gather data on the effects
of weightlessness on a number of materials.  The USMP package is
flying for the fourth time.
Columbia is traveling around the Earth once every 90 minutes at an
altitude of 152 nautical miles.
 On Thursday, November 20, 1997, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #03
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts conducted a variety of experiments in their
second day in space today, gearing up for the deployment of the
SPARTAN solar science satellite Friday, one day behind schedule.
  With a companion solar satellite called SOHO back on line after a
temporary power glitch, the stage is set for the release of SPARTAN
tomorrow at 3:03 p.m. Central time for about 50 hours of free-flying
observations of solar phenomena. SOHO, which was launched on an
Atlas-2 rocket in December 1995, will conduct co-investigations with
SPARTAN while the boxy satellite flies free of Columbia. SPARTAN will
be retrieved just after 8 p.m. Central time Sunday. The one-day delay
in deploying SPARTAN will have no effect on other planned activities
during the 16-day flight, including a scheduled spacewalk by Mission
Specialists Winston Scott and Takao Doi Monday night to test assembly
techniques for the International Space Station. Doi will become the
first Japanese astronaut to walk in space.
  Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla (pron: Kulp'-nuh Chav'-lah) and
Pilot Steve Lindsey will operate Columbia's 50-foot long robot arm for
the deployment of SPARTAN tomorrow afternoon. Once the satellite is
released, Commander Kevin Kregel will fire jet thrusters to slowly
separate from SPARTAN as it begins its scientific operations.
  Throughout the day, the astronauts conducted experiments involving
the effect of weightlessness on materials and fluids. Lindsey also
worked with an experiment to study ozone layers set against the limb
of the Earth.
  Ukrainian Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk spent the day
conducting studies involving plant growth in weightlessness with the
CUE experiment, the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment which Kadenyuk
will operate throughout the course of the flight.
  Columbia is flying smoothly on at an altitude of 176 statute miles
with all of its systems functioning in excellent shape. Columbia is
circling the Earth every 90 minutes in an orbit inclined 28 and a half
degrees to either side of the Equator.
  STS-87 Flight Day 3 Highlights:
 On Friday, November 21, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #04
reports:
  The focus of today's work aboard Columbia following crew wakeup at
9:45, is the deployment of the Spartan solar science satellite shortly
after 3 this afternoon for its 2 days of free-flight science
investigations and data gathering.
  A companion solar satellite called the Solar Heliosopheric
Observatory, or SOHO, is back in full operation after communications
were temporarily lost Wednesday.  Data from the Spartan mission will
be used to calibrate instruments on the 2-year-old SOHO which will be
remotely commanded to make identical observations as the Spartan.
  The release of Spartan today and its subsequent retrieval just after
8 p.m. Sunday will be done using the shuttle's robot arm, which will
be operated by mission specialist Kalpana Chawla.
  The one-day delay in deploying Spartan does not impact other planned
activities during the flight, including Monday's spacewalk by mission
specialists Winston Scott and Takao Doi.  The spacewalk is designed to
test assembly techniques for the International Space Station. Doi will
become the first Japanese astronaut to walk in space.
  Once the satellite is released, commander Kevin Kregel and pilot
Steve Lindsey will slowly back Columbia away from Spartan.  For the
first three to five orbits after release, the shuttle will maintain a
distance of between five and 10 nautical miles to allow for a
communications demonstration sending real-time telemetry and data from
the satellite to the ground.  During the next two days a series of
rendezvous maneuvers will maintain a safe distance between the two
spacecraft until Sunday's approach and capture of the satellite for
the return trip to Earth.
  Ukrainian payload specialist Leonid Kadenyuk will once again spend
the day conducting studies involving plant growth in weightlessness
with the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment, or CUE.  He'll focus his
attention on this experiment for much of the duration of the flight.
  There are no systems problems aboard Columbia on its 24th mission in
space.  It is operating at an altitude of 283 kilometers, or about 276
statute miles, above the Earth.
 On Friday, November 21, 1997, 11:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #05
reports:
  The mission of the SPARTAN science satellite to study solar phenomena
was called off today after an attempt to activate its attitude control
system failed following its release from Columbia's robot arm for two
days of free-flying operations.
  Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla released SPARTAN from the robot
arm on time at 3:04 p.m. Central time while the shuttle and the
satellite were traveling over the Pacific Ocean. But SPARTAN failed to
execute a pirouette maneuver a few minutes later, indicating a problem
with its attitude control system for fine pointing toward solar
targets. SPARTAN officials later said it appeared that the satellite's
attitude control system jets failed to activate, leaving the satellite
without the ability to orient itself for science collection.
  Chawla regrappled the SPARTAN moments later, but did not receive a
firm capture indication and backed the arm away once more, apparently
initiating a rotational spin of about two degrees per second on the
satellite. Commander Kevin Kregel fired Columbia's jets to try to
match the rotational rate of the SPARTAN for another grapple attempt,
but Flight Director Bill Reeves called off the effort shortly after 4
p.m., ordering Kregel to begin a seperation maneuver to place Columbia
in a position 40 nautical miles behind the satellite. That will enable
Columbia to re-rendezvous with SPARTAN, perhaps on Monday for its
retrieval and berthing in the cargo bay.
  NASA managers held several meetings throughout the day to discuss
options for the capture of SPARTAN. The leading candidate calls for a
manual retrieval of the satellite during a scheduled spacewalk Monday
night by astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi. Options range from
putting two crewmembers in foot restraints on the SPARTAN truss
structure in the cargo bay to one crewmember positioned in a foot
restraint at the end of the robot arm.
  Mission managers will meet again Saturday morning to review
retrieval options and details of a spacewalk timeline for the SPARTAN
capture. Officials will also consider what other tasks planned for the
scheduled spacewalk may be preserved and added to the new spacewalk
scenario. A final decision on the spacewalk retrieval of SPARTAN may
not be made until Sunday morning.
  Unaffected by the SPARTAN activity is the scientific data being
collected by the suite of experiments comprising the United States
Microgravity Payload, the prime payload for the mission. Its
instruments continue to operate autonomously, collecting information
on the effect of weightlessness on materials and fluids.
  The astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at
1:46 a.m. Central time Saturday and will be awakened at 9:46 a.m. for
their fourth day in orbit. Highlights of tomorrow's activity will
include a checkout of the spacesuits Scott and Doi will wear during
their spacewalk as well as other associated tools.
  Columbia continues to fly in flawless fashion in an orbit 176
statute miles above the Earth.
  STS-87 Flight Day 4 Highlights:
 On Saturday, November 22, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #06
reports:
 Today mission managers and experts in various flight control areas
are meeting to formulate a plan for retrieval of the Spartan science
satellite following the apparent failure of its attitude control
system to activate.
  The satellite is at a safe distance in front of Columbia of about 23
nautical miles (about 42 kilometers) and plans call for the crew to
maintain the orbiter's distance to protect plans to rendezvous with
the spacecraft on Monday to retrieve it either by mechanical arm or
manually as part of a spacewalk by mission specialists Winston Scott
and Takao Doi.  As part of their routine pre-mission spacewalk
training, the two astronauts trained for just such a contingency
should it be required.
  Though mission specialist Kalpana Chawla released Spartan from the
robot arm on time at 3:04 p.m. yesterday, it did not execute a
pre-programmed pirouette maneuver designed to verify its attitude
control system was functional.  Spartan officials last night said it
appeared the small control jets failed to activate, leaving the
satellite without the ability to orient itself for science collection.
  Chawla attempted to recapture Spartan moments later, but did not
receive an indication of grapple and backed the arm away, apparently
initiating a rotational spin of about two degrees per second on the
satellite.  After attempting to match the rotation for another capture
attempt, commander Kevin Kregel performed an orbiter separation
maneuver to move Columbia away from the Spartan.
  Special teams will meet today to formulate a formal course of action
that will be finalized Sunday.
  Meanwhile, the crew will spend the day checking out the
Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits, and tools that will be
used for Monday's spacewalk.  The options for the spacewalk include
retrieving the satellite and accomplishing as many of the activities
that had been scheduled during the time available to test hardware and
techniques that will be used on the International Space Station.
  The scientific data being collected by other experiments that make
up the United States Microgravity Payload are unaffected by the
Spartan satellite problems and retrieval efforts underway.
  The crew wakeup call from Mission Control at about 9:45 this morning
signals the start of flight day 4 for Columbia's STS-87 mission.
 On Saturday, November 22, 1997, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #07
reports:
  Astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi checked out their spacesuits
aboard Columbia today in preparation for a planned Monday spacewalk
while Mission Control developed plans that may allow Scott and Doi to
recapture the Spartan satellite by hand during that EVA.
  Columbia is now about 38 statute miles behind Spartan, which was
released from the shuttle on Friday. After its release, the
satellite's attitude control system failed. When a recapture of the
satellite was attempted, it began a slow spin that prevented any
further attempts to capture it using the robotic arm. Flight
controllers are now evaluating two options for recapturing the
satellite by hand during the Monday evening spacewalk. A final
decision on any plan to recapture Spartan is not expected until after
Shuttle managers meet at 8 a.m. CST Sunday to review all options.
  The first option would have Scott and Doi perform a procedure very
similar to one they rehearsed prior to the flight in the event a
manual recapture of the satellite would be required. Under this plan,
Scott and Doi would stand in foot restraints mounted on the
Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure to which Spartan is latched
in the payload bay during the Shuttle's launch and landing. Columbia
Commander Kevin Kregel would then fly to within reach of the
satellite, and Scott and Doi would grasp Spartan and lower it into its
normal payload bay latches.
  The second option would have Scott stand in a foot restraint mounted
to the end of the robotic arm while Doi remains in the payload
bay. Kregel would then fly to within reach of the satellite, and Scott
would be moved into position to grasp the satellite. Assisted by Doi,
he would then lower Spartan into its payload bay latches.
  Simulations of both options are being evaluated using a variety of
facilities at the Johnson Space Center, including a virtual reality
laboratory, two shuttle simulators, and the large swimming pool used
for spacewalk training. All of the data gathered during the day will
be presented to managers at the Sunday meeting. A press conference is
currently planned at 10 a.m. CST Sunday on NASA Television.
  For a rendezvous with Spartan Monday evening, Doi and Scott would
exit Columbia's airlock at 6:16 p.m. CST Monday. Columbia would arrive
in close proximity to Spartan at about 7 p.m. Monday. The spacewalk
would conclude at about 12:16 a.m. CST Tuesday. Under either option,
the Spartan retrieval would require only about two hours of the
six-hour spacewalk. During the remaining four hours, a majority of the
originally planned International Space Station assembly spacewalk
tests would still be performed. Flight controllers do not believe it
will be possible to test the Aercam Sprint experiment, a prototype
free-flying television camera designed for future space station use.
  Experiment work aboard Columbia continued today while the plans for
the possible Spartan retrieval were evaluated. Kregel and Mission
Specialist Kalpana Chawla completed three more experiment runs
studying the mixing of certain metal alloys in weightlessness using a
glovebox facility in the shuttle's middeck. Ukrainian Payload
Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk continued studies of plant growth in
weightlessness in the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment. During the
evening, each crew member will have an hour off-duty to help adjust
their sleep cycles to match future mission events. The crew also will
be interviewed by NBC Nightside and NBC Asian News at 9:31 p.m. CST
today. The crew will go to sleep at 3:46 a.m. CST Sunday, two hours
later than yesterday, and awaken at 11:46 a.m. CST Sunday.
  Columbia is in excellent condition with no systems problems in an
orbit with a high point of 175 miles and a low point of 171 miles. The
next STS-87 status report will be issued around 6 a.m. Sunday.
  STS-87 Flight Day 5 Highlights:
 On Sunday, November 23, 1997, 7:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #08
reports:
  Plans are coming together nicely for tomorrow night's spacewalk by
astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi to manually capture the
drifting Spartan after commander Kevin Kregel flies Columbia to within
reaching distance of the satellite.
  The leading option for the manual retrieval has the two astronauts
positioned in foot restraints on each end of the Spartan's support
structure.  They will grab the satellite and lower it onto its fixture
to be latched securely remotely from inside the orbiter.  The
remaining time available during the spacewalk will be used to test
tools and maintenance procedures that will be used during the
construction and operation of the International Space Station.
  The final decision on the course of action for retrieval will be
made by mid-morning following the Space Shuttle Program mission
management team meeting.  A press conference at 10 a.m. CST today on
NASA Television will brief details of the plan..
  Columbia is now about 30 nautical miles behind Spartan, which was
released from the shuttle on Friday. After its release, the
satellite's attitude control system failed to activate.  When a
recapture of the satellite was attempted, it began a slow spin that
prevented any further attempts to capture it using the robotic arm
  Details of the six-hour spacewalk include Doi and Scott beginning
shortly after 6 p.m. Monday.  Columbia will arrive in close proximity
to Spartan at about 7 p.m.  The Spartan retrieval will require only
about two hours of the six-hour spacewalk. During the remaining time
available, a majority of the originally planned International Space
Station assembly spacewalk tests will still be performed.
  Experiment work aboard Columbia continues with Ukrainian Payload
Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk focusing on studies of plant growth in
weightlessness in the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment.
  Crew wakeup is set for 11:45 this morning with sleep set for about 5
a.m. Monday.
 On Sunday, November 23, 1997, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #09
reports:
  Columbia's crew spent its fifth day in space making final
preparations for Monday's spacewalking retrieval of the Spartan
science satellite while continuing work with other experiments inside
the shuttle cabin.
  The crew was given the go-ahead for Astronauts Winston Scott and
Takao Doi to prepare to recapture the Spartan satellite, released from
Columbia on Friday, by hand during a spacewalk Monday evening. Scott
and Doi will recapture the satellite using a procedure similar to one
they rehearsed prior to the flight in the event the robotic arm could
not be used to retrieve the satellite. Facing each other on opposite
sides of the cargo bay, Doi and Scott will stand in foot restraints
mounted on a support structure to which Spartan is normally latched.
  As Commander Kevin Kregel flies Columbia to a point where Spartan is
a few feet above the cargo bay, Doi and Scott will watch the
satellite's rotation and then lean forward and grab it as it moves
into the appropriate position. The satellite then will be lowered into
its latches in the cargo bay. The crew spent about three hours today
reviewing all of the plans for the spacewalk, and flight controllers
passed along insights gained from evaluations of the plans that have
been performed in a variety of facilities at the Johnson Space
Center. The spacewalk is planned to begin at about 6:16 p.m. CST
Monday. Columbia is predicted to reach the vicinity of Spartan about
7:01 p.m. CST. The retrieval is expected to take only about the first
two hours of the six-hour spacewalk, leaving Doi and Scott ample time
to complete many of the International Space Station assembly tests
planned for the mission.
  Later this evening, the crew will lower the air pressure in
Columbia's cabin from the normal sea-level pressure of 14.7 pounds per
square inch to 10.2 pounds per square inch, the pressure equivalent of
about 10,000 feet altitude. The lower pressure helps prepare the
spacewalkers to purge nitrogen from their bodies to prevent a
condition commonly known as the bends when they go to the lower
pressure, pure oxygen spacesuits tomorrow.
  Columbia is about 43 statute miles from the Spartan, separating a
few tenths of a mile with each orbit. A small engine firing later
tonight will keep Columbia at a distance of around 46 miles from
Spartan until it begins closing in tomorrow for the retrieval. The
crew will go to sleep at 4:46 a.m. Monday and awaken at 12:46 p.m.
The next Mission Control status report will be issued at 6
a.m. Monday.
  STS-87 Flight Day 6 Highlights:
 On Monday, November 24, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #10
reports:
  Following a wake up call from Mission Control at 12:46 p.m. CST this
afternoon, Commander Kevin Kregel and his crew - Pilot Steve Lindsey,
Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Winston Scott and Takao Doi and
Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk -- will begin their final
preparations for the rendezvous and retrieval of the SPARTAN science
satellite which was deployed earlier in the flight but failed to
operate properly.
  As Kregel flies Columbia to a point where Spartan is a few feet
above the cargo bay, Doi and Scott, in their spacewalking suits, will
be positioned opposite each other in foot restraints on the SPARTAN
platform truss in Columbia's payload bay, ready to manually grab the
Spartan free-flyer and then lower the satellite down into its latches
in the cargo bay.  They will recapture the satellite using a procedure
similar to one they rehearsed prior to the flight in the event the
Shuttle's robotic arm could not be used to retrieve the satellite.
  Formal EVA preparations will begin around 3:00 p.m. Central time.
About two hours later, at 4:51 p.m., Kregel will perform the Terminal
Initiation (TI) burn to put Columbia on an intercept course with the
Spartan spacecraft.
  The spacewalk is planned to begin at about 6:00 p.m. Central
time. Columbia is predicted to reach the vicinity of Spartan about
7:25 p.m. as Kregel flies Columbia to a point where the slowly
spinning satellite will be hovering just over the cargo bay. If all
goes well, Scott and Doi should grab the satellite sometime over the
next hour or so, with the manual berthing of SPARTAN expected to be
completed by about 8:30 p.m. The retrieval should leave Scott and Doi
ample time to complete many of the International Space Station
assembly tests planned for the mission involving the testing of a
special crane which may be used in the future to haul large components
from one station module to another for spacewalking astronauts.
  In preparation for the spacewalk, the crew yesterday lowered the air
pressure in Columbia's cabin from the normal sea-level pressure of
14.7 pounds per square inch to 10.2 pounds per square inch, the
pressure equivalent of about 10,000 feet altitude. The lower pressure
helps prepare the spacewalkers to purge nitrogen from their bodies to
prevent a condition commonly known as the bends when they go to the
lower pressure, pure oxygen spacesuits.
  Columbia is about 50 nautical miles behind SPARTAN, closing steadily
for tonight's rendezvous.
  The shuttle itself remains in excellent condition, orbiting the
Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 176 statute miles. The
next STS-87 status report will be issued around 5 p.m. Monday
afternoon.
 On Monday, November 24, 1997, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #11
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts were awakened at 12:46 p.m. Central time today
to the sound of."Walk of Life" by Dire Straits to begin their final
preparations for tonight's spacewalk by Winston Scott and Takao Doi to
manually capture the SPARTAN science satellite and to test tools and
techniques for the assembly of the International Space Station. At the
time of crew wakeup, Columbia was 46 statute miles behind SPARTAN.
  Scott and Doi began suiting up for their spacewalk around 3:00
p.m. Central time with the assistance of Mission Specialist Kalpana
Chawla, who will choreograph tonight planned 6 and a half operation
from Columbia's aft flight deck.
  While those preparations took place, Commander Kevin Kregel and
Pilot Steve Lindsey conducted a series of jet firings to narrow the
gap between Columbia and SPARTAN.  The major maneuver took place at
4:51 p.m. when Kregel conducted the Terminal Initiation, or TI burn,
to place the shuttle on an intercepting path to arrive directly
beneath the slowly spinning satellite.
  The spacewalk began at about 6:00 p.m. Central time. Columbia is
predicted to reach the vicinity of Spartan about 7:25 p.m. as Kregel
flies Columbia to a point where the satellite will be hovering just
over the cargo bay. If all goes well, Scott and Doi should grab the
satellite sometime over the next hour or so, with the manual berthing
of SPARTAN expected to be completed by about 8:30 p.m. The retrieval
should leave Scott and Doi ample time to complete many of the
International Space Station assembly tests planned for the mission
involving the testing of a special crane which may be used in the
future to haul large components from one station module to another for
spacewalking astronauts.
  As Kregel flies Columbia to a point where Spartan is a few feet
above the cargo bay, Doi and Scott, in their spacewalking suits, will
be positioned opposite each other in foot restraints on the SPARTAN
platform truss in Columbia's payload bay, ready to manually grab the
Spartan free-flyer and then lower the satellite down into its latches
in the cargo bay.  They will recapture the satellite using a procedure
similar to one they rehearsed prior to the flight in the event the
Shuttle's robotic arm could not be used to retrieve the satellite.
  After SPARTAN has been secured in the payload bay, the astronauts
will use the remainder of the planned six-hour spacewalk to test tools
and procedures which would be used in assembly of the International
Space Station.
  The Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, continues to perform flawlessly with
no systems problems.  The next STS-87 status report will be issued at
approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday.
  STS-87 Flight Day 7 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, November 25, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #12
reports:
  The six-person crew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia turned in for a
well-deserved rest at 5:46 a.m. this morning following a busy night
that saw two crewmembers perform a spacewalk to capture a wayward
satellite and evaluate equipment and procedures that will be used with
future International Space Station operations.
  Winston Scott and Takao Doi began their spacewalk at 6:02 p.m. CST
Monday evening and quickly moved into position on a support structure
in Columbia's payload bay as Commander Kevin Kregel piloted the
Shuttle towards the Spartan solar satellite.
  After Kregel maneuvered Columbia into close proximity with Spartan,
Scott and Doi captured the satellite by hand at 8:09 p.m. CST.  The
two spacewalkers then carefully lowered Spartan down onto its support
structure, and the free-flyer unit was latched in place at 9:23 p.m.
  With the retrieval of Spartan completed, Scott and Doi then turned
their efforts towards setting up and testing a crane device which will
be used to move large Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) during the
assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.
  After the crane was positioned in its holder on the port side of the
payload bay, Doi conducted evaluation tests of the crane operating
characteristics while Scott removed a large battery unit and its
carrier device located on the starboard wall.  The 500-pound
battery/carrier unit was then placed on the end of the crane to
evaluate the unit's ability to move with a large mass attached to it.
  Doi and Scott then stowed the battery unit and the crane device.
Towards the end of their spacewalk, Doi took a few moments to send a
message home in Japanese just before re-entering Columbia's airlock.
After Scott joined him, the external hatch was closed and the airlock
was repressurized bringing to an end a 7-hour, 43-minute spacewalk at
1:45 a.m. CST.  Including the spacewalk he did during a Shuttle
mission in January 1996, Scott now has 14 hours, 36 minutes of
spacewalking time.  Doi, who is on his first spaceflight, has the
distinction of being the first Japanese person to perform a spacewalk.
  The STS-87 crew will receive a wake up call from Mission Control at
1:46 p.m. this afternoon to begin Flight Day Seven activities.
  Columbia continues to perform flawlessly with no systems problems.
The next STS-87 status report will be issued at approximately 6
p.m. Tuesday.
 On Tuesday, November 25, 1997, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #13
reports:
  Fresh from their successful manual retrieval of the SPARTAN science
satellite, Columbia's six astronauts were awakened at 1:46
p.m. Central time this afternoon to begin their seventh day in orbit,
a day focused on experiments inside the crew cabin.
  Mission Control played the traditional Indian song,."Mishra Piloo"
by Indian musician Ravi Shankar, in honor of Mission Specialist
Kalpana Chawla. Chawla used the shuttle's robot arm to berth the
SPARTAN satellite after it has grabbed out of orbit by crewmates
Winston Scott and Takao Doi during their 7-hour, 43-minute spacewalk
yesterday.
  Today, the crew will turn its attention to a variety of experiments
inside the Shuttle cabin. Chawla will process several samples of
materials in the glovebox facility in Columbia's middeck designed to
investigate the characteristics of creating composite materials in
weightlessness. The experiment , called PEP, involves heating samples
and then recording the mixture as it resolidifies. It is hoped to
provide scientists with insight that could lead to new developments in
composite materials on Earth. Ukrainian Payload Specialist Leonid
Kadenyuk will continue studies of plant growth in space with the
Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment, spending much of his day
harvesting and preserving soybean seedlings for analysis after
Columbia's return home.
  Meanwhile, Scott and Doi will finish stowing the tools and equipment
they used during yesterday's spacewalk and fill out questionnaires
designed to capture their early thoughts on the evaluations they
performed. The insights they provide will help engineers as they
finalize the designs of tools planned for use during assembly of the
International Space Station.
  Doi will receive congratulations on his work and mission at 2:51
a.m. CST Wednesday in a special call to Columbia from Sadakazu
Tanigaki, Minister of Japan's Science and Technology Agency, and
Tomifumi Godai, vice president of the National Space Development
Agency of Japan.
  Columbia remains in excellent condition with no mechanical
problems. The shuttle is in an orbit of 175 by 170 statute miles.
  STS-87 Flight Day 8 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, November 26, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #14
reports:
  As they reach the one week mark in their 16-day flight, the STS-87
crew have shifted the focus of their efforts towards the variety of
science experiments flying on Mission STS-87.
  Mission Specialist Kulpana Chawla spent a large part of Flight Day
Seven working with several samples of materials in the glovebox
facility in Columbia's middeck designed to investigate the
characteristics of creating composite materials in weightlessness. The
experiment , called PEP, involves heating samples and then recording
the mixture as it resolidifies. It is hoped to provide scientists with
insight that could lead to new developments in composite materials on
Earth. Ukrainian Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk will continue
studies of plant growth in space with the Collaborative Ukrainian
Experiment, spending much of his day harvesting and preserving soybean
seedlings for analysis after Columbia's return home.
  Winston Scott and Takao Doi finished stowing the tools and equipment
they used during their spacewalk and filled out questionnaires
designed to capture their early thoughts on the evaluations they
performed. The insights they provide will help engineers as they
finalize the designs of tools planned for use during assembly of the
International Space Station.
  Early this morning Doi received congratulations on his work and
mission in a special call to Columbia from Sadakazu Tanigaki, Minister
of Japan's Science and Technology Agency, and Tomifumi Godai, vice
president of the National Space Development Agency of Japan.
  Columbia remains in excellent condition with no mechanical
problems. The shuttle is in an orbit of 175 by 170 statute miles.
 On Wednesday, November 26, 1997, 8:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #15
reports:
  Columbia's crew began their second week in orbit today, continuing a
pace of varied experiments in the shuttle cabin and payload bay that
they will maintain for the next nine days in orbit.
  Although Thanksgiving will be a working holiday aboard the shuttle,
the astronauts do have canned turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie on
their menus for dinner today, a meal that is scheduled for the early
morning hours of Thanksgiving Day, Houston time.
  On board today, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla will continue work
in the glovebox facility on Columbia's lower deck to study the
characteristics of creating composite materials in space. Called PEP,
experiment samples of composite materials are heated inside the
glovebox and recorded as they resolidify. Also on the middeck,
Ukrainian Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk will continue studies of
plant growth in weightlessness as part of the Collaborative Ukrainian
Experiment. School students both in the U.S. and the Ukraine are also
participating in comparative plant growth studies on Earth. Kadenyuk
was honored with the wakeup music played to Columbia by Mission
Control this afternoon, the Ukrainian National Anthem.
  Commander Kevin Kregel performed a small engine firing Wednesday
evening to adjust Columbia's orbit, raising it by about 5 miles to an
orbit with a high point of 175 miles and a low point of 173 miles. The
adjustment was made to prepare for a three-day experiment sample run
in the remotely operated Advanced Automated Directional Solidification
Furnace in the cargo bay. The furnace will study the weightless
processing of metal alloys used to make infrared detectors and lasers.
  Kregel and Mission Specialists Winston Scott and Tokao Doi will take
time out from their duties to be interviewed by CNN at 4:36 a.m. CST
Thursday. Columbia remains in excellent condition with no mechanical
problems.
  The crew will go to sleep at 7:46 a.m. Thursday. The next mission
status report will be issued at 6 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 27.
  STS-87 Flight Day 9 Highlights:
 On Thursday, November 27, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #16
reports:
  Columbia's six-member crew celebrated Thanksgiving with a special
meal while continuing work with the microgravity science
investigations in a special glovebox facility on the middeck.
  As the halfway point in the STS-87 mission approached, commander
Kevin Kregel, pilot Steve Lindsey, mission specialists Kalpana Chawla,
Winston Scott and Takao Doi, and Ukrainian payload specialist Leonid
Kadenyuk celebrated Thanksgiving with a meal of turkey, cranberries
pumpkin cookies and pecan pie.  The meal was scheduled between 5 and 7
this morning.
  Throughout the eighth flight day for the crew, investigations
continued in the microgravity glovebox studying the characteristics of
creating composite materials in space, and also understanding why
different components of certain alloys tend to separate during the
melting and freezing process.  Potential applications of many of these
alloys include ball-bearing, electronic and semi-conductor materials.
  Also on the middeck, Kadenyuk continued his work with the plant
growth experiment called CUE for the Collaborative Ukrainian
Experiment.  School students both in the U.S. and the Ukraine also are
participating in comparative plant growth studies here on Earth.
  The autonomous operations with the mission's prime payload continue
in the payload bay of Columbia with no interaction by the crew
required.  Yesterday's small engine firing will maintain the proper
altitude for the next four days in support of the United States
Microgravity Payload experiments mounted on a support structure in the
rear of the orbiter's payload bay.
  Earlier this morning, Kregel, Scott and Doi discussed the mission
during an interview broadcast around the world on CNN International.
  Crew sleep is scheduled to begin just before eight this morning with
the wakeup call scheduled at 3:45 this afternoon.
 On Thursday, November 27, 1997, 8:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #17
reports:
  President Bill Clinton wished the six astronauts orbiting the Earth
aboard Columbia a happy Thanksgiving this evening, saluting them for
their sacrifice in working during the holiday and congratulating them
on Monday's retrieval of the Spartan satellite.
  "Your smiles made my day," the President said from Camp David, where
he was celebrating the holiday with his family.."I look forward to
seeing you back here on Earth.&quot;
  Clinton also congratulated Mission Specialists Winston Scott and
Takao Doi on their success with tools and techniques being designed
for use in building the International Space Station.
  "We'll keep supporting it, you keep doing your job and we'll see you
back here," Clinton said.
  Kregel and the crew wished the President and his family a happy
holiday, and reported that they felt great. ."Of course we miss our
families down on Earth, but the six of us up here are a family in
itself and we're enjoying this Thanksgiving Day also," Kregel said.
  The presidential call came as the crew as preparing to go on duty
for their ninth flight day, continuing work with the microgravity
science investigations in a special glovebox facility on the middeck.
  Mission Specialist Kalpana Chalwa began her day by activating the
Wetting Characteristics of Immiscibles experiment, and receive help
from Doi in conducting the experiment runs. Scientists hope to learn
how to better control the formation of special metal alloys by
studying the mixing process in microgravity. The alloys are important
for use in ball bearings, electronics and semiconductors. Previous
experiments have shown that these alloys, which contain components
that don't mix when the metals are in a liquid state, separate into
layers even when gravity is not present. WCI will investigate whether
droplet wetting along the container walls is the cause of this
stratification.
  Scott and Doi are scheduled to fill out a questionnaire on how the
space walk went later today while the details are still fresh in their
minds.
  Scott also is scheduled to put on a special vest called the In-Suit
Doppler System that uses ultrasound to listen for microbubbles in the
bloodstream. The vest, destined to be worn on a future space walk, is
being checked for fit and comfort. Astronauts now lower the shuttle's
cabin pressure and pre-breathe pure oxygen before a space walk to
purge nitrogen bubbles from their bloodstreams and prevent
decompression sickness, or."the bends." Doctors would expect these
conditions to result in some instances of the bends on Earth, but so
far have seen none on orbit. They hope this vest will tell them why.
  Also on the middeck, Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk will
continue his work with the plant growth experiment called CUE for the
Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment.  School students both in the
U.S. and the Ukraine also are participating in comparative plant
growth studies here on Earth.
  Kregel and Kadenyuk are scheduled to receive a call from President
of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma in Kieve at 5:48 a.m. CST Friday.
  The STS-87 crew was awakened on Thanksgiving Day at 3:45 p.m. CST by
the sounds of."America the Beautiful" as sung by the U.S. Air Force
Cadet Chorale.
  The autonomous operations with the United States Microgravity
Payload-4 are continuing in the payload bay, and Columbia's systems
were all functioning well as it orbited 175 miles above the planet's
surface.
  STS-87 Flight Day 10 Highlights:
 On Friday, November 28, 1997, 7:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #18
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts spent another busy day in space conducting
science investigations in a unique hands-on facility and tested a
specially designed vest that could assist in assessing the risk of
decompression sickness by astronauts during spacewalks.
  Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla completed her work in the
microgravity glovebox processing 13 samples of the Wetting
Characteristics of Immiscibles experiment.  WCI is designed to help
scientists learn how to better control the formation of special metal
alloys by studying the mixing process in microgravity. The alloys are
important for use in ball bearings, electronics and semiconductors.
Throughout her work, pilot Steve Lindsey took periodic temperature
measurements in and around the unit.
  Scott and Doi filled out a questionnaire from the extravehicular
activity team in Mission Control and sent down additional footage shot
during the nearly eight hour spacewalk Monday.  The video will be
useful in evaluating the tasks that they accomplished in support of
future EVA operations during assembly of the International Space
Station.
  Also today, the crew tested a special vest called the In-Suit
Doppler System that uses ultrasound to listen for microbubbles in the
bloodstream.  Astronauts now lower the shuttle's cabin pressure and
pre-breathe pure oxygen before a space walk to purge nitrogen bubbles
from their bloodstreams to prevent decompression sickness known
as."the bends."  Doctors hope to gather data on how to reduce the
duration of pre-breathe required before spacewalks.
  In addition to Chawla's work in the glovebox, payload specialist
Leonid Kadenyuk continued his work with the plant growth Collaborative
Ukrainian Experiment.  Students in the U.S. and Ukraine also are
participating in comparative Earth-based plant growth studies.
  Commander Kevin Kregel and Kadenyuk received a call from Ukrainian
President Leonid Kuchma and answered questions from media in Kiev.
The conversations focused on Kadenyuk's first flight into space and
the work ongoing to support the mission objectives.
  The United States Microgravity Payload experiments continued in the
payload bay without problems, and all of Columbia's systems are in
excellent shape.
 On Friday, November 28, 1997, 6:30 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #19
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts will spend another night and morning working
with science investigations in a unique hands-on facility, this time
concentrating on how a certain type of flame responds in microgravity.
  The crew awoke at 4:46 p.m. Central time to the Florida State
University fight song, played in honor of Mission Specialist Winston
Scott, who received a music degree from that school.
  Commander Kevin Kregel and his crew planned to perform a status
check on the SPARTAN satellite and the portable computer rendezvous
support software in preparation for a possible redeployment of the
solar science probe later in the flight. Mission managers are
scheduled to meet Monday to decide whether to attempt another
deployment of the satellite next week. SPARTAN was returned to the
payload bay during a space walk by Scott and Takao Doi Monday night
after failing to activate following its release from the shuttle's
robot arm a week ago.
  After finishing one microgravity experiment involving metal alloys,
Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla will shift her focus to the Enclosed
Laminar Flames experiment. Chawla will study the effects of different
air flow velocities on the stability of an enclosed jet diffusion
flame, the kind used in industrial combustion processes and jet
afterburners. Researchers hope to optimize the performance of such
flames for industrial purposes such as reducing pollution emissions
and transferring heat.
  Ukrainian Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk, who spoke with his
country's president earlier this morning before turning in for an
eight-hour sleep period, will continue work with the Collaborative
Ukrainian Experiment studying plant growth in weightlessness and will
downlink some videotape of seed germination.  Students in the U.S. and
Ukraine plan to compare their ground-based experiment results with
plants, soybeans and moss growth on Earth with those recorded by
Kadenyuk on orbit.
  The United States Microgravity Payload experiments continue to
operate in the payload bay in fine fashion as Columbia orbits with its
payload bay facing the Earth and tail facing in the direction of
travel to support the solidification of semiconductor materials in the
Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace. Scientists hope
to use the results to develop better methods of controlling he
solidification process in space and in Earth-bound factories.
Columbia is flying problem-free at an altitude of about 175 statute
miles.
  STS-87 Flight Day 11 Highlights:
 On Saturday, November 29, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #20
reports:
  With Columbia's primary payload continuing its autonomous research,
the STS-87 crew focused its attention on middeck experiments
associated with plant growth, combustion science and composite
materials investigations.
  The United States Microgravity Payload experiments continue to
operate with the focus on the solidification of semiconductor
materials in the Advanced Automated Directional Solidification
Furnace.  Scientists hope to use the results to develop better methods
of controlling the solidification process in space and in factories
here on Earth.
  Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla today focused her attention on the
Enclosed Laminar Flames experiment studying the effects of different
air flow velocities on the stability of an enclosed jet diffusion
flame.  This type of flame is used in industrial combustion processes
and jet aircraft afterburners.  Researchers hope to optimize the
performance of such flames for industrial purposes such as reducing
pollution emissions and heat transfer.
  In addition to the experiment work, commander Kevin Kregel conducted
a status check on the Spartan satellite and its supporting rendezvous
software to provide additional data to investigators on the ground to
determine the health of the spacecraft in preparation for its possible
redeployment later in the flight.
  Mission managers will not decide until Monday whether another deploy
is in the offing.  Requirements for redeploy include a healthy
satellite and sufficient propellant margins on the Space Shuttle to
accommodate a rendezvous and capture.  This capture would likely
involve a second spacewalk with astronauts in the payload bay
capturing and securing the satellite.
  Payload specialist Leonid Kadenyuk continued to work with the
Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment studying plant growth in
weightlessness.  Students in the U.S. and Ukraine plan to compare
their ground-based experiment results with those recorded by Kadenyuk
on orbit.
  Crew sleep is scheduled for about 10 a.m. with the musical wakeup
call from Mission Control scheduled for 5:45 this afternoon.
 On Saturday, November 29, 1997, 6:45 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #21
reports:
  As flight controllers and payload scientists continued to look at
options for a possible redeployment of the Spartan solar science
satellite next week, Columbia's astronauts were awakened for their
11th flight day by the sounds of."California Dreamin'."
  The song, by the Mammas and Pappas, was requested by the wife of
Pilot Steve Lindsey, who was born in Arcadia, Calif., and considers
Temple City, Calif., to be his hometown.
  Several different options are being considered for the possible
Spartan deploy and retrieval, and flight controllers are in the midst
of evaluating the relative merits of those options. The amount of
reaction control system propellant available for Spartan and other
mission activities in each of the scenarios will be key factors when
shuttle managers meet Monday to evaluate the situation. Retrieval
likely would involve a second space walk with astronauts in the
payload bay capturing and securing the satellite.
  Today's middeck experiments will continue to look at how plant
growth and composite materials are affected by microgravity. The
astronauts will use the Middeck Globebox Facility to process samples
for the Particle Engulfment and Pushing by a Solid/Liquid Interface
experiment. PEP is studying the formation of composite materials,
attempting to accurately map the roles of gravity-induced convection
and sedimentation in the process by removing the gravity from the
equation.
  The United States Microgravity Payload-4 experiments continue to
operate in the payload bay. The MEPHISTO team will send electrical
pulses through its bismuth and tin sample, freezing the atoms at the
point where liquid meets solid and showing the evolution of the
specimen's shape. Another materials experiment, the Advanced Automated
Directional Solidification Furnace, completed its 72-hour
mercury-cadmium-telluride crystal growth period Saturday afternoon.
  Payload specialist Leonid Kadenyuk continued to work with the
Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment studying plant growth in
weightlessness. Students in the U.S. and Ukraine plan to compare their
ground-based experiment results with those recorded by Kadenyuk on
orbit.
  STS-87 Flight Day 12 Highlights:
 On Sunday, November 30, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #22
reports:
  Flight day 11 drew to a close today with the crew continuing
experiment work on board while Mission Control studied options for a
possible redeployment of the Spartan solar science satellite later
this week.
  Flight control teams continue to mull over options for a possible
second deployment of the Spartan solar science satellite that would
likely include a short spacewalk as well.  Propellant margins and a
healthy satellite continue to be the leading topics of discussion
along with other experiment sample processing associated with the
primary payload on the flight - the United States Microgravity
Payload.
  Mission managers will meet Monday morning to evaluate the options
and decide on the course of action for the remaining days of
Columbia's STS-87 mission.
  Today's middeck experiments continued to look at how plant growth
and composite materials are affected by microgravity.  The astronauts
used the globebox facility to process samples for the Particle
Engulfment and Pushing by a Solid/Liquid Interface experiment.  PEP is
studying the formation of composite materials, attempting to
accurately map the roles of gravity-induced convection and
sedimentation in the process by removing the gravity from the
equation.  Status checks also continued today on the Collaborative
Ukrainian Experiment investigating plant growth in space.
  The USMP experiments continue to operate in the payload bay.  The
MEPHISTO team sent electrical pulses through a bismuth and tin sample,
freezing the atoms at the point where liquid meets solid and showing
the evolution of the specimen's shape.  Another materials experiment,
the Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace, continues
to be operated by the ground.
  The six astronauts are scheduled to go to sleep just before 11 this
morning and wake up at about 6:45 tonight.
 On Sunday, November 30, 1997, 5:30 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #23
reports:
  Mission managers decided today not to redeploy the solar-observing
Spartan satellite, which has been in Columbia's payload bay since
being captured by astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi during a
space walk earlier in the mission. The Spartan's attitude control
system failed to activate following its release from Columbia's robot
arm on Flight Day 2.
  Lee Briscoe of Mission Operations reported in a 3 p.m. Sunday status
briefing that flight controllers had looked at as many as five
different options for a second deployment of Spartan, but had narrowed
them to two, one involving a Monday deploy and Tuesday retrieval by
Scott and Doi, and the other a Tuesday deploy and Wednesday
retrieval. Because the Monday option would have required immediate
action by the flight control team, mission managers decided to meet
Sunday to make a final decision.
  After a thorough review, mission managers decided that the risk of
not being able to retrieve Spartan again was too great, that the
adverse effects of such a deployment on the United States Microgravity
Payload-4 science work were too extensive, and that steering jet
propellant was insufficient to protect all possible contingencies and
landing scenarios.
  "It just wasn't enough," Briscoe said, adding that Spartan program
managers believe the free-flying spacecraft is healthy and should be
able to support a reflight on a future shuttle mission as quickly as a
flight opportunity can be identified.
  Columbia's crew will be notified of the decision shortly after they
are awakened by Mission Control at 6:46 p.m. today. The astronauts
will again turn their attention to investigations on plant growth,
combustion and materials processing as they continue to support the
U.S. Microgravity Payload.
  Late Saturday morning, an investigation that could improve metals
used in automobiles and jet engines produced a measurement that has
never been witnessed by scientists on the ground. Science team members
studying dendrites -- tiny tree-like crystal structures that form in
materials as they solidify -- witnessed the fastest dendritic growth
rate ever measured for pivalic acid. The transparent acid has similar
properties to nonferrous metals such as aluminum, but unlike molten
metals alows the science team to see into the solution and observe the
dendrites.
  This evening and tomorrow morning, the crew will work with the
glovebox facility on Columbia's middeck to process samples for the
Particle Engulfment and Pushing by a Solid/Liquid Interface
experiment. PEP is studying the formation of composite materials,
attempting to accurately map the roles of gravity-induced convection
and sedimentation in the process by removing the gravity from the
equation. The Enclosed Laminar Flames investigation will study the
effects of different air flow velocities on the stability of an
enclosed jet diffusion flame--the kind used in industrial combustion
processes and jet afterburners.
  Scientists working with the Advanced Automated Directional
Solidification Furnace in the payload bay processed two different
lead-tin-telluride crystals today, but stopped processing before a
third experiment run when several temperature sensors used to control
the solidification of the sample showed unusual readings. A successful
lead-tin-telluride sample already has been processed on STS-87.
  Status checks also will continue on the Collaborative Ukrainian
Experiment investigating plant growth in space. Monday morning,
Ukrainian Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk will compare the results
of the on-orbit plant growth, with similar plants being grown by
students in both the Ukraine and the United States.
  STS-87 Flight Day 13 Highlights:
 On Monday, December 1, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #24
reports:
  Following yesterday's decision by mission managers to forego a
second deployment of the Spartan solar science satellite, the crew and
flight control teams focused their attention on the final three days
of the science portion of Columbia's STS-87 mission.
  Continued work in the mini laboratory called the microgravity
glovebox facility allowed crew members to interactively work with two
different experiments today studying the formation of composite
materials in an attempt to accurately map the roles of gravity-induced
convection and sedimentation on the samples. Late in the work day, the
study of the effects of different air flow velocities on the stability
of an enclosed flame continued.  These jet diffusion flames are
similar to the kind used in industrial combustion processes and jet
afterburners.
  About three days of experiment work remains before the routine day
before landing activities will require the attention of the crew
members and the flight controllers.  The United States Microgravity
Laboratory experiments in the payload bay continue to operate
normally, save the Advanced Automated Directional Solidification
Furnace which was shut down for the remainder of the flight due to
abnormal temperature readings in one of the samples being processed.
  Yesterday's decision to pass up a re-deployment of the Spartan
satellite was made to ensure a complete mission of the USMP
experiments and to protect the shuttle's propellant margins.
  Status checks continued today on the Collaborative Ukrainian
Experiment investigating plant growth in space.  Leonid Kadenyuk
discussed the experiment with students from his home country in an
early morning interactive event.  He plans to conduct a similar
educational event with U.S. students mid morning.
  The six crew members are scheduled to go to sleep just before noon
today and wake up at about 7:45 tonight.
 On Monday, December 1, 1997, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #25
reports:
  STS-87 mission managers Monday afternoon decided to add a second
spacewalk to this mission, giving astronauts and EVA designers more
confidence in techniques which will be important to assembly of the
International Space Station.
  Astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi will exit Columbia's airlock
at approximately 2:15 a.m. CST Wednesday for a five-hour spacewalk
which will repeat part of the crane operations, handling the smaller
of the boxes which represent objects it will have to move during Space
Station assembly.
  Greg Harbaugh, acting manager of the EVA Projects Office at Johnson
Space Center, explained in a press conference Monday that planners
want to get as much confidence as possible that the movement of ORUs
(Orbit Replaceable Units) can be done successfully. He noted that
handling of the boxes during the first spacewalk did not give EVA
designers all the information they needed.  The original spacewalk
timeline was modified last week to accommodate the retrieval of the
SPARTAN satellite.
  Another component of the second EVA will be checkout of the AERCAM
SPRINT flying video camera which will be used during Space Station
assembly and operations as a second point of view to observe work
outside the station.
  With the juggling of the crew timeline to add the second EVA, other
mission activities have been rescheduled.  After the astronauts awaken
tonight at about 7:45 p.m. CST, their flight day 13 will include three
hours of PEP operations (Particle Engulfment and Pushing), the
MEPHISTO furnace experiment and SOLSE (Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding
Experiment) observations.  The in-flight crew press conference has
been moved earlier, now scheduled to begin at 4:36 a.m. CST.  Media at
Johnson Space Center in Houston, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and
in Kiev, the Ukraine, will participate.
  Just before 9 a.m. CST Tuesday, Columbia's crew will reduce the
cabin atmospheric pressure to 10.2 psi, giving Scott and Doi 16 hours
of advance pre-breathe time which reduces their in-suit pre-breathe to
just one hour.
  STS-87 Flight Day 14 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, December 2, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #26
reports:
  Much of today's work aboard Columbia focused on completion of
hands-on sample processing in the microgravity glovebox facility and
preparing the spacesuits and tools that will be used for tomorrow's
bonus spacewalk by Winston Scott and Takao Doi.
  Yesterday's decision to add the spacewalk will give astronauts and
extravehicular activity designers more confidence in techniques which
will be important in the assembly of the International Space Station.
  The spacewalk is set to begin shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday and is
expected to last four and a half hours.  The crane operations
conducted on the first spacewalk will be repeated substituting the
large simulated space station battery with a small tool-caddy
simulator.  Another component of the second EVA will be checkout of a
free-flying video camera which will be used as a second point of view
to observe work outside the shuttle or station.
  The first spacewalk last week was modified to accommodate the
retrieval of the Spartan satellite.
  Glovebox operations wrapped up this morning with the final sample
being processed in the unique mini laboratory on Columbia's middeck.
Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla oversaw the operations with an
investigation into how to improve methods of solidifying composite
metals.
  Sample processing with several experiments on the United States
Microgravity Payload in the cargo bay of Columbia are continuing with
periodic orbiter attitude maneuvers being done to assist with data
gathering.
  The crew took time out of today's schedule to discuss the mission
with reporters from the U.S., Japan and the Ukraine during the
traditional in-flight news conference.
  Before bedtime this morning, the crew will once again lower the
cabin atmosphere to 10.2 pounds per square inch to assist Scott and
Doi with conditioning for the second spacewalk.  This allows for a
much reduced amount of time required to prebreathe pure oxygen prior
to beginning the spacewalk.
 On Tuesday, December 2, 1997, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #27
reports:
  Columbia's six-member crew will be awakened at 7:46 p.m. CST this
evening to begin flight day 14 of the STS-87 mission and a busy day
involving the second space walk of this flight.
  Shortly after 2 a.m. CST, astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi
will exit Columbia's airlock for a four and a half-hour spacewalk
which will repeat part of the crane operations, handling the smaller
of the boxes which represent objects it will have to move during Space
Station assembly.  STS-87 mission managers Monday afternoon decided to
add a second spacewalk to this mission, giving astronauts and EVA
designers more confidence in techniques which will be important to
assembly of the International Space Station.  Crane operations will
consume the first two hours of the crew's timeline.
  Also during this EVA, engineers will test the AERCAM/SPRINT, a
free-flying video camera which is being developed as a tool for
surveying the outside of space structures such as the International
Space Station and as a second point of view during astronaut
spacewalks.  SPRINT will be controlled by pilot Steve Lindsey via a
joystick on Columbia's aft flight deck during this test, but future
versions of the unit will have autonomous capability to fly to a
designated area and perform surveys.
  Wednesday morning's spacewalk will be only the second EVA from
Columbia, the oldest orbiter in the fleet.  Columbia has been most
used as a carrier for Spacelab missions which have not required EVAs.
The first spacewalk from Columbia was Scott and Doi's venture outside
to capture the SPARTAN satellite last week.
  Since 9 a.m. CST Tuesday, Columbia's crew has been living in a
reduced cabin atmospheric pressure of 10.2 psi.  This stepping down of
the pressure from the normal 14.7 psi during a 16-hour period before
the EVA reduces the pre-breathe time for Scott and Doi in their suits
to just one hour.
  STS-87 Flight Day 15 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, December 3, 1997, 8:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #28
reports:
  A bonus excursion into the payload was conducted aboard Columbia
this morning to complete tasks originally planned for the mission's
first spacewalk.  Prior to the spacewalk, the crew used the Spartan
satellite, remaining securely attached to Columbia's mechanical arm,
as a laser target to prepare for future automatic spacecraft dockings.
  Winston Scott and Takao Doi switched their suits to battery power at
3:09 this morning signalling the start of their second spacewalk ,
planned to once again test a manual crane that will eventually make
its way to the International Space Station. The crane is designed to
help in moving components and tools more easily around the outside of
the station.  The two astronauts also watched as pilot Steve Lindsey
remotely piloted a unique, beachball-sized camera around the payload
bay to demonstrate its usefulness in providing an extra set of
'eyes' to perform remote inspections of the shuttle or station.
  The four-hour, fifty-nine-minute, forty-second spacewalk ended at
8:09 a.m. this morning.  Combined with the first spacewalk duration of
7 hours, 43 minutes, Scott and Doi completed 12 hours and 44 minutes
outside Columbia's crew cabin during the mission.
  The spacewalk included repeating part of the crane operations, but
instead of the large simulated battery for the station, the astronauts
worked with a smaller orbital replacement unit simulator which
represents small objects it will have to move during station assembly.
  The tests of the Aercam Sprint, the free-flying video camera, were
controlled by Lindsey via a joystick on Columbia's aft flight deck
during the spacewalk. Future versions of the unit will have an
autonomous capability to fly to a designated area and perform surveys.
  This mission's two spacewalks are the first EVAs ever performed from
Columbia, which has been mostly used as a carrier for Spacelab
missions that have not included spacewalks. The next status report
will be issued later today.
 On Wednesday, December 3, 1997, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #29
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts will wake at 7:46 p.m. CST Wednesday night to
begin their final full day in orbit, making the preparations to assure
Columbia is ready for entry and landing.
  At about 10:45 p.m. CST tonight, the crew will begin stowing the
equipment used in the missions two space walks. The EVA tools and
space suit components will be put away while final health checks are
performed on some of the USMP experiment hardware.
  Commander Kevin Kregel and Pilot Steve Lindsey will spend a good
part of their day checking out the important space craft systems that
are needed to support entry. At about 3:45 a.m. CST, the commander and
pilot will begin the normal flight control system checkout, powering
up one auxiliary power unit and evaluating the performance of
aerodynamic surfaces and flight controls. The flight crew will perform
a reaction control system hot fire about 5 a.m. followed by a test of
the communications system.
  The Ku-band antenna which provides high data rate relay and
television will be stowed at approximately 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
  The flight control teams in Mission Control also are working toward
Fridays landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, now set for
6:21a.m. CST. Currently there are no significant weather concerns for
landing. Landing time may be adjusted slightly after the effects of
experiment maneuvers today are calculated.
  In the previous crew day, astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi
completed a four-hour, fifty-nine-minute, forty-second spacewalk which
ended at 8:09 a.m. this morning. Combined with the first spacewalk
duration of 7 hours, 43 minutes, Scott and Doi completed 12 hours and
44 minutes outside Columbias crew cabin during the mission.
  STS-87 Flight Day 16 Highlights:
 On Thursday, December 4, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #30
reports:
Columbia's aerosurfaces and thruster jets were tested this morning as
part of the routine day-before-landing systems checks to ensure the
vehicle is ready to support tomorrows planned return home to the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two landing opportunities are
available at 6:20 a.m. and 7:55 a.m.
  With weather conditions in Florida forecast to be favorable
tomorrow, the backup landing site in California is not being called up
for support.
  While the flight control system checkout and reaction control system
hotfire tests showed a healthy spacecraft crew members stowed gear and
equipment used throughout the flight.
 The Ku-band antenna which provides high data rate relay and
television will be stowed at approximately 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
 On Thursday, December 4, 1997, 10:00 p.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #31
reports:
  The six astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia were awakened at
8:46 p.m. tonight to make final preparations for their return to Earth
early Friday morning.
  Two opportunities exist for a Kennedy Space Center landing on
Friday. The first calls for firing the Orbital Maneuvering System
engines on orbit 251 at 5:21 a.m. CST followed by a landing on runway
33 at 6:20 a.m. This entry path will take Columbia across northern
Mexico and southern Texas, the northern Gulf of Mexico and north
central Florida.
  The second landing opportunity Friday has deorbit ignition at 6:56
a.m. with landing at 7:55 a.m. Central time. Columbias grountrack on
this approach crosses the Texas Big Bend and central Texas, southern
Louisiana and New Orleans, and completing its track to Florida over
the northern Gulf of Mexico just south of the coast line.
  With weather conditions in Florida forecast to be favorable, the
backup landing site in California is not being called up for support.
  With a nominal landing on the first opportunity, crew return to
Houston is expected at 7 p.m. Friday at Ellington Field.
  STS-87 Flight Day 17 Highlights:
 On Friday, December 5, 1997, 7:00 a.m. CST, STS-87 MCC Status Report #32
reports:
  Columbia and its six astronauts glided to a smooth touchdown at the
Kennedy Space Center this morning to wrap up the final shuttle mission
of the year a 16-day flight highlighted by microgravity research and a
pair of spacewalks to tests tools and techniques for the assembly of
the International Space Station.
  Commander Kevin Kregel and Pilot Steve Lindsey brought Columbia to a
landing on Runway 3-3 at the Florida spaceport on the first
opportunity at 6:20 a.m. Central time to wrap up a 6 and a half
million mile mission which began with launch from KSC back on November
19.
  It was the twelfth consecutive mission to end with a landing at the
Kennedy Space Center and the 19th in the last 20th flights.
  Kregel, Lindsey and their crewmates, Mission Specialists Kalpana
Chawla, Winston Scott, Takao Doi and Payload Specialist Leonid
Kadenyuk are due to return to Ellington Field in Houston this evening
at about 7 p.m. for reunions with their families.
  Columbias next mission is scheduled in early April, when seven
astronauts will be launched on a 16-day life sciences research flight.
<end of mission>
Mission Name: STS-89 (89)
  Endeavour (12)
  Pad 39-A (65)
  89th Shuttle Mission
  12th Flight OV-105
  1st Flight SSME Block 11A
  Night Launch (20)
 NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage
Crew:
  Terrence W. Wilcutt (3), Commander
  Joe F. Edwards, Jr. (1), Pilot
  Bonnie J. Dunbar (5), Payload Commander
  Michael P. Anderson (1), Mission Specialist
  James F. Reilly, II (1), Mission Specialist
  Salizhan Shakirovich Sharipov (1), Mission Specialist
  Andrew S. W. Thomas (2), Mission Specialist
  Download:
    David A. Wolf (Mir 24-25 / STS-86) will return on STS-89
  Note:  STS-89 was originally scheduled to return Wendy B. Lawrence
         but will now return David A. Wolf (Mir 24-25 / STS-86) and
         leave Andrew Thomas on MIR.  Thomas will return on STS-91.
Milestones:
     SLF -- 03/27/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/27/1997)
     OPF -- 03/28/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/28/1997)
     VAB -- 04/08/97 (Storage) (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/08/1997)
    OPF3 -- 04/21/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/21/1997)
     VAB -- 05/23/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/23/1997)
    OPF1 -- 06/04/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/04/1997)
    VAB1 -- 12/12/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 12/12/1997)
     PAD -- 12/19/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 12/18/1997)
     FRR -- 01/07/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/07/1998)
    TCDT -- 01/09/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/09/1998)
  Launch -- 01/22/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/22/1998)
Payload:
  Mir-Docking/8, SpaceHab-DM(ADV-XDT, ADV-CGBA, EORF, MGM, RME-1312, SAMS,VOA, VRA), MPNE, SIMPLEX, CEBAS, TMIP, GPS-DTO, HP, MSD, EarthKAM, OSVS, RME-1331, TEHM, DSO-914, CoCult, BIO3D, GAS(G-093,G-141,G-145,G-432)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Dec 1997)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Jan 1998)
Mission Objectives:
     The continuing cooperative effort in space exploration between
the United States and Russia and a joint spacewalk will be the focus
of NASA's first Shuttle mission of 1998 with the launch of Space
Shuttle Endeavour on Mission STS-89.  During the mission, more than
7,000 pounds of experiments, supplies and hardware are scheduled to be
transferred between the two spacecraft.
     This is the eighth of nine planned missions to Mir and the
fifth one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts. Astronaut Dave
Wolf, who has been on Mir since late September 1997, will be
replaced by Astronaut Andrew Thomas.  Thomas will spend
approximately 4 _ months on the orbiting Russian facility before
returning to Earth when Discovery docks to Mir in late May during
STS-91.
  Spacehab Payloads include the Advanced X-Ray Detector (ADV XDT),
the Advanced Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus ( ADV CGBA),
the EORF, Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) Experiment,
Intra-Vehicular Radiation Environment Measurements by the Real-Time
Radiation Monitor (RME-1312),  Space Acceleration Measurement System
(SAMS),  VOA and VRA.
  In-Cabin Payloads include the Microgravity Plant Nutrient Experiment
MPNE, the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local Exhaust
(SIMPLEX), the Closed Equilibrated Biological Aquatic System (CEBAS),
the TeleMedicine Instrumentation Pack (TMIP), Global Positioning
System Development Test Objective (GPS DTO), the Human Performance
(HP) Experiment, MSD, EarthKAM, Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS)
Shuttle Condensate Collection (RME-1331), the Thermo-Electric Holding
Module (TEHM), the Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device
(DSO 914), the Co-Culture Experiments (CoCult) and the Biochemistry of
3-D Tissue Engineering (BIO3D).
  Get Away Special Experiments include the University of Michigan
G-093 - Vortex Ring Transit Experiment (VORTEX), the German Aerospace
Center and University Giessen G-141 - Structure of Marangoni
Convection in Floating Zones Payload, the German Aerospace Center and
the Technical University of Claushtal G-145 Glass Fining Experiment
and the Chinese Academy of Sciences G-432 canister containing 5
crystal growth and material sciences experiments.
Launch:
  Launch January 22, 1998 9:48:15 p.m. EST.  10 min. Launch window.
   On Thursday, 1/22/98, weather forcasters predicted a 70 percent
chance of favorable weather conditions.  The flight crew ate breakfast
in the Operations and Checkout Building, suited up and departed for
Launch Pad 39A at 5:56pm EST.  They arrived at the pad surface at
6:11pm EST. By 7:24pm, crew ingress was complete an air to ground
voice checks were complete. At 7:38pm EST the white room crew was
given a go to close Endeavour's hatch and by 7:44pm EST the hatch was
closed and locked for flight.  White room closeout was complete at
8:32pm EST.  At 8:37pm engineers in the firing room reported a problem
with the ground Data Processing System (DPS) Front End Processor (FEP)
that required extending the hold at the T-minus 20 minute mark.  The
system was brought back online and all stations were checked for
impact.  A 9:02pm EST the launch team commanded the countdown clock to
exit the T-minus 20 minute hold and reduced the 46 minute hold at the
T-minus 9 minute mark to 25 min 15 seconds.  At 9:13pm EST the
countdown clock entered the T-minus 9 minute hold point.  At 9:35pm
EST, NASA Launch Director David King polled the launch team and gave a
final go for launch.  The countdown clock exited the T-minus 9 minute
hold at 9:39pm EST.  At 9:43pm a go was given for APU start and launch
occured exactly at the start of the launch window at 9:48:15pm EST.
  On Wednesday, 1/21/98, final preparations of the Shuttle main
engines for main propellant tanking began and activation of the
orbiter's navigation and communication systems occured.  Current Air
Force weather forecasts indicate a 60 percent chance that weather
could prohibit launch on Thursday. The primary concern is for thick
cloud coverage at the launch site. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/21/1998)
  On Tuesday, 1/20/98, preparations continued for the launch of Space
Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-89. The launch countdown began at 7
p.m. Monday at the T-43 hour mark. Over the weekend, mission managers
discussed the issue of the hydraulic lines on auxiliary power unit
No. 3 and determined the system is prepared to fly without
concerns. This topic will be discussed one final time during the
standard launch minus one day review at KSC on Wednesday.  On Friday,
1/16/98, payload bay door closure was delayed due to the need to
replace a portion of the door's seal. That work has been completed and
the doors will be closed for flight 1/21/98. Aft compartment
close-outs are also complete.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/20/1998)
  The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) at Pad 39A is back in place
around Shuttle Endeavour following the successful completion of the
auxiliary power unit hot-fire test on 1/12/98. Stowage of flight crew
systems and part 2 of the payload interface verification test were
also completed.  Technicians worked on the orbiter midbody umbilical
unit mate and leak checks. The orbiter's aft compartment close-outs
continue through Saturday. A decoder on microwave scanning beam
landing system No. 3 is being replaced today and payload bay doors
will be closed for flight on Friday.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/13/1998)
  On Friday, January 9, 1998, the crew of mission STS-89 continued to
take part in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT).  On
Saturday, they will go through simulated launch day activities
including entering the orbiter Endeavour for a simulated main engine
ignition and cut-off. They will depart for their homes in Houston
tomorrow afternoon to complete their pre-mission training. Currently,
the crew is scheduled to return to KSC on Jan. 19 for final launch
activities.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/09/1998)
  On Thursday, January 8, 1998, at the conclusion of yesterday's
Flight Readiness Review, NASA managers announced Jan. 22 as the
official launch date for mission STS-89.  At the launch pad, loading
of hypergolic propellants into Endeavour's orbiter maneuvering system
pods is complete and the hot-fire of all three auxiliary power units
(APU's) were successfully completed.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/08/1998)
  On Monday, January 4, 1998 the helium signature leak test was
completed and Endeavour's payload bay doors were closed by
midnight. Thermal blanket installation on the left payload bay door
begins Thursday and concludes on Sunday. Loading of hypergolic
propellants into Endeavour's orbiter maneuvering system pods began.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/06/1998)
  On Friday, January 2, 1998, shuttle workers resumed prelaunch
processing of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The payload bay doors were
opened and tests of the orbiter docking system were completed on
Saturday. Over the weekend, technicians replaced three flood lights in
the orbiter's midbody and payload interface verification testing (IVT)
began on Sunday. IVT activities conclude on monday the orbiter's
payload doors were closed.   (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/05/1998)
 On Monday, 12/8/97, Endeavour remains in the OPF as NASA managers
continue to discuss launch options of mission STS-89 including the
option to launch no earlier than Jan. 20, 1998. This delay is an
effort to accommodate Mir operational activities.  In addition, KSC
managers are evaluating flight hardware issues that are impacting the
work schedule for Endeavour. On Friday, technicians completed payload
bay door cycling tests. After the orbiter's payload bay doors were
closed, work began to remove the support devices that externally brace
the doors while they are being opened and closed. One of the four
devices known as "strongbacks" sustained a weld failure and part of
the brace contacted the forward left payload bay door. There was no
penetration through the door, but inspections revealed an indention
about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and a tenth of an inch deep on the
surface beneath the thermal blanket. NASA engineers are developing a
repair plan that will have the orbiter ready for transfer to the
Vehicle Assembly Building as early as Thursday.  Also, engineers are
evaluating an unusual number of damaged tiles sustained by the Shuttle
Columbia during its 16 day flight. Managers want to be sure that this
issue poses no threat to Endeavour's thermal protection system before
its launch next year.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 12/08/1997)
  On 7/18/97, removal and repair of the liquid oxygen 17-inch
disconnect continued and the hydraulic system was also
serviced.   (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 07/18/1997)
Orbit:
  Altitude: 160nm
  Inclination: 51.6
  Orbits: 138
  Duration: 8 days,  19 hours, 48 minutes, 04 seconds.
  Distance:  3.6 Million miles
Hardware:
  SRB: BIO93
  SRM: RSRM-64
   ET: SN-90
  MLP: 3
  SSME-1: SN-2043**A  (HPOTP 8021, HPFTP 6014)
  SSME-2: SN-2044**A  (HPOTP 8014, HPFTP 4116)
  SSME-3: SN-2045**A  (HPOTP 8023, HPFTP 6015)
Landing:
  KSC 1/31/98 at 5:36 p.m. EST. Runway 15.  A go for the Deorbit burn
was given at 4:04pm and the Deorbit burn occured at 4:28pm EST.
EST. Landing Groundtracks for the 1st KSC landing opportunities took
the shuttle over Cuba and the south west coast of Florida.  Sonic
booms heard at KSC at 5:31pm EST as Endeavour approached the Heading
Alignment Cylinder (HAC).  Main Gear Touchdown 8 days 19 hours
46 minutes 54 seconds. (5:35:09 EST) Nose Gear Touchdown 8 days 19 hours
47 minutes 06 seconds. (5:35:21 EST) Wheels Stop 8 days 19 hours 48
minutes 04 seconds. (5:36:19 EST).
  The early weather forecast for Saturday's scheduled landing at the
Kennedy Space Center at 4:35 p.m. Central time calls for clear skies,
and as a result, mission managers have elected not to call up landing
support at Endeavour's backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base,
California.
Mission Highlights:
  STS-89 Flight Day 1 Highlights:
 On Thursday, January 22, 1998, 9:30 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #01
reports:
  The shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts streaked into orbit
on time tonight, lighting up the Florida skies at 8:48 p.m. Central
time to kick off the first shuttle mission of the year.
  Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards and Mission Specialists
Jim Reilly, Mike Anderson, Bonnie Dunbar, Salizhan Sharipov and Andy
Thomas settled into orbit less than nine minutes later, on course to
rendezvous with and dock to the Russian Mir Space Station Saturday
afternoon.
  The Mir was sailing over the North Atlantic Ocean at the time of
Endeavour's launch, more than 3800 nautical miles in front of the
shuttle. Mir 24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel
Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut David Wolf were asleep at the time of
launch. A series of rendezvous maneuvers over the next two days will
enable Endeavour to catch up with the Mir for the eighth Shuttle
docking with the Russian outpost. Thomas will switch places with Wolf
on Sunday to become the seventh and final American to live and work on
the Mir. Wolf will return to Earth with his STS-89 crewmates on
Jan. 31 while Thomas will remain in orbit until early June when he
returns to Earth on STS-91, the final scheduled shuttle docking
mission to the Mir.
  After Endeavour's astronauts open their ship's cargo bay doors, they
will begin to activate systems and conduct a partial activation of the
double Spacehab module in the rear of the payload bay in which science
experiments and supplies for the Mir are housed. The astronauts are
scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at 1:48 a.m. Friday
morning and will be awakened by Mission Control at 9:48 a.m. to begin
their first full day in space.
  Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of
about 210 nautical miles with all systems in good shape.
  STS-89 Flight Day 2 Highlights:
 On Friday, January 23, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #02
reports:
  The seven-member STS-89 crew of Endeavour -- Commander Terry
Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards and Mission Specialists Jim Reilly, Mike
Anderson, Bonnie Dunbar, Salizhan Sharipov and Andy Thomas -- will
begin its first full day of on-orbit activities Friday morning with a
wake-up call from Mission Control at 9:48 a.m. CST.
  At 6 a.m. CST, Endeavour was approximately 2000 nautical miles from
Mir closing the distance between the two spacecraft by about 250
nautical miles each orbit.
  Most of Friday's activities will focus on preparations for Saturday
afternoon's planned docking between the two spacecraft. Wilcutt and
Edwards will conduct additional planned engine firings to refine
Endeavour's approach to the Mir Space Station.  The crew will install
the centerline camera in the Orbiter Docking System which will provide
views of docking targets and the docking module during the final phase
of the rendezvous activities.  They will also verify the health of
tools to be used during the rendezvous activities.  Docking is still
targeted for 2:12 p.m. CST on Saturday.
  One of Endeavour's General Purpose Computers (GPCs) remains down
early this morning following an apparently unintended shutdown
following ascent.  The crew reported a problem with the switch that
normally takes the computer down in stages, with the computer going
from run directly to halt, missing the normal."standby" stage.  Flight
controllers plan to bring the computer back up, dump its data and put
it back in use.  No flight impact is anticipated.
  Several crew members will take time this evening to discuss their
mission and Thomas' transfer to the Mir Space Station with radio
station KNX of Los Angeles and the."PowerPoint" program heard on
National Public Radio stations in a pair of interviews scheduled for
7:03 p.m. central time.
  Endeavour is currently in a 196 x 163 n.m. orbit, circling the Earth
once every 91 minutes.
 On Friday, January 23, 1998, 6 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #03
reports:
 Endeavour's astronauts spent much of today preparing for Saturday's
docking with the Mir space station and their first face-to-face
meeting with astronaut Dave Wolf, who has called the Mir home for the
past four months.
  Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the Mir at 2:14 p.m. central
time tomorrow, marking the eighth meeting between the Shuttle and Mir,
and the first by Endeavour.  All previous docking missions were
accomplished with the Shuttle Atlantis.
  In preparation for tomorrow's rendezvous and docking, the astronauts
began assembling the checklists, cameras and other tools they will use
throughout the docking and installed the centerline camera in the
Orbiter Docking System.  The centerline camera will provide views of
docking targets and the docking module during the final phase of the
rendezvous activities.
  Shortly before noon Saturday, from a position about eight miles
behind Mir, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Joe Edwards will fire
Endeavour's engines in a terminal initiation burn to put Endeavour in
position to intercept the orbiting station.  The current schedule
shows Endeavour arriving 600 feet below the Mir Space Station about
1:20 p.m. central time.  Over the course of the next two hours,
Wilcutt and Edwards will slowly maneuver Endeavour into position to
dock with Mir just after 2 p.m. central time.  Hatch opening between
the two spacecraft is scheduled for about 3:50 p.m., but could take
place as much as a half-hour earlier.
  Endeavour's crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period just before
midnight, waking up at 8:48 a.m. central time tomorrow to begin in
earnest their rendezvous activities.
  Endeavour is currently in a 196 by 163 nm orbit, circling the Earth
once every 91 minutes.
  STS-89 Flight Day 3 Highlights:
 On Saturday, January 24, 1998, 6 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #04
reports:
  As the final steps in the orbital ballet of rendezvous are taken,
Space Shuttle Endeavour closes the remaining distance to the Russian
Mir space station.  At 6 a.m. Saturday, the two were approximately 170
nautical miles apart and closing the distance at 55 nautical miles
each 90-minute orbit.
  The crew is scheduled to awaken at 7:48 a.m. this morning for an
eventful flight day 3. Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the Mir at
2:14 p.m. Central time today.  Prior to that, at about 1: 10 p.m. the
orbiter will reach a point about 70 feet below Mir along the station's
radial vector with the Earth or R-bar. At 1:40, commander Terry
Wilcutt begins his final approach to Mir, stopping 30 feet out at 2
p.m. to await a final."go" for the docking. After about eight minutes
of station-keeping at 30-feet, Endeavour closes the final distance and
docks.  This will be the eighth meeting between the Shuttle and Mir,
and the first by Endeavour. All previous docking missions were
accomplished with the Shuttle Atlantis.
  The hatch opening and welcome ceremony is planned for 3:53
p.m. CST. Transfer operations to move supplies, equipment and water to
Mir begin in Sunday, The official handover between astronaut David
Wolf and his replacement on Mir, Andy Thomas, comes at about 8:48
a.m. CST Sunday with the transfer of the custom-made seat liners for
each astronaut.
  On Friday, the Endeavour crew began preparations for the docking by
checking out docking aids such as the centerline camera.
 On Saturday, January 24, 1998, 6 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #05
reports:
 For the eighth time in three years, an American space shuttle is
linked to a Russian space station following the successful on-time
docking of Endeavour to the Mir Space Station at 2:14 p.m. Central
time.
  Endeavour Commander Terry Wilcutt eased the shuttle to a flawless
docking with the Mir after a textbook rendezvous. The linkup occurred
while the two spaceships flew over southeastern Russia, west of
Kazakhstan, at an altitude of 214 nautical miles. Through the final
phases of the rendezvous, Payload Commander Bonnie Dunbar exchanged
greetings with Mir 24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Pavel Vinogradov and
U.S. astronaut David Wolf, who is wrapping up his four-month mission
aboard the Russian outpost.
  After docking, the astronauts and cosmonauts conducted leak checks
of the docking tunnel between the two craft, and at 4:25 p.m. Central
time, Wilcutt and Solovyev swung open the hatches on their respective
spacecraft and shook hands as the other crewmembers embraced each
other for the start of five days of joint activities.
  "You guys look great, this is a lot of fun," said Wolf, as he was
greeted by Dunbar and astronaut Andy Thomas, who will officially
become a member of the Mir crew tomorrow after transferring his custom
made Soyuz capsule seatliner to the Russian station and completing a
test of his Soyuz spacesuit. At that point, Wolf will become a part of
the STS-89 crew following 119 days as a Mir crew member.
   Once their initial greetings were completed, the ten astronauts and
cosmonauts made their way into the Mir's Core Module for a brief
welcoming ceremony before pressing on with routine safety briefings on
each other vehicles. Five bags of water were transferred from
Endeavour to the Mir by the end of the day, with the bulk of the
transfer of logistical supplies to begin tomorrow.
   The Mir cosmonauts are scheduled to begin a nine-hour sleep period
at 7:48 p.m. Central time, two hours before Endeavour's astronauts
begin an eight hour sleep period, which will end with a wakeup call
from Mission Control Sunday at 5:48 a.m.
  The Shuttle-Mir complex is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an
altitude of about 216 nautical miles with all of its combined systems
operating in excellent shape.
  STS-89 Flight Day 4 Highlights:
 On Sunday, January 25, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #06
reports:
  Astronauts aboard space shuttle Endeavour were awakened at 5:48
a.m. CST Sunday to the song."Friends, We Are Migrant Birds," a Russian
pilots song.  The crew faces a busy Flight Day 4, the first full day
of joint Shuttle-Mir docked operations on the STS-89 mission.
  Sunday's primary order of business will be the exchange of
U.S. astronauts, a swap that brings David Wolf back to the shuttle
after a 119-day stay aboard Mir, and leaves astronaut Andy Thomas
aboard the Russian station for his extended stay.  Thomas is the last
in the series of American astronauts scheduled to live and work abroad
Mir as part of the Phase One joint program with Russia.
  Also Sunday, crew members will be busily engaged in transferring
supplies and equipment between Mir and Endeavour.  By the end of
flight day 3, astronauts had just begun the lengthy process, having
moved six percent of resupply stocks to Mir, and brought into
Endeavour 11 percent of U.S. return items and three percent of Russian
return items.
  Saturday's linkup, the eighth between Space Shuttle and the Mir,
came on time as predicted at 2:14 p.m. CST.  The docking was unmarred
by any problems as Endeavour Commander Terry Wilcutt eased the 100-ton
spacecraft into its docking port.  The joining of the two occurred
over southeastern Russia, west of Kazakhstan, at an altitude of 214
nautical miles. Through the final phases of the rendezvous, Payload
Commander Bonnie Dunbar exchanged greetings with Mir 24 Commander
Anatoly Solovyev, Pavel Vinogradov and Wolf.
  Wolf and Thomas will exchange the custom-made Soyuz seat liner just
before 9 a.m. CST, marking the official transfer point for the two
astronauts. Wolf will have completed 119 days as a Mir crew member and
Thomas will start his four-month stay.
  The Shuttle-Mir complex is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an
altitude of about 216 nautical miles with all of its combined systems
operating well.
 On Sunday, January 25, 1998, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #07
reports:
  Astronaut Andy Thomas officially became a member of the Mir 24 crew
late today and Dave Wolf became a member of the STS-89 crew after the
exchange of U.S. astronauts on the Endeavour-Mir complex was delayed
when problems were encountered during a fit check of Thomas' Soyuz
capsule pressure suit.
  A fit and leak check of the pressure suit, known as a Sokol suit,
had to be accomplished prior to the official transfer of Thomas to Mir
as the seventh and final American to live and work on the Mir.  During
the pressure checks, Thomas encountered difficulty in getting his suit
to fit properly and reported it would not fit over his head. Later,
Thomas successfully completed a leak and pressure check wearing Wolf's
suit, and after lengthy discussions between U.S. and Russian flight
controllers, a joint decision was made to allow Thomas to move over to
the Mir and Wolf to Endeavour. Although Wolf's suit is a little large
for Thomas, especially in the arms, it is considered safe to use in
the event the Soyuz capsule must depart the Mir because of an
emergency. The crew transfer took place at about 5:35 p.m. Central
time.
  Apart from the suit issue, the astronauts and cosmonauts engaged in
transferring supplies and equipment between the two spacecraft and
also continued scientific investigations on board Endeavour.
  The Shuttle-Mir complex is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an
altitude of about 216 nautical miles with all of its combined systems
operating well.
  An eight-hour sleep period for Endeavour's astronauts will conclude
at 4:48 a.m. Central time Monday with a wakeup call from Mission
Control to begin another day of transfer activities with the Mir
cosmonauts.
  STS-89 Flight Day 5 Highlights:
 On Monday, January 26, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #08
reports:
  Continued transfer of hardware and supplies to and from the Mir
space station remains the prime order of business today as STS-89
enters its second full day of joint docked operations. The crew was
awakened at 5:48 a.m. CST to the tune."Singer from Down Under" by
performer Slim Dusty in honor of Australia Day and Australian-born
astronaut Andy Thomas.
  Flight controllers labored overnight to delete lower priority items
from the Endeavour crew's workload to make up for lost sleep due to an
attitude control management issue.  Late Sunday, an erroneous sensor
reading showed a leak on Endeavour's reaction control system jet
L5D. It was shortly determined that the sensor showing the leak was
faulty and onboard monitoring of the affected jet could be managed
with a software change.  That change requires ground testing and
approval before it is sent to the shuttle's computers and will be
tested this morning in the Johnson Space Center's Shuttle Avionics
Integration Laboratory (SAIL).  Following the sensor failure, Mission
Control asked Russian controllers to let Mir maintain attitude control
for the joined spacecraft.  Transfer of control was done late Sunday,
but the work consumed some of the crew's scheduled sleep time.
  Not long after the handover of control, however, Russian engineers
monitoring Mir determined that the space station was low on thruster
fuel in its outboard."boom" thrusters.  Flight controllers in the
U.S. and Russia worked together and decided that, with good
communications contact, Mission Control could watch Endeavour's
thruster and the Shuttle could resume control. The ground awakened
Pilot Joe Edwards about 1:15 a.m. CST.  Edwards and commander Terry
Wilcutt woke the Mir crew and the attitude control handover back to
Endeavour was accomplished in a few minutes.
  To compensate for keeping the crew up late, the planning team in
Mission Control added an hour to the crew's sleep period and worked to
lighten the workload for flight day 5.
  Also on Sunday, astronauts Andy Thomas and David Wolf exchanged
their Soyuz seat liners, equipping Thomas for the start of his
extended stay in space. Thomas had some difficulty with his Sokol
pressure suit during the transition and checkout, noting that it was
too small.  He was able to don Wolf's suit, but found the arms to be
too long.  Engineers in the U.S. and Russia will look at the problem
today in an effort to properly size one of the suits to fit.
  By the end of flight day 4, 47 percent of the supply and equipment
transfers had been completed, totaling 4,107 pounds.
 On Monday, January 26, 1998, 6:30 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #09
reports:
  Following some on-orbit modifications today, Mir 24 crewmember Andy
Thomas successfully completed a fit and leak check of the Soyuz Sokol
spacesuit he carried to orbit, resolving the issue of which suit and
Soyuz seat liner would remain on Mir during his planned four-month
mission.
  Thomas detached straps at the shoulders and groin of the suit which
lengthened the suit sufficiently to allow a comfortable fit under both
pressurized and non-pressurized conditions.  He would wear the suit
only in the event he were to return to Earth on board a Soyuz
spacecraft.
  Transfer activity continued to be the primary focus of the Mir 24
and Endeavour crews as the ten astronauts and cosmonauts continue to
move science experiments, hardware and logistical supplies between
their spacecraft.  At day's end, about 60 per cent of all of the
planned transfer had been completed. While the transfer work
continued, Thomas and former Mir resident Dave Wolf conducted handover
briefings as Wolf acquaints Thomas with his new accommodations on
board the Mir.  Thomas will remain on Mir when Endeavour undocks on
Thursday. He will return to Earth aboard the shuttle Discovery as part
of the STS-91 crew in early June.
  Meanwhile, flight controllers successfully uplinked a software patch
to Endeavour which will bypass a suspect sensor in one of the
shuttle's reaction control system jets, restoring full leak detection
capability for the ship's jet thrusters. The sensor problem last night
forced the Mir to assume temporary attitude control of the Shuttle-Mir
complex, and kept Endeavour's astronauts up beyond the start of their
planned sleep period.
  With everything proceeding smoothly aboard the two spacecraft, the
shuttle crewmembers are expected to start an eight-hour sleep period
at 8:48 p.m. Central time and will be awakened Tuesday at 4:48 a.m. to
begin the sixth day of their mission.
  The Endeavour-Mir complex is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at
an altitude of about 216 nautical miles will all systems functioning
in normal fashion.
  STS-89 Flight Day 6 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, January 27, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #10
reports:
  The seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour were awakened at
4:48 a.m. today to begin their third full day of joint docked
operations with the Russian Mir space station.  The song."Clap for the
Wolfman" by Burton Cummings brought an end to a relatively
uninterrupted sleep period for the crew.
  More resupply and experiment equipment transfers lay ahead for the
astronauts and cosmonauts who have now passed the halfway point in
their resupply work. By the end of flight day 5, 60 percent of all
planned transfers had been completed including just over 1,000 pounds
of water manufactured by Endeavour's fuel cells.
  Coming up late Tuesday morning is an interview with Cable News
Network and Russian news media.  That event is scheduled to start at
11:48 a.m. CST Tuesday.
  Yesterday marked the successful resolution of a couple of problems
which had come up unexpectedly on Sunday.  A software change was sent
to Endeavour's computers Monday to overcome a faulty sensor which
monitors the condition of one of the orbiter's attitude control
thrusters.  That thruster sensor late Sunday had caused Shuttle flight
controllers to temporarily pass attitude control of the Shuttle-Mir
stack to the Russian station.  When Mir thruster propellant ran low,
control was passed back to Endeavour.  All of this activity consumed
some of the crew's sleep time, which was extended by Mission Control.
  Also Monday, Mir 24 crewmember Andy Thomas, with the aid of his Mir
commander Anatoly Solovyev, successfully modified the Soyuz Sokol
spacesuit he carried to orbit, improving the fit. Initially, Thomas
had been unable to seal the suit which appeared too small for
him. Thomas detached straps which lengthened the suit sufficiently to
allow a comfortable fit under both pressurized and non-pressurized
conditions.  He would wear the suit only in the event he were to
return to Earth on board a Soyuz spacecraft.
  Endeavour and Mir will remain docked until just before 11
a.m. Thursday.
 On Tuesday, January 27, 1998, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #11
reports:
  With their transfer activities nearing completion, the astronauts
and cosmonauts on board the Endeavour/Mir complex are preparing for
their final full day of docked operations.
  Resupply and experiment equipment transfers continued for the
astronauts and cosmonauts today, with more hardware, logistical
supplies and experiments transferred between the two vehicles.
Currently the crew is slightly ahead of its planned transfer work
schedule.
  Shortly before noon today, crew members talked with the Cable News
Network and Russian media to discuss the progress of the mission and
activities that lie ahead for Mir crew member Andy Thomas.
  The STS-89 crew will begin an 8-hour sleep period this evening at
8:48 p.m. CST and will receive a wake-up call from Mission Control at
4:48 a.m. on Thursday to begin their seventh day in space.
  The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts will conduct a joint crew news
conference on Wednesday beginning just after 1:30 p.m. CST, during
which they will answer questions from reporters at NASA centers in the
U.S. as well as from news media in Moscow.
  Following the press conference, the two crews will conduct a
farewell ceremony, after which the Mir's crew will close the hatch on
the Mir side of the docking module at 4:18 p.m. Central time. The
orbiter hatch will remain open to allow Endeavour's crew to leave any
final transfer items in the vestibule to be retrieved by the
cosmonauts following the Shuttle's departure.  Endeavour is scheduled
to undock from Mir at 10:56 a.m. Central time on Thursday.
  The next STS-89 status report will be issued at approximately 6
a.m. Wednesday.
  STS-89 Flight Day 7 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, January 28, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #12
reports:
  The astronauts and cosmonauts on board the Endeavour/Mir complex are
now in their final full day of docked operations, wrapping up the
transfer of equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft.
  The crews have already transferred about 240 items with a total mass
of more than three and half tons between the shuttle and Mir, and they
have completed more than 80 percent of the planned moves. The crew
will take a break from their work at 1:34 p.m. CST today to
participate in a press conference, fielding questions from reporters
at NASA centers across the U.S. and in Moscow, Russia.
  Immediately following the press conference, the Endeavour crew will
say a formal farewell to astronaut Andy Thomas, embarking on the final
stay by a U.S. astronaut aboard the Mir, and cosmonauts Anatoly
Solovyev and Pavel Vinagradov.  At about 4:18 p.m.CST, the crews will
close the hatches between the spacecraft for the final time.  Both the
Mir and Endeavour hatches will be closed for the fnal time at that
point, before the crew goes to sleep this evening, as has been the
normal procedure for previous Shuttle-Mir flights.  An earlier plan
that had been discussed to leave the shuttle's hatch to the Mir
docking module open longer to allow for last-minute transfers was
deemed unnecessary by flight controllers.
  The STS-89 crew was awakened at 4:48 a.m. CST today to the
song."Hideaway" performed by Stanley Clarke, a favorite tune of
astronaut Michael Anderson. The crew will begin an eight-hour sleep
period at 8:48 p.m. CST and will receive a wake-up call from Mission
Control at 4:48 a.m. on Thursday to begin activities to undock from
the Mir.
  Endeavour, carrying home astronaut David Wolf after four months
spent aboard the Mir, is scheduled to undock from the Russian station
at 10:56 a.m. CST Thursday.
  The next STS-89 status report will be issued approximately 6
p.m. Wednesday.
 On Wednesday, January 28, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #13
reports:
  With all of their transfer activities complete, Endeavour's
astronauts said goodbye to the Mir 24 cosmonauts, including
U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas, and closed the hatches between the shuttle
and the Russian station to set the stage for tomorrow's undocking of
Endeavour from the orbiting outpost.
  After the crew completed the transfer of more than 8,000 pounds of
scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from Endeavour to
the Mir and from the Mir to Endeavour for return to Earth, the hatches
swung shut between the two craft at 4:34 p.m. Central time, leaving
Thomas behind with his new Commander, Anatoly Solovyev, and Flight
Engineer Pavel Vinogradov for the start of his four-month research
mission.
  Among the transfer items were 16 bags containing about 1,600 pounds
of water for use by the cosmonauts over the next few months.
  As the hatches closed between Endeavour and the Mir, Russian space
officials prepared a Soyuz booster rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan for tomorrow's launch of the Mir 25 crew to the Russian
station to replace Solovyev and Vinogradov.
  Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin
and French researcher Leopold Eyharts are scheduled to blast off in a
Soyuz TM-27 capsule at 10:33 a.m. Central time (9:33 p.m. Baikonur
time), just 23 minutes before the scheduled undocking of Endeavour
from the Mir at 10:56 a.m. Central time.
  Musabayev and Budarin will become Thomas' new crewmates once their
three-week handover is completed with Solovyev and Vinogradov. As
Thomas settles in aboard Mir for his long-duration mission, Eyharts
will conduct his own scientific research for CNES, the French space
agency. He will return to Earth with Solovyev and Vinogradov on
February 19.. The Mir 25 crew is scheduled to dock to the outpost at
12:13 p.m. Central time on Saturday, just a few hours before the
scheduled landing of Endeavour.
  Endeavour's astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep
period at 8:48 p.m. Central time and are scheduled to be awakened at
4:48 a.m. Thursday to begin undocking preparations.
  The Endeavour-Mir space complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude
of about 216 nautical miles with all systems functioning in excellent
shape.
  The next STS-89 status report will be issued at 6 a.m. Central time
Thursday morning.
  STS-89 Flight Day 8 Highlights:
 On Thursday, January 29, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #14
reports:
  Endeavour's astronauts are preparing to bid Mir farewell this
morning with a successful crew transfer and the exchange of more than
8,000 pounds of equipment and supplies behind them.
  U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas will remain behind for four months of
research on the Russian outpost, the swan song of the Phase 1 Program
leading up to construction and population of the International Space
Station. Coming home will be Dave Wolf, who spent 119 days aboard Mir
and will have chalked up 128 days in orbit by the time he returns to
Earth aboard Endeavour on Saturday.
  Undocking is scheduled for 10:56 a.m. CST today, just 23 minutes
after the next Russian crew -- Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev,
Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French researcher Leopold Eyharts
-- is scheduled to blast off in a Soyuz TM-27 capsule from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Khazakstan. Musbayev and Budarin will dock with
the station Saturday and replace Mir 24 Commander Anatoly Solovey and
Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, who are scheduled to return to Earth
on Feb. 19 with Eyharts.
  Once the shuttle is free of its moorings, Commander Terry Wilcutt
and Pilot Joe Edwards will fly around the space station before
completing a separation burn at 12:16 p.m. CST to move Endeavour away
from Mir.
  The Endeavour crew was awakened at 4:48 a.m. today to the song."Here
We Go Loopty-Loo," by Little Richard, played in honor of the STS-89
training team in Houston..
  The Endeavour-Mir space complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude
of about 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.
 On Thursday, January 29, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #15
reports:
 With a gentle push from springs in the docking mechanism attaching it
to the Russian Mir Space Station, Endeavour separated from the Russian
Space Station at 10:57 a.m. Central time today to wrap up more than
four days of joint operations and the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking
mission.  Following a flyaround of the station to gather additional
photography of the outpost, Pilot Joe Edwards conducted a final
separation maneuver to allow Endeavour to drift away from the Mir,
leaving behind U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas for the next four months of
research along with about 4 tons of water, logistical supplies and
scientific gear.
  At the time of undocking today, the Endeavour-Mir space complex was
orbiting overhead Kazakstan, home of the Baikonour Cosmodrome launch
site, where 24 minutes earlier, the Mir 25 crew - Commander Talgat
Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French researcher
Leopold Eyharts - lifted off aboard their Soyuz TM-27 capsule en route
to a Saturday rendezvous and linkup with Mir. Flight controllers
notified STS-89 commander Terry Wilcutt of the launch and safe climb
to orbit of the Soyuz spacecraft and its cosmonauts
  Musabayev will guide the new Soyuz to its docking with the station
Saturday at 12:13 p.m. Central time to begin a three-week handover to
replace Mir 24 Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel
Vinogradov, who are scheduled to return to Earth on Feb. 19 with
Eyharts following his three weeks of scientific research for the
French space agency.
  With the joint phase of the mission concluded, Endeavour's
seven-member crew will turn its attention to final stowage of the
items transferred from Mir to Endeavour for the return trip to Earth
tomorrow, and will continue science activity in the Spacehab module.
  The early weather forecast for Saturday's scheduled landing at the
Kennedy Space Center at 4:35 p.m. Central time calls for clear skies,
and as a result, mission managers have elected not to call up landing
support at Endeavour's backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base,
California. If Endeavour lands as planned on Saturday, astronaut Dave
Wolf, now a member of the STS-89 crew, will have spent 128 days in
space, 119 days as a Mir crew member.
  Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of
about 210 nautical miles with all of its systems functioning
normally. The astronauts will begin an extended nine-hour sleep period
at 9:48 p.m. Central time. They'll be awakened at 6:48 a.m. Friday to
begin the routine checkout of orbiter systems for Saturday's return to
Earth.
  STS-89 Flight Day 9 Highlights:
 On Friday, January 30, 1998, 7:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #16
reports:
  Thirteen humans are circling the globe simultaneously in three
separate space vehicles today after a busy Thursday in which two of
the ships parted company after four days of flying in tandem and was
launched from the steppes of Khazakstan.
  After a good night's sleep, the crew of Endeavour awakened at 6:48
a.m. today to the sounds of George Thorougood's."Bad to the Bone," a
favorite of Pilot Joe Edwards, and began strapping down the last of
the equipment and experiment samples transferred from Mir for the
return to Earth. One of the key transfer items, Mission Specialist
Dave Wolf, began preparing himself for the return to Earth after what
will have been 128 days in orbit.
  Aboard Mir, U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas began settling in to his new
home as his new crew mates, Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight
Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French researcher Leopold Eyharts began
their journey from the planet's surface. About 6:50 a.m., Mir 24
Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov
undocked a Progress resupply vessel to make room for the advancing
Soyuz TM-27 capsule, scheduled to arrive at 12:13 p.m. CST
Saturday. Solovyev, Vinogradov and Eyharts are scheduled to return to
Earth on Feb. 19.
  Interviewers from the Associated Press and ABC Radio will interview
the entire Endeavour crew at 2:13 p.m. CST today.
  The weather forecast for Saturday's scheduled 4:35 p.m. CST landing
at the Kennedy Space Center continues to call for clear skies and
favorable winds. Mission managers have elected not to call up landing
support at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
  Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of
about 240 miles with all of its systems working well.
 On Friday, January 30, 1998, 6:30 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #17
reports:
  The STS-89 astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour are set to
conclude their voyage in space at 4:35 p.m. Central time tomorrow at
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, following today's checkout of
systems that will be used during reentry and landing.  With weather
forecasts continuing to be very favorable for both KSC landing
opportunities, mission managers have elected to not call up support at
the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California on
Saturday.
  Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards and Mission Specialist
Mike Anderson spent the morning testing Endeavour's flight control
surfaces and thruster jets to ensure they are ready to support the
Shuttle's high speed return to Earth.
  The astronauts' final day on orbit was also devoted to stowing
equipment and finishing experiment work in the Spacehab module in the
cargo bay. The crew will go to bed this evening at 9:48 p.m. Central
time for an eight hour sleep period which will end with a wakeup call
from Mission Control tomorrow morning at 5:48 a.m. CST.
  Earlier today, the STS-89 crew took a break from their end of
mission preparation activities to conduct an interview with the
Associated Press and ABC Radio.  During the interview Dave Wolf said
he was looking forward to the comforts of home as he prepares for his
return to Earth after 128 days in space, most of it as a crewmember on
board the Mir Space Station.
  Wilcutt, Wolf and Bonnie Dunbar also received a congratulatory phone
call from NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin near the end of their
workday. Dunbar paid tribute to the 25th anniversary of the Skylab
program, which saw nine astronauts spend extended time on orbit in
what amounted to America's first space station. Dunbar was a flight
controller who helped supervise the controlled reentry of Skylab in
1979 following the end of the program. Anderson also delivered a
commemorative message marking Saturday's 40th anniversary of the
launch of America's first satellite, Explorer 1, which occurred just a
few months after Russia's launching of the world's first satellite,
Sputnik 1.
  Aboard the Mir, Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel
Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Andy Thomas are awaiting the arrival of
the Mir 25 cosmonauts, Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer
Nikolai Budarin and French researcher Leopold Eyharts, who are
scheduled to dock to the Russian station Saturday at 12:13
p.m. Central time. Musabayev and Budarin will replace Solovyev and
Vinogradov, who will return to Earth on February 19 with
Eyharts. Thomas will spend the rest of his four-month research mission
with Musabayev and Budarin, who will remain on the Mir until August.
  Endeavour's deorbit preparations on Saturday will begin just before
11:30 a.m. CST. Saturday followed by the closing of the Shuttle's
payload bay doors at about 12:50 p.m.  The astronauts are scheduled to
don their launch and entry suits shortly after 2 p.m. and will strap
into their seats about 2:30 p.m.  Entry Flight Director John Shannon
is expected to poll the flight control team for the final decision for
the deorbit burn 20 minutes prior to the planned firing of Endeavour's
orbital maneuvering system engines at 3:28 p.m.
  Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of
about 240 statute miles with all of its systems working well.
  STS-89 Flight Day 10 Highlights:
 On Saturday, January 31, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #18
reports:
  The Space Shuttle Endeavour is on course for a 4:35 p.m. CST landing
today at the Kennedy Space Center, and Florida weather appears to be
cooperating.
  STS-89 Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards, Payload Commander
Bonnie Dunbar and Mission Specialists Mike Anderson, James Reilly,
Salizan Sharipov and Dave Wolf awoke at 5:48 a.m. to the
song."Breakfast Blues" by a Houston-area band called Trout Fishing in
America, and immediately began final preparations for their return to
Earth.
  The astronauts will officially move into their deorbit preparations
timeline at 11:30 a.m., close the cargo bay doors at about 12:50 p.m.,
get into their launch and entry suits shortly after 2 p.m. and strap
into their seats about 2:30 p.m. Entry Flight Director John Shannon is
expected to poll the flight control team for a final."go-no go"
decision on the deorbit burn 20 minutes prior to the planned firing of
Endeavour's orbital maneuvering system engines at 3:28 p.m.
  Forecasters for the Spaceflight Meteorology Group in Houston
reported early this morning that the shuttle should land under clear
skies today, but failing that will have equally favorable weather
Sunday. Mission managers have elected to not call up support at
Edwards Air Force Base in California today.
  Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of
about 240 statute miles with all of its systems working well.
  Aboard Mir, Commander Anatoly Solovyev, Flight Engineer Pavel
Vinogradov and U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas are awaiting the arrival of
a Soyuz TM-27 spacecraft carrying Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev,
Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French researcher Leopold
Eyharts. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the Russian outpost at
12:13 p.m. CST today. Hatch opening is scheduled for 1:43
p.m. Musabayev and Budarin will replace Solovyev and Vinogradov, who
will return to Earth on Feb.19 with Eyharts. Thomas will spend the
rest of his four-month research mission with Musabayev and Budarin,
who will remain on Mir until August.
  The next STS-89 status report will be issued post-landing, or at 6
a.m. CST today.
 On Saturday, January 31, 1998, 5:00 p.m. CST, STS-89 MCC Status Report #19
reports:
  The shuttle Endeavour swooped out of a late afternoon sky and glided
to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center to wrap up a nine-day,
3.6 million mile mission to deliver the final U.S. astronaut to the
Russian Mir Space Station.
  Commander Terry Wilcutt piloted Endeavour to an on-time touchdown on
runway 1-5 at the Florida spaceport's 3-mile long landing strip at
4:35 p.m. Central time, less than a half hour before sunset. Aboard
Endeavour down on the middeck was astronaut Dave Wolf, who returned to
Earth after 128 days in space, 119 of which were served as a
crewmember aboard Mir. It was the 13th consecutive shuttle landing at
KSC and the 20th in the last 21 missions.
  Left behind on the orbiting Russian outpost is astronaut Andy
Thomas, who is starting his four-month research mission as the final
American to live and work on the 12-year old station. Earlier today,
Thomas and his Mir 24 crewmates, Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight
Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, greeted a new crew of cosmonauts following
the successful docking of a Soyuz TM-27 craft with the station. Mir 25
Commander Talgat Musabayev guided the Soyuz to a soft docking with the
outpost at 11:55 a.m. Central time following a two-day trip to the Mir
since launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday. An hour and a
half later, hatches were opened between the Soyuz and the Mir and
Musabayev, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and French research Leopold
Eyharts were greeted by the resident crewmembers on the Mir.
  Musabayev and Budarin will now conduct a three-week handover with
Solovyev and Budarin while Eyharts and Thomas press ahead with their
scientific experiments. Eyharts will return to Earth February 19 with
Solovyev and Vinogradov.
  At the Kennedy Space Center, Wilcutt and Wolf, along with their
crewmates, Pilot Joe Edwards and Mission Specialists Jim Reilly,
Bonnie Dunbar, Mike Anderson and Salizhan Sharipov, were to return to
crew quarters where Wolf would begin a series of postflight medical
tests at the outset of several weeks of physical rehabilitation
following his long stay in weightlessness.
  The astronauts are scheduled to spend the night at the Kennedy Space
Center before flying back to Houston Sunday afternoon. Crew return at
Ellington Field is scheduled for about 5:30 to 6 p.m. Central time
Sunday.
<end of mission>
Mission Name: STS-90 (90)
  Columbia (25)
  Pad 39-B (41)
  90th Shuttle Mission
  25th Flight OV-102
  Ascent OMS Burn (2)
 NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage
Crew:
  Richard A. Searfoss (3),  Commander
  Scott D. Altman (1), Pilot
  Richard M. Linnehan DVM (2), Mission Specialist
  Dafydd Rhys Williams MD (1) (CSA), Mission Specialist
  Kathryn P. Hire (1), Mission Specialist
  Dr. Jay C. Buckey (1), Payload Specialist
  Dr. James A. Pawelczyk (1), Payload Specialist
  Alternate Payload Specialists -
  Dr. Alexander W. Dunlap (0), Alternate Payload Specialist
  Dr. Chiaki Mukai (1) (NASDA), Alternate Payload Specialist
Milestones:
    OPF3 -- 12/05/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 12/05/1997)
    VAB3 -- 03/16/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/16/1998)
     PAD -- 03/23/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/23/1998)
    TCDT -- 03/30/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/30/1998)
Payload:
  Neurolab, GAS(G-197, G-467, G-772)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Dec 1997)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Jan 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Feb 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Mar 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Apr 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status May 1998)
Mission Objectives:
  Neurolab is a Spacelab module mission focusing on the effects of
microgravity on the nervous system.  The goals of Neurolab are to
study basic research questions and to increase the understanding of
the mechanisms responsible for neurological and behavioral changes in
space.  Specifically, experiments will study the adaptation of the
vestibular system and space adaptation syndrome, the adaptation of the
central nervous system and the pathways which control the ability to
sense location in the absence of gravity, and the effect of
microgravity on a developing nervous system.
  The mission is a joint venture of six space agencies and seven
U.S. research agencies.  Investigator teams from nine countries will
conduct 31 studies in the microgravity environment of space.  Other
agencies participating in this mission include six institutes of the
National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and
the Office of Naval Research, as well as the space agencies of Canada,
France, Germany, and Japan, and the European Space Agency.
Launch:
  Launch April 17, 1998 2:19 p.m. EDT. Launch window was 2 hours, 30
minutes.  The crew had breakfast and departed
the Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) for the pad at 11:02 a.m.
The crew arrived at the Pad 39-B and began ingress at 11:18a.m.  Hatch closeout was
performed by 12:35 EDT and cabin leak checks were completed at 1:17
EDT.  At 1:49pm EDT, the countdown clock came out of the planned hold
at the T-minus 20 minute mark.  At 2:10pm EDT, the countdown clock
came out of the T-minus 9 minute mark.  Liftoff occured on time at the
start of the launch window.  The only ascent problem was with some ice
buildup in the Water Spray Boiler system.  Weather officials predicted
a zero percent chance that weather would prohibit launch
activities. The forecast called for few clouds at 3,500 and few clouds
at 25,000 feet; visibility of at least 7 miles; winds from the south
at 12-20 knots; a temperature of 83 degrees F and relative humidity of
55 percent.  (Reference KSC Weather History 04/17/1998 1400).
  On Thursday, 4/16/98, at 8:15am, the launch of Space Shuttle
Columbia on mission STS-90 with Neurolab was postponed 24 hours
earlier today due to difficulties with one of two network signal
processors (NSP) on the orbiter. Mission managers first noticed the
problem at about 3 a.m. during normal communications systems
activation prior to tanking operations. As a result, work to load the
external tank with the cryogenic propellants did not begin. The NSPs,
which are located in the orbiter's middeck, format data and voice
communications between the ground and the Space Shuttle. Both
processors are required for launch and landing and are also highly
desirable for on-orbit mission operations. The unit which failed, NSP
No. 2, has at this time been removed and replaced. Testing of the new
unit is scheduled to be completed this evening.  The countdown clock
has been reset to the T-11 hour hold position and will remain there
until 11:59 p.m.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/16/1998)
 Middeck animal holding lockers containing 18 pregnant mice and 1514
crickets were removed at the pad.  A middeck biotechnology technology
locker was also relocated to provide access to the defective NSP.  In
the event the launch cannot be done on 4/17/98, the Neurolab payload
will require a 96 hour scrub turn around to reinstall and resupply
experiments, including 135 snails, 152 rats and 233 fish.
  On Wednesday, 4/15/98, Neurolab late stow activities were completed
early in the morning and closeouts of the spacelab and airlock were
conducted soon afterwards.  Activation of Columbia's communications
systems began in the afternoon.  RSS rollback was complete by about
8:30pm.  Efforts to load the external tank with 500,000 gallons of
liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen were scheduled to begin at about
5:30 a.m. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/15/1998)
  On Monday, 4/13/98, the launch countdown for mission STS-90 began on
time at 2 a.m. KSC managers are working no major issues at this time
and launch preparations continue on schedule for lift-of on
Thursday. Columbia's aft compartment closeouts are complete and
replacement/reload of mass memory unit No. 1 concluded over the
weekend.  Vertical stowage of the flight crew systems is in work and
the first of three Neurolab late stow waves begin this afternoon. The
STS-90 flight crew arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:30
p.m. today. They will participate in crew equipment fit checks,
routine medical examinations and fly in the Shuttle Training Aircraft
in the days leading up to launch.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/13/1998)
  On Wednesday, 4/8/98, Columbia's prelaunch preparations continued on
schedule with the launch countdown slated to begin early Monday
morning. Orbiter aft compartment closeouts are proceeding very well
and will conclude Saturday.  Payload early stow activities are nearing
completion today in the orbiter's cargo bay. Ordnance installation
begins later today following final inspections of the right forward
booster integrated electronic assembly.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/08/1998)
  On Friday, 3/27/98, Launch pad validations were completed except for
orbiter midbody umbilical mating activities, slated for the first week
in April. Main engine ball seal leak checks were completed 3/26/98 and
helium signature leak testing occured. Purging of the gaseous nitrogen
(GN2) lines on the mobile launch platform and cleaning of a GN2 panel
continued through the weekend.  NASA managers may opt to open
Columbia's payload bay doors on Monday to give technicians access to
two bolts on a getaway special canister. If the work is needed,
technicians will add a washer to each bolt to ensure that the bolts
are properly secured. The doors will be closed again on Tuesday. The
minor unplanned work will not impact the launch date.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/27/1998)
  On Monday, 3/23/98 at about 7:30 a.m. the Shuttle began its 4.2 mile
trip to launch Pad 39B atop the crawler transporter and arrived at Pad 39B
at about 3:20 p.m. At about 7 p.m., the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) was
extended around the Shuttle (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/24/1998)
  On Friday, March 20, 1998, Columbia's Shuttle Interface Test was
successfully concluded. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/23/1998)
  On Monday, March 16, 1998, Columbia rolled over to the VAB.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/16/1998)
  On Thursday, March 12, 1998, work on Columbia's right inboard elevon
was completed and both forward and aft compartment close-outs were in
work. Tomorrow, technicians will complete work to install the aft
doors. Aft compartment structural leak tests will follow.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/12/1998)
  On Monday, 3/2/98, The Neurolab transfer tunnel has been
mechanically and electrically mated and the tunnel interface
verification test was completed on Friday. Space Shuttle main engine
close-out operations and leak checks are complete. Main engine heat
shields are being installed and a landing gear functional test is
scheduled for today. In the Vehicle Assembly Building, the external
tank was successfully mated to the solid rocket boosters on
Thursday. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/02/1998)
  On 2/26/98, work to install the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME's)
were complete. The STS-90 crew participated in the crew equipment
and interface test (CEIT) and a sharp edge inspection of the orbiter's
crew module and Neurolab. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 2/26/1998)
  On Thursday, 2/5/98, installation of Columbia's airlock hatch "D"
was completed. The hatch provides access from the tunnel adapter to
the Spacelab transfer tunnel.  On Friday, 2/6/98, functional tests on
Columbia's airlock hatch "D" and inspections of micrometeorite hits on
the orbiter radiator and checklife support system were completed.  Aft
compartment closeouts and payload premate testing continued. Technicians
proceeded with main engine heat shield rework efforts.  The Neurolab
payload is scheduled to arrive at the OPF on Wednesday (2/11/98) for
installation into the orbit's cargo bay and the Shuttle main engines
will be installed on Thursday.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 2/06/1998)
  On Monday, February 2, 1998, replacement of a relief valve on Columbia's
auxiliary power unit No. 2 and water spray boiler checkout were
completed. Leak checks on the Spacelab water line are also completed
and work on payload bay flood light No. 3 continued. Tunnel adapter
flow rate leak testing and airlock ducting reconfiguration were also
in work.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 2/02/1998)
  On Monday, January 12, 1998 Technicians completed removal of
Columbia's window No. 6 yesterday and installed the new window on
1/13/98. Replacement of floodlights No. 1 and No. 5, in the orbiter's
payload bay was in work as well as aft flight deck reconfiguration.
Fuel cell voltage tests and checks of the flash evaporator system
were also scheduled.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/13/1998)
  On Monday, January 5, 1998, Shuttle Columbia's payload bay doors
were opened yesterday to accommodate Ku band antenna testing yesterday
afternoon. The orbiter's nose and main landing gear tires were also
installed yesterday. Orbiter maneuvering system testing and
replacement of fuel cells No. 1 and 3 are in work. Window polishing
efforts begin tomorrow and inspections of the forward reaction control
system are scheduled for Friday 1/9/98.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/08/1998)
  Orbiter Thermal Protection System (TPS) Tile damage was
found on Columbia following its inspection after STS-87 landed
on 12/5/97.  99 tile removals are planned with 40 tile removals
under evaluation.
Orbit:
  Altitude:150 nautical miles
  Inclination: 39 degrees
  Orbits: 256
  Duration: 15 days, 21 hours, 50 minutes, 58 seconds.
  Distance:  miles
Hardware:
  SRB: BIO-94
  SRM: RSRM-65
  ET : SN-91
  MLP : 2
  SSME-1: SN-2041 (HPOTP 8013, HPFTP 6110)
  SSME-2: SN-2032 (HPOTP 4211, HPFTP 2128)
  SSME-3: SN-2012 (HPOTP 6209, HPFTP 4117)
Landing:
  KSC May 3, 1998 12:09 p.m. EDT Runway 33. Landing Groundtracks for
the 1st KSC landing opportunity took the shuttle over southern
Mississippi and Alabama. Sonic booms heard at KSC at 12:05pm EST as
Columbia approached. Main Gear Touchdown 15 days 21 hours 49 minutes
59 seconds. (12:08:59 EST) Nose Gear Touchdown 15 days 21 hours
50 minutes 13 seconds. (12:09:13 EST). Wheels Stop 15 days 21 hours
50 minutes 58 seconds. (12:09:58 EST).
  Meteorologists are forecasting favorable conditions at the Kennedy
Space Center on Sunday for a landing at 12:09 a.m. EDT on the 1st of
two KSC landing opportunities.  At 10:28am EDT, APU Prestart was
complete.
Mission Highlights:
  STS-90 Flight Day 1 Highlights:
 On Friday, April 17, 1998, 3:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #1
reports:
  The shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts lifted off from the
Kennedy Space Center on time today at 1:19 p.m.  Central time
initiating a 16-day mission to study the human nervous system.
  Columbia received an added assist in its climb to orbit as its
Orbital Maneuvering System engines were fired for 102 seconds,
beginning just after the twin solid rocket boosters separated from the
external tank a little more than two minutes into the launch. The
firing of the OMS engines was part of an evaluation test to enhance
the performance capability of the Shuttle for carrying heavy payloads
to orbit. About 43 minutes after launch, the OMS engines were again
fired to adjust the Shuttles orbit and place Columbia in a 150
n.m. circular orbit.
  The opening of Columbias payload bay doors came just before 3
p.m. CDT and Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission
Specialists Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire, and Dave Williams, and Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk are now poised to being their
work in anticipation of 16 days of scientific investigation. The crew
members first efforts will focus on activating systems in the Spacelab
module which houses many of the 26 experiments to be conducted during
the flight.
  The crew is scheduled to begin a planned eight-hour sleep period
about midnight.
  STS-90 Flight Day 2 Highlights:
 On Saturday, April 18, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #2
reports:
  The STS-90 crew aboard Shuttle Columbia -- Commander Rick Searfoss,
Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and
Dave Williams along with Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim
Pawelczyk - will begin their first full day of on-orbit operations
when they are awakened later this morning just before 8 a.m. Central
as Neurolab research activities get into full swing.
  The Neurolab studies of the human nervous system include a total of
26 individual experiments, involving both the crew members and
crickets, fish and rodents onboard the shuttle. The experiments
include studies of blood pressure, balance, coordination and sleep
patterns, and they all have the potential to benefit researchers on
Earth studying a variety of illnesses that can affect these
functions. They also provide valuable insight into the basic operation
of the nervous system, the most complex and least well-known part of
the human body. In space, understanding the effects of weightlessness
on astronauts is crucial to prepare for long stays.
  Following an on-time launch yesterday afternoon and a 'go' for on
orbit operations, Linnehan, commander of the science activities on the
flight, and Williams, a Canadian astronaut, entered the laboratory in
the shuttle's cargo bay to begin research work. The first experiments
took place shortly afterward as payload specialist Buckey began an
evaluation of the effects of weightlessness on eye-hand
coordination. Buckey donned a special glove and attempted to track
pinpoints of light moving through different patterns in a special
facility. Williams, Pawelczyk and Linnehan will also perform the
evaluation. Sessions in the experiment will be repeated midway through
the mission and at the end of the flight to gauge the effects of the
body's adaptation to weightlessness.
  Hire activated the Bioreactor Demonstration Experiment, an
investigation that grows cell tissue cultures in weightlessness. The
device, making its fourth shuttle flight, has the capability to grow
more perfect tissue samples in weightlessness than can be achieved on
Earth. Cell samples in the bioreactor experiment aboard Columbia
include renal tissue and bone marrow, both samples being evaluated for
the ability to produce substances useful in a variety of medical
treatments on Earth.
  Payload activities today will include Williams and Buckey setting up
the General Purpose Work Station (GPWS), a facility in the Spacelab
used for studying and working with rodents.  They will perform
dissection work on some of the rodent subjects being carried on the
flight.  Linnehan and Pawelczyk will conduct vestibular experiments -
investigations that look at the balance mechanism -- and Altman will
service the on-board refrigerator freezer used for storing biological
samples.
  The crew also will conduct some troubleshooting with a data
interface unit and a data recording system associated with the
Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU).  The VFEU is an aquarium
unit that has four separate houses to hold the fish and snails being
carried on the flight.
  Shortly before taking a break for launch, Hire and Pawelczyk will
conduct an interview with reporters from the Florida Today and
the Orlando Sentinel at 2:44 p.m. CDT this afternoon.  Questions are
expected to focus on Neurolab science objectives and Hire being the
first KSC engineer selected as an astronaut.
 On Saturday, April 18, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #3
reports:
 Columbia's crew members began a slate of 26 experiments focused on
the human nervous system today as they moved through their first full
day in orbit, measuring each other's blood pressure changes and
working with some of the rodents and fish onboard for studies of the
sense of balance.
  Payload Commander Rick Linnehan and Payload Specialist Jim Pawelczyk
measured each other's blood pressure and blood flow to the brain for
an investigation into how the body adapts in weightlessness, where it
does not have to work against gravity to circulate blood. Astronaut
Kay Hire began studies of Oyster Toadfish aboard Columbia, jostling
the specially instrumented saltwater aquarium to study how the fish
maintain a sense of up and down in weightlessness. For other studies
of the sense of balance and the inner ear in weightlessness, Payload
Specialist Jay Buckey, an associate professor of medicine at Dartmouth
Medical School, dissected four of the rats housed in Columbia's
laboratory facilities. The studies complement orientation
investigations in which crew members are participating and should
provide new insight into how the inner ears of both animals and humans
adapt when first exposed to weightlessness.
  Called Neurolab, all of the nervous system studies can benefit
researchers studying illnesses on Earth as well as provide insight
into how astronauts may better counteract the effects of
weightlessness for future long space journeys. The blood pressure
studies may assist those on Earth researching similar blood pressure
conditions that can cause dizziness or fainting, a symptom astronauts
also may briefly experience upon their return to Earth. Studies of the
sense of balance and its adaptation to weightlessness may provide
information to assist studies of inner ear disorders on Earth.
  Early this afternoon, Hire and Pawelczyk took time out from the
science activities to answer questions from reporters with two Kennedy
Space Center, Florida, area newspapers, the NASA center where Hire was
working when she was selected as an astronaut. During the evening, the
crew began research activities using a rotating chair in the
laboratory that stimulates the inner ear with its spinning and allows
scientists to measure how vision provides cues to assist the sense of
balance in space.
  STS-90 Flight Day 3 Highlights:
 On Sunday, April 19, 1998, 6:30 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #4
reports:
 The science research efforts aboard Columbia will continue today when
Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Rick
Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams along with Payload Specialists
Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk receive a wake-up call from Mission
Control at 7:39 a.m. Central.
  Activities onboard Columbia today for the most part will be as
originally planned with the crew continuing to conduct both human and
animal research experiments in the Spacelab module.  During the
morning, the payload crew members  Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and
Pawelczyk -- will be performing transfer activities with the Animal
Enclosure Module, setting up the General Purpose Work Station (GPWS)
and operations with the ball catch experiment.  In the afternoon,
their attention will be on injections and dissections with some of the
research animals along with an objects recognition test.
  Since Neurolab focuses on basic research questions in neuroscience,
the mission will provide a unique contribution to the study and
treatment of neurological diseases and disorders.  While the foremost
goal of Neurolab is to expand our understanding of how the nervous
system develops and functions in space, the research will also
increase our knowledge of how this system develops and functions on
Earth.
  One additional item added to the crew's Flight Day 3 activities
will be some troubleshooting of a minor problem seen with the aquarium
being carried in the Spacelab known as the Vestibular Function
Experiment Unit (VFEU).  The air pump for fish pack #3 has failed so
Altman and Hire will set up a bypass to allow the air pump from the #4
unit to support both.  The VFEU has four separate aquariums to house
the fish and snails being carried as research subjects for the
Neurolab aquatic experiments.
  Hire will spend the first part of her day monitoring the Bioreactor
Demonstration System (BDS) cell tissue growth unit that is growing
renal tissue and bone marrow samples.  Later in the day, Hire will be
testing a new Water Dump Monitoring System (WDMS) using a laptop
computer.  The remainder of Altmans day will involve some of the Get
Away Special (GAS) experiments as well as running a fuel cell
monitoring system test.
  Early this afternoon, Searfoss and Altman will talk with WBBM, an
all-news radio station in Chicago.  The interview, being done on
behalf of itself, WBBM-TV and the CBS Newspath syndicated news service
will focus on Illinois-native Scott Altman and will happen just before
1 p.m.
  Columbia continues to operate in excellent condition in a 154 x 137
n.m. orbit allowing the crew to devote all of their attention to
STS-90 science objectives.  The crew will go to sleep at 11:19
p.m. Central tonight and receive a wake up call from Mission Control
on Monday morning at 7:19 a.m.
 On Sunday, April 19, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #5
reports:
  Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today bypassed a faulty
air pump in one of four saltwater aquarium chambers, continued tests
on the adaptability of the human nervous system and collected tissue
samples for studies of how space flight affects developing nervous
systems.
  Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Kay Hire worked on the
Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU) that is home to four oyster
toadfish early in their day. They used backup air hoses to bypass a
faulty air pump on one fish chamber, routing air from the pump
supporting another chamber. Scientists in the Payload Operations
Control Center reported that all fish chambers were receiving adequate
air after the maintenance procedure.
  Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Dave Williams and Jim Pawelczyk
worked as experiment operators and served as test subjects on two
Sensory Motor and Performance Team experiments. One uses equipment
developed by the French Space Agency (CNES) to test the astronauts
ability to catch a ball propelled toward them from above.  The second
investigation uses virtual reality headgear called the Virtual
Environment Generator (VEG) to evaluate how the use of visual and
inner ear cues help the astronauts determine body orientation changes
in the absence of gravity. Both experiments could have important
applications for people on Earth suffering from balance and
orientation difficulties.
  Commander Rick Searfoss tended to rodents in the Animal Enclosure
Module, and Payload Specialist Jay Buckey and Mission Specialist Dave
Williams performed injections and dissections of pregnant mice in the
General Purpose Work Station (GPWS) for a study of how reduced gravity
affects the cells of developing nervous systems.
  The shuttle crew also checked on the Bioreactor Demonstration
System's (BDS) renal tissue and bone marrow samples, tested a new
Water Dump Monitoring System (WDMS) using a laptop computer and worked
on Get Away Special (GAS) experiments.
  Columbia continues to circle the Earth in a 154 x 137 n.m. orbit.
The crew will go to sleep at 11:19 p.m. CDT and receive a wake up call
from Mission Control on Monday morning at 7:19 a.m.
  STS-90 Flight Day 4 Highlights:
 On Monday, April 20, 1998, 7:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #6
reports:
Science research activities into how the human nervous system operates
continue to go smoothly as STS-90 crew members flying aboard Shuttle
Columbia proceed through the first week of their two-week-plus stay in
Earth orbit.
  Commander Rick Searfoss along with Pilot Scott Altman, Mission
Specialists Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams and Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk were awakened at 7:19
a.m. Central time with the song "Doctor, My Eyes" by Jackson
Browne to begin Flight Day 4 activities.
  Monday activities for the STS-90 payload crew - Linnehan, Williams,
Buckey and Pawelczyk will include work with the Escher Staircase
Behavior Testing of Adult Rats experiment.  This will be the first of
two behavior testing sessions with adult rats being used for this
experiment.  The rats will have a "hyper drive" unit placed
on their head which has recording electrodes made of microscopic wires
that are positioned in the brain to record activity in the
hippocampus.  The hippocampus is that portion of the brain used to
develop spatial maps to help us navigate from one place to the other.
With the "hyper drive" units in place, the rats will then be
put through a maze or on a track.  While the rat is maneuvering on the
maze or track, the cell activity of the hippocampus will be measured
and recorded.
  All four members of the payload crew will continue their work with
the virtual reality headgear called the Virtual Environment Generator
(VEG).  The VEG evaluates visual and inner ear cues help the
astronauts determine body orientation changes in the absence of
gravity. This experiment could have important applications for people
on Earth who suffer from balance and orientation difficulties.
  Searfoss, Altman and Hire who make up the Shuttle support crew,
continue to monitor and maintain various Shuttle systems.  Searfoss
and Altman will also take turns operating the Portable In-Flight
Landing Operations Trainer, a laptop computer and joy stick system
that allows them to perform simulated approaches to the KSC landing
site to help maintain their Shuttle piloting skills.
  Following yesterdays in-flight maintenance procedure by Altman and
Hire, the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU) that serves as
home to four oyster toadfish continues to operate in good condition.
Hire will spend part of today recording VFEU operations and imparting
some accelerations to the fish pack units to keep the fish active and
help with data sensor collection.
  Late this afternoon, at 4:44 p.m. CDT, CNN anchor John Holliman will
conduct an interview with Linnehan to discuss the interdependency of
oceanic research and space-based research.  Also participating in the
event will be Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of the late ocean explorer
Jacques Cousteau.
Columbia remains in a 154 x 137 n.m. elliptical orbit, circling the
Earth once every 90 minutes.
The crew will go to sleep at 10:59 p.m. CDT this evening and receive a
wake up call from Mission Control on Tuesday morning at 6:59 a.m.
 On Monday, April 20, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #7
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts took virtual trips down a never-ending
hallway, put rats through their paces on zero-gravity mazes and
continued to record detailed information about their sleep patterns
and breathing habits today as the Neurolab mission continued its
studies of the human nervous system.
  STS-90 Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission
Specialists Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams and Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk continued their research
unimpeded by any technical difficulties as the 16-day research mission
hit its stride.
  Each of the payload crew members -- Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and
Pawelczyk took turns working with the four male Fischer rats as part
of the Escher Staircase Behavior Testing of Adult Rats experiment. The
rats were placed in the General Purpose Work Station for the tests,
which involved placing them on two different tracks. Each of the
tracks, one named after the artist who painted similar
three-dimensional staircases and the other called the "magic carpet"
that looks like a cross that can be inverted was used for several
runs. The rats have "hyper drive" units placed on their heads,
connected to the hippocampus area of their brains and monitoring
equipment with electrodes made of microscopic wires. The hippocampus
is the part of the brain used to develop spatial maps that help the
rats navigate from one place to the other. Scientists are studying how
the rats' nervous systems "rewire" themselves to accommodate the
disorienting effects of microgravity.
  The four payload crew members also continued their work with the
virtual reality headgear called the Virtual Environment Generator
(VEG).  The VEG evaluates visual and inner ear cues help the
astronauts determine body orientation changes in the absence of
gravity. Today's virtual voyages included walks down a never-ending
hallway, visits to a tumbling Spacelab-like room and encounters with
upside-down astronauts in a tilted virtual Spacelab. The experiment,
designed to help scientists understand how the human brain switches
from inner ear cues to visual cues when in microgravity, could have
important applications for people on Earth who suffer from balance and
orientation difficulties.
  Hire, Williams, Linnehan and Pawelczyk also took turns breathing
into Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) equipment and wearing instrumented
Respiratory Inductance Plethysmograph (RIP) suits so that data could
be collected on their breathing patterns and blood concentrations of
oxygen and carbon dioxide. Researchers are looking at whether altered
breathing patterns in space affect astronaut sleep. The studies also
may help scientists understand sleep disruption experienced by many
people on Earth.
  Reporter John Holliman and Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of the late
undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, spoke with Linnehan, a
veterinarian and former Navy oceanographer, in an interview for the
Cable News Network.
  Columbia remains in a 154 x 137 n.m. elliptical orbit, circling the
Earth once every 90 minutes.
  The crew will go to sleep at 10:59 p.m. CDT this evening and receive
a wake up call from Mission Control on Tuesday morning at 6:59 a.m.
  STS-90 Flight Day 5 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, April 21, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #8
reports:
  A half day of science operations before enjoying some off duty time
will be the plan of the day when Commander Rick Searfoss and his
STS-90 crew are awakened later this morning to begin their fifth day
in space.
  Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Rick
Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams and the two Payload Specialists
flying on Columbia -- Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk -- will receive a
wake up call from Mission Control at 6:59 a.m. Central.
  Searfoss will begin his day with a check of the animal enclosure
facilities being carried on the flight along with some Shuttle system
housekeeping chores while Hire videotapes the aquarium unit being
carried in the Spacelab and tends to the cell growth culture
experiment known as the Bioreactor Demonstration System.
  Altman, Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk will all perform
tests associated with the STS-90 Neurolab Vestibular Team's efforts to
gain insight into the balance organs in the ear and all the
connections that system has to the eyes, brain, and muscles in
adapting to the weightless condition in space and then readapts to the
gravity environment found on Earth.
  The crew's afternoon period will be off duty time.  Half day off
periods are a normal part of long duration missions such as the two
week plus Neurolab mission and are designed to allow the crew to stay
well rested and operate at peak efficiency throughout the flight.
They will begin a planned eight hour sleep period at 10:39 p.m.
 On Tuesday, April 21, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #9
reports:
  The seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia took the second
half of the day off today after investigations using a rotating chair
designed to study the close connection between inner ear balance
mechanisms and eye movement.
  Scheduled time off for crew members is a normal part of longer
shuttle missions such as this two-week plus Neurolab flight, designed
to help the crew stay well rested, mentally sharp and operating
effectively. Several of the crew members integrated their regular
exercise for the day into their off-duty time. The entire crew begins
an eight-hour sleep shift at 10:39 p.m. CDT.
  During the shortened work day, Commander Rick Searfoss made sure
that Neurolab's small menagerie was in good shape, took care of some
routine housekeeping chores and re-oriented the shuttle for a nozzle
dump of excess supply and waste water. Pilot Scott Altman activated
several Getaway Special (GAS) canister experiments in the cargo
bay. Mission Specialist Kay Hire shot some videotape of the aquarium
unit being carried in the Spacelab and tended to renal and bone marrow
tissues being grown in the Bioreactor Demonstration System.
  Payload Commander Rick Linnehan, Mission Specialist Dave Williams
and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk took turns
operating and riding in a rotating chair called the Visual and
Vestibular Integration System that scientists hope will help them
learn more about how the nervous system rewires itself to account for
the lack of gravity. The payload crew sent down television pictures of
the spinning off-axis rotator and infrared camera pictures of each
others eye movement during the rides.
  Columbia continues to orbit the Earth at an altitude of between 160
and 180 miles with no significant systems problems. A small orbit
adjustment burn is scheduled Wednesday to bring in an additional
Florida landing opportunity at the end of the mission May 3 or 4.
The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. CDT
Wednesday.
  STS-90 Flight Day 6 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, April 22, 1998, 6:45 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #10
reports:
  After enjoying some time off yesterday afternoon, the seven members
of the STS-90 crew will be back on the job full-time today as they
begin the sixth day of on-orbit research dedicated to learning more
about the human nervous system.
  Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists
Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams along with Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk received a wake up call from
Mission Control with Robert Palmer's song "Bad Case of Loving
You" at 6:39 a.m.
  The four crew members who make up the science team; Linnehan,
Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk, will be involved in a variety of
science efforts today.  Part of the day will involve continued work
with the "Reduced Gravity - Effects in the Developing Nervous System"
experiment which is focusing on the early development of the cerebral
cortex in mice embryos.  Today's efforts will see the second and
final injection and dissection activities with the mice.
  A total of nine mice will be anesthetized and their embryos removed
before being euthanized. Six of the nine were injected with cell
markers on Flight Day 3.  Three of those mice will receive an
additional cell marker injection about 2 = hours before embryo
removal.  Researchers are using this experiment to investigate how
microgravity affects nervous system development.
  Additional work with the Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) equipment
which is collecting data on the crew's breathing patterns and blood
concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide also will take place
today.
  The Effects of Gravity on Postnatal Motor Development Experiment,
one of the Mammalian Development Team's project will receive it's
first run of the mission today.  Ground research has indicated that
gravity plays a significant role in rats learning basic motor skills
like swimming and walking.  The rats being studied in this experiment
were launched when they were only a few days old and scientist will be
looking to see if motor skills develop normally in the weightless
environment.  The rats will be videotaped as they move around in a
special walking apparatus that has various surfaces to allow them to
walk and climb.  Additional motor skill test will be performed after
the flight to see if the rats are able to readapt to the force of
gravity.
  Hire efforts today will include more videotaping and work with the
aquariumm unit known as the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit
(VFEU). The VFEU has four separate aquariums to house the oyster
toadfish being carried as research subjects for the Neurolab aquatic
experiments.  Hire will pull the fish package out, give it a movement
and then monitor how the fish respond to that acceleration.  She will
also continue her monitoring of the Bioreactor Demonstration System
experiment that is growing renal tissue and bone marrow samples as
part of an evaluation for the ability to produce substances useful in
a variety of medical treatments on Earth.
  Searfoss and Altman will oversee a firing of Columbias maneuvering
thrusters as part of an orbit adjust burn designed to make a second
landing opportunity available for use at the end of the mission.  The
firing of Columbia's forward reaction control system jets will take
place at shortly after 3 p.m. Central.
  Just before 4 p.m. this afternoon, Hire and Williams will take a few
minutes to conduct an interview with the Discovery News program which
will be used as part of a Discovery Channel documentary on the
Neurolab mission.
Columbia remains in a 154 x 137 n.m. elliptical orbit, circling the
Earth once every 90 minutes.
The crew will go to sleep at 10:19 p.m. CDT this evening and receive a
wake up call from Mission Control on Thursday morning at 6:19 a.m.
 On Wednesday, April 22, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #11
reports:
  As the Neurolab mission continues its pace of scientific activity,
Columbia's astronauts spent another day investigating how unborn mice
develop without gravity and how young rats learn to walk and swim in a
microgravity environment.
  Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists
Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams along with Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk worked through a busy day
after enjoying a half day off yesterday.
  Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk injected three more mice
with chemical markers to trace the early development of the cerebral
cortex in their unborn embryos. Today's injections were followed by
the second and final session of mouse dissections.
  Reconfiguring the General Purpose Work Station for the young rat
behavioral studies took longer than planned, but the orbiting
researchers were expected to complete their full complement of
experiments before going to sleep about 10:19 p.m. CDT
  Astronauts marked the joints of 15- and 21-day-old rats with
permanent black dots, then videotaped them as they moved around in a
rodent "jungle gym" with various surfaces to allow them to
walk and climb. Scientists on the ground will watch to see if motor
skills develop differently in the rats that had never experienced
gravity and those that had some experience in gravity, and will look
at how each group adapts to normal gravity upon returning to Earth.
  Several crew members spent time on the Pulmonary Function Test (PFT)
equipment that is collecting data on the crew's breathing patterns
and blood gas concentrations, as scientists study any possible
relation to the astronauts' ability or inability to sleep on
orbit. During an interview with the Discovery Channel today, Hire and
Williams put sleep monitoring equipment on an orange model of the
human brain as they demonstrated how a palm-sized sleep laboratory
could eventually allow patients to collect data on their sleep habits
at home.
Hire worked again with the saltwater aquarium serving as home to four
oyster toadfish whose gravity receptors are being studied, and
reported good quality tissue cultures in the Bioreactor Demonstration
System.
Searfoss and Altman conducted a good firing of Columbia's maneuvering
thrusters to make available additional landing opportunities at the
end of the mission.
Columbia remains in a 154 x 137 n.m. elliptical orbit, circling the
Earth once every 90 minutes.
  STS-90 Flight Day 7 Highlights:
 On Thursday, April 23, 1998, 6:30 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #12
reports:
  Almost one week into their flight, Columbia's crew is continuing
their efforts with the 26 different experiments that comprise the
STS-90 Neurolab mission.  The experiments which include studies of
blood pressure, balance, coordination and sleep patterns and are
designed to provide valuable insight into the basic operation of the
nervous system, the most complex and least well-known part of the
human body.
  Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists
Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams along with Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk received a wake up call from
Mission Control at 6:19 a.m. CDT with the James Brown song "I Got
You (I Feel Good)."
  Science activities on Thursday will include the continuation of the
experiments looking at the autonomic nervous system; the part of the
nervous system that automatically controls blood pressure.  These
investigations are designed to uncover what changes take place in
blood pressure control during space flight.  Crewmembers will use the
Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) device which places a stress on
the cardiovascular system similar to what is experienced when standing
in Earth's gravity environment.
  More work with the Visual and Vestibular Integration System (VVIS),
the rotating chair being used to stimulate the balance organ in the
ear known as the vestibular system, also will be a part of Flight Day
Seven activities.  Crewmembers again will be rotated at 45 rpm to
stimulate the vestibular system with both spinning and tilting
sensations while the infrared video camera system which covers the
test subject's head records the eye movements.  Investigators hope
that results from this experiment will help them understand why
astronauts experience balance problems after they return home from a
space flight and may also contribute to the design of more effective
rehabilitation procedures for patients with severe inner ear diseases.
  The Sensory Motor and Performance Team will collect more data as the
crew uses the Visuo-Motor Coordination Facility (VCF).  The VCF
projects visual targets onto a screen.  As the targets appear, the
astronaut will point at them as they move from place to place, grasp
at them as they change size and track them as they move in a circle.
During the test, the astronaut will wear a specially designed glove
that allows precise tracking of hand movements and response times.
The motor skills test associated with the VCF will be done several
times over the course of the flight to detect any changes in the
performance and chronicle the adaptation of the nervous system as the
astronaut adjusts to space flight.
  One additional item added to the crew's activities today will be
some additional troubleshooting with the aquarium being carried in the
Spacelab known as the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU).  The
air pump for fish pack number two has begun to show the same failure
signature as was seen on the number three unit earlier in the flight.
Altman and Hire will set up a similar bypass setup to the one they did
on Flight Day 3.  The reconfiguration will allow the air pump from
fish pack number one to support the two units.  The VFEU's four
aquariums are used to house the oyster toadfish being carried as
research subjects for the Neurolab aquatic experiments.
  Late this afternoon Pawelczyk and Altman will talk with a medical
correspondent for KTVT-TV in Dallas.  The interview which is scheduled
for 5:09 p.m. Central is expected to focus on Pawelczyk's research on
neuroscience and cardiovascular issues at the University of Texas
Southern Medical Center.
Columbia and all of its systems continue to operate without problems
as the Shuttle continues to orbit the Earth once every 90 minutes.
 On Thursday, April 23, 1998, 7:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #13
reports:
  The seven astronauts aboard Columbia continued a variety of
neuroscience experiments today, including a Canadian-developed
experiment that tested their ability to point at, track and grasp
objects while in microgravity.
  Using a special glove with light-emitting fingertips, Mission
Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists
Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk took turns following targets on a screen
as part of the Visuo-Motor Coordination Facility (VCF) experiment. The
crew used the equipment early in the flight and will test their
eye-hand coordination again late in the flight.
  The payload crew members also served as subjects for Visual and
Vestibular Integration System (VVIS) chair rotations to correlate eye
movements with balance system functioning, and slipped into the Lower
Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) device to see how stressing the
cardiovascular system in reduced gravity affects the bodys ability
to regulate blood pressure.
  Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman oversaw a
simultaneous dump of the shuttle's excess supply and waste water
tanks, monitoring its progress on a special laptop computer program.
  Mission Specialist Kay Hire, with some help from Altman, rerouted
the air supply for a second aquarium chamber in the Vestibular
Function Experiment Unit (VFEU). The air pump for fish pack number two
has begun to show the same type of failure as was seen on the number
three unit earlier in the flight. Altman and Hire set up a bypass
similar to the one they did on Flight Day 3. The reconfiguration will
allow the air pump from fish pack number one to support the two
units. The aquariums are housing oyster toadfish whose gravity
receptors are being studied in microgravity.
  Columbia and all of its systems continue to operate without problems
as the shuttle continues to orbit the Earth at 17,500 miles an hour.
  The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 9:59
p.m. Central time and will be awakened Friday at 5:59 a.m. to begin
their eighth day of work aboard Columbia.
  STS-90 Flight Day 8 Highlights:
 On Friday, April 24, 1998, 7:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #14
reports:
  The seven astronauts aboard Columbia neared the halfway mark of
their neuroscience research mission today, operating the 26 individual
experiments designed to provide insight into the operation of the
nervous system, the most complex and least well-known part of the
human body.  The STS-90 crew members have used themselves as test
subjects in a variety of experiments associated with studying
functions such as blood pressure regulation , balance, coordination
and sleep patterns. They have also studied a variety of animals to
gain additional insight into the effects the weightless environment of
space has on the development and performance of the nervous system.
  Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists
Rick Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams along with Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk received a wake up call from
Mission Control at 5:59 a.m. Central time to the sound of "This
Land is Your Land." The song was selected to honor the work
Searfoss has done with the Boy Scout organization.
  Today, Buckey and Williams will euthanize and dissect eight young
rats which were nine days old at launch in an experiment to study
critical periods in the development of the balance system which are a
part of the work being done by the Mammalian Development Team.  This
particular experiment is looking at changes occurring in the
vestibular receptors of the rats in different stages of growth.
Without the presence of gravitational forces during development,
receptors and neuronal circuits that process the information on
balance and position may develop differently than those of animals
developing on Earth.
  Searfoss, Altman and Hire will continue their monitoring of
Columbia's systems, perform routine orbiter housekeeping chores and
assist in science activities in the Spacelab.  Searfoss and Altman
also will each take turns operating the Portable In-Flight Landing
Operations Trainer (PILOT), a laptop computer and joystick system that
allows them to simulate approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space
Center to maintain their piloting skills.  Hire will continue her
monitoring of the the aquarium being carried in the Spacelab known as
the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit which houses the oyster
toadfish used as research subjects for the Neurolab aquatic
experiments.
  Linnehan, Pawelczyk and Buckey will spend part of their day studying
the autonomic nervous system  the part of the nervous system that
automatically controls functions such as blood pressure.  They are
monitoring changes taking place in blood pressure control during the
flight and will again use the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP)
device as part of their data collection.  The LBNP is designed to
place stress on the cardiovascular system similar to what is
experienced when standing in Earths gravity environment.
  Just after 3:30 p.m. Central this afternoon, Altman and Linnehan
will be interviewed by newstalk anchor Spike ODell of WGN Radio in
Chicago.  Altman, who is an Illinois native, and Linnehan, will talk
about the various Neurolab research activities being conducted in the
Spacelab module and Altman's first flight in space.
  Columbia is flying in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth once every 90 minutes with all its systems operating perfectly.
  The astronauts will go to sleep at 9:39 p.m. Central time tonight
and will be awakened at 5:39 Saturday morning to begin the ninth day
of their long research mission.
 On Friday, April 24, 1998, 7:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #15
reports:
  Neurolab scientists today continued their search for an answer to
the question "Can mammals develop normally in microgravity?" as
Columbia's astronauts dissected eight newborn rats and watched others
learn to walk for the first time  but without gravity.  Commander
Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan,
Kay Hire and Dave Williams along with Payload Specialists Jay Buckey
and Jim Pawelczyk neared the halfway mark of their neuroscience
research mission, and served as subjects for the autonomic blood
pressure regulation studies.
  Buckey and Williams euthanized and dissected eight rats that were
nine days old at launch and had never learned to walk on Earth in an
experiment to study critical periods in the development of the balance
system. Part of the work being done by the Mammalian Development Team,
the dissections will allow scientists on the ground to look at how the
brainstem, hippocampus, cerebellum and vestibular organs develop
without the influence of gravity.
  Veterinarian Linnehan and Williams placed several young rats whose
eyes are not yet open on a small track to test their ability to learn
to walk while on orbit. These studies will help scientists determine
wither the rats will develop abnormal balance and swimming patterns
that can persist into adulthood. What they learn may be useful in
helping humans who are born and develop without the senses of, for
example, sight or hearing, and later have those senses restored
through medical treatment.
  Linnehan, Pawelczyk and Buckey monitored changes taking place in
their autonomic nervous systems. This system automatically controls
blood pressure. The astronauts served as subjects and operators of the
Lower Body Negative Pressure device, which was used to place stress on
the cardiovascular system as measurements of the nervous systems
response were recorded through a variety of testing mechanisms.
  Searfoss, Altman and Hire continued to maintain Columbia's systems,
performing routine housekeeping chores and assisting in science
activities. Searfoss and Altman each took a turn operating the
Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a laptop
computer and joystick system that allows them to simulate approaches
and landings to the Kennedy Space Center.
  Altman and Linnehan were interviewed by WGN Radio anchor Spike
O'Dell of Chicago, who patched in a special guest from Phoenix,
former all-star second baseman Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs. On
behalf of the Cubs organization, O'Dell invited Altman, an Illinois
native and longtime Cubs fan, to throw out the first pitch at a future
game.
Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, with all its
systems operating perfectly.  The astronauts will go to sleep at 9:39
p.m. CDT and be awakened at 5:39 a.m. Saturday to begin the ninth day
of their long research mission.  The next STS-90 status report will be
issued about 6 a.m. Saturday.
  STS-90 Flight Day 9 Highlights:
 On Saturday, April 25, 1998, 1:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #16
reports:
  Due to problems with equipment which removes carbon dioxide from the
cabin atmosphere, Columbia's crew went to bed about two hours late
Friday and will awaken at 6:39 a.m. CDT, about an hour later than
originally scheduled.
  The crew's sleep period was scheduled to begin at 9:39 p.m. CDT
Friday, but at about 10:45 p.m. CDT, the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide
Removal System aboard Columbia shut down, ringing a cautionary alert
onboard. Flight controllers asked the crew to switch to a second set
of control electronics for the unit and restart it. However, about 10
minutes later, the equipment shut down again. At that point, flight
controllers asked the crew to install backup carbon dioxide-absorption
canisters in the laboratory and crew cabin. Called lithium hydroxide
canisters, a supply is stored aboard Columbia as a backup to the
recyclable system which shut down.
  The lithium hydroxide canisters are not recyclable and must be
replaced daily with fresh canisters as they become saturated with
carbon dioxide. Members of the crew were still awake when the problem
occurred, with some crew members still wrapping up science work in the
payload bay laboratory.
  The crew was never in any danger due to the equipment problems and
carbon dioxide levels in the crew cabin always remained normal. Flight
controllers will continue to evaluate the problem with the recyclable
carbon dioxide removal system and may ask the crew to perform further
troubleshooting activities after they awaken. Due to the later wake-up
time, a few activities planned for early in the crews day have been
canceled, including a ship-to-ship conversation by the crew of
Columbia with astronaut Andy Thomas on Mir.
  However, members of the crew remain scheduled to talk with students
in three events during the day. Commander Rick Searfoss, Payload
Commander Rick Linnehan and Payload Specialist Jay Buckey will speak
with students at the McAuliffe Planetarium in New Hampshire at 11:39
a.m. CDT. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams will speak
with students at York University in Ontario, Canada, at 3:49 p.m. And
Buckey will talk with students at Dartmouth College at 4:34 p.m.
  And, from Mir, Thomas remains scheduled to answer questions sent to
him by Australian school students at 9 a.m. CDT
 On Saturday, April 25, 1998, 7:15 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #17
reports:
  The STS-90 astronauts will begin the start of their second week of
on-orbit science operations today, and also will support some
troubleshooting procedures following the shutdown of a carbon dioxide
removal system last night.
  Flight controllers on the ground continue to review data associated
with the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System (RCRS) unit aboard
Columbia which shut down late last night.  Engineering teams will meet
this morning to consider what troubleshooting activities they may ask
the crew to undertake later today to try to recover the RCRS system.
  With the regenerative system at least temporarily unavailable, the
crew has installed the backup carbon dioxide-absorption canisters in
the laboratory and crew cabin. A supply of 28 lithium hydroxide
canisters is available aboard Columbia.  The canisters are a passive
and very reliable CO2 removal system.
  Should a decision be made that the RCRS system cannot be recovered,
the 28 lithium hydroxide canisters available onboard Columbia would
allow about five more days of science operations to be conducted
before the mission would have to be concluded.  Approximately four
canisters are needed each day to support the removal of CO2 from the
crew cabin and laboratory environments. Eight canisters would be held
in reserve to support the two day landing wave-off reserve in case
weather or technical problems delayed Columbias return to Earth.
  Crew members also may work with an air circulation fan associated
with the Rodent Animal Holding Facilty (RAHF) being carried in the
Spacelab.  Data indicate that a fan associated with RAHF unit #7 may
no longer be working.  These fans are important to the health of the
animals being carried in the RAHF as they deliver fresh air into the
RAHF and facilitate the removal of CO2.  Current plans call for the
crew to run a malfunction procedure to determine if the #7 unit fan
has in fact failed.  If it has, the crew will then perform an
in-flight maintenance procedure to set up a bypass system that will
allow the fan in RAHF unit #3 to support the #7 unit.
  Science operations for Flight Day Nine will include continued work
with the ball catch experiment which is part of the Sensory Motor and
Performance Team.  The ball catch experiment utilizes an apparatus
that propels a ball from above in a downward motion toward a seated
astronaut.  Investigators will monitor the astronauts performance to
see if the crew uses visual cues to compensate for the cues missing in
a microgravity environment.
  The crew also will perform more work with the Effects of Gravity on
Postnatal Motor Development Experiment which is one of the Mammalian
Development Teams projects.  Ground research has indicated that
gravity plays a significant role in how rats learn basic motor skills
such as swimming and walking.  The rats being studied in this
experiment were launched when they were only a few days old and
scientists will be looking to see if motor skills develop normally in
the weightless environment.  The rats will be videotaped as they move
around in a special walking apparatus that has various surfaces to
allow them to walk and climb.  Additional motor skill tests will be
performed after the flight to see if the rats are able to readapt to
the force of gravity.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
 On Saturday, April 25, 1998, 6:30 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #18
reports:
  A one-inch piece of aluminum tape and a measure of ingenuity by
engineers on the ground today breathed new life into the STS-90
Neurolab mission.
  Commander Rick Searfoss opened up a balky Regenerative Carbon
Dioxide Removal System (RCRS) aboard Columbia about 3 p.m., removed a
hose clamp and used the tape to bypass a suspected check valve that
had threatened to cut the flight short by several days. The valve,
part of the air-scrubbing systems plumbing that recirculates nitrogen
back into the cabin atmosphere, apparently was allowing cabin pressure
to leak into the system and throw off its electronics control unit.
  Half an hour later, Mission Control told Searfoss the repair had
succeeded after watching the system go through one of its 26-minute
operational cycles. The RCRS system uses two beds of the chemical
amine to alternately adsorb and release excess carbon dioxide given
off by the crew and the research animals on board as part of their
normal respiration. With the bypass in place, the system will vent
about four extra pounds of nitrogen overboard each day. But nitrogen
supplies on board are sufficient to support a full 17 days of research
if mission managers decide later this week to grant an extension day.
  Crew members also restored air circulation to one of the Research
Animal Holding Facilty (RAHF) pens being carried in the Spacelab. The
fan associated with RAHF unit #7 stopped working and they set up a
bypass system that is allowing the fan in RAHF unit #3 to support the
#7 unit.
  Science operations for Flight Day 9 included continued work with the
ball catch experiment which is part of the Sensory Motor and
Performance, and the Effects of Gravity on Postnatal Motor Development
Experiment that is one of the Mammalian Development Teams
projects. Columbias astronauts also spoke with Astronaut Andy
Thomas, nearing his 100th day on the Russian Space Station, and
answered questions posed by visitors to the New Hampshire McAuliffe
Planetarium, and from students at York University and Dartmouth
College.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes. The crew will begin its sleep shift at 9:19
p.m. A planned half day off on Sunday will be moved to the first half
of the crew's day so that they may sleep in after losing about an
hour of sleep because of the RCRS shutdown on Friday night. The next
STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Saturday or as events
warrant.
  STS-90 Flight Day 10 Highlights:
 On Sunday, April 26, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #19
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts were awakened at 5:29 a.m. Central time this
morning to the sound of "Every Breath You Take" by the
Police to begin their tenth day of research work in the Spacelab
science module.
  This will be a relatively light day of scientific activity on board
Columbia.  The science crew of Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and
Dave Williams, along with Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim
Pawelczyk, will continue investigations into how the human nervous
system adapts to the weightlessness of space.  All four will serve as
subjects in a vestibular experiment that uses an on-board rotating
chair.  The Visual and Vestibular Integration System (VVIS) correlates
eye movements with balance.  Developed by the European Space Agency,
the chair stimulates the human balance system with both spinning and
tilting sensations. Infrared video cameras observe and capture the eye
movements that accompany the exercise.
  Shuttle Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman will take
turns operating the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer
(PILOT), a laptop computer and joystick system that allows them to
simulate approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space Center to
maintain their piloting skills.
  Mission Specialist Dave Williams will take time from his scientific
work to chat with the British Broadcasting System's Wales Network at
9:34 a.m. Central time The interview will focus on the progress of
Williams' research in this, his first flight in space. Williams is of
Welsh ancestry.
  About 2 p.m., the astronauts are scheduled to begin four hours of
off-duty time to relax and enjoy the sights from orbit. They will
begin their eight-hour sleep period at 9:09 tonight.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.  The shuttles prime carbon dioxide cleansing
system, known as the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System, or
RCRS, is in perfect working order after being brought back on line
late yesterday following the repair of a leaking valve.
  The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. Sunday or
as events warrant.
 On Sunday, April 26, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #20
reports:
  Columbia's seven-member crew took a break from scientific activity
today to enjoy a relaxing afternoon with four hours of scheduled
off-duty time.
  Throughout the morning and early afternoon, the science crew Mission
Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists
Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk continued to support the Visual and
Vestibular Integration System (VVIS) investigation.  Investigators are
studying the correlation between eye movement and the inner ear as the
astronauts each took a turn in the rotating chair.  Researchers hope
to better understand how the balance organs in the ear, and all the
connections they make to the eyes, brain and muscles, adapt to the
microgravity environment.
  Mission Specialist Kay Hire also spent time with an investigation
that evaluates an astronauts eye-hand coordination during various
phases of the mission.  Wearing a special glove with light-emitting
diodes, Hire tracked a variety of targets projected on a screen.
Researchers can study the track created by the diodes to determine any
changes in performance and evaluate how the astronauts are adapting to
space.
  Shuttle Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman practiced
with the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a
laptop computer and joystick system that allows them to simulate
approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space Center to maintain their
piloting skills.
  Searfoss and Williams took time from their activities this morning
to talk with the British Broadcasting Systems Wales Network.  The
interview focused on the progress of the mission and Williams and
Searfoss Welsh ancestry.
  The crew will begin its scheduled sleep period at 9:09 p.m. central
time today, receiving a wake-up call from Mission Control about 5
a.m. Monday to begin Flight Day 11. Columbia remains in a 153 x 133
nautical mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes.
The next STS-90 status report will be issued at about 6 a.m. Monday or
as events warrant.
  STS-90 Flight Day 11 Highlights:
 On Monday, April 27, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #21
reports:
  To the sounds of "Fight On, State", Columbia's astronauts
were awakened at 5:09 a.m. Central time this morning to begin their
eleventh day of neurological research work in the Spacelab science
module.
  The wake up music, which is the fight song for Penn State University
Nittany Lions, was played in honor of Payload Specialist Jim
Pawelczyk, who earned a masters degree in physiology from Penn State
in 1985.
  Before resuming science activities, Columbia's astronauts will
conduct a news conference from orbit, answering questions from
reporters in the U.S. and Canada. The Crew News Conference will begin
at 9:09 a.m. Central time and will be broadcast on NASA Television.
  After a relatively light day of scientific activity on board
Columbia yesterday, the science crew -- Mission Specialists Rick
Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and
Pawelczyk will resume a full day of investigations today into how
the human nervous system adapts to the weightlessness of space.
Williams and Linnehan will conduct dexterity experiments with young
rats, designed to investigate how the young rats develop in
microgravity. This includes animals launched into space that have
never walked on Earth and those that have walked on Earth for a short
period of time prior to launch.
  Buckey, Pawelczyk and Mission Specialist Kay Hire once again will
take part in an experiment aimed at exploring the influence of gravity
on blood pressure. The lower body negative pressure test places a
stress on the cardiovascular system similar to that experienced when
standing in Earth's gravity.  Pawelczyk also is scheduled to take
part in the Valsalva test, which stimulates the pressure receptors in
the neck and chest and measures those responses.  Both Buckey and
Pawelzyk will participate as subjects and as operators in tests of the
autonomic nervous system. All four science crew members will conduct
tests of their pulmonary systems as well as additional runs in a
rotating chair to measure the response of their eyes and inner ears in
maintaining balance in a weightless environment.
This afternoon, Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman will
fire Columbia's reaction control system jets in a small orbital
adjustment maneuver to maintain the proper landing opportunities for
the end of the flight about a week from now. At 4:19 this afternoon,
Pawelczyk will take a few minutes out of his research work to take
part in a question and answer session with students at Penn State.
Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in
excellent fashion.
The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. Monday or as
events warrant.
 On Monday, April 27, 1998, 5:45 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #22
reports:
  Today was another busy day of science on board Columbia as the crew
members conducted investigations into vestibular, pulmonary and
autonomic functions.
  In studies which used crew members Rick Linnehan, Dave Williams and
Kay Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk as
operators and subjects, the crew members' eye movements were tracked
in a study of how the brain adapts to microgravity, and whether
altered breathing patterns influence how well the astronauts sleep.
  In the afternoon, Buckey conducted dexterity experiments with 19- to
25-day old rats, monitoring the young rats as they walked on a
specially-designed apparatus resembling a jungle gym.  This was the
second of three planned behavioral sessions to try to understand if
gravity is essential for normal development of the motor system.
  Members of Neurolab's Mammalian Development Team have
re-prioritized their science activities following an unexpectedly high
mortality rate among the rat neonates. Mission managers reported today
that 45 young rats died, likely as the result of maternal neglect.
Forty-five of the original complement of 96 neonates remain, with six
having been euthanised as part of scientific protocols during the
course of the mission.  Columbia's astronauts investigated the animal
enclosures after noticing a drop in water consumption by nursing rat
dams. Payload Commander Rick Linnehan and his crew mates intervened,
providing fluid and nourishment to some of the young rats by hand, in
an effort to save them.
  Crew members talked about the progress of their mission to date with
reporters in the U.S. and Canada during their traditional in-flight
crew news conference this morning.  Pawelczyk took time this afternoon
to discuss Neurolab science with students at Penn State University,
his alma mater.
  This afternoon, Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman fired
Columbia's reaction control system jets in a small orbital adjustment
maneuver to support landing opportunities for the end of the flight
about a week from now. The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep
period at 8:59 p.m. central time today.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in
excellent fashion.
The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Tuesday or
as events warrant.
  STS-90 Flight Day 12 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, April 28, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #23
reports:
  Columbia's seven astronauts were awakened at 4:49 a.m. Central time
this morning to begin another day of exploring how the nervous system
adapts to the weightless environment of space.
  The crew was awakened to the sound of "Turn, Turn, Turn"
by the Byrds, which was played in honor of the rotating chair
experiment involved in studies of the human vestibular system.
  Columbia's science astronauts -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan
and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk
will continue their investigations into how the human nervous
system adapts to the weightlessness of space. Buckey and Pawelczyk
will take part in a variety of autonomic experiments designed to
examine blood pressure regulation in microgravity. The test uses a
special device resembling a hi-tech sack to place a stress on the
cardiovascular system similar to that experienced when standing in
Earth's gravity.
  The astronauts will also infuse radioactively-labeled
neorepinephrine into the blood stream and will collect blood
samples. Neorepinephrine is a chemical messenger that will allow
investigators to measure how fast the substance is released into and
removed from the blood's circulation and determines whether the blood
pressure control system is underutilized in the absence of
gravity. The payload specialists will conduct another experiment in
which they use an innovative technique called microneurography. This
involves placing a small needle in a nerve just below the knee,
allowing nerve signals traveling from the brain to the blood vessels
to be measured directly.
  Linnehan and Williams will participate as subjects and as operators
in tests on the vestibular experiments, including additional runs in
the rotating chair to measure the response of their eyes and inner
ears in maintaining balance in a weightless environment.
  Mission Specialist Kay Hire again will work with the Bioreactor
Demonstration System, which is designed to perform cell biology
experiments under controlled conditions. Scientists are using the
device to study the growth of human kidney and bone marrow cells in
space. She also will be a subject in a test designed to detect
functional abnormalities of the central nervous system. The test
activates the blood pressure control system and raises blood pressure,
but not by stimulating pressure receptors.
  Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman will take turns
operating the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a
laptop computer and joystick system that allows them to simulate
approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space Center to maintain their
piloting skills.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in
excellent fashion. NASA managers are expected to decide Wednesday
whether to add an extension day to Columbia's flight in the name of
science. Columbia currently is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday.
  The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. Tuesday or
as events warrant.
 On Tuesday, April 28, 1998, 6:15 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #24
reports:
  The seven-member crew of Columbia completed another productive day
of scientific activity, focusing today on understanding blood pressure
regulation in microgravity.
  The science crew of astronauts Rick Linnehan, Dave Williams, Jay
Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk, continued their investigations into the
adaptation of the human nervous system to the weightlessness of
space. Both Buckey and Pawelczyk took turns as subjects in the Lower
Body Negative Pressure unit, a device which puts the same stresses on
their cardiovascular system as what they would experience if they were
standing here on Earth.
  The astronauts also infused radioactively-labeled neorepinephrine
into the blood stream and collected blood samples. Neorepinephrine is
a chemical messenger that will allow investigators to measure how fast
the substance is released into and removed from the blood's
circulation and determines whether the blood pressure control system
is underutilized in the absence of gravity.
  Investigations on the "rotating chair" continued today as
Linnehan and Williams participated in that study to understand how
microgravity affects the vestibular, or balance, system.
  In addition to science activities, the crew members are continuing
to conduct welfare checks of the rat neonates on board Columbia.  In a
conversation with NASA Chief Veterinary Officer Joe Bielitzki,
Linnehan reported that the crew had provided fluid and nourishment to
all the neonates and that most seemed to be responding well.
  Members of Neurolab's Mammalian Development Team continue to
re-prioritize their science activities because of the unexpectedly
high mortality rate being experienced among the rat neonates. During a
press conference this afternoon, mission managers reported that an
additional 4 young rats had died in the past 24 hours, two due to
maternal neglect and two having to be euthanised because of ill
health, bringing to 50 the number of neonates that have been lost
during the flight.  Forty of the original complement of 96 neonates
remain, with six having been euthanised as part of scientific
protocols during the course of the flight.
  Searfoss and Williams talked with three Canadian media outlets
today, discussing their mission and scientific activities.  Linnehan
spoke with students at the North Carolina State College of Veterinary
Medicine, fielding questions from a number of students on the nature
of his scientific research.
  The crew will begin their sleep period at 8:29 p.m. today.
Tomorrow's activities will once again focus on studies of the human
autonomic, or blood pressure regulatory system.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
  The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Wednesday
or as events warrant.
  STS-90 Flight Day 13 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #25
reports:
  Columbia's seven astronauts began their thirteenth day of space-based
research at 4:29 a.m. Central time this morning to the sound of
"Take A Chance On Me" by the musical group Abba, the wake up
call from Mission Control, a favorite song of Payload Specialist Jay
Buckey.
  As the Neurolab mission enters its final few days, the four members
of Columbia's payload crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and
Dave Williams and Payload Specialist Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk  will
continue their investigations into how the human nervous system adapts
to the weightless environment of space.
  Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk once again will take part in a
variety of human autonomic experiments designed to examine blood
pressure regulation in microgravity. Crew members . will repeat an
experiment in which they use an innovative technique called
microneurography. This involves placing a very fine needle in a nerve
just below the knee, allowing nerve signals traveling from the brain
to the blood vessels to be measured directly while the cardiovascular
system is challenged using the Lower Body Negative Pressure
device. LBNP is a hi-tech canister that pulls bodily fluids into the
lower extremities, simulating the effect of standing on Earth.
  As they did yesterday, the scientist-astronauts again will infuse
radioactively-labeled norepinephrine into their blood streams and
collect blood samples for later analysis. Norepinephrine is a chemical
messenger that will allow investigators to measure how fast the
substance is released into and removed from the blood's circulation
and determine whether the blood pressure control system is
underutilized in the absence of gravity.
  As part of the Neurolab Mammalian Development Team's research into
gravity's role in stimulating the proper development of the nervous
system, Buckey will anesthetize seven of the rat neonates and inject
two of their hind leg muscles with fluorescent cell marker dyes. One
muscle is used on Earth to support the animal's weight, while the
other is a non-weight bearing muscle. The label dye will be
transported from the muscles, along the nerve cells to the spinal
cords of the animals. This research will help determine whether
mammals that develop in microgravity will have normally developed
muscles.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in
excellent fashion.
The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. Wednesday or
as events warrant.
 On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #26
reports:
  Amidst a day of investigations focusing on blood pressure
regulation, Columbia's astronauts beamed down a short video tour of
their scientific endeavors.
  Pilot Scott Altman explained the operations of several pieces of
hardware being used on board including the rotating chair which is
being used to determine how the balance mechanisms of the inner ear
function in microgravity.  A camera, attached to the outer structure,
showed Mission Control how rapidly the astronauts are rotated for
these investigations.
  Columbia's science crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and
Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk
continued their investigations into how the human nervous system
adapts to the weightless environment of space, taking part in a
variety of autonomic experiments today.
  Much as they did Sunday, the crew members alternated as test
operators and subjects in three investigations designed to measure how
the blood pressure regulatory system is utilized in space. Buckey also
anesthetized six 15-day old rat neonates, injecting two muscles of the
hind legs with fluorescent cell marker dyes to determine whether
weight-bearing muscles will develop normally in animals which have
never walked on Earth.
  Linnehan reported today that as a group, the youngest group of rats
on board appear to be improving.  One additional neonate died
overnight, bringing to 51 the total number of unexpected neonate
deaths.  NASA Chief Veterinarian Joe Bielitzki confirmed that of the
remaining 39 rats in the youngest age group, 37 are stable and eating
well, and two are being tended to by Columbia's astronauts.  The crew
will continue to perform routine animal welfare checks, as they have
throughout the mission.
  This morning, Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Dave Williams, along
with pilot Scott Altman, talked with Canadian Deputy Prime Minister
Herb Gray and answered questions from school children throughout
Canada.  Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk also sent recorded
comments recognizing this as the "Decade of the Brain" and
acknowledging the contributions of 1906 Nobel Prize winner Santiago
Ramon Y Cajal to the field of neuroscience.  Cajal, along with Camillo
Golgi, demonstrated that the brain is made up of individual nerve
cells.  A number of Cajal slides are being flown on board Columbia and
will be returned to the Cajal Institute in Spain after the flight.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in
excellent fashion.
  The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Thursday
or as events warrant.
  STS-90 Flight Day 14 Highlights:
 On Thursday, April 30, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #27
reports:
  Mission Control awakened Columbia's seven astronauts at 4:09 a.m. CDT
this morning to complete their second week of research into how the
nervous system adapts to the weightless environment of space.
  Flight controllers worked overnight reviewing information and
evaluating possible solutions to an apparent blockage in Columbia's
waste water dump line.  They believe the problem is most likely caused
by a clogged filter, and Searfoss and Altman have been asked to try an
in-flight maintenance procedure to bypass the filter.  The problem
should have no impact on mission operations or duration.
  Members of the Mission Management Team are expected to meet later
this morning and make a final decision about whether to extend the
Neurolab mission by an additional day.  Landing currently is set for
11:09 a.m. Central Time on Sunday, May 3.  Columbia has ample
consumable supplies to support a mission extension.
  Today's activities will focus on the efforts of Neurolab's Neuronal
Plasticity Team to better understand how the adult nervous system
adapts to the new environment of space.  Columbia's science crew --
Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload
Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk will perform the second
and final in-flight dissections of the adult male rats on board.  The
crew is scheduled to euthanize and dissect nine rats and remove the
vestibular or balance organs of the inner ear; the cerebellum, the
part of the brain critical for maintaining balance and for processing
information from the limbs so they can be moved smoothly; and the
cerebrum, one part of which controls automatic functions such as body
temperature regulation and the body's internal clock, and the
cortical region that controls cognitive functions such as thinking.
The first dissection, which was performed on the second day of the
flight, went extremely well, according to Neurolab scientists.
  While the science crew works in the Spacelab module, Commander Rick
Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman once again will use the Portable
In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT) to help them maintain a
high level of proficiency for the end-of-mission approach and landing
tasks required to bring Columbia safely back to Earth after this long
mission.  PILOT consists of a laptop computer and joystick system that
allows the flight crew to simulate approaches and landings to the
Kennedy Space Center to maintain their piloting skills.
  Searfoss and Linnehan will take time from their schedule this
afternoon for an interview with ZDF German Television.  This event,
which will air at 2:45 p.m. Central Time, will be carried on NASA
Television.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
 On Thursday, April 30, 1998, 6:30 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #28
reports:
  Flight controllers will continue to review information and evaluate
whether further crew action is required to remove an apparent blockage
in Columbia's waste water dump line, after efforts today to bypass a
clogged filter, did not resolve the problem.
  Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman bypassed the clogged
filter, routing a hose through a spare filter and venting waste water
overboard.  Flight controllers initially saw a good flow rate, which
then became more sporadic indicating a blockage likely still exists.
Adequate waste water stowage is available on board Columbia through
its planned landing on Sunday without further action by the crew.
However, flight controllers may ask the crew to dump some water
overboard or into contingency waste containers (CWC's) tomorrow to
keep the waste tank level as low as possible. The CWC's provide
additional water stowage capacity in the event weather keeps Columbia
from landing on Sunday.
  The Mission Management Team decided today not to extend the Neurolab
mission, after the science community indicated an additional day of
science would not be necessary.  Coupled with weather conditions,
which are expected to deteriorate in the early part of next week, the
decision was made to land on Sunday as originally scheduled. Landing
currently is set for 11:09 a.m. CDT on Sunday, May 3.
  Today, Columbia's science crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan
and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk
^V completed the second and final inflight dissections of the adult
male rats on board to support studies on how the adult nervous system
adapts to a changing environment.
  During conversations today with science managers, the STS-90 crew
said that as a group, the youngest group of rats on board continue to
be improve for the most part.  One additional neonate died late
yesterday, bringing to 52 the total number of unexpected neonate
deaths.  Of the remaining 38 rats in the youngest age group most are
stable and eating well with a few being tended to by Columbia's
astronauts.
  One of the rats in the Animal Enclosure Module which lost the
hypderdrive unit attached to its head, had been scheduled to be
euthanised as part of scientific protocols designed to keep the animal
from suffering.  However, Linnehan reported that the animal appeared
very healthy, did not appear to be suffering in any way, and Linnehan
therefore elected to let the animal live.
  Before going to sleep tonight, Mission Specialist Kay Hire, along
with Buckey and Pawelczyk will don specialized gear designed to
monitor their breathing, muscle activity, and eye motion as they
sleep.  Investigators believe that altered breathing patterns while on
orbit may affect the astronauts' ability to sleep.
  Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
  STS-90 Flight Day 15 Highlights:
 On Friday, May 1, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #29
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts were awakened at 3:55 a.m. CDT today to begin
their third week of studying how the brain and nervous system adapt to
the weightless environment of space.
  Overnight, flight controllers continued to work on possible
solutions to an apparent blockage in Columbia's waste water dump
line. Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman yesterday
bypassed a clogged filter, routed a hose through a spare filter and
vented waste water overboard, but the blockage remained.
  Columbia's science crew will turn its attention to dexterity tests
and dissections of additional rat neonates and the ball-catch
experiment. Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and
Payload Specialist Jim Pawelczyk will dissect the newborn rats. The
dexterity test will test the response of young rats as they are tilted
and turned while walking and climbing on a special apparatus with
various surfaces.  Later, all four payload crew members will repeat
the ball-catch experiment. This experiment studies the ability of the
central nervous system to accept and interpret new stimuli in
space. The astronauts have performed this test at various points in
the mission so scientists can compare their responses as their bodies
adapt to weightlessness.
  Mission Specialist Kay Hire will deactivate the Biotechnology
Demonstration System (BDS), which is being used to grow human kidney
cells and bone marrow cells in three dimensions. This afternoon, Hire
will be interviewed by WALA-TV and the Press Register, both of Mobile,
Ala. This event will be carried on NASA Television at 2:09 p.m. CDT.
  Hire, Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman will continue
to hone their piloting skills in preparation for Sunday's planned
landing at the Kennedy Space Center by once again using the Portable
In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT). Consisting of a laptop
computer and a joystick system, PILOT helps to maintain a high level
of proficiency for the end-of-mission approach and landing tasks
required to bring Columbia safely back to Earth after this long
mission.
  Altman also plans to replenish the air supply for the crickets
living in the Botany Experiment Incubator (BOTEX) unit onboard. This
experiment with crickets in various stages of development will provide
information about the relative importance of the environment and other
external stimuli such as gravity on nervous system
development. Linnehan, Searfoss and Hire also will carry out routine
husbandry tasks for the rodents on board.
  The preliminary weather forecast at the Kennedy Space Center on
Sunday looks favorable for a landing at 11:09 a.m. CDT.
  Columbia remains in a 151 x 131 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
 On Friday, May 1, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #30
reports:
  Experiments on board Columbia are drawing to a close as the
astronauts prepare for a Sunday homecoming to the Kennedy Space
Center.
  Investigations measuring how the crew's eye-hand coordination,
motor coordination skills and pulmonary function were faring after 15
days in space are complete, with researchers on the ground reporting
they are very pleased with the amount and quality of data
collected. The astronauts now will begin stowing away much of the
experiment hardware in anticipation of their return to Earth.
  Today, engineers continued to review data and develop a plan for
managing waste water removal on Columbia after the line used to vent
excess water overboard became blocked. Late in the day, Mission
Control advised Commander Rick Searfoss that he will need to route a
line from the waste tank to a Contingency Waste Container (CWC)
tomorrow to offload about 95 pounds of waste water throughout the
course of the day. This will ensure that the tank's capacity will be
adequate to support as much as two additional days in orbit in the
event Columbia cannot land as planned due to weather conditions.
  The final of three behavioral sessions to determine the dexterity of
young rats who have developed their motor skills in space also was
completed today.  The investigation studies the response of the
animals as they are tilted and turned while walking and climbing on
the surfaces.
  Hire, Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman practiced with
the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT). Consisting
of a laptop computer and a joystick system, PILOT helps to maintain a
high level of proficiency for the end-of-mission approach and landing
tasks required to bring Columbia safely back to Earth.
  Preliminary weather forecasts at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday
look favorable for a landing at 11:09 a.m. CDT.
  Columbia remains in a 151 x 131 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
  The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Saturday
or as events warrant.
  STS-90 Flight Day 16 Highlights:
 On Saturday, May 2, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #31
reports:
  With nearly all of their science studies complete, Columbia's
astronauts were awakened at 3:29 a.m. CDT today to begin a busy day
preparing for their return to the Kennedy Space Center late Sunday
morning.
  Commander Rick Searfoss is scheduled to route a line from
Columbia's waste tank to a Contingency Waste Container (CWC) to
offload about 80 pounds of waste water throughout the course of the
day. This will ensure that the tank's capacity will be adequate to
support as much as two additional days in orbit in the event Columbia
cannot land as planned due to weather conditions.
  Columbia's science crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and
Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jim Pawelczyk and Jay Buckey --
will wrap up science activities this morning when they complete some
vestibular experiments.  Crew members also will begin cabin stowage
activities.
  Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist
Kay Hire will conduct a hot-fire test of the shuttle's reaction
control system to ensure Columbia's readiness for tomorrow's entry
and landing.  About an hour later, they will activate one auxiliary
power unit and check out the flight control system to make sure
Columbia has full use of its flight control surfaces in anticipation
of Sunday's landing.  They also will conduct landing simulations with
the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT).  The
astronauts will conduct a deorbit briefing among themselves early in
the afternoon.
  Payload commander Rick Linnehan will replenish water supplies and
carry out other routine husbandry tasks for the rodents on board and
the science crew will put away experiment hardware and partially
deactivate the Spacelab module.  Columbia's KU-band communications
antenna also will be stowed just before 11 a.m. today.
  Meteorologists are forecasting favorable conditions at the Kennedy
Space Center on Sunday for a landing at 11:09 a.m. CDT.
  Columbia remains in a 150 x 131 nautical mile orbit, circling the
Earth every 90 minutes.
 On Saturday, May 2, 1998, 5:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #32
reports:
  With all science activities complete on board, Columbia's seven
astronauts readied their ship for a Sunday landing at Kennedy Space
Center.
  The science crew ^V Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave
Williams, and Payload Specialists Jim Pawelczyk and Jay Buckey --
wrapped up science activities this morning with final studies focusing
on how the vestibular system adapts in a changing environment.
  To prepare for tomorrow's return to Earth, the flight crew
Commander Rick Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Kay
Hire conducted a successful test of the shuttle's reaction control
system jets and flight control surfaces. For the check out of the
flight control surfaces, the astronauts started Auxiliary Power Unit
#3, one of three hydraulic units on board, to provide hydraulic power
to the surfaces and to verify that its cooling system was working
properly after an apparent freeze-up during Columbia's launch two
weeks ago. The FCS checkout was completed successfully, but APU 3^Rs
cooling system did not function as expected.
  The failure of the cooling system for APU 3 will not affect
Columbia's landing tomorrow and a minor modification to managing the
auxiliary power units will be implemented by entry Flight Director
John Shannon. Following standard deorbit procedures, one APU will be
started five minutes prior to the scheduled deorbit burn. At a point
13 minutes before Columbia encounters the first traces of the
atmosphere, when the remaining two APU's are normally brought on
line, only one additional APU will be started. APU 3 will be powered
on about six minutes prior to landing when Columbia's speed is about
Mach 2.5. The auxiliary power units are capable of operating for 10
to12 minutes before their cooling systems would be required.
  Commander Rick Searfoss successfully dumped about 70 pounds of waste
water into a Contingency Waste Container (CWC) this morning, This will
ensure sufficient stowage capacity in the waste tank to support as
much as two additional days in orbit in the event Columbia does not
land on Sunday.
  Payload commander Rick Linnehan replenished water supplies and
performed some routine husbandry tasks for the rodents on board and
completed a partial deactivation of the Spacelab module. Final
deactivation of Spacelab systems is set for tomorrow
morning. Columbia's Ku-band communications antenna also was stowed
about 11:30 a.m. today.
  Columbia has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center
on Sunday. The first would see a deorbit firing of the orbital
maneuvering system engines at 10:11 a.m. CDT, with landing at 11:09
a.m. In the event flight controllers elect to bypass the first
opportunity, there is a second opportunity that would see a deorbit
burn at 11:44 a.m. with a landing to follow at 12:43
p.m. CDT. Preliminary weather forecasts for Sunday show clear skies in
the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center, with the only potential
issue the possibility of high cross winds. The current forecast
indicates the winds should stay within acceptable limits.
  By Monday, a weather front is expected to approach KSC, bringing
with it the possibility of low cloud ceilings and rain
showers. Weather at the alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force
Base in California is expected to be good through Tuesday.
  The next STS-90 status report will be issued following Columbia^Rs
landing at the Kennedy Space Center, or after a wave-off of Sunday
landing opportunities.
  STS-90 Flight Day 17 Highlights:
 On Sunday, May 3, 1998, 12:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report #33
reports:
  Columbia's astronauts swooped to an on-time landing at the Kennedy
Space Center today, wrapping up a 16-day, 6.3 million mile mission to
study the effect of microgravity on the human nervous system.
  Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman guided Columbia to
its touchdown on Runway 33 at the Florida spaceport at 11:09
a.m. Central time, bringing to an end the second Shuttle mission of
the year, the 90th in Shuttle program history and the final scheduled
flight of the Spacelab science module in which Columbia^Rs astronauts
conducted their research. Spacelab served as a science platform for
Shuttle-based research over the past 15 years.
  It was the 14th consecutive landing for shuttles at the Kennedy
Space Center and the 21st in the last 22 missions. Columbia^Rs return
to Earth from its 25th flight was performed in textbook fashion. One
of three hydraulic power units which failed to receive the proper
cooling during a checkout yesterday, was activated about six and a
half minutes before landing and performed normally in support of
Columbia's two other hydraulic units.
  Less than an hour later, Columbia's astronauts left the orbiter and
were driven back to their crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Center
for post-landing medical tests as part of the ongoing neuroscience
research associated with the mission. The crew will spend the night at
the Kennedy Space Center before flying back to Ellington Field in
Houston Monday.
  The astronauts are scheduled to arrive in Houston around midday
Monday. Interested parties should contact the JSC newsroom Monday
morning at 281-483-5111 for updated information regarding crew
arrival.
<end of mission>
Mission Name: STS-91 (91)
  Discovery (24)
  Pad 39-A (66)
  91st Shuttle Mission
  24th Flight OV-103
  1st flight SLWT
 NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage
Crew:
   Charles J. Precourt (4), Commander
   Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie (1), Pilot
   Wendy B. Lawrence (3), Mission Specialist
   Franklin R. Chang-Diaz (6), Mission Specialist
   Janet L. Kavandi (1), Mission Specialist
   Valery Victorovitch Ryumin (4), Mission Specialist
 Download:
   Andrew S. W. Thomas (Mir-25/STS-89) will return
Milestones:
     OPF -- 08/19/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 08/19/1997)
     VAB -- 10/01/97 (Storage)
    OPF2 -- 10/30/97 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/30/1997)
     VAB -- 04/27/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/28/1998)
     PAD -- 05/02/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/04/1998)
     FRR -- 05/19/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/18/1998)
Payload:
  Mir-Docking/9, AMS, SpaceHab-SM, GAS(G-722, G-743)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status May 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Jun 1998)
Mission Objectives:
  STS-91 will mark the final Shuttle/Mir Docking Mission. This Phase 1
Program is a precursor to the International Space Station maintaining
a continuous American presence in space and developing the procedures
and hardware required for an international partnership in space.
  STS-91 will also carry into space the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
Investigation (AMS).  The objectives of this investigation are to
search for anti-matter and dark matter in space and to study
astrophysics.
  The mission will also be the first use of the super lightweight
external tank (SLWT) which is the same size (154ft long and 27ft in
diameter) as the external tank used on previous launches but 7,500 lbs
lighter.  The tank is made of an aluminum lithium alloy and the tank's
structural design also has been improved making it 30% stronger and 5%
less dense.  The walls of the redesigned hydrogen tank are machined in
an orthogonal waffle-like pattern, providing more strength and
stability than the previous design.  These improvements will provide
additional payload capacity to the International Space Station.
(Reference NASA Press Release 98-6)
Launch:
  Launch June 2, 1998 6:06:24 p.m. EDT at the opening of the 10
minute launch window.
  On Tuesday, June 2, 1998 launch preparations continued on schedule.
Go for tanking was given at 9:30am after receiving a briefing about
the readiness of the Mir Space station.  By noon, at the T-minus 3 hour mark,
LH2 cryogenic propellant loading was complete and in stable
replenish mode.  Loading of the Liquid Oxygen tank was about 80%
complete.  At 12:30am EDT, tanking operations were complete and
the external tank was in stable replenish mode.  The crew departed
the Operations and Checkout Building at 2:19pm EDT, traveled to
Launch Pad 39A and were installed into the orbiter by 3:30pm EDT.
At 4:02pm EDT the Discovery's hatch was closed for flight.  At
5:47pm EDT and T-minus 25 minutes and counting the white room close
out was complete and the closeout team left Launch Pad 39A. At
T-minus 14 minutes and holding, the mission management team decided
to move the T-0 time to the opening of the launch window at 6;06pm EDT.
At 5:15pm EDT, the countdown entered a planned 40 minute hold at the
T-minus 9 minute and holding mark.  At 17:57 EDT the coundown
came out of the T-minus 9 minute hold with the only concern being
tracked was a slightly low pressure on the Orbiter Access Arm (OAA).
The OAA retracted successfully at 17:59 EDT.  Liftoff occured
at 6:06pm EDT.  SRB Sep 2.5min into flight, downrange 56 miles.
    On Monday, June 1, 1998, launch preparations continued on schedule
and final preflight preparations of Shuttle main engines concluded.
On Tuesday, at about 12:30 a.m. the Rotating Service Structure will be
retracted into the launch position. Loading of the external tank with
its flight load of cryogenic propellants begins at about 9:14
a.m. 6/2/98 and continues for about 3 hours.  Managers continue to
monitor the situation with Mir's motion control computer. At this
time, systems aboard Mir have stabilized sufficiently for managers to
proceed with countdown operations. A final check of Mir's systems will
occur prior to tanking activities tomorrow morning.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/1/1998)
  On Sunday, May 31, 1998, The countdown for launch of mission STS-91
began as scheduled at 9 p.m.  5/30/98 at the T-43 hour mark. All
pre-launch activities at Kennedy Space Center continue without problem
toward a target lift-off time of 6:10 p.m.  on Tuesday, June 2, from
Launch Pad 39A.  Today at KSC, engineers are preparing the Shuttle
Discovery for the loading of cryogenic reactants into the onboard
power reactant and storage distribution tanks. Loading is set to begin
at about 5 p.m. Prior to this operation, a standard orbiter and solid
rocket booster pyrotechnic initiator controller test will be
performed. Cryogenic loading operations are expected to conclude by
midnight tonight.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/31/1998)
  On Saturday, May 30, 1998 The countdown for launch of mission STS-91
remains on schedule to begin tonight at 9 p.m. at the T-43 hour mark.
All prelaunch activities continue on schedule. The contingency space
suits have been installed into the orbiter's airlock and check-out of
those suits completed. Flight crew equipment stowage in the orbiter's
mid-deck continued and aft main engine compartment close-outs were
completed and final main propulsion system checks under way. The crew
for mission STS-91 arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at about
12:50 p.m. EDT.  They will spend the days prior to launch at KSC
reviewing their flight plans, undergoing final medical examinations
and flying in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/30/1998)
  On Thursday, May 28, 1998, preparations to begin the launch
countdown for mission STS-91 at 9:00pm on Saturday are proceeding on
schedule. Installation and checkout of the ordnance on the solid
rocket boosters are complete. Refilling of Discovery's orbiter
maneuvering system oxidizer tank concluded yesterday and
pressurization of the hypergolic system began this morning. Aft main
engine compartment close-outs have resumed today and will conclude
Saturday with aft door installation. The STS-91 flight crew arrives at
KSC Saturday at 12:30 p.m.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/28/1998)
  On Thursday, May 14, 1998, close-outs of Discovery's aft compartment
continued in preparation for Monday's tanking test of the first super
lightweight external tank.  Shuttle integrated voltage tests began.
On Wednesday, technicians opened the orbiter's payload bay doors
and completed SPACEHAB tunnel leak checks. SPACEHAB interface
verification testing (IVT) is under way and the AMS IVT is set for
Friday. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/14/1998)
  On Monday, May 11, 1998, replacement of Discovery's master event
controller No. 1 and the change-out of multiplexer demultiplexer No. 4
are complete. Over the weekend, technicians completed work on the
mobile launch platform's gaseous nitrogen system. The payload bay
doors are closed and crew module/SPACEHAB pressure leak checks are
complete.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/11/1998)
  On Saturday, May 2, 1998 Space Shuttle Discovery rolled out of the
Vehicle Assembly Building at 3:26 a.m. and arrived at Pad 39A at about
9:30 a.m. Once at the pad, hotfire testing of Discovery's three
auxiliary power units was completed and launch pad validations
began. On Sunday, the payload was installed into the payload changeout
room. The Rotating Service Structure has been extended to the vehicle
and the orbiter's payload bay doors are slated to be opened later
today. Pad validations continued. The STS-91 flight crew arrived
 at KSC monday evening for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
set for Wednesday and Thursday.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 05/04/1998)
  On Monday, April 27, 1998, Discovery was transferred from Orbiter
Processing Facility bay 2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The
orbiter arrived in the VAB just after 5 p.m.  Efforts to mate
Discovery to the new super lightweight external tank in high bay 1
will conclude 4/28/98. The entire Shuttle stack is scheduled for
transport to Pad 39A later this week.  NASA managers decided on
Tuesday to move the STS-91 target launch date to June 2. The
additional time will accommodate orbiter processing requirements and
launch preparations at Pad 39A.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/28/1998)
  The new super lightweight external tank, to be used on STS-91,
arrived at KSC s turn basin at about 11 a.m. on Friday 2/6/98. Workers
transported the 154-foot-long improved tank to the Vehicle Assembly
Building (VAB) this afternoon, where it will undergo processing for
flight. The new tank weighs about 7,500 pounds less than the original
ET. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 2/06/1998)
Orbit:
  Altitude:
  Inclination: 51.60
  Orbits:
  Duration: 9 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes,  seconds. (Estimated)
  Distance:  miles
Hardware:
  SRB: BIO-91
  SRM: RSRM-66
  ET : SN-96
  MLP :
  SSME-1: SN-2047**A (HPOTP 8025, HPFTP 2232)
  SSME-2: SN-2040*   (HPOTP 8017, HPFTP 6113)
  SSME-3: SN-2042*   (HPOTP 8019, HPFTP 6011)
Landing:
  KSC June 12, 1998 2:00:17 p.m. EDT. Unofficial main gear touchdown
at MET 9 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes, 57 seconds (2:00 pm EDT). Nose gear
touchdown was 5 seconds later at MET 9 days, 19 hours, 54 minutes, and 2
seconds. Wheel stop occurred at MET 9 days, 19 hours, 55 minutes, and 1
second (2:01 pm EDT).
  Deorbit burn occurred approximately at 12:51 p.m. EDT. A go for
deorbit burn was given at 12:31 p.m.
Mission Highlights:
  STS-91 Flight Day 1 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, June 2, 1998, 6:30 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #1
reports:
  The United States began its last flight to the Russian Mir Space
Station today with a flawless, on-time liftoff of the Space Shuttle
Discovery and a six-member crew at 5:06 p.m. CDT.
  During the next two days, Commander Charlie Precourt will watch over
periodic engine firings that will guide Discovery toward the Mir,
which was passing over Ireland, almost 5,000 miles ahead of the
shuttle, at liftoff. With Precourt aboard Discovery are Pilot Dominic
Gorie and Mission Specialists Frankliin Chiang-Diaz, Wendy Lawrence,
Janet Kavandi and Valery Ryumin, a veteran Russian Space Agency
cosmonaut.
  Awaiting a ride home from the Mir is astronaut Andy Thomas, who has
been aloft since Jan. 22.  Thomas is the last of seven astronauts who
have stayed aboard the Mir during the past three and a half years,
completing a combined total of almost 1,000 days on the Russian
station.
  Discovery is planned to dock with Mir around noon CDT
Thursday. Tonight, the crew will begin powering up the Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer, a scientific instrument that will probe questions about
the creation of the universe from the shuttle's cargo bay. The
instrument is intended to look for antimatter supposedly left over
after the creation of the universe according to the "Big Bang"
theory. It also will look for signs of "dark matter" that has been
theorized to constitute most of the universe.
  The official liftoff time for Discovery was 5:06:24 p.m. CDT. The
crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 10:06 p.m. CDT today and
awaken for the first full day in orbit of the mission at 6:06 a.m. CDT
Wednesday. The next Mission Control Center status report will be
issued at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
  STS-91 Flight Day 2 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, June 3, 1998, 6:30 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #2
reports:
  Discovery's crew has begun its first full day in orbit, a day
devoted to preparations for Thursday's final docking between a
U.S. Space Shuttle and the Russian Mir space station.
  The crew was awakened this morning to "Shake, Rattle and Roll,"
performed by Huey Lewis and the News, in honor of Tuesday's flawless
liftoff.  At the day's start, the crew -- Commander Charlie Precourt,
Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Wendy
Lawrence, Janet Kavandi and Valery Ryumin -- were about 2,600 miles
behind Mir, closing the distance between the two spacecraft by about
260 miles with each hour and a half-long orbit of Earth.
  Later today, Precourt and Gorie will conduct additional planned
engine firings to refine Discovery's approach, and the crew will
install a centerline camera in Discovery's docking system to provide
Precourt with views of Mir docking targets during the rendezvous.  The
crew will then conduct a check of all the equipment they will use
during tomorrow's activities.  Discovery is planned to dock with Mir
at 11:58 a.m. CDT on Thursday.
  Flight controllers noted a problem yesterday with transmissions from
Discovery's KU-band communications system, a system that uses a
dish-shaped antenna aboard the Shuttle to provide high-rate
communications, including television, to the ground.  Although flight
controllers are continuing to troubleshoot the problem, at present the
system is unable to send television from the Shuttle or data from the
cargo bay experiments to the ground.  Other operational modes of the
KU-band system are working properly.  The system is able to receive
uplink transmissions from the ground and to operate as a rendezvous
radar system.  Flight controllers believe a circuit, required to turn
the communications downlink system on, may not be working properly.
  Late Tuesday, the crew powered up the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer,
an astronomy instrument in Discovery's cargo bay that is planned to
look for "dark matter" that is theorized to comprise much of the
matter in the universe.  The communications problem will not affect
the instrument's investigations since the data it gathers can be
recorded onboard the Shuttle for study after a return to Earth.
  Flight controllers also are monitoring a water leak in a check valve
associated with one of Discovery's three fuel cells.  The fuel cells
combine hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity for the Shuttle,
and, as a byproduct, create water. The water produced by the fuel
cell's operation is normally routed to storage tanks, but the valve
problem is allowing some water to leak overboard.  The valve problem
was known to controllers prior to Discovery's launch and is not a
problem for Thursday's docking with Mir.  Discovery is in a 207 by 200
mile orbit.
 On Wednesday, June 3, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #3
reports:
  Discovery's astronauts spent much of today preparing for Thursday's
docking with the Mir space station and their face-to-face meeting with
astronaut Andy Thomas, who has been aboard the orbiting Russian
facility since late January.
  Discovery is scheduled to dock with the Mir at 11:58 a.m.. central
time tomorrow, marking the ninth meeting between the Shuttle and Mir,
and the first by Discovery.  The first seven docking missions were
conducted by Atlantis between June 1995 and September 1997 and the
eighth by Endeavour earlier this year.
  In preparation for tomorrow's rendezvous and docking, the astronauts
began assembling the checklists, cameras and other tools they will use
throughout the docking and installed the centerline camera in the
Orbiter Docking System.  The centerline camera will provide views of
docking targets and the docking module during the final phase of the
rendezvous activities.
  Shortly before 8:35 a.m. Thursday, from a position about eight miles
behind Mir, Commander Charlie Precourt and Pilot Dom Gorie will fire
Discovery's engines in a terminal initiation burn to put Discovery in
position to intercept the orbiting station.  The current schedule
shows Discovery arriving 600 feet below the Mir Space Station just
after 10 a.m.  central time.  Over the course of the next two hours,
Precourt and Gorie will slowly maneuver Discovery into position to
dock with Mir just before noon central time with hatch opening between
the two spacecraft taking place at 1:41 p.m.
  Late this afternoon, the crew was given permission to perform an
in-flight maintenance procedure designed to resolve at least part of
the Ku-band communication problem that is preventing video and high
data rate downlink capability.  The crew set up a bypass system which
allowed science data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to be
downlinked via S-Band/FM communications when the Shuttle is within
range of a ground station.  Confirmation that the IFM procedure was
successful came shortly before 5:30 p.m. when high rate science data
was received at a ground station test facility located near the
Johnson Space Center.
  Flight controllers are continuing to evaluate data and consider
options for other work the crew may be asked to perform to try to
regain use of the Ku-Band/Comm mode operation.  Mission managers plan
to hold off giving approval for any additional Ku-Band troubleshooting
until after Discovery docks with the Mir station.
  Discovery's crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 8:06
p.m. this evening and receive a wake-up call from Mission Control at
4:06 a.m.  central time tomorrow to begin in earnest their rendezvous
activities.
  Discovery is currently in a 203 by 183 nm orbit, circling the Earth
once every 91 minutes.
  STS-91 Flight Day 3 Highlights:
 On Thursday, June 4, 1998, 5:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #4
reports:
  The six astronauts on board Discovery are preparing for today's
docking with the Mir Space Station and a reunion with U.S. Astronaut
Andy Thomas, who is about to conclude his more-than-four-month mission
to the Russian outpost.  If Discovery returns to Earth as scheduled on
June 12, Thomas will have spent 141 days in space, 130 of them as a
Mir crew member.
  The STS-91 crew - Commander Charlie Precourt, Pilot Dom Gorie, and
Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Wendy Lawrence, Janet Kavandi
and Valery Ryumin, were awakened at 4:06 a.m. Central time, to the
sound of "Come And Go With Me" by the Del Vikings, in honor of their
retrieval of Thomas later today. The astronauts will be powering up
and installing many of the rendezvous tools they will use later today
during the final phase of their approach to Mir.  Ryumin and Mir
Commander Talgat Musabayev will use VHF radio systems to communicate
with each other during the rendezvous activities.
  This morning, Precourt and Gorie will conduct another in a series of
engine firings designed to refine Discovery's approach to Mir.  Around
8:34 a.m. central time, they will perform a maneuver to place
Discovery on an intercepting course to Mir.  When the shuttle is 170
feet from the Mir, Discovery will stop for a 60-minute stationkeeping
period, resuming its final approach to Mir at 11:26 a.m. CDT.
  With his crew mates providing range rate and closure data obtained
from a variety of tools on board, Precourt will manually fly Discovery
up toward Mir with contact and capture between the two vehicles
expected about 11:58 a.m., the final linkup between an American
shuttle and the Russian space complex.  About an hour and a half
later, at 1:41 p.m.  Central time, the hatches between the two
vehicles should swing open, allowing Precourt and Musabayev to greet
each other.  Thomas will officially end his tenure as a Mir crewmember
at that point, beginning four days of docked operations between the
two crews.
 On Thursday, June 4, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #5
reports:
  For the ninth and final time, an American space shuttle successfully
docked to the Russian Space Station Mir today, beginning four days of
docked operations between astronauts and cosmonauts to close out the
Phase One Shuttle-Mir program.
  Commander Charlie Precourt guided Discovery to a textbook docking
with Mir at 11:58 a.m. Central time, as the two spacecraft sailed over
the Russian-Kazak border northwest of the Caspian Sea. Within minutes,
the two ships were firmly mated together.
  A little more than an hour and a half later, at 1:34 p.m. Central
time, the hatches between Discovery and Mir swung open and Precourt
exchanged handshakes and embraces with Mir 25 Commander Talgat
Musabayev. Waiting nearby was U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas, who
officially became a member of Discovery's crew at the moment of hatch
opening. Thomas completed 130 days as an occupant of Mir, wrapping up
a total of 907 days spent by seven U.S. astronauts aboard the Russian
complex as long duration crew members
  Following a welcoming ceremony and gift exchange ceremony, the two
crews conducted joint safety briefings and began transfer operations
between the two vehicles before the nine members of the Discovery-Mir
complex enjoyed a meal together.
  Discovery's crew will begin an eight hour sleep period at 7:06
p.m. and be awakened at 3:06 a.m. on Friday to begin the first full
day of joint docked operations.
  The Discovery-Mir complex is in a 208 x 196 n.m. orbit circling the
Earth every 91 minutes.
  STS-91 Flight Day 4 Highlights:
 On Friday, June 5, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #6
reports:
  Following his first night as a member of Discovery's crew, Andy
Thomas and the rest of the STS-91 astronauts were awakened this
morning at 3:06 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "South Australia,"
honoring Thomas who is a native of Adelaide in South Australia.
  The nine astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Discovery-Mir are spending
their first full day of joint operations continuing the transfer of
about four tons of logistical supplies and equipment.
  Much of the day will be spent transferring water, scientific gear
and other hardware between the two spacecraft.  The crew members
transferred five bags of water to the Mir by the end of the day
yesterday, with an additional seven or eight bags expected to be
transferred by the time Discovery undocks from the Mir on Monday.
  Also on tap today is the deactivation, disassembly and transfer of
the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) from Mir to
Discovery.  SAMS records fluctuations in the microgravity environment
so researchers can learn where regions of high acceleration forces
exist and avoid those areas for experiment placement.
  Discovery's astronauts also will monitor mid-deck science activities
and payload operations, and also will move metabolic samples from the
Mir to the Shuttle for return to Earth.
  Later today, the astronauts and cosmonauts will take time from their
activities to discuss their joint mission in interviews with CNN and
the Voice of America. That interviews will begin at 3:20 p.m. Central
time and will be seen on NASA Television through Russian TV systems
since Discovery's KU-band communication antenna is still experiencing
problems down-linking Shuttle TV.
  The Discovery-Mir space complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude
of about 208 nautical miles with both spacecrafts' systems operating
in excellent shape.
 On Friday, June 5, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #7
reports:
  The nine astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the Discovery-Mir complex
are well into their transfer operations as they wind up their first
full day of joint docked operations.  During the four days the two
spacecraft are joined together, about four tons of logistical supplies
and equipment will be moved between the two vehicles.
  Earlier today, an in-flight maintenance procedure was performed to
try and resolve the problem being experienced with Discovery's Ku-band
communication system.  Shuttle Commander Charlie Precourt and his crew
performed a test to verify the Ku system's signal processor was
receiving electrical current to allow it to send a transmit enable
signal.  Flight controllers were hoping to find no current flowing
through the system which would have allowed the crew to set up a
bypass to restore high data rate transmission and video capability.
However, Precourt reported that the voltage meter was showing good
current flow to the signal processor system, which means that in all
likelihood, the problem causing the Ku problem is located in a
component system that is not accessible to the crew.
  With the portion of the Ku-band communication system that supports
science activities for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) payload
likely unavailable for the remainder of the flight, remote tracking
station ground sites around the world are being called up to support
AMS science operations.  Data that can not be received through ground
stations is being recorded onboard and will be retrieved after the
flight.
  Late today, Precourt along with the rest of his crew, Pilot Dom
Gorie and the four STS-91 mission specialists - Franklin Chang-Diaz,
Wendy Lawrence, Janet Kavandi and Valery Ryumin along with the two
cosmonauts, Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer
Nikolai Budarin -- took some time from their activities to discuss
their joint mission in interviews with CNN and the Voice of America.
Due to a problem between a Russian ground station and the mission
control center outside of Moscow, the Altair satellite television feed
was not available so both interviews were done audio-only.
  Shortly after he begins his official sleep period this evening,
Ryumin will reach a significant milestone when he achieves 365 days of
space flight time.  Ryumin, a veteran cosmonaut, will mark one year of
space flight time at 7:32 p.m. CDT (3/02:26 MET) this evening.
  The STS-91 crew's sleep period will begin at 7:06 p.m. and the wake
up call from Mission Control will come at 3:06 a.m. on Saturday
morning.
  The Discovery-Mir space complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude
of about 208 nautical miles with both spacecrafts' systems operating
in excellent shape.
  STS-91 Flight Day 5 Highlights:
 On Saturday, June 6, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #8
reports:
  To the sounds of "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks, Discovery's
astronauts were awakened at 3:06 a.m. Central time to begin another
day of transfer activities as they move into their second full day of
docked operations.
  Working side-by-side, the astronauts and cosmonauts will continue to
move experiment hardware, logistical supplies and water between the
two vehicles.  Yesterday, they transferred additional bags of water
from Discovery to Mir, bringing the total amount of water transferred
so far to 683 pounds.  Just over half of the 317 items scheduled to be
transferred have now been moved between the two craft.
  Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Janet Kavandi will spend some
time today checking out the shuttle's 50-foot long robot arm.  This
checkout will evaluate new electronics and software for use on
upcoming assembly missions for the new International Space
Station. Today's checkout also will test the arm's dexterity in
maneuvering around components of an orbiting space station.
  Mission Specialist Andy Thomas, now less than a week away from
ending his four-month trip into space, will collect air and surface
samples from the shuttle and the Mir as part of a study of the
environment of the Russian complex.
  Early this afternoon, the astronauts and cosmonauts will conduct a
test to introduce a gas into the depressurized Spektr module on the
Mir in an effort to detect where the breach in the module's hull is
located as a result of last year's collision of a Progress resupply
vehicle with the Russian station.  Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev
and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin will release a tracer gas
comprised of acetone and biacetyl into Spektr through a special device
called an air pressurization unit which is attached to the Spektr's
modified hatch.  This will test the gas release system and enable crew
members to document any areas of special interest before another leak
detection test takes place on Monday during Discovery's flyaround of
the Mir following undocking.
  The Discovery-Mir complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of
207 nautical miles in support of the final Shuttle mission to the
Russian outpost.
  The next STS-91 status report will be issued around 6 p.m. Central
time today.
 On Saturday, June 6, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #9
reports:
  Almost two and a half days into their planned four days of joint
docked operations, the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the
Discovery-Mir complex are well into their transfer operations as they
continue to move experiment hardware, logistical supplies and water
between the two vehicles.  With most of the Mir resupply items having
been moved yesterday, the focus of today's work was on the U.S. and
Russian return items.
  Earlier today, Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Janet Kavandi
successfully conducted a checkout of the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot
arm to evaluate new electronics and software for use on upcoming
assembly missions for the new International Space Station.  Today's
operations also tested the arm's dexterity to support future
requirements in maneuvering around components of an orbiting space
station.
  Mission Specialist Andy Thomas, now less than a week away from
ending his four-month trip into space, spent part of his day
collecting air and surface samples from the shuttle and the Mir as
part of a study of the environment of the Russian complex.
  Early this afternoon, Lawrence, Kavandi and Thomas joined their
colleagues -- STS-91Commander Charlie Precourt, Pilot Dom Gorie and
Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz and Valery Ryumin and Mir 25
Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin -- in
monitoring a leak test of Mir's depressurized Spektr module. During
the test, a tracer gas comprised of acetone and biacetyl was released
into the module in an effort to locate precisely a hull breach from
last year's collision of a Progress resupply vehicle with the Russian
station.  Musabayev and the shuttle crew watched through windows at
various viewing points on the shuttle and Mir as Budarin released
about 14 pounds of the gas through a valve on the modified hatch
leading into the Spektr module. The test was set up in the hope that
as gas escaped out of the damaged module, the crew would see the
colored substance and be able to identify the exact location of the
leak source.
  Following the gas release, the crew aboard the Discovery-Mir complex
reported they were unable to see any gas escape out of the Spektr
module.  Flight controllers were not surprised with the result since
both sun and viewing angles to view the suspect damage area were not
optimal.  The primary purpose of today's exercise was to verify the
procedures that will be used on Monday when the gas release test is
performed again during Discovery's flyaround of Mir following
undocking.
  The Discovery-Mir complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of
207 nautical miles circling the Earth once every 92 minutes.
  STS-91 Flight Day 6 Highlights:
 On Sunday, June 6, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #10
reports:
  The astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the Discovery-Mir complex were
awakened at 3:06 a.m. Central time today to the sounds of "Travelin'
Band" by Credence Clearwater Revival to begin their final full day of
docked operations. Today's activities include the final transfer of
water and logistical supplies, preparations for tomorrow's undocking
of the two spacecraft, and a photo and video survey of the interior of
the Russian space station.
  So far, the crew has transferred nine bags of water weighing nearly
900 pounds to Mir; another three or four bags are yet to be
transferred.  Nearly all of the Russian resupply items - about 2200
pounds --have been transferred from Discovery to Mir, with some
U.S. items to be returned to Earth from the Mir yet to be moved to the
shuttle.
  Among the science items to be transferred to Discovery today is the
COCULT experiment, which is a testbed for the growth, maintenance and
study of long-term on-orbit cell growth for tissue engineering.  In
this experiment, a human endothelial cell line and a human breast
cancer cell line were cultivated.  The procedures used in engineering
this specific type of tissue model may be of great benefit in the
development of engineered tissue models of normal tissues in future
experiments.
  At 11:30 a.m. Central time, all nine astronauts and cosmonauts will
gather for a joint news conference and farewell ceremony.  This event,
which is expected to last about 40 minutes, will include brief
statements from Commander Charlie Precourt and Mir 25 Commander Talgat
Musabayev, followed by questions from U.S. and Russian reporters.  An
informal farewell between crewmembers will wrap up this morning's
events.  The crew members final farewell, hatch closing and undocking
will take place Monday morning with the physical seperation of the two
vehicles for the last time planned at about 11 a.m. Central time.
  Later today, Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Wendy Lawrence
and Janet Kavandi will conduct a brief evaluation of the
maneuverability of moving a bundled spacesuit through the Orbiter
Docking System passageway. Information from the evaluation may assist
in preparations for assembly of the International Space Station.
  Discovery's crew also has been asked to cycle the circuit breaker on
one of the cameras in the rear of the shuttle's payload bay in an
attempt to restore the camera's function for use in recording Monday's
Spektr leak detection test, planned during the shuttle's flyaround of
the station.  Plans for the choreography of the final leak detection
test will be discussed in a tagup by the nine crew members this
afternoon.
  On the eve of the last undocking by a shuttle from the Mir, the
Shuttle-Station complex is orbiting at an altitude of 207 nautical
miles circling the Earth once every 92 minutes.
 On Sunday, June 6, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #11
reports:
  The STS-91 astronauts and Mir 25 cosmonauts are concluding their
final full day of joint docked operations today as the two crews work
to wrap up transfer activities between the two vehicles.
Approximately 1200 pounds of water and almost 4,700 pounds of resupply
material or return items will have been moved between the two vehicles
before the hatches between the two spacecraft are closed for the final
time.
  Among the science items transferred to Discovery earlier today was
the COCULT experiment, which is a testbed for the growth, maintenance
and study of long-term on-orbit cell growth for tissue engineering.
In this experiment, a human endothelial cell line and a human breast
cancer cell line were cultivated.  The procedures used in
engineering this specific type of tissue model may be of great
benefit in the development of engineered tissue models of normal
tissues in future experiments.
  In addition to their transfer work, Discovery's crew also performed
a photo survey of the Mir station and conducted a fit check to insure
that the stowed configuration of the EMU space suits used for EVA
space walks fit through the airlock hatchway leading into the Mir in
preparation for the EMU transfers activity that will be done aboard
the future International Space Station.
  Late this morning, the astronauts and cosmonauts gathered for a
joint news conference during which they answered questions from news
media in both the United States and Russia.  Astronaut Andy Thomas
described his reactions as he nears the end of his four month space
flight and = several of the crew members discussed the activities they
have been involved with over the last three days and their feelings of
being part of the final Shuttle-Mir docking mission.
  Following the press conference, STS-91 Commander Charlie Precourt
and Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and their crews held a farewell
ceremony during which they gave thanks to the flight control teams in
the U.S. and Russia and the other organizations that have supported
the Shuttle Mir Phase One program over the last four years.
  Near the end of their work day, the two crews gathered together to
review both the status of transfer activities as well as the plans for
tomorrow morning's undocking.
  The STS-91 astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight hour sleep
period at 7:06 p.m. CDT this evening.
  When Discovery's crew is awakened early Monday morning, the STS-91
crew will immediately move into undocking preparations.  A final
farewell between the two mission commanders and closing of the hatches
between Discovery and Mir is scheduled to take place at 7:41 a.m. CDT.
A little less than 3 =BD hours later, the Shuttle will undock from the
Russian facility while the two spacecraft are flying over the western
portion of Russia at a location of 51.27 North, 33.31 East, southwest
of Moscow.
  When Discovery undocks from Mir, the initial separation will be
performed by springs that will gently push the shuttle away from the
docking module. Both the Mir and Discovery will be in a configuration
called "free drift" during the undocking, which keeps the steering
jets of each spacecraft shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings.
  Once the docking mechanism's springs have pushed Discovery away to a
distance of about two feet from Mir, and the two spacecraft are clear
of one another, Discovery' steering jets will be turned back on to
increase the separation distance between the two vehicles.
  The shuttle will continue to back away through a corridor similar to
that used during approach until it reaches a distance of approximately
2403,000 feet below the Mir.  Pilot Dom Gorie will then perform a nose
forward fly-around of the station.
  During the fly-around, about 20 minutes after undocking, Discovery
will reach a point about 240 feet directly in front of the Mir, on
what is known as the velocity vector. About three minutes prior to
sunrise, Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai
Budarin will release a tracer gas comprised of acetone and biacetyl
into the depressurized Spektr module using a special device attached
to the Spektr's modified hatch.
  The release of gas into Spektr should last about 20 minutes,
enabling Discovery's astronauts to document any ionization glow from
the gas through the hole in Spektr's hull prior to sunrise and any
fluorescent glow from the gas after sunrise. If lighting conditions
are right, the gas could appear as a dull green cloud. The test is
designed to = pinpoint the location of the breach in Spektr's hull
resulting from last year's collision of a Progress resupply ship with
the Russian station. Two = days earlier, a similar release of gas into
Spektr will be conducted by the cosmonauts while Discovery is docked
to Mir to test the gas release system and enable the crew members to
document any areas of special interest for the fly-around experiment.
  Finally, almost an hour and a half after undocking, Gorie will fire
Discovery's jets one more time as the shuttle passes directly above
the Mir to separate from the Russian station for the final time.
  STS-91 Flight Day 7 Highlights:
 On Monday, June 8, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #12
reports:
  The STS-91 astronauts and the Mir 25 cosmonauts will part company
today, with the Space Shuttle Discovery scheduled to undock from the
station at 11:01 a.m. Central time, officially ending the three years
of shuttle dockings and astronaut flights aboard the Russian complex.
  Discovery will be bringing home astronaut Andy Thomas, who has been
in space since Jan. 22. If Discovery lands as planned on Friday, the
seven Americans who have stayed aboard Mir will have spent a combined
total of 977 days in space.
  Discovery's crew was awakened at 3:06 a.m. Central today to "Manic
Monday" performed by The Bangles, played to the crew by Mission
Control in honor of an historic Monday for the U.S. and Russian space
programs.  Today's schedule includes possible television from the Mir
of a final crew farewell and hatch closing at 7:51 a.m. Central;
possible television of Discovery's undocking from Mir at 11:01
a.m. Central as the spacecraft fly above Russia, southwest of Moscow
and north of the Ukrainian border; possible television of Discovery's
flyaround of the Mir at 12:05 p.m. Central; and possible television
scenes from the shuttle through U.S. ground communications stations at
3:22 p.m.  Central.
  During the four days Discovery has been docked to the Mir, more than
1,100 pounds of water and almost 4,700 pounds of cargo, experiments
and supplies have been exchanged between the two spacecraft.
  After undocking, the shuttle will back away from the Mir until it
reaches a distance of approximately 240 feet below the station. Pilot
Dom Gorie will then perform a nose forward flyaround of Mir. About 20
minutes after undocking, as Discovery reaches a point about 240 feet
directly in front of the Mir, Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and
Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin will release a tracer gas of acetone
and biacetyl into the depressurized Spektr module. The gas release
into the damaged module will begin about three minutes before sunrise
and should last about 20 minutes, hopefully enabling Discovery's
astronauts to document the dull green, luminescent gas as it passes
through the hole in the Spektr module's hull. The test is hoped to
pinpoint the location of the breach in the Spektr that resulted from
last year's collision of a Progress cargo ship. Finally, almost an
hour and a half after undocking, Gorie will fire Discovery's jets as
the shuttle passes directly above the Mir to separate from the
vicinity of the Russian station.
  After undocking, experiment work will continue aboard Discovery,
including Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) science operations and
checks of the Spacehab Universal Communications System (SHUCS) system.
The AMS instrument is hoped to provide scientists insight into the
existence of dark matter and antimatter in the universe. The SHUCS is
a communications system which may allow future scientists to
communicate directly with astronauts conducting experiments in the
Spacehab module.
  The Discovery-Mir space complex is orbiting the Earth at an altitude
of 239 statute miles with all systems ready to support undocking. The
next STS-91 status report will be issued at about 6 p.m. Central time
Monday.
 On Monday, June 8, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #13
reports:
  Three years after Space Shuttle Atlantis accomplished the first
docking to the Mir space station, the STS-91 crew aboard Discovery
undocked from the orbiting Russian complex this morning to conclude
the ninth and final Shuttle-Mir mission.  Joining the STS-91 crew for
the trip home is NASA astronaut Andrew Thomas, the seventh and final
astronaut to serve as a station crew member, returning home after four
and a half months in space.
  After the hatches between the two vehicles were closed for the final
time at 8:07 a.m., the Shuttle and Mir separated on time at 11:01 a.m.
CDT while flying above Russia, southwest of Moscow and north of the
Ukrainian border.  Following separation, STS-91 Pilot Dom Gorie
maneuvered the shuttle away from the Mir to a distance of
approximately 2403,000 feet below the station.  He then performed a
nose-forward fly-around of Mir allowing the Shuttle to reach a point
about 240 feet directly in front of the Mir at 11:24 a.m.
  With Discovery stationkeeping at that position, Mir 25 Commander
Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin then released a
tracer gas of acetone and biacetyl into the depressurized Spektr
module.  The gas release was done in the hope that the STS-91 crew
would be able to see the fluorescent substance as it passed through
the hole in the Spektr module's hull, pinpointing the location of the
breach in the Spektr that resulted from last year's collision of a
Progress cargo ship. No leak source was seen by Discovery's crew.
  Finally, at 12:27 p.m., Gorie fired Discovery's maneuvering jets as
the shuttle passed directly above the Mir to separate from the
vicinity of the Russian station.  As of 6 p.m. CDT this evening,
Discovery was 28 nautical miles ahead of the Mir with the distance
between the two spacecraft growing at eight n.m. each orbit.
  Discovery's crew spent the remainder of its seventh day in space
stowing items transferred from the Mir in preparation for Friday's
landing at the Kennedy Space Center.  The crew also continued
experiment work, including the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS)
science operations and checks of the Spacehab Universal Communications
System (SHUCS) system.  Scientists hope the AMS will provide insight
into the existence of dark matter and antimatter in the universe. The
SHUCS communications system, designed to send and receive telephone
voice and data communications globally via three ground stations and
the INMARSAT satellite system, continues to experience difficulties.
The SHUCS payload team plans to continue troubleshooting and testing
of the system tomorrow.
  STS-91 Flight Day 8 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, June 9, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #14
reports:
  With astronaut Andy Thomas aboard and on his way home, Discovery and
crew will focus on science investigations today and participate in
several special interviews and phone calls.
  Following yesterday's undocking with the Russian Mir space station,
crew members will each have a couple of hours off duty during the day
as well to provide a brief rest break from the hectic pace of their
flight.
  Observations will continue today with the Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer (AMS) science instrument mounted in Discovery's payload
bay. The 3 1/2 ton instrument is an innovative particle collector
hoped to provide scientists with insight into the existence of dark
matter and antimatter in the universe. Aboard Discovery, astronauts
Franklin Chang-Diaz and Janet Kavandi are monitoring the experiment.
  Also today, Pilot Dom Gorie and astronaut Wendy Lawrence will study
the process of combustion in weightlessness using the Solid Surface
Combustion Experiment (SSCE) in Discovery's cabin. The investigation
studies how air motion affects the spread of flames.  The convection
currents that cause hot air to rise on Earth are not present in
weightlessness, and fires burn differently.
  Although the problem with high-rate communications will not allow
television to be transmitted from Discovery, the crew will take part
in several audio events with students and media today. At 6:26 a.m.
Central, Commander Charlie Precourt and Chang-Diaz will answer
questions from students in Lisbon, Portugal, and in Washington, D.C.,
in an event that will honor the 500th anniversary of Portuguese
explorer Vasco De Gama's discovery of a sea route to India. Portugal
also is a participant in the international AMS experiment aboard the
shuttle.
  At about 7:06 a.m., Thomas will offer thanks and congratulations to
NASA operations personnel who have supported him at the Mission
Control Center-Moscow in Korolev, Russia, through a special
link-up. At 9:31 a.m. Central, reporters with the Mutual Broadcasting
System, KMOX Radio in St. Louis and King TV in Seattle will have an
opportunity to interview Precourt, Thomas, Chang-Diaz and Kavandi.
  At 11:21 a.m Central, Precourt and Chang-Diaz will take a special
phone call from Costa Rican President Dr. Miguel Angel Rodriguez, U.S.
Ambassador to Costa Rica Thomas J. Dodd and Costa Rican scientists Dr.
Bert Kohlmann and Sith Ying. Kohlmann leads the space research team
that has conducted experiments on the shuttle that ma y help find
insight into the illness of Chagras disease. Ying is a student at
Earth College in Costa Rica who also has worked with NASA.
 On Tuesday, June 9, 1998, 6:30 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #15
reports:
  Following four busy days of docked operations with the Mir station,
Discovery's crew enjoyed an afternoon of off -duty time today as they
move into the home stretch of their flight.
  This morning's activities included work with the Orbiter Space
Vision System (OSVS) experiment, a system that creates a graphic
digital display of the payload bay environment on laptop computers.
The SVS equipment will be used during the assembly of the
International Space Station to provide astronauts operating the
Shuttle's mechanical arm with precise alignment information as station
components are brought together.
  The crew continued stowing items that were transferred over from the
Mir for return to Earth and monitored some of the science experiments
being carried on the flight.  Additional tests were made of the
Spacehab Universal Communications System (SHUCS), although the system
is still experiencing problems with the ability of its antenna to find
and hold communication with the satellites that support the
experiment.
  The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer payload, located in Discovery's
payload bay, was powered off for a period of time earlier today due to
concerns that the payload might be getting too warm.  After an
adjustment was made to the orientation the Shuttle was flying in,
thermal conditions improved.  The AMS was subsequently powered back up
and high rate data collection has resumed.  The 3 1/2 ton instrument
is an innovative particle collector hoped to provide scientists with
insight into the existence of dark matter and antimatter in the
universe. Aboard Discovery, astronauts Franklin Chang-Diaz and Janet
Kavandi are monitoring the experiment.
  While the crew enjoyed some time off, flight controllers reviewed a
problem seen with the Shuttle's onboard computer system.
  Last night while the crew was asleep, General Purpose Computer (GPC)
#1 was supporting guidance, navigation and control requirements and
GPC #4 was supporting systems management.  Flight controllers noted
that on GPC #1, within the software program supporting the Global
Position Satellite operation, there was a growing discrepancy between
where the GPS system was telling the Shuttle it was located and where
the GPC had calculated the Shuttle should be.  Resets of the GPS
system software did not resolve the discrepancy.  The cause of the
discrepancy is not yet understood.
  A decision was made to bring up a different computer to support
Shuttle guidance and navigation with the GPS portion of the program
turned off.  Since doing that, all guidance and navigation activities
have been nominal.  The GPS portion of the navigation system remains
powered off.  Consideration is being given to installing a software
patch for the guidance support program that would block out the GPS
portion of the guidance software.
  Discovery's crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 7:06
p.m. this evening and receive a wake-up call from Mission Control at
3:06 a.m.  Central time tomorrow to begin their ninth day in space.
  Discovery is currently in a 207 by 195 nm orbit, circling the Earth
once every 91 minutes.
  STS-91 Flight Day 9 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, June 10, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #16
reports:
  Discovery's crew was awakened this morning to the theme from the
television show "Superman," played in honor of astronaut Franklin
Chang-Diaz's record-breaking time in orbit aboard a Space Shuttle, a
total of more than 51 days spent in orbit during six shuttle flights
as of today. The previous record for individual time spent aboard a
shuttle was 1,211 hours, held by astronaut Jeff Hoffman.
  At 12:26 p.m. Central time today, Chang-Diaz will be interviewed in
Spanish by CBS' Telenoticias and CNN's En Espanol. Now in the home
stretch of the mission, other crew activities today will include using
the shuttle's robotic arm to record video of water leaking from a
relief valve associated with one of the electricity-generating fuel
cells and continued work with onboard experiments.
  Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Janet Kavandi will unberth
the robotic arm at 7:52 a.m. Central and use it to view the area from
which water has been leaking overboard since launch. Although the leak
is small and has had no impact on the mission, flight controllers want
to document the condition of the valve to help understand the
malfunction.  The crew will move the arm into a position where the
camera can see the relief valve, located in the fuselage just above
the starboard wing's leading edge. Lawrence and Kavandi will keep the
arm in position for 30 minutes while the pressure in one of
Discovery's water tanks is decreased and then increased to observe the
effect on the leak. While the arm is in use, the crew also will record
scenes of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument located in the
aft cargo bay.
  Also today, Chang-Diaz will continue work with the Spacehab
Universal Communications System, or SHUCS, a system hoped to allow
telephone, voice, fax and some video communications between scientists
on the ground and an orbiting crew. No such communications have been
possible with the system thus far during the flight, although
engineers have seen indications that it has been able to aquire the
INMARSAT communications satellites. Pilot Dom Gorie will continue
studies of how fire burns in weightlessness today with sessions using
the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment, or SSCE, aboard the
shuttle. This is the tenth and final shuttle flight for the SSCE, an
experiment that has gathered a vast amount of information about the
nature of flames and combustion in space.
  Mission Control is continuing to investigate a problem that was seen
Tuesday with one of Discovery's flight control computers that was
receiving data from Global Positioning System equipment on the
Shuttle.  The problem poses no issues for Discovery's continuing
operations or planned landing on Friday. The computer, one of five
such computers onboard the shuttle which all serve as a backup to one
another, was taken out of service on Tuesday. Another flight control
computer was assigned to take over the errant computer's functions and
that computer has been functioning normally, as have all of the other
flight control computers. Flight controllers are continuing to examine
data transmitted from the problem computer before it was taken off
line. Mission Control may request that Discovery Commander Charlie
Precourt reboot the computer today in an effort to clear the error and
regain its use.
  Discovery's crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 7:06 p.m.
Discovery is currently in a 238 by 223 statute mile orbit, 233 statute
miles ahead of the Mir and continuing to separate from the
station. The next STS-91 status report will be issued at about 6
p.m. Central time Wednesday.
 On Wednesday, June 10, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #17
reports:
  With a history-making day behind them, Discovery's astronauts will
turn their attention to Friday's planned return trip to Earth .
  Today, Mission Specialist Franklin Chang-Diaz broke the previous
record for time spent on board the space shuttle, as he passed the
mark of 1,211 hours set by astronaut Jeff Hoffman over the course of
five missions. STS-91 is Chang-Diaz's sixth space flight.  In another
first today, navigational data on board Discovery was updated using
data from the Global Positioning Satellite system, marking the
inaugural use of this satellite constellation to provide navigational
information to a manned spacecraft on orbit.
  The updating of Discovery's navigational data from the GPS system
followed a successful test to verify equipment and operational
capability of that system, which is ultimately intended to replace the
Shuttle's tactical navigation aids used during landing.  The test was
conducted to provide additional data on a discrepancy in information
between the GPS system and one of Discovery's on-board computers that
was noted by flight controllers early Tuesday morning.
  This morning, Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Janet Kavandi
maneuvered the Shuttle's robot arm into position to look for any
possible ice build-up near a valve where water from one of Discovery's
fuel cells is being vented overboard. Precourt informed flight
controllers that the view from cameras mounted on the arm did not
indicate any build-up of ice.
  Precourt, Pilot Dom Gorie, and Lawrence will check out Discovery's
flight control surfaces and systems tomorrow morning to ensure the
vehicle is ready for its high-speed reentry through the Earth's
atmosphere on Friday.  All seven crew members will continue the
process of stowing the equipment and other hardware they have used
during the course of the mission, to ready Discovery for Friday's
planned landing.
  The astronauts will take a break from their landing preparations
tomorrow to talk with the Associated Press and ABC Radio in an
interview slated for 11:54 a.m. Central time.
  STS-91 Flight Day 10 Highlights:
 On Thursday, June 11, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #18
reports:
  Discovery's crew will focus today on preparations for Friday's
return home, checking out the equipment that will be needed and
stowing away gear in anticipation of a 1 p.m. touchdown tomorrow at
the Kennedy Space Center, Fl.
  The crew was awakened this morning to "Interplanet Janet," a song
from the "Schoolhouse Rock" educational videotape series, played in
honor of Discovery astronaut Janet Kavandi..
  At about 7:30 am Central time today, Commander Charlie Precourt,
Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will begin tests
of the shuttle's flight control systems used for landing. The checks
will include the function of the wing flaps and rudder, cockpit
displays and controls and landing navigation equipment. At about 8:35
am Central, Precourt will test fire the shuttle's Reaction Control
System steering jets to ensure they are in good condition for the trip
home.
  The astronauts will take a brief break from their landing
preparations at 11:51 a.m. Central to answer questions from reporters
with the Associated Press and ABC Radio. The crew will finish up work
with the scientific investigations under way inside the shuttle's
cabin today and begin packing up the gear for landing. However,
scientific observations by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), an
innovative particle detector mounted in the cargo bay, will continue
until only a few hours before Discovery begins its descent from
orbit. The AMS is hoped to provide scientists insight into the
existence of dark matter and antimatter in the universe.
 On Thursday, June 11, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #19
reports:
  The seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery completed
most of their pre-landing packing today and made sure that all of the
systems needed for landing are working well. Touchdown at Kennedy
Space Center in Florida is scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT Friday.
  Commander Charlie Precourt, Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialist
Wendy Lawrence test fired the Reaction Control System steering jets to
ensure they are ready to guide the shuttle as it begins re-entering
the Earth's atmosphere. They also checked out the workings of the wing
flaps and rudder, cockpit displays and controls, and landing
navigation equipment that will be used once the shuttle is back in the
atmosphere and flying like a glider. All systems checked out
perfectly.
  The rest of the day was devoted to finishing up work with the
scientific experiments on board. Chief among those was the Alpha
Magnetic Spectrometer, which collected a total of about 1,000 minutes
of data on tape that scientists hope will help them find the "dark
matter" and "antimatter" that some speculate may make up a large
portion of the universe's overall mass. The innovative particle
detector will continue collecting data in the cargo bay until only a
few hours before Discovery begins its descent.
  The crew packed away the bulk of its gear and closed out the
Spacehab module. At one point, Precourt asked Mission Control if it
would be all right to have one crew member sleep in the Spacehab
overnight, but when flight controllers informed him that the
temperature in the module would rise to about 84 degrees the crew
decided to close out the module and sleep in the shuttle's cabin.
  Bedtime for the crew is 7:06 p.m., with wake-up scheduled for 3:06
a.m.  Central time.  The astronauts will move into their deorbit
preparation timeline at 7:47 a.m. The first landing opportunity calls
for a deorbit burn at 11:52 a.m. and landing at 1 p.m. The second
opportunity begins with a deorbit burn at 1:29 p.m. and a landing in
Florida at 2:36 p.m.  Forecasters report that weather conditions look
favorable, with only a minor concern about smoke from brush fires
obscuring the runway.
  STS-91 Flight Day 11 Highlights:
 On Friday, June 12, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #20
reports:
  With weather conditions forecast to be favorable, Discovery is on
course toward a 1 p.m. Central time landing today at the Kennedy Space
Center, Florida, to bring home astronaut Andy Thomas after more than
four months in orbit and end NASA's Shuttle-Mir program.
  STS-91 Commander Charlie Precourt, Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission
Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Wendy Lawrence, Janet Kavandi, Valery
Ryumin and Thomas awoke at 3:06 a.m. to the song "Homeward Bound"
performed by Simon & Garfunkel.
  This morning, only a few hours before landing, Chang-Diaz will end
scientific operations with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS)
instrument mounted in the shuttle's cargo bay. The AMS, an innovative
particle detector hoped to provide insight into the existence of dark
matter and antimatter in the universe, has recorded more than 100
hours of observations during the flight.
  In preparation for a 1 p.m. landing, the crew will close Discovery's
payload bay doors at 9:12 a.m. Central. A final "go" for landing from
Mission Control Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale would be given at
about 11:30 a.m., and the shuttle's engines would fire at 11:52
a.m. to begin the descent to Florida. Although it is not expected to
be needed, a second landing opportunity also is available today that
would have Discovery fire its engines at 1:29 p.m. leading to a
landing in Florida at 2:36 p.m. Central.
  A landing today would culminate 977 total days spent in orbit by the
seven U.S. astronauts who have stayed aboard Mir since the Shuttle-Mir
program began. Of those, 907 days were spent as actual Mir crew
members.  Today's landing would be the end of an 812-day continuous
U.S. presence in space.
  Following a 1 p.m. touchdown, a post-landing press conference would
be broadcast on NASA television at about 2:30 p.m. Central. The STS-91
crew would spend the night in Florida and return to Houston at about 8
p.m.  Saturday, arriving at Ellington Field's NASA Hangar 990.
  The next STS-91 status report will be issued post-landing, or at 6
p.m.  CDT today.
 On Friday, June 12, 1998, 1:15 p.m. CDT, STS-91 MCC Status Report #21
reports:
  The shuttle Discovery glided out of a cloud-speckled sky and rolled
to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center to wrap up its 10-day,
3.8-million-mile mission to pick up the final U.S.  astronaut from the
Russian Mir Space Station.
  Commander Charlie Precourt piloted Discovery to an on-time touchdown
on runway 1-5 at the Florida spaceport's 3-mile-long landing strip at
1:00 p.m. Central time.  Astronaut Andy Thomas sat in Discovery's
middeck in a special recumbent seat to help ease his initial exposure
to gravity.  Thomas returned to Earth after 141 days in space, 130 of
which were served as a crewmember aboard Mir. He traveled about 56.4
million miles during his time in space.
  Thomas' return to Earth marks the end of a consecutive 812-day
U.S. presence in space and 802 consecutive days on the Mir by a
U.S. astronaut.  Since 1995, seven U.S. astronauts - Norm Thagard,
Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, Mike Foal, David Wolf and
Andy Thomas - spent a total of 907 days as Mir crew members.
  Left behind on the orbiting Russian outpost when Discovery undocked
on June 8 were Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer
Nikolai Budarin.  They are scheduled to return to Earth next August,
to be replaced by another cosmonaut team.
  At the Kennedy Space Center, Precourt and Thomas, along with
crewmates Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz,
Wendy Lawrence, Janet Kavandi and Valery Ryumin, were to return to
crew quarters where Thomas will begin a series of post-flight medical
tests.  He then faces a 45-day regimen of physical rehabilitation
following his long stay in weightlessness.
  The astronauts are scheduled to spend the night at the Kennedy Space
Center before flying back to Houston Saturday evening. Crew return at
Ellington Field is scheduled for about 8 p.m.  Central time Saturday.
<end of mission>
Mission Name: STS-95 (92)
  Discovery (25)
  Pad 39-B (42)
  92nd Shuttle Mission
  25th Flight OV-103
  45th KSC Landing
   1st Flight SSME-BlockII
 NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage
Crew:
  Curtis L. Brown (5), Commander
  Steven W. Lindsey (2), Pilot
  Scott E. Parazynski (3), Mission Specialist
  Stephen K. Robinson (2),   Mission Specialist
  Pedro Duque (1), (ESA) Mission Specialist
  Chiaki Mukai (2), (NASDA) Payload Specialist
  John H. Glenn (2), Payload Specialist
Milestones:
    OPF2 -- 06/15/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/12/1998)
     VAB -- 09/14/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 9/14/1998)
     PAD -- 09/21/98 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 9/22/1998)
Payload:
 SPACEHAB-SM, Spartan-201, HOST, IEH-03, GAS(G-779,G-467), LifeSciences, CRYOTSU
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Jun 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Jul 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Aug 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Sep 1998)
  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status Oct 1998)
Mission Objectives:
  The primary objectives include conducting a variety of science
experiments in the pressurized Spacehab module, the deployment and
retrieval of the Spartan free-flyer payload, and operations with the
HST Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) and the International Extreme
Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH) payloads being carried in the payload
bay.
   The Spacehab module being flown on STS-95 is provided by SPACEHAB
Inc. a private company which provide single or double module Spacehabs
to support NASA's space flight efforts.  The Spacehab system provides
additional pressurized workspace for experiments, cargo and crew
activities.  Spacehab modules have supported various Shuttle science
missions along with several of the joint Shuttle-Mir missions.
   For STS-95 a single-module Spacehab will fly in the forward portion
of Discovery's payload bay with the crew gaining access to the module
through the airlock tunnel system.  A variety of experiments sponsored
by NASA, the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA) and the European Space
Agency (ESA) will focus on life sciences, microgravity sciences and
advanced technology during the flight.
   The Spartan 201 free-flyer that will be deployed and retrieved
using the Shuttle's mechanical arm and is designed to investigate
physical conditions and processes of the hot outer layers of the Sun's
atmosphere, or solar corona.  While deployed from the Shuttle, Spartan
will gather measurements of the solar corona and solar wind.
Information collected during this mission will lead to a much better
understanding of the solar winds that directly influence orbiting
satellites and weather conditions on Earth which in turn impact
television and phone communications. This is a reflight of the Spartan
payload flown on Mission STS-87 in November 1997 which developed
problems shortly after being deployed from the Shuttle.
   The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) platform is
carrying experiments to validate components planned for installation
during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to
evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment.  There are
four experiments on the HOST platform.  The NICMOS Cooling System will
allow zero-g verification of a Reverse Turbo Brayton Cycle Cooler
which should allow longer life operation than the current dewar
system.  (2) The HST 486 Computer will allow the identification of any
radiation susceptible parts in the DF-224 replacement and demonstrate
hardware and software responses to Single Event Upsets (SEU's).  (3)
Solid State Recorder will compare on-orbit operation of the flight
spare solid state recorder with the current HST unit.  (4) Fiber Optic
Line Test will use the same 4 kbps data stream that is sent to the
orbiter's Payload Data Interrogator (PDI) and will be routed to a
laptop computer for post-flight comparison.
   The International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH) payload
involves a half dozen different experiments mounted on a support
structure being carried in Discovery's payload bay.  The six
experiments that make up the IEH payload are (1) Solar Extreme
Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (SEH) payload that will obtain EUV and FUV
fluxes that are required when studying the Earth's upper atmosphere;
(2) Ultraviolet Spectrograph Telescope for Astronomical Research
(UVSTAR) payload designed to measure EUV fluxes which can be used to
form images of extended plasma sources (ex. Jupiter, hot stars, etc.);
(3) STAR-LITE payload which will make observations of extended and
diffused astrophysical targets; (4) CONCAP-IV payload designed to grow
thin films via physical vapor transport; (5) Petite Amateur Navy
Satellite (PANSAT) payload which is managed by the Department of
Defense Space Test Program and involves a small deployable satellite
that will store and transmit digital communications to PANSAT ground
stations; and (6) a Get-Away Special (GAS) payload which is still TBD.
   Since the aging process and a space flight experience share a
number of similar physiological responses, a series of experiments
sponsored by NASA and the National Institute on Aging will be
conducted during the STS-95 mission.  The investigations will gather
information which may provide a model system to help scientists
interested in understanding aging.  Some of these similarities include
bone and muscle loss, balance disorders and sleep disturbances.
Launch:
  October 29, 1998 2:20:19 p.m. EST  Launch Window 2 hours 30 minutes
  On Thursday, 10/29/98, the countdown continues on schedule.  The
crew was woken up at 8:30am EST and served breakfast.  After
breakfast, the crew received a 15 minute weather briefing, suited up
and departed the Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Pad
LC-39B at 10:45am EST.  After arriving at the pad, the crew proceeded
to the 195ft level where one by one, they ingressed into the orbiter.
The hatch was closed at 12:30pm EST, just as President Clinton's Air
Force One plane touched down at the landing strip on Cape Canaveral Air
Station (CCAS).  The countdown proceded to the T-9 minute mark but was
kept an additional 8.5 min at thee T-9 minute hold while the launch team
discussed the status of a master alarm heard during cabin leak checks
after hatch closure. At 2:00pm EST, the launch team was polled and
Discovery was given a "go" to proceed past the T-minus 9 minute mark.
At 2:03pm the Orbiter Access Arm was retracted but the Range Safety Officer
(SR0) requested a hold at the T-minus 5 minute mark due to an aircraft in
the no fly zone.  At 2:14pm EST, SRO gave the all clear signal and the
countdown proceeded.  At 2:14pm EST, a go was given for auto sequence
start and launch occured at 14:20:19 pm EST.
  On Wednesday, 10/28/98, Preparations for Thursday's 2 p.m. launch of
Shuttle Discovery continue on schedule and launch managers are not
working any major technical issues at this time. This morning workers
completed efforts to install the SPACEHAB experiments in the orbiter
payload bay and the airlock has been closed for flight. Discovery's
communication systems will be activated today and flight crew
equipment late stow activities begin at about 3:30 p.m. The Rotating
Service Structure will retract away from the Shuttle at 8 p.m. today
and the launch countdown will resume counting at T-11 hours at 11:40
p.m. External tank loading operations begin at about 5:40
a.m. tomorrow.  Air Force weather forecasters continue to indicate a
zero percent chance that weather could prohibit launch on
Thursday. The forecast calls for few clouds at 4,000 feet; visibility
at 7 miles; winds at 10 knots gusting to 15 knots from the northeast;
temperature at 79 degrees F; relative humidity at 64
percent. Hurricane Mitch is still drifting westward away from
Florida's coast and will not impact Thursday's launch
attempt. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/28/1998)
  On Tuesday, 10/27/98, The launch countdown for STS-95 proceeds on
schedule for Thursday's 2 p.m. liftoff of Shuttle Discovery. Mission
managers are not working any significant technical concerns at this
time and launch preparations continue at Launch Pad 39B. At 4 a.m.
workers began loading the orbiter's power reactant storage and
distribution system with cryogenic reactants and that operation
concluded at about noon. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/27/1998)
 On Monday, 10/26/98, the launch countdown for mission STS-95 began on
time today at 8 a.m. Launch managers are not working any significant
technical issues at this time and preparations for Thursday's 2
p.m. launch continue on schedule. Final vehicle close-outs are in work
and Discovery's backup flight systems will be loaded into the
orbiter's general purpose computer today.  Tonight the orbiter's
navigational systems will be activated.  Loading of the power reactant
storage and distribution system (PRSD) with cryogenic reactants begins
tomorrow morning.  Air Force weather forecasters are indicating a 40
percent chance that weather could prohibit launch on Thursday. The
forecast calls for scattered to broken clouds at 4000 feet and
scattered clouds at 20000 feet; visibility at 7 miles; winds at 16
knots gusting to 23 knots from the northeast; temperature at 79
degrees F; relative humidity at 62 percent. The primary concerns are
low level winds, a slight chance of showers and a low cloud ceiling.
  Currently, the 24-hour and 48-hour scrub turnaround forecast
indicates a 40 percent chance of weather violation. Managers continue
to monitor the progress of Hurricane Mitch in the Caribbean, currently
moving in a west-northwesterly direction away from Florida's
east coast. Mitch is not expected to affect Thursday
The STS-95 flight crew arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at
3:30pm. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/26/1998)
 On Sunday, 10/25/98, preparations to begin the STS-95 launch
countdown continued on schedule. Yesterday, workers began stowing the
flight crew's equipment onboard Discovery. Forecasters are monitoring
the progress of Hurricane Mitch in the Caribbean, but preliminary
weather forecasts indicate generally favorable conditions for
Thursday's launch of Shuttle Discovery.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/25/1998)
 On Saturday, 10/24/98, Final preparations to begin the STS-95 launch
countdown are on schedule. At the launch pad yesterday, workers
successfully completed torque verifications in the external airlock.
Payload bay closeouts are complete and the payload bay doors are
closed for flight. Flight crew equipment stowage is in work
today. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/24/1998)
 On Tuesday, 10/13/98, HOST end-to-end testing was in work and on
Monday workers completed the HOST payload Interface Verification Test
(IVT). Discovery's midbody umbilical connections were made 10/12/98
and leak checks are complete. Technicians have also removed a faulty
mass memory unit (MMU) and replacement of MMU No. 2 is slated for
Thursday. During Tuesday evening, workers installed the astronaut
contingency space suits into the orbiter. Payload closeout activities
are scheduled through the remainder of the week. Shuttle managers have
gathered at KSC today for the STS-95 Flight Readiness Review and
announced Oct. 29 as the official launch date for Shuttle Discovery.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/13/1998)
 On Friday, 10/9/98, the KSC test team and the STS-95 flight crew
successfully completed the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test at
about 11 a.m. The launch day dress rehearsal culminated with a
simulated Shuttle main engine cutoff at T-3 seconds on the countdown
clock.  TCDT allows the launch team and crew to practice launch day
activities and to validate emergency egress procedures. Afterwards,
the crew returned to their homes in Houston, TX and will complete
their mission training at Johnson Space Center. Preparations to
replace Discovery's mass memory unit No. 2 were under way. At pad 39B,
the Rotating Service Structure will be retracted for Saturday's KSC
Open House and extended in place around the Shuttle immediately
following the event.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/09/1998)
 On Monday, 10/5/98, loading of hypergolic propellants into the
orbiter's onboard storage tanks began with oxidizer loading.  Fuel
loading occurs 10/6/98. Preparations for Friday's Terminal Countdown
Demonstration Test are in work. The STS-95 flight crew arrives Tuesday
to begin familiarization activities at KSC prior to the actual dress
rehearsal on Friday. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/05/1998)
  On Friday, 10/2/98, Discovery's helium signature leak test was
successfully completed and the Spartan payload interface verification
test (IVT) was also performed. Over the weekend, the SPACEHAB IVT was
completed and the orbiter's payload bay doors were closed.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 10/05/1998)
  Over the weekend, workers performed weight and center of gravity
tests on Space Shuttle Discovery before lowering it onto the orbiter
transfer vehicle. At about 10 a.m. Monday, September 14, 1998
Discovery rolled out of KSC's Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bay
2. The orbiter arrived in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) a short
while later and was lifted from the orbiter transfer vehicle at about
4:30 p.m. Discovery will be soft mated to the external fuel tank (ET)
at about 6 a.m. tomorrow.  Hard mate connections will follow Tuesday
and interface verification tests (IVT) will be conducted prior to next
Monday's rollout to Launch Pad 39B.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 9/14/1998)
  On Thursday, September 10, 1998, technicians completed checks of
Discovery's Ku-band antenna system and final stowage. Pressurization
of the landing gear tires for flight is also complete.  Checkout of
the robot arm concluded earlier this week and orbiter midbody
close-outs continue on schedule.  Preparations were under way for
Friday night's payload bay door closure. Workers conducted aft
compartment structural leak checks and completed forward compartment
close-outs. Saturday, Discovery's weight and center of gravity
determination tests are scheduled and Sunday the vehicle will be
placed on the orbiter transfer vehicle for Monday's rollover to the
Vehicle Assembly Building.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 9/10/1998)
 On Monday, August 31, 1998, Installation of the integrated vehicle
health monitoring (IVHM) system brackets are complete and IVHM sensor
installation is nearing completion. Today, technicians are conducting
orbiter integrated hydraulic testing and preparing for tunnel adapter
installation slated to occur later today. Closeouts of the orbiter's
midbody compartment continue in preparation for Wednesday's Crew
Equipment Interface Test. Testing of the Ku-band antenna continues. In
high bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, external tank and solid
rocket booster mating closeouts are ongoing.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/31/1998)
  During the week of 8/17/98 - 8/21/98, Discovery's main engines were
installed. On Saturday, KSC technicians began precautionary efforts to
secure Discovery, Endeavour and Columbia in their respective OPF bays
due to the threat of Hurricane Bonnie. Discovery's payload bay doors
were closed and the orbiter was powered down. Managers will continue
to monitor the hurricane's status and hope to resume processing later
today. Once the decision to proceed is made, workers will power up the
orbiter and launch processing system, open the payload doors and
deploy the Ku band antenna. Also, main engine securing and pump torque
checks are scheduled. Payload premate testing will follow payload bay
door opening. Work delays due to hurricane preparedness efforts are
not expected to impact any major Shuttle processing milestones.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/24/1998)
  By Monday, 8/17/98, Discovery's ammonia servicing work was complete.
Preparations are under way for Shuttle main engine installation this
week. Installation and testing of the integrated vehicle health
monitoring system continue and water spray boiler servicing is in
progress. Standard torque checks of the wind to fuselage attach bolts
are slated for today. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/17/1998)
  On Friday 7/31/98, workers completed Discovery's fuel cell voltage
tests, and the orbiter's forward reaction control system (FRCS) was
installed. FRCS interface verification testing was under way on Monday
8/3/98. The recently replaced fuel cell water relief valve is being
brazed to the panel today.  Installation of the integrated vehicle
health monitoring (IVHM) system continues, and main landing gear wheel
and tire installation is in work. Auxiliary power unit and main
propulsion system leak and functional tests are scheduled for this
week.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/3/1998)
  On Monday 7/27/98, Thruster replacement work on Discovery's
right-hand orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod and subsequent leak
checks and X-rays were completed. Functional checks of Discovery's
newly installed crew seats were also completed. Over the weekend,
technicians removed the leaky fuel cell No. 3 water relief valve and
today, installation of a replacement valve is scheduled.  Discovery's
forward reaction control system was delivered to the OPF for
installation into the orbiter later this week.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 7/27/1998)
  On Monday, 7/6/98, Functional testing of Discovery's main propulsion system
were in work.  Last week, the power converter units that supported the STS-91
payloads were removed from Discovery's cargo bay.  Preparations are under way to
remove the Shuttle main engines later this week. Today, main engine heat shield
removal is continuing. Postflight waste management system servicing is in
progress. Installation of the integrated vehicle health monitoring system
(IVHM) begins this week. The IVHM upgrade, already installed on Columbia,
provides real-time Shuttle system monitoring capability to ground and flight
controllers.  (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 7/06/1998)
  On Monday, 6/22/98, validation of Discovery's electrical power systems
and payload removal efforts in OPF Bay 2 were complete. Preparations
to drain the orbiter maneuvering system (OMS) reactant storage tanks
are in work and OMS thruster replacement efforts are scheduled to
begin this week. Leak checks of the flash evaporator system and post
flight inspections of the Shuttle main engines are ongoing.
(Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/22/1998)
Orbit:
  Altitude:  310nm
  Inclination: 28.45
  Orbits: 134
  Duration: 8 days, 21 hours, 44 minutes
  Distance:  3.6 Million miles
Hardware:
  SRB:  BIO-97
  SRM:  RSRM-69
  ET :  SN-98
  MLP :
  SSME-1: SN-2048**A (HPOTP 8026, HPFTP 4114)
  SSME-2: SN-2043*
  SSME-3: SN-2045*
Landing:
  November 7, 1998 KSC, 12:04pm EST.  Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)
Runway 33.  No Drag Chute deployed Just after landing, Astronaut John
Glenn said "1 G and I feel fine".  Main Gear Touchdown 8 days 21 hours
43 minutes 57 seconds, Nose Gear Touchdown 8 days 21 hours 44 minutes
7 seconds.  Wheel Stop at 8 days 21 hours 44 minutes 56 seconds.
  The payload bay doors were closed at 8:17 a.m. EST and the 4 minute
40 second deorbit burn occured at 10:53 am.  At 11:30a.m. EST,
Discovery began its Entry interface while at 400,000ft and at a speed
of Mach 25.  At 11:34am EST, Discovery was at an altitude of
approximately 65 miles and was 4,500 miles from the landing strip.  At
11:42, Discovery was just under 1800 miles from KSC and dropping at 73
mph.  At 11:53pm, Discovery was over the Gulf of Mexico traveling at
Mach 7, 26 miles in altitude decending at 190 mph.  At noon, the
distinctive dual sonic booms were heard just as Discovery decended
past the speed of sound 650mph, 8 miles altitude.  Touchdown at
12:04am EST.
 While Discovery took the 1st KSC landing opportunity, there were 2
landing opportunities at KSC and two to Edwards Air Force Base,
California . Discovery has a second chance to land at KSC at 1:45
p.m. EST or could have landed at Edwards at either 1:35 p.m EST. or
3:17 p.m. EST. The astronauts will spend the night at KSC before
returning to leaving KSC for Houston around 10am EST on Sunday to a
welcome at Ellington Field.
Mission Highlights:
  STS-95 Flight Day 1 Highlights:
 On Thursday, October 29, 1998, 1:45 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #1
reports:
  The Shuttle Discovery blasted off into a cloudless sky today at 1:19
p.m. Central time from the Kennedy Space Center to kick off a planned
nine-day scientific research mission and to return John Glenn to
space, 36 years, 8 months and nine days after he became the first
American to orbit the Earth.
  Launch was delayed briefly while flight controllers evaluated an
alarm during cabin pressure checks and several more minutes while
range safety officers dealt with a stray aircraft in the launch area.
  Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey, and Mission Specialists
Steve Robinson, Scott Parazynski and Pedro Duque, along with Payload
Specialists Chiaki Mukai and Glenn arrived on orbit less than nine
minutes after launch, ready to begin activating Shuttle systems and
experiments in the Spacehab module located in Discovery's cargo bay.
  The Shuttle's payload bay doors were expected to be opened about an
hour and a half after launch, prior to the astronauts receiving a "go"
to begin orbital operations.
  The timeline calls for the astronauts to spend most of the afternoon
and evening completing the setup and activation of dozens of
experiments they will conduct throughout the mission to study the
effects of microgravity on the human body and materials.
  Discovery's astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep
period about 11:45 p.m. Central time tonight and are due to be
awakened tomorrow about 7:45 a.m. to begin their first full day of
activity in orbit.
  About 45 minutes after launch, Discovery's orbital maneuvering
engines fired to round out the orbit at about 350 miles.  The
spacecraft is orbiting Earth every 90 minutes. All of Discovery's
systems are performing normally.
The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 9 p.m.
with the astronauts involved in presleep preparations.
 On Thursday, October 29, 1998, 9:45 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #2
reports:
  The crew of Discovery sailed through an opening day in orbit this
afternoon, staying ahead of schedule for the most part as they
prepared the spacecraft and a slate of more than 80 experiments for
nine days in orbit.
  Three hours and ten minutes into the flight, astronaut John Glenn,
Discovery's Payload Specialist 2, relayed his first communication to
Mission Control as the Shuttle flew 342 miles above Hawaii.
  "Hello, Houston. This is PS 2 and they got me sprung out of the
middeck for a little while. We are just going by Hawaii and that is
absolutely gorgeous," Glenn said.
  "Roger that. Glad you are enjoying the show," responded Mission
Control Capcom Bob Curbeam.
  "Enjoying the show is right. This is beautiful. The best part is
... a trite old statement: zero-g and I feel fine," Glenn said.
  Less than two hours later, Discovery's Commander Curt Brown noted
that the mission had surpassed the four-hour, fifty-five minutes, 23
seconds duration of Glenn's 1962 flight on Friendship 7. Discovery is
scheduled to remain in orbit for a total of eight days, twenty-one
hours and fifty minutes. As the astronauts' day wound down, Brown
narrated a videotape of Glenn, Chiaki Mukai and Steve Robinson
recorded on the Shuttle's lower deck during the climb to orbit. The
video showed Glenn, Mukai and Robinson from liftoff through shut off
of the Shuttle's main engines.
  The crew quickly entered and began research work with experiments in
the Spacehab module during the evening, as well as powering up a
variety of studies mounted in the Shuttle's payload bay. The
experiments range from technology tests of Hubble Space Telescope
equipment to studies of the sense of balance using fish as subjects to
investigations of the ultraviolet radiation environment.
  As the crew sleeps, the research will continue as Glenn takes a
special thermistor capsule before bed that will record his body's core
temperature during the night as part of mission's sleep research.
Discovery is in excellent condition with few problems reported by the
crew or noted by flight controllers, and no issues that are of concern
as a significant impact to the flight.
  At launch, an 18 x 22 inch door to a compartment that holds the
Shuttle's drag chute apparently came loose a few seconds before
liftoff.  The loss of the 11-pound door is not expected to have any
impact on the flight and does not affect the safety of the crew. While
setting up equipment in orbit, the crew noted a slight water leak from
a hose associated with a new system, being flown as a test on
Discvoery, that removes iodine from the Shuttle's drinking
water. Flight controllers requested the crew simply not use the new
system and instead use a proven older system that accomplishes the
same task.
  Discovery is in an orbit with a high point of 349 statute miles and
a low point of 340 statute miles, circling Earth once every one hour,
35 minutes and 54 seconds. The next status report will be issued at 6
a.m.  central.
  STS-95 Flight Day 2 Highlights:
 On Friday, October 30, 1998, 9:00 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #3
reports:
  Discovery's seven astronauts began their first full day in space at
7:45 a.m. Central time today when the crew was awakened to the sounds
of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World," played for Mission
Specialist Scott Parazynski from his wife, Gail. Discovery's
astronauts will conduct a full complement of scientific experiments
today supporting wide-ranging activities, from the release of a small
communications satellite to the study of the behavior of materials at
an atomic level.
  Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialist
Scott Parazynski will release PANSAT, the Petite Amateur Naval
Satellite, early this afternoon.  PANSAT is a small non-retrievable
satellite developed by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,
California.  PANSAT will use innovative technology to capture and
transmit radio signals that normally would be lost because the
original signals were too weak or contained too much interference.
  Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Parazynski will check out
Discovery's 50-foot long robot arm today to verify its health prior to
Sunday's scheduled deployment of the SPARTAN solar science spacecraft
for two days of free flight.  During the checkout, they will survey
the payload bay and conduct a routine examination of the exterior of
the Shuttle.
  European Space Agency Mission Specialist Pedro Duque and Japanese
Space Agency Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will prepare a glovebox
device in the middeck area of Discovery, an enclosed research facility
that will support numerous science investigations throughout the
mission.  The glovebox is a microwave sized device that provides the
astronauts the ability to perform hands-on experiments in a controlled
environment.  Early this afternoon, Payload Specialist John Glenn,
will activate the Microgravity Encapsulation Process experiment
(MEPS). The experiment will study the formation of capsules containing
two kinds of anti-tumor drugs that could be delivered directly to
solid tumors with applications for future chemotherapy treatments and
the pharmaceutical industry.
  In addition, regularly scheduled exercise sessions and routine
housekeeping chores also will occupy the crew's day. Later today, the
astronauts will conduct a 15-minute repair of a leaky hose which is
used to remove iodine from the Shuttle's galley water system. The
repair is expected to be conducted by Lindsey and Parazynski.
  Discovery is orbiting at an altitude of 349 statute miles by 340
statute miles, circling the Earth once every one hour, 35 minutes and
54 seconds.
  The next status report STS-95 status report will be issued at
approximately 6 p.m. Central time.
 On Friday, October 30, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #4
reports:
  Discovery's crew moved through a steady pace of experiments during
the Shuttle's first full day in orbit, releasing a miniature
telecommunications satellite and conducting a variety of medical and
material research.
  Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey and Payload Specialist
John Glenn took a few minutes break from the research work to provide
a status on the mission thus far, with Glenn describing his adaptation
to weightlessness and the views of Earth from Discovery. Early this
afternoon, the crew released the Petite Amateur Naval Satellite, or
PANSAT, which is now trailing Discovery by about 27 miles, increasing
that distance by about 9 miles with each orbit. PANSAT, developed by
the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, will remain in
orbit and test innovative technologies to capture and transmit radio
signals that normally would be lost because the original signals were
too weak or contained too much interference.
  Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Scott Parazynski unstowed and
checked out Discovery's 50-foot long robot arm, finding everything in
good condition and ready for Sunday's scheduled deployment of the
SPARTAN solar science spacecraft. Robinson and Parazynski also
surveyed the exterior of Discovery, observing a small piece of loose
insulation on the left rear of the spacecraft. The loose insulation
poses no problems for the Shuttle. The crew also used the arm to test
a new wireless camera technology that can be used with reflectors in
the cargo bay to develop a system that may lead to a new alignment aid
for arm operators.
  The crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at about 11:10 p.m.
and awaken at 7:10 a.m. Central time on Saturday to begin day three of
the mission. Discovery is orbiting at an altitude of 349 statute miles
by 340 statute miles, circling the Earth once every one hour, 35
minutes and 54 seconds.
  The next status report STS-95 status report will be issued at
approximately 6 a.m. Central time Saturday.
  STS-95 Flight Day 3 Highlights:
 On Saturday, October 31, 1998, 7:30 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #5
reports:
  Medical investigations will begin in earnest today as Discovery's
crew moves forward with research comparing the changes the human body
goes through when making trips into orbit with the changes that occur
as part of the natural aging process on Earth.
  Payload Specialist John Glenn, 77, will begin providing the 10 blood
samples and 16 urine samples needed to look into the effects of space
flight on his body. Researchers want to better understand how the
removal of gravity affects balance and perception, immune system
response, bone and muscle density, metabolism and blood flow, and
sleep. Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, 35, also will provide blood
samples, which will be taken by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski
and Payload Specialist Chiai Mukai, both trained physicians.
  The blood draws are part of the Protein Turnover in Space Flight
study, which will track the balance between protein building and
breakdown, the two parts of protein turnover that contribute to muscle
atrophy. The astronauts in the experiment take small amounts of the
amino acids alanine and histidine, which contain a special tracer
molecules, 12 hours before each blood draw. This research may help
benefit people on Earth who suffer from weakened muscles or loss of
bone mass.
  The on-orbit researchers also will continue their examinations of
plants., animals and other materials as they react to environmental
changes related to the absence of gravity. And Canadian developers of
a Space Vision System will check out on board software that will allow
them to switch from camera to camera in the payload bay and provide
precise positioning information for use by robot arm operators
assembling the pieces of the International Space Station.
  Early in the crew day, Commander Curt Brown will switch back to a
tried and true method of removing iodine from the shuttle's drinking
water supply. Yesterday, the crew reported a strange taste in water
coming out of a system being tested for the first time. Ground
researchers are trying to determine what is causing the strange
taste. Iodine is used to prevent contamination of the water system
tanks and lines, but must be removed before the crew drinks the water
or uses it in food preparation.
  At 11:35 a.m., Brown and Glenn will answer questions posed by
students at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio; the
Newseum in Arlington, Va., and John Glenn High School in New Concord,
Ohio.
  The crew was awakened at 7:10 a.m. Central time to the sounds of
"Cachito," a song about parenthood. Duque and his wife, Consuelo,
recently had a baby. The crew will go to bed at 10:35 p.m.
  The next status report STS-95 status report will be issued at
approximately 6 p.m. Central time Saturday.
 On Saturday, October 31, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #6
reports:
  Discovery's crew spent much of the last half of today in preparation
for tomorrow's planned release of the Spartan solar science satellite,
checking out the tools and equipment that will be used during the
release and separation from the satellite.
  The crew also began several of the medical studies planned for the
flight that investigate how the human body changes in weightlessness
and how those changes compare with those that occur as part of the
natural aging process on Earth. For those studies, 77-year old Payload
Specialist John Glenn began providing some of the 10 blood samples and
16 urine samples that will be taken during the mission to study the
effects of space flight on his body.
  The checkout of equipment that will be used for tomorrow's deploy of
the Spartan included a check of the Orbiter Space Vision System by
astronauts Steve Robinson and Scott Parazynski. The system uses
special markings on the satellite and shuttle cargo bay to provide an
alignment aid for the arm's operator derived from shuttle television
images. It will be used extensively on the next Space Shuttle flight
in December, STS-88, as an aid in using the arm to join together the
first two International Space Station modules. Later this evening, a
check of navigation equipment and aids that will be used during the
Spartan release was scheduled.
  Glenn and Commander Curt Brown also took time out from the
experiment work to speak with students in Ohio and Virginia about the
scientific activities aboard Discovery. Discovery remains in excellent
condition with no equipment problems to interrupt the ongoing
research.
  The shuttle is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of
about 340 statute miles. The crew is scheduled to go to sleep tonight
at 10:35 p.m. and awaken at 6:35 a.m. Central on Sunday.
  The next status report STS-95 status report will be issued at
approximately 7 a.m. Central Saturday.
  STS-95 Flight Day 4 Highlights:
 On Sunday, November 1, 1998, 7:00 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #7
reports:
Tom Chapin's "This Pretty Planet" awakened Discovery's seven
astronauts at 6:35 a.m. Central time today to begin their fourth day
of science activities.  The song was requested by pilot Steve
Lindsey's wife, Diane.  Today's primary activity will be deployment at
1:03 p.m. CST this afternoon of the Spartan solar physics satellite,
which will fly free of Discovery for two days studying the outer
layers of the sun's atmosphere.
Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will use Discovery's robot arm to
grapple Spartan from its berth in the payload bay and prepare it for
its release.  Once it is deployed, Spartan will conduct a programmed
pirouette maneuver that will confirm that all of its systems are
working normally.  Commander Curt Brown then will maneuver Discovery
away from the satellite, first to a short distance for a test of a
communications link that will permit Spartan ground controllers to
make fine pointing adjustments to one of the satellite's science
instruments.  Brown then will increase Discovery's separation to a
distance of about 40 miles in front of Spartan. The satellite will be
retrieved by Robinson using the robot arm on Tuesday. Spartan was
unable to perform solar science studies last November following
problems with its deployment during the STS-87 mission aboard
Columbia.
Spartan's two main instruments; the Ultraviolet Coronal Spectrometer
and the White Light Coronagraph, will measure atomic temperatures and
densities, as well as solar wind velocities in the sun's corona so
scientists can better understand the forces that create solar wind,
and the impact it has on the electromagnetic environment around the
Earth.  Solar wind can have major impacts on communications technology
on Earth.
Discovery's astronauts also will continue a battery of medical studies
as they explore how the human body adapts to the weightless
environment of space and how those changes compare with those seen as
part of the aging process on Earth.
As part of the Canadian OSTEO experiment, Payload Specialist John
Glenn will feed bone cell cultures as part of an evaluation of bone
cell activity under microgravity conditions. Glenn will again provide
blood samples as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment, which is
looking at the balance between the building and breakdown of muscle.
He also will work with the Advanced Organic Separations (ADSEP)
experiment, which provides the capability to separate and purify
biological materials in microgravity; and with the Microencapsulation
Electrostatic Processing System (MEPS), which studies the formation of
anti-tumor capsules containing two kinds of drugs.
Other research today will include use of the Advanced Gradient Heating
Facility (AGHF) for directional solidification and crystal growth, and
the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX) for investigations of colloids, or
systems of fine particles suspended in fluid..
At 4:35 p.m. Central time, Brown and Glenn will take part in a news
conference with reporters at the Johnson Space Center.
Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 340 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent
condition.
The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6
p.m. Central time Sunday.
 On Sunday, November 1, 1998, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #8
reports:
  Discovery's crew released a second satellite today, a telescope
package that will fly free of the Shuttle for two days to study the
sun and the solar wind in a research effort that may help scientists
better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread
disruptions of communications and power supplies on Earth.
  Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, using Discovery's robotic arm,
lifted the Spartan satellite from the shuttle's cargo bay and released
it into orbit at 12:59 p.m. Central. A few minutes later, after a
maneuver by the satellite indicated it was operating properly,
Commander Curt Brown fired Discovery's jets to move the Shuttle away
from the free-flying observatory. Brown maintained a distance from six
to 10 statute miles from the satellite for about nine hours while
several tests of an experimental communications system on Spartan were
conducted, using the Shuttle as a relay station. After a couple of
minor problems early on, the communications link has worked
well. Spartan normally requires no communications for its studies, and
it is capable of performing all of its observations automatically and
recording the data gathered onboard without any interaction with the
ground.
  Just before the crew goes to bed this evening, Brown will fire
Discovery's jets to further separate from Spartan, slowly moving out
to a distance of more than 30 miles from the satellite. Spartan is
scheduled to be retrieved by the Shuttle at 2:45 p.m. Central on
Tuesday. Following the satellite release this afternoon, Brown and
astronaut John Glenn took time out to speak with reporters at the
Johnson Space Center, fielding questions about all aspects of the
historic flight during a 40-minute press conference.
  Discovery remains in excellent condition. The crew is scheduled to
begin a sleep period at 10 p.m. Central tonight and awaken at 6
a.m. on Monday. During the night, Glenn and fellow Payload Specialist
Chiaki Mukai will wear a host of sensors recording their movements and
other information as part of the sleep research being conducted during
the flight.
  Discovery is in a 348 by 338 statute mile orbit. The next status
report will be issued at 6 a.m. Central time Monday.
  STS-95 Flight Day 5 Highlights:
 On Monday, November 2, 1998, 6:30 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #9
reports:
  Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 6 a.m. Central time this
morning by Andy Williams' rendition of the 1962 Academy Award winning
song, "Moon River" Annie Glenn requested the song as a tribute to the
longstanding friendship between Williams and her husband, Payload
Specialist John Glenn.  The seven crew members are looking forward to
some free time today, following yesterday's successful deployment of
the Spartan solar physics satellite, which will study the outer layers
of the sun's atmosphere until it is retrieved by Discovery tomorrow.
  Work will continue today with a wide variety of science experiments
on board, although at a somewhat slower pace.  Payload Specialist
Chiaki Mukai and Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski; both physicians
will draw blood from Glenn and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain
as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment, which assesses the body's
breakdown and metabolism of protein before, during and after space
flight.
  Mukai and Glenn, each of whom wore an electrode net on their heads,
as well as other measuring devices, during last night's sleep period,
will complete some cognitive performance tests as part of their
participation in the sleep study.  The cognitive tests will include
measurements of how quickly they respond to light cues on a lap-top
computer.
  Glenn and Mukai will don the electrode net again before turning in
this evening. The electrodes are connected to a digital sleep recorder
that monitors brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body
movements and respiration.  Mukai will swallow a capsule containing
either melatonin or a placebo as part of the study before going to
sleep.
  Parazynski will check the status of components of the Hubble Space
Telescope Orbital Systems Test (HOST) payload, which provides an
on-orbit test bed for hardware that will be used during the third
Hubble servicing mission.  Parazynski and Pilot Steve Lindsey also
will set up some of the tools that will be used during Tuesday's
rendezvous and subsequent capture and reberthing of the Spartan
satellite. Steve Robinson will use the Shuttle's robot arm to grapple
Spartan tomorrow afternoon after Discovery completes its rendezvous
with the sun-watching probe.
  Other science activities today will include the collection of video
data from the Advanced Gradient Heating Facility (AGHF) used for
directional solidification and crystal growth, and from the
Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX), which is used for investigations of
colloids, or systems of fine particles suspended in fluid.  Parazynski
also will complete the 5th feeding of the bone cell culture that is
part of the OSTEO experiment, an evaluation of bone cell activity
under microgravity conditions.
  Commander Curt Brown will spend some time this morning working with
the Electronic Nose device, which was developed to detect, identify
and quantify a wide range of organic and inorganic molecules and
provide a comprehensive measurement of on-board air quality.
  Mukai will be busy checking on the Vestibular Function Experiment
Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish.  The fish are electronically
monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the
balance system in the inner ear.  She also will monitor the
Astroculture-8 facility that is designed to provide a controlled
environment in which to grow plants in the weightlessness of space.
  At 9:55 a.m. Central time, Brown, Duque and Glenn will receive a
congratulatory call from Esperanza Aguirre, the Education Minister of
Spain.  Duque, the first Spaniard to fly in space, also will take
questions from school children representing 17 regions of Spain.
  At 4:00 p.m. Central time, Brown and Glenn will take part in
unilateral interviews with the five major U.S. television networks.
  Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 349 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent
condition.
  The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6
p.m. Central time Monday.
 On Monday, November 2, 1998, 7:00 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #10
reports:
  Discovery's crew took a few hours break from the continuous pace of
research activity on board today, a standard rest period for the crew
that is planned during longer shuttle flights.
  Research continues, however, as the Spartan solar science satellite
released by Discovery yesterday now trails the Shuttle by about 30
miles, performing observations of the sun and the solar
wind. Discovery Commander Curt Brown and Payload Specialist John Glenn
also took time out to answer questions about the mission from
reporters with major broadcast television networks in the U.S. during
the afternoon.
  Later, Pilot Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski
set up lap top computers in Discovery's cockpit in preparation for the
retrieval of the Spartan satellite on Tuesday. Spartan is planned to
be recaptured by the Shuttle at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow.
  The crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 9:25 p.m. Central tonight
and awaken at 5:25 a.m. Tuesday. Prior to going to sleep, Brown will
perform a small firing of Discovery's steering jets to maintain the
distance from Spartan during the crew's night. Also, Glenn and fellow
Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will don special instrumentation they
will wear for a second night in a row that records a variety of
information such as brain waves and body motions as they sleep.
Discovery remains in excellent condition with no systems problems of
concern to Mission Control, orbiting Earth at an altitude of 348 by
338 statute miles. The next status report will be issued at 6
a.m. CST.
  STS-95 Flight Day 6 Highlights:
 On Tuesday, November 3, 1998, 6:30 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #11
reports:
  Discovery's astronauts began the second half of their flight at 5:25
a.m. Central time this morning to the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughn's
"If the House is A-Rockin," in honor of Mission Specialist Steve
Robinson.  Robinson is known as "Stevie Ray Robinson" by the other
members of the astronaut band known as "Max Q".  After enjoying a
break in their schedule yesterday, the crew is focusing its attention
on this afternoon's retrieval of the Spartan solar physics satellite,
which has spent the past two days studying the outer layers of the
sun's atmosphere.  Retrieval is set for 2:45 p.m. Central time.
  Rendezvous activities will begin when Commander Curt Brown fires
Discovery's engines to lower the shuttle, causing it to accelerate
ahead of the satellite. Discovery will fly over the top of Spartan,
then coast back to about 8 or 9 miles behind the satellite. Brown and
Pilot Steve Lindsey then will maneuver Discovery into position as
Robinson powers up Discovery's 50-foot robot arm.  Discovery will
approach Spartan from beneath the sun probe to a distance of 35
feet. At that point, With the assistance of Scott Parazynski, Robinson
will use the remote manipulator system to grapple Spartan to complete
the first phase of its scientific mission. As Discovery closes in on
Spartan today, the astronauts will test a device called the Video
Guidance Sensor, a component of an automated docking system being
prepared for use on the International Space Station. It is a laser
system that provides precise measurements of how far away the shuttle
is from a target and how fast it is moving toward or away from the
target.  Before grappling Spartan, Discovery will back away from the
satellite to test the maximum range capability of the guidance system.
  Spartan will be used again tomorrow for data collection, once again
being unberthed from its payload bay cradle for a few hours so that
cameras can be pointed at a series of targets on the spacecraft. Those
cameras will test the Space Vision System that uses remote camera
views to provide a robot arm operator with the ability to view areas
that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
  Other crew members will continue work with several of the on-board
science experiments.  Japanese Space Agency Payload Specialist Chiaki
Mukai and fellow Payload Specialist John Glenn, along with Parazynski
and European Space Agency Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, will undergo
another series of blood draws.  They will then take small amounts of
the amino acids alanine and histidine, which contain special tracer
molecules, 12 hours before another blood draw. This research is part
of the Protein Turnover Experiment that may benefit people on Earth
who suffer from weakened muscles or loss of bone mass.  Duque, Mukai
and Glenn also will collect urine samples as part of the study.
  Glenn will don electrodes and a data recorder known as a holter
monitor, which will record his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an
investigation of heart rate variability during space flight.  He also
will be kept busy feeding bone cell cultures that are part of the
OSTEO experiment, an evaluation of bone cell activity under
microgravity conditions, and he will work with the Advanced Organic
Separations (ADSEP) experiment, which provides the capability to
separate and purify biological materials in microgravity..
  Glenn and Duque will spend time with the Astroculture plant-growing
experiment and with the MEPS (Microencapsulation Electrostatic
Processing System) that studies the formation of anti-tumor capsules
containing two kinds of drugs.  Duque will collect video data and
photograph samples from the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX), which is
used for investigations of colloids, or systems of fine particles
suspended in fluid.
  As part of the evaluation of sleep disturbances in astronauts, Mukai
and Glenn will complete a questionnaire about their personal
observations of the previous night's sleep.  They also will take a
computerized battery of tests that measure reaction time, short-term
memory, hand-eye coordination and other assessments.
  Mukai will continue her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function
Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are
electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational
changes on the inner ear's balance system.  She also will monitor the
Astroculture-8 facility that is designed to provide a controlled
environment in which to grow plants in the weightlessness of space.
  Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 341 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent
condition.
  The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6
p.m. Central time Tuesday.
 On Tuesday, November 3, 1998, 7:30 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #12
reports:
  The SPARTAN satellite was captured and returned to its berth this
afternoon, successfully completing its two-day solar science mission.
SPARTAN Mission Manager Craig Tooley congratulated the crew and flight
control team on their performance in executing the mission exactly as
planned.  Tooley said that 30 percent of the science data already had
been linked to the ground and the remainder would be off-loaded at
landing.  SPARTAN Scientist Dr. Richard Fisher noted that
investigators were pleased to have the satellite in orbit near a solar
maximum cycle and that its instruments had captured sought-after data
on a solar mass ejection event.
  The rendezvous began with Commander Curt Brown firing Discovery's
orbital maneuvering engines to drop Discovery's orbit, accelerating it
ahead of the SPARTAN.  After closing the distance, Brown and pilot
Steve Lindsey maneuvered Discovery in close as Mission Specialist 1
Steve Robinson operated the 50-foot robot arm.  With Mission
Specialist-2 Scott Parazynski assisting, Robinson directed the arm to
a smooth grapple of the satellite at 2:45 p.m. CST.  SPARTAN was
placed in its berth in Discovery's cargo bay a short time later.
  During the final maneuvers, astronauts tested the Video Guidance
Sensor, a component of an automated docking system being prepared for
use on the International Space Station. Flight Controllers noted that
the system worked as planned.
  Spartan will be used again tomorrow for data collection, once again
being unberthed from its payload bay cradle for a few hours so that
cameras can be pointed at a series of targets on the spacecraft. Those
cameras will test the Space Vision System that uses remote camera
views to provide a robot arm operator with the ability to view areas
that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
  While SPARTAN operations captured most of the attention today, other
science operations continued aboard Discovery.  Payload Specialists
Chiaki Mukai and John Glenn, along with Parazynski and European Space
Agency Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, continued taking blood samples
as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment measuring muscle changes in
zero gravity.
  Glenn also attached electrodes and a data recorder to himself which
record his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an investigation of heart
rate variability during space flight.  He also fed bone cell cultures
that are part of the OSTEO experiment, an evaluation of bone cell
activity under microgravity conditions, and he worked with the
Advanced Organic Separations (ADSEP) experiment, which provides the
capability to separate and purify biological materials in
microgravity..
  Glenn and Duque worked with the Astroculture plant-growing
experiment and with the MEPS (Microencapsulation Electrostatic
Processing System) that studies the formation of anti-tumor capsules
containing two kinds of drugs.  Duque collected video data and
photograph samples from the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX) which is used
for investigations of colloids, or systems of fine particles suspended
in fluid.  Mukai continued her work with the Japanese Vestibular
Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are
electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational
changes on the inner ear's balance system
  All systems aboard Discovery continue to operate well.  The next
STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6:30 a.m. Central
time Wednesday.
  STS-95 Flight Day 7 Highlights:
 On Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #13
reports:
  Music from Japan awakened Discovery's astronauts at 4:50
a.m. Central time this morning. "Wakaki Chi," a cheering song from
Keio University where Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai received her
medical degree, was played in recognition of the phone call she will
receive at 2:55 p.m. from Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Minister of
State for Science and Technology, Yutaka Takeyama.
  The astronauts will once again remove the Spartan solar science
satellite from its berth in Discovery's payload bay for several hours
of data collection.  Cameras will be pointed at a series of targets on
the spacecraft to test the Space Vision System, which uses remote
camera views to provide a robot arm operator with the ability to see
areas that are out of viewing area.
  This morning Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, assisted by Mission
Specialist Scott Parazynski, will again test the Orbiter Space Vision
System. OSVS uses special markings on Spartan and the shuttle cargo
bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's operator using shuttle
television images. It will be used extensively on the next Space
Shuttle flight in December as an aid in using the arm to join together
the first two modules of the International Space Station.
  Robinson will use the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm to grapple
Spartan, unlatch it and maneuver it into position.  Following the OSVS
tests, he will use the Video Guidance Sensor to assist in the
reberthing processes.  VGS provides precise measurements of how far
away the shuttle is from Spartan and how fast it is moving toward or
away from the target.  VGS is a component of an automated docking
system being prepared for use on the International Space Station.
  Other crew members will continue work with several of the on-board
science experiments. Commander Curt Brown, Lindsey, Robinson and
Payload Specialist John Glenn will complete a daily back-pain
questionnaire by as part of a study of how the muscle, intervertebral
discs and bone marrow change after exposure to microgravity.
  Glenn and Japanese Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will once again
don a sleep net before going to sleep this evening.  Each also will
wear a special sleep suit.  Electrodes on the sleep net and sensors in
the sleep suit will monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle
tension, body movements and respiration. The electrodes and sensors
are connected to a digital sleep recorder that records a variety of
measurements as they sleep.  Mukai also will swallow a capsule
containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of the sleep study.
  Parazynski and Mukai will draw more blood from ESA Mission
Specialist Pedro Duque and Glenn as part of the Protein Turnover
Experiment (PTO), which is examining muscle atrophy during exposure to
microgravity.
  Glenn will remove and stow the Holter monitor electrodes and data
recorder he has worn for the past 24 hours.  The Holter monitor
recorded his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an investigation of
heart rate variability during space flight.  He also will process
blood samples as part of the PTO experiment.
  Glenn and Lindsey will spend time with the Astroculture
plant-growing experiment, while Parazynski and Duque will collect more
video data and photograph the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MGBX)
experiments known as Colloidal Disorder-Order Transition and
Structural Studies of Colloidal Suspension.  Colloids are systems of
fine particles suspended in fluid.  Researchers hope to learn more
about how the organization of atoms changes as they form into orderly
solid structures.  Duque then will deactivate these two experiments
for the remainder of the mission.
  Mukai will continue her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function
Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are
electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational
changes on the inner ear's balance system.
  Brown, Lindsey and Glenn will take part in an interview with CBS
Radio news and the Tonight Show beginning at 12:30 Central time this
afternoon.
  Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 341 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent
condition.
  The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6
p.m. Central time Wednesday.
 On Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #14
reports:
  The seventh day in orbit for Space Shuttle Discovery and its
seven-member astronaut crew was packed with ongoing science
operations.  Early in the day, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson,
assisted by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, tested the Orbiter
Space Vision System. OSVS uses special markings on Spartan and the
shuttle cargo bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's
operator using shuttle television images. This was its final on-orbit
test before going into operational use on the next Space Shuttle
flight in December as an aid in using the arm to join together the
first two modules of the International Space Station.
  This afternoon Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai along with STS-95
commander Curt Brown and Payload Specialist-2 John Glenn took a phone
call from Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Minister of State
for Science and Technology, Yutaka Takeyama.  Also today, Brown, Glenn
and pilot Steve Lindsey conversed with veteran newsman Walter Cronkite
and NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin during a luncheon in Houston
celebrating NASA's 40th anniversary.  NBC's Jay Leno of the
Tonight Show also interviewed Glenn, Brown and Lindsey in a
conversation that will be aired on NBC tonight.
  In other activity in space today, crew members continued work with
several of the on-board science experiments. Brown, Lindsey, Robinson
and Glenn completed a daily back-pain questionnaire by as part of a
study of how the muscle, intervertebral discs and bone marrow change
after exposure to microgravity.
  Glenn and Mukai continued to record their food consumption and will
once again don a sleep net and special sleep suit tonight.  Electrodes
on the sleep net and sensors in the sleep suit monitor brain waves,
eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and respiration. The
electrodes and sensors are connected to a digital sleep recorder that
records a variety of measurements as they sleep.  Mukai also will
swallow a capsule containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of
the sleep study.
  Glenn removed the Holter monitor electrodes and data recorder he has
worn for the past 24 hours, recording his heart rhythm on orbit, as
part of an investigation of heart rate variability during space
flight. Blood samples were again taken from Glenn and ESA astronaut
Pedro Duque as part of the experiment monitoring the changes in muscle
tissue in space.
  Glenn and Lindsey operated the Astroculture plant-growing experiment,
while Scott Parazynski and Duque monitored the Microgravity Science
Glovebox (MGBX) experiments known as Colloidal Disorder-Order
Transition and Structural Studies of Colloidal Suspension.  Colloids
are systems of fine particles suspended in fluid.  Researchers hope to
learn more about how the organization of atoms changes as they form
into orderly solid structures.  Duque deactivated these two
experiments for the remainder of the mission.
  Mukai continued her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function
Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are
electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational
changes on the inner ear's balance system.
  All systems on board Discovery continue to operate well. The next
STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6 a.m. Central
time Thursday.
  STS-95 Flight Day 8 Highlights:
 On Thursday, November 5, 1998, 5:00 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #15
reports:
  The Moody Blues awakened Discovery's seven astronauts at 4:15
a.m. Central time this morning for their eighth day of on-orbit
science activities.  The song, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere,"
was chosen by Commander Curt Brown's family.
  With the Spartan solar science satellite again secured in its berth
in Discovery's payload bay, the astronauts will turn their full
attention to some of the more than 80 experiments on board. They also
will begin shutting down some of the experiments and facilities in
anticipation of their return to Earth on Saturday morning.
  Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will power up the Orbiter Space
Vision System (OSVS) for an image optimization test. OSVS will be used
in International Space Station assembly as a key source of precision
data with which the robot arm operator will perform station assembly
activities. Robinson and European Space Agency Mission Specialist
Pedro Duque also will power up the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)
and check the unit's communications system. The EMU would be used
should a spacewalk become necessary; it provides pressure, thermal and
micro-meteoroid protection, oxygen, cooling water, drinking water,
food, waste collection (including carbon dioxide removal), electrical
power and communications.
  As they have throughout the flight, Commander Curt Brown, Pilot
Steve Lindsey, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson and Payload
Specialist John Glenn will complete a back-pain questionnaire as part
of a study of how the muscle, intervertebral discs and bone marrow
change due to microgravity. Results will be compared with data
provided by astronauts during previous missions.
  Glenn will continue blood sample analysis and blood processing that
are part of the Protein Turnover (PTO) experiment, which is studying
the muscle loss that occurs during space flight.  Better understanding
of the mechanisms of muscle loss may help scientists combat the muscle
wasting commonly seen as a result of aging and in bedridden
individuals.
  Deactivation of some of the experiments will begin today. After
using the Electronic Nose one last time to test the shuttle's air
quality, Brown will deactivate it for the duration of the mission. The
Electronic Nose is a miniaturized electronic air quality monitoring
system that mimics the way the human nose detects changes in the
air. Duque also will do a final shutdown of the Microgravity Science
Glovebox and stow equipment associated with the facility.
  Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski will check on the fish in the
Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU). By studying how the
balance organs of oyster toadfish in the VFEU adapt to microgravity,
scientists hope to gain important insights about similar functions in
humans and apply this information to develop therapies for equilibrium
disorders on Earth.
  At 12:10 p.m. Central time, the entire crew will gather for a press
conference with U.S. and Japanese reporters at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston, as well as with reporters gathered at the European
Space Agency's Villafranca tracking facility outside Madrid, Spain. At
2:40 p.m. Central time, the astronauts will gather again for a
conversation with Vice-President Al Gore and former Mercury astronaut
Scott Carpenter from the White House.
  Before going to sleep Wednesday night, the entire crew will gather
for the traditional crew photograph. Then Glenn and Japanese Payload
Specialist Chiaki Mukai will don for the last time their sleep nets
and suits to monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body
movements and respiration during sleep. Mukai also will swallow a
capsule containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of the sleep
study.
  Lindsey and Mukai will conduct additional work with the Astroculture
experiment to study the growth of plants in the weightless environment
of space. Brown and Glenn will complete the eighth and ninth feedings
of the bone cell cultures that are part of the Canadian OSTEO
experiment.
  Preliminary weather forecasts indicate generally favorable weather
to support Saturday's landing at 11:10 a.m. Central time at the
Kennedy Space Center. Remnants of tropical storm Mitch are expected to
pass through the area and move off Florida's east coast Friday night,
allowing good weather for landing on Saturday.
  Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 341 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent
condition.
 On Thursday, November 5, 1998, 6:30 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #16
reports:
  Some of the 80-plus experiments aboard Discovery were being wrapped
up today as the end of the STS-95 mission approaches. Others will
continue through Friday afternoon, the final full day on orbit.
  Pilot Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Pedro
Duque checked out a new communications systems for use during
spacewalks.  The new, digital communications system should provide
enhanced communication quality between the space-walking astronauts,
the orbiter and the flight control team in Houston.
  Work with the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS) concluded today
with a test of camera quality under varied lighting
conditions. Robinson cycled through Discovery's payload bay cameras
exposing each to day and nighttime conditions to validate how well the
cameras can "see" the OSVS targets. Deactivation of some of the
experiments began today.  After using the Electronic Nose one last
time to test the shuttle's air quality, Brown deactivated it for the
rest of the mission. The Electronic Nose is a miniaturized electronic
air quality monitoring system that mimics the way the human nose
detects changes in the air. Duque also shutdown the Microgravity
Science Glovebox and stowed equipment associated with that research
facility.
  The crew took time from its busy day today to talk with U.S.,
Japanese and European reporters at the Johnson Space Center in
Houston, as well as with reporters gathered at the European Space
Agency's Villafranca tracking facility outside Madrid, Spain.
  Vice President Al Gore, former Astronaut Scott Carpenter and school
children from the Washington D.C. area also had an opportunity to talk
with the astronauts, asking questions about John Glenn's return to
space and the work being done in orbit.
  For the final time later this evening, Payload Specialists Glenn and
Chiaki Mukai will don sleep nets and specially-instrumented suits to
monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and
respiration during their sleep period.
  Preliminary weather forecasts indicate generally favorable weather
to support Saturday's landing at 11:10 a.m. Central time at the
Kennedy Space Center. Remnants of tropical storm Mitch are expected to
pass through the area and move off Florida's east coast Friday
night, allowing good weather for landing on Saturday.
  Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 341 statute miles with all systems operating well.
  The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6 a.m.
CST Friday.
  STS-95 Flight Day 9 Highlights:
 On Friday, November 6, 1998, 5:00 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #17
reports:
  Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 3:40 a.m. Central time this
morning to begin their final full day in orbit and make preparations
to assure that Discovery is ready for entry and landing. Today's
wake-up song was "Voyage into Space," an original composition written
for John Glenn by composer and pianist Peter Nero, a long-time friend
of the Glenns.
  Commander Curt Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey will spend a good part
of their day checking out important spacecraft systems for entry and
landing.  At about 7:20 a.m. Central time, the commander and pilot
will begin the flight control system checkout, powering up one
auxiliary power unit and evaluating the performance of aerodynamic
surfaces and flight controls. The flight crew will perform a reaction
control system hot fire about 8:30 a.m., followed by a test of the
communications system.
  At about 12:30 p.m. Central time, the crew will begin stowing the
equipment used to conduct the mission's array of on-board science
activities. Just before turning in for the night, Lindsey will stow
the Ku-band antenna, which provides high data-rate relay and
television.
  The flight control teams in the Mission Control Center are also
preparing for Saturday's landing at Kennedy Space Center,
Florida. Preliminary weather forecasts indicate generally favorable
weather to support Saturday's landing at 11:06 a.m. Central
time. Remnants of tropical storm Mitch have passed through the area
and moved off Florida's east coast.
  Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of
about 341 statute miles with all systems operating well.
  The next STS-95 status report will be issued at approximately 6
p.m. Central time Friday.
 On Friday, November 6, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #18
reports:
  Discovery's seven-member crew Friday packed up and prepared for
the trip home Saturday with a landing planned for mid-day at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
  If weather and spacecraft systems cooperate, Discovery will touch
down at KSC at 11:04 a.m.  Central time after having flown 134 orbits
of the Earth.  Deorbit ignition of the shuttle orbiter's
maneuvering engines will occur at 9:53 a.m. CST to slow the
spacecraft's forward velocity allowing it to drop back into the
Earth's atmosphere.  Returning as an unpowered hypersonic glider,
Discovery will follow a ground track taking it across Texas and
Louisiana before it sweeps out over the Gulf of Mexico and into
Florida.
  Weather was predicted to be marginal, near the acceptable limits for
crosswind and with scattered to broken clouds.
  There are two landing opportunities to KSC Saturday and two to
Edwards Air Force Base, California.  Discovery has a second chance to
land at KSC at 12:45 p.m. CST or could land at Edwards at either 12:35
p.m. or 2:17 p.m.  Weather at Edwards was predicted to be good on
Saturday but unacceptable on Sunday.  KSC weather will be marginal
both days.  Earlier Friday, entry Capcom Susan Still told Discovery
Commander Curt Brown that the plan would be to try both opportunities
into KSC before considering the Edwards landing.
  If Discovery lands Saturday, the seven astronauts will spend the
night at the landing site before returning to Houston mid-day on
Sunday to a welcome at Ellington Field.
  Earlier today, Commander Curt Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey spent a
good part of their day checking out important spacecraft systems for
entry and landing.  One of the three auxiliary power units was turned
on to provide hydraulic power for a test of the orbiter's
aerodynamic surfaces.  The reaction control jets were test fired and
the shuttle's communications equipment tested. One of the RCS jets
leaked during testing and was isolated.  It will have no effect on
entry and landing.
  At the end of the crew day, the Ku-band antenna which provides
television and high-rate data relay was stowed for the duration of the
mission.
  STS-95 Flight Day 10 Highlights:
 On Saturday, November 7, 1998, 4:30 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #19
reports:
  The seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery were awakened at
3:09 a.m. this morning to make final preparations for their return to
Earth later this morning. "La Cucaracha," a well-known Spanish song,
was played for Mission Specialist Pedro Duque at the request of his
wife, Consuelo.
  If weather and spacecraft systems cooperate, Discovery will touch
down at Kennedy Space Center at 11:04 a.m. Central time after
completing 134 orbits of the Earth. Deorbit ignition of the orbiter's
maneuvering engines will occur at 9:53 a.m. CST to slow the
spacecraft's forward velocity, allowing it to drop back into the
Earth's atmosphere.  Returning as an unpowered hypersonic glider,
Discovery will follow a ground track taking it across Texas and
Louisiana before it sweeps out over the Gulf of Mexico and into
Florida.
  Weather in Florida is predicted to be near but within acceptable
margins for crosswinds and clouds.
  Today there are two landing opportunities at KSC and two to Edwards
Air Force Base, California.  Discovery has a second chance to land at
KSC at 12:45 p.m. CST or could land at Edwards at either 12:35 p.m. or
2:17 p.m. Weather at Edwards is predicted to be good on Saturday but
unacceptable on Sunday. KSC weather will be near margins both days.
Flight controllers will try both opportunities into KSC before
considering the Edwards landing.
  Although a normal entry, approach, and landing are expected,
precautionary plans are in place to accommodate a deployment of
Discovery's drag chute during reentry. The Shuttle Training Aircraft
that performs routine weather observations prior to landing and during
final approach will also visually monitor Discovery's drag chute
compartment.
  If Discovery lands today, the astronauts will spend the night at KSC
before returning to Houston mid-day on Sunday to a welcome at
Ellington Field.
 On Saturday, November 7, 1998, 11:300 a.m. CST, STS-95 MCC Status Report #20
reports:
  Discovery's astronauts glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy
Space Center today to wrap up a nine-day, 3.6 million mile mission
which marked the return of John Glenn to orbit and saw the crew
members successfully conduct more than 80 scientific experiments.
  Commander Curt Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey set Discovery down on
the 3-mile long landing strip at KSC at 11:04 a.m. Central time,
following a flawless hour-long descent back from space. A missing drag
chute compartment door, which popped off during liftoff on October 29,
posed no problem for the astronauts and had no effect on the landing.
  For Payload Specialist Glenn, the landing was a gentler return home
than he experienced more than 36 years ago when he splashed down in
the Atlantic Ocean in his Friendship 7 capsule after becoming the
first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn experienced only about 3 g's
of gravitational force during today's reentry, half of what he
experienced during his Mercury capsule mission in 1962.
  "One G and I feel fine," Glenn exclaimed from the middeck following
Discovery's wheelstop on Runway 3-3 at the Kennedy Space Center.  "The
view is still tremendous, give yourselves a pat on the back," Glenn
added, as he congratulated his crew mates on the completion of the
92nd flight in Shuttle
  Brown, Lindsey, Glenn, Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Scott
Parazynski and Pedro Duque of the European Space Agency and Payload
Specialist Chiaki Mukai of NASDA were scheduled to be reunited with
their families later today following postflight medical exams and
medical tests associated with some of the biomedical experiments
performed during the mission.
  The astronauts will spend the night near the Kennedy Space Center
tonight before leaving Florida tomorrow morning for a heroes' welcome
back at Ellington Field in Houston Sunday.
  Current plans call for the astronauts to leave the Cape Canaveral
Air Station Skid Strip late Sunday morning for an arrival at Ellington
around 2 p.m. Central time, where a crew return ceremony will mark
their homecoming at Hangar 276, led by NASA Administrator Daniel
Goldin, Johnson Space Center Director George W.S. Abbey, members of
Congress and Houston Mayor Lee Brown. Both the crew departure in
Florida and the crew return ceremony in Houston will be broadcast live
on NASA Television.
  Those interested in any updates to the crew return schedule should
consult the NASA Code-A-Phone by calling 281-483-8600. The JSC
newsroom will open at 8 a.m. Sunday to accommodate members of the news
media planning to attend the Ellington ceremony. The newsroom can be
reached by calling 281-483-5111. Reporters may set up equipment at
Ellington starting at 8 a.m. Sunday but must have either affiliation
or STS-95 mission credentials to cover the event.
  A parade in downtown Houston is planned for the STS-95 astronauts on
Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veteran's Day, to honor the crew, the nation's
veterans and NASA.
  NASA Television can be seen on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees
West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 Mhz
and audio of 6.8 Mhz.
<end of mission>