Mission Control Center
STS-64 Status Report #15

Friday, September 16, 1994, 7 a.m. CDT

Mission Specialists Carl Meade and Mark Lee are getting ready to venture
out of Discovery's crew cabin this morning to spend six hours testing
a new propulsive backpack. 

Called SAFER for Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, the backpack is designed
for use in the event a crew member inadvertently becomes untethered while
conducting an extravehicular activity. During today's space walk, Meade
and Lee will take turns testing the cap abilities of the unit by
performing four specific test sequences. 

The first sequence gives the operator an opportunity to become familiar
with the device before attempting the other demonstrations. Once the
space walker is familiar with the unit, the engineering evaluation will
begin. For that test, the space walker will fly several short
translational and rotational sequences. Next, a self-rescue demonstration
will take place. In it, one space walker will stand in the foot
restraint at the end of Discovery's mechanical arm and impart a series of
rotations to the SAFER space walker. The SAFER space walker will then
activate the unit's attitude control system to stop the rotation and fly
back to the end of the arm. The fourth test, a flight qualities
evaluation, will have the space walker fly a precise trajectory that will
follow the bent mechanical arm, demonstrating the kind of precision
translation that might be needed at the International Space Station. 

Preparations for the space walk began shortly after 7 a.m. CDT. At about
8:36 a.m., Meade and Lee will begin a 50-minute period of breathing
pure oxygen in their space suits to cleanse the nitrogen from their blood
before depressurizing the airlock. The two space walkers will step out
of the airlock at about at 9:43 a.m. 

Today's EVA follows on the heels of Thursday's successful retrieval of the
Spartan-201 satellite. Mission Specialist Susan Helms used Discovery's
robot arm to capture the satellite and secure it in the payload bay for
return home. Throughout the rendezvous, Discovery's radar system
performed well. 

The STS-64 payloads also are performing well. Operations with the Lidar
In-Space Technology Experiment continued with four hours of data
recording, including readings taken over Super Typhoon Melissa. The
payload community also reported that the Robot Operated Materials
Processing System has completed its crystal growth activities for the
flight. 

Discovery, which continues to perform as expected, is circling the Earth
once every 90 minutes in a 130 nautical mile orbit. 

--end--