07.09.97

Wednesday, July 9, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CDTSTATUS REPORT: STS-94-16

STS-94 MISSION CONTROL CENTER STATUS REPORT #16



As shuttle mission STS-94 nears the halfway point, Columbia continues 
to orbit the Earth in excellent condition, providing a stable and 
reliable platform for more than 30 separate scientific 
investigations. The official halfway point of the Microgravity 
Science Laboratory mission will occur later this morning, just before 
9:30 a.m. central, at 7 days, 20 hours and 26 minutes into the 
flight.



Following a brief handover with their blue team counterparts just 
after midnight, Columbia’s red team crew members -- Commander 
Jim Halsell, Pilot Susan Still, Mission Specialist Don Thomas and 
Payload Specialist Greg Linteris -- took over responsibility for the 
management of science operations aboard the Shuttle.



After starting his day with an exercise period, Halsell conducted 
status checks and video documentation on some of the Microgravity 
Science Laboratory experiments and activities being carried in the 
Spacelab module. The first part of Pilot Susan Still’s day 
involved monitoring orbiter systems and finishing troubleshooting on 
the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX). Still reported just 
before 3 a.m. today that she was seeing a good connection between the 
SAREX system, the Payload General Support Computer (PGSC) and the 
Packet Module. This interface means that SAREX operations data, such 
as who contact is made with, the time of contact and other 
information, will be recorded in the laptop computer.



Halsell and Still also spent part of their morning setting up and 
collecting data with the Wireless Data Acquisition System (WDAS). The 
WDAS is a risk mitigation experiment designed to gather orbiter cargo 
bay temperatures and monitor if payload hardware is approaching 
thermal limits. It is believed that real-time monitoring of thermal 
conditions for various exterior payloads on the future International 
Space Station may be required and a system such as WDAS might provide 
the support needed.



Thomas and Linteris spent their morning in the Spacelab module working 
on several experiments. Thomas’ has been working with the Large 
Isothermal Furnace (LIF), a vacuum-heating furnace designed to heat 
large samples uniformly; the Middeck Glovebox (MGBX) unit; and the 
Internal Flows in a Free Drop Experiment (IFFD). The IFFD experiment 
involves containerless processing of materials using acoustic 
positioning techniques. Linteris has worked with the Combustion 
Module and an experiment called the Structure of Flame Balls at Low 
Lewis-number (SOFBALL). Data from the SOFBALL experiment could lead 
to improvements in lean-burning internal combustion engines that may 
increase their efficiency and reduce emissions.



At 7:22 a.m. central today, Halsell and Still will take a few minutes 
away from orbiter activities to conduct an interview with WRDW-TV and 
WJBF-TV in Augusta, Georgia, the hometown of Still. During the 
remainder of their day, both Halsell and Still will conduct 
communication sessions with the SAREX. Thomas will continue his work 
with the Glovebox unit while Linteris continues his work with the 
Combustion Module.



The Blue team of crew members, Payload Commander Janice Voss, Mission 
Specialist Mike Gernhardt and Payload Specialist Roger Crouch, will 
awaken at about 11 a.m. and relieve the Red team at 1 p.m. central.



The next STS-94 status report will be issued at about 6 p.m. central 
time today.

	
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