STS-65 MCC Status #21 
 
Mission Control Center
STS-65 Status Report #21
6 p.m.  July 18, 1994
 
 
Science work continued aboard Columbia throughout the day, with no orbiter
issues impacting the astronauts' timeline in suppport of the second
International Microgravity Laboratory mission.
 
A small thruster jet failed early this morning, but was recovered after flight
controllers determined the problem was a clogged transducer.  Called a vernier
engine, the thruster is one of six used to fine-tune the position of the
spacecraft to keep it stable.
 
STS-65 Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Jim Halsell, Payload Commander Rick Hieb,
and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai took time out to talk with Larry King for
the Cable News Network show airing Tuesday at 8 p.m.
 
As has been the case for most of the flight, Cabana and Halsell tested their
proficiency skills on the Performance Awareness Worksta tion and the Portable
In-flight Landing Operations Trainer.
 
Hieb and Mukai took turns in the Lower Body Negative Pressure device, a
possible countermeasure against the detrimental effects of space flight.
 
Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao and Don Thomas woke up just before three this afternoon
and took over for their co-workers at about 5 p.m.
 
The Space Shuttle Columbia's systems continue to perform almost flawlessly.
The Orbiter is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 163
nautical miles.
 
The Johnson Space Center newsroom is open between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m, Monday
through Friday. NASA issues four status reports daily during the mission:
Orbiter status reports from Mission Control at about 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., and
science operations reports from Spacelab Mission Operations Control in
Huntsville at approximately 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.