Mission Name: STS-100 (104) Endeavour (16) Pad 39-A (72) 104th Shuttle Mission 16th Flight of OV-105 EAFB Landing (48) NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage Crew: Kent V. Rominger (5), Mission Commander Jeffrey S. Ashby (2), Pilot Chris A. Hadfield (2), (Canada) Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (4), Mission Specialist John L. Phillips (1), Mission Specialist Umberto Guidoni (2), Mission Specialist Yuri Valentinovich Lonchakov (1), Mission Specialist Milestones: OPF -- VAB -- 03/19/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/19/2001) PAD -- 03/22/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/22/2001) Payload: Space Station Assembly Flight ISS-09-6A (Raffaello MPLM-1, Racks/SLP, Canadarm2(SSRMS,SPDM), LCA,RU, UHF Antenna) Mission Objectives: The highest priority objectives of the flight are the installation, activation and checkout of the robotic arm on the station. The operation of the arm is critical to the capability to continue assembly of the International Space Station and to attach a new airlock to the station on the subsequent shuttle flight, mission STS-104, planned for launch in June. A final component of the Canadian Arm is the Mobile Base System (MBS) that will be installed onboard the station during the UF-2 STS-111 flight. Other major objectives for Endeavour's mission are to berth the Raffaello logistics module to the station, activate it, transfer cargo between Raffaello and the station, and reberth Raffaello in the shuttle's payload bay. Raffaello is the second of three Italian Space Agency-developed multi-purpose logistics modules to be launched to the station. The Leonardo module was launched and returned on the last shuttle flight, STS-102, in March. Remaining objectives include the transfer of other equipment to the station such as an Ultra-High Frequency communications antenna and a spare electronics component to be attached to the exterior during space walks. Finally, the transfer of supplies and water for use aboard the station, the transfer of experiments and experiment racks to the complex, and the transfer of items for return to Earth from the station to the shuttle are among the objectives. Endeavour also is planned to boost the station's altitude and perform a flyaround survey of the complex, including recording views of the station with an IMAX cargo bay camera. Launch: April 19, 2001 2:41 p.m. EDT. Launch occured ontime at the opening of a 4.5 minute launch window. SSME cutoff ontime at T+8 minutes 39 seconds. Shuttle liftoff weight 4,521,931 lbs. On Tuesday, April 17, 2001, engineers completed troubleshooting a faulty lighting dimmer switch on the flight deck of the crew module. The electrical box was successfully replaced overnight following cryogenic loading. Loading of the orbiter's onboard cryogenic storage tanks is now complete, and technicians are working no further problems at the pad at this time. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/18/2001) On Monday, April 16, 2001, the launch countdown for mission STS-100 began at 6 p.m. as scheduled. Preparation continues toward a launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour and the seven-member flight crew at 2:41 p.m. Thursday. The orbiter's onboard cryogenic storage tanks were then loaded for flight and the orbiter midbody umbilical unit demated. Loading operations began about one hour late, allowing engineers to troubleshoot a lighting dimmer switch in the crew module before clearing the pad. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 4/17/2001) Space Shuttle Endeavour rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building today at about 9:50 a.m. Solid rocket booster closeout inspections slightly delayed first motion, and Endeavour is now expected to arrive at the pad before 4 p.m. Once at the pad, routine launch pad validations commence, verifying all vehicle and facility interfaces. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/22/2001) Shuttle orbiter Endeavour departed OPF bay 2 Saturday at about 9:26 a.m. headed for the VAB. Orbiter and external tank mating activities are under way and the Shuttle Interface Test will conclude on Wednesday. The full Space Shuttle stack is scheduled to roll out of VAB high bay 3 at 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 22, and should arrive at Launch Pad 39B by about 1 p.m. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/19/2001) Orbit: Altitude: 173 nm Inclination: 51.6 Orbits: Duration: 11 days, 19 hours, 58 minutes, seconds. (Estimated) Distance: miles Hardware: SRB: BI107PF SRM: ET : ET-108A MLP : SSME-1: SN-2054 SSME-2: SN-2043 SSME-3: SN-2049 Landing: Edwards Air Force Base, CA, Tuesday, May 1, 2001, 12:11 p.m. EDT Mission Highlights: STS-100 Flight Day 1 Highlights: On Thursday, April 19, 2001, 3:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #1 reports: The Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center this afternoon, carrying a multi-national crew and a complex Canadian-built robotic arm to the International Space Station (ISS). Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos blasted off on time from Launch Pad 39-A at 1:41 p.m. Central time as the ISS sailed over the Indian Ocean south of India. Aboard the station, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms were told of Endeavour's launch as it lifted off from the pad. Approximately 20 minutes later, the three crew members took a few minutes out from routine maintenance work and preparations for Endeavour's arrival to watch a video feed of the launch uplinked to them by ISS flight controllers in Houston through the station's KU-band communications system. Less than nine minutes after launch, Endeavour had reached its preliminary orbit and began its pursuit of the station for a docking Saturday morning. The seven astronauts began to configure systems for on-orbit operations and opened the shuttle's cargo bay doors before the start of an eight-hour sleep period tonight at 6:41 p.m. Central time. Aboard the ISS, all systems continue to function normally as Usachev, Voss and Helms ready the complex for their first visitors since beginning their expedition one month ago. On Monday, a Russian Progress resupply vehicle was jettisoned from the aft docking port of the Zvezda module, enabling the station crew to undock its Soyuz return capsule from the nadir port of the Zarya module yesterday and fly it to a redocking with Zvezda in a 21-minute maneuver. That cleared the Zarya docking port for the arrival of the Soyuz rotation "taxi" crew at the ISS later this month. The taxi crew will deliver a fresh Soyuz capsule for the Expedition crew members's use as an emergency return vehicle. The Soyuz vehicles need to be rotated approximately every six months. Hadfield and Parazynski are scheduled to venture outside Endeavour Sunday for the first of two scheduled space walks to unfold the huge booms of the 57-foot-long Canadarm2 and to route power to the device, which will be mounted on the Destiny Laboratory for future station assembly work. Canadarm2 is scheduled to "walk off" its pallet and attach itself to a grapple fixture on Destiny Monday, where it will receive power, data and commanding from the Expedition crew operating at robotic workstations inside Destiny. Housed in Endeavour's cargo bay is the Italian Space Agency-provided Raffaello cargo module, which is carrying several tons of equipment for the Expedition Two crew and racks of hardware for installation in Destiny which will be used for scientific research in the future. Raffaello, which is the second of three such logistics modules, will be berthed to the ISS Monday so its contents can be transferred to the station throughout the course of docked operations. Endeavour is circling the Earth in excellent shape as it flies in an orbit inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the Equator. The next STS-100 mission status report will be issued Friday morning following the wakeup call to Endeavour's astronauts from Mission Control, which is scheduled at 2:41 a.m. Central time. STS-100 Flight Day 2 Highlights: On Friday, April 20, 2001, 3:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #1 reports: The crew of the shuttle Endeavour worked this morning to prepare for its Saturday docking with the International Space Station and for the two planned spacewalks while there. The chase to catch up with the waiting station and its Expedition Two crew continues with another in the series of rendezvous maneuvers scheduled for about 5:30 this morning. Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 8:36 Saturday morning to deliver the Canadian built high tech robotic arm, called Canadarm2 and the Raffaello Multipurpose Logistics Module supplied to the program by the Italian Space Agency. Raffaello contains equipment and supplies for the station and its crew of Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms. It also brings two new experiment racks for the station's U.S. laboratory Destiny. The Endeavour crew, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos were awakened at 2:41 a.m. Friday by “Then the Morning Comes” by the musical group Smashmouth. It was chosen for Phillips, making his first spaceflight. Today the shuttle crew will checkout three spacesuits and the orbiter's robotic arm while rendezvous preparations include installation of the centerline camera and extension of Endeavour's Orbital Docking System ring. Another rendezvous engine burn is scheduled shortly before the crew finishes today's activities. Space station crewmembers also will get ready for the rendezvous. Later today they will prepare equipment for transfer to the shuttle shortly after docking. Endeavour will bring the first visitors to the Expedition Two crew since Discovery's departure last month. Shortly after Endeavour's scheduled undocking and departure from the station on April 28, a taxi crew is to arrive with a new Soyuz spacecraft. It will replace the Soyuz, which launched the first crew toward the station on Oct. 31, 2000. The Soyuz capsule has an on-orbit life of about six months. Hadfield and Parazynski will conduct two spacewalks on Sunday and Tuesday. The first will focus on installation of the 2-ton, 57-foot-long Canadarm2. The second is devoted to checkout of the arm that will be instrumental in future space station assembly. Major systems aboard Endeavour and the International Space Station continue to function well. The next status report will be issued later today, or as events warrant. On Friday, April 20, 2001, 5:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #3 reports: The day on orbit was one of preparations as Endeavour's seven astronauts got ready for tomorrow morning's scheduled arrival at the International Space Station, and Sunday's planned space walk by Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski. Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 8:32 a.m. Saturday although the crews will not greet each other until early Monday. In preparation for tomorrow's rendezvous and docking, Hadfield and Parazynski checked out the tools and hardware that will be used during Endeavour's approach to the station, and Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Jeff Ashby installed a center-line camera in the orbiter docking system. Rominger, Ashby and Flight Engineer John Phillips performed another in a series of engine firings to refine Endeavour's approach to the Station. As of 5 p.m., Endeavour was approximately 1,400 miles behind and below the station, and closing that distance at the rate of about 171 miles every orbit of the Earth. Hadfield and Parazynski also verified the operation of the spacesuits they will wear on two scheduled space walks to install and activate the new Canadarm2 robotic arm. European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni began preparations for the transfer of hardware and material from Endeavour to the station and worked with Ashby in checking out the shuttle's robotic arm to verify its operation. Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos worked on the middeck and filled two large water containers for later transfer to the station. Endeavour's astronauts will go to sleep at 5:41 p.m. today, awakening at 1:41 a.m. Saturday. They will quickly begin the final stages of their chase of the International Space Station. The final intercept burn is scheduled for 6:13 a.m., with docking at 8:32 a.m., as the two spacecraft fly overhead the Southeast coast of China, northeast of Victoria, Hong Kong. Meanwhile, on the space station, Expedition 2 Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss continued packing return items and making sure their orbiting home is ready for the crew's first visitors. Flight controllers report that the Russian segment's carbon dioxide removal system is not working at its highest rate, probably due to a clogged filter screen. The situation poses no problems for the upcoming shuttle visit, but could lead to increased use of backup lithium hydroxide removal systems after the shuttle undocks and additional crew members arrive on a Soyuz taxi flight. The station crew may be asked do some repairs on the unit on Saturday. Otherwise, all major systems aboard Endeavour and the International Space Station continue to function well. The next status report will be issued Saturday morning after the crew is awake, or as events warrant. STS-100 Flight Day 3 Highlights: On Saturday, April 21, 2001, 3:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #4 reports: Space Shuttle Endeavour and its seven crewmembers began rendezvous preparations shortly after 3 a.m. today, which should culminate in an 8:32 a.m. docking to the International Space Station, which will be northeast of Hong Kong at an altitude of 240 miles. The shuttle is bringing an advanced robotic arm, experiments and supplies to the ever-growing science outpost. Before the undocking a week later, two space walks will have been conducted and Raffaello, the second Multipurpose Logistics Module provided by the Italian Space Agency, will have been unloaded and reloaded after berthing to the station. The pressurized cargo carrier – an orbital moving van – is bringing food, equipment and other supplies, as well as two scientific experiment racks for the U.S. laboratory Destiny. Endeavour will approach the station from behind and below. Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Jeff Ashby, assisted by the rest of the crew, will fly the shuttle to a point about 600 feet directly below the station. With the cargo bay pointed toward the station, they will fly a quarter circle to a point about 300 feet ahead of the station. From there they will begin a slow approach to the docking port at the forward end of Destiny. Stationkeeping will begin at a distance of about 30 feet to ensure a good alignment with the station's docking target before Rominger resumes the approach at a speed of about one foot every 10 seconds until docking. Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” awakened Endeavour's crew – Rominger, Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov – early this morning. The song from the Top Gun soundtrack was played for Rominger. The space station's crew was awakened shortly after 2 a.m. to make final preparations for the shuttle's arrival. The Expedition Two crew of Russian Commander Yury Usachev and astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms has been aboard the station for more than a month since assuming duty from the Expedition One crew on March 18. Though joined together, the two crews will not meet face-to-face until early Monday, after the first space walk by Hadfield and Parazynski. Endeavour's cabin pressure was lowered to 10.2 pounds per square inch Friday afternoon in preparation for that space walk, while the atmosphere inside the station remains a normal 14.7 psi. The first space walk, scheduled to begin about 6:20 a.m. Sunday, will focus on installation of the station's robotic arm, called Canadarm2. The space walkers also will install a UHF antenna on the station's exterior. Their second space walk Tuesday, features routing power and checking out the stations arm, which at 57.7 feet long, is longer, more flexible and more powerful than the robotic arm used by the shuttle fleet. If necessary, a third space walk could take place Thursday. All systems are in good shape aboard both vehicles. The next status report will be issued Saturday afternoon, or as events warrant. On Saturday, April 21, 2001, 3:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #5 reports: With Commander Kent Rominger at the controls, Endeavour gently docked with the International Space Station this morning as the two spacecraft flew 243 miles over the southern Pacific Ocean, just southeast of New Zealand. Docking occurred at 8:59 a.m. central time. Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists John Phillips, Chris Hadfield, Umberto Guidoni, Scott Parazynski and Yuri Lonchakov, briefly opened a hatch leading from the Shuttle into Pressurized Mating Adapter-2, and retrieved a battery-powered drill for use on Sunday's space walk. They also left behind some supplies that were later retrieved by the station crew. From the station side of the hatch leading to PMA-2, flight engineer Jim Voss used a video camera to film the smiling Shuttle crew members as they transferred four water containers, computer equipment, some fresh food and film for the IMAX camera. Though securely linked together, the two crews are not scheduled to greet one another in person until early Monday, following the first space walk to be conducted Sunday by Hadfield and Parazynski. Late in their day, Hadfield and Parazynski were joined by space walk coordinator Phillips in conducting some final checks of the suits and hardware that will be used during tomorrow's planned 6 ½ hour space walk. The full crews on both vehicles then reviewed the procedures to be followed throughout Hadfield and Parazynski's space walk. This first space walk, scheduled to begin about 6:20 a.m., will focus on installing the station's robotic arm, called Canadarm2, and attaching an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) antenna on the station's exterior. A second space walk is scheduled for Tuesday, and will focus on establishing power connections and checking out the new 57.7 foot-long robotic arm. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineer Susan Helms verified the performance of the station's carbon dioxide removal system, called Vozdukh, which had been operating in a slightly degraded condition. The system started working normally overnight on its own, and their checkout confirmed that it is operating within normal parameters. Usachev, Helms and Voss also exercised and continued preparations for the next week of joint operations with the Shuttle crew. All systems are in good shape aboard both vehicles. The Station crew will go to sleep at 5:31 p.m. today, followed 10 minutes later by the crew of Endeavour. Mission Control will awaken the shuttle crew at 1:41 a.m. Sunday and the station crew will hear its wake-up alarm tone at 2:01 a.m. The next status report will be issued Sunday morning, or as events warrant. STS-100 Flight Day 4 Highlights: On Sunday, April 22, 2001, 3:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #6 reports: Now docked to the International Space Station, Endeavour and its seven-member crew are preparing for the first of two planned space walks set to begin about 6:20 this morning to install the orbiting outpost's Canadian built robotic arm. Called Canadarm2, the high-tech robotic arm is the most versatile ever flown in space. Shortly after crew wakeup, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski began suiting up for the six and a half hour space walk that marks the 19th devoted to the assembly of the ISS and the 63rd in the history of the shuttle program. Hadfield will be wearing a spacesuit with red stripes around the legs, while Parazynski's suit will have no markings. John Phillips will serve as the in-cabin quarterback for the space walk as Pilot Jeff Ashby and European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni operate the shuttle's robotic arm to install the new arm on the outside of the Destiny laboratory. Hadfield and Parazynski will connect cables to give the arm power and allow it to accept computer commands from the lab. They will unbolt the arm from the pallet, then unfold its two booms and tighten bolts to make them rigid. The space walkers also will install a UHF antenna on Destiny. The Space station's Expedition Two crewmembers Jim Voss and Susan Helms will power up the arm from the Robotic Work Station inside Destiny, checking connections made by the space walkers. A second space walk is scheduled for Tuesday, and will focus on establishing permanent power connections between the 57.7 foot-long arm and station and running it through a thorough checkout. The shuttle crew was awakened earlier this morning by Canadian Stan Roger's “Take It From Day to Day” played for Hadfield in honor of the space walk – the first ever by a Canadian. The Expedition Two crew was awakened shortly after the shuttle crew. Endeavour's cabin pressure will be increased to match that of the station during the space walk leading toward opening of the hatches between the shuttle and station Monday morning. Endeavour docked with the station at 8:59 a.m. Saturday followed soon after by entrance into the docking port on the station to retrieve some tools for use during today's space walk. The shuttle crew left behind four water containers, fresh food, computer equipment and IMAX camera film for the station crew. The next status report will be issued Sunday afternoon, or as events warrant. On Sunday, April 22, 2001, 3:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #7 reports: Endeavour's astronauts extended the reach of the International Space Station today, successfully installing a 57.7 foot long Canadian-built robotic arm. Mission Control Houston recognized the importance of today's activities sending up a congratulatory message from Canadian Astronaut Steve MacLean and playing the Canadian anthem, “Oh Canada” before the two space walkers – Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield – floated back into Endeavour. Hadfield became the first Canadian to conduct a spacewalk today as he worked to install the Canadian built and provided Canadarm2 robotic arm. “It really just opens the door to what all of us can be doing here internationally, beginning to explore space as a planet,” said Hadfield. Parazynski and Hadfield spent 7 hours and 10 minutes working outside the station, installing first an Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) antenna before turning their attention to the station's new robotic arm. They floated out of Endeavour's airlock at 6:45 a.m. central time and about two hours later had installed and deployed the UHF antenna on the Destiny module of the station. With that complete, the two astronauts turned their attention to installing the new station robotic arm. The main boom was deployed at 10 a.m. central, and a few minutes later, at 10:10 a.m. Hadfield and Parazynski began unfolding the arm as Endeavour and the station flew 238 miles over the Atlantic Ocean. With the new arm secured in its pallet attached to the exterior of the Destiny laboratory, Hadfield and Parazynski connected cables to give the arm power and allow it to accept computer commands from inside the lab. After unfolding the arm, they used a pistol grip tool to properly secure a series of expandable fasteners that keep the booms rigidized in position. The two space walkers experienced some difficulty ensuring an appropriate torque level had been placed on the fasteners. By taking the pistol grip tool from automatic to manual mode, Hadfield and Parazynski securely tightened the bolts in place, completing their activities for the day and beginning to clean up the payload bay before returning to Endeavour. Today's spacewalk, which concluded at 1:55 p.m., was the 19th conducted to assemble the International Space Station. A second spacewalk scheduled for Tuesday will focus on establishing permanent power connections between the arm and station and performing a thorough checkout. At 1:53 p.m., Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss, on board the station, commanded the first motion of the new station robotic arm as they flew 242 miles over the Indian Ocean crossing the eastern coast of Africa. All indications are that the arm operated perfectly in this initial commanding. Tomorrow, just before 5:30 a.m., Helms and Voss will “walk” the arm off the pallet and attach it to a grapple fixture on the Destiny module. On Wednesday morning, they will use the station arm to hand the pallet to the shuttle arm. In a procedure that will take about 3 ½ hours from start-to-finish, the pallet will be transferred from one arm to the other and berthed back in Endeavour's payload bay for return to Earth Endeavour's 50 foot-long robotic arm will be pressed into service once again Monday morning as Pilot Jeff Ashby grapples the Italian Space Agency-provided “Raffaello” logistics module and docks it to the Unity module. Early Tuesday morning, the Expedition Two crew – Voss, Helms and Commander Yury Usachev – will enter Raffaello and begin transferring the supplies, equipment and experiment racks loaded inside. After a busy day on orbit for both crews, the station crew will go to sleep at 5:31 p.m., followed 10 minutes later by Endeavour's crew. Mission Control will wake up Commander Kent Rominger, Ashby, Mission Specialists John Phillips, Yuri Lonchakov, Umberto Guidoni, Hadfield and Parazynski at 1:41 a.m. Monday. The station crew is scheduled to wake up at 2:01 a.m. The next status report will be issued Monday morning, or as events warrant. STS-100 Flight Day 5 Highlights: On Monday, April 23, 2001, 3:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #8 reports: The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station and the docked shuttle Endeavour are beginning a day that will see the first opening of hatches linking the two spacecraft. Highlights will include an impressive first step by the station's new Canadarm2 and the berthing to the station of Raffaello, the Italian-built logistics module. Hatch opening was set for 4 a.m. following a wakeup call from Mission Control earlier this morning. Judy Collins’ “Both Sides Now” for Pilot Jeff Ashby started the shuttle crews’ day. After transfer of equipment and supplies, the hatches will be closed again a little after 2 p.m. so that the Shuttle cabin pressure can once again be lowered to prepare for Tuesday's second spacewalk. That spacewalk will focus on permanently powering the station arm and doing further checkouts. The 57.7-foot arm was installed and unfolded Sunday during a 7 hour, 10 minute spacewalk by Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield. They also installed a UHF antenna on the station's U.S. laboratory Destiny. It was the 19th spacewalk devoted to ISS assembly and the 63rd in the history of the shuttle program. After additional checkouts by Helms and Voss this morning, the arm will “walk” off the Spacelab Pallet on which it was launched. Its free end will be attached to a Power and Data Grapple Fixture on Destiny, becoming the arm's base. That first step, beginning a little after 5 a.m., will cover just over 24 feet. Wednesday morning, the station arm will hand the pallet to the shuttle arm, to be berthed in Endeavour's cargo bay for return to Earth. Endeavour's own 50-foot robotic arm, operated by Ashby, will grapple the Raffaello logistics module in the cargo bay and dock it to the Unity module. Its installation there should be complete about 10 a.m. today. Early Tuesday, the Expedition Two crew will begin transferring the food, supplies, equipment and two experiment racks for installation in Destiny from Raffaello to the station. Both crews are scheduled to end their day about 6:30 p.m. today. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 240 statute miles. The next status report will be issued this afternoon, or as events warrant. On Monday, April 23, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #9 reports: Two elements built by two countries adorn the International Space Station (ISS) tonight after Endeavour's astronauts and the Station's Expedition Two crew worked throughout the day to bring the complex one step closer to an independent robotic capability. The new 57-foot long Canadian-built Canadarm2 robot arm took its first step this morning, “walking off” a pallet mounted at the top of the Destiny Laboratory to grab onto an electrical grapple fixture on Destiny capable of providing data, power and telemetry to the dexterous appendage. With Expedition Two Flight Engineer Susan Helms sending commands from a workstation inside Destiny, the arm began to move off the pallet at 6:13 a.m. Central time. Three hours later, after an extensive checkout of all of its new joints, the arm affixed itself to the Destiny grapple point where it will remain overnight in preparation for its first active grappling of a payload --- the pallet on which it was launched --- on Tuesday. As Canadarm2 was completing its work for the day, Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski used Endeavour's slightly smaller robot arm to latch onto the Italian-built Raffaello cargo module in the Shuttle's payload bay. Raffaello was lifted out of the bay and was attached to a docking port on the Station's Unity module at 11:00 a.m., setting the stage for Expedition Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Helms to begin unloading three tons of supplies beginning tomorrow. Parazynski was assisted by European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni, who will take the lead in assisting the Station crewmembers in the unloading of Raffaello and the repacking of discarded items in the module later this week. Parazynski and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield prepared for their second spacewalk of the mission tomorrow by checking out their tools and spacesuits. They are scheduled to emerge from Endeavour's airlock around 8 a.m. Tuesday for a planned 6 ½ hour excursion to rewire the base of the newly installed Canadarm2 so it can operate from its new home on the Destiny Laboratory, to remove a communications antenna from Unity which is no longer needed and to mount a spare electrical converter unit on a stowage platform on Destiny for future Station use. Earlier today, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists John Phillips and Yuri Lonchakov of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency led the way as hatches swung open between Endeavour and the ISS at 4:25 a.m., allowing the ten crewmembers to greet one another for the first time. Some supplies carried to the Station aboard Endeavour were transferred throughout the day until the hatches once again were closed at 2:26 p.m. after 10 hours of joint operations. The hatch closure enabled the Shuttle's cabin pressure to be lowered to support tomorrow's spacewalk. Near the end of the day, Rominger and Ashby supervised a one-hour firing of Endeavour's jets to gently raise the orbit of the ISS about 2 ½ statute miles, from 237.8 statute miles to 240.3 statute miles. Two more reboosts are planned on Wednesday and Thursday to leave the Station at the correct altitude for the arrival of a Russian-commanded “taxi” crew next week delivering a fresh Soyuz return vehicle to the complex. Both crews are scheduled to end their day just after 6:30 p.m. and will be awakened early Tuesday morning. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes. The next status report will be issued tomorrow morning after crew wakeup, or sooner, if events warrant. STS-100 Flight Day 6 Highlights: On Tuesday, April 24, 2001, 4:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #10 reports: Unpacking a space-based moving van and taking a second walk in space is the order of business today for astronauts and cosmonauts orbiting in the International Space Station and aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. The Raffaello logistics module, now open for business following yesterday's berthing to the side of the station's Unity module, will be unloaded over the course of the next five days and then reloaded with unneeded cargo from the station for return to Earth. While the Expedition Two crew of Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms begin to transfer goods from Raffaello, on the other side of the hatch aboard Endeavour, Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield planned to conduct the second Extravehicular Activity beginning about 8 a.m. The first order of business for the veteran spacewalkers will be to connect power, computer and video cables to the Power and Data Grapple Fixture on the side of the station's Destiny laboratory. An antenna on Unity will be removed, as it is no longer needed. Cables on the pallet that carried the new robot arm to the station will be disconnected. Once those cables are removed, the Canadian-built Canadarm2 will be receiving power and communicating with the station's Robotics Work Station inside Destiny. Near the end of the planned 6-½ hour spacewalk, Helms will command the station's new robotic arm to pick up the 3,000-pound pallet that delivered it to space. She then will maneuver the pallet through various positions to test the arm with a load. Helms will finish today's tests by maneuvering the pallet over Endeavour's payload bay where it will remain parked overnight, still attached to the high-tech robotic arm. The day began for the astronauts and cosmonauts with the dolcit tones of Louis Armstrong singing “What A Wonderful World.“ The song was played for Parazynski in honor of today's spacewalk. Included in the nearly two tons of equipment being off-loaded from the Italian-built Raffaello are two new experiment racks that soon will be filled with science experiments currently in Endeavour's middeck, and other experiments that will be brought to the station on future shuttle missions. Once the hatches are open late this afternoon after the spacewalk, European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni will take the lead in assisting the station crewmembers in the unloading of Raffaello and the repacking of discarded items in the module for return to Earth. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 237 statute miles. The next status report will be issued this evening after the crew goes to sleep, or when events warrant. On Tuesday, April 24, 2001, 6:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #11 reports: Endeavour's two space walkers -- Canadian Chris Hadfield and American Scott Parazynski-- worked as space-age electricians today, completing connections that allowed the new International Space Station robotic arm to operate from a new base on the outside of the Destiny science lab. Expedition 2 Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms steered Canadarm2 as it lifted its first payload in space, a 3,000-pound pallet that the 57-foot-long arm had been nestled in for launch in the shuttle's cargo bay. Today's 7 hour, 40 minute spacewalk began at 7:34 a.m. Central time, as Hadfield and Parazynski worked to complete all of the primary goals of the mission, including the connection of the Power and Data Grapple Fixture circuits for the new arm on Destiny, the removal of an early communications antenna and the transfer of a spare Direct Current Switching Unit from the shuttle's payload bay to an equipment storage rack on the outside of Destiny. As the pair rewired power and data connections for Canadarm2, the backup power circuit failed to respond to commanding from Helms, who was operating from a workstation inside Destiny. Hadfield and Parazynski opened a panel to gain access to another connector at the base of the arm and after disconnecting and reconnecting cables, were able to complete the redundant power path to the arm to the cheers of flight controllers in Houston. During the removal of the early communications antenna, an electrical connector cover got away from Hadfield and nestled behind a thermal cover in the docking port to which the airlock will be mated in June. After two unsuccessful attempts to locate the errant piece of metal – which required extensive coordination between the shuttle and station flight control teams on the ground -- Hadfield was instructed to stop searching and to move on to other work. The errant component is not expected to have any impact on future operations. With all of their work successfully completed, Hadfield and Parazynski completed their space walk at 3:15 p.m., bringing the total spacewalk time on STS-100 to 14 hours, 50 minutes. A potential third spacewalk on Thursday likely will not be needed. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Station crewmates Voss and Helms started their workday transferring supplies, equipment and experiment racks from the Raffaello cargo module, which is berthed to the Unity connecting node. After the spacewalk was completed, the two crews turned their attention to reopening the hatches between the station and shuttle. Commander Kent Rominger reported that Endeavour's crew had returned to the ISS at 5:15 p.m. to set the stage for the resumption of transfer activities on Wednesday. The two crews will begin their sleep periods shortly after 6:30 p.m. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 237 statute miles. The next status report will be issued Wednesday morning after crew wakeup, or sooner, if events warrant. STS-100 Flight Day 7 Highlights: On Wedesday, April 25, 2001, 4:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #12 reports: The Station's new robotic arm truly will extend the reach of humans in space today when it hands the 3,000-pound pallet delivering it to space to the shuttle's robotic arm for transport back to Earth. The three-hour task is set to begin about 6 a.m. While robotic arm operations are underway by Expedition Two crewmembers Susan Helms and Jim Voss aboard the station, and shuttle crewmembers Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski, the remaining shuttle and station astronauts and cosmonauts continue the task of unpacking the Raffaello high-tech moving van. European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni is overseeing the unloading of the Italian-built logistics module. Today's wakeup call to the crew was “Con te Partiro” (“With You I Will Go”), sung by Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli. It was played for Guidoni who is from Italy. Working at the Robotics Work Station in the Destiny Laboratory, Helms and Voss will use the new Canadarm2 to maneuver the pallet within reach of Endeavour's robotic arm under control of Hadfield and Parazynski. In a reverse passing of the torch, the new arm will pass the pallet to its older cousin officially beginning the station arm's own career in space. Hadfield and Parazynksi completed connections on the station's new robotic arm during the second of two planned spacewalks yesterday. The 7 hour, 40 minute Extravehicular Activity included the connection of power, data and television cables, which allow the robot arm to operate from a base on the outside of the Destiny science laboratory. At about 2:30 today, Endeavour's Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Jeff Ashby will boost the station's altitude another 2 ½ miles by firing thruster jets in a precise sequence for about one hour. With one reboost maneuver completed several days ago, a third and final identical firing of the reaction control system jets is planned Thursday. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 243 statute miles. The next status report will be issued late today, or if events warrant. On Wednesday, April 25, 2001, 8:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #13 reports: Troubleshooting efforts designed to restore full capability to the International Space Station's three redundant command and control computers continue in Mission Control, even as the 10 astronauts and cosmonauts on board the outpost worked together today to install new experiments in the Destiny laboratory. Shortly after the ISS crew went to bed last night, the ISS flight controllers reported a loss of Command and Control Computer number one (C&C 1), one of three systems management computers on board. Overnight, flight controllers inititiated a procedure to re-string those functions through one of the two remaining backup computers that route data for systems management. This morning when Expedition Two Flight Engineer Susan Helms sent commands to transfer data files from the mass storage device, which houses the files for station systems management for the operation of the robotic work stations, the command was rejected. After initial troubleshooting efforts failed to resolve the problem, flight controllers once again worked a procedure to re-string data management functions to the third computer, but the computer problem continued and flight control teams continued to evaluate the situation throughout the day. Following a power cycle of command and control computer 1, the first of a series of diagnostic commands - this to turn on and off a light on board the Destiny laboratory - was successfully transmitted from the ground to the space station shortly before 7:30 p.m. Overnight the space station flight control team will attempt to reset the computers by commanding them from the "primary" to "standby" mode in an effort to clear any software interaction that might be causing the problems. If successful, this would allow the Expedition Crew and ground controllers to again interface with the command and control computers. The diagnostic troubleshooting will continue through the night. The primary result of today's computer problem was a loss of communication and data transfer between the Space Station Flight Control Room and the station. Communication capability was routed through Endeavour enabling the crew and flight controllers to talk to one another. Despite the difficulties encountered with the computer system today, all systems on board the spacecraft continued to function properly. Several of the activities planned for today, including the handoff of a 3,000 pound pallete from the station's new robotic arm, back to the shuttle's arm, were postponed until Thursday, pending resolution of the computer issue. A reboost of the complex, using Endeavour's small thrusters, also was delayed. The crew members instead turned their attention to offloading experiment racks and equipment from the Raffaello logistics module, and transferring the experiments and hardware to the station. Once the computer difficulties are resolved, Helms and crew mate Jim Voss will command the station's new Canadarm2 to maneuver the pallet within reach of Endeavour's robotic arm under control of mission specialists Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski. Shortly before 7 p.m. Central, Mission Control said goodnight to both crews following a busy day on orbit. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev, Voss and Helms are slated to wake up about 2:30 a.m. Thursday; the seven astronauts on board Endeavour will receive a wake-up call from Mission Control about 10 minutes later. STS-100 Flight Day 8 Highlights: On Thursday, April 26, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #14 reports: Good news greeted space station flight controllers this morning when, shortly after awakening, Expedition Two flight engineer Susan Helms reported that the International Space Station computer systems may be returning to normal. Working at a laptop computer aboard the station that serves as the crew's primary interface with the station's United States command and control computer system, Helms reported the good news at about 3:45 a.m. Shortly afterward, Helms performed a series of troubleshooting steps that restored the ground's ability to monitor and send commands to the station's U.S. systems. Space station flight controllers then sent commands that have put the station's systems in a better configuration in the event computer problems recur today. They also are planning to send commands that will transmit data to the ground from the station computers to allow technicians to thoroughly analyze those computers' hardware and software as part of the investigation that is under way to determine the cause of the computer problems. Today's plan for the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Endeavour and the station will have them continue joint work this morning to reload the Raffaello logistics module with unneeded station equipment and supplies for return to Earth. The crews have almost completed unloading the 4,000 pounds of equipment that Raffaello carried to the station. While that reloading work takes place, flight controllers will continue their analysis of the station computers. Given continued success with the computer troubleshooting, the crews will resume work with the station's new Canadarm2 and the shuttle's robotic arm after 8 a.m., handing off a 3,000-pound Spacelab Pallet from the station arm to the shuttle arm to store the pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay. Another reboost of the spacecraft's altitude is planned later today as well, an hour-long jet firing by Endeavour that will raise the complex's altitude by almost 4= miles. A practice run with the new station arm to rehearse moves the arm must make during the next shuttle assembly mission to the station to attach a new airlock will be conducted on Friday. The crew of Endeavour was awakened just after 2:40 a.m. by a Russian folk song, "Behind the Fog." That song was played for Endeavour crewmember Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov. The two spacecraft are orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 243 statute miles. The next status report will be issued this evening at the end of the crews' day or as events warrant. On Thursday, April 26, 2001, 10:30 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #15 reports: Today, the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Endeavour will continue joint work to reload the Raffaello Logistics Module with unneeded station equipment and supplies for return to Earth. The crews have completed unloading the 4,000 pounds of equipment that Raffaello carried to the station. While the reloading of Raffaello takes place, flight controllers will continue their analysis of the station computers. The station command and control computer brought on line early this morning has continued to be fully functional and operate normally throughout the day. Controllers are working to bring another such computer online as a backup system later today. The recovery of the one command and control computer during the night is believed to have resulted from an automatic sequence aboard the station that powered each of the three command and control computers on and off in an attempt to bring them on line. The other two computers remained off line, however. Given continued success with the computer recovery, the shuttle and station crews will resume work with the station's new Canadarm2 and the shuttle's robotic arm on Friday, handing off a 3,000-pound Spacelab Pallet from the station arm to the shuttle arm to store the pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay. A practice run with the new station arm to rehearse moves the arm must make during the next shuttle assembly mission to the station to attach a new airlock also will be conducted on Friday. A second reboost of the station's altitude remains planned for later today. It will be an hour-long jet firing by Endeavour that will raise the complex's altitude by almost 4= miles. The two spacecraft are now orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 243 statute miles. On Thursday, April 26, 2001, 8:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #16 reports: As flight controllers continued to troubleshoot computer systems on board the International Space Station (ISS), the ten crewmembers were told late today they would spend some bonus time together, after mission managers requested an additional two days of docked operations to allow ground teams to recover the use of command computers in the Destiny laboratory and to complete joint activities. Final confirmation of the two-day extension is pending Russian concurrence of NASA's request for a one-day delay to their Soyuz launch, currently scheduled for Saturday. That would allow Endeavour to remain docked to the Station until at least Monday to help resolve the computer problems which were first noticed Tuesday night. The Soyuz vehicle was rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at dawn today. With one of three command and control computers still up and running on board the station, flight controllers worked through the day to overcome what is believed to be a software problem with the other two command computers and their processing systems. Ultimately a decision was made to postpone the unberthing of the Raffaello logistics module from the Unity module until Friday while ground controllers worked to recover the computers. With other work on hold, the crewmembers completed packing up Raffaello with unneeded gear and trash, which will be brought back to Earth. If at least one additional command computer can be recovered overnight, and engineers can reboot two fault protection computers in the Unity module which also shut down earlier today, the Raffaello module could be unberthed around midday Friday. Procedures to bring at least one additional computer back on line for further operations are expected to take about 10 hours. If Raffaello can be returned to Endeavour's cargo bay tomorrow, then the crew will likely be given the green light to press ahead with the handoff of a pallet from the newly installed Canadarm2 Station robot arm to Endeavour's slightly smaller robot arm on Saturday, setting the stage for undocking on Monday. To recover the two Unity computers, which offer a defense against other computer malfunctions by automatically rebooting them, controllers will have to perform a complex resynchronization procedure early Friday shortly before the planned wakeup of the two crews. Endeavour has enough power and other consumables to remain in orbit until Friday, if necessary. With a two-day mission extension, landing would occur on Wednesday. The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station are scheduled to be awakened around 2:40 a.m. Central time Friday. Meanwhile, all of Endeavour's systems continue to function flawlessly as it orbits the Earth linked to the ISS. STS-100 Flight Day 9 Highlights: On Friday, April 27, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #17 reports: Flight controllers worked successfully overnight troubleshooting computer problems on board the International Space Station and plan to continue a recovery of full computer operations on the complex today. The station and shuttle crews awoke this morning to find most of the station's computers operating well and on line, although efforts are continuing to bring up the orbiting outpost's backup computers. The crew today will assist with bringing the remaining station computers on line, including swapping a backup payload computer for one of the station's three command and control computers. Of the three station command and control computers, one is on line and fully functional, providing full computer operations aboard the station. The other two, which should serve as backups to the primary computer, are off-line. Today's activities are planned to bring them on line as well. The swap of one of those off-line command and control computers with the backup payload computer will correct what is believed to be a failed hard drive in that unit. The other off-line command and control computer has been loaded with new software from the ground that should correct its operating problems, although flight controllers have not yet rebooted the unit. In addition to the station computer troubleshooting, the station and shuttle crews today will continue to concentrate on the transfer of supplies and equipment from the shuttle to the station. They also plan to close the Raffaello logistics carrier's hatch and later detach that module, using the shuttle's robotic arm to reberth it in Endeavour's bay for a return to Earth. Almost 4,000 pounds of equipment and supplies were unloaded from Raffaello onto the station. Yesterday, the crew completed reloading it with items bound for Earth. The shuttle is planned to boost the station's altitude by about 2.5 statute miles today as well, the second such boost during the mission thus far. Managers have added an extra day to Endeavour's mission and are now planning to have the shuttle remain docked to the station until Sunday with a landing on Tuesday. A further extension of the mission also may be considered. The crew of Endeavour was awakened this morning to the song "Buckaroo," sung by Don Cain of Dubuque, Iowa, father of STS-100 Ascent and Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain. Except for the station computer problems now being resolved, flight controllers have identified no significant problems with any of the station or shuttle systems. The next mission status report will be issued later today. On Friday, April 27, 2001, 7 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #18 reports: The Italian Space Agency-provided Raffaello logistics module, loaded with 1,600 pounds of material to be returned to Earth, was tucked securely in Endeavour's payload bay at 3:58 p.m. Central time today as the International Space Station and shuttle flew high over the Pacific Ocean, north of Indonesia. Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, at the controls of the shuttle's robotic arm and assisted by European Space Agency Astronaut Umberto Guidoni, grappled the 14,700 pound "moving van," undocking it from the Destiny laboratory and carefully maneuvering it into position before securing it in the payload bay. Over the course of the past week, the astronauts and cosmonauts on board the station transferred 6,000 pounds of equipment from Raffaello to the station, and then stowed unneeded equipment and hardware on board for return. The unberthing of Raffaello followed last night's work by ground controllers to successfully synchronize timers on all the on-board computers, including the one operational Control and Command (C&C) computer in Destiny. With the one operational C&C computer, and Susan Helms at the ready with a back-up laptop computer in Unity, the crew was given a "go" to begin the undocking procedure about 2:20 p.m. today. Work to recover the command and control computers continued throughout the day today, with good progress reported, and a reload of software currently under way to restore C&C computer number three to full performance. C&C computer number one was determined to have a failed hard drive. That C& C computer will be replaced on orbit with a a backup payload computer, called Payload Computer Two, so that the failed C&C computer can be returned to Earth for inspection and analysis. Overnight, flight controllers will reload software on C&C number one in the hopes of bringing it back on line as well. The plan for the crew tomorrow, assuming a minimum of two C&C computers are up and functioning, would see Helms and crew mate Jim Voss operating the station's robotic arm to hand off its cradle to the shuttle's robot arm, being commanded by Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield on board Endeavour. Most of the activities planned for a "dress rehearsal" of the maneuvers the arm will perform during the next station assembly mission to install an airlock have been deleted from the timeline. Only the portions of the rehearsal related to shuttle robotic arm camera views will be performed. Earlier today, NASA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviakosmos, reached a decision on the launch of the Soyuz replacement vehicle, for 2:37 a.m. central time Saturday. Rosaviakosmos has agreed to delay the Soyuz docking to the station if additional time is required to resolve command and control problems aboard the station. Mission managers will assess the need for that additional docked day of operations based on specific criteria, including a minimum of two fully functioning command and control computers, securing the Canadarm2 cradle pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay, successfully reloading software in Command and Control computer Three, and completing final transfer activities between the station and shuttle. With another busy day behind them, the two crews were bid goodnight by Mission Control and will be awakened at 2:41 a.m. Saturday. Both spacecraft are in good condition, orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes. The next mission status report will be issued following crew wake-up Saturday, or earlier as events warrant. STS-100 Flight Day 10 Highlights: On Saturday, April 27, 2001, 6:30 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #19 reports: The primary computer aboard the International Space Station continued to work well through the night, but flight controllers continued to encounter difficulties recovering the station's backup computers. The station's two backup command and control computers remain off line. Attempts overnight to reload software in one of the computers were not successful. Analysts on the ground have uncovered an error in the software load that they believe may have been the source of the problem. Further efforts to reload software into the backup computers are expected to resume later this morning. Even if backup computers are not yet on line, the crew may be given a go today to use the station's robotic arm in an abbreviated maneuver to hand a carrier pallet to Endeavour's arm so that it may be stowed aboard the shuttle for a return to Earth. If so, the joint robotic activities would begin no earlier than 8 a.m. to allow time for managers to thoroughly evaluate the plan. Meanwhile, the crews are using the shuttle's robotic arm and cameras and the station's cameras to calibrate the Space Vision System, a precision alignment aid for operators of the robotic arm, and gather information that will help prepare for the next shuttle mission to visit the station. On that flight, planned for launch in June, the Space Vision System will be a key aid for using the station arm to attach a new airlock to the station. The crew also is continuing the transfer of equipment from the shuttle to the station during the day, and may work on some station maintenance tasks. A joint crew press conference, during which the 10 astronauts and cosmonauts will field questions from U.S., Canadian and European media, is planned at 1:41 p.m. CDT. Shortly after Endeavour's crew awoke today, Mission Control reported to them the successful launch of a replacement Soyuz spacecraft bound for the station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. The Soyuz, with a taxi crew of Commander Talgat A. Musabaev, Flight Engineer Yuri M. Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito, will replace the Soyuz spacecraft now attached to the station, which is nearing the end of its lifetime as a station emergency "lifeboat." The new Soyuz is tentatively planned to dock with the station at 3:05 a.m. CDT Monday, however the Soyuz docking plans will be delayed if a decision is made to further extend Endeavour's stay at the station. The shuttle crew was awakened today to the song "Dangerous," sung by C'est Cheese, played for Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield at the request of his wife. The station and shuttle are in an orbit of about 250 by 235 statute miles. On Saturday, April 27, 2001, 8:30 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #20 reports: Canadian "handshake in space" occurred at 4:02 p.m Central time today, as the Canadian-built space station robotic arm - operated by Expedition Two crew member Susan Helms - transferred its launch cradle over to Endeavour's robotic arm, with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield at the controls. The exchange of the pallet from station arm to shuttle arm marked the first ever robotic-to-robotic transfer in space. The successful exchange of the pallet was the last remaining major objective of the mission to be accomplished and could pave the way for Endeavour to undock from the station Sunday morning, if computers on board can be placed in a stable configuration overnight. Mission managers had established three specific criteria to be met prior to Endeavour's undocking. The criteria were to reberth the cradle pallet in the shuttle's payload bay, complete final transfer activities and place the station's command and control (C&C) computers in a stable configuration. With the pallet securely in Endeavour's payload bay and all final transfer items in place, the one remaining item is to ensure the computer system is in a stable configuration prior to Endeavour's departure. Overnight, flight controllers will uplink a series of commands designed to restore the two computers to full capability. C&C three is in an acceptable condition, although it is known to have a bad hard drive. Helms and crew mate Jim Voss will perform repair work on that computer at a later date. A final decision whether to undock Endeavour - and delay the docking of the Soyuz replacement vehicle - is expected late tonight or early Sunday morning. After spending much of this morning refining procedures to minimize inputs to the station's primary command and control computer, which developed problems accessing its hard drive, Space Station Flight Director Mark Ferring gave the Expedition Two crew a "go" to begin with arm operations at 1:27 p.m. With Helms working at the robotic work station, first motion of the station arm occurred at 3:01 p.m. Through a series of carefully choreographed commands, the station arm was maneuvered into its handoff position. Hadfield then slowly moved Endeavour's 50-foot long robot arm into position to latch onto the cradle, which was securely attached to the station arm at 3:43 p.m. At 4:02 p.m., as the two spacecraft flew over British Columbia, the pallet changed hands. Both arms then began backing away - with the station arm now under command of Voss, according to plan. Hadfield then stowed the pallet in Endeavour's payload bay at 4:51 p.m. Earlier in the day, Voss informed flight controllers that Endeavour crew members were helping with maintenance activities on the station's treadmill, called TVIS, installing new hardware to allow the Expedition crew to once again use it for exercise. The treadmill's walking surface had degraded and the crew had been told not to use it until repairs were made. Voss reports repairs are now about 50 per cent complete. After enjoying a meal together, both crews were scheduled to go to sleep shortly after 7 p.m. Both crews will enjoy an extra hour of sleep, waking up just before 4 a.m. Due to a compressed schedule tomorrow, the in-flight crew news conference, originally scheduled for 6:15 a.m. Sunday, has been canceled. If a decision is made to undock tomorrow, the astronauts and cosmonauts will exchange final farewells about 9:30 a.m. and then begin closing the hatches between the two spacecraft. Undocking would occur at 12:34 p.m. central. Pilot Jeff Ashby would then slowly back Endeavour away to a distance of approximately 450 feet, where he will begin a three-quarter circle flyaround of the station before commanding a final separation burn signaling Endeavour's final departure from the station. With an undocking Sunday, the mission is scheduled to conclude with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 8:04 a.m. Central time Tuesday. STS-100 Flight Day 11 Highlights: On Sunday, April 28, 2001, 5:00 a.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #21 reports: Endeavour's crew and the crew of the International Space Station will say farewell today, ending an eight-day visit by the shuttle that saw delivery a new robotic arm and more than six tons of supplies and equipment to the complex, including two scientific experiment racks for the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The crews are plan to close the hatches between the two spacecraft at 9:41 a.m.. Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the station at 12:34 p.m. With Pilot Jeff Ashby at the controls, the shuttle will back away to distance of about 450 feet to perform a three-quarters circle of the station which will include a special maneuver to allow filming by a payload bay-mounted IMAX camera. At 1:32 p.m., Ashby will fire Endeavour's jets to separate the vicinity of the station and put Endeavour on course for a 7:59 a.m. CDT Tuesday landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard the station, all three command and control computers - one primary and two backups -- are on line and operating well. One, the primary computer, has full capabilities. Of the two backups, one is functioning but has a failed hard drive. The third is working but flight controllers are still bringing up its hard drive. After Endeavour undocks today, the station crew will have the afternoon off duty. A Russian Aviation and Space Agency Soyuz spacecraft with a crew of three - Commander Talgat Musabaev, Flight Engineer Yuri Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito -- is planned to dock with the station at 2:52 a.m. Monday. The Soyuz, which will replace the Soyuz now docked to the station as a space "lifeboat" for the complex, is trailing the complex by about 6,000 statute miles. Endeavour's crew was awakened this morning by the song "Miles from Nowhere," performed by Cat Stevens and played for Ashby in anticipation of today's undocking. A crew news conference for Endeavour's crew is tentatively planned for Monday morning. On Sunday, April 28, 2001, 4:00 p.m. CDT, STS-100 MCC Status Report #22 reports: With a gentle push from springs in the docking module, Endeavour backed slowly away from the International Space Station at 12:34 p.m. Central time today, as the two spacecraft soared 240 miles over the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia. As Pilot Jeff Ashby slowly backed Endeavour away, Commander Kent Rominger and Expedition Two flight engineer Susan Helms exchanged final wishes for Endeavour's planned return to Earth, and a continued safe journey for the station crew. Once Endeavour was at a distance of 450 feet from the station, Ashby initiated a three-quarter circle flyaround of the station as Mission Specialist Yuri Lonchakov activated a large-format IMAX camera in Endeavour's payload bay to photograph the station. At 1:28 p.m., with the flyaround complete, Ashby fired a separation burn, initiating Endeavour's final departure from the orbiting complex, now equipped with a new Canadian-built robotic arm and communications antenna, installed by Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield during two space walks. During eight days of joint operations, the two crews also transferred more than three tons of supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to the station. On board the station, the Expedition Two crew - Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Helms - will enjoy some time off this afternoon following a busy week on orbit. Early Monday morning, they will support the docking of a replacement Soyuz spacecraft that will serve as the station's "lifeboat." The Soyuz and its crew of three - Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Yuri Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito -- is scheduled to dock at 2:52 a.m. Monday. Endeavour's crew will go to sleep shortly after 4:30 p.m. today, awakening at 1:41 a.m. Monday to begin what should be their final full day on orbit. Endeavour is scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center, weather permitting, at 8:03 a.m. Tuesday. The primary activity for the crew on Monday will center on Endeavour's return to Earth, with Rominger, Ashby and Flight Engineer John Phillips verifying the performance of Endeavour's flight control surfaces and steering jets. Hadfield, Parazynski, Lonchakov and Umberto Guidoni will begin stowing away much of the equipment the crew has used over the past 11 days on orbit. All seven crew members are scheduled to participate in a press conference, talking with media in the U.S., Canada and Italy, at 10:01 a.m. Monday. Mission Name: STS-104 (105) Atlantis (24) Pad 39-B (48) 105th Shuttle Mission Night Launch (26) KSC Landing (55) Night Landing (18) NOTE: Click Here for Countdown Homepage Crew: Steven W. Lindsey (3), Mission Commander Charles O. Hobaugh (1), Pilot Michael L. Gernhardt (4), Mission Specialist James F. Reilly (2), Mission Specialist Janet L. Kavandi (3), Mission Specialist Milestones: OPF -- 03/04/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/02/2001) VAB -- 05/29/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/30/2001) PAD -- 06/20/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/20/2001) Payload: Space Station Assembly Flight ISS-7A (ISS-Airlock, HPGA) Mission Objectives: The primary purpose of the flight is to deliver and install the ISS Airlock. The Joint Airlock is a pressurized flight element consisting of two cylindrical chambers attached end-to-end by a connecting bulkhead and hatch. Once installed and activated, the ISS airlock becomes the primary path for International Space Station space walk entry and departure for U.S. spacesuits, which are known as Extravehicular Mobility Units, or EMUs. In addition, the Joint Airlock is designed to support the Russian Orlan spacesuit for EVA activity. The Joint Airlock is 20ft long, 13ft in diameter and weighs 6.5 tons. It was built at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) by the Space Station Prime Contractor Boeing. The ISS-airlock has two main components: a crew airlock and an equipment airlock for storing EVA gear and EVA preflight preps. STS-104 also carries a spacelab pallet with four High Pressure Gas Assembly containers that will be attached to the exterior of the airlock. Launch: July 12, 2001 5:04 a.m. EDT. 10 min window. Tanking operations were completed at 10:35 p.m. EDT. At 4:55 a.m., the countdown clock came out of the T-minus 9 minute hold and entered the final count. The Crew Access Arm was retracted at 4:56 a.m. EDT. Launch occured at the opening of the launch window. On Sunday evening, July 8, the flight crew for mission STS-104 arrived to begin final preparation for their upcoming launch. Space Shuttle Atlantis. Over the weekend, workers completed orbiter aft compartment closeouts. Technicians also successfully replaced and retested an orbiter mass memory unit and a TV monitor on the aft flight deck launch window. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 7/09/2001) On Wednesday, June 20, 2001, following a go ahead from Shuttle management, KSC workers began rolling Space Shuttle Atlantis out of the VAB at about 2:30 a.m. today. When weather officials noted the threat of lightning in the vicinity of the Launch Complex 39 area, managers returned Atlantis to the VAB as a safety precaution. Atlantis has been rescheduled for rollout to Launch Pad 39B at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, June 21. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/20/2001) On Tuesday, June 19, 2001, Space Shuttle and International Space Station managers agreed to proceed with plans to launch Space Shuttle Atlantis no earlier than July 12. The official launch date will be announced after the Flight Readiness Review scheduled for June 28. The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test is scheduled for June 28-29 at KSC. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/20/2001) On Thursday, May 31, 2001, NASA managers announced that Space Shuttle Atlantis will not launch before early July. The additional time will enable the International Space Station Program time to evaluate a problem with the Station's new robot arm. Shuttle and Station managers will reconvene in mid-June to assess a new launch date. The Flight Readiness Review has been postponed with a new date to be announced. Orbiter Atlantis rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) last night, and workers are preparing to mate the orbiter to the external tank in VAB high bay 1. Once fully stacked, the Space Shuttle will remain in the VAB until a new rollout date is selected. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/31/2001) Managers announced a target launch date of no earlier than June 8 for Atlantis' next flight on mission STS-104. This shift accommodates an on orbit sun angle condition between May 18 and June 7. This so-called beta angel cut-out is an undesirable thermal condition for Shuttle/ISS docking operations. Previous launch date was no earlier than February 8, 2001. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/25/2001) Orbit: Altitude: 122 nm Inclination: 51.6 Orbits: 200 Duration: 12 days, 18 hours, 36 minutes, 39 seconds. Distance: 5.3 million miles Hardware: SRB: SRM: ET : MLP : SSME-1: SN- SSME-2: SN- SSME-3: SN- Landing: KSC, July 24, 2001 11:38 p.m EDT Main Gear Touchdown: 11:38:55 EDT (MET: 12 days 18 hours 34min 56 sec) Nose Gear Touchdown: 11:39:12 EDT (MET: 12 days 18 hours 35min 11 sec) Wheel Stop: 11:40:38 EDT (MET: 12 days 18 hours 36min 39 sec) Atlantis was given "a go" for an on time deorbit burn to bring to an end missions STS-104. The second landing attempt for KSC was waived off and landing is now scheduled for 11:39 p.m. Tuesday July 24, 2001. At 11:20 pm EDT, a "no go" was given for the first landing attempt due to rain showers in the area. The second landing attempt is scheduled with a deorbit burn at 1:08 am with a touchdown at 2:14 am EDT. Mission Highlights: Mission Name: STS-105 (106) Discovery (30) Pad 39-A (73) 106th Shuttle Mission MPLM (3) KSC Landing (56) Crew: Scott J. Horowitz (4), Commander Frederick W. Sturckow (2), Pilot Daniel T. Barry (3), Mission Specialist Patrick G. Forrester (1), Mission Specialist Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. (3) Expedition 3 Commander (UP) Mikhail Turin (1), Expedition 3 RSA (UP) Vladimir N. Dezhurov (2), Expedition 3 RSA (UP) Yury V. Usachev (4), Expedition 2 RSA (Down) James S. Voss (5), Expedition 2 (Down) Susan J. Helms (5), Expedition 2 (Down) Milestones: OPF -- 03/21/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/21/2001) VAB -- 06/13/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/13/2001) PAD -- 07/02/01 (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 7/02/2001) Payload: ISS 7A.1 MPLM (Leonardo), MISSE, GAS (G-708), Hitchhiker (Simplesat, MSC, SEM-10) Mission Objectives: Space Station Flight 7A.1 The main purpose of STS-105 is the rotation of the International Space Station crew and the delivery of supplies utilizing the Italian-built Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo on its second flight ( STS-102 , STS-105 ). Astronauts will also perform two spacewalks and conduct scientific experiments. The MPLM on this mission contains additional scientific racks, equipment and supplies. It is 6.4 meters long (21ft) and 4.6 meters (15ft) in diameter) and weighs over 9,000 lbs. An identical module named Raffaello has flown once (STS-100). Aboard Leonardo are six Resupply Stowage Racks, four Resupply Stowage Platforms, and two new scientific experiment racks for the station's U.S. laboratory Destiny. The two new science racks (EXPRESS Racks 4 and 5) will add science capability to the station. EXPRESS stands for Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station. EXPRESS Rack 4 weighs 1,175 pounds and EXPRESS Rack 5 weighs 1,200 pounds. The empty weight of each EXPRESS rack is about 785 pounds. EXPRESS Racks 1 and 2A were delivered aboard the Raffaello cargo module during STS-100/6A in April 2001. EXPRESS Rack 3 is scheduled to be brought to the station during STS-111/UF-2 in 2002. The Resuppy Stowage Racks and Resupply Stowage Platforms are filled with Cargo Transfer Bags that contain equipment and supplies for the station. The six Resuppply Stowage Racks contain almost 3,200 pounds of cargo and the four Resupply Stowage Platforms contain about 1,200 pounds of cargo, not including the weight of the Cargo Transfer Bags, the foam packing around the cargo or the straps and fences that hold the bags in place. The total weight of cargo, racks and packing material aboard Leonardo is just over 11,000 pounds. Total cargo weight is about 6,775 pounds. Another payload onboard is the Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE). This project is a NASA/Langley Research Center-managed cooperative endeavor to fly materials and other types of space exposure experiments on the space station. The objective is to develop early, low-cost, non-intrusive opportunities to conduct critical space exposure tests of space materials and components planned for use on future spacecraft. Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Glenn Research Center, the Materials Laboratory at the Air Force Research Laboratory and Boeing Phantom Works are participants with Langley in the project. The MISSE experiments will be the first externally mounted experiments conducted on the ISS. The experiments are in four Passive Experiment Containers (PECs) that were initially developed and used for an experiment on Mir in 1996 during the Shuttle-Mir Program. The PECs were transported to Mir on STS-76. After an 18-month exposure in space, they were retrieved on STS-86. PECs are suitcase-like containers for transporting experiments via the space shuttle to and from an orbiting spacecraft. Once on orbit and clamped to the host spacecraft, the PECs are opened and serve as racks to expose experiments to the space environment. Other payloads onboard are part of the Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility Shuttle Small Payloads Project. The SSPP system utilizes payload carrier systems such as the Hitchhiker, Getaway Specials and Space Experiment Modules to provide a low cost scientific research enviromnent. SSPP payloads on STS-105 include the Hitchhiker payload Simplesat, The Cell Growth in Microgravity GAS Canister (G-708), the Microgravity Smoldering Combustion experimet (MSC), and the Hitchiker Experiment Advancing Technology Space Experiment Module-10 payload). Launch: August 10, 2001 5:10 p.m. EDT (21:10 GMT) Launch window was 5 minutes. On Friday, the loading of cryogenic propellants began at 8:10 a.m. EDT and was completed at 11:07 a.m. EDT. The flight crew received a weather briefing at 12:45 a.m. EDT, ate breakfast and then departed for the launch pad at 1:25 p.m. EDT. Orbiter ingress began at 1:55 p.m. EDT and the hatch was closed at 3:10p.m. EDT. The access arm was retracted at 5:03 p.m. EDT. Launch occured at 5:10 p.m. EDT at the opening of the launch window. On Thursday beginning at 8:20 a.m. and completing at 11:21 a.m. EDT, the external tank was loaded with its complement of 500,000 gallons of liquid cryogenic propellants. The crew departed for the pad at 1:47 p.m. and closeout was at 3:32 p.m. EDT. The countdown progressed to the T-minus 9 minute mark where the launch was scrubbed due to weather. On Tuesday, August 7, 2001, launch countdown activities continue on schedule. Operations to load the Power Reactant and Storage Distribution (PRSD) system tanks with cryogenic reactants began late this afternoon. Loading operations are scheduled to be completed by early tomorrow morning, at which time the orbiter mid-body umbilical unit will be demated. Later tomorrow, the communications system on the Shuttle will be activated and tested and the rotating service structure will be moved to the launch position at about 9:30 p.m. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/07/01) On Monday, August 6, 2001, after a thorough engineering evaluation, Shuttle managers determined that the hydraulic power unit on Space Shuttle Discovery's left-hand solid rocket booster is ready for flight with no additional work required. The launch countdown began on time at 5 p.m. in firing room No. 3. and preparation at Pad 39A continues on schedule toward the Aug. 9, STS-105 launch date. Discovery's aft compartment has been closed out for flight and Shuttle ordnance installation is complete. Payload interface verification testing is also complete. The STS-105 crew and Expedition 3 crew arrived at KSC Sunday at about 1:15 p.m. to begin final preparation for flight. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/06/01) On Wednesday, August 1, 2001, during the Flight Readiness Review NASA managers confirmed Aug. 9 as the official launch date for STS-105. At Launch Pad 39A, workers completed replacement of Discovery's master events controller No. 2 and retests are nearing completion. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 8/02/01) On Wednesday, June 20, 2001, with the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters fully stacked in VAB high bay 3, Space Shuttle Discovery underwent Shuttle Interface Testing earlier this week. Final preparations for rollout to Launch Pad 39A are in work. Discovery could roll to the pad as early as June 26. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 6/20/2001) NASA managers announced that Space Shuttle Discovery's launch will occur no earlier than early August. The delay accommodates the ongoing robot arm evaluation and allows the flight crew additional time to train for potential arm repair efforts during the upcoming mission. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 5/31/2001) Orbit: Altitude: 122nm Inclination: 51.6 Orbits: 186 Duration: 11 days, 21 hours, 13 minutes, 52 seconds. Distance: miles Hardware: SRB: SRM: ET : MLP : SSME-1: SN- SSME-2: SN- SSME-3: SN- Landing: KSC, August 22, 2001 2:23 p.m. EDT Runway 15 The deorbit burn occurred on time for a the second landing opportunity at KSC for 2:23 p.m. on orbit 186. At 11:12 am EDT a "no-go" was given for the first landing opportunity. Main Gear Touchdown 8/22/01 14:22:58 (MET: 11 days 21 hours 12 min 44 sec) Nose Gear Touchdown 8/22/01 14:23:09 (MET: 11 days 21 hours 12 min 55 sec) Wheel Stop 8/22/01 14:24:06 (MET: 11 days 21 hours 13 min 52 sec) Mission Highlights: STS-105 Flight Day 1 Highlights: On Friday, August 10, 2001, 4:30 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #1 reports: After a one-day delay because of weather, Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off this afternoon, carrying a crew of four and three new residents to the International Space Station. As the station sailed over the Pacific Ocean southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, Discovery rocketed away from Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center at 4:10 p.m. Central time en route to a rendezvous and docking Sunday afternoon. Aboard Discovery were Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry along with Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. They will replace the Expedition Two crew, Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who were wrapping up their 155th day in space at the time of Discovery's launch. Less than nine minutes after beginning its journey, Discovery settled into its preliminary orbit as the crew prepared to open the ship's payload bay doors prior to receiving the green light to begin orbital operations. This is the fifth shuttle mission of the year. Discovery's crew will spend the next few hours unpacking equipment, setting up computers and conducting the first in a series of engine firings to refine the shuttle's orbit as it heads for the station. The crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period shortly after 11 p.m. and will be awakened at 7:15 a.m. Saturday for its first full day in orbit. That day will be devoted to preparations for Sunday's rendezvous and docking and eight days of joint operations with the Expedition Two crew, highlighted by the official transfer of command of the station from Usachev to Culbertson . Aboard the station, Usachev, Voss and Helms have spent most of the past couple of weeks packing gear for the trip home aboard Discovery, and tidying up for the arrival of visitors about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Discovery is in an orbit inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the Equator with all of its systems operating normally. STS-105 Flight Day 2 Highlights: On Saturday, August 11, 2001, 8:00 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #2 reports: The seven crewmembers aboard Discovery were awakened shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday for their first full day in space, a day of pursuit and preparation for a Sunday rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery's astronauts and cosmonauts, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, and Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, were awakened to "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry. It was played for Culbertson, making his third flight into space, eight years after he last flew. At the time the crew was awakened, some 8000 statute miles separated Discovery from the ISS. A second firing of Discovery's orbital maneuvering systems engines is scheduled for early in the crew's day today to further adjust its orbit in preparation for rendezvous and docking with the station. Also scheduled today are the checkout of spacesuits to be worn by Barry and Forrester during two spacewalks next week, the preparation of rendezvous and navigation tools and a test of the shuttle's robotic arm, all routine work on the day before docking. Crewmembers also will perform a camera survey of Discovery's cargo bay with arm-mounted cameras. Discovery is scheduled to linkup to the ISS tomorrow at 1:37 p.m. Central time as the two spacecraft fly over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, just south of the Indonesian island of Jawa. The major objective of the STS-105 mission of Discovery is the swapout of the new resident Station crew, led by Culbertson, with the Expedition Two crew, Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who have been aboard the Station more than five months. They are to return to Earth aboard Discovery on August 22. Discovery also is bringing equipment, supplies and scientific experiments to the Station. Almost 7,000 pounds of that cargo is in Leonardo, the Italian-built Multipurpose Logistics Module in Discovery's cargo bay. Once that is transferred to the station, Leonardo will be packed with other equipment, unused items and trash for return to Earth. During their eight days docked to the station, Discovery Mission Specialists Barry and Forrester will perform two spacewalks. On the first, next Thursday, they will install an device called an Early Ammonia Servicer on the Station. It contains spare ammonia that could be used to cool Station systems should it be needed. During the second spacewalk, two days later, they will install heater cables for the station's large S0 truss segment, which will be delivered on a future mission, as well as handrails. Discovery is orbiting the Earth in excellent shape with no issues being worked by the flight control team. The next mission status report will be issued Saturday evening prior to the start of the crew's sleep period, or earlier, as events warrant. On Saturday, August 11, 2001, 7:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #3 reports: The seven crewmembers aboard Discovery, including the future residents of the International Space Station (ISS), spent their first full day in orbit today preparing for their arrival tomorrow at the orbital outpost. Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, checked out Shuttle systems, navigational tools and docking hardware in advance of Discovery's planned linkup to the ISS. The docking is scheduled to occur Sunday at 1:38 p.m. Central time over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, just south of the Indonesian island of Jawa. Forrester and Horowitz powered up, unfurled and checked out Discovery's 50-foot long robotic arm, which will be used by Forrester to move the Leonardo cargo module from Discovery's payload bay to the ISS for the transfer of food and supplies, and by Horowitz to transport Barry and Forrester around the Station during their two spacewalks next week. In addition, Barry and Forrester tested the devices they will use tomorrow to measure Discovery's distance from the ISS and its rate of closure on the complex during the terminal phase of the Shuttle's approach to the Station. Discovery's docking mechanism was also checked out and its outer docking ring extended to insure it is ready for tomorrow's capture of the ISS docking port on the forward end of the Station's Destiny laboratory module. Next week, Barry and Forrester will test the spacesuits they will wear during their two excursions outside Discovery to attach a spare cooling reservoir to the ISS and to hook up heating cables for a large truss structure that will be mounted to the Station next year. The crew enjoyed a few hours of spare time this afternoon to relax as they wound down for the start of an eight-hour sleep period just after 9 p.m. Central time tonight. Aboard the ISS, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms spent the day packing up personal items and preparing Station systems for tomorrow's arrival of their replacements, Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. This was the 156th day in space for the current occupants of the ISS. The exchange of crew members on the Station will occur on Monday, although formal command of the Station will not be transferred from Usachev to Culbertson until a few hours before Discovery's undocking on August 20. Almost 7,000 pounds of food, supplies and personal items for the Expedition Three crew are housed in Leonardo, the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). Once the module is transferred to the Station and unpacked, it will be filled with equipment no longer needed on the ISS, including Expedition Two crew clothing and trash for return to Earth. Discovery is orbiting the Earth in excellent shape with no issues being worked by the flight control team. STS-105 Flight Day 3 Highlights: On Sunday, August 12, 2001, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #4 reports: The crew of Discovery, trailing the International Space Station by less than 2,000 statute miles, was awakened at 5:10 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "The White Eagle," a traditional Russian folk song played for Expedition Three Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov. Dezhurov and his crewmates, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin are just hours from reaching their new home aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with the Expedition Three crew, will begin rendezvous operations a little before 9 a.m. today. The shuttle will begin a final approach to the station from a point about 9 miles behind the outpost with the last major rendezvous maneuver scheduled at around 11:15 a.m. With Discovery about 600 feet directly below the station, Horowitz will fly the shuttle in a quarter circle to a point in front of the complex. From there he will very slowly and precisely maneuver Discovery toward the station, pausing about 30 feet from the ISS to precisely align the docking mechanisms of the two craft. Docking is expected to occur at 1:38 p.m. over the Indian Ocean just south of the Indonesian island of Jawa. The hatches separating the two spacecraft are to be opened around 3:30 p.m. allowing the current station residents, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms to greet their replacements and the Discovery astronauts who will bring them home after more than five months in space. ISS flight controllers are expected to ask the Expedition Two crew on Wednesday to try to reboot one of three command and control computers which experienced a hard drive problem last week and which has been put in standby mode with no impact to station operations. If the reboot does not recover the use of the hard drive, the crew may be asked to replace a component in the computer with a spare being brought to the station on Discovery. Two other command and control computers, a prime and a backup, are working perfectly in support of U.S. segment systems. Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes in good shape in pursuit of the International Space Station. On Sunday, August 12, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #5 reports: New residents arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) today following a flawless docking of Discovery to the orbital outpost to relieve a trio of space travelers who have lived and worked on the complex since March. Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, with the assistance of Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, carefully guided the Shuttle to a linkup with the ISS at 1:42 p.m. Central time as the two craft sailed 240 miles above northwestern Australia. On board Discovery were the new Station Commander Frank Culbertson, and his Expedition Three crewmates, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms looked on from the station's Destiny laboratory as Discovery arrived this afternoon, then worked in concert with their Shuttle counterparts to ensure a tight seal and a firm mate between the two vehicles. At 3:41 p.m., hatches finally swung open between Discovery and the ISS, and the two crews greeted one another. First aboard the station was Culbertson to survey his home for the next four months. Within minutes, all ten astronauts and cosmonauts had shared greetings before settling in for a station safety briefing conducted by Usachev. Monday the crews will attach the Leonardo cargo carrier to the station at about 9:30 a.m. and begin unloading its supplies. Just prior to this operation, the two station crews will systematically begin the process of handing over command from Expedition Two to Expedition Three. The plan is for Culbertson and Helms to remove her form-fitting seat liner from the Soyuz spacecraft and replace it with Culbertson's at about 7 a.m. Two hours later at about 9 a.m., Dezhurov and Usachev will do the same followed at 12:30 p.m. by the seat liner swap of Tyurin and Voss. The Soyuz is used as a return vehicle in the event of a problem on the station. Crew sleep is scheduled for about 8 tonight with a musical wakeup call from Mission Control at 5:10 a.m. Monday. The station and shuttle complex is orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes in good shape. STS-105 Flight Day 4 Highlights: On Monday, August 13, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #6 reports: The crewmembers aboard the Discovery / International Space Station complex were awakened shortly before 4:30 a.m. Central time today to the sounds of the overture from "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, a tribute to Expedition Three Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, who along with Commander Frank Culbertson and Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov, will move over to the ISS today to take up residency. Once they swap out their custom-made Soyuz capsule seat liners with those belonging to Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin will become the third trio of residents to inhabit the complex, while Usachev, Voss and Helms become members of Discovery's crew. The Soyuz serves as a crew return vehicle in the unlikely event it should become necessary to leave the station. Official handover of command of the ISS from Usachev to Culbertson will take place on August 20, shortly before Discovery undocks from the Station. After the crew transfer is complete, the oncoming ISS residents will begin a comprehensive handover with their departing counterparts, receiving briefings on Station systems, the current configuration of hardware and computers and procedures they will employ during their first days on board the outpost. Mission Specialist Pat Forrester will use Discovery's robot arm to move the Italian-built Leonardo cargo module from the shuttle's payload bay to the nadir docking port of the Station's Unity module so it can be unloaded of more than three tons of supplies and equipment for the newly arrived Expedition Three crew. Leonardo also contains racks of scientific experiments which will greatly enhance the scientific research on board the ISS over the next few months. Leonardo will be installed on the Station late this morning. Other equipment will be transferred throughout the day from Discovery's middeck lockers to the ISS as the crews work in concert to set the stage for the Expedition Three mission. The joined spacecraft are orbiting at an average altitude of about 244 statute miles, completing an orbit of the Earth every 90 minutes. Both craft are in good condition. On Monday, August 13, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #7 reports: The International Space Station's third resident crew officially took control of the complex at 2:15 p.m. CDT today, when confirmation was given by the new station commander that all transfer activities associated with the custom-made Soyuz capsule seat liners had been completed and leak checks on their Russian Sokol space suits was verified. That marked the end of the Expedition Two crew's stay on the station at 148 days since it took over for the first resident crew on March 18. By the time the Expedition Two crew lands aboard Discovery next week, Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms will have spent 163 days aboard the station and 167 days in space. The official ceremonial handover of command of the ISS from Usachev to Culbertson will take place Aug. 20, shortly before Discovery undocks from the Station. The systematic swap of the seat liners and space suits occurred in and around the installation of the Leonardo Multipurpose Pressurized Logistics Module onto the station. Leonardo is one of three cargo supply vessels designed to deliver food, clothing, experiments and other hardware to and from the station throughout its orbital life. It was attached to the station at 10:55 a.m. CDT and its hatch opened at 2:47 p.m. CDT. Now that the official crew transfer is complete, the Expedition Three crew of Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin will begin a comprehensive handover with their departing counterparts, receiving briefings on station systems, the current configuration of hardware and computers and procedures they will employ during their first days on board the outpost. The crew will be awakened at 4:10 a.m. CDT Tuesday to continue the unloading of more than three tons of supplies and experiments from Leonardo. At 2 p.m. CDT Tuesday, the two station commanders, Culbertson and Usachev, will take part in an interview from space with television networks. The interview will air live on NASA TV. The joined spacecraft are orbiting at an average altitude of about 244 statute miles, completing an orbit of the Earth every 90 minutes. STS-105 Flight Day 5 Highlights: On Tuesday, August 14, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #8 reports: Discovery's crewmembers, including their new Expedition Two crewmates from the International Space Station, were awakened at 4:10 a.m. Central time to the theme from the movie, "Arthur", to begin a day highlighted by the transfer of equipment and supplies to the station from Discovery and from the pressurized cargo carrier the shuttle brought into space. The wakeup music was for Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz from his wife. The Expedition Two crew became members of Discovery's crew yesterday after Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson and cosmonauts Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov transferred their personal seat liners to the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station, officially beginning the third Expedition aboard the orbital outpost. Several tons of equipment, food and supplies for the new station crew will be unloaded today from the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, which was attached to the Unity module of the station yesterday. The two Expedition crews will begin extensive discussions today in a handover of operations, enabling the new residents to familiarize themselves with station systems and life on board the expanding complex. Later today, Usachev and Dezhurov will spend some time loading updated software into the computers of the Zvezda Service Module. The new software is designed to create greater efficiency in Russian commanding of systems in their segment of the station. Discovery also will perform a reboost of the station this afternoon, increasing its average altitude by around two statute miles. At 2 p.m. Usachev and Culbertson will discuss the progress of the flight with three television networks in a series of interviews to be broadcast on NASA Television. Discovery and the station are orbiting at an average altitude of about 244 statute miles, orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes. On Tuesday, August 14, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #9 reports: By mid afternoon, the entire contents of the Leonardo logistics module had been temporarily stowed aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition Three crew continued to learn about life on the orbiting complex. During the day, the shuttle's thrusters were fired 240 times to subtly boost the station's orbit by about 2 miles over the course of one hour. At least one more 30 minute-long reboost is planned before Discovery departs early next week. Several tons of equipment, food and supplies for the new station crew of Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin were moved to the station, while the two Expedition crews began extensive discussions of operations, enabling the new residents to familiarize themselves with station systems and life on board the ISS. Late in the day, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Dezhurov updated software in the computers of the Zvezda Service Module to create greater efficiency in Russian commanding of systems in their segment of the station. The Mission Control wakeup call to the shuttle and station is scheduled for 4:10 a.m. CDT Wednesday. The joint crews will continue to pack items in Leonardo for the return trip home next week, while stowing those items now aboard the station. Discovery and the station are orbiting at an average altitude of 244 statute miles, orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes. STS-105 Flight Day 6 Highlights: On Wednesday, August 15, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #10 reports: Discovery's astronauts were awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "Big Boy Toys", a country and western tune by Aaron Tippin, selected for Pilot Rick Sturckow by his wife. The wakeup call began a day that will focus on preparations for the first of two space walks by Mission Specialists Dan Barry and Pat Forrester on Thursday, while members of the International Space Station Expedition Two crew will continue the handover of station operations to their Expedition Three replacements. The crews also have time scheduled for logistical activities, including the transfer of more equipment and supplies from Discovery to the station and the transfer of discarded station equipment to Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, which was installed on the station on Monday. The 7,000 pounds of material carried into space aboard Leonardo, including two scientific experiment racks for the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, has been unloaded. Sturckow will assist Barry and Forrester as they checkout their spacesuits and space walking tools for their planned 6=-hour excursion outside Discovery tomorrow. During the space walk, Barry and Forrester will install the Early Ammonia Servicer on the station's P6 truss structure. It contains spare ammonia that could be used in the station's cooling system should the need arise. They will also attach an experiment to the station to expose samples of engineering materials to the space environment. The samples will be returned to Earth for analysis in about a year. A second space walk will be conducted by Barry and Forrester Saturday to hook up heater cables for a truss structure which will be delivered to the station next year. Hatches between Discovery and the station will swing shut around 4:30 Central time this afternoon in advance of tomorrow's space walk Earlier today, Russian flight controllers successfully completed the reloading of upgraded software into the computers of the Zvezda Service Module in preparation for next month's arrival of a new module to the station -- the Russian Docking Compartment -- which will serve as a new docking port for visiting Russian vehicles. Additionally, everything remains on schedule for the launch next week of a new unmanned Progress resupply vehicle to the station, carrying more supplies and hardware for the new Expedition Three crew. The Progress will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday and will link up to the station on Aug. 23. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with no systems issues being worked by the flight control team. On Wednesday, August 15, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #11 reports: The hatches swung closed between Discovery and the International Space Station at 4:52 this afternoon Central time so that the shuttle's cabin pressure could be lowered in preparation for a space walk Thursday by Dan Barry and Pat Forrester In preparation for that Extravehicular Activity (EVA), the crew spent part of the day checking out the suits that will be worn for the planned six and a half hour excursion to install an ammonia servicing unit on the outside of the station. It contains spare ammonia that could be used in the station's cooling system if needed. They also will attach an experiment to the station to expose samples of engineering materials to the space environment. The samples will be returned to Earth for analysis in about a year. A second space walk currently is planned for Saturday to hook up heater cables for the first of several girder-like truss structures, that will be delivered to the station next year. Meanwhile, members of the station's Expedition Two crew continued the handover of station operations to their Expedition Three replacements. Throughout the handover, the stowage of equipment and supplies inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module continued. Some 5,200 pounds of supplies was confirmed on board the station and will be unpacked and stowed by the Expedition Three crew after Discovery departs early next week. Early in the day, Russian flight controllers completed the reloading of upgraded software into the computers of the Zvezda module in preparation for next month's arrival of a new module to the station , the Russian Docking Compartment ,which will serve as a new docking port for visiting Russian vehicles. The Russian flight control team continues to track preparations of a Soyuz spacecraft set to deliver the next Progress supply vehicle to the station. Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan remains targeted for Tuesday with docking Aug. 23. Early Thursday morning, the Expedition Three crew of Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin plan to televise a commemorative message marking the one-thousandth day in space for the International Space Station. It was Nov. 20, 1998 when the first element , Zarya , was launched atop a Proton rocket initiating the construction of the orbiting outpost. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 246 statute miles with no systems issues being worked by the flight control team. STS-105 Flight Day 7 Highlights: On Thursday, August 16, 2001, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #12 reports: On the 1000th day since the launch of the first module of the International Space Station, Discovery's astronauts were awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "The Marvelous Toy" by Tom Paxton for Mission Specialist Dan Barry from his wife. Barry and crewmate Pat Forrester will conduct the first space walk of Discovery's flight to the International Space Station at around 9:30 this morning to install the Early Ammonia Servicer on the station's P6 truss structure. The servicing unit contains spare ammonia that could be used in the station's cooling system, if needed. They also will attach an experiment to the station to expose samples of materials to the space environment. Carrying the acronym MISSE, for Materials International Space Station Experiment, it contains about 1,500 samples of materials in two suitcase-like containers. The samples will remain outside the station for about a year, then will be returned to Earth for analysis. Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz will operate the shuttle's robotic arm during the space walk. Pilot Rick Sturckow will serve as the space walk choreographer from inside the shuttle's cabin during the 6=-hour space walk, which will be staged from Discovery's airlock. A second space walk is planned for Saturday. Barry and Forrester will hook up heater cables for another truss structure to be delivered to the station next year. Aboard the ISS, the computers of the Zvezda Service Module once again commanded the station's gyroscopes to assume control of the orientation of the complex at around 5 a.m. after Russian flight controllers completed their loading of upgraded software commands to those computers. In the meantime, Discovery maintained control of the complex until the computer upgrades were completed with no impact to station operations. While Barry and Forrester conduct their space walk, the Expedition Three crew, Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, will continue stowage of equipment and supplies inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module for return to Earth. The Italian-built pressurized module brought almost 7,000 pounds of equipment, supplies and two scientific experiment racks to the station. At 7:10 this morning, Culbertson and his crewmates plan to offer a few commemorative words to mark the 1000th day in space for the International Space Station since the Zarya module was launched on November 20, 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with all systems functioning normally. On Thursday, August 16, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #13 reports: Astronauts Dan Barry and Pat Forrester completed the first of two planned space walks during Discovery's voyage to the International Space Station. The excursion lasted 6 hours, 16 minutes and involved installing the Early Ammonia Servicer and the first external experiment on the station's hull. The servicer contains spare ammonia that can be used in the space station's cooling systems if needed. The Materials ISS Experiment (pronounced 'missy' by its acronym) will expose 750 material samples to the space environment for about 18 months before being returned home late next year. During the space walk, Discovery's Commander Scott Horowitz operated the shuttle robot arm, and Pilot Rick Sturckow choreographed the space walk from the orbiter's flight deck. This was the 25th space walk devoted to the construction of the space station and the 12th this year. Barry and Forrester will perform the mission's second space walk on Saturday to hook up heater cables for another truss structure to be delivered to the station next year. Mission managers Friday will evaluate the consumables onboard Discovery and assess the progress made by the crews in transferring items into the Leonardo logistics module from the station before making a determination as to whether the docked phase of the flight should be extended by one day. Earlier today, the computers inside the Zvezda module once again assumed control of the station's attitude - or position in space -- after Russian flight controllers completed the loading of upgraded software commands to those computers. In the meantime, Discovery maintained control of the complex until the computer upgrades were completed with no impact to station operations. The Expedition Three crew --Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin -- earlier today offered commemorative remarks on the occasion of the 1000th day in space for the International Space Station since the Zarya module was launched on Nov. 20, 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with all systems functioning normally. STS-105 Flight Day 8 Highlights: On Friday, August 17, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #14 reports: The ten astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Discovery and the International Space Station will focus on transfer activities today, continuing to place equipment, discarded items and belongings of the Expedition Two crew aboard the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo for return to Earth. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms will continue handover briefings with the Expedition Three crew. The new station commander, Frank Culbertson, and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov have taken up residence aboard the station. The Expedition Two crewmembers, who spent more than five months on the station, will return home aboard Discovery next week. Aboard Discovery, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with the Expedition Two crewmembers, were awakened at 4:10 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "Time Bomb", a song performed for Forrester by his sons, Patrick and Andrew. On the heels of their successful space walk yesterday to install an ammonia coolant reservoir and a suite of experiments on the station, Barry and Forrester will be reviewing procedures and will check out hardware for the mission's second space walk on Saturday to hook up heater cables for a truss structure to be delivered to the station next year Horowitz and Sturckow will perform the mission's second reboost of the station this morning, this one to raise the ISS 'altitude by about two statute miles. The three Russian crewmembers aboard the shuttle/station complex will field questions from Russian reporters at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow at 11:15 a.m. Central time. Three hours later, at 2:15 p.m., all ten crewmembers will hold a news conference with U.S. reporters at NASA centers. At 3 p.m., the crewmembers will gather for a change of command ceremony on the station as Expedition Two Commander Usachev passes the baton to Expedition Three Commander Culbertson. The formal handover of command actually occurred late Monday afternoon after the crews exchanged custom-made Soyuz seat liners for the return capsule docked to the station. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with systems functioning well. On Friday, August 17, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #15 reports: While Discovery's astronauts looked on, the Expedition Two crew ceremoniously handed command of the International Space Station to its Expedition Three replacements. The ceremony occurred just prior to closing the hatches between the two spacecraft in preparation for the final planned space walk of the STS-105 mission. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms continued handover briefings with the Expedition Three crew while stowage of equipment, discarded items and belongings of the Expedition Two crew continued aboard the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module for return to Earth. The new station Commander, Frank Culbertson, and Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, officially took command of the station Monday afternoon to begin a four month stay on the ISS. The Expedition Two crewmembers, which spent more than five months on the station, will return home aboard Discovery next week. In preparation for the space walk set to begin about 9 a.m. Saturday, Dan Barry and Pat Forrester reviewed procedures and checked hardware that will be used during the excursion outside the station to hook up heater cables for a truss structure to be delivered to the station next year. Shuttle Commander Scott Horowitz and Pilot Rick Sturckow performed the mission's second reboost of the station early in the day, raising the average altitude of the ISS by 2.2 statute miles (3.5 kilometers). Discovery's thrusters were systematically fired 253 times over the course of an hour. It was the final reboost planned prior to Discovery's departure Monday morning. The crew heads to bed about 9 tonight, Central time and will be awakened by Mission Control at 4:10 a.m. CDT Saturday. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems functioning well. STS-105 Flight Day 9 Highlights: On Saturday, August 18, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #16 reports: Discovery astronauts Dan Barry and Pat Forrester will perform the second space walk of the STS-105 mission today, hooking up heating cables and installing handrails on the International Space Station's Destiny Laboratory in advance of the arrival of a large truss structure at the complex next year. Meanwhile, the new Expedition Three crew aboard the station will continue packing the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo for its return to Earth Discovery's astronauts, including the returning Expedition Two crew, were awakened at 4 a.m. Central time by "Hotel California," performed by the Eagles. It was requested for Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev by his wife. The new station crew, Commander Frank Culbertson and Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, are beginning a four-month stay on the station. They will be separated from Discovery's crew by closed hatches to accommodate today's space walk Barry and Forrester are to emerge from the shuttle's airlock a little after 9 a.m. Central time. Commander Scott Horowitz will operate the shuttle's robotic arm to move the space walkers around while Pilot Rick Sturckow will serve as the space walk choreographer. The heating cables Barry and Forrester will install are for the S0 truss, to be delivered to the station next year. The space walk is the 26th in support of the assembly of the International Space Station and is expected to last around 6 hours. Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems functioning well. On Saturday, August 18, 2001, 4:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #17 reports: Astronauts Dan Barry and Pat Forrester successfully strung two 45-foot heater cables and installed handrails down both sides of the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station today during a 5 hour, 29 minute spacewalk, setting the stage for the delivery of a large truss structure to the complex next year. The cables would provide backup power to the S0 truss, if needed, in the unlikely event it could not be installed in a timely fashion on the station next spring as the centerpiece for a 300-foot girder, which will serve as the backbone for the orbital outposts external experiments, solar arrays and the future mobile base for the Canadian-built station robotic arm. Barry and Forrester began their spacewalk at 8:42 a.m. Central time, and ended their final excursion outside Discovery at 2:11 p.m., completing the 26th spacewalk devoted to the assembly of the International Space Station, 24 of which were staged from the Shuttle, and the 68th spacewalk in Shuttle program history. Other spacewalk statistics following today's activity include: -- Total spacewalk time in Shuttle program history: 431 hours, 39 minutes. -- Total spacewalk time to assemble the ISS: 167 hours, 24 minutes. -- Total Shuttle spacewalk time for ISS assembly: 163 hours, 3 minutes. -- Total spacewalk time for the two EVAs on STS-105: 11 hours, 45 minutes. While the spacewalk was being conducted, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson and his crewmates, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, continued loading the Leonardo cargo module on the station, which will be detached from the ISS Unity module Sunday and returned to Discovery's payload bay for the trip back home. The astronauts and cosmonauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at about 8 tonight Central time and will be awakened at 4:10 a.m. Sunday to begin the 10th day of this mission. The two spacecraft are in excellent health orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 250 statute miles. STS-105 Flight Day 10 Highlights: On Sunday, August 19, 2001, 5:30 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #18 reports: The ten astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Discovery and the International Space Station have started a day that will see the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo removed from the Unity node of the station and reberthed in the shuttle's cargo bay for the trip home. Discovery's crew, including the returning Expedition Two crewmembers, were awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Central time by the sounds of "Under the Boardwalk" by the Drifters, played for Jim Voss by his wife Suzan. Leonardo brought almost 7,000 pounds of material to the station, including equipment, supplies and two scientific racks for the new Expedition Three crew of Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. Leonardo, which is one of three pressurized cargo carriers for station resupply activities provided by the Italian Space Agency, is completing its second visit to the station. Mission Specialist Pat Forrester will use the shuttle's robotic arm this afternoon to unberth Leonardo from the station and move it to Discovery, beginning the one-hour operation a little before 12:30 p.m. He will be backed up by Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, who operated the arm during two successful space walks by Forrester and Dan Barry to outfit the station with critical spare equipment and scientific gear. Overnight, controllers reworked the crewmembers' flight plan to give them some time off this afternoon after Leonardo is returned to Discovery. The day will be highlighted by final handover discussions between the two Expedition crews before hatches are closed one last time between Discovery and the station tomorrow morning just before 7 a.m. Central time. Discovery is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 9:52 a.m. Central time Monday to set the stage for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday afternoon, completing 167 days in space for Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev, Voss and Susan Helms. Meanwhile, Russian space officials are all set to launch a new Progress resupply craft to the International Space Station on Tuesday at 4:24 a.m. Central time for a docking early Thursday. The Progress will carry supplies, food and equipment for the new Expedition Three crew. The Progress currently docked to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module will be undocked on Wednesday and commanded to a destructive reentry in Earth's atmosphere. Discovery and the ISS are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems functioning normally. On Sunday, August 19, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #19 reports: With its job completed for the mission, the Leonardo cargo module packed with more than 3,000 pounds of return hardware was safely tucked back aboard Discovery this afternoon. The operation set International Space Station scheduled for 9:52 a.m. CDT Monday. The ten crewmembers aboard Discovery and the station are spending their final day and night together prior to the farewell ceremony and hatch closing scheduled for about 7 a.m. CDT tomorrow. That follows the wakeup call from Mission Control set for 4:40 a.m. Leonardo brought almost 7,000 pounds of material to the station, including equipment, supplies and two scientific racks for the new Expedition Three crew of Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. Leonardo -- one of three pressurized cargo carriers provided by the Italian Space Agency -- completes its second visit to the station. Astronaut Pat Forrester carefully removed the high-tech moving van from the station and placed it back in Discovery's payload bay at 2:15 p.m. CDT. He was backed up throughout the operation by Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, who operated the arm during the spacewalks by Forrester and Dan Barry to outfit the station with spare equipment and scientific gear. Once Discovery departs, Pilot Rick Sturckow will perform a strategic fly around of the station at a distance of about 400 feet before firing thrusters shortly after 11 a.m. to depart the vicinity of the complex. Wednesday afternoon, Discovery is set to return to the Kennedy Space Center with the Expedition Two crew of Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms. The three departed the Florida spaceport March 8 and will return after 167 days in space. Meanwhile, Russian space officials are set to launch the fifth Progress resupply craft to the International Space Station Tuesday at 4:24 a.m. Central time followed by an automatic docking early Thursday. The Progress will carry supplies, food and equipment for the new Expedition Three crew. Its predecessor will be undocked Wednesday and commanded to burn up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere. Discovery and the ISS are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems functioning normally. STS-105 Flight Day 11 Highlights: On Monday, August 20, 2001, 5:00 a.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #20 reports: Crewmembers aboard Discovery and the International Space Station are spending their final hours together on a day that will see them bid farewell to one another, close hatches between the spacecraft, undock and separate to enable the new resident Expedition Three crew to begin a stay of about four months aboard the station. The final farewells and hatch closing are scheduled for just before 7 a.m. Central time. Discovery's crewmembers, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, assisted by the returning Expedition Two crew, Commander Yury Usachev and Astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms, will undock Discovery at 9:52 a.m. as the two craft sail over the south Pacific due west of the southern coast of Chile. With Sturckow at the controls, the shuttle will conduct a flyaround of the station, circling it 1< times before the shuttle's jets are fired at 11:12 a.m. to drop Discovery into a lower orbit for final separation from the station. The seven crewmembers aboard Discovery were awakened at 3:40 a.m. by the sounds of "Brand New Day," played by Sting. The song was for Helms, requested by her family and friends. She and her Expedition Two crewmates are wrapping up five and a half months on orbit. Parked in Discovery's cargo bay is Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that brought 7,300 pounds of material to the station, including equipment, supplies and two scientific racks. It is returning to Earth with almost 2 tons of unneeded equipment from the station, trash and personal effects of the Expedition Two crew. Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin are beginning a science-intensive increment that is scheduled to end with their replacement by the Expedition Four crew late this year. Also on today's schedule for Discovery's crewmembers after undocking is the deployment of a small science satellite called Simplesat, designed to evaluate the use of inexpensive commercially available hardware in space. It is designed to demonstrate GPS attitude control and pointing in free flight. It will be spring-ejected from a canister at the rear of the Shuttle's cargo bay. The Russians are all set to launch an unmanned Progress resupply craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan tomorrow at 4:24 a.m. Central time. It is the fifth Progress to be launched to the station, and is scheduled to dock a little after 5 a.m. on Thursday, the day after the current Progress attached to the ISS is undocked from the rear of the Zvezda Service Module to burn up in the atmosphere with its load of trash. Discovery and the ISS are circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 246 statute miles. All systems are functioning well. On Monday, August 20, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #21 reports: Discovery's astronauts, now consisting of the Expedition Two crew, bid farewell to the International Space Station and the Expedition Three crew and undocked from the complex at 9:52 a.m. CDT Monday after more than a week of joint operations. Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin now will settle in to oversee activities on the station for the next four months. The final farewells and hatch closing occurred at 7 a.m. Central Monday just prior to closing the hatches and conducting leak checks between the two vehicles. Under control of Pilot Rick Sturckow, Discovery gently backed away from the station to a distance of about 450 feet. At that point, Sturckow performed a fly-around of the complex allowing for photo documentation and a final look by Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms at their home for the past five and a half months. Returning with Discovery is the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that brought equipment, supplies and two scientific racks to the station. It is returning to Earth with more than a ton of equipment, experiments, personal effects and unneeded hardware. Also today, Discovery's crewmembers deployed a small science satellite called Simplesat, designed to evaluate the use of inexpensive commercially available hardware in space. It is designed to demonstrate Global Positioning System attitude control and pointing in free flight. It was spring-ejected from a canister at the rear of the Shuttle's cargo bay. Tuesday is a day devoted to packing up the orbiter and checking its landing systems for the planned return to the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday. Landing is set for just before Noon Central time with weather conditions expected to be favorable with light winds and only a slight chance of rain predicted in the area. Meanwhile, on the steppe of the Kazak desert, a Soyuz rocket is poised to launch an unmanned Progress supply ship to the station tomorrow at 4:24 a.m. Central time. It is the fifth Progress to be launched to the station, and is scheduled to dock a little after 5 a.m. Thursday, the day after the current Progress attached to the ISS is undocked from the rear of the Zvezda module to burn up in the atmosphere. The two spacecraft are at slightly different orbits, circling the Earth every 90 minutes. All systems are in excellent shape. On Monday, August 20, 2001, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-105 MCC Status Report #21 reports: Discovery's astronauts, now consisting of the Expedition Two crew, bid farewell to the International Space Station and the Expedition Three crew and undocked from the complex at 9:52 a.m. CDT Monday after more than a week of joint operations. Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin now will settle in to oversee activities on the station for the next four months. The final farewells and hatch closing occurred at 7 a.m. Central Monday just prior to closing the hatches and conducting leak checks between the two vehicles. Under control of Pilot Rick Sturckow, Discovery gently backed away from the station to a distance of about 450 feet. At that point, Sturckow performed a fly-around of the complex allowing for photo documentation and a final look by Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms at their home for the past five and a half months. Returning with Discovery is the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that brought equipment, supplies and two scientific racks to the station. It is returning to Earth with more than a ton of equipment, experiments, personal effects and unneeded hardware. Also today, Discovery's crewmembers deployed a small science satellite called Simplesat, designed to evaluate the use of inexpensive commercially available hardware in space. It is designed to demonstrate Global Positioning System attitude control and pointing in free flight. It was spring-ejected from a canister at the rear of the Shuttle's cargo bay. Tuesday is a day devoted to packing up the orbiter and checking its landing systems for the planned return to the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday. Landing is set for just before Noon Central time with weather conditions expected to be favorable with light winds and only a slight chance of rain predicted in the area. Meanwhile, on the steppe of the Kazak desert, a Soyuz rocket is poised to launch an unmanned Progress supply ship to the station tomorrow at 4:24 a.m. Central time. It is the fifth Progress to be launched to the station, and is scheduled to dock a little after 5 a.m. Thursday, the day after the current Progress attached to the ISS is undocked from the rear of the Zvezda module to burn up in the atmosphere. The two spacecraft are at slightly different orbits, circling the Earth every 90 minutes. All systems are in excellent shape. The next mission status report will be issued at around 6 a.m. Tuesday, or earlier, if events warrant.