2000 Report # 64 1 p.m. CST, Sunday, December 31, 2000 Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT #64 Expedition One Crew Sunday, December 31, 2000 ñ 1 p.m. CST Having spent a quiet holiday weekend in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Alpha, the Expedition One crew members maintained a Naval New Yearís tradition as they prepared to begin their tenth week in space. With crewmates Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev at his side, Alpha Commander Bill Shepherd, a U.S. Navy Captain, provided a poem he wrote on board, capturing his thoughts and reflections, as he and his shipmates ushered in 2001. It is Naval tradition for the person on duty at the helm of a ship to provide an entry into the shipís log at the turn of the New Year. Shepherd wrote the following: ìIn longstanding naval tradition, the first entry in a shipís log for the New Year is always recorded in prose. We would like to share with all, the entry being made in the log tonight as ëAlphaí salutes the New Yearîó SHIPíS LOG 0000 01 JAN 2001 We sail onboard space station ìAlphaî Orbiting high above Earth, still in night Traveling our destined journey beyond realm of sea voyage or flight A first New Year is upon us Eight strikes on the bell now as one The globe spins below on its motion Counting the last thousand years done. 15 midnights to this night in orbit A clockwork not of earthly pace Our day with different meaning now In this, a new age and place We move with a speed and time Past that which human hands can tell Computers programmedólike boxes Where only thoughtsí shadows dwell ìCentral postî our shipís bridge aboard Screens dancing shapes in pale glow We guide her course by electronic pulse In figures no compass could show Our panels set as sails to the Sun With wake not ever seen but there Only gyros feel the silent tugs Wisps, swirls of such ocean rare On this shipís deck sits no helm now Rudder, sheet, and rig long since gone But here still-- a pull to go places Beyond lines where sky meets the dawn Though star trackers mark Altair and Vega Same as mariners eyed long ago We are still as wayfinders of knowledge Seeking new things that mankind shall know. We commend to crews that will follow Merit of the good ship we sail Let Sun shine strong on Alphaís wings A symbol, and bright star we long hail. The crew members spent a relaxing New Yearís Eve holding private conferences with their families as they gear up for a busy week of biomedical experiments and preparations for the next Shuttle assembly flight to the ISS which is scheduled for launch the third week in January. The International Space Station Alpha continues to orbit the Earth in excellent shape at an altitude of 230 statute miles as it enters its fourth calendar year of existence. The Johnson Space Center newsroom is closed and will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2001 at 8 a.m. Central time. The next Expedition One status report will be issued on Wednesday, Jan. 3, or sooner, if developments warrant. -END-