STS-89
Report # 03 
 Friday, January 23, 1998 - 6 p.m. CST 
 
 Endeavour's astronauts spent much of today preparing for Saturday's
docking with the Mir space station and their first face-to-face
meeting with astronaut Dave Wolf, who has called the Mir home for the
past four months.

  Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the Mir at 2:14 p.m. central
time tomorrow, marking the eighth meeting between the Shuttle and Mir,
and the first by Endeavour.  All previous docking missions were
accomplished with the Shuttle Atlantis.

  In preparation for tomorrow's rendezvous and docking, the astronauts
began assembling the checklists, cameras and other tools they will use
throughout the docking and installed the centerline camera in the
Orbiter Docking System.  The centerline camera will provide views of
docking targets and the docking module during the final phase of the
rendezvous activities.

  Shortly before noon Saturday, from a position about eight miles
behind Mir, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Joe Edwards will fire
Endeavour's engines in a terminal initiation burn to put Endeavour in
position to intercept the orbiting station.  The current schedule
shows Endeavour arriving 600 feet below the Mir Space Station about
1:20 p.m. central time.  Over the course of the next two hours,
Wilcutt and Edwards will slowly maneuver Endeavour into position to
dock with Mir just after 2 p.m. central time.  Hatch opening between
the two spacecraft is scheduled for about 3:50 p.m., but could take
place as much as a half-hour earlier.

  Endeavour's crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period just before
midnight, waking up at 8:48 a.m. central time tomorrow to begin in
earnest their rendezvous activities.

  Endeavour is currently in a 196 by 163 nm orbit, circling the Earth
once every 91 minutes.

  The next STS-89 status report will be issued at 6 a.m. central time
Saturday.


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