Cabana Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Three children. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. US Marine Corps US Marine Corps

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 11 - 1985. Active Entered space service: 4 June 1985. Number of Flights: 4.00. Total Time: 37.95 days.

Official NASA Biography - 1997>

NAME: Robert D. Cabana (Colonel, USMC)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born January 23, 1949, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his parents still reside. Married to the former Nancy Joan Shimer of Cortland, New York. Three children, Jeffrey, Christopher and Sarah. He enjoys jogging, cycling, softball, sailing, and woodworking.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Washburn High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1967; received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1971.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Association of Space Explorers, the Naval Academy Alumni Association, and Sigma Pi Sigma.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Recipient of The Daughters of the American Revolution Award for the top Marine to complete naval flight training in 1976. Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Awarded the De La Vaulx medal by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in 1994. Personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, and three NASA Space Flight Medals.

EXPERIENCE:

After graduation from the Naval Academy, Cabana attended the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, and completed naval flight officer training in Pensacola, Florida, in 1972. He served as an A-6 bombardier/navigator with Marine Air Wings in Cherry Point, North Carolina, and Iwakuni, Japan. He returned to Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was designated a naval aviator in September 1976. He was then assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing in Cherry Point, North Carolina, where he flew A-6 Intruders. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981, and served at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland, as the A-6 program manager, X-29 advanced technology demonstrator project officer, and as a test pilot for flight systems and ordnance separation testing on A-6 and A-4 series aircraft. Prior to his selection as an astronaut candidate he was serving as the Assistant Operations Officer of Marine Aircraft Group Twelve in Iwakuni, Japan.

He has logged over 5,000 hours in 33 different kinds of aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected by NASA in June 1985, Cabana completed initial astronaut training in July 1986, qualifying for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews. His initial assignment was as the Astronaut Office Space Shuttle flight software coordinator until November 1986. At that time he was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Aircraft Operations for the Johnson Space Center where he served for 2-1/2 years. He then served as the lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) where the Orbiter's flight software is tested prior to flight. Cabana has served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control during Space Shuttle missions, has served as Chief of Astronaut Appearances, and Chief of the Astronaut Office. A veteran of three space flights, Cabana has logged over 627 hours in space. He served as pilot on STS-41 (October 6-10, 1990) and STS-53 (December 2-9, 1992), and was mission commander on STS-65 (July 8-23, 1994). Cabana will command the crew of STS-88, the first Space Shuttle mission to carry hardware to space for the assembly of the International Space Station. The 7-day mission is targeted for launch in July 1998.

SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE:

STS-41Discovery launched on October 6, 1990 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 10, 1990. During 66 orbits of the Earth, the five-man crew successfully deployed the Ulysses spacecraft, starting the interplanetary probe on its four-year journey, via Jupiter, to investigate the polar regions of the Sun; operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone levels; activated a controlled "fire in space" experiment (the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment [SSCE]); and conducted numerous other middeck experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer membrane production, and microgravity effects on plants.

STS-53 Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1992. The crew of five deployed the classified Department of Defense payload DOD-1 and then performed several Military-Man-in-Space and NASA experiments. After completing 115 orbits of the Earth in 175 hours, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 9, 1992.

STS-65 Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 8, 1994, returning to Florida on July 23, 1994. The STS-65 crew conducted the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission utilizing the long spacelab module in the payload bay. The flight consisted of 82 experiments from 15 countries and six space agencies from around the world. During the record setting 15-day flight, the crew conducted experiments which focused on materials and life sciences research in a microgravity environment paving the way for future operations and cooperation aboard International Space Station. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth in 353 hours and 55 minutes.

• 6 October 1990 Flight: STS-41. Flight Up: STS-41. Flight Back: STS-41. Flight Time: 4.09 days.

• 2 December 1992 Flight: STS-53. Flight Up: STS-53. Flight Back: STS-53. Flight Time: 7.31 days.

• 8 July 1994 Flight: STS-65. Flight Up: STS-65. Flight Back: STS-65. Flight Time: 14.75 days.

• 3 December 1998 Flight: STS-88. Flight Up: STS-88. Flight Back: STS-88. Flight Time: 11.80 days.

23 May 1984 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 11 selected.. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Thirteen astronauts, taken from 33 civilians and 133 military applicants for the 1984 selection. 59 of these were screened for the final selection.

The next launch attempt is tentatively scheduled for 2:36 a.m. CST Friday.

With the countdown clock at T-minus 4 minutes, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana reported the alarm, forcing the countdown to be placed on hold. At a briefing following the launch attempt, Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Don McMonagle, said the alarm turned out to have been triggered by a sudden, brief dip in pressure that had never been seen before in one of the shuttle's three hydraulic systems.

The pressure change occurred when the auxiliary power units that provide pressure to the hydraulic lines shifted from low to high pressure after startup, McMonagle said, but then the pressure readings returned to normal and held steady. As hydraulic and instrumenta-ion engineers analyzed the data to identify what had caused the master alarm to sound and to assure that the systems were safe for flight, time ran out on Endeavour's ability to reach the Zarya control module, orbiting 240 statute miles above the Earth.

Once the launch had been postponed, support teams safed all of Endeavour's systems, drained the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the external tank and began recycling the shuttle for Friday's launch attempt. Engineers will review all of the data from today's launch attempt to ensure that all systems are functioning well.

Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev exited the shuttle and returned to crew quarters to rest for tomorrow's launch opportunity. The astronauts will awaken at mid-afternoon today and will sit down for the traditional prelaunch meal at 9:30 p.m. CST.

The countdown will resume at the T-11 hour mark at 10:46 a.m. CST, and. NASA Television coverage will begin at 9 p.m. CST tonight.

On December 5 at 22:25 GMT Nancy Currie unberthed the Unity space station node from the payload bay using the RMS arm. She then moved the Unity to a position docked to the Orbiter Docking System in the payload bay in readiness for assembly with the Russian-launched Zarya FGB ISS component. After rendezvous with the Zarya FGB module, on December 6 at 23:47 GMT Endeavour grappled Zarya with the robot arm, and at 02:07 GMT on December 7 it was soft docked to the PMA-1 port on Unity. After some problems hard dock was achieved at 02:48 GMT. Unity and Zarya then formed the core of the future International Space Station. Ross and Newman made three space walks to connect cables between Zarya and Unity, on December 7, 9 and 12. On the last EVA a canvas tool bag was attached to the exterior of Unity to provide tools for future station assembly workers. Docking cables were disconnected to prevent Unity and Zarya from inadvertently undocking. Following an internal examination of the embryonic space station, Endeavour undocked at 20:30 GMT on December 13. The SAC-A and Mightysat satellites were ejected from the payload bay on December 14 and 15. Deorbit burn was December 16 at 03:48 GMT, and Endeavour landed at 04:53:29 GMT, on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center.

Payloads included:

• Sill: RMS arm No. 303
• Bay 1-2: Tunnel Adapter 002
• Bay 3-4: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock (Boeing/Palmdale)
• Bay 7-13: Unity (Node 1) (Boeing/Huntsville), including the PMA-1 and PMA-2 docking adapters (Boeing/Huntington Beach)
• Bay 2 Port: GABA adapter with SAC-A satellite
• Bay 4 Starboard: Carrier with Tool Stowage Assembly
• Bay 5 Port: GABA adapter with two PFR space walk platforms and one PFR stanchion.
• Bay 5 Starboard: GABA adapter with two more PFR space walk platforms and one PFR stanchion.
• Bay 6 Port: GABA adapter with Mightysat
• Bay 6 Starboard: APC carrier with TCS laser rendezvous sensor
• Bay 7 Starboard: APC carrier with TCS laser rendezvous sensor
• Bay 13 Port: GABA adapter with SEM-7 and G-093 canisters
• Bay 13 Starboard: GABA adapter with IMAX Cargo Bay Camera

The STS-88 launch begins the largest cooperative space construction project in history. Endeavour is scheduled to rendezvous with the U.S.-funded and Russian-built Zarya control module on Dec. 6. Zarya, which in Russian means sunrise, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan, on Nov. 20.

After reaching orbit, Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev began preparing for the first of several engine firings that will bring Endeavour within robot arm's reach of Zarya. Along the way, the crew will use the same 50-foot-long arm Dec. 5 to remove the Unity module from the payload bay and connect it to the shuttle's docking hatch. Crew members will use the robot arm to grapple Zarya about 5:48 p.m. CST Dec. 6 and dock it to one of Unity's two Pressurized Mating Adapters.

Newman and Ross are scheduled to conduct the first of the mission's three space walks Dec. 7. The space walks will connect electrical and communications lines between Unity and Zarya, and prepare Unity's systems for activation.

At launch, Zarya was making its 222nd orbit of the Earth about 240 statute miles above the Kennedy Space Center. Russian flight controllers in Mission Control Korolev reported that all systems aboard Zarya, which will provide the initial control and command capabilities for the space station, were functioning well with the minor exception of one of six battery charging systems. Endeavour is carrying replacement parts for the system in the event they are needed.

After Endeavour undocks from the International Space Station on Dec. 13, the crew will deploy two small technology demonstration satellites called MightySat and the Argentine Satelite de Aplicaciones/Scientifico-A.

The astronauts are scheduled to begin their sleep period at 7:36 a.m. CST, and will awaken at 3:36 p.m. for their first full day in space.

A series of precise maneuvering burns in the early portion of the flight will help Endeavour continue its pursuit of the Zarya control module. The orbital chase between the two spacecraft is scheduled to conclude on Sunday afternoon when Cabana maneuvers the Shuttle into close proximity with the first piece of the International Space Station and Currie uses the Shuttle's mechanical arm to grapple Zarya and dock it to the Unity connection module which will already be mated to the orbiter's docking mechanism.

Events onboard Endeavour during the first half of today's activities have included the two EVA crewmembers - Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman - performing a checkout of the SAFER or Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue unit. SAFER is a mini maneuvering system that can provide self-rescue capability for a spacewalker if they inadvertently become separated from the spacecraft during a spacewalk. Also this afternoon, the crew downlinked video taken inside the crew cabin during their ascent to orbit.

Later today Ross and Newman will setup the Orbiter Space Vision System equipment which provides the mechanical arm operator precise data on the position and alignment of hardware located in the area of the payload bay.

Also in preparation for the three planned spacewalks, the cabin pressure inside Endeavour will be lowered from its normal 14.7 psi setting down to 10.2. The lower cabin pressure will shorten the amount of time Newman and Ross have to breath pure oxygen to prevent nitrogen bubbles from forming in their blood stream, a condition commonly referred to as "the bends" while they operate in the 4 psi environment of their spacesuits.

Other activities later today will have Newman and Ross doing verification checks of the EVA suits they will use during their space walks as well as preparing the airlock area that they will use to transition into Endeavour's payload bay.

Currie will power up the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) mechanical arm to make sure it is ready to support Unity module unstow and installation activities on Saturday afternoon. She will also use the RMS arm to perform a photo survey of the payload bay.

There are no issues being worked by either the crew or the flight control team allowing all attention to remain focused on the mission objectives of this first ISS assembly flight.

The STS-88 crew will finish their first full day of work early tomorrow morning and will begin a sleep rest period at 5:36 a.m. Saturday morning with their next wake up call coming eight hours later at 1:36 p.m. tomorrow.

Following a smooth launch earlier today, Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev began preparing the orbiter for 12 days of operations to begin construction of the International Space Station. Endeavour is carrying the first American-built component of the station -- a connecting module named Unity -- in its cargo bay.

Just half an hour after lift-off, the shuttle's payload bay doors were opened. A few minutes later, the crew was given the go-ahead to begin orbit operations - preparing the vehicle for space flight activities. The Shuttle's KU-band antenna, which provides high data-rate and television transmissions, was successfully deployed. Crewmembers also activated the Hitchhiker payload, which includes the Mightysat and SAC-A satellites that will be deployed late in the mission.

The first of six engine firings to refining Endeavour's orbit and close the distance from the Zarya control module, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 20, also was completed early this morning. Final rendezvous maneuvers to bring Zarya (the Russian word for "sunrise") in close proximity with Endeavour is planned to take place on Sunday afternoon. Endeavour currently trails Zarya by approximatley 1,300 miles and is closing on Zarya at a rate of 675 miles per orbit.

All systems aboard Zarya, which will provide the initial control and command capabilities for the space station, continue to function well with the minor exception of one of six battery charging systems. Endeavour is carrying replacement parts for the system in the event they are needed.

After they wake up to begin Flight Day 2, Endeavour's crew will conduct a check out of the shuttle's robot arm that will be used to remove the Unity module from the payload bay and connect one of Unity's Preassurized Mating Adapters (PMA) to the orbiter's docking mechanism. The robot arm will also be used to grapple Zarya and dock it to the PMA located at the other end of the Unity connection module.

Other Flight Day 2 activities will include a check-out of the spacesuits that will be used in three spacewalks planned for the mission, as well as checks of the SAFER unit. SAFER or Simplified Aid for EVA Resuce, is a mini-maneuvering unit that can provide self-rescue capability for a spacesuited crew member who inadvertently separates from a spacecraft during a spacewalk.

All systems aboard Endeavour continue to perform well with the Shuttle currently flying in a 200 by 118 mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes.

At about 3:50 p.m. Central time, Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will power up the shuttle's 50-foot-long robotic arm and use it to grapple the Unity connecting module, a procedure scheduled to begin at 4:06 p.m. Currie then will hoist the 12.8-ton Unity module out of Endeavour's cargo bay and carefully place it in position perpendicular to the shuttle. One of the mating adapters on Unity, called pressurized mating adapter 1 (PMA-1), will be latched to Endeavour's docking system using a mechanism identical to that used during Shuttle/Mir dockings. Currie will maneuver Unity precisely to within a few inches of the Shuttle's docking mechanism and then put the mechanical arm into a "limp" mode. Commander Bob Cabana will then fire Endeavour's thrusters to force the mechanisms together.

Preparations for tomorrow's capture of Zarya will continue as the crew equalizes the air pressure between Endeavour and Unity's mating adapter. The astronauts then will enter the adapter to install caps on air vents between PMA-1 and Unity, and then readjust the Shuttle and mating adapter's air pressure to about 10.2 pounds per square inch. This equalization of air pressure between Unity's mating adapter and Endeavour's cabin is done to provide better structural performance of the docking mechanism during the capture and attachment of Zarya.

The crew also will perform a check of connections with the docking mechanism located on the other end of Unity, called PMA-2, that will attach to Zarya. For the check, the docking ring on that adapter will be extended and retracted using controls located on the aft flight deck of Endeavour. Unity and its two mating adapters will form a complex 15 feet wide and about 36 feet long - taller than a 3-story building - towering above Endeavour's payload bay.

This evening, astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman will check out the various tools they will use during the three scheduled spacewalks to be conducted later in the flight, and begin an early set-up of the Shuttle airlock in preparation for that first spacewalk on Monday. Later, Commander Bob Cabana and Newman will check equipment needed for tomorrow's rendezvous with Zarya, including laptop computer displays and a hand-held laser ranging device. Checks also will be performed of the Orbiter Space Vision System, an alignment aid for operations with the Shuttle's mechanical arm that will be used during the capture and attachment of Zarya.

Newman and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev also will take time to take part in an on-line interview by the New York Times at 11:01 p.m. Central time.

Endeavour is trailing Zarya by about 7,600 statute miles, narrowing the distance to the Russian-built module by almost 500 statute miles with each orbit. Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 202 statute miles. An engine firing will be performed late today to raise the Shuttle's orbit and adjust the rate at which Endeavour is closing in on Zarya, which is currently in an orbit of about 240 statute miles. All of Endeavour's systems are in excellent condition.

With the Russian-built Zarya Control Module orbiting about 16,000 nautical miles in front of Endeavour, Mission Specialist Nancy Currie successfully checked out the 50-foot-long robot arm she will use to grapple the Unity connecting module late this afternoon. Currie will lift Unity out of the shuttle's cargo bay and carefully position it perpendicular to the shuttle, ready for latching to the Orbiter Docking System in the front portion of the bay. Currie moved the robot arm around the cargo bay last night, offering an extensive television survey of Unity and its pressurized mating adapters.

Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman successfully tested all three of the space suits carried on Endeavour. They will use two of the suits during three space walks to hook up electrical cables and other connectors between Unity and Zarya. With the help of Pilot Rick Sturckow, the space walk choreographer on the flight, Ross and Newman also checked out a pair of jet-powered backpacks they will wear during the space walks as a precaution in the event they become untethered during their work in the void of space.

Endeavour's cabin pressure also was lowered to 10.2 pounds per square inch to set the stage for the space walks, which begin late Monday afternoon.

Commander Bob Cabana monitored the work as the astronauts extended the outer ring of the docking system on which Unity will be mounted later today, and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev checked out other gear that will be used during Sunday's rendezvous to catch Zarya for its mating to Unity.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 202 statute miles, preparing to climb to about 240 statute miles for the rendezvous Sunday with Zarya. All of Endeavour's systems are functioning normally.

The astronauts are scheduled to be awakened at 1:36 p.m. Central time to begin their third day of work on orbit.

Deftly manipulating the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm, Currie placed Unity just inches above the extended outer ring on Endeavour's docking mechanism, enabling Commander Bob Cabana to fire downward maneuvering jets, locking the shuttle's docking system to one of two Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMA's) attached to Unity. The mating occurred at 5:45 p.m. Central time, as Endeavour sailed over eastern China.

The new connecting node, to which the Russian-built Zarya control module will be mated later today, towered almost three stories over Endeavour's cargo bay, awaiting the arrival of the Zarya, which was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20 on a Russian Proton rocket.

After Unity was attached to the docking mechanism, the vestibule running between Unity's PMA-2 and the Orbiter Docking System was pressurized and the hatch was opened. Cabana and Jerry Ross entered the new module's adapter for the first time and placed caps over vent valves in preparation for the crew's entrance into Unity later this week.

The astronauts also extended and retracted the docking ring on PMA-1, to which the Zarya module will be mated after it is grappled by Currie around 5:46 p.m. Central time this afternoon.

The grapple of Zarya will follow a carefully choreographed rendezvous by Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow. Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev will use a number of rendezvous tools and hand-held lasers to provide range and closure rate information as Endeavour narrows the gap between itself and the Zarya. The rendezvous will begin about 12:30 p.m., with the final major maneuver planned for about 3:14 p.m. This terminal initiation burn will place Endeavour on a path to arrive about 500 feet below Zarya for the start of the final phase of the rendezvous.

Working from the aft flight deck, Cabana will manually guide Endeavour in a looping maneuver to a point 250 feet above Zarya, where he will slowly close in on the 21-ton module for its grapple by Currie. Zarya will be the heaviest object ever handled by the shuttle's robot arm, exceeding the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory by about 7,000 pounds.

Once Zarya is mated to Unity, the International Space Station components will rise some 76 feet above Endeavour's bay and have a combined weight of 35 tons. When it is fully assembled a few years from now, the new station will span the length of a football field and have a mass of more than a million pounds.

While Endeavour orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 241 by 134 statute miles, Zarya continues in orbit at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all of its systems operating in excellent fashion.

Before the astronauts began an abbreviated 7-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time, Cabana fired the shuttle's jets to keep a safe distance from a spent Delta II rocket casing during the sleep period. U.S. Space Command had alerted Mission Control that the shuttle would be passing near the debris from a Nov. 6 launch of communications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and Flight Director John Shannon decided to have Cabana make the maneuver to ensure the crew's sleep would not need to be interrupted.

When the crew awakens at 10:36 a.m. to begin preparations for their rendezvous, Endeavour will be about 20 miles farther away from Zarya than originally planned. However, the rendezvous burn schedule will not be affected.

Endeavour's crew will begin the final stages of a rendezvous with the Zarya module with an engine firing planned at about 1:30 p.m. CST, when Endeavour is at a point about 55 statute miles behind Zarya. That burn will slow the rate at which the shuttle is closing on the module. The final phase of the rendezvous will begin at about 3:15 p.m. CST, when Endeavour performs a terminal phase initiation engine firing, or TI burn, at a point about 9 statute miles behind Zarya. The TI burn will place Endeavour on a path to arrive about 600 feet directly below Zarya on its next orbit of the Earth. With the three-story-high Unity connecting module latched upright in the shuttle's payload bay, Cabana will take manual control of the shuttle at about 4:45 p.m. CST as it moves to within about a half-mile of Zarya. Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow will execute a sequence of maneuvers that will bring Endeavour from 600 feet below Zarya along a circular path, passing about 350 feet in front of it and finally reaching a point about 250 feet directly above the module.

From there, Cabana will fly Endeavour down toward the Zarya, relying on views from television cameras in the shuttle's payload bay to align the module, since Unity obstructs the view out of the cockpit windows. Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will operate Endeavour's outstretched arm for the capture of Zarya. Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev will assist with the rendezvous, using a hand-held laser to provide range and closing rate information as Endeavour narrows the gap with Zarya.

When the edge of Endeavour's payload bay is within 10 feet of Zarya, Currie will use the robotic arm to capture the module, about 5:46 p.m. CST. She then will maneuver it into a position precisely aligned above Unity's docking mechanism. The 21-ton Zarya will be the most massive object ever moved with the robotic arm, more than three tons heavier than the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory that was released using the arm on Space Shuttle mission STS-37.

Once the Zarya and Unity docking mechanisms are aligned and positioned only inches apart, Currie will put the arm into a "limp" mode while Cabana fires Endeavour's thrusters to force the mechanisms together, about 7:36 p.m. CST.

Zarya is 41.2 feet long and 13.5 feet wide at its widest point. Once attached to Unity, the new station will tower about 76 feet above Endeavour's payload bay and have a solar array span of about 78 feet and a combined mass of approximately 80,000 pounds. When fully assembled in 2004, the International Space Station will be larger than a football field and have a mass of more than one million pounds.

Following the mating of Unity with Zarya, Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross will begin early preparations for the crew's entry into the new station, planned for Thursday, and begin setting up equipment for tomorrow's planned spacewalk by Ross and Newman to connect power and data cables between Unity and Zarya.

Using the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm, astronaut Nancy Currie plucked Zarya out of orbit at 5:47 p.m. Central time Sunday, more than 16 days after it was launched on a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan as the first component of the new station. After slowly and carefully aligning Zarya's docking mechanism with a comparable mechanism on Unity's Pressurized Mating Adapter-1, Commander Bob Cabana fired Endeavour's downward jets at 8:07 p.m. to drive the two large modules together.

Initial attempts to firmly latch Zarya and Unity together while the shuttle's robot arm was attached to Zarya's grapple fixture were unsuccessful. But after Currie ungrappled the module, hooks and latches between Zarya and Unity engaged at 8:48 p.m., forming a tightly sealed, 35-ton, 76-foot-tall structure rising from Endeavour's payload bay, the size of a seven-story building.

Currie used the robot arm cameras to conduct a detailed survey of Zarya, focusing on two antennas belonging to the Telerobtically Operated Rendezvous System (TORU), which failed to deploy following launch on Nov. 20. Flight controllers concluded that the pyrotechnic pins holding the antennas in place actually fired, but the antennas did not unfurl as planned. The antennas, which are part of a backup navigational aid system, are emitting signal strength in their current position and pose no problem for future station operations. But flight controllers are considering having astronaut Jerry Ross conduct a more thorough survey of the antennas while affixed to the end of the shuttle's robot arm during the first space walk he and Jim Newman will conduct Monday night. Mission managers have not decided whether Ross and Newman will be called upon to manually deploy the antennas on a future space walk.

The first space walk, scheduled to begin about 4:30 p.m. Central time today, may begin earlier if Ross and Newman are ready to depressurize Endeavour's external airlock ahead of schedule. During the planned 6 ½-hour excursion, Ross and Newman will hook up electrical cables and connectors between Zarya and Unity, enabling power to flow into the U.S. component for the first time. That will allow Unity's avionics, computers and heaters to be activated to set the stage for the ultimate shifting of command and control and the origination of the power for the International Space Station from the Russian components to the U.S components once the American-built Destiny laboratory is joined to the station in February 2000.

Russian and American flight controllers also are continuing discussions on the possible swap out of a suspect component for one of Zarya's six batteries. The battery is not discharging properly in its automatic mode. A replacement unit is available for installation if mission managers approve the plan. The battery is operational and poses no threat to future station operations even if left in its current configuration.

The astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time and will be awakened at 11:36 a.m. to prepare for the first space walk of the flight.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Today's space walk, scheduled to begin about 4:30 p.m. Central time, may begin earlier if Ross and Newman are ready to depressurize Endeavour's external airlock ahead of schedule. This space walk, which will last 6-1/2 hours, will focus on connecting computer and electrical cables between Unity, the two mating adapters attached to either end of Unity, and Zarya. In all, Ross and Newman will make about 40 connections during the spacewalk. This will enable power to flow to Unity for the first time in orbit and will permit Unity's avionics, computers and heaters to be activated.

Ross and Newman will begin today's space walk by readying Endeavour's payload bay for their activities. Then, as Ross rides on the shuttle's robot arm, he will install mating plugs and jumper cables to reroute power through Unity while Newman releases cables from where they were secured for launch on the mating adapter between Unity and Endeavour, called Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2). Ross and Newman will begin "plugging in" the cables and locking them into place, and then pull a thermal cover over each connector. The space walkers will next install a safety slidewire that will hold their tethers as they connect cables between the modules.

They will repeat the cable connection process again as they make connections between Unity, Zarya and the mating adapter that attaches Unity to Zarya, labeled Pressurized Mating Adapter 1 (PMA 1). Finally, they will remove thermal covers from Unity's two exterior computers, known as multiplexer-demultiplexers (MDMs), which are mounted on PMA 1.

Once the cables are connected, Russian ground controllers will send commands to Zarya to begin providing power to Unity, powering up Unity's exterior computers. At that point, Commander Bob Cabana and Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev will send commands to the exterior computers to prepare them to accept ground commands that will activate systems aboard Unity.

Before reentering Endeavour's airlock at the conclusion of the space walk, Ross and Newman may, if time allows, perform a close-up inspection of the Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous System (TORU) on the Zarya module. Although flight controllers are confident the pyrotechnic pins holding the TORU antennas did deploy as expected, the two antennas did not unfurl as planned following Zarya's launch on Nov. 20. The antennas are part of a backup rendezvous system and are emitting signal strength in their current position and pose no problem for future station operations. At this point, there are no plans for Ross and Newman to attempt to manually deploy the antennas on a future space walk.

Early this morning, Russian and American flight controllers decided to have Krikalev replace a battery current converter unit in Zarya suspected of not working properly. A spare unit is carried aboard Endeavour. Krikalev has performed a similar activity in the past during stays on the Mir space station and will perform the task during the time the crew is inside Zarya on Thursday.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Working smoothly and ahead of schedule, Ross and Newman mated 40 cables and connectors running 76 feet from the Zarya control module to Unity as the 35-ton station towered over the cargo bay of the shuttle Endeavour.

The two veteran space walkers began their excursion at 4:10 p.m. Central time, quickly pressing ahead with the connection of crucial data and power cables between Zarya and Unity. Ross and Newman also installed handrails and other hardware that will help space walkers move around the station on upcoming assembly missions, completing all of the connections within three hours. At various times, robot arm operator Nancy Currie moved Ross and Newman around the station modules on the end of the shuttle's manipulator system to conduct their work.

As Endeavour and the International Space Station passed over Russian ground stations, commands were sent from the Russian flight control team to activate a pair of Russian-American voltage converters, enabling power to flow from Zarya to Unity for the first time. International Space Station flight controllers in Houston saw Unity's systems come to life at 9:49 p.m., confirming perfect electrical continuity between the two modules. Unity's systems were then activated, including a pair of data relay boxes serving as the brain and nervous system for the U.S.-built component. Near the end of the space walk, Ross removed thermal covers from the relay boxes after Unity's heaters began to control the module's temperature.

With Pilot Rick Sturckow serving as the space walk choreographer, Newman was raised on the robot arm to the Zarya module to take a close look at a pair of Russian rendezvous antennas that did not fully deploy following the module's launch on Nov. 20. The so-called TORU system serves as a backup to the automatic Kurs system on Zarya, providing navigational data for spacecraft approaching the Russian component for docking. Russian flight controllers say the TORU antennas are emitting signal strength, but space station managers wanted additional engineering data so they can decide on a course of action for deploying the antennas.

Shortly before the space walk ended, Ross broke the record for most cumulative extravehicular activity time by a U.S. astronaut of 29 hours and 41 minutes previously held by former astronaut Tom Akers during five space walks on STS-49 and STS-61. Ross, who completed his fifth space walk tonight, now has 30 hours and 8 minutes of time spent in the void of space.

About an hour after Endeavour's astronauts were scheduled begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time, Cabana asked if the wake-up time could be postponed. Mission Control agreed, and the crew now will be awakened at 12:06 p.m. to begin its sixth day in orbit. The astronauts plan to raise the altitude of the International Space Station by about 3 1/2 statute miles Tuesday by firing Endeavour's jets in the first of two planned reboost maneuvers. The crew also will take half a day off to relax and enjoy the view from orbit after a busy start to the first International Space Station assembly flight.

Endeavour and the station are orbiting at an altitude of 242 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Following yesterday's 7-hour, 21-minute spacewalk, Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Jerry Ross will relax today beginning preparations for tomorrow's spacewalk, the second of three planned during this mission. Ross, Newman and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie and Sergei Krikalev will set up and prepare equipment for tomorrow's spacewalk. This evening, all six astronauts will gather to review procedures prior to Ross and Newman's second excursion into space tomorrow.

Flight controllers will conduct command checks between Mission Control, Houston, and Mission Control, Moscow, to verify the ability to command Zarya from Houston via the Moscow control center. In preparation for the crew's entry into the International Space Station on Thursday, the mating adapter between Unity and Zarya, Pressurized Mating Adapter 1 (PMA 1) will be pressurized via remote commands from Moscow and checked for leaks. Flight controllers in Houston also will power on filters and fans and monitor temperatures inside Unity as heaters warm up the module prior to Thursday's entry.

Cabana and Sturckow will fire Endeavour's primary reaction control jets shortly after 2:30 CST this afternoon for about 22 minutes to raise the altitude of the International Space Station by about 5-1/2 statute miles. An opportunity for a second reboost maneuver is available later in the flight as well.

At 5:41 p.m. this evening, Cabana, Sturckow and Currie will be interviewed by ABC News/Discovery Channel and MSNBC. Once these activities are completed, the crew will have off-duty time starting around 7:30 CST this evening.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow fired Endeavour's steering jets in a staccato fashion for about 22 minutes Tuesday to gradually raise the highest point of the shuttle and attached station's orbit about 5½ statute miles to 248 miles. Throughout its lifetime, the station's altitude will be periodically raised to maintain a proper orbit.

With all Endeavour and station systems in excellent shape, astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman prepared for a second space walk later today to set up a communications system in the Unity module that will allow U.S. flight controllers to monitor Unity's systems. The so-called S-band early communications system includes two boxy antennas that will be installed on the outside of Unity as one of today's first tasks, and avionics gear that will be set up inside Unity on Thursday after astronauts enter the module for the first time. A test of the system's videoconferencing capability is planned after Thursday's installation.

Ross and Newman also will remove launch restraints over four hatchways on the Unity connecting node to which future station modules and an airlock will be attached. The hatchways, or Common Berthing Mechanisms, serve as docking ports for new hardware that will be delivered to the station over the next 18 months.

Near the end of today's space walk, Newman will use a grappling hook in an attempt to unfurl one of two balky antennas on Zarya's backup rendezvous navigation system. The antennas would be used to transmit range and closure rate information to approaching spacecraft heading for dockings with the Russian control module. It is believed that stiff cabling or interference from thermal blankets on Zarya may be preventing the antennas from fully extending, even though pyrotechnic pins have fired to enable the antennas to roll free from their spools. Pending final approval from mission managers, Newman will attempt to free the antenna on the nadir port of Zarya today. If successful, the same procedure may be used to free the antenna on the zenith port Saturday.

Before the astronauts began an eight-hour sleep period, International Space Station flight controllers in Houston reported that Unity's lower Pressurized Mating Adapter had warmed enough to permit astronauts to enter the module Thursday. Heaters were activated for the first time late Monday after power from Zarya was connected to the U.S. component.

The astronauts are scheduled to be awakened at 10:36 a.m. Central time to begin space walk preparations. The space walk by Ross and Newman is scheduled to get under way about 3 p.m. Central time, but could begin as soon as the astronauts are ready to depressurize Endeavour's airlock.

Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will continue their work removing access panels inside Unity and unstowing hardware that will be used by visiting astronauts on future assembly missions.

Commander Bob Cabana, Sturckow and Currie will work inside Unity to locate part of a missing mid-bay rack pivot fitting, which was lost yesterday. Following removal of launch restraint bolts, the lock ring fell behind the panel during attempts to install it on the rack. The pivot fitting will allow the entire equipment rack to be tilted forward.

After turning off the lights and ventilation system, Endeavour's crew will close the hatch and leave Zarya for the final time just before 4 p.m. Central time. Prior to closing the hatch, Endeavour's life support systems will be used to increase the station and Shuttle atmospheric pressure to 15 pounds per square inch, a little above sea level pressure on Earth. Then, as each hatch is closed in the station, the crew will lower the pressure slightly to keep positive air pressure on the inside of each hatch to assist in sealing the hatches. Dessicant bags will be installed in Unity's portable, battery-operated fans to remove humidity from the module and the portable fans will be left running. The crew's final exit from Unity is set for just after 5:30 p.m. today.

After they have completed exiting the station, Cabana and Sturckow will lower the pressure inside Endeavour from 14.7 pounds per square inch to 10.2 pounds per square inch in anticipation of tomorrow's spacewalk. The lower air pressure will reduce the amount of time Newman and Ross must spend breathing pure oxygen before beginning their spacewalk on Saturday and going to the lower pressure of their spacesuits, 4.3 pounds per square inch of pure oxygen.

The oxygen pre-breathe protocol removes nitrogen from the bloodstream to prevent a potentially dangerous malady commonly referred to as the "bends," caused when nitrogen bubbles form in the bloodstream. Newman and Ross also will pre-breathe pure oxygen from masks for about an hour today during the depressurization of Endeavour as part of the protocol.

Later, Newman will complete a performance evaluation of the Orbiter Space Vision System targets, part of an alignment aid for operations with the Shuttle's mechanical arm. Endeavour's crew will be interviewed by CNN and CBS News at 7:36 p.m. Central time.

Preparations will get under way late this evening for tomorrow's third and final spacewalk by Newman and Ross. With Sturckow's assistance, they will prepare the tools they will use, then check out the Simplified Aid for Extravehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) backpacks, which are a type of space "life jacket" that provides the capability for spacewalking astronauts to fly back to the station should they become untethered. During tomorrow's spacewalk, Ross will check out a new valve on the unit, firing the backpack's jets while remaining tethered to Endeavour.

Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent shape.

After opening the hatch between Unity and the Pressurized Mating Adapter that connects it to Endeavour, the astronauts will climb aboard Unity about 1:15 p.m. CST. Once inside, Commander Bob Cabana and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman will install portable fans and lights. They also will complete installation of the S-band communication system in the U.S. component. Pilot Rick Sturckow will remove some access panels inside Unity and unstow hardware that will be used by visiting astronauts on future assembly missions.

Less than 90 minutes after entering Unity, the astronauts will float into the Zarya module, where Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev and Currie will install a new battery charging unit. One of Zarya's six batteries has experienced a problem discharging stored energy in its automatic configuration. Krikalev has swapped out an identical component during two previous flights on the Russian space station Mir. Sturckow and Currie also will remove launch restraint bolts from some of the panels inside Zarya. These bolts were installed before launch to ensure that none of the panels popped open during launch. Astronauts will remove some of these bolts today as a "get-ahead" task to expedite access to the panels during future space station assembly missions. Cabana, Ross and Newman will check out the early communications system's videoconferencing capability.

Ross, Newman and Krikalev then will begin transferring equipment and supplies from Endeavour for use by future inhabitants of the space station, including the first crew to begin a permanent human presence on the space station in January 2000.

During the entry into the International Space Station today, the crew will open a total of six hatches in the following order: the hatch on Endeavour's docking system; the hatch to Unity's mating adapter (designated PMA-2); the hatch to Unity; the hatch from Unity to the upper mating adapter (designated PMA-1); the hatch to Zarya's spherical pressurized adapter (PA); and finally, a hatch between the spherical pressurized adapter on Zarya and the main Zarya instrument module, Zarya's main compartment.

Prior to beginning the sequence of hatch openings, the crew will bring the air pressure inside Endeavour to 14.7 pounds per square inch, the same pressure as at sea level on Earth. Then, the crew will go through a procedure to equalize the air pressure on both sides of each hatch prior to opening them.

About 8:45 p.m. Central time this evening, the entire crew will gather inside the station for an interview with KNX Radio in Los Angeles and KARE-TV in Minneapolis, MN, Cabana's home town.

Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent shape.

Reflecting the international cooperation involved in building the largest space complex in history, Commander Bob Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev opened the hatch to the U.S.-built Unity connecting module at 1:54 p.m. Central time Thursday and floated into the new station together.

The rest of the crew followed and began turning on lights and unstowing gear in the roomy hub to which other modules will be connected in the future. Each passageway within Unity was marked by a sign leading the way into tunnels to which new modules will be connected.

About an hour later, at 3:12 p.m., Cabana and Krikalev opened the hatch to the Russian-built Zarya control module, which will be the nerve center for the station in its embryonic stage. Joined by Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Nancy Currie, Cabana and Krikalev hailed the historic entrance into the International Space Station and said the hatch opening signified the start of a new era in space exploration.

Ross and Newman went right to work in Unity, completing the assembly of an early S-band communications system that will allow flight controllers in Houston to send commands to Unity's systems and to keep tabs on the health of the station with a more extensive communications capability than exists through Russian ground stations. The astronauts also conducted a successful test of the videoconferencing capability of the early communications system, which will be used by the first crew to permanently occupy the station in January 2000. Newman downlinked greetings to controllers in the station flight control room in Houston and to astronaut Bill Shepherd, who will command the first crew and live aboard the station with Krikalev and Cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko.

Krikalev and Currie replaced a faulty unit in Zarya which controlled the discharging of stored energy from one of the module's six batteries. The battery had not been working properly in its automatic configuration, but the new unit was functioning normally shortly after it was installed.

The astronauts also unstowed hardware and logistical supplies stored behind panels in Zarya, relocating the items for use by the shuttle crew that will visit the station in May and Shepherd's expedition crew. Late this afternoon, the astronauts will complete their initial outfitting of the station.

The hatches to Zarya and Unity will be closed before Endeavour undocks from the new station Sunday, leaving the new complex to orbit the Earth unpiloted.

The astronauts begin an eight-hour sleep period at 2:36 a.m. Central time this morning and will be awakened at 10:36 a.m. to begin their ninth of day in orbit.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are circling the globe every 90 minutes at an altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent shape.

After spending the day unstowing final items and installing air ducts for the Russian-built Zarya control module and the U.S.-built Unity module, Commander Bob Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev closed the hatch to Zarya at 4:41 p.m. Central time. They closed a series of additional hatches as the crew made its way back to Endeavour, finally swinging the door to Unity shut at 6:26 p.m. This ended the first excursion by astronauts into the international outpost, an excursion that lasted 28 hours and 32 minutes.

Left behind were tools, supplies and clothing for the crew that will visit the station during the next shuttle assembly flight in May, and for the first crew members who will establish a permanent occupancy of the station in January 2000.

Back inside Endeavour, the astronauts completed preparations for a third and final space walk Saturday by Jerry Ross and Jim Newman to tidy up cable configurations. Ross and Newman plan to disconnect several jumper cables used to route power from Zarya to Unity before permanent electrical connections were made and disconnect cables used to permanently lock the two modules' docking mechanisms together. In addition, tool bags will be stowed on the side of Unity's uppermost Pressurized Mating Adapter for use by space walkers Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry on the STS-96 assembly mission in May.

Near the end of Saturday's space walk, Ross plans to use a grappling hook to try to free the second of two jammed antennas that are part of Zarya's backup rendezvous system. Just as Newman did on Wednesday, Ross will use the device to pry the balky antenna free to its fully extended position while attached to the end of Endeavour's robot arm.

The space walk is scheduled to begin about 3:06 p.m. Central time Saturday, but could get under way earlier if Ross and Newman are ahead of schedule in their space walk preparations.

With all of their work complete, Endeavour's crew members will undock from the newly outfitted station at 2:25 p.m .Sunday, leaving the 35-ton complex to fly on its own for the next five months. Through an S-band communications system installed in Unity by the astronauts, station flight controllers will be able to monitor the health of Unity and Zarya as the complex orbits the Earth.

The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 2:36 a.m. Central time Saturday and will be awakened at 10:36 a.m. to begin space walk preparations.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at and altitude of 246 statute miles with all of their systems in excellent shape.

Having begun its on-orbit assembly, Endeavour's astronauts are now preparing for their departure from the International Space Station this afternoon.

At 2:25 p.m. CST, Pilot Rick Sturckow will undock Endeavour from the station and back the shuttle away to a distance of 450 feet above the station before beginning a nose-forward fly-around just before 2:45 p.m. CST. During Endeavour's one and a half revolutions of the station, the astronauts will conduct a detailed photographic survey of the new outpost. About an hour later, Sturckow will fire Endeavour's jets to separate from the station, leaving it to fly unpiloted for the next five months. The next visit to the station will be by the STS-96 crew in May on an assembly and resupply mission.

Once Endeavour departs the area of the station, the crew will have a few hours of scheduled off-duty time. At about 8:15 p.m. CST, Commander Bob Cabana and Sturckow will fire one of Endeavour's large Orbital Maneuvering System engines for about 10 seconds as part of the SIMPLEX experiment, a Department of Defense study tracking Shuttle engine firings from various radar sites, this one from a site located in Peru. At about 8:30 p.m. CST, the entire crew will gather for interviews by ABC Radio, Associated Press Radio and the Associated Press.

Cabana, Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross will deploy the SAC-A satellite from Endeavour's payload bay around 10:30 p.m. CST. SAC-A is a small, self-contained, non-recoverable satellite built by the Argentinean National Commission of Space Activities. The cube-shaped, 590-pound satellite will test and characterize the performance of new equipment and technologies that may be used in future scientific or operational missions. The payload includes a differential global positioning system, a magnetometer, silicon solar cells, a charge-coupled device Earth camera and a whale tracker experiment.

Near the end of the crew's day, Ross, Newman and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev will stow some of the tools used during yesterday's space walk, as Mission Specialist Nancy Currie increases Endeavour's cabin pressure to 14.7 pounds per square inch.

All systems on board Endeavour and the space station remain in excellent shape as they orbit at an altitude of 247 statute miles.

At the time of crew wake-up, Endeavour was about 222 statute miles ahead of the space station and pulling away from the station by about 12 statute miles per orbit. The SAC-A satellite, deployed by Commander Bob Cabana last night, trails Endeavour by about 35 statute miles.

Crew members will focus their activities today on preparing for their scheduled return to the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday night. Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow will spend a good part of the day checking out spacecraft systems for entry and landing. At about 2:30 p.m. CST, the commander and pilot will begin checkout of the flight control systems and the performance of aerodynamic surfaces and flight controls. About an hour later, the flight crew will conduct a hot fire test of Endeavour's reaction control system jets.

Shortly before 5 p.m. CST, the crew will gather for its traditional in-flight crew news conference talking with reporters at NASA centers and at Canadian Space Agency Headquarters in St. Hubert, Quebec.

After about 3 hours of off-duty time, Cabana, Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross will eject another small satellite from a canister in Endeavour's payload bay. MightySat is a 705-pound U.S. Air Force/Phillips Laboratory satellite that will demonstrate several advanced technologies, including a composite structure, advanced solar cells, a microparticle impact detector, advanced electronics and a shock device. Deployment is set for 8:09 p.m. CST.

The crew will wrap up the day's activities as they begin configuring Endeavour's cabin and stowing equipment in preparation for tomorrow's planned landing. Just before12:30 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Sturckow will stow the Ku-band antenna, which provides high data-rate relay and television. The flight control teams in the Mission Control Center also are preparing for Tuesday's landing in Florida. Preliminary weather forecasts indicate possible scattered clouds and rain showers in the vicinity of the landing site for Tuesday's scheduled 9:54 p.m. CST landing.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems on the space shuttle and space station operating normally.

If weather cooperates, Endeavour will touch down at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:54 p.m. CST after completing 185 orbits of the Earth. A deorbit firing of the Shuttle's maneuvering engines will occur at 8:47 p.m. CST to slow the spacecraft's forward velocity, allowing it to drop back into the Earth's atmosphere. Returning as an unpowered, hypersonic glider, Endeavour will follow a ground track that takes it over the Mexico-Guatemala border and across the Gulf of Mexico, making U.S. landfall over the Ft. Meyers/Sarasota, Florida, area before heading in for a landing at runway 33.

If all goes as planned, Endeavour's cargo bay doors will swing shut at 6:07 p.m., after which the astronauts will climb into their launch and entry suits and strap into their seats. Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Flight Engineer Nancy Currie will be joined on the flight deck for entry by Mission Specialist Jim Newman, while crew mates Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev will be seated down on the middeck.

Forecasters are keeping a close watch on weather in the vicinity of the landing site, with current predictions calling for scattered clouds at 3,000 feet with a chance of showers within 30 miles of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Forecasters predict about a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather for the first of tonight's two landing opportunities.

If the forecast holds, Entry Flight Director John Shannon will give the green light to fire Endeavour's two orbital maneuvering system engines at 8:47 p.m. CST. The deorbit burn will slow the shuttle by 349 feet per second, allowing it to descend back to Earth. Landing is scheduled at 9:54 p.m. CST, completing a 4.6-million-mile mission.

Weather conditions are expected to be somewhat better for tonight's second landing opportunity at KSC, with forecasters indicating an 80 percent chance of favorable weather. For the second opportunity, a deorbit burn at 10:24 p.m. CST would see Endeavour land at 11:30 p.m. CST. Mission managers have decided not to call up landing support at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for this evening's opportunities. However, Edwards will be called up for backup landing support on Wednesday should landing at KSC tonight be waved off.

The crew will remain at KSC on Wednesday, returning to Houston's Ellington Field about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all of its systems in excellent shape.

While weather forecasts in the final days of the mission had indicated that rain showers might delay the astronauts return, the weather cleared, allowing Entry Flight Director John Shannon to give a "go" for the deorbit burn which occurred at 8:46 p.m. CST.

Tonight's landing at KSC marked the 10th night landing in the history of the Shuttle program. It was also the 17th straight landing at Kennedy Space Center and the 24th in the last 25 Shuttle missions to land at the Florida spaceport.

While Endeavour is back on firm ground, 246 miles above, the new International Space Station continues to orbit with all systems functioning normally. The current orientation of the ISS has the Unity module facing the Earth and the Zarya module facing deep space. The station is also in a slow rotation at one revolution every 30 minutes to maintain the proper heating and cooling. The next shuttle assembly mission to the station is STS-96, scheduled for launch aboard Discovery in May.

Cabana and his crewmates, Pilot Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jim Newman, Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev will remain in Florida until Thursday morning when they are scheduled to return to Houston. The STS-88 crew are scheduled to land at Ellington Field, near the Johnson Space Center at approximately 10:30 a.m. CST where they will be welcomed home with a crew return ceremony.

With Endeavour more than 340 miles in front of the new station, the astronauts tested the shuttle's aerosurfaces and steering jets to ensure the ship's controllability during reentry to the Earth's atmosphere. All of Endeavour's systems were declared in good working order, enabling the astronauts to stow equipment used during the flight in preparation for their high-speed homecoming.

International Space Station flight controllers report that all systems on the new complex are functioning normally as the station orbits the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles, the Unity module facing the Earth and the Zarya module facing deep space. The station was commanded to spin slowly at one revolution every 30 minutes to maintain the proper heating and cooling while it flies unpiloted for the next five months. The next shuttle assembly mission to the station is STS-96, scheduled for launch aboard Discovery in May.

Late last night, at 8:09 p.m. Central time, the astronauts completed the final task of the flight, deploying a 700-pound Air Force technology satellite called MightySat as Endeavour sailed over Indonesia. MightySat will send back data on the effect of the space environment on composite materials and advanced solar power cells.

The six astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. and be awakened at 11:36 a.m. to begin final landing preparations.

If all goes as planned, Endeavour's cargo bay doors will swing shut at 6:07 p.m., after which the astronauts will climb into their launch and entry suits and strap into their seats. Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Flight Engineer Nancy Currie will be joined on the flight deck for entry by Mission Specialist Jim Newman, while crew mates Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev will be seated down on the middeck.

Scattered to broken clouds and no rain showers are predicted for Kennedy Space Center at landing time. If the forecast holds, Entry Flight Director John Shannon will give the green light to fire Endeavour's twin braking rockets at 8:47 p.m. Central time. The deorbit burn will slow the shuttle by 349 feet per second, allowing it to descend back to Earth. Landing is scheduled at 9:54 p.m. Central time on runway 3-3 at the Shuttle Landing Facility to complete a 4.6-million-mile mission, the 10th night landing in shuttle program history.

A backup landing opportunity is available at KSC 90 minutes later, at 11:30 p.m. Central time (12:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday). Mission managers decided not to call up landing support at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for this evening's opportunities.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles, with all of its systems in excellent shape.

"We laid out the red carpet for the first crew to come aboard," said Bob Cabana, manager of international operations for the International Space Station Program.

Undocking occurred at 10:46 p.m. CDT Sunday over Russia near the northeastern portion of the Ukraine. When Atlantis was at a safe distance from the station, about 450 feet, Pilot Scott Altman performed a 90-minute, double-loop fly around to enable the crew to document the station's exterior. He fired Atlantis' jets one final time to separate from the station at 12:35 a.m.

"It glistened out there in the different sunlight, watching the sunrise and sunset. The way it illuminated the solar arrays on the service module was just phenomenal," Altman said, when asked about the fly around during a crew news conference early Monday. "It sparkled like a jewel against the blue background of the oceans."

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov all answered questions posed by reporters at NASA centers and the Russian mission control center outside of Moscow.

Wilcutt said he had no advice for the first station residents - Bill Shepherd, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko -- other than to "enjoy it like a new home." When asked about living conditions aboard the station, in particular noise levels inside the Zvezda service module, he said "We all think it's just fine. No louder than the shuttle. It's just fine the way it is."

Following the in-flight press conference, Malenchenko and Morukov remained in Atlantis' middeck to field questions from Russian reporters in Moscow before enjoying six hours of off-duty time and an eight-hour sleep period.

When the astronauts are awakened at 5:46 p.m. CDT this afternoon, they will check out the shuttle systems used for reentry and landing and secure equipment and transfer items in preparation for their homecoming. Landing is scheduled for 2:56 a.m. CDT Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center.

Bob Cabana, ISS manager for International Operations, said at a Saturday afternoon briefing after Endeavour's undocking that the ISS is "a fully functional space station that is growing by leaps and bounds." Endeavour left the P6 solar array structure on the station, with wings stretching 240 feet from tip to tip. It can provide as much as 60 kilowatts of power under ideal conditions.

The shuttle and the space station closed the last hatch linking them at 9:51 a.m. Undocking took place as scheduled, at 1:13 p.m. The shuttle and space station had been docked to one another for 6 days, 23 hours and 13 minutes. Endeavour moved downward from the space station, then began a tail-first circle at a distance of about 500 feet. The maneuver, with pilot Mike Bloomfield at the controls, took about an hour.

While Endeavour flew that circle, the two spacecraft, moving at five miles a second, flew about two-thirds of the way around the Earth. Undocking took place 235 statute miles above the border of Kazakhstan and China. When Endeavour made its final separation burn, the orbiter and the space station were near the northeastern coast of South America.

Shortly after undocking, Expedition One commander Bill Shepherd radioed a "well done Endeavour" to commander Brent Jett, Bloomfield and mission specialists Marc Garneau, Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega. Jett radioed the station crew best wishes for the rest of its mission. Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev will spend about three more months aboard the space station.

Late in the day, Canadian astronaut Garneau talked with John Manley, Canadian minister of foreign affairs and international trade, Mac Evans, Canadian Space Agency president, and elementary school children at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.

Before going to bed at 10:06 p.m. the STS-97 crew got some off-duty time and adjusted the shuttle's orbit to give it an additional landing opportunity in Florida. Endeavour is to touch down at 5:04 p.m. CST Monday at Kennedy Space Center.

Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore told an afternoon briefing that a Mishap Response Team is gathering data from numerous engineering teams in the early stages of the investigation and is receiving assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement agencies, among others.

Dittemore said that as Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Mike Anderson, Laurel Clark and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon are mourned, the recovery of debris from Columbia and human remains is being coordinated at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Dittemore thanked residents in the areas where debris fell after Columbia's breakup for cooperating in the recovery effort but cautioned them not to handle debris that could contain toxic substances.

Dittemore reconstructed the final minutes of Columbia's flight before communications was lost. He reiterated the failure of four temperature sensors associated with the shuttle's left hand elevons at 7:53 a.m. CST Saturday amidst a 20-30 degree rise in left hand bondline and strut temperatures over a five-minute period near the left wheel well of the orbiter. Columbia was flying over California at the time at an altitude of about 220,000 feet traveling 21 times the speed of sound.

One minute later, over the region of eastern California and western Nevada, Columbia's mid-fuselage bondline temperatures above the left wing experienced an unusual temperature increase. It rose 60 degrees over a five-minute period. No such temperature increase was noted on the right side of Columbia or in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Columbia was about 212,000 feet above the Earth, flying at Mach 20.

At 7:58 a.m. over New Mexico, telemetry showed a larger than normal drag on the left side of the shuttle, and an indication of an increase in pressure in the left main landing gear tires. Dittemore said the data suggests the tires remained intact. Columbia's altitude was 209,000 feet.

At 7:59 a.m. over west Texas, the data showed Columbia continuing to react to an increased drag on its left side, trying to correct the movement by rolling back to the right. Dittemore said the response of the orbiter was well within its capability to handle such maneuvers.

At that time, seconds before 8 a.m. CST, all communications was lost with Columbia as it flew at an altitude of 207,000 feet, 18 times the speed of sound.

Dittemore indicated that ground computers may contain an additional 32 seconds of data which could provide additional information in the analysis of Columbia's breakup.

He added that the loss of some foam insulation from Columbia's external fuel tank, which struck the shuttle's left wing about 80 seconds after launch was "inconsequential" based on video imagery review conducted by engineering specialists. However, he said nothing has been ruled out as a possible cause for the accident.

Robert Cabana, the Director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center, relayed thanks from the families of the astronauts for the outpouring of support received from around the nation and the world.

Cabana said that the Expedition 6 crewmembers aboard the International Space Station are "grieving" for the loss of Columbia's crew, but are in good spirits as they continue human spaceflight and scientific research aboard the orbital outpost. Cabana said Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are preparing for Tuesday's arrival of a Russian Progress cargo ship. Progress 10 was launched this morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, President and Mrs. Bush will join NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe at the Johnson Space Center to pay tribute to Columbia's astronauts during a special memorial service. The ceremony to honor Columbia's seven crewmembers is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NASA Television. The service is not open to the public.

The next STS-107 Accident Response briefings are on Monday, Feb. 3 at NASA Headquarters in Washington at 11:30 a.m. EST and at the Johnson Space Center at 4:30 p.m. EST.