Duque Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, three children. Born in Madrid, Spain.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: ESA Group 1 - 1992, Commercial Group - 1993, NASA Group 16 - 1996. Active Entered space service: 15 May 1992. Number of Flights: 2.00. Total Time: 18.78 days.

NAME: Pedro Duque

ESA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born March 14, 1963 in Madrid, Spain. Enjoys diving, swimming and cycling.

EDUCATION:

Received a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain, in 1986.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Awarded the "Order of Friendship" by President Yeltsin of the Russian Federation (March 1995).

EXPERIENCE:

During Duque's studies, he worked on a flight simulator project in the laboratory of Flight Mechanics on a fellowship, and on the computation of environmental torques on spacecraft, under ESA contract. He joined GMV (Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo) in 1986, and in the same year he became the technical leader in a helicopter rotor simulation project. At the end of 1986, Duque was sent as contracted staff to ESA's European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt Germany, to work within the Precise Orbit Determination Group. From 1986 to 1992, he worked on the development of models for orbit determination, algorithms and implementation of orbit computation software. He was also part of the Flight Control Team (Orbit Determination) of ESA's ERS-1 and EURECA satellites.

In May 1992, Duque was selected to join the Astronaut Corps of the European Space Agency (ESA) based at the European Astronauts Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. In 1992 he completed the Introductory Training Program at EAC and a four-week training program at TsPK (the Russian Astronauts Training Centre) in Star City, Russia, with a view to future ESA-Russian collaboration on the Mir Space Station. From January to July 1993, he performed Basic Training at EAC.

In August 1993, Duque returned to TsPK to train for the joint ESA-Russian Euromir 94 mission and the following May was selected as member of Crew 2 joining Yuri Gidzenko and Sergeij Avdeev. During Euromir 94, which took place from 3 October to 4 November 1994, he was the prime Crew Interface Coordinator (CIC) in the Russian Mission Control Centre (TsUP). He served as the main contact with fellow ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold onboard Mir and was the coordinator between Mir, the Euromir 94 Payload Operations Control Centre (SCOPE) in Toulouse, France, and the project management.

In January 1995, Duque began an extended training course on Russian space systems in Star City and supported the second joint ESA-Russian mission, EUROMIR 95.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

In May, 1995, Duque was selected as an Alternate Payload Specialist astronaut for the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) mission, STS-78, flown in June-July, 1996. During this seventeen day mission Duque worked with the Crew Interface Coordinators as the interface between the investigators on ground and the crew onboard Columbia for all experiment related issues. ESA had five major facilities on the flight and was responsible for more than half of the experiments performed. In July 1996 he was selected by ESA to attend NASA Astronaut Candidate Training.

Duque reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996 for two years of training and evaluation. In August 1996, Duque entered the Mission Specialist Class at NASA/Johnson Space Centre in Houston. This training led to his certification as mission specialist in April 1998. He was selected in November 1997, to fly as Mission Specialist on the STS-95 mission scheduled for October 1998. He was initially assigned to the Computer Support Branch of the Astronaut Office, supporting Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs and advanced technology development.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:

STS-95 Discovery (October 29 to November 7, 1998) was a 9-day mission during which the crew supported a variety of research payloads including deployment of the Spartan solar-observing spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and investigations on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is scheduled for launch in October 1998. The mission was accomplished in 134 Earth orbits, traveling 3.6 million miles in 213 hours and 44 minutes.

• 29 October 1998 Flight: STS-95. Flight Up: STS-95. Flight Back: STS-95. Flight Time: 8.91 days.

• 18 October 2003 Flight: ISS Cervantes. Flight Up: Soyuz TMA-3. Flight Back: Soyuz TMA-2. Flight Time: 9.88 days.

3 September 1995 - Soyuz TM-22. Mir Expedition EO-20. Crew commander was Yuriy Pavlovich Gidzenko of the Russian Air Force. Flight engineer was Sergey Vasilyevich Avdeev of RKK Energiya, and cosmonaut-researcher was Thomas Reiter of the European Space Agency. Soyuz TM-22 docked with Mir's front (-X) port at 10:29:54 GMT on September 5 and the hatch was opened at 11:01:23.

Launch was delayed briefly while flight controllers evaluated an alarm during cabin pressure checks and several more minutes while range safety officers dealt with a stray aircraft in the launch area.

Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey, and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Scott Parazynski and Pedro Duque, along with Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai and Glenn arrived on orbit less than nine minutes after launch, ready to begin activating Shuttle systems and experiments in the Spacehab module located in Discovery's cargo bay.

The Shuttle's payload bay doors were expected to be opened about an hour and a half after launch, prior to the astronauts receiving a "go" to begin orbital operations.

The timeline calls for the astronauts to spend most of the afternoon and evening completing the setup and activation of dozens of experiments they will conduct throughout the mission to study the effects of microgravity on the human body and materials.

Discovery's astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period about 11:45 p.m. Central time tonight and are due to be awakened tomorrow about 7:45 a.m. to begin their first full day of activity in orbit.

About 45 minutes after launch, Discovery's orbital maneuvering engines fired to round out the orbit at about 350 miles. The spacecraft is orbiting Earth every 90 minutes. All of Discovery's systems are performing normally.

Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski will release PANSAT, the Petite Amateur Naval Satellite, early this afternoon. PANSAT is a small non-retrievable satellite developed by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey California. Designed to enhance the education of the military officers at the school through developing and observing its operation in space, PANSAT will capture and transmit radio signals that normally would be lost because the original signals were too weak or had too much interference.

Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Parazynski will check out Discovery's Remote Manipulator System robot arm today to verify its operation prior to Sunday's scheduled deployment of the SPARTAN spacecraft for two days of free flight. During the checkout, they will survey the payload bay and also look at a possible loose tile on the left Orbital Manuevering System (OMS) engine pod, which was reported by Brown last night.

ESA Astronaut Pedro Duque and NASDA Astronaut Chiaki Mukai will check out and prepare the Middeck Glove Box, an enclosed research facility that will support numerous investigations throughout the mission. The glove box, referred to as MGBX, is a microwave sized research facility that provides the astronauts an opportunity to perform hands-on investigations in a controlled environment. Early this afternoon, Payload Specialist-2, John Glenn, will activate the MEPS experiment. MEPS, the Microgravity Encapsulation Process, studies the formation of capsules containing two kinds of anti-tumor drugs that could be delivered directly to solid tumors and has applications in chemotherapy treatments.

In addition, regularly scheduled exercise sessions and routine housekeeping chores also will occupy the crew's first full day on orbit, which promises to be a busy one for all seven members of the STS-95 crew. Flight Day 2 began at 7:45 a.m. central time today when the crew was awakened to the sounds of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World," played for Mission Specialist -2 Scott Parazynski from his wife, Gail.

Discovery is in an orbit with a high point of 349 statute miles and a low point of 340 statute miles, circling Earth once every one hour, 35 minutes and 54 seconds.

Payload Specialist John Glenn, 77, will begin providing the 10 blood samples and 16 urine samples needed to look into the effects of space flight on his body. Researchers want to better understand how the removal of gravity affects balance and perception, immune system response, bone and muscle density, metabolism and blood flow, and sleep. Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, 35, also will provide blood samples, which will be taken by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski and Payload Specialist Chiai Mukai, both trained physicians.

The blood draws are part of the Protein Turnover in Space Flight study, which will track the balance between protein building and breakdown, the two parts of protein turnover that contribute to muscle atrophy. The astronauts in the experiment take small amounts of the amino acids alanine and histidine, which contain a special tracer molecules, 12 hours before each blood draw. This research may help benefit people on Earth who suffer from weakened muscles or loss of bone mass.

The on-orbit researchers also will continue their examinations of plants., animals and other materials as they react to environmental changes related to the absence of gravity. And Canadian developers of a Space Vision System will check out on board software that will allow them to switch from camera to camera in the payload bay and provide precise positioning information for use by robot arm operators assembling the pieces of the International Space Station.

Early in the crew day, Commander Curt Brown will switch back to a tried and true method of removing iodine from the shuttle's drinking water supply. Yesterday, the crew reported a strange taste in water coming out of a system being tested for the first time. Ground researchers are trying to determine what is causing the strange taste. Iodine is used to prevent contamination of the water system tanks and lines, but must be removed before the crew drinks the water or uses it in food preparation.

At 11:35 a.m., Brown and Glenn will answer questions posed by students at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio; the Newseum in Arlington, Va., and John Glenn High School in New Concord, Ohio.

The crew was awakened at 7:10 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "Cachito," a song about parenthood. Duque and his wife, Consuelo, recently had a baby. The crew will go to bed at 10:35 p.m.

Work will continue today with a wide variety of science experiments on board, although at a somewhat slower pace. Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai and Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski - both physicians - will draw blood from Glenn and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment, which assesses the body's breakdown and metabolism of protein before, during and after space flight.

Mukai and Glenn, each of whom wore an electrode net on their heads, as well as other measuring devices, during last night's sleep period, will complete some cognitive performance tests as part of their participation in the sleep study. The cognitive tests will include measurements of how quickly they respond to light cues on a lap-top computer.

Glenn and Mukai will don the electrode net again before turning in this evening. The electrodes are connected to a digital sleep recorder that monitors brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and respiration. Mukai will swallow a capsule containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of the study before going to sleep.

Parazynski will check the status of components of the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test (HOST) payload, which provides an on-orbit test bed for hardware that will be used during the third Hubble servicing mission. Parazynski and Pilot Steve Lindsey also will set up some of the tools that will be used during Tuesday's rendezvous and subsequent capture and reberthing of the Spartan satellite. Steve Robinson will use the Shuttle's robot arm to grapple Spartan tomorrow afternoon after Discovery completes its rendezvous with the sun-watching probe.

Other science activities today will include the collection of video data from the Advanced Gradient Heating Facility (AGHF) used for directional solidification and crystal growth, and from the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX), which is used for investigations of colloids, or systems of fine particles suspended in fluid. Parazynski also will complete the 5th feeding of the bone cell culture that is part of the OSTEO experiment, an evaluation of bone cell activity under microgravity conditions.

Commander Curt Brown will spend some time this morning working with the Electronic Nose device, which was developed to detect, identify and quantify a wide range of organic and inorganic molecules and provide a comprehensive measurement of on-board air quality.

Mukai will be busy checking on the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish. The fish are electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the balance system in the inner ear. She also will monitor the Astroculture-8 facility that is designed to provide a controlled environment in which to grow plants in the weightlessness of space.

At 9:55 a.m. Central time, Brown, Duque and Glenn will receive a congratulatory call from Esperanza Aguirre, the Education Minister of Spain. Duque, the first Spaniard to fly in space, also will take questions from school children representing 17 regions of Spain.

At 4:00 p.m. Central time, Brown and Glenn will take part in unilateral interviews with the five major U.S. television networks.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of about 349 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent condition.

The rendezvous began with Commander Curt Brown firing Discovery's orbital maneuvering engines to drop Discovery's orbit, accelerating it ahead of the SPARTAN. After closing the distance, Brown and pilot Steve Lindsey maneuvered Discovery in close as Mission Specialist 1 Steve Robinson operated the 50-foot robot arm. With MS2 Scott Parazynski assisting, Robinson directed the arm to a smooth grapple of the satellite at 2:45 p.m. CST. SPARTAN was placed in its berth in Discovery's cargo bay a short time later.

During the final maneuvers, astronauts tested the Video Guidance Sensor, a component of an automated docking system being prepared for use on the International Space Station. Flight Controllers noted that the system worked as planned.

Spartan will be used again tomorrow for data collection, once again being unberthed from its payload bay cradle for a few hours so that cameras can be pointed at a series of targets on the spacecraft. Those cameras will test the Space Vision System that uses remote camera views to provide a robot arm operator with the ability to view areas that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

While SPARTAN operations captured most of the attention today, other science operations continued aboard Discovery. Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai and John Glenn, along with Parazynski and European Space Agency Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, continued taking blood samples as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment measuring muscle changes in zero gravity.

Glenn also attached electrodes and a data recorder to himself which record his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an investigation of heart rate variability during space flight. He also fed bone cell cultures that are part of the OSTEO experiment, an evaluation of bone cell activity under microgravity conditions, and he worked with the Advanced Organic Separations (ADSEP) experiment, which provides the capability to separate and purify biological materials in microgravity..

Glenn and Duque worked with the Astroculture plant-growing experiment and with the MEPS (Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System) that studies the formation of anti-tumor capsules containing two kinds of drugs. Duque collected video data and photograph samples from the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX) which is used for investigations of colloids, or systems of fine particles suspended in fluid. Mukai continued her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner ear's balance system

All systems aboard Discovery continue to operate well.

Rendezvous activities will begin when Commander Curt Brown fires Discovery's engines to lower the shuttle, causing it to accelerate ahead of the satellite. Discovery will fly over the top of Spartan, then coast back to about 8 or 9 miles behind the satellite. Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey then will maneuver Discovery into position as Robinson powers up Discovery's 50-foot robot arm. Discovery will approach Spartan from beneath the sun probe to a distance of 35 feet. At that point, With the assistance of Scott Parazynski, Robinson will use the remote manipulator system to grapple Spartan to complete the first phase of its scientific mission. As Discovery closes in on Spartan today, the astronauts will test a device called the Video Guidance Sensor, a component of an automated docking system being prepared for use on the International Space Station. It is a laser system that provides precise measurements of how far away the shuttle is from a target and how fast it is moving toward or away from the target. Before grappling Spartan, Discovery will back away from the satellite to test the maximum range capability of the guidance system.

Spartan will be used again tomorrow for data collection, once again being unberthed from its payload bay cradle for a few hours so that cameras can be pointed at a series of targets on the spacecraft. Those cameras will test the Space Vision System that uses remote camera views to provide a robot arm operator with the ability to view areas that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Other crew members will continue work with several of the on-board science experiments. Japanese Space Agency Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai and fellow Payload Specialist John Glenn, along with Parazynski and European Space Agency Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, will undergo another series of blood draws. They will then take small amounts of the amino acids alanine and histidine, which contain special tracer molecules, 12 hours before another blood draw. This research is part of the Protein Turnover Experiment that may benefit people on Earth who suffer from weakened muscles or loss of bone mass. Duque, Mukai and Glenn also will collect urine samples as part of the study.

Glenn will don electrodes and a data recorder known as a holter monitor, which will record his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an investigation of heart rate variability during space flight. He also will be kept busy feeding bone cell cultures that are part of the OSTEO experiment, an evaluation of bone cell activity under microgravity conditions, and he will work with the Advanced Organic Separations (ADSEP) experiment, which provides the capability to separate and purify biological materials in microgravity..

Glenn and Duque will spend time with the Astroculture plant-growing experiment and with the MEPS (Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System) that studies the formation of anti-tumor capsules containing two kinds of drugs. Duque will collect video data and photograph samples from the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX), which is used for investigations of colloids, or systems of fine particles suspended in fluid.

As part of the evaluation of sleep disturbances in astronauts, Mukai and Glenn will complete a questionnaire about their personal observations of the previous night's sleep. They also will take a computerized battery of tests that measure reaction time, short-term memory, hand-eye coordination and other assessments.

Mukai will continue her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner ear's balance system. She also will monitor the Astroculture-8 facility that is designed to provide a controlled environment in which to grow plants in the weightlessness of space.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of about 341 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent condition.

The astronauts will once again remove the Spartan solar science satellite from its berth in Discovery's payload bay for several hours of data collection. Cameras will be pointed at a series of targets on the spacecraft to test the Space Vision System, which uses remote camera views to provide a robot arm operator with the ability to see areas that are out of viewing area.

This morning Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, assisted by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, will again test the Orbiter Space Vision System. OSVS uses special markings on Spartan and the shuttle cargo bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's operator using shuttle television images. It will be used extensively on the next Space Shuttle flight in December as an aid in using the arm to join together the first two modules of the International Space Station.

Robinson will use the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm to grapple Spartan, unlatch it and maneuver it into position. Following the OSVS tests, he will use the Video Guidance Sensor to assist in the reberthing processes. VGS provides precise measurements of how far away the shuttle is from Spartan and how fast it is moving toward or away from the target. VGS is a component of an automated docking system being prepared for use on the International Space Station.

Other crew members will continue work with several of the on-board science experiments. Commander Curt Brown, Lindsey, Robinson and Payload Specialist John Glenn will complete a daily back-pain questionnaire by as part of a study of how the muscle, intervertebral discs and bone marrow change after exposure to microgravity.

Glenn and Japanese Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will once again don a sleep net before going to sleep this evening. Each also will wear a special sleep suit. Electrodes on the sleep net and sensors in the sleep suit will monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and respiration. The electrodes and sensors are connected to a digital sleep recorder that records a variety of measurements as they sleep. Mukai also will swallow a capsule containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of the sleep study.

Parazynski and Mukai will draw more blood from ESA Mission Specialist Pedro Duque and Glenn as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment (PTO), which is examining muscle atrophy during exposure to microgravity.

Glenn will remove and stow the Holter monitor electrodes and data recorder he has worn for the past 24 hours. The Holter monitor recorded his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an investigation of heart rate variability during space flight. He also will process blood samples as part of the PTO experiment.

Glenn and Lindsey will spend time with the Astroculture plant-growing experiment, while Parazynski and Duque will collect more video data and photograph the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MGBX) experiments known as Colloidal Disorder-Order Transition and Structural Studies of Colloidal Suspension. Colloids are systems of fine particles suspended in fluid. Researchers hope to learn more about how the organization of atoms changes as they form into orderly solid structures. Duque then will deactivate these two experiments for the remainder of the mission.

Mukai will continue her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner ear's balance system.

Brown, Lindsey and Glenn will take part in an interview with CBS Radio news and the Tonight Show beginning at 12:30 Central time this afternoon.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of about 341 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent condition.

This afternoon Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai along with STS-95 commander Curt Brown and Payload Specialist-2 John Glenn took a phone call from Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Yutaka Takeyama. Also today, Brown, Glenn and pilot Steve Lindsey conversed with veteran newsman Walter Cronkite and NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin during a luncheon in Houston celebrating NASA's 40th anniversary. NBC's Jay Leno of the Tonight Show also interviewed Glenn, Brown and Lindsey in a conversation that will be aired on NBC tonight.

In other activity in space today, crew members continued work with several of the on-board science experiments. Brown, Lindsey, Robinson and Glenn completed a daily back-pain questionnaire by as part of a study of how the muscle, intervertebral discs and bone marrow change after exposure to microgravity.

Glenn and Mukai continued to record their food consumption and will once again don a sleep net and special sleep suit tonight. Electrodes on the sleep net and sensors in the sleep suit monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and respiration. The electrodes and sensors are connected to a digital sleep recorder that records a variety of measurements as they sleep. Mukai also will swallow a capsule containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of the sleep study.

Glenn removed the Holter monitor electrodes and data recorder he has worn for the past 24 hours, recording his heart rhythm on orbit, as part of an investigation of heart rate variability during space flight. Blood samples were again taken from Glenn and ESA astronaut Pedro Duque as part of the experiment monitoring the changes in muscle tissue in space.

Glenn and Lindsey operated the Astroculture plant-growing experiment, while Scott Parazynski and Duque monitored the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MGBX) experiments known as Colloidal Disorder-Order Transition and Structural Studies of Colloidal Suspension. Colloids are systems of fine particles suspended in fluid. Researchers hope to learn more about how the organization of atoms changes as they form into orderly solid structures. Duque deactivated these two experiments for the remainder of the mission.

Mukai continued her work with the Japanese Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU), which holds two toadfish that are electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner ear's balance system.

All systems on board Discovery continue to operate well.

Pilot Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Pedro Duque checked out a new communications systems for use during spacewalks. The new, digital communications system should provide enhanced communication quality between the space-walking astronauts, the orbiter and the flight control team in Houston.

Work with the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS) concluded today with a test of camera quality under varied lighting conditions. Robinson cycled through Discovery's payload bay cameras exposing each to day and nighttime conditions to validate how well the cameras can "see" the OSVS targets. Deactivation of some of the experiments began today. After using the Electronic Nose one last time to test the shuttle's air quality, Brown deactivated it for the rest of the mission. The Electronic Nose is a miniaturized electronic air quality monitoring system that mimics the way the human nose detects changes in the air. Duque also shutdown the Microgravity Science Glovebox and stowed equipment associated with that research facility.

The crew took time from its busy day today to talk with U.S., Japanese and European reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as with reporters gathered at the European Space Agency's Villafranca tracking facility outside Madrid, Spain.

Vice President Al Gore, former Astronaut Scott Carpenter and school children from the Washington D.C. area also had an opportunity to talk with the astronauts, asking questions about John Glenn's return to space and the work being done in orbit.

For the final time later this evening, Payload Specialists Glenn and Chiaki Mukai will don sleep nets and specially-instrumented suits to monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and respiration during their sleep period.

Preliminary weather forecasts indicate generally favorable weather to support Saturday's landing at 11:10 a.m. Central time at the Kennedy Space Center. Remnants of tropical storm Mitch are expected to pass through the area and move off Florida's east coast Friday night, allowing good weather for landing on Saturday.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of about 341 statute miles with all systems operating well.

With the Spartan solar science satellite again secured in its berth in Discovery's payload bay, the astronauts will turn their full attention to some of the more than 80 experiments on board. They also will begin shutting down some of the experiments and facilities in anticipation of their return to Earth on Saturday morning.

Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will power up the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS) for an image optimization test. OSVS will be used in International Space Station assembly as a key source of precision data with which the robot arm operator will perform station assembly activities. Robinson and European Space Agency Mission Specialist Pedro Duque also will power up the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and check the unit's communications system. The EMU would be used should a spacewalk become necessary; it provides pressure, thermal and micro-meteoroid protection, oxygen, cooling water, drinking water, food, waste collection (including carbon dioxide removal), electrical power and communications.

As they have throughout the flight, Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson and Payload Specialist John Glenn will complete a back-pain questionnaire as part of a study of how the muscle, intervertebral discs and bone marrow change due to microgravity. Results will be compared with data provided by astronauts during previous missions.

Glenn will continue blood sample analysis and blood processing that are part of the Protein Turnover (PTO) experiment, which is studying the muscle loss that occurs during space flight. Better understanding of the mechanisms of muscle loss may help scientists combat the muscle wasting commonly seen as a result of aging and in bedridden individuals.

Deactivation of some of the experiments will begin today. After using the Electronic Nose one last time to test the shuttle's air quality, Brown will deactivate it for the duration of the mission. The Electronic Nose is a miniaturized electronic air quality monitoring system that mimics the way the human nose detects changes in the air. Duque also will do a final shutdown of the Microgravity Science Glovebox and stow equipment associated with the facility.

Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski will check on the fish in the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU). By studying how the balance organs of oyster toadfish in the VFEU adapt to microgravity, scientists hope to gain important insights about similar functions in humans and apply this information to develop therapies for equilibrium disorders on Earth.

At 12:10 p.m. Central time, the entire crew will gather for a press conference with U.S. and Japanese reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as with reporters gathered at the European Space Agency's Villafranca tracking facility outside Madrid, Spain. At 2:40 p.m. Central time, the astronauts will gather again for a conversation with Vice-President Al Gore and former Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter from the White House.

Before going to sleep Wednesday night, the entire crew will gather for the traditional crew photograph. Then Glenn and Japanese Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will don for the last time their sleep nets and suits to monitor brain waves, eye movements, muscle tension, body movements and respiration during sleep. Mukai also will swallow a capsule containing either melatonin or a placebo as part of the sleep study.

Lindsey and Mukai will conduct additional work with the Astroculture experiment to study the growth of plants in the weightless environment of space. Brown and Glenn will complete the eighth and ninth feedings of the bone cell cultures that are part of the Canadian OSTEO experiment.

Preliminary weather forecasts indicate generally favorable weather to support Saturday's landing at 11:10 a.m. Central time at the Kennedy Space Center. Remnants of tropical storm Mitch are expected to pass through the area and move off Florida's east coast Friday night, allowing good weather for landing on Saturday.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of about 341 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent condition.

Commander Curt Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey set Discovery down on the 3-mile long landing strip at KSC at 11:04 a.m. Central time, following a flawless hour-long descent back from space. A missing drag chute compartment door, which popped off during liftoff on October 29, posed no problem for the astronauts and had no effect on the landing.

For Payload Specialist Glenn, the landing was a gentler return home than he experienced more than 36 years ago when he splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean in his Friendship 7 capsule after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn experienced only about 3 g's of gravitational force during today's reentry, half of what he experienced during his Mercury capsule mission in 1962.

"One G and I feel fine," Glenn exclaimed from the middeck following Discovery's wheelstop on Runway 3-3 at the Kennedy Space Center. "The view is still tremendous, give yourselves a pat on the back," Glenn added, as he congratulated his crew mates on the completion of the 92nd flight in Shuttle

Brown, Lindsey, Glenn, Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Scott Parazynski and Pedro Duque of the European Space Agency and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai of NASDA were scheduled to be reunited with their families later today following postflight medical exams and medical tests associated with some of the biomedical experiments performed during the mission.

The astronauts will spend the night near the Kennedy Space Center tonight before leaving Florida tomorrow morning for a heroes' welcome back at Ellington Field in Houston Sunday.

Current plans call for the astronauts to leave the Cape Canaveral Air Station Skid Strip late Sunday morning for an arrival at Ellington around 2 p.m. Central time, where a crew return ceremony will mark their homecoming at Hangar 276, led by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, Johnson Space Center Director George W.S. Abbey, members of Congress and Houston Mayor Lee Brown.

A parade in downtown Houston is planned for the STS-95 astronauts on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veteran's Day, to honor the crew, the nation's veterans and NASA.

If weather and spacecraft systems cooperate, Discovery will touch down at Kennedy Space Center at 11:04 a.m. Central time after completing 134 orbits of the Earth. Deorbit ignition of the orbiter's maneuvering engines will occur at 9:53 a.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, Discovery will follow a ground track taking it across Texas and Louisiana before it sweeps out over the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida.

Weather in Florida is predicted to be near but within acceptable margins for crosswinds and clouds.

Today there are two landing opportunities at KSC and two to Edwards Air Force Base, California. Discovery has a second chance to land at KSC at 12:45 p.m. CST or could land at Edwards at either 12:35 p.m. or 2:17 p.m. Weather at Edwards is predicted to be good on Saturday but unacceptable on Sunday. KSC weather will be near margins both days. Flight controllers will try both opportunities into KSC before considering the Edwards landing.

Although a normal entry, approach, and landing are expected, precautionary plans are in place to accommodate a deployment of Discovery's drag chute during reentry. The Shuttle Training Aircraft that performs routine weather observations prior to landing and during final approach will also visually monitor Discovery's drag chute compartment.

If Discovery lands today, the astronauts will spend the night at KSC before returning to Houston mid-day on Sunday to a welcome at Ellington Field.

The Progress 11 vehicle lifted off on time from its Central Asia launch pad at 5:34 a.m. Central time (1034 GMT, 2:34 p.m. Baikonur time). Less than nine minutes later the Progress settled into orbit, and moments later, its solar arrays and navigational antennas had been deployed. At the time of the Progress launch, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were flying near the Equator off the west coast of Africa at an altitude of 240 statute miles.

After three days of pre-programmed engines firings to reach the ISS, the Progress will link up automatically to the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Station's Zvezda Service Module on Wednesday at 6:17 a.m. Central time (1117 GMT). Within a few hours, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and begin to unload its cargo.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the Progress are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew for about a week's worth of scientific research on the ISS under a contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle currently docked to the Station.

The Progress 11 vehicle automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment attached to the Zvezda Service Module over Central Asia at 6:15 a.m. Central time (1115 GMT) three days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the Progress neared Pirs for docking, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were in Zvezda, monitoring its approach. At the time of contact and capture, the ISS was flying over Central Asia at an altitude of 240 statute miles. After conducting leak checks to insure a tight seal between the Progress and the ISS, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and begin to unload its cargo.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the Progress are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew for about a week's worth of scientific research on the ISS under a contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle currently docked to the Station.

The arrival of the new Progress puts three Russian vehicles at the ISS. Docked to the aft port of Zvezda is the Progress 10 resupply craft that arrived at the Station on February 4, and docked to the Zarya Module is the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle that brought Malenchenko and Lu to the ISS on April 28.

The Progress brought replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the cargo ship are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle, which is currently docked to the Station.

On Tuesday, Lu used the Microgravity Science Glovebox to continue the Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) experiment. InSPACE is investigating a type of 'smart materials' that researchers hope will improve the types of fluids used in braking and vibration damping systems. InSPACE is one of three experiments Lu will do aboard the Space Station using the glovebox.

While looking out the window of the Destiny Lab Thursday, Lu noticed an object floating away from the Station. Lu characterized the object as a rectangular-shaped piece of metal that was about 5 cm long. Station flight controllers determined that the object was possibly a small label that may have come loose from an exterior part of the station, and that, because of its low mass and relative velocity, it posed no threat to the complex. However, an analysis of photographs of the object taken by Lu before it drifted away continues.

Today's activity, with Lu working with flight controllers in Houston, began a little after 3 a.m. CDT. It was a feasibility study. Lu performed task the ground cannot yet do - operating the latching end effector and initiating joint motion, for example. The task was completed successfully before 7 a.m. Results will be used in validation of the concept and in determining software, hardware or procedural changes that would be needed for arm control from the ground.

Lu also spent some time working with the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) experiment's sample processing units (SPUs) in the Microgravity Science Glovebox of the U.S. laboratory Destiny. One unit Lu installed was found to be distorted, so he reinstalled the previous SPU. The CSLM experiment was delayed from early in the week because of internal humidity and dew point concerns. The experiment is expected to begin next week. It will study "coarsening" during which the strength of a material is reduced. This phenomenon is seen in many materials, including water droplets in rain clouds and dental fillings. It can weaken high-temperature turbine blades. Meanwhile, Malenchenko worked for more than two hours to load discarded items into the Progress 10 unpiloted cargo craft docked at the rear of the Zvezda Service Module.

Last Monday the crew focused on medical experiments and an inventory by Malenchenko of 44 Russian medical, food supplement and ointment kits, about a two-hour task. Tuesday saw additional medical tests and Mission Control Moscow continued testing a new satellite navigation system antenna. Both crewmembers took time to answer questions from elementary, middle and high school students relayed to them by educators at Kennedy Space Center.

After Soyuz descent training and continued work with the week-long process of space suit batteries conditioning Wednesday, Lu and Malenchenko on Thursday prepared for today's robotic operations and Malenchenko continued participation in a Russian study of bioelectrical heart activity while at rest.

Throughout the week both crewmembers continued regular maintenance activities on the Station, and performed their daily exercise sessions, designed to ward off the effects of lengthy exposure to the microgravity environment of the orbiting laboratory.

NASA announced on Friday that astronaut Michael Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri will be the Expedition 8 crew of the International Space Station. They are scheduled to launch on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain on Oct. 18. Duque will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew, which arrived at the station April 28. Their Soyuz is scheduled to land in Kazakhstan Oct. 28.

On Tuesday, the crew marked the 1,000th day of human occupancy of the Station with a downlinked video message and a call from the heads of the five global space agencies that represent the 16 nations of the ISS Program.

During the week, Lu worked with the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the Destiny Laboratory. That experiment will be continued next week. CSLM is being used to study a physical process called "coarsening" that can reduce the strength of metals, such as those in jet engine turbine blades. Lu also performed a functional check of the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller, which will be used in a fluid dynamics experiment later in the Expedition 7 mission.

Throughout the week, Malenchenko took part in various Russian medical studies to continue gathering data on the effects of microgravity on the human body during a long-duration spaceflight. He also worked with the Russian/German Plasma Crystal-3 (PK-3) experiment, which is being used to examine fine particles inside an evacuated work chamber that have been charged and excited by radio frequencies.

Both crewmembers also took time from their schedules to answer questions from TV Globo's "Fantastico" show in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and from teachers participating in the NASA Explorer Schools Program at Ames Research Center, Calif.

Throughout the week, Malenchenko and Lu continued regular maintenance activities on the Station and performed daily physical exercises to minimize the long-term effects of living in microgravity.

The Expedition 7 crewmembers, who arrived at the station April 28, are scheduled to return to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft on Oct. 28. They will be replaced by the Expedition 8 crew, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain. Duque will then return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station.

On Monday, the crewmembers passed the 100-day mark on orbit since their launch to the Station April 26. The crew is scheduled to return to Earth in late October aboard the same Soyuz vehicle they arrived in. The Expedition 8 crew, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, will replace the Expedition 7 crew. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain. Duque will then return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station. Foale, Kaleri and Duque will talk to reporters about their upcoming mission during a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, which will be broadcast on NASA TV.

Throughout the week aboard the ISS, Lu worked with a run of the Coarsening of Solid-Liquid Mixtures-2 (CSLM-2) experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. CSLM-2 is studying how the strength of metals, such as those used in jet engine turbine blades, is reduced during a process called coarsening. Malenchenko worked with Earth observation experiments and wrapped up a Russian agriculture experiment studying the growth of plants in space. He saved the data from the Rasteniya-2 experiment in preparation for its return to Earth.

Tuesday, the Station operating system briefly shifted into "survival mode" when the on-board computers did not recognize both thermal system loops in the Russian segment. Nonessential systems were automatically turned off, but flight controllers and payload controllers worked with the crew to reactivate the operating and payload systems without major impacts to operations or science.

Lu and Malenchenko resized a spare U.S. spacesuit to fit Lu. Malfunctions in Lu's original suit were found during a test earlier in the mission and the larger modular-designed suit was easily adjusted to fit Lu in the event he needs to conduct a U.S. airlock-based spacewalk. Initially, during the fit check of the suit, the cooling system did not function correctly but began working later in the test. Spacesuit experts will continue to troubleshoot the issues with both spacesuits.

This week, Malenchenko used oxygen from the Progress cargo vehicle docked to the aft of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station. The extra oxygen is being used before the spacecraft is undocked later this month to make room for a new Progress resupply craft scheduled for launch to the Station Aug. 28 (U.S. time).

Lu talked with former Station Science Officer Don Pettit to help locate hardware for the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) that Lu installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox Monday. Lu was scheduled to begin science operations with PFMI this week, but was unable to locate an essential cable to complete the installation. Pettit's ideas as to where he left the cable were fruitful. With the cable now installed, Lu can begin a run of the experiment next week.

Troubleshooting continued this week with the two U.S. spacesuits experiencing cooling system issues onboard. Lu and Malenchenko executed a procedure to closely inspect valves and filters for water circulation in the system of the first suit Lu tried on during the mission. Investigations of the cooling system of the spare suit he re-sized last week are still underway. Even though they are not scheduled to conduct a spacewalk during this mission, Lu and Malenchenko could use the Russian Orlan spacesuits to conduct a spacewalk, if needed, since Lu does not currently have a working U.S. spacesuit to wear.

This week, Malenchenko continued to use oxygen from the Progress cargo vehicles docked to the aft of the Zvezda Service Module and to the Pirs Docking Compartment to repressurize the Station. The extra oxygen is being used before the two spacecraft are undocked, taking with them trash and used supplies to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. The Progress docked to Zvezda will undock Aug. 27 to make room for a new Progress resupply craft scheduled for launch to the Station Aug. 28 (U.S. time). The Progress docked to Pirs will undock Sept. 4 to make room for the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft scheduled to arrive Oct. 20 with the Expedition 8 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque.

Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, will replace the Expedition 7 crew. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with Duque who will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station on Oct. 28.

Today marked the crew's 118th day on orbit. Sample processing for the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) concluded today after beginning Wednesday inside the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the protective environment of the Microgravity Science Glovebox. Processing of the first Expedition 7 sample had been postponed from the previous week due to a missing data cable. Lu found the cable after he talked with former Station Science Officer Don Pettit via cell phone. Plans call for Lu to process seven more samples.

Malenchenko participated in his fifth session with a Russian heart experiment, Study of the Bioelectric Activity of the Heart at Rest, with Lu assisting as crew medical officer and administering the electrocardiogram. Lu also performed periodic health tests with a portable clinical blood analyzer.

"The crew is in great spirits and looking forward to a busy week of departures and arrivals next week," said Expedition 7 Lead Flight Director John McCullough.

As the crew exhausted the supply of oxygen from the Progress 10 cargo vehicle docked to the back of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station, they continued filling it with trash and worn-out equipment. The old Progress is scheduled to undock from Zvezda at 5:43 p.m. CDT Aug. 27, and later will be commanded to re-enter and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. That undocking will vacate a port for the Progress 12 vehicle that is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:48p.m. CDT Aug. 28, and dock to Zvezda at 10:43p.m. CDT Aug. 30. Progress 12 will deliver about 1,000 pounds of food, supplies and equipment for use on the Station.

Early next month, the Progress 11 resupply craft will depart its Pirs docking compartment moorings to make room for the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft that will ferry the Expedition 8 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the Station on Oct. 20. Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri will replace the Expedition 7 crew, which will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Duque after he completes more than a week of science activities.

The Progress 10 craft, which arrived at the Station in early February, departed from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 5:48 p.m. CDT (2248 GMT) after hooks holding the Progress to Zvezda had been commanded to unlatch. As the Progress undocked, the ISS was flying 240 statute miles over eastern China. The Progress was filled with items no longer needed on the Station and trash. The Progress will automatically fire its engines later this evening to drop out of orbit and will burn up in the atmosphere.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu was asleep at the time of undocking, but ISS Commander Yuri Malenchenko was allowed by flight controllers to remain awake to monitor the autonomous operation.

The departure of Progress 10 sets the stage for tomorrow's scheduled launch of a new Progress resupply ship to the ISS. Progress 12 is due to liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Thursday at 8:48 p.m. CDT (148 GMT Aug. 29). It will dock to the Zvezda aft port on Saturday night at 10:45 p.m. CDT (345 GMT Aug. 31).

The new Progress will carry a half ton of food, fuel, supplies and water for Malenchenko and Lu and science gear for European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is scheduled to launch October 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

The new Progress is also filled with personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on September 4 to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 20.

The Progress 12 craft lifted off right on time from its Central Asian launch pad at 8:48 p.m. CDT (148 GMT Aug. 29) as the ISS sailed over the south Atlantic Ocean east of South America at an altitude of 240 statute miles. Less than 10 minutes later, the Progress settled into its preliminary orbit and its solar arrays and navigational antennas were successfully deployed.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were already in their sleep period as the Progress climbed to orbit.

The new Progress is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Saturday night at 10:45 p.m. CDT (345 GMT Aug. 31). Another Progress ship that arrived at the ISS in February filled with discarded items and trash was undocked yesterday and commanded to deorbit, burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Progress 12 is loaded with supplies for Malenchenko and Lu and science gear for European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is set to launch October 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

Among the supplies aboard the Progress is a satellite phone and Global Positioning System locator hardware which Malenchenko, Lu and Duque would use in the unlikely event they land off-course, as did the Expedition Six crew back in May.

The new Progress also carries personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on September 4 to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 20.

The Progress 12 vehicle automatically linked up to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module at 10:40 p.m. CDT (0340 GMT), two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the Progress neared the Space Station for docking, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were inside Zvezda, monitoring its approach. At the time of contact and capture, the Station was flying over Central Asia at an altitude of 240 statute miles. After conducting leak checks to insure a tight seal between the Progress and the ISS, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and then begin unloading the supplies.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for Station systems, tools, a satellite telephone and Global Positioning System hardware, next generation laptop computers, educational demonstrations, science experiment gear and office supplies. The Progress also carried to the ISS science equipment for European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is set to launch Oct. 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the Space Station conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

The new Progress also carries personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on Sept. 4, to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on Oct. 20.

Just a week after a twin vehicle was cast away from a different Station port, the ISS Progress 11 craft, which arrived at the Station in mid-June, departed the Pirs Docking Compartment at 2:42 p.m. CDT (1942 GMT) following the unlatching of hooks holding the Progress to Pirs. As the Progress undocked, the ISS was flying 240 statute miles over eastern China. The Progress was filled with items no longer needed on the Station and trash.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu monitored the autonomous operation and kept tabs as the Progress backed away from the Station.

For the next month, Russian flight controllers will conduct several scientific experiments with the Progress, using its television cameras to capture imagery of sites of ecological interest to Russian researchers while maintaining a safe distance away from the Station. Once those experiments are completed, the Progress will automatically fire its engines to drop out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere.

A new ISS Progress 12 vehicle arrived at the ISS late Saturday night, U.S. time, ferrying food, fuel, water and supplies for the Station's current inhabitants and those to follow.

The departure of ISS Progress 11 sets the stage for next month's arrival of the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle to the Pirs Docking Compartment delivering the next resident crew to the ISS along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain.

Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, and Duque are scheduled to be launched October 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, headed for a docking to Pirs on October 20. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu. Foale and Kaleri will spend almost 200 days on the Station.

The ISS Progress 12 unpiloted cargo vehicle arrived Saturday with about 5,000 pounds of food, water, equipment and fuel for the ISS. Its docking port had been vacated a week earlier by ISS Progress 10. It re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned shortly after its Aug. 27 undocking.

The ISS Progress 11 spacecraft left its Pirs berth Thursday at 2:42 p.m. CDT for another month alone in orbit, as part of a Russian scientific experiment. It will then be deorbited with its load of station refuse and burn in the Earth's atmosphere. The docking port it occupied will in October welcome the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri aboard. With them will be Spaniard Pedro Duque a European Space Agency astronaut who will spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory. He will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew.

The spacesuit work today by Lu and Malenchenko involved what amounted to annual maintenance. The work is called a mid-term checkout and included emptying and refilling the suit's water tank and loops, cycling relief valves, checking sensors and collecting data, a leak check and running the suit's fan for two hours to lubricate it. Such maintenance is required no more than 369 days after the last spacewalk, previous maintenance or a checkout on the ground.

Other activities during the week included successful completion by Lu of two more runs of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox of the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The experiment involves melting a transparent material to see how bubbles form in the molten material and how they interact with one another. Researchers hope to gain understanding of molten materials and the potentially weakening bubbles that can form in them.

Malenchenko and Lu also continued regular station maintenance activities and their daily exercise sessions scheduled to mitigate some of the physiological effects of their extended stay in micorgravity.

Malenchenko and Lu powered up the Station's 60-foot Canadian robotic arm, named Canadarm2, on Tuesday for some in-flight training and tests. The conducted a series of maneuvers that moved part of the arm into sunlight to characterize how a force and moment sensor on the arm might work differently in sunlight than in shade. Later in the week, they performed systems checks and maintenance work on the two Russian spacesuits aboard the Station. The activities verified that the gear remains in good condition, although there are no plans for Malenchenko and Lu to use the suits. The next Station spacewalk is tentatively scheduled for the next crew, Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, in late February or early March 2004.

Science activities this week included a final Expedition 7 run of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The experiment studied how air bubbles can weaken metals, crystals and other materials as they form in space. Lu also worked with the Fluid Dynamics Investigation to optimize operations of the Cellular Biotechnology Support System bioreactor equipment that grows three-dimensional tissue samples for biological research. Malenchenko participated in a Russian experiment to improve the equipment and routines used to stay in good physical condition during long-duration spaceflight. Biological readings were taken while Malenchenko exercised on a stationary bicycle and performed weight lifting exercises. For the third part of the experiment, Malenchenko provided blood samples for analysis.

In a separate task, Malenchenko used an ultrasound device in the Destiny Lab's Human Research Facility to take echocardiograph measurements of Lu while Lu exercised on a stationary bicycle. The operations were the first time such measurements had been attempted while exercising aboard the station and helped ground medical personnel verify that the equipment could be used for diagnostic purposes if needed.

Expedition 8's Foale and Kaleri, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, will hold a prelaunch press conference next week at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow. The press conference will be replayed on NASA TV at 8 a.m. CDT Wednesday. The trio is scheduled to launch at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18. Duque, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

Lu spent much of his time inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory setting up and performing science investigations. He installed a protein crystal growth experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox that will be operated by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who will arrive at the Station Oct. 20 with the oncoming Expedition 8 crew. Duque, who is flying to the Station on a Soyuz spacecraft under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

A soldering experiment that is providing insight into how solder connections in space can be improved and an automated Earth observation camera system were also set up by Lu in the lab. This week, Lu worked with the Fluid Dynamics Investigation, which scientists believe will help alleviate problems with mixing samples for tissue growth experiments. Those samples are housed in a bioreactor, which allows three-dimensional tissue cells, like those in the human body, to grow.

As part of an educational project to help inspire the next generation of explorers, Lu used well-known objects to videotape center-of-mass demonstrations. Using a screwdriver, a compact disc player, a cassette tape and a ruler, he showed how these objects behave differently without gravity. The video will be distributed to science centers across the country for use in lesson plans and future exhibits.

Malenchenko conducted science experiments in the Russian segment of the Space Station. They included biomedical studies of the human body in microgravity as well as observations of thunderstorm activity, the world's ocean biology and studies of how space-based predictions of man-made disasters could be made.

The maintenance activities onboard the Station included Malenchenko inspecting fire sensors in the Zarya control module and checking systems in the Pirs Docking Compartment. Both Lu and Malenchenko did monthly maintenance on the treadmill and resistive exercise equipment.

Lu also configured the U.S. laptop computers so the Expedition 8 crew can begin using them when it arrives. The oncoming resident crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, along with Duque, are set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18.

Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow began inserting about an hour a day into the crew's timeline to concentrate on preparations for their return to Earth on Oct. 28. Malencheno and Lu will ride home in the Soyuz that delivered them to the Station and is docked to a port on the Zarya control module.

Thursday, the duo put on their Sokol launch and reentry suits and measured how well they fit into their custom seat-liners, which help absorb shock during the reentry and brake rocket-aided landing. The fit check is required because astronauts gain additional height during long-duration stays on orbit as the absence of gravity allows their spines to stretch slightly.

Similar fit checks were under way at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for Expedition 8 Commander and Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Along with Spaniard Pedro Duque, who is flying to the Station under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The trio is making final preparations for launch aboard another Soyuz at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Friday, the two crews had an opportunity to converse by teleconference about the upcoming week of joint operations, handover activities and scientific investigations. The Expedition 7 crew also reviewed computer training lessons on the operation of the Chibis lower body negative pressure device that will be used by Malenchenko as part of his Russian protocol for return to gravity.

Lu spent time inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory checking out acceleration sensor systems and monitors, and making electrical connections as part of the In Space Soldering Investigation, or ISSI. That experiment is designed provide information useful to future Station assembly and maintenance work, as well as fundamental scientific information about the role surface tension plays in soldering on Earth. He also exchanged ideas with Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg from the National Institutes of Health about a Fluid Dynamics Investigation, about how to alleviate problems with mixing samples for tissue growth experiments in the Station's bioreactor, which allows three-dimensional tissue cells, like those in the human body, to grow.

Late in the week, one of the remote power controller modules that is used to route electricity and data throughout the station experienced a failure in one of its circuits. The affected circuit is for the Destiny Laboratory's video switching unit. The failure poses no serious obstacles for the crew or the upcoming Soyuz rendezvous and docking, but does disable a camera port in Destiny and eliminate some redundancy on board. Flight controllers are working on a plan to troubleshoot the failure and possibly replace the module.

Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu worked to prepare their ISS Soyuz 7 spacecraft for their voyage home, checking out its systems and related station equipment, gathering their personal possessions and beginning to pack the spacecraft. They also checked out instrumentation that will be used to dock the ISS Soyuz 8 capsule bringing Expedition 8 Commander and Science Officer Michael Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri to the station, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain.

Duque is flying to the Station under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. He will return home with the Expedition 7 crew after about a week of conducting science experiments.

The Expedition 8 crew and Duque are scheduled to launch at 12:38 a.m. CDT Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Their spacecraft will dock to the Station at about 2:17 a.m. CDT on Monday. Hatches between the two spacecraft should open about 5:14 a.m. CDT.

On Oct. 27 at about 5:20 p.m. CST, Malenchenko, Lu and Duque are to undock Soyuz 7 and perform a burn to drop out of orbit at about 7:40 p.m. CST. A landing in Kazakhstan will follow at about 8:35 p.m. CST (8:35 a.m. Oct. 28 Kazakhstan time).

Malenchenko and Lu continued to work with scientific experiments. On Wednesday, Lu successfully removed and replaced a Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The device routes electricity and data throughout the station. One of its circuits had failed. The replacement RPCM is functioning well.

Another highlight of the week was the launch of China's first human space mission. Lu took some time on Wednesday to welcome the single crewmember of the Shenzhou V spacecraft into orbit. Lu, speaking in Chinese and English, wished him a successful mission and a safe return home.

On Friday, Lu spent several hours taking a water sample from the cooling system in the U.S. airlock Quest. The system provides cooling to spacesuits. Officials want to confirm the quality of the water with the samples that will be returned with the Expedition 7 crewmembers. Meanwhile, Malenchenko was prepared a workspace for Duque and his scientific experiments.

ISS Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri are accompanied by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft. The trio plan to dock Soyuz 8 to the Station at about 2:17 a.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 20, and hatches between the Station and Soyuz 8 are to be opened at about 5:14 a.m. CDT. Foale and Kaleri are bound for a six-month stay aboard the international research complex. Duque, flying under a commercial agreement between Rosaviakosmos and the European Space Agency, will spend a week aboard the Station conducting a series of scientific studies.

Foale and Kaleri will relieve Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who have flown aboard the Station since late April. Malenchenko, Lu and Duque will depart the station on Oct. 27 aboard the ISS Soyuz 7 craft en route to a landing hours afterward in Kazakhstan.

The week ahead will include a variety of joint activities for the five station crew members as they hand over activities onboard. The plans include an interview by ABC News and the Houston Chronicle at 8:45 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 21; an interview by CNN and CBS News at 9:25 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 22; a crew news conference at 10 a.m. CDT Thursday, Oct. 23; and a formal change of command ceremony at 1:20 p.m. CDT Friday, Oct. 24. Undocking of the Soyuz 7 carrying Duque and the Expedition 7 crew home is planned for 5:20 p.m. CST on Oct. 27 leading to a touchdown in Kazakhstan at 8:36 p.m. CST.

Greeting them on the station were Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who are 177 days into their six months in space. The two crews will conduct eight days of joint operations and research before Expedition 7 and Duque return home on October 27.

Among those observing the on orbit arrival of Expedition 8 to the station were NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy and International Space Station Program Manager William Gerstenmaier. Both talked to the five station crew members delivering best wishes for the mission.

The plan for the two crews includes eight days of handover activities and scientific experiments carried out by Duque for Spanish and other European scientists under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

After lunch, the new crewmembers will receive a safety briefing from Malenchenko and Lu and install a seat liner for Duque in the Soyuz earmarked for landing Oct. 27 (U.S. time) and then begin setting up a host of Duque's equipment previously launched on Russian Progress resupply spacecraft.

The crews are scheduled to go to bed about 3 p.m. CDT today and wake up at midnight to begin their first full day of joint operations. Expedition 8 officially will take control of Station operations October 27 when Malenchenko, Lu and Duque close the hatches between their returning Soyuz and the station. Foale and Kaleri will remain on board until late April 2004.

With Soyuz Commander and Expedition 8 Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri at the controls, the Soyuz vehicle softly linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment as the two spacecraft flew 240 miles above central Asia. The docking followed Saturday's launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Joining Kaleri are Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Pedro Duque of Spain.

Foale and Kaleri will spend more than six months living on the Station while Duque, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will conduct an eight-day research mission before returning October 27 with Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who monitored the new crew's arrival from onboard the ISS. Today marked 177 days in space for Malenchenko and Lu, and 175 days on the ISS.

After docking, clamps were affixed to the interface between the Soyuz and Pirs, and leak checks in the small tunnel connecting the two craft was underway. The hatches will be opened at about 5:15 a.m. Central time signaling the start of eight days of joint operations. Foale, Kaleri and Duque are the first visitors for Malenchenko and Lu, who have overseen operations and been in orbit since late April.

On the scene at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev outside Moscow are NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy and International Space Station Program Manager William Gerstenmaier.

Ready to take over is the Expedition 8 crew, which has spent the last week in space "cramming" for its role as prime station crew effective Monday afternoon when the hatches close between the station and returning Soyuz spacecraft, signaling the official change of command. A ceremonial "Change of Command" ceremony took place Friday afternoon.

Flight controllers in the U.S. and Russia have been closely monitoring the predicted effects of the recent solar activity and anticipate no change to any of the landing plans. NASA flight control personnel have determined that no additional radiation exposure to the ISS crew is expected as a result of the solar activity. Increased solar activity is forecast for the next few weeks, and the control team will continue to monitor the progress of events with support from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Since arriving early Monday morning at their home for the next six months, Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri have spent the week familiarizing themselves with real-time station operations from departing Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu.

Among the handover activities conducted this week were robotic training for Foale on the station's remote manipulator system, called Canadarm2. He will serve as the incoming NASA ISS science officer also, and spent a great deal of his handover activities in the Destiny laboratory where most of the experiment work will take place during his six months aboard. Meanwhile, Kaleri and Malenchenko devoted their attention to operational handover in the Russian segment of the station, which will be overseen by Kaleri throughout the increment.

The weekend will be devoted almost exclusively to Soyuz stowage activities for the Expedition 7 crew's return to Earth along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, who has spent the last eight days conducting a host of science experiments in support of a commercial contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

The station crews will wake up Monday about 1 a.m. CST and the hatch to the Expedition 7 crew's Soyuz is set to be closed around 2 p.m. Undocking is planned for 5:18 p.m. followed by the deorbit burn at 7:47 p.m. and landing at 8:41 p.m.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque undocked from the Station at 5:17 p.m. today, leaving behind the eighth resident Space Station crew, Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque flew to the Station with the Expedition 8 crew, launching on October 18.

A formal change of command ceremony between the Expedition 7 and 8 crews occurred this afternoon, just before Malenchenko, Lu and Duque climbed aboard their Soyuz spacecraft for the return trip home. After final farewells, hatches between the Station and the ISS Soyuz 6 were closed at 2:14 p.m. Foale and Kaleri are beginning a planned six-month stay on board the ISS. About three hours later, a command was issued to release latches, with undocking occurring at 5:17 p.m.

A 4-minute, 17-second deorbit burn began at 7:47 p.m. CST. About 8:17 p.m., the orbital and instrumentation/propulsion modules separated from the crew's descent module, the only one of the three modules intended to return to Earth. Minutes later, that module began to feel the effects of the upper atmosphere. About 8:25 p.m. the first of a series of parachutes deployed to slow the module's rate of descent, with six small rocket engines firing just before touchdown to further slow the capsule.

Helicopters with U.S. and Russian ground support personnel retrieved the crew shortly before 9 p.m. CST. NASA officials and flight surgeons reported Malenchenko, Lu and Duque were in excellent condition. Following brief medical exams, the crew will return to Star City, near Moscow, site of the Russian space center where they will be reunited with their families and begin their formal rehabilitation regimen. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston in approximately two weeks.

Video of the crew's arrival will air on NASA Television at 5 a.m. EST Tuesday.

Kaleri spent much of the day setting up, working with and then stowing the Russian PILOT experiment, which looks at psychological and physiological changes in crew performance during long-duration spaceflight. The subject uses two hand controllers to make inputs for the experiment. Foale did inspections of the emergency lighting power supply in the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the Unity Node modules of the Station.

The crew's workweek began with the Monday departure of its Expedition 7 predecessors, Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque in their ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft. Duque had come to the Station with the Expedition 8 crew Oct. 18. He flew under a European Space Agency contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Administration. After about eight days of intensive and very successful science activity, he landed with the Expedition 7 crew in Kazakhstan at 8:41 p.m. CST Monday.

That crew is resting and debriefing at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City near Moscow. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to Johnson Space Center in mid-November.

Tuesday was a quiet day for Foale and Kaleri aboard the ISS, with a chance to rest a little after intensive handover activities and moving in with equipment and supplies. They got another half-day off on Wednesday, followed by a training drill on emergencies. Both crewmembers performed maintenance and Station configuration activities.

Thursday was a full day for the crew, including exercise and maintenance and inspection of exercise devices and work with medical experiments. Both crewmembers had an hour of Station familiarization, as they do each day early in their increment.

Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri began their week by making room inside the habitable volume of the Station. After equalizing pressure with the Destiny Laboratory, they opened Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA2) and stowed a variety of supplies and equipment that will not be needed on short notice. They then closed the hatch to PMA2 and depressurized the module.

Foale slipped on a specially instrumented glove as part of an Italian scientific investigation into how hand and arm muscles are used differently for reaching and grasping in microgravity. The Hand Posture Analyzer also will attempt to quantify muscle fatigue associated with long-duration space flight. Measurements taken with a Posture Acquisition Glove on the hand, an Inertial Tracking System on the wrist and Hand Grip and Pinch Force Dynamometers will be compared with those taken before and after flight.

Foale and Kaleri also began taking either potassium citrate pills or placebos and recording their food, water and medication intake as part of the Renal (Kidney) Stone Risk During Spaceflight experiment. Previous on-orbit experiments have shown an increased risk in the development of kidney stones during and immediately after space flight, and the experiment is testing a proven Earth-based remedy in space.

Finally, Foale set up the Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools digital camera in Destiny's optical-quality window so that students in grades six through eight could take photos of the Earth and downlink them for analysis by the student science team.

Meanwhile, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu are at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, continuing their immediate post-flight medical evaluations and debriefings. They are expected to return to Houston on Nov. 18. They landed on Oct. 27 after spending 183 days aboard the Station. Joining them on the returning ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft was European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who conducted eight days of intensive research after launching with the Expedition 8 crew.