Forrester Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Two children. Born in El Paso, Texas, USA. US Army US Army

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 16 - 1996. Active Entered space service: 1 May 1996. Number of Flights: 2.00. Total Time: 25.72 days. Number of EVAs: 4.00. Total EVA Time: 1.06 days.

NAME: Patrick G. Forrester (Lieutenant Colonel, USA)

NASA Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist)

PERSONAL DATA:

Born March 31, 1957 in El Paso, Texas. Married to the former Diana Lynn Morris of Springfield, Virginia. They have two children. He enjoys baseball, running, and coaching youth sports. His parents, Colonel (ret.) Redmond V. and Patsy L. Forrester, reside in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Her father, Colonel (ret.) Lurie J. Morris, resides in Prattville, Alabama. Her mother, Bettye Morris, is deceased.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from West Springfield High School, Springfield, Virginia in 1975; received a bachelor of science degree in applied sciences and engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, in 1979, and a master of science degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia in 1989.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Society of Experimental Test Pilots; Army Aviation Association of America; American Helicopter Society; United States Military Academy Association of Graduates; West Point Society of Greater Houston.

AWARDS:

Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster); Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Expert Infantryman Badge.

SPECIAL HONORS:

The Jack Northrop Award for most outstanding presentation at the 26th Annual Society of Experimental Test Pilots Symposium (1996). The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Certificate of Commendation (1995).

EXPERIENCE:

Forrester graduated from West Point in June 1979 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He entered the U.S. Army Aviation School in 1979 and was designated an Army aviator in September 1980. He was subsequently assigned as an instructor pilot at the Aviation School and as the Aide-de-Camp to the Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Aviation Center. In 1984, he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where he served as a platoon leader, aviation company operations officer, and an assault helicopter battalion operations officer. After completing a master of science degree at the University of Virginia in 1989, he was assigned as a flight test engineer and as the research and development coordinator with the Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In June 1992, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was designated an experimental test pilot. In 1992, he was assigned as an engineering test pilot at the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama. Other military schools include the Army Parachutist Course, U.S. Army Ranger School, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, and the Command and General Staff College.

Master Army Aviator, he has logged over 3000 hours in 49 different aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Forrester was assigned to NASA at the Johnson Space Center as an aerospace engineer in July 1993. His technical assignments within the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch have included: flight software testing with the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL); astronaut office representative for Landing/Rollout issues, Multi-function Electronic Display System (MEDS) upgrade of the Orbiter fleet, and the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT). He has also served as the crew representative for robotics development for the International Space Station.

Forrester was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 1996 and is undergoing training and evaluation for qualification for assignment as a mission specialist.

• 10 August 2001 Flight: STS-105. Flight Up: STS-105. Flight Back: STS-105. Flight Time: 11.88 days.

• 8 June 2007 Flight: STS-117. Flight Up: STS-117. Flight Back: STS-117. Flight Time: 13.84 days.

5 December 1983 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 16 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.. 10 pilots and 25 mission specialists selected from over 2,400 applicants. 9 additional international astronauts.

With more time now needed to complete an analysis of the communications problems between the arm's shoulder pitch joint in its redundant or backup mode, and the arm's backup computer unit, Shuttle and Station program managers decided to postpone the launch of Atlantis on the STS-104 mission to deliver the Joint Airlock to the ISS until no earlier than early July. The next ISS assembly flight after that, STS-105 aboard Discovery, was also delayed until no earlier than early August to accommodate the Airlock mission and to allow managers to consider a replacement of the shoulder joint on the August flight during one of two spacewalks planned by Dan Barry and Patrick Forrester. No final decision on replacing the joint has yet been made.

The recently installed Canadarm2 has fully redundant computer control systems. All of the arm's joints are functioning perfectly through its primary channel, but the backup channel has run into a series of recent problems, including the unexpected activation of a switch for the arm's brakes earlier this month in the backup mode of operation during a test of the arm's wrist. That problem has not reoccurred in subsequent testing. The shoulder pitch joint problem cropped up last week during other arm checkouts when the joint experienced intermittent dropouts in communicating with the backup computer unit.

It had been hoped that a software patch developed by Canadian engineers who designed the arm would clear the communications dropouts, but it did not resolve the problem, resulting in the need for further testing and analysis. Robotics experts suspect that the problem resides in the shoulder pitch joint hardware, not the software or the computers associated with its operation. Expedition Two Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms had hoped to perform a "dry run" of the Airlock installation procedures today, but that simulation was postponed.

The Canadarm2 is required for the grapple of the Airlock in Atlantis' cargo bay and its installation on the starboard docking port of the Unity module of the ISS. The 12 ½ ton Airlock will enable future Station spacewalks to be conducted in either U.S. or Russian spacesuits rather than from the Russian Zvezda module. The Shuttle robot arm cannot reach the Airlock installation location.

In the meantime, ISS managers will decide Friday whether to ask Voss and Expedition Commander Yury Usachev to add the replacement of the arm computer unit to a previously scheduled "internal" spacewalk in the Zvezda's spherical transfer compartment on June 8. That first ISS-based spacewalk is designed to reposition a docking mechanism in preparation for the arrival of a Russian docking module later this year. If approved, the computer replacement task would involve Usachev and Voss venturing outside the Station in Russian suits for their spacewalk before reentering Zvezda's docking compartment for the mechanism repositioning work.

Engineers are also assessing the performance of a motor on one of the two wings of the P6 solar array truss structure that enables the solar mast to track the sun as the ISS orbits the Earth. Although there is more than ample power being generated for all Station systems, the motor is generating higher than normal electrical currents and may need to be replaced on a subsequent Shuttle assembly flight.

Meanwhile, Usachev, Voss and Helms completed the unloading of an unmanned Russian Progress resupply vehicle which arrived at the ISS last week loaded with 3100 pounds of supplies, food, clothes and spare parts. A spare computer hard drive brought to the ISS on the Progress was installed in one of three central Station computers, bringing the outpost's computers back to full functionality.

Almost immediately after Atlantis departed following its mission to install an addition on the home in space, station Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms began unpacking and stowing supplies delivered by Atlantis, while at the same time beginning to prepare for the arrival of their replacement crew.

The Expedition Three crew consists of Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. The three will be delivered aboard Discovery by its crew of Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Dan Barry and Pat Forrester.

The STS-105 and Expedition Three crews will travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday and the countdown begins Monday.

While Discovery's countdown to launch to the ISS is set to begin, half a world away at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the fifth Progress supply craft is being readied for launch Aug. 21 followed Sept. 15 by the launch of the next station component - a Russian docking compartment named Pirs, the Russian word for pier.

Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev, Voss and Helms also continue to oversee a variety of science investigations while packing for the trip home.

The International Space Station (ISS) is orbiting in excellent shape at an altitude averaging 240 miles (385 km).

The STS-105 mission to deliver the third resident crew to the ISS is scheduled to launch tomorrow at 4:38 p.m. Central time as the ISS sails over the Southern Ocean south of Adelaide, Australia at an altitude of around 240 statute miles.

Discovery's Commander, Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry are ready to ferry Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin to the Station for a four-month mission, succeeding Usachev, Voss and Helms, who have been aloft since March 8.

Discovery was cleared for launch earlier this week by Shuttle managers after reviewing the status of fuel injector units used in the hydraulic power units that steer the Shuttle's solid rocket booster nozzles during the first two minutes of powered flight.

Last night aboard the ISS, one of three command and control computers (C & C 1) which is used as a backup for the operation of some Station systems experienced a problem reading its hard drive, or Mass Storage Device. The hard drive stores commands for a variety of vehicle activities on the U.S. segment of the complex. Flight controllers attempted to reboot the computer with no success and are continuing efforts to bring it back into operation. This computer has lost only some of its functional capability. The Station's primary computer (C & C 3) is operating normally, however, and a third computer (C & C 2) is being transitioned from standby status to act as the backup for C & C 3.

A newly refurbished command and control computer had already been manifested to be launched on Discovery to the ISS as a spare, and would be installed for operation, if required. The backup computer glitch has had no impact on Station operations and will not affect the joint mission to deliver the new Expedition crew to the orbital outpost.

As Usachev, Voss and Helms prepared to handover command of the Station to a new crew, Russian engineers prepared two vehicles for launch right after the STS-105 mission. At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a Progress resupply ship is being readied for launch on August 21 to deliver food, fuel and supplies for the new Expedition Three crew. It is scheduled to dock to the aft docking port of the Zvezda Service Module on August 23, one day after the current Progress attached to the ISS is jettisoned. And the newest ISS module, a Russian Docking Compartment named Pirs, the Russian word for pier, is in the final stages of preparation for launch on September 15 to link up to the earthward facing docking port of Zvezda. It will provide a new docking port for future visiting Russian vehicles.

In addition to packing to come home, the Expedition Two crew continues to oversee a variety of science investigations.

The International Space Station (ISS) is orbiting at an altitude averaging 240 miles (385 km).

The 15,107 kg payload consisted of:

• Bay 1-2: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock and 3 EMU spacesuits - 2160 kg
• Bay 4P: Adapter beam with G-780 (Mayo High School, Rochester, Minnesota experiment to study germination of faba beans) and PSP-1 (NASA-GSFC canister with passive experiments and ballast) - 200 kg
• Bay 5: Integrated Cargo Carrier/KYD - 1280 kg, with the Early Ammonia Servicer for the station's P6 truss- 640 kg and two small exposure experiments PEC-1 and PEC-2, to be installed on the be installed on the ISS Quest module as part of the MISSE materials exposure program
• Bay 7-12: MPLM FM1 (Leonardo) module - 9800 kg total including 3300 kg of payload to be transferred to the Station
• Bay 13P: Adapter beam with G-774 (Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) experiment) and SEM-10 (canister with 11 school experiments) - 410 kg
• Bay 13S: Adapter beam with Simplesat and ACE avionics - 355 kg
• Sill: RMS arm - 410 kg

The Leonardo MPLM module was lifted out of Discovery's payload bay at 1326 GMT on August 13 and docked to Unity's nadir at 1554 GMT. 3300 kg of cargo from Leonardo was transferred to the Station. Then 1700 kg of station garbage and materials were loaded into Leonardo. It was unberthed from Unity at 1816 GMT on August 19 and returned to the payload bay for the return to Earth at 1917 GMT.

Discovery undocked at 1452 GMT on August 20 with the Expedition 2 crew aboard, leaving Expedition 3 at the Station.

At 1830 GMT on August 20 the Simplesat test satellite was ejected from a GAS canister in the cargo bay. Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center at 1822:58 GMT on August 22 on runway 15, after a deorbit burn at 1715 GMT. The Expedition Two crew of Usachyov, Voss and Helms had been in space for 167 days. Discovery was taken out of service after the flight for structural inspections. Its last maintenance down period was in 1995-1996.

As the station sailed over the Pacific Ocean southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, Discovery rocketed away from Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center at 4:10 p.m. Central time en route to a rendezvous and docking Sunday afternoon.

Aboard Discovery were Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry along with Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. They will replace the Expedition Two crew, Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who were wrapping up their 155th day in space at the time of Discovery's launch.

Less than nine minutes after beginning its journey, Discovery settled into its preliminary orbit as the crew prepared to open the ship's payload bay doors prior to receiving the green light to begin orbital operations. This is the fifth shuttle mission of the year.

Discovery's crew will spend the next few hours unpacking equipment, setting up computers and conducting the first in a series of engine firings to refine the shuttle's orbit as it heads for the station. The crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period shortly after 11 p.m. and will be awakened at 7:15 a.m. Saturday for its first full day in orbit. That day will be devoted to preparations for Sunday's rendezvous and docking and eight days of joint operations with the Expedition Two crew, highlighted by the official transfer of command of the station from Usachev to Culbertson.

Aboard the station, Usachev, Voss and Helms have spent most of the past couple of weeks packing gear for the trip home aboard Discovery, and tidying up for the arrival of visitors about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Discovery is in an orbit inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the Equator with all of its systems operating normally.

Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, checked out Shuttle systems, navigational tools and docking hardware in advance of Discovery's planned linkup to the ISS.

The docking is scheduled to occur Sunday at 1:38 p.m. Central time over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, just south of the Indonesian island of Jawa.

Forrester and Horowitz powered up, unfurled and checked out Discovery's 50-foot long robotic arm, which will be used by Forrester to move the Leonardo cargo module from Discovery's payload bay to the ISS for the transfer of food and supplies, and by Horowitz to transport Barry and Forrester around the Station during their two spacewalks next week.

In addition, Barry and Forrester tested the devices they will use tomorrow to measure Discovery's distance from the ISS and its rate of closure on the complex during the terminal phase of the Shuttle's approach to the Station. Discovery's docking mechanism was also checked out and its outer docking ring extended to ensure it is ready for tomorrow's capture of the ISS docking port on the forward end of the Station's Destiny laboratory module.

Next week, Barry and Forrester will test the spacesuits they will wear during their two excursions outside Discovery to attach a spare cooling reservoir to the ISS and to hook up heating cables for a large truss structure that will be mounted to the Station next year.

The crew enjoyed a few hours of spare time this afternoon to relax as they wound down for the start of an eight-hour sleep period just after 9 p.m. Central time tonight.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms spent the day packing up personal items and preparing Station systems for tomorrow's arrival of their replacements, Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. This was the 156th day in space for the current occupants of the ISS.

The exchange of crew members on the Station will occur on Monday, although formal command of the Station will not be transferred from Usachev to Culbertson until a few hours before Discovery's undocking on August 20.

Almost 7,000 pounds of food, supplies and personal items for the Expedition Three crew are housed in Leonardo, the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).

Once the module is transferred to the Station and unpacked, it will be filled with equipment no longer needed on the ISS, including Expedition Two crew clothing and trash for return to Earth.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth in excellent shape with no issues being worked by the flight control team.

Discovery's astronauts and cosmonauts, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, and Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, were awakened to "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry. It was played for Culbertson, making his third flight into space, eight years after he last flew.

At the time the crew was awakened, some 8000 statute miles separated Discovery from the ISS. A second firing of Discovery's orbital maneuvering systems engines is scheduled for early in the crew's day today to further adjust its orbit in preparation for rendezvous and docking with the station. Also scheduled today are the checkout of spacesuits to be worn by Barry and Forrester during two spacewalks next week, the preparation of rendezvous and navigation tools and a test of the shuttle's robotic arm, all routine work on the day before docking. Crewmembers also will perform a camera survey of Discovery's cargo bay with arm-mounted cameras.

Discovery is scheduled to linkup to the ISS tomorrow at 1:37 p.m. Central time as the two spacecraft fly over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, just south of the Indonesian island of Jawa.

The major objective of the STS-105 mission of Discovery is the swapout of the new resident Station crew, led by Culbertson, with the Expedition Two crew, Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who have been aboard the Station more than five months. They are to return to Earth aboard Discovery on August 22.

Discovery also is bringing equipment, supplies and scientific experiments to the Station. Almost 7,000 pounds of that cargo is in Leonardo, the Italian-built Multipurpose Logistics Module in Discovery's cargo bay. Once that is transferred to the station, Leonardo will be packed with other equipment, unused items and trash for return to Earth.

During their eight days docked to the station, Discovery Mission Specialists Barry and Forrester will perform two spacewalks. On the first, next Thursday, they will install a device called an Early Ammonia Servicer on the Station. It contains spare ammonia that could be used to cool Station systems should it be needed. During the second spacewalk, two days later, they will install heater cables for the station's large S0 truss segment, which will be delivered on a future mission, as well as handrails.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth in excellent shape with no issues being worked by the flight control team.

Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with the Expedition Three crew, will begin rendezvous operations a little before 9 a.m. today. The shuttle will begin a final approach to the station from a point about 9 miles behind the outpost with the last major rendezvous maneuver scheduled at around 11:15 a.m.

With Discovery about 600 feet directly below the station, Horowitz will fly the shuttle in a quarter circle to a point in front of the complex. From there he will very slowly and precisely maneuver Discovery toward the station, pausing about 30 feet from the ISS to precisely align the docking mechanisms of the two craft.

Docking is expected to occur at 1:38 p.m. over the Indian Ocean just south of the Indonesian island of Jawa. The hatches separating the two spacecraft are to be opened around 3:30 p.m. allowing the current station residents, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms to greet their replacements and the Discovery astronauts who will bring them home after more than five months in space.

ISS flight controllers are expected to ask the Expedition Two crew on Wednesday to try to reboot one of three command and control computers which experienced a hard drive problem last week and which has been put in standby mode with no impact to station operations. If the reboot does not recover the use of the hard drive, the crew may be asked to replace a component in the computer with a spare being brought to the station on Discovery. Two other command and control computers, a prime and a backup, are working perfectly in support of U.S. segment systems.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes in good shape in pursuit of the International Space Station.

Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms looked on from the station's Destiny laboratory as Discovery arrived this afternoon, then worked in concert with their Shuttle counterparts to ensure a tight seal and a firm mate between the two vehicles.

At 3:41 p.m., hatches finally swung open between Discovery and the ISS, and the two crews greeted one another. First aboard the station was Culbertson to survey his home for the next four months. Within minutes, all ten astronauts and cosmonauts had shared greetings before settling in for a station safety briefing conducted by Usachev.

Monday the crews will attach the Leonardo cargo carrier to the station at about 9:30 a.m. and begin unloading its supplies.

Just prior to this operation, the two station crews will systematically begin the process of handing over command from Expedition Two to Expedition Three. The plan is for Culbertson and Helms to remove her form-fitting seat liner from the Soyuz spacecraft and replace it with Culbertson's at about 7 a.m. Two hours later at about 9 a.m., Dezhurov and Usachev will do the same followed at 12:30 p.m. by the seat liner swap of Tyurin and Voss. The Soyuz is used as a return vehicle in the event of a problem on the station.

Crew sleep is scheduled for about 8 tonight with a musical wakeup call from Mission Control at 5:10 a.m. Monday.

The station and shuttle complex is orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes in good shape.

Once they swap out their custom-made Soyuz capsule seat liners with those belonging to Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin will become the third trio of residents to inhabit the complex, while Usachev, Voss and Helms become members of Discovery's crew.

The Soyuz serves as a crew return vehicle in the unlikely event it should become necessary to leave the station.

Official handover of command of the ISS from Usachev to Culbertson will take place on August 20, shortly before Discovery undocks from the Station.

After the crew transfer is complete, the oncoming ISS residents will begin a comprehensive handover with their departing counterparts, receiving briefings on Station systems, the current configuration of hardware and computers and procedures they will employ during their first days on board the outpost.

Mission Specialist Pat Forrester will use Discovery's robot arm to move the Italian-built Leonardo cargo module from the shuttle's payload bay to the nadir docking port of the Station's Unity module so it can be unloaded of more than three tons of supplies and equipment for the newly arrived Expedition Three crew. Leonardo also contains racks of scientific experiments which will greatly enhance the scientific research on board the ISS over the next few months. Leonardo will be installed on the Station late this morning.

Other equipment will be transferred throughout the day from Discovery's middeck lockers to the ISS as the crews work in concert to set the stage for the Expedition Three mission.

The joined spacecraft are orbiting at an average altitude of about 244 statute miles, completing an orbit of the Earth every 90 minutes. Both craft are in good condition.

The wakeup call began a day that will focus on preparations for the first of two space walks by Mission Specialists Dan Barry and Pat Forrester on Thursday, while members of the International Space Station Expedition Two crew will continue the handover of station operations to their Expedition Three replacements.

The crews also have time scheduled for logistical activities, including the transfer of more equipment and supplies from Discovery to the station and the transfer of discarded station equipment to Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, which was installed on the station on Monday. The 7,000 pounds of material carried into space aboard Leonardo, including two scientific experiment racks for the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, has been unloaded.

Sturckow will assist Barry and Forrester as they checkout their spacesuits and space walking tools for their planned 61/2-hour excursion outside Discovery tomorrow. During the space walk, Barry and Forrester will install the Early Ammonia Servicer on the station's P6 truss structure. It contains spare ammonia that could be used in the station's cooling system should the need arise. They will also attach an experiment to the station to expose samples of engineering materials to the space environment. The samples will be returned to Earth for analysis in about a year.

A second space walk will be conducted by Barry and Forrester Saturday to hook up heater cables for a truss structure which will be delivered to the station next year.

Hatches between Discovery and the station will swing shut around 4:30 Central time this afternoon in advance of tomorrow's space walk

Earlier today, Russian flight controllers successfully completed the reloading of upgraded software into the computers of the Zvezda Service Module in preparation for next month's arrival of a new module to the station -- the Russian Docking Compartment -- which will serve as a new docking port for visiting Russian vehicles.

Additionally, everything remains on schedule for the launch next week of a new unmanned Progress resupply vehicle to the station, carrying more supplies and hardware for the new Expedition Three crew. The Progress will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday and will link up to the station on Aug. 23.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with no systems issues being worked by the flight control team.

In preparation for that Extravehicular Activity (EVA), the crew spent part of the day checking out the suits that will be worn for the planned six and a half hour excursion to install an ammonia servicing unit on the outside of the station. It contains spare ammonia that could be used in the station's cooling system if needed. They also will attach an experiment to the station to expose samples of engineering materials to the space environment. The samples will be returned to Earth for analysis in about a year.

A second space walk currently is planned for Saturday to hook up heater cables for the first of several girder-like truss structures, that will be delivered to the station next year.

Meanwhile, members of the station's Expedition Two crew continued the handover of station operations to their Expedition Three replacements. Throughout the handover, the stowage of equipment and supplies inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module continued. Some 5,200 pounds of supplies was confirmed on board the station and will be unpacked and stowed by the Expedition Three crew after Discovery departs early next week.

Early in the day, Russian flight controllers completed the reloading of upgraded software into the computers of the Zvezda module in preparation for next month's arrival of a new module to the station, the Russian Docking Compartment, which will serve as a new docking port for visiting Russian vehicles.

The Russian flight control team continues to track preparations of a Soyuz spacecraft set to deliver the next Progress supply vehicle to the station. Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan remains targeted for Tuesday with docking Aug. 23.

Early Thursday morning, the Expedition Three crew of Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin plan to televise a commemorative message marking the one-thousandth day in space for the International Space Station. It was Nov. 20, 1998 when the first element - Zarya - was launched atop a Proton rocket initiating the construction of the orbiting outpost.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 246 statute miles with no systems issues being worked by the flight control team.

Barry and crewmate Pat Forrester will conduct the first space walk of Discovery's flight to the International Space Station at around 9:30 this morning to install the Early Ammonia Servicer on the station's P6 truss structure. The servicing unit contains spare ammonia that could be used in the station's cooling system, if needed.

They also will attach an experiment to the station to expose samples of materials to the space environment. Carrying the acronym MISSE, for Materials International Space Station Experiment, it contains about 1,500 samples of materials in two suitcase-like containers. The samples will remain outside the station for about a year, then will be returned to Earth for analysis.

Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz will operate the shuttle's robotic arm during the space walk. Pilot Rick Sturckow will serve as the space walk choreographer from inside the shuttle's cabin during the 61/2-hour space walk, which will be staged from Discovery's airlock.

A second space walk is planned for Saturday. Barry and Forrester will hook up heater cables for another truss structure to be delivered to the station next year.

Aboard the ISS, the computers of the Zvezda Service Module once again commanded the station's gyroscopes to assume control of the orientation of the complex at around 5 a.m. after Russian flight controllers completed their loading of upgraded software commands to those computers. In the meantime, Discovery maintained control of the complex until the computer upgrades were completed with no impact to station operations.

While Barry and Forrester conduct their space walk, the Expedition Three crew, Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, will continue stowage of equipment and supplies inside the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module for return to Earth. The Italian-built pressurized module brought almost 7,000 pounds of equipment, supplies and two scientific experiment racks to the station.

At 7:10 this morning, Culbertson and his crewmates plan to offer a few commemorative words to mark the 1000th day in space for the International Space Station since the Zarya module was launched on November 20, 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with all systems functioning normally.

Earlier today, the computers inside the Zvezda module once again assumed control of the station's attitude - or position in space -- after Russian flight controllers completed the loading of upgraded software commands to those computers. In the meantime, Discovery maintained control of the complex until the computer upgrades were completed with no impact to station operations.

The Expedition Three crew --Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin -- earlier today offered commemorative remarks on the occasion of the 1000th day in space for the International Space Station since the Zarya module was launched on Nov. 20, 1998 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with all systems functioning normally.

Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms continued handover briefings with the Expedition Three crew while stowage of equipment, discarded items and belongings of the Expedition Two crew continued aboard the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module for return to Earth.

The new station Commander, Frank Culbertson, and Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, officially took command of the station Monday afternoon to begin a four month stay on the ISS. The Expedition Two crewmembers, which spent more than five months on the station, will return home aboard Discovery next week.

In preparation for the space walk set to begin about 9 a.m. Saturday, Dan Barry and Pat Forrester reviewed procedures and checked hardware that will be used during the excursion outside the station to hook up heater cables for a truss structure to be delivered to the station next year.

Shuttle Commander Scott Horowitz and Pilot Rick Sturckow performed the mission's second reboost of the station early in the day, raising the average altitude of the ISS by 2.2 statute miles (3.5 kilometers). Discovery's thrusters were systematically fired 253 times over the course of an hour. It was the final reboost planned prior to Discovery's departure Monday morning.

The crew heads to bed about 9 tonight, Central time and will be awakened by Mission Control at 4:10 a.m. CDT Saturday.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems functioning well.

Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms will continue handover briefings with the Expedition Three crew. The new station commander, Frank Culbertson, and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov have taken up residence aboard the station. The Expedition Two crewmembers, who spent more than five months on the station, will return home aboard Discovery next week.

Aboard Discovery, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with the Expedition Two crewmembers, were awakened at 4:10 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "Time Bomb", a song performed for Forrester by his sons, Patrick and Andrew.

On the heels of their successful space walk yesterday to install an ammonia coolant reservoir and a suite of experiments on the station, Barry and Forrester will be reviewing procedures and will check out hardware for the mission's second space walk on Saturday to hook up heater cables for a truss structure to be delivered to the station next year

Horowitz and Sturckow will perform the mission's second reboost of the station this morning, this one to raise the ISS' altitude by about two statute miles. The three Russian crewmembers aboard the shuttle/station complex will field questions from Russian reporters at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow at 11:15 a.m. Central time. Three hours later, at 2:15 p.m., all ten crewmembers will hold a news conference with U.S. reporters at NASA centers. At 3 p.m., the crewmembers will gather for a change of command ceremony on the station as Expedition Two Commander Usachev passes the baton to Expedition Three Commander Culbertson. The formal handover of command actually occurred late Monday afternoon after the crews exchanged custom-made Soyuz seat liners for the return capsule docked to the station.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 244 statute miles with systems functioning well.

The cables would provide backup power to the S0 truss, if needed, in the unlikely event it could not be installed in a timely fashion on the station next spring as the centerpiece for a 300-foot girder, which will serve as the backbone for the orbital outposts external experiments, solar arrays and the future mobile base for the Canadian-built station robotic arm.

Barry and Forrester began their spacewalk at 8:42 a.m. Central time, and ended their final excursion outside Discovery at 2:11 p.m., completing the 26th spacewalk devoted to the assembly of the International Space Station, 24 of which were staged from the Shuttle, and the 68th spacewalk in Shuttle program history.

Other spacewalk statistics following today's activity include:

-- Total spacewalk time in Shuttle program history: 431 hours, 39 minutes. -- Total spacewalk time to assemble the ISS: 167 hours, 24 minutes. -- Total Shuttle spacewalk time for ISS assembly: 163 hours, 3 minutes. -- Total spacewalk time for the two EVAs on STS-105: 11 hours, 45 minutes.

While the spacewalk was being conducted, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson and his crewmates, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, continued loading the Leonardo cargo module on the station, which will be detached from the ISS Unity module Sunday and returned to Discovery's payload bay for the trip back home.

The astronauts and cosmonauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at about 8 tonight Central time and will be awakened at 4:10 a.m. Sunday to begin the 10th day of this mission.

The two spacecraft are in excellent health orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 250 statute miles.

Discovery's astronauts, including the returning Expedition Two crew, were awakened at 4 a.m. Central time by "Hotel California," performed by the Eagles. It was requested for Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev by his wife.

The new station crew, Commander Frank Culbertson and Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, are beginning a four-month stay on the station. They will be separated from Discovery's crew by closed hatches to accommodate today's space walk

Barry and Forrester are to emerge from the shuttle's airlock a little after 9 a.m. Central time. Commander Scott Horowitz will operate the shuttle's robotic arm to move the space walkers around while Pilot Rick Sturckow will serve as the space walk choreographer.

The heating cables Barry and Forrester will install are for the S0 truss, to be delivered to the station next year. The space walk is the 26th in support of the assembly of the International Space Station and is expected to last around 6 hours.

Discovery and the station are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems functioning well.

The ten crewmembers aboard Discovery and the station are spending their final day and night together prior to the farewell ceremony and hatch closing scheduled for about 7 a.m. CDT tomorrow. That follows the wakeup call from Mission Control set for 4:40 a.m.

Leonardo brought almost 7,000 pounds of material to the station, including equipment, supplies and two scientific racks for the new Expedition Three crew of Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. Leonardo - one of three pressurized cargo carriers provided by the Italian Space Agency - completes its second visit to the station.

Astronaut Pat Forrester carefully removed the high-tech moving van from the station and placed it back in Discovery's payload bay at 2:15 p.m. CDT. He was backed up throughout the operation by Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, who operated the arm during the spacewalks by Forrester and Dan Barry to outfit the station with spare equipment and scientific gear.

Once Discovery departs, Pilot Rick Sturckow will perform a strategic fly around of the station at a distance of about 400 feet before firing thrusters shortly after 11 a.m. to depart the vicinity of the complex. Wednesday afternoon, Discovery is set to return to the Kennedy Space Center with the Expedition Two crew of Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms. The three departed the Florida spaceport March 8 and will return after 167 days in space.

Meanwhile, Russian space officials are set to launch the fifth Progress resupply craft to the International Space Station Tuesday at 4:24 a.m. Central time followed by an automatic docking early Thursday. The Progress will carry supplies, food and equipment for the new Expedition Three crew. Its predecessor will be undocked Wednesday and commanded to burn up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere.

Discovery and the ISS are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems functioning normally.

Discovery's crew, including the returning Expedition Two crewmembers, were awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Central time by the sounds of "Under the Boardwalk" by the Drifters, played for Jim Voss by his wife Suzan.

Leonardo brought almost 7,000 pounds of material to the station, including equipment, supplies and two scientific racks for the new Expedition Three crew of Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin. Leonardo, which is one of three pressurized cargo carriers for station resupply activities provided by the Italian Space Agency, is completing its second visit to the station.

Mission Specialist Pat Forrester will use the shuttle's robotic arm this afternoon to unberth Leonardo from the station and move it to Discovery, beginning the one-hour operation a little before 12:30 p.m. He will be backed up by Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, who operated the arm during two successful space walks by Forrester and Dan Barry to outfit the station with critical spare equipment and scientific gear.

Overnight, controllers reworked the crewmembers' flight plan to give them some time off this afternoon after Leonardo is returned to Discovery. The day will be highlighted by final handover discussions between the two Expedition crews before hatches are closed one last time between Discovery and the station tomorrow morning just before 7 a.m. Central time. Discovery is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 9:52 a.m. Central time Monday to set the stage for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday afternoon, completing 167 days in space for Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev, Voss and Susan Helms.

Meanwhile, Russian space officials are all set to launch a new Progress resupply craft to the International Space Station on Tuesday at 4:24 a.m. Central time for a docking early Thursday. The Progress will carry supplies, food and equipment for the new Expedition Three crew. The Progress currently docked to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module will be undocked on Wednesday and commanded to a destructive reentry in Earth's atmosphere.

Discovery and the ISS are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems functioning normally.

The final farewells and hatch closing are scheduled for just before 7 a.m. Central time. Discovery's crewmembers, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, assisted by the returning Expedition Two crew, Commander Yury Usachev and Astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms, will undock Discovery at 9:52 a.m. as the two craft sail over the south Pacific due west of the southern coast of Chile.

With Sturckow at the controls, the shuttle will conduct a flyaround of the station, circling it 11/4 times before the shuttle's jets are fired at 11:12 a.m. to drop Discovery into a lower orbit for final separation from the station.

The seven crewmembers aboard Discovery were awakened at 3:40 a.m. by the sounds of "Brand New Day," played by Sting. The song was for Helms, requested by her family and friends. She and her Expedition Two crewmates are wrapping up five and a half months on orbit.

Parked in Discovery's cargo bay is Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that brought 7,300 pounds of material to the station, including equipment, supplies and two scientific racks. It is returning to Earth with almost 2 tons of unneeded equipment from the station, trash and personal effects of the Expedition Two crew.

Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin are beginning a science-intensive increment that is scheduled to end with their replacement by the Expedition Four crew late this year.

Also on today's schedule for Discovery's crewmembers after undocking is the deployment of a small science satellite called Simplesat, designed to evaluate the use of inexpensive commercially available hardware in space. It is designed to demonstrate GPS attitude control and pointing in free flight. It will be spring-ejected from a canister at the rear of the Shuttle's cargo bay.

The Russians are all set to launch an unmanned Progress resupply craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan tomorrow at 4:24 a.m. Central time. It is the fifth Progress to be launched to the station, and is scheduled to dock a little after 5 a.m. on Thursday, the day after the current Progress attached to the ISS is undocked from the rear of the Zvezda Service Module to burn up in the atmosphere with its load of trash.

Discovery and the ISS are circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 246 statute miles. All systems are functioning well.

Discovery Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, along with Expedition Two crewmembers Commander Yury Usachev, and Astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms, were awakened at 3:10 a.m. CDT to the sounds of "East Bound and Down" by Jerry Reed, at the request of their Houston-based training team.

Activities on board Discovery will focus on tomorrow's planned return trip to Earth as the astronauts stow away the equipment and hardware used during their mission and verify the performance of Discovery's landing systems. Horowitz, Sturckow and Barry will conduct the standard day-before-landing checkouts of the flight control surfaces, the rudder and flaps that will control the shuttle during its descent through the atmosphere.

Later in the day, they will set up three recumbent seats on Discovery's middeck for use by the returning Expedition Two crewmembers during Wednesday's re-entry. The seats are designed to minimize the forces of reentry after their more than five months in space.

Expedition Three crewmembers Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, were awakened about 12:30 a.m. to begin their first day alone aboard the space station. The day's plan includes activation and checkout of Express Rack 4 - one of two scientific racks for the U.S. laboratory Destiny delivered during STS-105 - exercise and a review of plans for unloading the next Russian unpiloted cargo carrier, Progress 5, scheduled to arrive at the station Thursday morning.

Crewmembers also activated the current Progress vehicle, docked at the rear of the station's Zvezda module, before closing the hatches that connect it to the station. Progress 4 is scheduled to be undocked from the station shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday. The new Progress supply ship - Progress 5 - was launched on a Soyuz rocket at 4:24 a.m. today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is scheduled to dock at the station about 5 a.m. Thursday with its cargo of fuel, food and equipment.

Discovery is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of about 240 statute miles. Systems aboard the shuttle and the International Space Station are functioning well.

Following a one-orbit wave-off due to a rain shower that popped up off the end of the landing strip, STS-105 Commander Scott Horowitz fired Discovery's engines to begin the shuttle's return through the atmosphere, concluding a 4.3 million mile voyage. On Discovery's middeck, the Expedition Two crew - Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms - rode home in recumbent seats designed to lessen the effects of gravity.

Following routine medical examinations, the STS-105 crew - Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Dan Barry and Pat Forrester - along with the Expedition Two crew, will be reunited with their families. All seven crewmembers are expected back in Houston about 5 p.m. Thursday for a public welcome home ceremony at Ellington Field.

During their 12 days on orbit, the STS-105 astronauts worked with both the returning Expedition Two crew and newly-arrived Expedition Three crew to transfer more than two tons of experiment hardware, food and logistical supplies between Discovery and the station. In addition, Barry and Forrester performed two spacewalks to prepare the station for future growth.

In the meantime, aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition Three crew - Commander Frank Culbertson and Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin - are preparing for the arrival of a Progress 5 cargo vehicle which is scheduled to dock to the aft docking port of the Zvezda module of the Station about 5 a.m. tomorrow.

Discovery is about 1,300 statute miles ahead of the space station and widening the gap by about 50 miles per 90-minute orbit. The seven-member crew - Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialists Dan Barry and Pat Forrester, along with the returning Expedition Two crew members, Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss - were awakened at 3:10 a.m. CDT to begin a day with two landing opportunities at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Weather conditions in Florida hold promise for today's landing, but the entry team of flight controllers will be watching for a chance of rain near the landing site.

The first opportunity would see a deorbit burn at 10:37 a.m., resulting in an 11:46 a.m. CDT (12:46 p.m. EDT) landing. Discovery would descend across southern Mexico, cross the Bay of Campeche, skirt the northwestern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, and cross the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on Florida's western coast. For the second opportunity, the deorbit burn would occur at 12:17 p.m. The shuttle would cross northern Mexico, descend over the Rio Grande near Laredo, and fly along the Gulf Coast before crossing the Florida peninsula for a 1:23 p.m. landing.

Aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition Three crew - Commander Frank Culbertson and Cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin - were awakened a little after midnight for the undocking of the Progress 4 vehicle. That spacecraft was moved to make way for the Progress 5 cargo vehicle which launched at 4:24 a.m. Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is scheduled to dock at the rear of the space station's Zvezda Service Module about 5 a.m. tomorrow.

Progress 4 docked to the space station last May 22 with a cargo of equipment, food, fuel and spare computer parts. After unloading, it was refilled with trash. Just before 1 a.m. flight controllers at Moscow's Mission Control Center sent the command for it to undock. About three minutes later, springs pushed it away from the station, and three minutes after that, Progress jet thrusters were fired to increase the separation rate. At about 4 a.m. a deorbit burn command initiated its descent to fiery destruction in the Earth's atmosphere.

Discovery is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of about 240 statute miles. Systems aboard the shuttle and the space station are functioning well.

The unmanned Progress 5 craft linked up to the aft docking port of the Zvezda Service Module at 4:51 a.m. Central time (951 GMT) after an automated two-day excursion following its launch Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The docking occurred over Central Asia.

Within a few minutes after docking, hooks and latches were commanded to close between the Progress and Zvezda, forming a hard mate and a tight seal between the two craft. Hatches between the two vehicles will be opened later today, enabling Station Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin to unload some 3000 pounds of supplies and personal effects.

The arrival of the Progress vehicle at the Station sets the stage for the launch of the next module for the outpost next month --- the Russian Docking Compartment named Pirs, the Russian word for pier. The Docking Compartment will automatically link up to the nadir, or earthward facing docking port of Zvezda two days after launch, providing an additional docking port for future Russian vehicles arriving at the ISS.

At the Kennedy Space Center, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms are in excellent shape, readapting to gravity and enjoying life back on Earth after167 days in space, 163 days of which were spent aboard the ISS. They are scheduled to return to Ellington Field in Houston late this afternoon with their Discovery crewmates, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry following yesterday's landing of Discovery at the Florida spaceport.

In addition to attending to the newly arrived Progress craft, the Expedition Three crew continues to oversee a variety of science investigations.

The International Space Station (ISS) is orbiting at an altitude averaging 240 miles (385 km).

Atlantis' climb to orbit was flawless, carrying a seven-member crew. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault, and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John “Danny” Olivas, Jim Reilly and Clayton Anderson.

As Atlantis launched, the International Space Station flew 220 miles above the southern Indian Ocean, southwest of Australia. On the station awaiting Atlantis’ arrival are Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Suni Williams. The station crew watched Atlantis’ launch on a video link sent by Mission Control.

Atlantis will link up with the station on Sunday to begin a joint mission that will increase the complex’s power generation capability. Using the shuttle and station robotic arms and conducting three spacewalks, the astronauts will install another set of giant solar array wings on the station and retract another array, preparing it for a future move.

Anderson and Williams will switch places within hours after Atlantis arrives. Anderson will begin a four-month stay on the station. Williams will journey home on Atlantis. Williams has been on the station since December and will return to Earth with a record for the longest female spaceflight in history.

After reaching orbit, Atlantis’ crew began procedures to open the shuttle’s payload bay doors and set up computers and other equipment. They also will power up the shuttle's robotic arm to check its operation. They will use the arm on Saturday to inspect Atlantis’ heat shield. On Sunday, Atlantis is scheduled to dock to the station at about 2:36 p.m. CDT. The shuttle crew begins a sleep period at 12:38 a.m. CDT Saturday and will awaken for their first full day in space at 8:38 a.m. CDT Saturday.

“Big Boy Toys” by Aaron Tippin, sounded on board the orbiter at 9:10 a.m. CDT, played for Commander Rick Sturckow. The crew was given an extra half hour to sleep this morning after being kept up late to finish downloading in-cabin video.

Today Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson will use the shuttle’s robotic arm to unberth the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) for a detailed examination of Atlantis’ thermal protection system. Last night they took a closer look at an area of insulation blanket on the port orbital maneuvering system pod that was seen to be pulled away from adjacent thermal tiles during the robot arm checkout late Friday.

In parallel to today's inspection, Mission Specialists John “Danny” Olivas, Jim Reilly and Clayton Anderson will conduct a thorough checkout of the spacesuits to be worn during the three spacewalks planned for the docked operations at ISS and prepare them and other EVA hardware for transfer to the station.

Later, in preparation for docking, the crew will install a centerline camera, extend the outer ring of the Orbiter Docking System, and check out rendezvous tools. Sturckow is scheduled to fly Atlantis to a docking with ISS at 2:36 p.m. Sunday.

After hatch opening and welcome, Anderson will transfer his seat liner into the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the Zarya module and officially become a member of the station’s Expedition 15 crew, joining Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov. Flight Engineer Suni Williams, who’s been in space since her launch last Dec. 9, joins the shuttle crew and will return to Earth with them.

Delivery of the S3/S4 Truss segment, which includes a new pair of giant solar arrays for power generation, begins shortly after docking tomorrow when the shuttle robot arm is used to lift it from the payload bay and hand it off to the station’s robotic manipulator. Installation of the truss segments occurs Monday in conjunction with the first spacewalk of the mission, conducted by Reilly and Olivas.

Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson used the shuttle’s robotic arm and an extension boom-mounted sensor system to inspect the heat shield on Atlantis’ wing leading edges and nose cap.

Last night the crew used the robotic arm to take a closer look at an area of insulation blanket on the port orbital maneuvering system pod that was seen to be pulled away from adjacent thermal tiles.

Prior to stowing the boom, the crew utilized the added reach to send Mission Control engineers up-close video of the displaced portion of the blanket. It will be analyzed along with the video from Friday night.

In preparation for Sunday’s docking, the crew extended the shuttle’s docking ring and checked out the rendezvous tools. The crew also installed a docking system centerline camera that will be used by Commander Rick Sturckow to align Atlantis with the station’s docking port.

While the robotic arm survey proceeded, Mission Specialists Danny Olivas, Jim Reilly and Clay Anderson checked and prepared the spacesuits they’ll wear during the three spacewalks on the fourth, sixth and eighth days of the mission. The major objective of the spacewalks is to install the station's newest component, the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segments, unfurl a new set of solar arrays and fold and pack the right side of the Port 6 solar array.

On the space station, Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams prepared the orbiting laboratory for Atlantis’ arrival tomorrow. She readied the digital cameras that will be used to take high-resolution photos of the shuttle's heat shield. Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin pressurized the docking port at the back end of the U.S. laboratory, Destiny.

Tomorrow as Atlantis makes its final approach to the station, Sturckow will take control of Atlantis and begin a slow back-flip rotation allowing Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov to photograph the shuttle’s heat shield. Williams will videotape the maneuver.

Once the back-flip is complete, Sturckow will maneuver Atlantis to docking, setting the stage for a week of joint operations between the two crews.

After hatch opening and welcome, Anderson will transfer his seat liner to the Soyuz spacecraft and officially become a member of the station’s Expedition 15 crew, joining Yurchikhin and Kotov. Williams, who’s been in space since her launch last Dec. 9, will return home with Atlantis’ crew.

Delivery of the S3/S4 Truss segment, which includes a new pair of giant solar arrays for power generation, begins shortly after docking tomorrow when the shuttle robotic arm is used to lift it from the payload bay and hand it off to the station’s robotic manipulator. Installation of the truss segments occurs Monday in conjunction with the first spacewalk of the mission, conducted by Reilly and Olivas.

Shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow was the first to enter the station followed soon after by the rest of the STS-117 crew.

The shuttle and space station docked at 2:36 p.m. CDT while traveling 220 miles above the northeast coast of Australia. Atlantis’ stay is planned for seven days of joint operations. Hatch opening between the two spacecraft occurred at 4:04 p.m. CDT.

Shortly after welcoming the shuttle crew, station Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov and shuttle Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson transferred Anderson’s customized Soyuz seat liner into the Russian spacecraft in place of that of Flight Engineer Suni Williams. The transfer at 7:55 p.m. CDT marked the official swap of Anderson for Williams as a station crewmember. Williams spent 181 days on the station and now is an Atlantis crewmember for the remainder of the mission. She has been in space for 183 days.

Prior to docking, Sturckow flew Atlantis through an orbital back flip while stationed about 600 feet below the space station. The maneuver was documented with long-range, high resolution cameras by Kotov and Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin to document the shuttle’s heat shield.

Mid-morning, Mission Specialist John “Danny” Olivas used a 400 mm camera to get up-close shots of the port orbital maneuvering system. He shot those photos from the crew cabin aft window. During a check Friday night, an area of insulation blanket on the pod was seen to be pulled away from the adjacent thermal tiles. Those photos were downlinked for review by imagery analysts and mission managers.

Following docking, Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester used the shuttle's robotic arm to grapple the 17.8 ton S3/S4 truss, lift it from its berth in the payload bay, and maneuver it for handover to the station's Canadarm2. The S3/S4 truss is the heaviest station payload the shuttle has carried, to date.

After hatch opening, Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams used the Canadarm2 to take the truss from the shuttle’s robotic arm. That task was completed at 7:28 p.m. CDT marking the completion of handover of the new truss segment to the station. The truss will remain grappled to the station’s arm overnight and installed Monday in conjunction with the first spacewalk by Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and Olivas.

The first of three planned spacewalks is scheduled to begin just before 2 p.m. CDT Monday and will be staged out of the station’s Quest airlock. Archambault, Kotov and Forrester will position the truss at the edge of the S1 truss using the station’s arm. Reilly and Olivas will connect power cables on the truss, release restraints for the Solar Array Blanket Boxes that hold the solar arrays and the Beta Gimbal Assemblies that serve as the structural link between the truss’ integrated electronics and the Solar Array Wings.

Reilly and Olivas will spend tonight "camped out" inside the Quest airlock, with air pressure lowered to help purge nitrogen from their bodies in preparation for the excursion.

The shuttle crew was awakened at 8:08 a.m. with “Riding the Sky,” written and performed by Johnson Space Center employees David Kelldorf and Brad Loveall for Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson. At the same time, a wakeup tone sounded on the station for Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Suni Williams. Rendezvous operations for the shuttle crew to bring their ship together with the station begin at 9:38 a.m., and the terminal initiation engine firing, which puts Atlantis on course to close the final nine miles to the station, is set for 12 p.m.

At 1:37 p.m., at a distance of 600 feet below the station, Atlantis Commander Rick Sturckow will fly the rendezvous pitch maneuver. The maneuver is a back flip that will allow Yurchikhin and Kotov to photograph heat shield tiles on the shuttle’s underside. The images will be transmitted to the ground for analysis.

After the hatches open, Kotov and Anderson will transfer Anderson’s customized Soyuz seat liner into the Russian spacecraft in place of that of Williams. The transfer will make Anderson an official station crew member, and Williams a member of the shuttle crew. Delivery of the flight's primary payload, the bus-sized S3/S4 truss element with its new solar arrays, will start at about the same time. Using the shuttle robotic arm, Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester will grapple the 35,678-pound truss section, lift it from the payload bay and hand it off to the station's robotic arm, controlled by Williams.

The truss section will be installed Monday in conjunction with the first spacewalk of the flight, conducted by Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and John “Danny” Olivas. Reilly and Olivas will spend tonight "camped out" inside the Quest airlock, with air pressure lowered to help purge nitrogen from their bodies in preparation for the excursion.

Most of the crewmembers got an 8:08 a.m. CDT wakeup call with the song “It Probably Always Will” by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, played for Mission Specialist Steven Swanson. Spacewalkers Jim Reilly and John “Danny” Olivas, who spent the night in the Quest airlock under reduced atmospheric pressure to facilitate the purge of nitrogen from their bloodstreams, were allowed to sleep in until 8:38 a.m.

Starting shortly after 10 a.m. Pilot Lee Achambault, Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester and Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov will use the station’s Canadarm2 to maneuver the S3/S4 Truss to the outboard end of the S1 Truss and into position so that four bolts can be driven to form a hard mate between the two components.

Activation of the new truss segments will be done during the spacewalk starting at 1:53 p.m., when Reilly, designated EV1 and wearing the suit with red stripes, and Olivas, EV2 and wearing a suit with no stripes, emerge from the Quest airlock.

Over the course of the next 6½ hours they will connect power, data and cooling cables between S1 and S3; release the launch restraints from and deploy the four solar array blanket boxes on S4 and release the cinches and winches holding the photovoltaic radiator on S4. They also will rotate the keel pin on S3; rigidize four Alpha Joint Interface Structure struts and install one Drive Lock Assembly on the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint; and remove some of the SARJ launch locks and restraints.

In parallel to those activities the ISS Flight Control Team in Mission Control Houston will begin the commanding to activate the two new power channels and to deploy the new truss’ radiator. The spacewalk is scheduled to conclude at 8:23 p.m. CDT.

While the spacewalk proceeds the newest member of the ISS crew will be learning about his new home on orbit. Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson is scheduled for handover briefings with his predecessor, astronaut Suni Williams, and has unstructured time to facilitate his adaptation to his new surroundings.

The work culminated in a 6 hour, 15 minute spacewalk by shuttle astronauts Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas, who focused on final attachment of bolts, cables, and connectors to begin the activation of the truss and ready it for deployment of its solar arrays.

The spacewalk began at 3:02 p.m. CDT and ended at 9:17 p.m. CDT and was the 84th devoted to station assembly and maintenance totaling 515 hours, 20 minutes.

The spacewalk was delayed for about an hour after the station temporarily lost attitude control when the station’s control moment gyroscopes went offline due to the mass of the new truss segment in the final stage of its attachment. The loss was not unexpected because of the station’s skewed asymmetry as the 17.8 ton bus-size S3/S4 truss was being moved toward the S1 truss.

Pilot Lee Archambault, Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester and Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov tightened the final of four bolts permanently mating the new 45-foot truss to the outboard end of the S1 truss. The installation paved the way for the start of the spacewalk – the fourth for Reilly and first for Olivas. Once completed, the truss will stretch 356 feet from end to end.

Once the spacewalk began, Reilly and Olivas moved quickly through their tasks of releasing the launch restraints on the four Solar Array Blanket Boxes, which house the folded solar arrays. Their work sets the stage for the deployment of the solar arrays Tuesday.

The extra power sets the stage for addition of European and Japanese laboratories later this year and early next.

Prior to crew wake up this morning, station controllers began unfurling the solar array attached to the newly installed S3/S4 truss segment. Space Shuttle Atlantis astronauts then took over, unfolding one wing at a time in stages, pausing to let the solar array panels soak up some sun, which helps to prevent the thin individual panels from sticking together. They finished unfolding the first wing at 11:29 a.m. and the second at 12:58 p.m. – both are now capable of generating power.

Tomorrow at about 1 p.m., Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Steve Swanson head outside on their first of two spacewalks to remove launch locks from the 10-foot-wide solar alpha rotary joint to free the arrays to rotate and track the sun. During the six-hour spacewalk, the spacewalkers will help flight controllers fold up an older solar array to make room for the rotation. That retracted pair of arrays and corresponding truss segment eventually will be relocated and redeployed to add even more power capability to the station.

Late in the day, the station experienced a problem with a Russian navigation computer that challenged flight controllers in Houston and Moscow to manage the station’s attitude in space. Several methods of attitude control are available – Russian thrusters, Atlantis thrusters, or station electrically-driven gyroscopes.

The crew or station never was in danger throughout the troubleshooting efforts, and the station’s gyroscopes took over attitude control shortly after 8 p.m. That was followed by relocation of the Mobile Transporter in preparation ahead of tomorrow’s spacewalk.

The problem with the navigation computer began when flight controllers attempted to turn attitude control over to the station computers after letting shuttle computers handle it while the arrays were unfolded. The computer would not allow them to do so, and forced a reboot of the main Russian command and control computer, which triggered an alarm enunciating the problem to the crew and ground controllers.

Meanwhile, mission managers still are mulling over the best course of action for repairing a raised corner of a thermal insulation blanket that came loose during launch last Friday. The Mission Management Team elected to wait at least one more day so that engineers could develop detailed plans for a spacewalking task to be carried out during the third or fourth spacewalk (Friday or Sunday).

Ground tests will be performed to understand which repair technique provides the greatest potential for success.

The day began at 8:08 a.m. with the wakeup song “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, played for Mission Specialist Danny Olivas. Olivas and Mission Specialist Jim Reilly completed a 6-hour, 15-minute spacewalk yesterday to complete the hardware installation of the S3/S4 Truss segments, which cleared the way for flight controllers to activate the new components.

Overnight ISS flight controllers commanded the initial minimal deployment of both solar array wings. Starting at 10:43 this morning shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Steve Swanson, Suni Williams, Olivas and Reilly are scheduled to observe and assist in the complete deployment of those solar arrays to their full 115-foot length.

After lunch the shuttle crewmembers all get a couple of hours off duty before beginning preparations for a spacewalk by Forrester and Swanson tomorrow. They will assist with the initial stages of retraction of the starboard side solar array on the P6 module before removing the remaining launch restraints on the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint on S3/S4. That’s required to permit the SARJ to rotate so the new solar arrays can track the sun while the station orbits the Earth.

The shuttle crew and the Expedition 15 crewmembers, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clay Anderson, are awaiting word from the Mission Management Team on the plan for the mission’s third and fourth spacewalks. The MMT extended the mission by two days and added a fourth EVA to provide time to repair the raised thermal blanket on the Orbital Maneuvering System pod. A decision about whether that job will be done on EVA 3 or EVA 4 is expected today.

Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson, who camped out in the Quest airlock as part of their spacewalk preparations, and their crewmates were awakened at 8:08 a.m. CDT with “Questions 67 and 68” by Chicago, played for Pilot Lee Archambault.

While Mission Specialists Danny Olivas and Suni Williams help the spacewalkers get ready, the other Atlantis astronauts will be working the early steps of retraction of the 2B solar array wing, on the starboard side of the P6 Truss. Commander Rick Sturckow, Archambault and Mission Specialist Jim Reilly will send commands and monitor the retraction for any repeat of the difficulties with folding panels and sticking guide wires that were encountered on a similar retraction last December.

When Forrester and Swanson exit Quest at 1:03 p.m. they’ll move up the P6 Truss to monitor the retraction and to assist if required. Forrester, who will be in a foot restraint on the station’s robot arm, and Swanson will have specially-prepared tools to use to help the panels of photovoltaic cells fold properly.

After 45 minutes the spacewalkers will move on to the primary job of the day, preparing the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint between the S3 and S4 Truss segments for rotation. Forrester and Swanson will remove all remaining locks and restraints that held the joint safely in place during launch so that the joint is free to rotate, enabling the new solar array wings on S4 to track the sun as ISS orbits the Earth. The spacewalk is scheduled to end at 7:33 p.m.

Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clayton Anderson are scheduled to work on the transfer of supplies, and Anderson has time in his schedule for handover briefings and familiarization with his new home in orbit.

Meanwhile, managers approved a repair task for a damaged thermal blanket to be carried out during the next spacewalk Friday.

During the second spacewalk of Space Shuttle Atlantis’ mission, Forrester and Swanson today removed all of the launch locks holding the 10-foot-wide solar alpha rotary joint in place. The spacewalkers had planned to remove the joint’s launch restraints as well, but left them for a later spacewalk.

The spacewalkers ran into a problem when Forrester tried to install a drive-lock assembly and found that commands being sent to it were actually being received by a drive-lock assembly installed during the mission’s first spacewalk. Flight controllers confirmed that the drive-lock assembly installed earlier was in a safe configuration and are working to confirm that the newly installed assembly is as well.

Once fully activated, the drive-lock assemblies engage gears permitting the massive joint to rotate allowing the arrays to track the sun as the station circles the Earth.

To enable it to do so, spacewalkers also had to help retract an older solar array to clear the new array’s path. The process is delicate, as the panels of the solar arrays tend to get caught on their guide wires and fold in the wrong direction. Flight controllers started the retraction before the crew woke up, and were able to get seven and a half of the 31.5 solar array bays folded. Then, on the spacewalk, Forrester and Swanson were able to poke and prod another five and a half bays worth of panels into folding correctly before moving on to other tasks.

The astronauts also were able to make sure the arrays were in a good configuration for another try by flight controllers on Thursday. If necessary, the spacewalkers could provide more hands-on help during one of the mission’s remaining two spacewalks.

Meanwhile, as the second spacewalk continued, mission managers decided that at least part of the third spacewalk, scheduled for Friday, will be dedicated to repairing a raised corner of a thermal insulation blanket that came loose from the shuttle during launch. Mission Specialist Danny Olivas will staple the corner to an adjacent blanket and use pins to secure it to a thermal protection tile.

Russian flight controllers will be working overnight to resolve a problem with the Russian segment computers that provide backup attitude control and orbital altitude adjustments. For now, the station’s control moment gyroscopes are handling attitude control, with the shuttle’s propulsion providing backup.

At 7:39 a.m. CDT Mission Control in Houston played the wakeup song “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester, who completed a 7-hour, 16-minute spacewalk with Mission Specialist Steven Swanson yesterday. The crews had been awakened at 6:23 a.m. by a false fire alarm in the Zarya module, which was the result of troubleshooting Russian segment navigation computers which had just been successfully restarted by Mission Control in Moscow.

Beginning at 10:38 a.m. Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson joins Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault, Swanson and Mission Specialist Suni Williams to resume commanding the retraction of the solar array wing on the starboard side of the P6 Truss, which was about half retracted yesterday before and during the spacewalk. That job is on the schedule for the latter half of spacewalk 3 on Friday if it is not completed today.

In the meantime Forrester will work with Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas to review the procedures for that spacewalk. Olivas will get in a foot restraint on the shuttle robot arm to repair the orbital maneuvering system pod thermal blanket that pulled away from the adjacent thermal tiles on launch last week. There is time in the schedule this afternoon for the crewmembers to practice the repair technique, and then this evening to conduct a tagup with spacewalk specialists in Houston before the spacewalkers begin their campout prebreathe protocol in the Quest airlock.

At 8:58 p.m. Sturckow, Archambault, Forrester and Swanson will discuss the progress of their flight in interviews with Fox News Radio and Denver television stations KMGH-TV and KUSA-TV.

Mission Specialists Jim Reilly and Danny Olivas worked outside the station for 7 hours, 58 minutes and completed all their planned tasks. Olivas spent two hours stapling and pinning down a thermal blanket on Atlantis’ orbital maneuvering system pod. A 4-by-6-inch corner of the blanket peeled up during the shuttle’s launch last week.

Meanwhile, Reilly installed the hydrogen vent valve of a new oxygen generation system on the Destiny laboratory. The system will separate oxygen from water to provide breathing air, while dumping the remaining component – hydrogen – overboard.

When those tasks were completed, the two astronauts joined forces with their colleagues inside the shuttle and station and flight controllers in Houston to complete the delicate process of folding an older solar array so that it can be moved from its temporary location to its permanent home during a shuttle mission this fall.

Armed with lessons learned from last December’s shuttle mission when the other half of the array posed an identical challenge, the STS-117 mission team followed well-trained procedures to retract the array into its protective box. The retraction was completed and latches closed at 7:40 p.m. (7 hours, 15 minutes into the spacewalk). Reilly and Olivas provided hands-on assistance throughout the process.

The retraction sequence today required 28 commands, bringing the total for the retraction to 45.

Behind the scenes while the spacewalk was ongoing, Russian flight controllers were troubleshooting two Russian computers that provide backup attitude control and orbital altitude adjustments for the station’s control moment gyroscopes. Station commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov were able to get two of three lanes in both computers up and running after bypassing with external cabling what appeared to be a faulty power switch.

The computers are now being monitored for proper operation, awaiting additional data evaluation overnight when the station passes over Russian ground stations for detailed telemetry downlink. Each computer requires only one lane running to perform its duties.

One final spacewalk is planned for Sunday, when Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Steve Swanson will perform get-ahead tasks and finish preparing the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint for activation. Its function is to allow a new pair of solar arrays to track the Sun as the station circles the Earth.

The crew will spend part of Saturday getting ready for the last spacewalk and discuss the mission during the traditional news conference at 6:43 p.m.

At 12:47 a.m. CDT, Astronaut Suni Williams’ time in space since her launch last Dec. 9 reached 188 days and 4 hours, matching the mark for the longest single spaceflight ever by a woman space traveler. That mark was set by Astronaut Shannon Lucid on her flight to the Mir space station in 1996.

The wakeup call featuring the University of Texas at El Paso Fight Song, performed by the UTEP Pep Band, was played for Mission Specialist (and UTEP alumnus) John “Danny” Olivas at 7:38 a.m. CDT.

Today the four spacewalkers will spend time configuring the spacesuits and EVA tools used on Friday’s 7-hour, 58-minute EVA by Olivas and Mission Specialist Jim Reilly, and then preparing the Quest airlock for Sunday’s spacewalk by Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson.

The plan for EVA 4 includes verification of Drive Lock Assembly 2, one of a pair of mechanisms which will drive rotation of the S3/S4 Truss Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, and removal of the final launch restraints on the SARJ to enable its rotation so the solar arrays on S4 can track the sun. The spacewalkers will also remove a keel pin and drag link from S3, complete bolting down a piece of debris shielding on the Destiny laboratory, install a computer network cable on Unity, and remove a Global Positioning System antenna.

Crewmembers will spend time today transferring supplies between ISS and Atlantis, and at 5:18 p.m. will review the timeline for Sunday’s spacewalk. At 6:43 p.m. all 10 astronauts and cosmonauts get together in the Destiny laboratory for the Joint Crew News Conference.

Mission Control Moscow restarted the Russian computers that provide backup attitude control and orbital attitude adjustment for the station’s control moment gyroscopes Friday afternoon and confirmed that they were stable. This morning the Russian flight controllers began sending commands to restart some systems in the Russian segment of ISS.

The Russian central computer is now communicating with the U.S. command and control computer, and the Russian terminal computer is again talking to the U.S. navigation computers. Additional commanding and systems restarts are anticipated today as Russian specialists pore over operations data from the two computers.

During a news briefing from the Johnson Space Center Saturday afternoon, International Space Station Program Manager Michael Suffredini said, “We’re having a great day on orbit today.”

Yesterday, station Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov were able to reenable four of the six channels in the computer systems after bypassing what appears to be a faulty power switch with external cabling.

The Russian cosmonauts repeated that same modification today on the last two channels, which were originally suspected to have failed. They are continuing to checkout and troubleshoot the computers. Meanwhile, the forward plan is to keep the original four channels active and keep the other two channels in "stand by" mode.

Engineering teams also plan to test the Russian attitude control system as early as Sunday morning, in order to confirm that it is operating and working well in concert with the U.S. system. The specifics of the test are still being defined but once executed, the teams will determine when shuttle Atlantis will depart the station. Undocking is currently scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Onboard, the rest of the crew today focused on transfer activities as well as preparations for a fourth spacewalk tomorrow. The ten astronauts, including Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clay Anderson, and shuttle Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault, and mission specialists Pat Forrester, Steven Swanson, Danny Olivas, Jim Reilly and Sunita Williams, also participated in a joint crew news conference.

During their crew sleep, Williams established a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a female. At 12:47 a.m. CDT, Williams surpassed the longstanding 188 day and 4 hour record set by astronaut Shannon Lucid at the Mir space station in 1996.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” said Williams of the record. “It’s an honor to be here.”

The four spacewalkers spent time working on the U.S. spacesuits. Olivas and Reilly finished their post-spacewalk spacesuit reconfiguration tasks, while Forrester and Swanson configured their suits and tools for their second spacewalk. The final spacewalk of the flight is set to begin Sunday morning at 11:33 a.m. CDT.

The spacewalk will include a few wrap up tasks associated with the new truss segment, including installation of the Drive Lock Assembly 2, which with a second DLA, drives rotation of the S3/S4 Truss Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. The spacewalkers also will remove the final six launch restraints on the SARJ to enable its rotation and remove a keel pin and drag link from S3. They’ll also complete installation of a debris shield on the Destiny laboratory, install a computer network cable on Unity and remove a Global Positioning System antenna.

The crew’s wakeup call came at 6:38 a.m. CDT with the theme song from “Band of Brothers,” played for Mission Specialist Jim Reilly.

Spacewalkers Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson begin their second EVA of the flight at 11:33 a.m., with Reilly choreographing the excursion from the shuttle flight deck. Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov will shadow Reilly as intravehicular crewmember, training to take that role for an upcoming station spacewalk.

The first task is to retrieve a TV camera stand from a stowage platform attached to Quest and install it on the S3 truss. From there the spacewalkers will move to the intersection of the S3 and S4 trusses to prepare the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint for rotation. Forrester will verify the installation of a second Drive Lock Assembly, the machine that turns the S4 truss so its solar array wings can track the sun. He will then help Swanson remove the last six SARJ launch restraints to free the joint to turn.

To clear the path on S3 for the Mobile Base System, Forrester and Swanson will remove temporary rail stops and the hardware that secured the S3/S4 in the shuttle payload bay. Then, they will translate back to the body of the station for a few get-ahead tasks.

As time permits, the spacewalkers plan to install a computer network cable on the Unity node, remove a Global Positioning System antenna, tighten the gimbal locks on the S-band Antenna Support Assembly, open the hydrogen vent valve on the Destiny laboratory that was installed on Friday’s spacewalk, and secure the orbital debris shield panel. Today’s spacewalk is scheduled to conclude at 6:03 p.m.

The Russian central computer and terminal computers continue in stable operation, each running on two of its three channels with the third in standby. Mission Control in Moscow has restarted all Russian systems except the Elektron, which is receiving power but not moded to generate oxygen, and is planning to fire Russian attitude control thrusters in conjunction with a maneuver of the mated stack to a water dump attitude on Monday.

The spacewalk was the 87th in support of station assembly and maintenance, the 59th staged out of the station and the 36th out of the Quest airlock. Eleven spacewalks have been completed this year and 14 remain.

Forrester and Swanson began the spacewalk at 11:25 a.m. The two made quick work of retrieving a TV camera and its support structure from a stowage platform attached to Quest and installing it on the S/3 truss. They then verified the Drive Lock Assembly (DLA) 2 configuration and removed the last six Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) launch restraints.

Inside, Mission Specialist Jim Reilly choreographed the outside work from the shuttle flight deck, shadowed by Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov who will assume that role for the July 20 spacewalk by Clay Anderson and Fyodor Yurchikhin.

By 3:17 p.m., the two had cleared the path on S3 for the Mobile Base System by removing temporary rail stops and hardware that had secured the S3/S4 in the shuttle’s payload bay, thus completing the major tasks slated for the STS-117 mission. The spacewalkers then began some of the get-ahead tasks mission managers had hoped to complete.

The two spacewalkers also installed a computer network cable on the Unity node, opened the hydrogen vent valve on the Destiny laboratory that was installed on Friday’s spacewalk, and tethered two orbital debris shield panels on the station’s service module.

Tomorrow morning at approximately 9:28 a.m., Mission Control in Moscow plans to fire Russian attitude control thrusters. The thrusters have not been used since the Russian central computer and terminal computer went down earlier in the week. Those computers continue in stable operation.

Also tomorrow, astronauts onboard Atlantis will have a much deserved day off, bidding farewell to the Expedition 15 crew and closing the hatch between the two vehicles at 5:23 p.m. Atlantis will undock from the station at 9:42 a.m. CDT Tuesday, circling the orbiting complex once as it departs.

Wakeup sounded at 6:08 a.m. CDT today with the song “Redeemer” by Nicole C. Mullen, played for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester. The shuttle astronauts are scheduled off duty during the first half of their day, and to complete transfers between Atlantis and the station by late afternoon Houston time. Farewells and hatch closing are scheduled to begin at 5:23 p.m.

This morning the shuttle will maneuver the Atlantis/ISS complex into position for a water and wastewater dump, and after it maneuvers back about 9:15 a.m. it will hand over attitude control to the Russian segment’s terminal computer for a test of its ability to fire Russian thrusters and maintain station attitude. If that test is successful, shuttle and station program managers are expected to confirm the plan for Atlantis to undock from ISS at 9:42 a.m. Tuesday.

Commands sent from the ISS Flight Control Room overnight activated the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint and tested its rotation; the new joint was put into autotrack test mode at 7 a.m.

Once that test is complete ISS will have four U.S. solar array wings tracking the sun through each orbit of the Earth. Those arrays are capable of generating enough electricity to power the modules already on orbit and the next pressurized modules due to arrive: the second connecting node, Harmony; the European Space Agency laboratory, Columbus; and the Kibo laboratory, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Today’s wakeup call came at 5:38 a.m. CDT with “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day” by Chicago, played for Pilot Lee Archambault. Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clayton Anderson were awakened on board ISS at the same time.

At 7:45 a.m. Archambault and Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester will begin powering on shuttle systems that have been turned off to conserve power during the docked phase of the flight, and at 8:28 Mission Specialists Steven Swanson and Jim Reilly will set up the centerline camera in the orbiter docking system.

At 9:42 a.m. the hooks and latches holding Atlantis and ISS together will release, and springs in the ODS will push the shuttle away. Archambault will fire shuttle thrusters to move 450 feet in front of the station before starting a full flyaround at 10:07 a.m. to get a good look at the reconfigured spacecraft.

At 11:25 a.m. another firing of Atlantis’ thrusters will begin the final separation of the two spacecraft for this flight. At a range of 46 miles Archambault, Forrester and Swanson will use the shuttle robot arm to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the starboard payload bay sill and conduct a late inspection of the thermal protection system on both wings and the orbiter’s nose cap.

Today and tomorrow Mission Specialist Suni Williams, in the 192nd day of her spaceflight, will be scheduled for more exercise to help prepare her for Thursday’s scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center, when her body will feel the pull of gravity for the first time since her launch last December.

It was the 51st shuttle mission to end with a landing at the Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Atlantis touched down on concrete runway 22 at 2:49:38 p.m. concluding a 13 day, 20 hour, 12 minute flight. NASA’s 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft will deliver Atlantis back to Florida in about a week so that it can be prepared for a December flight carrying the next laboratory module to the station on behalf of the European Space Agency.

The crew spent the morning in the world’s largest holding pattern as flight controllers kept a close eye on weather. Showers, thunderstorms and low clouds at Kennedy Space Center knocked Florida out of the running on both the first and second landing opportunities of the day, so flight controllers took their first chance at Edwards, where weather was pristine.

Atlantis crew members, Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault, and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, Danny Olivas, Jim Reilly and Sunita Williams, who is returning home after 194 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes in space, will return to Houston on Saturday. A welcoming ceremony for the crew's return to Houston is planned for 4:15 p.m. Saturday at NASA Hangar 276 at Ellington Field.

During Atlantis’ mission to the International Space Station, the crew performed four spacewalks during which they worked with the station crew to build the station into a near-symmetrical configuration, adding a new starboard truss segment and solar array pair, while folding another array in preparation for its relocation later this year.

Atlantis also delivered Clay Anderson, the station’s newest flight engineer, who will spend the next six months living and working on the station.

The next shuttle mission, targeted for early August, will see the return to flight of space shuttle Endeavour to deliver another segment of the station’s truss and 5,000 pounds of food, clothing, supplies and spare parts. Endeavour’s last mission was in December 2002.