Melroy Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Female, Married. Born in Palo Alto, California, USA. US Air Force US Air Force

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 15 - 1995. Active Entered space service: 9 December 1994. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 38.84 days.

NAME: Pamela Ann Melroy (Major, USAF)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born September, 17, 1961, in Palo Alto, California. Considers Pittsford, New York, to be her hometown. Married to Christopher Wallace of Wilton, Connecticut. She enjoys theatre, tap and jazz dancing, reading, cooking, flying. Her parents, David and Helen Melroy, reside in Pittsford, New York.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Bishop Kearney High School, Rochester, New York, in 1979. Bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from Wellesley College, 1983. Master of science degree in earth & planetary sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Order of Daedalians, and the 99s.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Recipient of the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster; Air Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster; Aerial Achievement Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster; and Expeditionary Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster

EXPERIENCE:

Melroy was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program in 1983. After completing a masters degree, she attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas and was graduated in 1985. She flew the KC-10 for six years at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, as a copilot, aircraft commander and instructor pilot. Melroy is a veteran of JUST CAUSE and DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM, with over 200 combat and combat support hours. In June 1991, she attended the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Upon her graduation, she was assigned to the C-17 Combined Test Force, where she served as a test pilot until her selection for the astronaut program. She has logged over 3,500 hours flight time in over 45 different aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994, Melroy reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. She has completed a year of training and evaluation and is currently qualified for assignment as a shuttle pilot. She is presently assigned to astronaut support duties for launch and landing while awaiting her first flight assignment.

• 11 October 2000 Flight: STS-92. Flight Up: STS-92. Flight Back: STS-92. Flight Time: 12.90 days.

• 7 October 2002 Flight: STS-112. Flight Up: STS-112. Flight Back: STS-112. Flight Time: 10.83 days.

• 23 October 2007 Flight: STS-120. Flight Up: STS-120. Flight Back: STS-120. Flight Time: 15.10 days.

9 June 1995 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 15 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 9 mission specialists, 6 civilians and 13 military officers, chosen from 2,962 applicants, of which 122 screened in June-August 1994. 4 additional international astronauts.

The RSRM-76 solid rocket boosters separated at 23:19 GMT and main engine cut-off (MECO) came at 23:25 GMT. External tank ET-104 separated into a 74 x 323 km x 51.6 deg orbit. At apogee at 00:01 GMT on Oct 12, Discovery's OMS engines fired to raise perigee to a 158 x 322 km x 51.6 deg orbit; ET-104 re-entered over the Pacific around 00:30 GMT. At Oct 12 on 03:01 GMT the NC1 burn raised the orbit to 180 x 349 km; NC3 on Oct 12 to 311 x 375 km; and the TI burn at 14:09 GMT on Oct 13 to 375 x 381 km x 51.6 deg. Discovery's rendezvous with the International Space Station came at 15:39 GMT on Oct 13, with docking at 17:45 GMT. The spaceship docked with PMA-2, the docking port on the +Y port of the Space Station's Unity module. Hatch was open to PMA-2 at 20:30 GMT the same day.

STS-92 Cargo Manifest

• Bay 1-2: Orbiter Docking System + 3 EMU spacesuits
• Bay 5 Port: Adapter Beam with DDCU-HP control unit
• Bay 5 Starboard: Adapter Beam with DDCU-HP control unit
• Bay 7-8: Spacelab Pallet MD003 with PMA-3
• Bay 10-12: ISS Z1 first segment of the space station truss
• Bay 13 Adapter Beam with IMAX Cargo Bay Camera
• Sill: Canadarm RMS 301

Total payload bay cargo: ca. 14,800 kg

The Z1 first segment of the space station truss was built by Boeing/Canoga Park and was 3.5 x 4.5 meters in size. It was attached to the +Z port on Unity. Z1 carried the control moment gyros, the S-band antenna, and the Ku-band antenna.

PMA-3, built by Boeing/Huntington Beach, was docked to the -Z port opposite Z1. PMA-3 was installed on a Spacelab pallet for launch.

On October 14 at 16:15 GMT the Z1 segment was unberthed from the payload bay and at around 18:20 GMT it was docked to the zenith port on the Unity module.

On October 15 at 14:20 GMT the ODS airlock was depressurised, beginning a spacewalk by Bill McArthur and Leroy Chiao. Official NASA EVA duration (battery power to repress) was 6 hours 28 minutes.

The second spacewalk was on October 16, with Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria. The suits went to battery power at 14:15 GMT and Wisoff left the airlock at 14:21 GMT. Repressurisation began at 21:22 GMT for a duration of 7 hours 07minutes.

Leroy Chiao and Bill McArthur began the third STS-92 EVA at 15:30 GMT on October 17, completing their work at 22:18 GMT for a total time of 6 hours 48 minutes.

After the spacewalk, Discovery completed the second of the three station reboosts scheduled for STS-92. They fired reaction control system jets in a series of pulses of 1.4 seconds each, over a 30-minute period, gently raising the station's orbit by about 3.1 km.

The last of four successful spacewalks began on 18 October at 16:00 GMT and ended at 22:56 GMT, lasting 6 hours and 56 minutes. Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria each jetted slowly through space above Discovery's cargo bay.

After the space walk, Discovery completed the third and final reboost of the space station.

On 19 October the astronauts worked within the ISS. They completed connections for the newly installed Z1 external framework structure and transferred equipment and supplies for the Expedition One first resident crew of the Station. The crew also tested the four 290-kg gyroscopes in the truss, called Control Moment Gyros, which will be used to orient the ISS as it orbits the Earth. They will ultimately assume attitude control of the ISS following the arrival of the U.S. Laboratory Destiny. The tests and the transfer of supplies into the Russian Zarya Module took longer than expected. As a result, the crew's final departure from the Station's Unity module was delayed. Melroy and Wisoff took samples from surfaces in Zarya to study the module's environment. They then unclogged the solid waste disposal system in the Shuttle's toilet, which was restored to full operation after a brief interruption in service.

Discovery undocked from the ISS at 16:08 GMT on 20 October. The final separation burn was executed about 45 minutes after undocking. The crew had added 9 tonnes to the station's mass, bringing it to about 72 tonnes. The return to earth, planned for 22 October, was delayed repeatedly due to high winds at the Kennedy landing site. The landing was finally made at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 24, at 22:00 GMT.

Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Jeff Wisoff, Mike Lopez-Alegria and Koichi Wakata rocketed away from Launch Pad 39-A at 6:17 p.m. Central time, lighting up the central Florida skies as they began their pursuit of the international complex. At the time of launch, the ISS was orbiting at an altitude of about 230 statute miles over the Indian Ocean, east of India.

Less than nine minutes after liftoff, Discovery's astronauts went to work to prepare the Shuttle's systems for their planned 11-day mission. The first major task on the flight plan was to open Discovery's cargo bay doors prior to receiving a "go" for orbital operations from Ascent Flight Director Wayne Hale. The astronauts are expected to set up computers and flight deck gear before beginning an eight-hour sleep period at 11:17 p.m. Central time. The crew will be awakened at 7:17 a.m. Thursday morning to begin its first full day in space.

With this evening's successful launch behind them, Discovery's astronauts will turn their attention to their chase of the International Space Station, performing several firings of the ship's jet thrusters over the next two days to set up a docking with the outpost on Friday at 12:43 p.m. Central time. Over the ensuing week, the crew will install the so-called Z1 truss structure and a third Pressurized Mating Adapter to the Unity module and will perform four space walks to electrically connect the new components.

The Station itself continues to orbit the Earth every 90 minutes in good shape with the exception of two sets of batteries in the Zvezda Service Module which have been disconnected from the module's electrical system because of suspected problems with voltage converters. Battery component spares are expected to be launched on the next unmanned Progress resupply ship to the ISS in November for installation by the first resident crew. Meanwhile, Zvezda is operating normally on six healthy batteries with more than enough electrical power for ISS systems.

After an engine firing to circularize its orbit, Discovery will be flying at an altitude of about 190 statute miles in pursuit of the international station and its linkup Friday afternoon.

The crew found everything in good shape aboard the Shuttle, although a failure in one of Discovery's communications systems may prevent Mission Control from visually following many of the crew's activities through live television. At about 9 a.m. Central today, flight controllers noted a failure in Discovery's Ku-Band communications system, a system used for high-rate communications - including television -- that includes a dish-shaped antenna in the Shuttle's cargo bay. The failure, still being analyzed by engineers, prevents the system from transmitting or receiving any usable communications. The Ku-Band system initially worked well when activated yesterday, only a few hours after launch. The Shuttle has other communications systems that are operating well. The loss of the Ku-Band system will not impact the crew's ability to successfully complete all of the flight's objectives. However, the failure of the Ku-Band system may drastically reduce the potential for live television to be transmitted to the ground for the remainder of the mission.

Discovery is trailing the International Space Station by about 1,680 statute miles, continuing to close in on the orbiting complex at a rate of 201 statute miles with each orbit. Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy fired the Shuttle's engines twice today to adjust the rate at which Discovery is closing on the station. The continuing series of rendezvous engine firings is planned to culminate in Duffy manually guiding Discovery to a docking with the outpost at 12:45 p.m. CDT Friday. The final phase of the rendezvous is planned to begin with a Terminal Intercept engine firing planned at 9:09 a.m. CDT Friday, when Discovery reaches a point about nine statute miles behind the station.

Also today, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata powered up Discovery's robotic arm, checking out its operation in a survey of the cargo bay and finding everything in order. While that activity was under way on the Shuttle's upper deck, astronauts Leroy Chiao, Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria worked in the lower deck, or middeck, to check out the spacesuits that will be worn during four planned spacewalks. All of the suits and equipment are in excellent shape. Astronaut Bill McArthur will join Chiao, Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria in conducting those spacewalks, planned to begin on Sunday, that will complete connections of the new station components.

The crew will begin a sleep period at 9:17 p.m. CDT and awaken at 4:17 a.m. CDT Friday for day three of the mission. Discovery is in an orbit with a high point of 235 statute miles and a low point of 188 statute miles.

The STS-92 crew was awakened at 7:17 a.m. Central time with the song, "Incense And Peppermint" by the group, "Strawberry Alarm Clock". The tune is part of the "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" movie soundtrack and was played for the crew members, who are fans of the film.

Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy will fire Discovery's thrusters in a continuing series of burns today to refine the Shuttle's approach to the International Space Station, and will check out some of the tools their crewmates will use to provide them with navigation information during the final phases of the Shuttle's approach to the Station for docking. Discovery's linkup to the ISS is planned for 12:43 p.m. Central time Friday afternoon.

It will be a day of preparations for Discovery's astronauts as Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria check out the space suits they will wear during four consecutive days of orbital construction space walks. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will power up Discovery's 50-foot long robot arm to ensure it is operating properly and will use it to conduct a photographic survey of the payload bay and the new Space Station components housed inside. In the International Space Station control room in Mission Control, flight controllers continue to prepare the station for the arrival of Discovery's crew by warming up the Unity module and its attached docking port to maintain comfortable working conditions for the astronauts. Discovery's crew will enter the Unity module on Saturday to transfer logistical supplies and hardware associated with the installation of the first external truss structure for the complex.

Over the course of the next week, through the space walks and the use of the Shuttle's robot arm, the crew will install both the Z1 truss assembly and Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 to the Unity module of the Station. That adapter is a new docking port for the ISS. The Z1 truss provides a structural backbone for the Station, with four Control Moment Gyroscopes that will be used to maintain the Station's attitude or orientation in space. The truss also houses key communications gear. The truss assembly will support the large solar arrays that will be delivered during the next Shuttle mission, STS-97.

Discovery is orbiting at an altitude of about 200 statute miles with all of its systems operating in perfect shape.

Discovery latched onto the station at 12:45 p.m. CDT, completing a perfect rendezvous that had been under way since Discovery's launch on Wednesday. Later, Astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria opened the outermost hatch to the station at about 3:30 p.m. CDT. Soon thereafter, at about 4:15 p.m., Lopez-Alegria opened the hatch into the station's Unity module, and Duffy entered the orbiting outpost, followed closely by Lopez-Alegria and fellow crew members Leroy Chiao and Pilot Pam Melroy. The crew then began transferring equipment and supplies from Discovery to the station, continuing to set up the complex for the arrival of the first resident crew, a mission called Expedition 1 that is planned to launch at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, at the aft controls in Discovery's cockpit, Astronaut Bill McArthur and Japanese Astronaut Koichi Wakata again powered up the Shuttle's mechanical arm. Wakata and McArthur, the backup arm operator for the mission, maneuvered the robotic arm for a camera survey of the station and the Shuttle's payload bay. Tomorrow, Wakata will use the arm to attach the first of two major components Discovery has brought to the complex - an exterior framework that houses gyroscopes and communications equipment called the Z-1 truss.

Flight controllers have decided to attempt no further troubleshooting of Discovery's Ku-Band communications system which failed yesterday. The failure will reduce the amount of television that can be transmitted to the ground during the mission, however the crew did send television of the docking and entry into the station to the ground today through alternate communications systems. A few such opportunities for television will be available each day during the remainder of the flight, although they will usually be only a few minutes in length. Flight controllers also use a sequential still video system, a still image updated every few seconds, to follow activities aboard the Shuttle.

The crew will begin a sleep period at 9:17 p.m. CDT and awaken at 5:17 a.m. CDT Saturday for day four of the mission.

Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Jeff Wisoff, Mike Lopez-Alegria and Koichi Wakata began their day shortly after 5 a.m. Central time, preparing shuttle systems for their linkup to the new station at about 12:46 p.m. Central time.

As of about 6:45 this morning, the shuttle trailed the station by about 650 statute miles and was closing in by about 300 miles with each orbit of the Earth. The rate of closure will slow dramatically, however, as Duffy and Melroy conduct a series of jet firings to place the shuttle directly below the station late this morning for the final phase of its approach for docking. The final major maneuver, called the Terminal Initiation burn, will occur when Discovery reaches a point about eight nautical miles directly behind the station.

As Discovery moves within about a half-mile of the station, Duffy will take over manual control of the shuttle's approach, flying the shuttle from controls in the aft cockpit. Discovery will arrive at a point about 600 feet directly below the station about 10:38 a.m. Central, and then will begin a half-circle of the orbiting outpost. Discovery will pass about 350 feet in front of the station and then move to a point about 250 feet directly above it about 11:05 a.m. Central.

Duffy will then begin to descend toward the station and, about 11:15 a.m. Central, hold position at a point about 170 feet away. Duffy will maintain that distance for almost one hour to allow the station to move within range of Russian ground communications stations to monitor the shuttle's approach and docking. At 12:34 p.m., Duffy will hold position again briefly at a point about 30 feet from the station to verify the shuttle and station docking mechanisms are precisely aligned. Docking is expected about 12 minutes later with the shuttle contacting the station at a slow rate of about a tenth of a foot per second. At the time of docking, the ISS and Discovery will be flying over the Ukraine.

The shuttle's KU band communications system remains inoperative as engineers continue to review data regarding its sudden loss yesterday. Although there is no conventional television available from Discovery, the loss of the KU system has no impact to mission objectives.

Discovery is currently orbiting at an altitude of about 190 statute miles, circling the Earth every 90 minutes.

Earlier this morning, space station flight controllers in Houston successfully activated and checked out controllers and power sources for Unity's common berthing mechanism, preparing it for the Z1 installation. Discovery's robot arm will be powered up at 7:37 a.m. by NASDA astronaut Koichi Wakata and Mission Specialist Mike Lopez-Alegria. Wakata will maneuver the arm to the Z1 truss in Discovery's payload bay, grappling the box-like frame about 8:20 a.m.

A series of capture latches that secures the truss in place will be commanded open and Wakata will gently raise the Z1 out of the payload bay. With the truss firmly in its grip, the arm will be maneuvered to a position called low hover and will remain during a final inspection to ensure that all seals and petals on the common berthing mechanism are properly aligned for the final installation. Commander Brian Duffy will maneuver Discovery into the proper orientation for installation as the Z1 is moved to its capture position. A series of four "ready to latch" indicators are the signal for Discovery's crew to issue the final capture command, and the Z1 truss should be attached to the Space Station shortly after 10 a.m. today.

Using a laptop computer, Pilot Pam Melroy will command 16 bolts to tighten in a four-stage process to secure the Z1 truss to the Unity module, as Wakata releases the Shuttle's robot arm and moves it back to its cradled position alongside the payload bay. Final connections and outfitting work for the Z1 truss will be accomplished by space-walking astronauts Bill McArthur, Leroy Chiao, Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria. Sunday, during the first of four scheduled spacewalks for this flight, McArthur and Chiao will connect a series of power cables, an S-band communications assembly, install a Space to Ground Antenna and boom assembly and install an EVA tool stowage box on the port side of the structure.

With the Z1 installation complete, the astronauts will enter the Zarya module to transfer equipment and supplies for the first resident crew expected to arrive later this month. McArthur and Chiao will configure Discovery's middeck in preparation for Sunday's spacewalk, staging some of the tools, tether and hardware they will use during their planned 6½-hour EVA.

Japanese Astronaut Koichi Wakata, at controls in the shuttle cockpit, deftly maneuvered Discovery's robotic arm to lift the framework, called the Z1 truss, out of the shuttle's payload bay and berth it to a port on the station's Unity connecting module. The berthing was the first time the U.S.-developed attachment system has been used in orbit, and the equipment worked flawlessly. Over the course of the station's future assembly, similar attachment systems will be used over 100 times. Astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria, looking out of the berthing port's hatch window in Unity, provided Wakata with visual cues as to the framework's alignment.

The berthing occurred about two hours behind schedule due to a short-circuit aboard the shuttle early in the crew's day that cut off power to some equipment Wakata would need. The short cut power to three pieces of equipment: an Orbiter Interface Unit that provides data and commanding from the shuttle to station systems; an Orbiter Space Vision System that provides a computerized alignment aid for operating the robotic arm; and a television camera located at the bottom, or keel, of the payload bay that faces upward to provide a supplementary visual cue for maneuvering the truss structure. Flight controllers and the crew quickly developed a plan to use backup equipment and alternate power to regain all functions except the keel camera, and Wakata began lifting the truss from the shuttle bay about 2 hours and 15 minutes later than originally planned.

The backup arrangement worked perfectly. The electrical bus that experienced the short will remain powered off and will have no impact on the rest of the mission's activities. Wakata latched the truss to the station at 1:20 p.m. as the complex flew 240 statute miles above southern Russia.

Because activities were behind schedule following the morning workaround, flight controllers opted to defer the transfer of some gear from the station's Unity module to the Zarya module until the crew next enters the station, planned for day nine of the mission. In Unity, Pilot Pam Melroy and crewmate Jeff Wisoff opened the hatch where the new truss was attached and, inside a pressurized dome, installed grounding connections between the framework and the station. Afterward, the crew exited the station, and, at 5:57 p.m. CDT, Lopez-Alegria and Commander Brian Duffy sealed the station's outermost hatch.

Duffy and Melroy then lowered Discovery's cabin pressure in preparation for a space walk by astronauts Leroy Chiao and Bill McArthur planned to begin at 9:32 a.m. Sunday. Reducing the cabin pressure from a sea-level pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to a pressure of about 10.2 psi is part of a protocol that purges nitrogen from the space walker's body to prevent decompression sickness. Chiao and McArthur spent the last couple of hours of their day preparing equipment in the shuttle's lower deck and airlock for tomorrow's venture outside the cabin. During the space walking construction work, the first of four space walks planned during Discovery's mission, the two will connect electrical and computer data cables between the newly attached truss and Unity and deploy two communications antennas from the truss.

The crew begins a sleep period at 9:17 p.m. today and will awaken at 5:17 a.m. Sunday to begin preparations for the six and a half-hour space walk.

The two astronauts are scheduled to begin a planned 6½-hour space walk about 9:30 CDT this morning to install an additional docking port - Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 - and ready the Z1 Truss for installation of the large solar arrays that will be delivered by the next shuttle crew in late November. The first task for Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria will be to release the latches that hold the PMA-3 in place and to provide Koichi Wakata with visual cues as he uses the robotic arm to gently raise PMA-3 from its support platform in Discovery's payload bay.

As Wakata maneuvers PMA-3 to its new location on the Unity module, Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria will release latches at the top of the Z1 Truss and prepare the work surface of the attach point for the large solar arrays that will be delivered during the STS-97 mission in November. They will then work their way back to Unity to act as an extra set of eyes providing Wakata with guidance as he attaches the PMA-3. Once the crew sees a series of "ready to latch" indicators, Pilot Pam Melroy will use a laptop computer to command latches and bolts to secure the PMA to its new home on the Unity module, much as she did during the installation of the Z1 truss on Saturday. However, today she will command only the first of four stages of the bolting process to allow seals on both the PMA and the common berthing mechanism on Unity to reach thermal equilibrium. The final commanding will be done by the flight crew Tuesday morning, after flight controllers in Houston confirm that the temperature variances between the two seals are within acceptable limits.

In the ISS flight control room this morning, the Power, Heating, Articulation, Lighting and Control Officer - PHALCON - successfully completed work with the two Plasma Contactor Units (PCUs) mounted on the Z1 truss. The PCUs, which are designed to discharge electrical current on the station and in its immediate environment, were launched with their valves open to allow a continual discharge of xenon gas to prevent contamination of the units. This morning, the PHALCON powered on and purged the units, closed the valves and deactivated the PCUs. The units will be powered on during the STS-97 mission once the solar arrays are deployed and begin generating current.

Today's scheduled space walk will be the eighth space station assembly space walk, the 52nd EVA in the space shuttle program and the 91st by Americans in the history of the U.S. space program.

Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria began their spacewalk at 9:15 a.m. CDT, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Their first job was to release the latches that held the docking port, Pressurized Mating Adapter 3, securely in Discovery's cargo bay. They helped Koichi Wakata, operating the robotic arm, providing eyes for him as he slowly raised the docking port from its support platform.

While Wakata maneuvered PMA-3 to its new location on the Unity module, opposite the Z1 truss installed Saturday, Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria released latches atop the Z1 truss and prepared an attach point for the large solar arrays that will be delivered during the STS-97 mission scheduled for launch next month. Next they worked their way back to Unity, again to act as an extra set of eyes for Wakata as he attached the docking port.

After Discovery astronauts saw a series of "ready to latch" indicators, Pilot Pam Melroy used a laptop computer to command latches and bolts to begin to secure the mating adapter to its new home on the station. She commanded only the first of four stages of the bolting process. The flight crew will do the final commanding Tuesday morning, after flight controllers in Houston confirm that the temperatures of seals on the docking port and Unity's Common Berthing Mechanism have become more nearly equal.

Monday's 7 hour, 7 minute spacewalk, which ended at 4:22 p.m., was the 52nd EVA in the Space Shuttle program and the 91st by Americans in the history of the U.S. space program. It brought to eight the total of ISS assembly spacewalks, with a total time of 55 hours, 50 minutes. With the addition of the 18,000-pound Z1 Truss on Saturday and the 3,000-pound mating adapter, the station has gained about 21,000 pounds during STS-92. It now weighs about 80 tons.

As the spacewalk was ending, Discovery Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy completed the first of three station reboosts scheduled for STS-92. They fired reaction control system jets in 18 pulses of 1.4 seconds each, over a 30-minute period, gently raising the station's orbit by about 1.7 statute miles.

Today's spacewalk began at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 4:18 p.m., almost exactly as planned. Total time of Tuesday's EVA was 6 hours, 48 minutes. That brings to 20 hours, 23 minutes the total time of the three spacewalks performed thus far in Discovery's mission, and the total time of space station construction spacewalks to 62 hours, 38 minutes. A fourth spacewalk is scheduled for Wednesday. It too will prepare the Z1 Truss for attachment of the solar arrays.

Chaio and McArthur were helped by the robot arm in moving around the station. Koichi Wakata and Mike Lopez-Alegria split the arm-operation duties on Tuesday, with Lopez-Alegria taking the first half.

The spacewalkers also completed power cable connections on both the Z1 truss and newly installed docking port, PMA-3. They connected and reconfigured cables to route power from Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 to PMA-3 for the arrival of Endeavour and the STS-97 crew next month. They also attached a second tool storage box on the Z1 truss, providing a place to hold the tools and spacewalking aids for future assembly flights. McArthur stocked the boxes with tools and hardware that had been attached to the Unity module. STS-96 Astronauts Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry had left the tools on the outside of Unity during a May 1999 spacewalk.

After today's spacewalk, Discovery Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy completed the second of the three station reboosts scheduled for STS-92. They fired reaction control system jets in a series of pulses of 1.4 seconds each, over a 30-minute period, gently raising the station's orbit by about 1.7 statute miles.

On Wednesday astronauts Jeff Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria are scheduled to perform the fourth and final spacewalk of the STS-92 flight. Among activities will be deployment of the Z1 utility tray, and opening and closing of the Z1 Manual Berthing Mechanism latches. Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria also will test the SAFER, or "simplified aid for EVA rescue," a backpack that could enable an astronaut drifting away from the shuttle or the station to get back to the spacecraft. Finally, they will test methods for rescuing an incapacitated astronaut.

Each astronaut performed one gentle 50-foot flight with the nitrogen powered SAFER (for Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue). Each remained attached to the shuttle with a long tether during the test, and was accompanied by the other astronaut, moving with him on the end of Discovery's robotic arm.

This was the last of four successful spacewalks over four days that prepared the International Space Station for the arrival of its first crew next month. It also paved the way for future station expansion. The Wednesday spacewalk began at 10 a.m. CDT and ended at 4:56 p.m., lasting 6 hours and 56 minutes. It brings the total spacewalk time for the STS-92 mission to 27 hours and 19 minutes, and for all 10 space station assembly spacewalks on five shuttle missions to 69 hours and 34 minutes.

Lopez-Alegria and Wisoff, with Koichi Wakata operating the arm, completed a series of wrap-up tasks during the EVA. They removed a grapple fixture from the Z1 truss, opened and closed a latch assembly that will hold the solar array truss when it arrives in December, deployed a tray that will be used to provide power to the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, scheduled to be attached to the station early next year, and tested the manual berthing mechanism latches that will support Destiny.

Wisoff opened and closed the latches on the capture assembly for the P6 solar arrays using a pistol grip tool. With it he made more than 125 turns to open the latches, then closed and reopened them. He left the capture latch, called "the claw," ready to receive the solar arrays, to be installed by the STS-97 crew in December.

An exercise to test techniques for returning an incapacitated astronaut to the air lock was cancelled because of time constraints.

After the space walk, Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy completed their third and final reboost of the space station, firing Discovery's reaction control system jets in a series of 18 pulses over a 30-minute period to gently raise the station's orbit to prepare it for the arrival of the first resident crew in early November. This reboost added another 1.7 statute miles to the station's average altitude, making the total for the mission just over 5 miles.

In what have been termed "clear the deck" tasks by lead EVA Officer Darryl Schuck, Lopez-Alegria and Wisoff, with an assist from robot arm operator, Koichi Wakata, will remove a grapple fixture from the Z1 Truss, verify the operation of the latch assembly that will capture the solar array truss when it arrives in December, deploy a tray that will be used to provide power to the U.S. Laboratory "Destiny" when it arrives early next year, and test the performance of the manual berthing mechanism latches that will support Destiny.

If time permits, the space walkers will also evaluate two safety protocols - testing a small nitrogen-powered back pack that could allow astronauts to navigate back to the station or shuttle in the event their safety tethers became disconnected, and demonstrating techniques for assisting an incapacitated astronaut during a space walk.

Lopez-Alegria, Wisoff and Wakata will team up to deploy the Z1 tray, as Lopez-Alegria on the robot arm holds the tray in place while Wisoff removes a total of four pins and then raises the tray from its position on the truss. Lopez-Alegria will guide the tray into its fully deployed position and will hold it in place to allow Wisoff to install the pins and latches that will hold it in place.

Wisoff will cycle the latches on the capture assembly for the solar arrays by using a pistol grip tool and making more than 125 turns to open the latches. He will then close and reopen the latches to ensure they are working properly and will leave the RTAS capture latch - known as "the claw" - ready to support the installation of the P6 solar arrays by the STS-97 crew in December. He also will verify the operation of the manual berthing mechanism capture system on the truss that will be used during installation of the Destiny laboratory module early next year.

Following today's space walk, Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Pam Melroy will once again pulse Discovery's reaction control system jets in a series of small firings to gently raise the station's orbit to prepare it for the arrival of the first resident crew in early November.

Once inside, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialist Jeff Wisoff will gather samples from various surfaces in the Zarya module to characterize the onboard environment and identify any microbial growth. They also will inspect and wipe down some surfaces and stowage bags with a fungicide to inhibit microbial growth. Melroy and Wisoff also team up to complete final connections and outfitting of the Z1 pressure dome that links cables between the externally mounted truss structure and the Unity module.

Mission Specialists Bill McArthur and Leroy Chiao will work together to check out the control moment gyros - the attitude control system integrated into the Z1 Truss - connecting a laptop computer to a local power bus and commanding on operational heaters to provide additional warmth for the CMGs prior to their activation following the arrival of the Destiny laboratory module early next year.

NASDA Astronaut Koichi Wakata once again will power up Discovery's robot arm, this time to conduct a photographic survey of the International Space Station.

All seven crew members will participate in transferring equipment between Discovery and the Unity and Zarya modules of the station. The bulk of the material to be transferred to the station includes computer equipment, hardware and IMAX camera equipment that will be used to document life on the station. In return, Discovery will carry a variety of material back to Earth, including a protein crystal growth experiment that has been on board the station since it was installed by the STS-106 crew in early September, becoming the first microgravity science experiment to be conducted on board the space station.

Late in the day, Commander Brian Duffy will begin the process of closing hatches between the Zarya and Unity modules as the seven-member crew leaves the space station. The final hatch closure between Discovery and the International Space Station should occur just before 4:30 p.m. CDT today. Discovery is scheduled to undock from the station Friday morning at 8:40 a.m. CDT.

Duffy, Melroy, Chiao and McArthur will take a break from their activities this morning to discuss their mission with Space.com, ABC Radio Network and KNX Radio, Los Angeles in a series of interviews beginning at 11:57 a.m. CDT.

Discovery has two landing opportunities Monday at KSC, where the weather is expected to be questionable, and three at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The second KSC and first Edwards opportunities are on the same orbit, six minutes apart. Edwards will be activated for a possible Monday landing, but weather there is expected to be marginal. Weather conditions at KSC are not expected to improve over the next two days, while improvement in California is forecast.

For the first Monday landing opportunity - to KSC - Discovery would fire its orbital maneuvering system engines at 12:43 p.m. CDT to begin its descent from orbit, with landing to follow at 1:51 p.m. The second Florida opportunity is one orbit later with a 2:21 p.m. deorbit burn resulting in a landing at 3:28 p.m.

The first opportunity to Edwards would see a deorbit burn at 2:15 p.m. CDT with landing at 3:23 p.m. The second would have Discovery's deorbit burn take place at 3:51 p.m. with landing at 4:58 p.m. and the final opportunity one orbit later with an engine firing at 5:29 p.m. and landing at 6:35 p.m.

Flight controllers in Houston will work through Monday morning to develop a landing plan based on conditions at the two sites.

After "deorbit backout" -- undoing their preparation to come home on Sunday -- the crew spent much of the afternoon relaxing and communicating with their families via computer. STS-92 Mission Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Mike Lopez-Alegria, Jeff Wisoff and Koichi Wakata, are scheduled to go to bed tonight shortly after 9 p.m. and be awakened at 5:17 a.m. Monday.

The International Space Station, from which Discovery undocked Friday, continued to function well. The station flight control room in the Mission Control Center continued to monitor systems on board. They watched and commanded heaters on the huge gyroscopes on the newly installed Z1 truss. The gyros will provide attitude control for the ISS, and the heaters are designed to protect them from damage by the cold of space.

The station trails Discovery by 248 statute miles. The distance is increasing by 5.4 miles each 90-minute orbit of the Earth.

Discovery is targeting a landing later today, after poor weather conditions in Florida and California kept the crew in space two days longer than originally planned. Duffy and his crew mates - Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Jeff Wisoff, Mike Lopez-Alegria and NASDA Astronaut Koichi Wakata - will begin their preparations for a return trip to Earth about 8:30 this morning, in anticipation of a landing at either the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base later today.

With continuing strong winds, cloud cover and rain at the Florida landing site, a landing there today remains unlikely. However, there is one opportunity for the crew to land in Florida if weather conditions improve significantly. That opportunity would see a deorbit burn at 1:21 p.m. with landing to follow at 2:28 p.m. An opportunity to return to KSC one orbit earlier, on Orbit 200, has already been ruled out due to the crew's activity timeline

On the west coast, improving weather conditions at Edwards Air Force Base hold promise for Discovery's return. Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain and his team will watch over the weather this morning and likely will adjust the crew's deorbit timeline to focus on the Edwards opportunities today.

On the first of two opportunities to land at Edwards today, Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines would fire in a deorbit burn at 2:52 p.m. as it passes over the Indian Ocean, just north of Madagascar and east of Kenya, and land at 3:59 p.m. Discovery would encounter the first traces of the atmosphere while flying over the South Pacific, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and east of Australia and continue its flight over the Pacific, passing well South of the Hawaiian Islands before arriving on the west coast of the United States. As it heads into Edwards Air Force Base, Discovery will pass just south of the Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands before crossing the California coastline over Los Angeles.

There is a second opportunity to Edwards with a deorbit burn starting the descent at 4:29 p.m. and landing at 5:35 p.m. A landing today brings to a close the 100th mission in Shuttle program history on a mission that paved the way for the first residents of the orbiting International Space Station.

Discovery touched down at 4 p.m. CDT and rolled to a stop on Edward's concrete runway at 4:0l, for a mission elapsed time of 12 days, 21 hours and 43 minutes.

The astronauts fired Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines for the deobrit burn at 2:52 p.m. as the spacecraft was over the Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar and east of Kenya. Discovery felt the first traces of the atmosphere about 78 statute miles over the South Pacific, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and east of Australia. The spacecraft passed south of Hawaii and crossed the California coast over Los Angeles. By the time it landed at Edwards, Discovery had traveled more than 5.3 million statute miles.

Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Jeff Wisoff, Mike Lopez-Alegria and NASDA Astronaut Koichi Wakata spent 6 days, 21 hours and 23 minutes docked to the ISS. They left a larger and more complete station that they had helped prepare for the early November arrival of the first station crew. They added two major components, increasing the mass of the ISS by about 10 tons to a total of about 80 tons.

In addition to the total of 27 hours, 19 minutes spent outside the station on the four spacewalks, -- two each by Chiao, McArthur, Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria, the astronauts spent 27 hours and 4 minutes inside, completing connections with the new elements and transferring equipment and supplies for the Expedition 1 crew.

Discovery's crew is scheduled to spend Tuesday night at Edwards. They are to return to Houston on Wednesday, where the crew return ceremony will be held at Ellington Field's Hangar 990 at about 1:30 p.m.

The Progress 9 vehicle linked up to the aft docking port of the Zvezda Service Module of the ISS at 12:01 p.m. Central time (1701 GMT) as the two spacecraft flew over Central Asia after a four-day flight following its launch Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The automated docking went off without a hitch as Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson, and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev viewed the arrival of the new capsule from inside Zvezda. A few minutes later, hooks and latches closed between the two vehicles to form an airtight seal.

Korzun was prepared to take over manual control of the Progress for the docking in the event its automated rendezvous system did not work, but the linkup was executed flawlessly.

The crew was scheduled to open hatches between Zvezda and Progress this afternoon and will begin unloading supplies from the craft on Monday.

Some of the supplies include clothing and personal items for the Expedition Six crew - Commander Ken Bowersox and Flight Engineers Nikolai Budarin and Don Pettit - who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-113 mission in November to replace Korzun, Whitson and Treschev following the completion of their 5 1/2 month mission.

The older Progress 8 vehicle, which arrived at the ISS in June and which was undocked on Tuesday, remains in orbit a safe distance away from the station, spending another 10 days aloft to enable Russian flight controllers to document smog and smoke over northeastern Russia through its cameras.

The Progress docking clears the way for the launch of Atlantis on the STS-112 mission Wednesday to deliver the 14-ton Starboard 1 (S1) Truss to the station. A Wednesday launch would result in Atlantis' docking to the ISS Friday. Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Fyodor Yurchikhin are in the final stages of their prelaunch preparations.

Aboard Atlantis are Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. A small television camera on the shuttle's external fuel tank captured a unique view of the Earth as Atlantis headed into orbit.

Less than nine minutes after launch, Atlantis and its crewmembers settled into orbit and work began to prepare for a planned 11-day mission.

As Atlantis headed toward space, on board the ISS, Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev were completing their 124th day in orbit and their 122nd day aboard the station. At the time of Atlantis' launch, the space station orbited 240 statute miles above the Pacific Ocean west of Ecuador.

Atlantis' crew is setting up equipment on board and preparing to open the shuttle's payload bay doors to begin orbital operations prior to heading to bed just before 9 p.m.

Atlantis is scheduled to dock to the station at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, setting the stage for the installation of the S1 truss on the starboard side of the S0 truss, which arrived at the ISS in April. Three spacewalks are scheduled during the mission by Wolf and Sellers to help activate the new truss' systems. The S1 truss is the fourth of 11 truss segments which will form the structural backbone for the station and provide the cooling and support for new solar arrays to be delivered to the station next year.

The shuttle crew will be awakened at 4:46 a.m. Tuesday to begin its first full day in orbit and to prepare for Wednesday's docking.

After arising at 4:46 a.m. CDT, the crew began its first full day on orbit with Pilot Pam Melroy assisting Mission Specialists Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers in a checkout of spacewalk suits and equipment. Commander Jeff Ashby worked with the prime robotic arm operator, Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus, to verify the arm's readiness. Ashby and Magnus powered up the arm for a video survey of Atlantis' payload bay.

In preparation for Wednesday's rendezvous and docking with the station at 10:24 a.m., the crew set up the orbiter docking system's centerline camera, extended the orbiter's spring-loaded ring that will make first contact, and checked out rendezvous tools.

The crew successfully completed three Orbital Maneuvering System burns to boost the orbiter into the station's orbit and refine its approach path to the station.

Science already is getting underway on Atlantis with Wolf leading check-out activities for the SHIMMER experiment sponsored by the Naval Research Lab. The Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals experiment uses an ultraviolet sensing camera to observe the Earth's atmosphere at 40-90 kilometers looking for possible ozone loss. The experiment proved a bit balky, but with help from Mission Control the crew worked out steps to ready the gear for observations during the mission.

Meanwhile, the space station residents readied their home for the first visitors in the123 days since their arrival at the vehicle. Peggy Whitson and crewmates Valery Korzun and Sergei Treschev have been prepacking materials to return on Atlantis and to make room for about 7,500 pounds of gear arriving at the station.

Whitson has been sending letters describing her life on the International Space Station back to Earth over the last few months. Her most recent letter describes her anticipation and preparations for the shuttle visitors.

Both crews will head for sleep two hours earlier than Monday at 6:46 pm to get plenty of rest before Wednesday's busy day. Rendezvous operations begin at 5:06 a.m., with station docking scheduled for 10:24 a.m. Hatch opening between Atlantis and the station is expected at 12:36 p.m.

Aboard Atlantis, Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin were awakened at 4:46 a.m. to the song "Venus and Mars" by Paul McCartney and Wings. It was for Wolf, requested by his wife, Tammy.

The Expedition Five crew, Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev – in their 18th week in space – were awakened at 3 a.m. Atlantis' crew will be their first visitors since June. They are shifting their sleep schedules to prepare for the week of docked operations with Atlantis.

Today, Atlantis' crew focuses on preparations for rendezvous and docking by checking out the necessary tools. The crew also will prepare the spacesuits to be used during the three planned spacewalks by Wolf and Sellers scheduled for Thursday, Saturday and Monday. The shuttle's robotic arm also will be checked out and used to survey the payload bay, including the Starboard 1 (S1) Truss.

This afternoon the centerline camera will be mounted in the Orbiter Docking System hatch to assist Ashby as he guides the orbiter in for docking. The crew then will extend the docking ring, which makes first contact with the station.

The station crew is continuing with science operations and standard exercise activities. Whitson is working with radiation monitors for Wolf and Sellers, who will conduct the spacewalks to hook up the S1 after it is lifted from Atlantis' cargo bay and installed on the station Thursday. She will activate the monitor's badge readers and do pre-spacewalk background readings.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at about 6:30 p.m. today.

All efforts pointed toward the deployment and installation of the Starboard One (S1) Truss. Pilot Pam Melroy, Space Station Commander Valery Korzun, and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Piers Sellers, and Fyodor Yurchikhin configured the spacesuits for Thursday's spacewalk. Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus and NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson reviewed robotic arm operations for moving the new truss segment into place. Sergei Treschev, ISS Flight Engineer, participated in the safety briefing for the station visitors.

Thursday, Magnus and Whitson will use the Canadarm2 from inside Destiny to grapple the huge S1 Truss, take it out of Atlantis' payload bay and move it into position at the starboard end of the S0 Truss. After the segments are soft-mated, capture bolts will make the mating solid. With the truss firmly attached to the station, the spacewalkers will exit the station.

Tomorrow's EVA begins three days of spacewalks – Thursday, Saturday and Monday - at the station-shuttle complex. Shuttle and Mir veteran Wolf and space rookie Sellers will perform the EVAs, which are primarily focused on the installation and hookup of the S1 segment. In Thursday's six-hour spacewalk, Wolf and Sellers will connect power, data and fluid umbilicals between the segments; install a camera and antenna assembly; and release a number of launch restraints. Wolf will ride on the end of the robotic arm for most of the excursion, while Sellers will be a "free floater" moving around the truss structure.

Tonight the crew is scheduled to begin its sleep period at 6:46 p.m. with the wake-up call to sound at 3:16 a.m. Thursday.

Shortly after the musical wakeup call to the crew at 2:46 this morning – Tina Turner's "The Best" for Commander Jeff Ashby from his wife, Paige – the shuttle crew focused its attention on the rendezvous and docking procedures that will culminate with the orbiter docking to a port on the U.S. Destiny Lab of the station.

The Terminal Initiation burn preceding the final approach is planned for 8:04 a.m. and occurs with the two spacecraft 50,000 feet apart. That is followed by a series of four small correction burns, which set the stage for Ashby's taking manual control of Atlantis' thruster jets as he looks out the overhead and rear windows of the flight deck. He will fly Atlantis to a point 600 feet below the station, then begin a quarter circle alignment of the orbiter's docking system and Destiny, which will place the shuttle about 300 feet in front of the station.

Assisting with the rendezvous using lasers and computers are the remaining shuttle crewmembers, including Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin.

Awaiting the arrival of Atlantis are the three station crewmembers – Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev – in their 126th day in space.

Thursday will see the installation of the station's newest component – the Starboard 1 (S1) Truss – and shortly thereafter, the first of three planned spacewalks will begin by Wolf and Sellers to connect power, data and fluid lines between S1 and the station.

Crew sleep is set to begin about 6:30 this evening.

Expedition Five's Peggy Whitson and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus will use the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to install the 45-foot long, 15-ton structure beginning about 5:30 this morning. Simultaneously, Astronauts Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers will prepare for the first of three spacewalks to attach plumbing, data and electrical lines to bring S1 to life. They plan to exit the Quest Airlock at about 9:40 a.m. and can easily be identified while outside. Wolf will wear a suit with solid red stripes, while Sellers will wear an all white spacesuit.

Throughout the spacewalk, Pilot Pam Melroy will be inside offering guidance and advice to the spacewalkers and keeping them on schedule. Shuttle Commander Jeff Ashby will operate the shuttle robotic arm providing camera views for documentation.

Following grapple of the S1, Magnus and Whitson will move it into position at the starboard end of the first truss segment where it will be secured in place by four remotely operated bolts. That first segment was delivered on a shuttle flight earlier this year.

In addition to hooking up power, data and fluid lines, Wolf and Sellers will release locks on a beam allowing S1's radiators to be oriented for optimal cooling. They also will deploy an antenna and release restraints on a handcar, which can be used to move spacewalkers and equipment along the truss. The next spacewalk, or Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is planned for Saturday to continue hooking S1 connections to the station.

S1 is the third of what will be 11 segments of the Integrated Truss delivered to the station. The truss eventually will stretch 356 feet from end to end and will support four huge solar wing assemblies, one pair of which is already atop the station's P6 Truss. The truss also will support cooling radiators and the first railroad in space, capable of carrying the robotic arm to assembly and maintenance sites around the station.

The workday began at 3 a.m. with a musical wakeup call to Atlantis' crew from Mission Control, Houston. The "medley of childhood songs" was played for Magnus from her family. The Expedition Five crew, Commander Valery Korzun, Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev, woke aboard the station at the same time.

The crew is scheduled to go to bed about 8 o'clock this evening.

Expedition Five's Peggy Whitson and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus used the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the 45-foot-long, 14-ton S1 structure, remove it from Atlantis' cargo bay and move it to the starboard end of S0. Motorized bolts locked the two truss segments together at 8:36 a.m. CDT.

Wolf and Sellers ventured outside the station's Quest airlock at 10:21 a.m. Their first task was to connect power, data and fluid lines between the S0 and the S1 trusses. As Wolf worked to accomplish this task, Sellers, on his first spacewalk, released the locks on three folded-up radiators mounted to the S1, allowing S1's radiators to be oriented for optimal cooling

Wolf and Sellers then worked together to install a new S-band antenna assembly. Wolf, attached to the end of the station robotic arm, moved the antenna into position. He then tightened stanchion bolts to lock the antenna into place near the end of the S1 Truss where it connects to the S0 as Sellers held it in place. The new component will increase the S-band data and voice communications capability from the space station to ground controllers.

The duo then went to work releasing restraints that had held the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart to the S1 for launch and configure its brakes. The CETA cart, a handcar that rides along rails on the station's truss, can be used to move spacewalkers and equipment.

Installation of the S1's outboard nadir external camera was the final major task of the spacewalk. The camera, launched on Atlantis' middeck, is the first of two that will be installed on S1. They will be used as situational awareness tools for spacewalkers and robotic arm operators.

Throughout the spacewalk, Pilot Pam Melroy was inside, offering guidance and advice to the spacewalkers and keeping them on schedule. She had help with arm operations and spacewalk guidance from controllers in the International Space Station Flight Control Room because the spacewalk originated out of the station's Quest airlock. Shuttle Commander Jeff Ashby operated the shuttle robotic arm, providing camera views for documentation.

Following an inventory of the tools they used during the spacewalk and cleanup activities, Wolf and Sellers re-entered Quest. Airlock repressurization began at 5:22 p.m., signaling the end of the spacewalk.

The crew moved a number of scientific experiments back and forth between the vehicles to return completed experiments to Earth and deploy new experiments at the station. Transfer items included a set of liver cell tissue samples from an experiment studying the function of human liver cells in microgravity, moved from the station onto the shuttle for return to Earth. Payload experiments such as Marshall Space Flight Center's protein crystal growth thermal enclosures for growing high-quality protein crystals in micro-gravity experiments were moved to and from the station. Seven water containers were transferred to the station.

Commander Jeff Ashby initiated a nitrogen transfer process that moved about 15 pounds of the gas from the shuttle to the station by the end of Friday. About another 35 pounds will be transferred through Flight Day 8.

STS-112 spacewalkers Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers, assisted by Pilot Pam Melroy, readied the EVA equipment for Saturday's excursion outside the station-shuttle complex. They recharged water on the extravehicular mobility unit, configured their tools and prepared the airlock.

Since it wasn't an EVA day, there was time for the crew to relate their experiences to several media organizations during live interviews. STS-112 Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus, Wolf and Sellers discussed Thursday's EVA and first-time experiences in space with CBS Radio Network and Cable News Network (CNN). Russian Commander Valery Korzun, Expedition Five Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev and STS-112 Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin participated in several interviews with the Russian press.

This evening, shortly before sleep, the crew reviewed procedures for tomorrow's spacewalk. Saturday the spacewalkers reverse positions for most of the EVA, with Sellers riding the arm and Wolf free-floating while tethered to the station. They'll attach umbilicals, install a second camera - this time on the U.S. laboratory Destiny, install spool positioning devices to quick disconnect fittings on ammonia lines and release radiator beam launch locks.

Completing the day, the crew had a joint meal in the Service Module. Wake up time Saturday is 4:16 a.m.

On Thursday, crewmembers attached the 14-ton, 45-foot Starboard One (S1) truss to the station, using the station's Canadarm2 operated by Atlantis' Sandy Magnus and NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson. That was followed by the first of three planned spacewalks by Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers to complete a series of tasks, including connecting power lines to the station.

The spacewalk lasted 7 hours, 1 minute and brings the total time for ISS assembly via Extravehicular Activity (EVA) to 272 hours, 45 minutes.

In addition to the time off and transfer operations, Wolf and Sellers will prepare the tools and other equipment for use during tomorrow's second spacewalk. Just before their evening meal, crewmembers will gather to review Quest Airlock procedures for the spacewalk, which is expected to begin about 9:40 a.m. Saturday.

The crew will take part in two interviews today. First, the three Russian crewmembers – Expedition Five Commander Valery Korzun, Expedition Five Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev and STS-112 Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin – will discuss the mission with Russian press beginning at 10:46 a.m. Later in the day at 1:56 p.m., Wolf, Sellers, Magnus and possibly other crewmembers will be interviewed by CBS Radio, Fox News and the Cable News Network (CNN). Both interviews can be seen on NASA Television.

Today's wakeup call to Pilot Pam Melroy and the rest of Atlantis' crew came at 3:46 a.m. "Oh Thou Tupelo," performed by the Wellesley College Choir, was for Melroy, a 1983 graduate. The station crew woke up about 4:15 a.m. today.

The Atlantis and ISS complex is orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 244 statute miles.

The spacewalk began at 9:31 a.m. CDT and ended about a half-hour early at about 3:35 p.m. CDT for an official duration of six hours, four minutes. About six and a half hours had originally been allotted for the spacewalk, the second of three ventures outside the station planned for Wolf and Sellers during STS-112 to set up the new station S1 (S-One) truss segment delivered by Atlantis.

The duo prepared a new handcar system for future use on the station's truss-mounted railway. Called the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid, the car will allow astronauts to propel themselves, maintenance and construction equipment hand-over-hand along what eventually will be a 100-yard railway atop the station's truss. The spacewalkers also installed 22 Spool Positioning Devices (SPDs) on station ammonia cooling line connections, devices that will prevent a possible condition that could lock up those connections, preventing them from being opened if needed.

Two more such devices were to be installed during the spacewalk, bringing the total to 24, but they were not attached. Due to a different configuration than anticipated on the two line connections in question, the additional two SPDs would not have fit properly. However, space station engineers and managers have determined those two connections are in a satisfactory condition and will not require any further work.

Other work included the installation of an additional exterior station television camera outside of the Destiny Laboratory; hooking up an ammonia supply for lines to a radiator on the new truss segment that will be deployed Monday afternoon; and checking equipment that will be used to add the next starboard truss segment to the station in the fall of 2003.

During today's spacewalk, STS-112 Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus and ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson operated the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, using it to position the spacewalkers at various times. Prior to today's outing by Wolf and Sellers, Atlantis Commander Jeff Ashby and Pilot Pam Melroy fired the shuttle's small steering jets periodically over the course of an hour to boost the altitude of the shuttle and station by about 4 statute miles. The shuttle will perform another boost of altitude for the complex tomorrow, raising it an additional 2 miles.

The station and shuttle crews will begin a sleep period at 7:46 p.m. CDT and awaken at 3:46 a.m. CDT Sunday.

The Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, is set to begin about 9:40 this morning and is planned to last about 6 1/2 hours. It includes installation of devices to prevent pressure buildup in line fittings; connecting cooling system lines; removing launch restraints from a radiator which will be deployed Sunday, and installing a second camera.

The Spool Positioning Devices (SPDs) are designed to prevent pressure buildup in Quick Disconnect fittings, which could make it impossible to disconnect fittings, if necessary. Sellers and Wolf will install 24 of the devices – most of which are on ammonia lines – during the spacewalk.

Sellers, in the all-white spacesuit, will ride the station's robotic arm to the S1 Truss worksite to hook up nitrogen lines used to pressurize the ammonia system, while Wolf, wearing the suit with red stripes, releases launch restraints on the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid – a handcar on the truss rails. Peggy Whitson, NASA ISS science officer, and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus will operate the robot arm. As with the first spacewalk Thursday, Pilot Pam Melroy will choreograph the EVA from Atlantis' flight deck.

Prior to the spacewalk, Commander Jeff Ashby and Melroy will gently raise the altitude of the station by firing small thrusters on Atlantis. This reboost maneuver will increase the altitude of the complex from 238 statute miles (383 kilometers) to 242 sm (389 km).

Atlantis' crew was awakened at 2:46 a.m. today by the song "Push It," performed by the group Garbage. It was for Sellers, requested by his family. The station crew woke up about 30 minutes later.

Atlantis and station crewmembers are scheduled to go to bed about 7:30 tonight.

Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers once again will conduct the spacewalk out of the Quest Airlock beginning about 9:40 this morning. It is the 46th spacewalk devoted to the assembly and maintenance of the station. Today they will focus on the removal and stowage of launch support brackets no longer required; installation of additional clamps on fittings to prevent pressure buildup in fluid lines; install an attach bracket for a future station truss element; and remove a balky bolt preventing activation of a cable cutter on the Mobile Transporter.

Ahead of the spacewalk, Atlantis' thrusters will again be used to gently raise the station's altitude another couple of miles. The reboost lasts about 35 minutes and sets the stage for the arrival of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 28. The Soyuz serves as the emergency rescue vehicle of the station and must be replaced about every six months.

Shortly after crew wakeup today, one of the three cooling radiators on the newly installed S1 Truss was deployed serving as a mechanical test for the deployment system. The deployment to its full length of 75 feet began at 3:01 a.m. and was completed nine minutes later. The task was delayed from Sunday for an electrical adjustment. The radiator is not needed operationally until next year.

Peggy Whitson, NASA ISS science officer, and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus will operate the station's robot arm throughout the spacewalk, while Pilot Pam Melroy will again choreograph the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) from Atlantis' flight deck. Wolf will wear the spacesuit with red stripes and Sellers' suit will be all white.

Today's wakeup music for Dave Wolf from his wife Tammy was "You Gave Me The Answer," by Paul McCartney and Wings and came at 2:46 a.m. The station crewmembers awakened about 30 minutes later.

The spacewalk began at 9:11 a.m., and was the 46th devoted to assembly and maintenance of the station. Making quick work of their first task, to remove a bolt preventing activation of a cable cutter on the mobile transporter, Wolf and Sellers moved on to connect ammonia lines and remove structural support clamps that held the truss in place during launch. With Sellers and Wolf working well ahead of schedule, an additional "get ahead" task – installing Spool Positioning Devices on a pump motor assembly – was added to the spacewalk. The pump motor assembly helps to circulate ammonia through the station's cooling system. Throughout today's spacewalk the station's robotic arm, which was used as a work platform by Sellers and Wolf, was operated by NASA's ISS science officer Peggy Whitson and Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus.

Earlier in the day at 6:20 a.m. Commander Jeff Ashby and Pilot Pam Melroy pulsed Atlantis' thrusters for 35 minutes gently raising the altitude of the station by 2.3 miles. The combined results of two reboost maneuvers by Atlantis increased the station's altitude by a total of six miles, setting the stage for the arrival of a replacement Soyuz spacecraft, set for launch on October 28.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to awaken at 3:46 a.m. Tuesday with the station crew awakening about one-half hour later. Tuesday will see some scheduled off-duty time for the two crews, allowing them some final hours together before Wednesday's scheduled undocking and departure of Atlantis from the station.

Atlantis Commander Jeff Ashby and Expedition Five Science Officer Peggy Whitson put on their air-conditioning maintenance caps, removing and replacing a humidity separator in the station's Quest airlock. That device, which removes excess moisture from the airlock's atmosphere, had been exhibiting some leakage attributed to a clogged filter. The repair work went as planned, and the old unit is destined to come home in the same space on Atlantis that carried up the fresh unit.

Loadmaster Sandy Magnus coordinated the final transfer of equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the station, as well as the packing of items that are being returned to Earth on the shuttle. A total of about 1,800 pounds of supplies were delivered to the station, and an equal amount will be brought back.

The joint crew will be awakened at 2:46 a.m. CDT Wednesday and begin final departure preparations. The two crews will conduct a final farewell ceremony at 5:59 a.m., then gather on the opposite sides of their hatches and close the doors.

Undocking is scheduled for 8:13 a.m. After Pilot Pam Melroy gently eases Atlantis out to a distance of 450 feet, she will fire its reaction control system thrusters and begin a slow fly-around of the station so that her crewmates may take still and video pictures of the station with its newest addition, the Starboard 1 truss structure. Melroy expects to fly at least halfway around the station before separating, but if propellant supplies allow she may be able to make one complete revolution.

Once back on their own, the Expedition Five voyagers – 131 days into their mission, 129 as station crewmembers – return their attention to unpacking a Russian Progress supply vehicle that arrived in late September, and packing up belongings for their own return home scheduled for late November aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. Endeavour rolled out to its Kennedy Space Center launch pad over the weekend, and the next station addition, a Port 1 truss segment, was loaded in the cargo bay today.

Between now and then, Expedition Five will receive more guests from Earth when a new Russian Soyuz emergency return vehicle and crew arrive following launch Oct. 28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Following undocking, Atlantis will back away from the ISS to a distance of about 450 feet before completing at least a half lap fly around of the complex with its new truss segment installed before departing the station's vicinity at 10 a.m. and prepare to come home to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:45 Friday morning. Expedition Five's ride home is next month aboard Endeavour following its mission to deliver a mirror image truss segment to the S1.

Atlantis departs after delivering about 1,800 pounds of supplies and experiments to the station and returning about the same weight of cargo to Earth. It also leaves behind the S1 (Starboard One) Truss segment weighing almost 15 tons and spanning 45 feet. It continues the outward expansion of the truss that eventually will be 356 feet long.

The work to install the S1 was accomplished during three spacewalks totaling more than 19 hours that included hooking up power, data and ammonia lines linking S1 to the station; deploying antennas, installing TV cameras, preparing a handcar for use on the truss' railway, readying S1's three large radiators for use and installing devices to ensure quick disconnect fittings in fluid lines will work.

Later this morning, the shuttle performs its own experiment when SHIMMER is activated to measure Hydroxyl in the upper atmosphere. Hydroxyl plays a role in the ozone destroying chemical process and helps in measuring water vapor and temperature over a broad altitude range.

The day began for the shuttle and station crews with a wakeup call from Mission Control at 2:52 a.m. The Alan Parsons Project's "Prime Time" was played for Pilot Pam Melroy, requested by her husband, Chris.

Following undocking, Pilot Pam Melroy flew Atlantis a partial lap around the station, as her crewmates used cameras to document its latest addition and overall condition. At 10 a.m., she fired Atlantis' engines in a final separation maneuver, leaving the Expedition Five crew - Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev - to continue stowing away many of the items that were transferred over the past week and preparing for the early November arrival of a new Soyuz return vehicle, and its visiting crew.

Flying solo, the focus on board Atlantis is on preparing for a return trip to Earth on Friday. Commander Jeff Ashby, Melroy and flight engineer Sandy Magnus will check out Atlantis' flight control systems and test fire its reaction control system jets in preparation for re-entry and landing. The entire crew also will begin packing up the cameras, equipment and hardware they've used over the course of the past 10 days in space.

The Atlantis crew will be awakened at 2:16 a.m. to begin what should be its final full day in orbit with landing scheduled for 10:44 a.m. CDT Friday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Expedition Five crew will awaken at 3:30 a.m., settling into a slightly later than normal shift to support the upcoming visits of the Soyuz taxi crew and Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus activated one of three hydraulic power units on Atlantis, tested all of the orbiter's aerosurfaces, and then test-fired the steering jets. All of the systems are in good shape for reentry and landing. The remaining crew members - Dave Wolf, Piers Sellers and Fyodor Yurchikhin - continued packing up gear and hardware in anticipation of tomorrow's landing.

Atlantis has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Friday. The first begins with a deorbit burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 9:36 a.m., followed by a landing at 10:44 a.m. Central (11:44 a.m. Eastern.) In the event weather prevents a landing on that first opportunity, there is a second opportunity, beginning with a deorbit burn at 11:16 a.m. and resulting in a 12:21 p.m. Central (1:21 p.m. Eastern) landing in Florida.

Tomorrow's weather forecast for the shuttle landing facility at KSC is favorable. The backup-landing site at California's Edwards Air Force Base was not called up for support Friday. Atlantis has sufficient consumables to remain in orbit, if necessary, until Tuesday.

Atlantis' crew will begin a scheduled eight-hour sleep period at 6:16 p.m. today, waking just after 2 a.m. Friday to prepare for a homecoming to the Kennedy Space Center. Actual deorbit preparations will get underway at 5:40 a.m. Atlantis' payload bay doors are scheduled to be closed at 6:56 a.m. and the crewmembers will get into their seats at 8:36 a.m.

Meanwhile, aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition Five crew - Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev - enjoyed a few hours of off-duty time today. Tomorrow they will turn their attention back to unpacking the Russian Progress resupply vehicle that arrived at the station in late September.

The first steps in changing Atlantis from a spaceship to an airplane are to test its aero surfaces, required as the orbiter begins to interact with the upper atmosphere on reentry and landing. Also tested today are the thruster jets on the nose and tail of Atlantis which maneuver the vehicle prior to dropping below 400,000 feet in altitude following the deorbit burn.

Atlantis' computers systematically deactivate these jets when desired air pressure readings are detected at various stages throughout entry and landing.

The crew of Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin spend the day stowing equipment, supplies and belongings in preparation for tomorrow's anticipated return to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

At 11:46 this morning, the crew will discuss the success of the mission with media representatives from the AP Radio Network, KMOX Radio of St. Louis and WISH-TV of Indianapolis. The interview will air on NASA Television.

Behind the shuttle at a distance of 120 miles (193 kilometers), the ISS Expedition Five crew of Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev are preparing for their next visitors, a Soyuz taxi crew scheduled to arrive late this month. The taxi crew will return to Earth in the Soyuz at the station, which is nearing its certified on orbit life limit.

The shuttle crew began its last full day on orbit with a wakeup call from Mission Control at 2:18 a.m. The song "These are the Days" performed by Natalie Merchant was played for Sellers at the request of his wife.

Atlantis' crew sleep begins at about 6:30 this evening and the crew will be awakened at 2:16 a.m. Friday to begin landing preparations.

Atlantis has two landing opportunities at KSC. The first begins with the firing of the shuttle's braking rockets at 9:36 a.m. and a landing at 10:44 a.m. CDT. A second opportunity for a KSC landing would see the deorbit burn at 11:16 a.m. and a landing at 12:21 p.m. Forecasts call for favorable weather for landing, with scattered clouds, good visibility and 10-knot winds.

The backup-landing site at California's Edwards Air Force Base will not be activated today. Atlantis has enough consumables to stay in orbit until Tuesday.

The crew, Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, was awakened at 2:25 a.m. by "Someday Soon," performed by Suzy Bogguss. It was for Ashby, requested by his wife.

Deorbit preparations began about 5:40 a.m. The payload bay doors are to be closed at 6:56 a.m.

About 3,000 miles behind the shuttle, the ISS Expedition 5 crew, Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev, is in its 135th day in space. Crewmembers are awaiting a taxi crew scheduled to arrive late this month with a replacement for the Soyuz now at the station. Expedition 5 is to return home on the STS-113 mission of Endeavour, scheduled for launch with their Expedition 6 replacements no earlier than Nov. 10.

During the week it was docked to the station, Atlantis did two reboosts of the orbiting laboratory, raising its altitude by about six miles. Another station reboost was performed about 3:25 a.m. today using the engines of the Progress unpiloted cargo carrier docked to the rear of the Zvezda Service Module. It was to raise the station's altitude an additional 6.9 miles and adjust the orbit for the arrival of the new Soyuz. The station's average altitude after the reboost was expected to be 249 miles.

If Atlantis lands on time, crewmembers are tentatively scheduled to return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston Saturday afternoon.

• Orbiter Docking System - Bay 1-2 - 1800 kg
• Spacesuit EMU 3004 - 130 kg
• Spacesuit EMU 3003 - 130 kg
• Station Power Distribution Unit SPDU - Bay 3P - 100 kg
• Fixture for return of S-band Antenna - SASA FSE - Bay 3P - 4S - 100 kg
• Power/Data Grapple Fixture for Node-2 - PDGF - Bay 5P - 50 kg
• Main Bus Switching Unit - MBSU - Bay 6S - 238 kg
• MBSU adapter - Bay 6S - 122 kg
• Station Power Distribution Unit - SPDU - Bay 6S - 7P - 100 kg
• Node-2 Harmony module - Bays 8-12 - 14,300 kg
• OBSS 203 - Sill 450 kg
• RMS 301 - Sill 410 kg

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #02.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #01.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #04.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #03.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #5.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #6.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #10.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #09.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #12.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #13.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #26.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #27.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #29.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #31.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #32.