Robinson Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Single. Born in Sacramento, California, USA. PhD

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 15 - 1995. Active Entered space service: 9 December 1994. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 34.65 days. Number of EVAs: 3.00. Total EVA Time: 0.84 days.

NAME: Stephen K. Robinson (Ph.D.)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born October 26, 1955, in Sacramento, California. Unmarried. Enjoys flying, antique aircraft, swimming, canoeing, hiking, music, art, computer graphics and stereo photography. His parents, William and Joyce Robinson, reside in Moraga, California.

.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Campolindo High School, Moraga, California, 1973; Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical/aeronautical engineering from University of California at Davis, 1978; Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, 1985; Doctorate in mechanical engineering, with a minor in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, 1990.

ORGANIZATIONS:

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Aerospace Medical Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association.

SPECIAL HONORS:

NASA Ames Honor Award for Scientist (1989); American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Outstanding Technical Paper Award for Applied Aerodynamics (co-author) (1992); NASA/Space Club G.M. Low Memorial Engineering Fellowship (1993).

EXPERIENCE:

Robinson started work for NASA in 1975 as a student co-op at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. After graduation from University of California at Davis, he joined NASA Ames as a research scientist in the fields of fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, experimental instrumentation, and computational scientific visualization. While at Ames, Robinson earned masters and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering at Stanford University, with research emphasis in turbulence physics, and additional research in human eye dynamics. In 1990, Robinson was selected as Chief of the Experimental Flow Physics Branch at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with responsibility for 8 wind tunnels and an engineering staff engaged in aerodynamics and fluids research. In 1993, Robinson was awarded the NASA/Space Club G.M. Low Memorial Engineering Fellowship, and was assigned for 15-months to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as Visiting Engineer in the Man Vehicle Laboratory (MVL). As an MVL team-member, he conducted neurovestibular research on astronauts on the Spacelab Life Sciences 2 Shuttle mission (STS-58). Other MIT research included EVA dynamics for satellite capture and space construction. While in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson was also a visiting scientist at the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, doing research on environmental modeling for flight simulation, cockpit human factors for GPS-guided instrument approach procedures, and moving-map displays. Robinson returned to NASA Langley in September 1994, where he accepted a dual assignment as research scientist in the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Branch, and as leader of the Aerodynamics and Acoustics element of NASA's General Aviation Technology program. Robinson has over 1000 hours in aircraft ranging from antique taildraggers to NASA jets.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Dr. Robinson reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation and was assigned to the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) for the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:

Dr. Robinson will serve as a mission specialist on the crew of STS-85 during Discovery's 11-day mission to study changes in the Earth's atmosphere. STS-85 is targeted for a July 1997 launch.

• 7 August 1997 Flight: STS-85. Flight Up: STS-85. Flight Back: STS-85. Flight Time: 11.85 days.

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

• 26 July 2005 Flight: STS-114. Flight Up: STS-114. Flight Back: STS-114. Flight Time: 13.90 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.

CRISTA-SPAS was deployed by the RMS arm at 22:27 GMT on August 7 and was recaptured by Discovery's RMS arm at 15:14 GMT on August 16. Because of unfavorable weather conditions at the primary shuttle landing site at the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery was waved off for its scheduled August 18 landing. STS-85 landed the next day, at Kennedy Space Center at 11:08 GMT.

Three hours and ten minutes into the flight, astronaut John Glenn, Discovery's Payload Specialist 2, relayed his first communication to Mission Control as the Shuttle flew 342 miles above Hawaii.

"Hello, Houston. This is PS 2 and they got me sprung out of the middeck for a little while. We are just going by Hawaii and that is absolutely gorgeous," Glenn said.

"Roger that. Glad you are enjoying the show," responded Mission Control Capcom Bob Curbeam.

"Enjoying the show is right. This is beautiful. The best part is ... a trite old statement: zero-g and I feel fine," Glenn said.

Less than two hours later, Discovery's Commander Curt Brown noted that the mission had surpassed the four-hour, fifty-five minutes, 23 seconds duration of Glenn's 1962 flight on Friendship 7. Discovery is scheduled to remain in orbit for a total of eight days, twenty-one hours and fifty minutes. As the astronauts' day wound down, Brown narrated a videotape of Glenn, Chiaki Mukai and Steve Robinson recorded on the Shuttle's lower deck during the climb to orbit. The video showed Glenn, Mukai and Robinson from liftoff through shut off of the Shuttle's main engines.

The crew quickly entered and began research work with experiments in the Spacehab module during the evening, as well as powering up a variety of studies mounted in the Shuttle's payload bay. The experiments range from technology tests of Hubble Space Telescope equipment to studies of the sense of balance using fish as subjects to investigations of the ultraviolet radiation environment.

As the crew sleeps, the research will continue as Glenn takes a special thermistor capsule before bed that will record his body's core temperature during the night as part of mission's sleep research. Discovery is in excellent condition with few problems reported by the crew or noted by flight controllers, and no issues that are of concern as a significant impact to the flight.

At launch, an 18 x 22 inch door to a compartment that holds the Shuttle's drag chute apparently came loose a few seconds before liftoff. The loss of the 11-pound door is not expected to have any impact on the flight and does not affect the safety of the crew. While setting up equipment in orbit, the crew noted a slight water leak from a hose associated with a new system, being flown as a test on Discovery, that removes iodine from the Shuttle's drinking water. Flight controllers requested the crew simply not use the new system and instead use a proven older system that accomplishes the same task.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Steve Lindsey and Payload Specialist John Glenn took a few minutes break from the research work to provide a status on the mission thus far, with Glenn describing his adaptation to weightlessness and the views of Earth from Discovery. Early this afternoon, the crew released the Petite Amateur Naval Satellite, or PANSAT, which is now trailing Discovery by about 27 miles, increasing that distance by about 9 miles with each orbit. PANSAT, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, will remain in orbit and test innovative technologies to capture and transmit radio signals that normally would be lost because the original signals were too weak or contained too much interference.

Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Scott Parazynski unstowed and checked out Discovery's 50-foot long robot arm, finding everything in good condition and ready for Sunday's scheduled deployment of the SPARTAN solar science spacecraft. Robinson and Parazynski also surveyed the exterior of Discovery, observing a small piece of loose insulation on the left rear of the spacecraft. The loose insulation poses no problems for the Shuttle. The crew also used the arm to test a new wireless camera technology that can be used with reflectors in the cargo bay to develop a system that may lead to a new alignment aid for arm operators.

The crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at about 11:10 p.m. and awaken at 7:10 a.m. Central time on Saturday to begin day three of the mission. Discovery is orbiting at an altitude of 349 statute miles by 340 statute miles, circling the Earth once every one hour, 35 minutes and 54 seconds.

The crew also began several of the medical studies planned for the flight that investigate how the human body changes in weightlessness and how those changes compare with those that occur as part of the natural aging process on Earth. For those studies, 77-year old Payload Specialist John Glenn began providing some of the 10 blood samples and 16 urine samples that will be taken during the mission to study the effects of space flight on his body.

The checkout of equipment that will be used for tomorrow's deploy of the Spartan included a check of the Orbiter Space Vision System by astronauts Steve Robinson and Scott Parazynski. The system uses special markings on the satellite and shuttle cargo bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's operator derived from shuttle television images. It will be used extensively on the next Space Shuttle flight in December, STS-88, as an aid in using the arm to join together the first two International Space Station modules. Later this evening, a check of navigation equipment and aids that will be used during the Spartan release was scheduled.

Glenn and Commander Curt Brown also took time out from the experiment work to speak with students in Ohio and Virginia about the scientific activities aboard Discovery. Discovery remains in excellent condition with no equipment problems to interrupt the ongoing research.

The shuttle is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 340 statute miles. The crew is scheduled to go to sleep tonight at 10:35 p.m. and awaken at 6:35 a.m. Central on Sunday.

Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, using Discovery's robotic arm, lifted the Spartan satellite from the shuttle's cargo bay and released it into orbit at 12:59 p.m. Central. A few minutes later, after a maneuver by the satellite indicated it was operating properly, Commander Curt Brown fired Discovery's jets to move away. Brown maintained a distance from six to 10 statute miles from the satellite for about nine hours while several tests of an experimental communications system on Spartan were conducted, using the Shuttle as a relay station. After a couple of minor problems early on, the communications link has worked well. Spartan normally requires no communications for its studies, and it is capable of performing all of its observations automatically and recording the data gathered onboard without any interaction with the ground.

Just before the crew goes to bed this evening, Brown will fire Discovery's jets to further separate from Spartan, slowly moving out to a distance of more than 30 miles from the satellite. Spartan is scheduled to be retrieved by the Shuttle at 2:45 p.m. Central on Tuesday. Following the satellite release this afternoon, Brown and astronaut John Glenn took time out to speak with reporters at the Johnson Space Center, fielding questions about all aspects of the historic flight during a 40-minute press conference.

Discovery remains in excellent condition. The crew is scheduled to begin a sleep period at 10 p.m. Central tonight and awaken at 6 a.m. on Monday. During the night, Glenn and fellow Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will wear a host of sensors recording their movements and other information as part of the sleep research being conducted during the flight.

Discovery is in a 348 by 338 statute mile orbit.

Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will use Discovery's robot arm to grapple Spartan from its berth in the payload bay and prepare it for its release. Once it is deployed, Spartan will conduct a programmed pirouette maneuver that will confirm that all of its systems are working normally. Commander Curt Brown then will maneuver Discovery away from the satellite, first to a short distance for a test of a communications link that will permit Spartan ground controllers to make fine pointing adjustments to one of the satellite's science instruments. Brown then will increase Discovery's separation to a distance of about 40 miles in front of Spartan. The satellite will be retrieved by Robinson using the robot arm on Tuesday. Spartan was unable to perform solar science studies last November following problems with its deployment during the STS-87 mission aboard Columbia.

Spartan's two main instruments - the Ultraviolet Coronal Spectrometer and the White Light Coronagraph, will measure atomic temperatures and densities, as well as solar wind velocities in the sun's corona so scientists can better understand the forces that create solar wind, and the impact it has on the electromagnetic environment around the Earth. Solar wind can have major impacts on communications technology on Earth.

Discovery's astronauts also will continue a battery of medical studies as they explore how the human body adapts to the weightless environment of space and how those changes compare with those seen as part of the aging process on Earth.

As part of the Canadian OSTEO experiment, Payload Specialist John Glenn will feed bone cell cultures as part of an evaluation of bone cell activity under microgravity conditions. Glenn will again provide blood samples as part of the Protein Turnover Experiment, which is looking at the balance between the building and breakdown of muscle. He also will work with the Advanced Organic Separations (ADSEP) experiment, which provides the capability to separate and purify biological materials in microgravity; and with the Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System (MEPS), which studies the formation of anti-tumor capsules containing two kinds of drugs.

Other research today will include use of the Advanced Gradient Heating Facility (AGHF) for directional solidification and crystal growth, and the Microgravity Glovebox (MGBX) for investigations of colloids, or systems of fine particles suspended in fluid..

At 4:35 p.m. Central time, Brown and Glenn will take part in a news conference with reporters at the Johnson Space Center.

Discovery is orbiting the Earth every 95 minutes at an altitude of about 340 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent condition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All systems aboard Discovery continue to operate well.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All systems on board Discovery continue to operate well.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discovery lifted off at 9:39 a.m. central time today following a flawless countdown. Over the next 11 days, Discovery's seven person crew will demonstrate techniques for inspecting and protecting the Shuttle's thermal protection system and continue assembly of the International Space Station. Today's launch was the first for a Shuttle since the loss of Columbia and its crew in February 2003.

Discovery's climb to orbit was extensively documented through a system of new and upgraded ground-based cameras, radar systems and airborne cameras aboard high altitude aircraft. The imagery captured of Discovery's launch, and additional imagery from laser systems on a new boom extension for the Shuttle's robot arm as well as data from sensors embedded in the Shuttle's wings, will help mission managers determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next several days prior to its scheduled Aug. 7 landing.

Less than nine minutes after launch, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda were in orbit and ready to open the payload bay doors and unstow their gear in the crew compartment. Moments after main engine cutoff, Noguchi and Thomas used handheld video and digital still cameras to document the external tank after it separated from the Shuttle. That imagery, and imagery from cameras in the Shuttle's umbilical well where the tank was connected, will also be downlinked for review by mission managers and engineers in the ongoing analysis of the tank's condition following ascent.

The crew plans to unberth and test Discovery's robot arm today before beginning an eight-hour sleep period at shortly before 4 p.m. CDT. The arm will be used today to collect imagery of the clearances between the Shuttle's Ku-band dish antenna that provides high data rate telemetry and television, and the end of a new 50-foot boom moored to the starboard sill of the spaceship that will be used tomorrow while grappled to the robot arm for a day-long inspection of the leading edges of Discovery's wings. That survey will help to insure that the wings did not incur any damage during launch.

At the time of launch, the International Space Station was 225 miles above the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia as Discovery began its chase for a docking at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday. Aboard the Station, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips were completing preparations for the arrival of the first Shuttle since Nov. 25, 2002.

When Discovery nears the Station early Thursday morning, Krikalev and Phillips will use digital cameras and high-powered 800MM and 400MM lenses to photograph Discovery's thermal protective tiles and key areas around its main and nose landing gear doors.

Housed in the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module in Discovery's cargo bay is 15 tons of hardware and supplies that will be transferred to the Station after the Shuttle docks to the complex.

The astronauts will be awakened late tonight at 11:39 p.m. CDT to begin their first full day in orbit.

Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda received a wakeup call at 11:39 p.m. CDT. The song played for the crew was music from the movie "Groundhog Day," which was for the entire crew to commemorate its first day out of quarantine.

For most of the day, Thomas, Camarda and Kelly will work together on Discovery's aft flight deck to inspect key components of the orbiter's heat shield. For the majority of the inspections the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner will be used. The Shuttle's robotic Canadarm will be used to maneuver the 50-foot boom extension after checkout of the system is completed.

In its debut performance, the boom will be used to methodically inspect the leading edges of Discovery's wings and the orbiter's nose cap to insure that they did not incur any damage during launch. The Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI) on the boom will provide two-and three-dimensional imagery. The data will be downlinked to the ground for engineering evaluation.

After those surveys are complete the boom will be placed back on the starboard sill of the payload bay. The Shuttle robotic arm and its cameras will then be used to survey Discovery's crew cabin. Additionally, using handheld digital cameras the crew will photograph tiles on the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods and the orbiter's tail.

During Tuesday's ascent to orbit, the enhanced imaging capability gave flight controllers and mission managers views of the Shuttle Orbiter never seen before. With this heightened ability, engineers were able to see two so-called "debris events." A camera mounted on the external tank caught what appeared to be a small fragment of tile coming from Discovery's underside on or near the nose gear doors. A later image about the time of Solid Rocket Booster separation showed an unidentified piece departing from the tank and exiting away, apparently not striking the orbiter. The crew was notified of these observations and told that imaging experts would be analyzing the pictures.

Mission managers will review the information gathered yesterday and today, including imaging and sensor data, to help determine the health of Discovery's thermal protection system over the next four days before it is cleared for landing later in the flight. Data from the new wing leading edge sensors was downlinked overnight to Mission Control for assessment.

Flight Day Four has time reserved for additional surveys, if required, using the OBSS, either to complete parts of the survey that time would not allow today, or to supplement the survey with "stop-and-stare" scans of sites of potential interest.

Meanwhile, on the middeck, spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson, assisted by Lawrence, will check out the airlock, spacesuits and tools they will begin using on Saturday. They will also prepare Shuttle systems for docking to the Space Station.

Today Collins will fire Discovery's thrusters twice to refine its approach to the Station. At about midnight, Discovery was trailing the Station by 6,516 statute miles. The two are scheduled to link up at 6:18 a.m. CDT Thursday.

Today the Space Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will prepare the complex for Discovery's arrival. They will configure the digital cameras they will use during Discovery's approach, gathering additional imagery of the Shuttle's heat shield. They also will pressurize the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2) that Discovery will dock to Thursday.

Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda downlinked imagery taken of the External Tank after launch. The crew also photographed the Orbital Maneuvering System pod tile areas and sent down those files. Most of the heat shield survey, taking a close look at the reinforced carbon-carbon of Discovery's wings and nose was sent down live. The rest was sent down before the crew went to bed about 2:40 p.m. CDT.

The data was gathered by the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) laser-scanner. Kelly, Thomas and Camarda, with some help from other crewmembers, operated the Discovery's Canadarm and the 50-foot boom extension at its end for the survey. The OBSS was reberthed and Canadarm and its cameras were used to survey the tile area around the crew cabin.

Preparations for docking included a checkout of rendezvous tools, and the extension of the Orbiter Docking System ring that will make first contact with the Station. The approach will include the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, a slow back flip by Discovery about 600 feet below the Station immediately before the 6:18 a.m. CDT docking.

The maneuver will allow Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips to photograph Discovery's thermal protection system with 400mm and 800mm lenses. The images, taken through windows in the Station's Zvezda Service Module, are expected to be downlinked before hatches between Discovery and the Station are opened.

Today's imagery and laser scans will be compiled with other imagery taken during launch, and with data collected by wireless impact sensors in each panel of the wings' leading edges. Downlink of both preliminary and raw data from the sensors also was completed today. A team of about 200 people across the country are working to analyze imagery from the early part of Discovery's mission, the most photographed Shuttle flight in history.

The crew also completed the checkout of tools and two spacesuits to be used during the mission's three spacewalks. Two suits were also prepared for delivery to the Station for future Quest airlock spacewalks.

During Discovery's approach to the Station, Commander Eileen Collins will pause with the orbiter 600 feet below the Station and perform the first Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver. The motion will flip the Shuttle end over end at three quarters of a degree per second as the Station residents look on with digital cameras at the ready. The flip will provide Expedition 11 crewmembers, Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips, about 93 seconds to photograph the underside of Discovery and its heat-resistant tiles in detail.

The images from Station will be downlinked and added to the host of imagery and data obtained during Discovery's launch and Wednesday's robotic surveys that engineers are analyzing. Imagery released Wednesday showed a piece of foam being shed from the external tank during Discovery's ascent. Other photos showed a variety of smaller tile and foam dings that will be reviewed over the next several days. The crew will also downlink the video taken of the External Tank as it fell away from Discovery on Tuesday and video of the clearance between the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the Ku-band antenna for review.

Once Discovery's crew has had a safety briefing from the Space Station crew, both crews get to work with more robotic operations to prepare for additional surveys. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, with assistance from Phillips, will operate the Space Station robotic arm, Canadarm2, from inside the Destiny Lab. They will use the arm to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the payload bay sill and hand it over to the Shuttle arm. Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas will operate the Shuttle arm. Clearance restraints around the Shuttle's docking mechanism do not allow the Shuttle arm to grapple the boom on its own.

Spacewalkers Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi have two hours to prepare their tools and equipment for their three spacewalks. Among other things, the first spacewalk Saturday will test thermal protection system repair techniques. Two other spacewalks will repair and install critical hardware outside the Station.

Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by "It's a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong for Camarda. The Station crew was awakened at the same time by a tone onboard.

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly flew Discovery through the rendezvous pitch maneuver about 600 feet below the Station about an hour before docking. The photos taken by Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were transmitted to the ground before docking occurred at 6:18 a.m. CDT.

Discovery, the first Shuttle to visit the Station since late 2002, and the orbiting laboratory linked up over the southern Pacific Ocean west of the South American coast. The photos from Discovery's approach and many others from ground, aircraft and Shuttle and Station cameras are being carefully analyzed by a team of about 200 people to ensure Discovery's thermal protection system is safe for re-entry.

After the initial hugs and handshakes Krikalev gave a safety briefing for the new arrivals, Collins, Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda.

Among early tasks for the joint crews was preparation for additional robotic arm surveys of the orbiter. Tomorrow's schedule includes time for additional focused inspections.

Kelly and Lawrence, with help from Phillips, used the Station's Canadarm2 to lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System from Discovery and hand it to the Shuttle arm. Camarda and Thomas steered the Shuttle arm, which cannot grasp the boom directly with the Station in the way.

Robinson and Noguchi, who will make three spacewalks at the Station, spent about an hour and a half getting equipment ready.

Tasks on the spacewalks Saturday, Monday and Tuesday include testing thermal protection system repair techniques, replacement of one of four Station control gyros (which control the orbiting laboratory's orientation in space) and restoration of power to another. The spacewalkers also will install an external spare parts carrier on the outside of the Station's Quest airlock.

Crewmembers were briefed on the loss of a piece of foam insulation from the external tank shortly after launch. The foam, seen by a camera on the tank making the first Shuttle flight in that position, did not appear to touch the orbiter. Shuttle managers determined that the cause of the foam loss needs to be understood and the problem fixed before Shuttle launches can resume.

Discovery and Station crewmembers began scheduled sleep periods about 2:40 p.m. CDT.

Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by the song "Vertigo" by U2 played for Pilot Jim Kelly. Capcom Shannon Lucid noted during the wakeup call that Kelly, whose nickname is "Vegas," was promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Air Force recently. The Station crew was awakened at 11:09 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

In this upcoming flight day, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Kelly will guide the Station's robot arm, Canadarm2, to pluck the Multi Purpose Logistics Module from Discovery's cargo bay and install it on the Station. The MPLM, called Raffaello, will be attached to the Station's Unity module. While the crew was asleep, the Station flight control team verified Unity's attach mechanism is ready for the addition.

Kelly and Station Flight Engineer John Phillips will walk Canadarm2 off of the Destiny lab beginning at 4:39 a.m. CDT., onto the Mobile Base System for situational awareness views from its cameras for the survey. Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda and Kelly will begin additional focused inspections of Discovery's heat shield using the Shuttle arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System shortly after 6 a.m. Central time.

Once the MPLM is in place, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Station Commander Sergei Krikalev will begin activation of the module about 7:49 a.m. CDT and will enter about two hours later, at 9:49 a.m. CDT.

Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will participate in interviews with the Associated Press Radio Network, National Public Radio and the CBS Radio Network at 5:19 a.m. CDT.

Additional preparations for Saturday's first spacewalk of the mission by Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson will continue during the day with a review of EVA procedures and a checkout of a small rescue device known as SAFER, for Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, designed to allow an astronaut outside a spacecraft to return safety if they become untethered and separated from the spacecraft. Hatches between Discovery and Station will be closed as the Shuttle's cabin pressure is reduced to 10.2 psi for the pre-breathe period, during which spacewalkers will become gradually acclimated to the lower pressures of spacesuits.

The crews of Discovery and the Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:39 p.m. CDT.

Engineering analysis continues on the imagery collected so far, but no apparently serious problems with Discovery's heat shield have been noted. Mission Manager Wayne Hale said in a Friday afternoon press conference, "We're feeling very good about Discovery coming home."

It was a very busy day for the crewmembers, Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, and the Station's commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips.

Raffaello was unberthed from Discovery's cargo bay just before 1 a.m. CDT Friday by the Station's Canadarm2, operated by Lawrence and Kelly and attached to the Station's Unity Node. Hatches were opened a little after 10 a.m. Transfer of its cargo to the Station began soon thereafter. Crewmembers had begun transferring Station equipment and supplies from the Shuttle's mid-deck earlier.

Preparations for the targeted survey of Discovery's thermal protection system began with Kelly and Phillips attaching the end of Canadarm2 to the Station's Mobile Base System. They subsequently detached the other end from the Destiny Laboratory so the arm could be used in its new position to provide situational awareness views of the survey with its cameras.

Camarda and Kelly used the Shuttle's robot arm and the 50-foot Orbiter Boom Sensor System to look at six areas to determine if they had sustained damage. Mission managers said there was no indication of serious damage in early looks at downlink from that survey and earlier images. Detailed analysis of images starting with Discovery's Tuesday launch and continuing through Friday's survey was continuing.

Noguchi and Robinson will make three spacewalks at the Station, and today they continued preparations for the first, scheduled to begin at 3:44 a.m. Saturday. They reviewed spacewalk procedures and checked out the SAFER, or Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, a rescue device to help a spacewalker who goes adrift return to the spacecraft.

Hatches between Discovery and Station were closed as the Shuttle's cabin pressure was reduced to 10.2 psi for the pre-breathe period, during which spacewalkers became gradually acclimated to the lower pressures of space suits to avoid formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood. The excess air from the Shuttle was transferred to the Station to replenish its atmosphere.

Collins and Thomas talked with reporters from the Associated Press Radio Network, National Public Radio and the CBS Radio Network beginning a little after 5:20 a.m. CDT.

Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:43 p.m. CDT by the Japanese song "Sanpo," sung by a group of children, including Noguchi's. The Station crew was awakened at 11:09 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

Noguchi and Robinson's spacewalk preparations, including a pure oxygen pre-breathe and exercise procedure, will get underway at 12:39 a.m. CDT, with Intravehicular (IV) crewmember Andy Thomas' assistance. The procedure will purge the spacewalkers' blood of nitrogen to prevent the painful symptoms of "the bends" while wearing their low-pressure spacesuits.

About the same time, Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips will maneuver the Station's robotic arm into a position to support the spacewalk. At 12:55 a.m. CDT the pair will "walk off" Canadarm2 from the Mobile Base System to the Destiny lab and change its operating base. The arm will be operated by Shuttle Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence during the spacewalk to help install the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2) Attachment Device (ESPAD) onto Station.

After the excursion begins and the spacewalkers have completed about an hour of tool setup, the first task is to test thermal protection system repair techniques. Noguchi and Robinson will work side-by-side in Discovery's cargo bay at a pallet of purposely damaged orbiter heat shield samples. They will practice the Emittance Wash Applicator (EWA) repair of tile samples and the NOAX (Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental) repair of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon samples.

After the testing is complete, the pair will move on to their Station assembly tasks. They will install the ESPAD and associated cabling on the Station's Quest airlock so that the ESP-2 can be installed on top during the third spacewalk.

Next, Noguchi will replace a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna on the Station's truss structure. At the same time, Robinson will retrieve tools for the second spacewalk's Control Moment Gyroscope-1 replacement and swap connectors to restore power to the Station's CMG-2. The last job will be for both crewmembers to route cabling for the ESP-2 installation on the third spacewalk.

Once the spacewalk has begun and the Station's airlock's hatch is opened as an emergency door, the hatches between Discovery and Station will be re-opened so the crews can work together to support the spacewalk and continue transfer work. Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, Krikalev, Phillips and Lawrence will continue transferring water and other equipment to the Station from Discovery and the Raffaello cargo module. The hatches will be closed before the end of the spacewalk again to allow the crew to re-enter the Shuttle airlock. Once the crew is inside and the Shuttle's airlock is repressurized, the hatches will be re-opened.

At 8:09 a.m. CDT, Kelly and Camarda are scheduled to perform additional surveys of Discovery's wing leading edge Reinforced Carbon-Carbon with the Shuttle arm and Orbiter Boom Sensor System. They will use the sensors to focus on seven areas of interest along the port wing.

The crews of Discovery and the Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:39 p.m. CDT.

Mission managers today also decided to extend Discovery's mission by one day to spend more time docked with the International Space Station. Astronauts are busy transferring more water and supplies to the ISS in case the next Shuttle mission is delayed. An additional 10 gallons of water was transferred along with a pair of laptop computers and other supplies.

Astronauts Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency wrapped up a successful 6-hour, 50-minute spacewalk at 11:36 a.m. Saturday, completing a demonstration of Shuttle thermal protection repair techniques and enhancements to the Station's attitude control system.

For the repair demonstration, they worked with tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon intentionally damaged on the ground and brought into space in Discovery's cargo bay. They tested an Emittance Wash Applicator for tile repair and Non-Oxide Adhesive eXperimental (NOAX) for the reinforced carbon-carbon samples.

Helped by Astronaut Andy Thomas, who served as a coach and monitor from Shuttle's aft flight deck, they also installed a base and cabling for a stowage platform and rerouted power to Control Moment Gyroscope-2 (CMG-2), one of four 600-pound gyroscopes that control the orientation of the Station in orbit.

CMG-2 has been healthy, but a faulty circuit breaker interrupted its power supply in March. Since that time the Station had operated successfully on two CMGs. About 9:20 a.m. Mission Control told the astronauts they saw power again flowing to CMG-2. Plans call for it to be spun up to its 6,600 rpm operating speed over the next several hours and subsequently put back into the attitude control mix. Another gyroscope, CMG-1 which failed in 2002, is to be replaced Monday on the second of three spacewalks. They also replaced a faulty global positioning system antenna on the Station.

The spacewalk began at 4:46 a.m., after deliberate preparations delayed the planned start. The Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, had moved the orbiting laboratory's Canadarm2 into position to help Noguchi and Robinson's work. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence ran the arm, helping the spacewalkers install the stowage platform base.

The spacewalkers had time for some get-ahead tasks near the end of their spacewalk, bringing in two experiments that exposed a variety of materials samples to the harsh vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. Noguchi also photographed some insulation on the port side of Discovery's cabin.

Hatches between the Station and Discovery had been closed in preparation for the spacewalk. Once hatches were reopened, remaining crewmembers, Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, went about other tasks, including transfer of cargo from the Shuttle to the Station.

Among those tasks was another survey of parts of Discovery's thermal protection system by the Shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Kelly and Camarda, operating the arm, focused their attention on seven areas of interest along the leading edge of Discovery's port wing.

After analysis of many images taken of Discovery during and after its launch, including information from previous surveys like the one done Saturday, no damage that would threaten a safe landing by the Shuttle has been identified. About 25 dings have been seen on Discovery, compared to a mission average of 145 in missions before Columbia's loss.

Two additional collapsible water containers holding more than 10 gallons each are expected to be added to the cargo transfer list before the Shuttle leaves, bringing to 17 the number that will be left behind, a substantial increase in the amount of available water.

ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier said in a Saturday news conference that the program was very happy to have the additional supplies and that the station's consumables status had improved considerably with Discovery's visit.

Mission Manager Wayne Hale said Saturday that the added mission day will be added to the crew's schedule after the third spacewalk day.

Hale also noted Saturday that Discovery's protective tiles and thermal blankets passed review and are cleared for entry. Analysis continues on the reinforced carbon-carbon areas and two protruding gap fillers.

Also Sunday, astronauts will make preparations for the second spacewalk of the mission scheduled for Monday. Discovery's cabin pressure will be reduced to 10.2 psi to prepare Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for their work outside the spacecraft.

Space Shuttle and Space Station crewmembers will participate in two separate in-flight interviews. Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda will talk to reporters with ABC News, Fox News and NBC's "Meet the Press" at 5:49 a.m. CDT. Collins, Robinson, Noguchi and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips will speak with CBS News, CNN and Discovery Channel reporters at 7:39 a.m.

Discovery's crew was awakened at 11:11 p.m. CDT by the song "I'm Goin' Up," by Claire Lynch for Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. The Space Station crew was awakened about the same time by a tone onboard.

The crews of Discovery and the Space Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

The pair will have about an hour of setup time after exiting Space Shuttle Discovery's airlock and positioning themselves at the Station's Z1 truss segment. Mission Control will shut down the failed Control Moment Gyroscope 1 (CMG1) about 4:09 a.m. CDT and then give a go for the spacewalkers to start removing it about 15 minutes later. Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will choreograph the activities from inside and relay information from Mission Control to the spacewalkers.

Noguchi will take the failed CMG to Discovery's cargo bay while riding the Station's robot arm. He will temporarily store it until the new gyro is removed and the old one can be placed in its carrier with Robinson's help. Noguchi will then carry the new gyro at the end of the robot arm to the Z1 truss. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will operate Canadarm2 for the spacewalk.

After it is installed, Station flight controllers will power up and check out the new gyroscope about 8:14 a.m. CDT and start it up at 8:39 a.m. CDT. With CMG1 replaced, the full complement of four gyroscopes will be available for Station operations. CMG2 has operated well since the spacewalkers restored power to it in the first spacewalk Saturday.

Inside the orbiting complex, Station residents Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips and Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda will continue transferring equipment and supplies between the two vehicles. Collins will focus on collecting byproduct water from Discovery's power generation system for transfer to Station.

Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:09 p.m. CDT by the song "Walk of Life," by Dire Straits for Robinson. The Space Station crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

The crews of Discovery and the Space Station are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Robinson, along with remaining Discovery crewmembers, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, worked on moving items from the Shuttle to the Station. They were helped by International Space Station Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips.

Approximately six tons of hardware and equipment, including the 600-pound Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that will be installed on the exterior of the Station during Monday's spacewalk, will be moved from Discovery to the Station. Just over three and a half tons of material, including the replaced CMG, will return to Earth aboard Discovery.

Noguchi, Robinson and Thomas prepared for Monday's spacewalk by setting up some of the tools they will use to install the new CMG outside the Station. Thomas will once again serve as coach and monitor inside Discovery during the spacewalk. Working from aboard the Station, Kelly and Lawrence will use the Station's Canadarm2 to maneuver Noguchi between the two spacecraft during the removal and installation of the CMGs. In preparation for that activity, Kelly and Lawrence "walked" the Station arm into position on the Destiny Laboratory. All nine crewmembers also participated in a review of spacewalk activities near the end of their working day.

Collins, Kelly and Camarda talked with reporters from ABC News, Fox News and NBC at about 5:40 a.m. CDT. About 7:25 a.m. Collins, Noguchi, Robinson and Phillips talked with CBS News, CNN and Discovery Channel.

Engineers and mission managers continued to analyze information about Discovery's thermal protection system. They have cleared the orbiter's tiles and a decision was expected later today on the analysis of reinforced carbon-carbon protection for the nose cone and wing leading edges.

Mission managers continue to look at two gap-filler areas. These coated-fiber gap fillers are used to keep hot gas from flowing into gaps in the thermal protection, in these two cases, in tile-protected areas. Two gap fillers are protruding, and teams are working to determine whether any action is required by the crew.

Spacewalk experts presented a plan to mission managers in Monday's Mission Management Team meeting. Space Shuttle Deputy Program Manager Wayne Hale, in a Monday afternoon briefing, said that with the level of uncertainty involved in flying a reentry with protruding gap fillers it was an easy decision to move ahead with a well-understood process for removing them.

Early Monday, Robinson and Noguchi replaced a 600-pound gyroscope on the International Space Station, leaving the orbiting laboratory with a complete functional set of four. Called control moment gyros, or CMGs, the 600-pound devices maintain the Station's orientation in space, the way it is pointed and which part faces the Earth as it orbits the planet.

The 7-hour, 14-minute spacewalk began at 3:42 a.m CDT. After leaving the Discovery airlock, Noguchi and Robinson made their way hand-over-hand to the Station's Z1 Truss, atop the Unity Node where the four CMGs are housed. There Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, attached himself to a foot platform at the end of the Station's Canadarm2, operated by Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence.

Coached and monitored by Mission Specialist Andy Thomas on Discovery's aft flight deck, the spacewalkers removed CMG-1, which had failed in June 2002. Noguchi held it as the arm took him back to the rear of Discovery's cargo bay, where he and Robinson, who had moved back on his own, temporarily stowed it. They then took the new CMG from its cradle, and Noguchi held it while the arm moved him back to the Z1 Truss.

There he and Robinson installed it in the space vacated by the failed device. That completed, flight controllers began the hours-long process of checking out the new CMG-1 and spinning it up to its 6,600 rpm operating speed.

On the mission's first spacewalk on Saturday, Noguchi and Robinson had rerouted CMG-2's power supply. A faulty circuit breaker had interrupted that power supply in March. The two spacewalks leave the Station with four functioning CMG's. The station can hold its attitude on two, but more will be required as it grows.

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda, along with the Station's Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, worked Monday on transferring cargo to and from the Station. The 3,768 pounds of up-bound cargo from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, which came to the Station in Discovery's cargo bay and then was attached to a docking port on the Unity Node, has been transferred to the Station. Work continues to stow it and to reload Raffaello with equipment and trash to be returned to Earth.

Discovery's crew was awakened at 10:09 p.m. CDT by the song "Big Rock Candy Mountain," by Harry McClintock for Mission Specialist Andy Thomas. The Space Station crew was awakened at 10:39 p.m. CDT by a tone onboard.

Mission managers decided to remove two gap fillers that are protruding from areas between heat-shielding tile on the Shuttle's underbelly. It is a relatively simple process that can be accomplished as an add-on task to Wednesday's spacewalk.

During the spacewalk, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson will venture under the Space Shuttle on the tip of the Station's robotic arm, locate the protrusions and gently tug until they come out. If that does not work, Robinson will have tools to cut off the protrusions.

Robinson, fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi and spacewalk choreographer Andy Thomas will spend time Tuesday assembling a hack saw for the removal job and reviewing the new procedure.

All of the Shuttle and Station crewmembers will participate in a news conference at 4:59 a.m. CDT. Krikalev and Phillips will be interviewed by reporters at Mission Control Moscow at 5:45 a.m. CDT. It will be replayed with translation on NASA TV at 6:15 a.m. CDT.

At 6:39 a.m. CDT Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will grapple the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2) and unberth it from Discovery's payload bay. This is in preparation for the hardware's installation at the beginning of Wednesday's spacewalk. Preparing the ESP-2 Tuesday provides the extra time for the tile gap filler task during the spacewalk.

Before the Shuttle and Station crews go to sleep, the hatch will be closed between the two vehicles and the Shuttle's cabin will be depressurized to 10.2 psi on the eve of the last spacewalk. The crews are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

The crew began the day waking up at 10:09 p.m. CDT to "Where My Heart Will Take Me," the theme song from Star Trek: Enterprise. The song, composed by Dennis McCarthy, was selected for the crew as a surprise dedication from the Deputy Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale. The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew of Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips woke 30 minutes later.

Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi are scheduled to begin their third spacewalk at 3:14 a.m. CDT as they exit out of the Space Shuttle airlock. The two will be assisted by Andy Thomas, serving as the intravehicular officer overseeing the spacewalk from inside, as well as Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda who will be supporting various robotic arm activities throughout the day.

The spacewalk is scheduled to last about 7 hours. The first task entails Kelly and Lawrence maneuvering the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2), via the Station's robotic arm, which they pulled from Discovery's payload bay earlier today, onto the Station. As the ESP-2 reaches its final position, Robinson and Noguchi will guide the structure and secure it into place. With that task complete, Lawrence and Kelly will conduct a "walk off" maneuver of the Station robotic arm, by attaching the "free" end to the Mobile Base System and releasing the other end from the Destiny Laboratory module to where it will be needed as a platform for Robinson later in the EVA.

The two spacewalkers will move on to individual tasks, with Noguchi installing the Materials International Space Station Experiment-5 (MISSE-5), a materials experiment that will study the degradation of solar cell samples in the space environment. He'll then remove the Rotary Joint Motor Controller from the Space Station truss before proceeding to a support position to assist Robinson in his final tasks.

Meanwhile, Kelly will work with Camarda, using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to inspect repair demonstration tiles inside the Shuttle's payload bay. Later, Camarda will also work with Krikalev and Phillips to continue stowing supplies and equipment inside Discovery and the Station. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will monitor and supervise all the activities.

Robinson, now attached to the Station robotic arm, will attempt to repair two tile gap filler protrusions located on the underside of Discovery. He will first try to gently pull out the protruding material, and if need be, remove by trimming with a hacksaw.

Gap fillers are used in areas to restrict the flow of hot gas into the gaps between Thermal Protection System components. They consist of a layer of coated Nextel fabric and are normally about 0.020-inch thick. These protrusions were identified from photos taken during the rendezvous pitch maneuver conducted on flight day three, as Discovery approached the orbiting Space Station.

The crews are scheduled to go to sleep about 2:09 p.m. CDT.

Discovery's astronauts worked much of today on preparations for Wednesday's gap filler repair spacewalk. Transfer of materials to and from the International Space Station continued with crewmembers of both spacecraft making good progress.

Spacewalkers Soichi Noguchi and Steve Robinson spent an hour this morning beginning about 2:40 a.m. CDT with Mission Specialists Andy Thomas and Wendy Lawrence, and Pilot Jim Kelly on a review of spacewalk procedures. Thomas, as the intravehicular crewmember, will coach and monitor the spacewalkers, while Lawrence and Kelly will operate the Station's Canadarm2.

That robotic arm will carry Robinson to the repair sites on the underside of the forward part of Discovery where he will either gently pull out the protruding gap fillers with his hand or with forceps, or remove the protrusions with a hacksaw.

After the procedure review, Lawrence and Kelly spent the subsequent 45 minutes in computer training for the arm tasks, using the Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics program, or DOUG. Meanwhile, the spacewalkers and Thomas worked on assembly of the hacksaw that would be used if other methods do not work.

About 7:40 a.m. Lawrence and Kelly, using Canadarm2, unberthed External Stowage Platform 2 from Discovery's cargo bay. Noguchi and Robinson installed the platform's attachment device on the mission's first spacewalk on Saturday, and the platform itself is to be installed on the attachment device during Wednesday's spacewalk.

After lunch on board, Noguchi, Robinson and Thomas worked on spacewalk tool configuration. Near the end of their work day, all nine crewmembers on board, including Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, did a spacewalk review.

The spacewalkers began a prebreathe of pure oxygen about 10:50 a.m., a little more than an hour before hatches linking Discovery and the Station were closed so the Shuttle could be depressurized to 10.2 psi. Both the prebreathe and the depressurization were aimed at reducing the nitrogen content of the spacewalkers' blood to reduce the possibility of nitrogen bubble formation in their bloodstreams during the spacewalk. Wednesday's spacewalk is scheduled to begin at about 3:14 a.m. CDT.

Late in the crew day Tuesday, astronauts received a phone call from President George Bush. The President thanked the crew for taking risks for the sake of exploration and wished them well in the remainder of their mission.

"It looks like this big patient is cured," Robinson told delighted flight controllers.

Fellow spacewalker Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency helped Robinson with preparations, and from a perch near the end of a Space Station truss acted as observer and communication relay station between Robinson and astronaut Andy Thomas aboard Discovery. Thomas was the onboard coach and monitor for Robinson and Noguchi throughout the 6-hour 1-minute spacewalk. Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence operated the Station's Canadarm2, which moved Robinson to and from the worksite. Today's spacewalk, the third of the mission, began at 3:48 a.m. CDT and concluded at 9:49 a.m.

Deputy Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, in Wednesday's afternoon briefing, said "The crew demonstrated consummate professionalism and coolness beyond belief. They [the gap fillers] came out just as we thought they would. It looked easy but was not, which is a tribute to the crew and the team on the ground that planned it, so we're proud of that."

Gap fillers like those Robinson removed today are thin, coated Nextel fabric. The protruding gap fillers were identified in photos taken by Station crewmembers using telephoto lenses as Discovery did a slow back flip about 600 feet below before docking.

During the spacewalk Noguchi and Robinson, helped by the Station's robotic arm, installed an external stowage platform outside the station that will be used to house spare parts. Noguchi also installed another Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). Like its predecessors, MISSE 5 exposes samples of various materials to the harsh space environment for several months.

In other activities, Kelly worked with Mission Specialist Charlie Camarda on an inspection of the repair demonstration tiles in Discovery's cargo bay. Using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, they looked at tiles brought up for an experimental repair by Robinson and Noguchi on the mission's first spacewalk Saturday.

Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, continued to stow equipment and supplies on the Station and Shuttle. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins operated shuttle systems and supervised activities.

Hale also said the only part of Discovery's heat shield not yet cleared for entry is a bulging thermal blanket below the Shuttle commander's window. Managers will meet Thursday morning to review tests to help determine whether the blanket might pose a concern for entry.

The seven-member Shuttle crew awoke to the well-known country song "Amarillo by Morning," performed by George Strait, at 10:09 p.m. CDT. Their Station counterparts, the Expedition 11 crew of Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, woke up 30 minutes later.

The morning includes an in-flight media interview for Commander Eileen Collins, and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson and Charlie Camarda. Elsewhere on the complex, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence will be performing a few robotic arm operations, as they release the Station's Canadarm2 from the Mobile Base System and attach it to the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). That task is being done in preparation for return of the MPLM to Discovery's payload bay.

Midway through the crew day, at about 4:19 a.m. CDT, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Collins will participate in a special video conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi; and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nariaki Nakayama. JAXA Astronaut Dr. Mamoru Mohri and several Japanese students and citizens will also participate in the call.

Later, Robinson, Camarda and Noguchi will continue stowage of equipment and supplies in the MPLM on the Shuttle and Space Station. Phillips and Krikalev will help with that activity as well before all of the crewmembers stop to share a special evening meal together.

About an hour later, at 7:04 a.m. CDT, the joint crews have planned a commemorative in-flight event paying tribute to the STS-107 Columbia crew. That event will air on NASA TV. The remainder of the day will be off-duty time for the Shuttle crew as they prepare for the final days of their mission.

Phillips and Krikalev will spend about two hours configuring the Common Berthing Mechanism for the MPLM removal before ending their workday with routine daily planning conference with ground controllers.

"Anchors Aweigh" was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for the day, played at 9:15 p.m. CDT. The song was dedicated to Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence at the request of Commander Eileen Collins. Space Station Expedition 11 crewmates John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev woke 30 minutes later.

The first tasks of the day center on preparation of the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) for its berthing back into Discovery's cargo bay. That module was removed from Discovery on Flight Day 4, mated to the Station and unloaded. Discovery and the MPLM are now loaded with 7,055 lbs. of unneeded equipment and trash for return to Earth.

Pilot Jim Kelly and Lawrence will operate the Station robotic arm later in the day to move Raffaello from the Station and gently place it back into Discovery's cargo bay at 6:34 a.m. CDT. Then, joined by Mission Specialists Charlie Camarda and Andy Thomas, the four will use the Shuttle arm to return the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to its secured position on the sill of the payload bay for the ride back to Earth.

Throughout the day, the on-orbit team will continue with stowing equipment on Discovery's middeck and configurations for undocking, including Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson and Thomas making final configurations and stowage of the spacesuits.

Both crews are scheduled for sleep at 1:09 p.m. CDT Friday with hatch closing and undocking scheduled early Saturday morning.

Thursday's Mission Management Team decision put to rest the work that was being done to assess the health of the thermal protection system. The tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon on Discovery's wings and nose were cleared earlier for entry.

Discovery and International Space Station crewmembers Thursday delivered a moving tribute to members of the Columbia crew and others, astronauts and cosmonauts, who lost their lives in the human exploration of space.

Each crewmember, in red shirt with Columbia's STS-107 mission patch spoke during the tribute as the docked spacecraft flew over the southern Indian Ocean approaching a sunset. Station Science Officer John Phillips said: "To the crew of Columbia, as well as the crews of Challenger, Apollo 1, Soyuz 1 and 11, and to those who have courageously given so much, we now offer our enduring thanks."

Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency repeated Phillips' words in Japanese during the tribute, and Station Commander Sergei Krikalev spoke them in Russian.

After their successful Wednesday spacewalk, Discovery and Station crewmembers continued transfer activities, mostly packing the Multi-Purpose Logistic Module Raffaello with items from the Station. The pressurized cargo carrier is to be unberthed Friday from the Station's Unity Node and returned to Discovery's cargo bay for the trip back to Earth.

Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence attached the Station's Canadarm2 to Raffaello in preparation for its unberthing.

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, spacewalking Mission Specialist Steve Robinson and Mission Specialist Charlie Carmada talked with reporters from the Associated Press and NBC. A little later Collins and Noguchi spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri and others, including Japanese students.

Crewmembers had an hour together for a common meal, then the seven Discovery astronauts had the afternoon off. The Station crew spent about two hours preparing equipment for the unberthing of Raffaello.

Discovery Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, also made preparations for Saturday's undocking of the orbiter. Station crewmembers, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips, helped.

Raffaello is loaded with more than 5,000 pounds of items bound for Earth, including equipment, experiment results and even personal gear of crewmembers dating back to Expedition 6, which left the Station in May 2003. Items for return to Earth have accumulated aboard the orbiting laboratory since the last Shuttle visit in December 2002.

Lawrence and Kelly used the station arm to unberth the module and return it to Discovery. The berthing was completed at 9:03 a.m. CDT. Raffaello, one of three pressurized cargo carrying modules built in Italy for use aboard the Shuttle, brought 3,768 pounds of equipment and supplies to the Station.

After Raffaello was secured in Discovery's cargo bay, Camarda and Thomas used the Shuttle arm to hand off the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to the Station arm. Lawrence and Kelly reberthed the OBSS in its position on the starboard sill of the cargo bay.

After that operation, Lawrence radioed congratulations to those on the ground for the performance of the Canadian-built OBSS and robotic arms. She and Kelly radioed down the Halleluiah Chorus from Handel's Messiah to emphasize those congratulatory words.

Discovery is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday. Landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for 3:46 a.m. CDT Monday.

The crew was awakened at 7:39 p.m. CDT by "The One and Only Flower in the World" sung by the Japanese group SMAP. It was played for Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, who also serves as Discovery's Flight Engineer, will checkout the orbiter's flight control system at 10:39 p.m. CDT. The three also will test the Reaction Control System with a hot fire of the jets at 11:49 p.m. CDT.

In the meantime, Noguchi, along with Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda will put away equipment that has been in use during the mission. Noguchi and Thomas will stow the Ku-band communications antenna at 8:19 a.m. CDT.

The entire group will gather on Discovery's flight deck and take a moment to answer questions from reporters at 3:06 a.m. CDT.

After its departure Saturday, Discovery is now about 90 miles away from the International Space Station and increasing that gap by about 8 miles each time it orbits the Earth.

Onboard the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips are returning to their normal schedule, waking up at 1 a.m. CDT Sunday. They are enjoying a restful weekend after nearly 9 full days of work with the Shuttle crew.

Discovery's crew is scheduled for sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT Sunday.

Pilot Jim Kelly was at the controls as latches between the two vehicles were released and Discovery began to back gently away from the Station. Undocking occurred at 2:24 a.m. CDT as the two spacecraft flew high over the Pacific Ocean, west of Chile.

As Discovery moved away to a distance of about 400 feet, Kelly began a slow fly-around of the Station. Cameras on each spacecraft captured video and still images of the other.

After the fly-around, Kelly executed the first of two separation burns to move Discovery away from the Station and begin its trip home. The entire crew - Commander Eileen Collins, Kelly, and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Steve Robinson, Charlie Camarda and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) enjoyed some scheduled off-duty time before going to sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT.

The crew will awaken at 7:39 p.m. CDT and turn its attention to stowing away much of the equipment used over the past 11 days in orbit, and verifying operation of Discovery's flight control surfaces and system.

Over the course of nine days of joint work, the crews moved more than 12,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the Station and will return about 7,000 pounds of material from the Station to Earth. Spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson left all four of the Station's attitude control gyroscopes functioning with the removal and replacement of one of the 600-pound units. They also installed a new stowage platform on the exterior of the Station and worked with an experiment that exposes a variety of materials samples to the harsh vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. Discovery was docked with the Station for 8 days, 19 hours and 54 minutes.

Aboard the Station, newly resupplied and emptied of surplus gear, Commander Sergei Kirkalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips also had a light-duty day after undocking.

Following a crew farewell ceremony at 11:36 p.m. CDT, hatches between the spacecraft were closed at 12:14 a.m. CDT, with Discovery's undocking planned for 2:24 a.m. CDT Saturday morning.

"The Air Force Song" was the Shuttle crew wake-up song for the day, played at 9:09 p.m. CDT. The song was dedicated to Pilot Jim Kelly, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, at the request of Commander Eileen Collins. Space Station Expedition 11 crewmates John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev woke 30 minutes later.

After Discovery undocks from the Station, with Kelly at the controls, the Shuttle will fly around the Space Station about 400 feet away to allow the Shuttle crew to take photographs of the complex.

The flyaround maneuver will begin at 2:54 a.m. CDT, and Discovery's final separation from the Station begins with an engine firing at 4:09 a.m. CDT.

The majority of the rest of the day will be free time for Discovery and the Station crew.

Discovery's crew, including Collins, Kelly and Mission Specialists Steve Robinson, Soichi Noguchi, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda, is scheduled for sleep at 11:39 a.m. CDT Saturday.

The Station crew, which will soon begin working back toward its normal workday hours, is scheduled to sleep at 1:09 p.m. CDT.

Discovery has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday. The first begins with a 3 minute, 7 second deorbit burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 2:40 a.m., followed by landing at 3:47 a.m. CDT.

In the event weather prevents landing on that first opportunity, a second is available, with deorbit burn at 4:15 a.m. resulting in a 5:22 a.m. CDT landing. It will be the 15th night landing in Florida and 20th overall for the Space Shuttle Program.

Weather forecasters predict favorable conditions with good visibility and only a slight chance of showers over the water in the vicinity of the three-mile-long landing strip. The backup site at California's Edwards Air Force Base was not activated for Monday.

The crew was awakened at 7:39 p.m. CDT by the song "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. It was played for Discovery's Commander Eileen Collins from the Mission Control Team.

Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, who also serves as Discovery's Flight Engineer, and Mission Specialist Andy Thomas will be on the flight deck for landing. Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda will be on Discovery's middeck.

After its departure Saturday, Discovery is now about 200 miles away from the International Space Station and increasing that gap by about 9 miles each time it orbits the Earth. Onboard the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips have returned to their normal schedule, waking up at 1 a.m. CDT Monday.

In preparation for tomorrow's 3:47 a.m. CDT landing, Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Steve Robinson activated one of three hydraulic systems on Discovery and tested all of its aerosurfaces and steering jets. The rest of the crew - Andy Thomas, Soichi Noguchi, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda - completed packing up gear and hardware. The seven-member crew took a moment early this morning to talk with CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and ABC, discussing their mission and upcoming return to Earth.

Discovery has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday. The first begins with a 3 minute, 7 second deorbit burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 2:40 a.m., followed by landing at 3:47 a.m. CDT.

In the event weather prevents landing on that first opportunity, a second is available, with deorbit burn at 4:15 a.m. resulting in a 5:22 a.m. CDT landing. It will be the 15th night landing in Florida and 20th overall for the Space Shuttle Program.

Weather forecasters predict favorable conditions with light and variable winds and a slight chance of showers in the vicinity of the three-mile-long landing strip. The backup site at California's Edwards Air Force Base was not activated for Monday.

On the International Space Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips had a light-duty day as flight controllers added the fourth Control Moment Gyroscope to the Station's attitude control mix. For the first time since June 2002, the Station has use of all four 600-pound units. Noguchi and Robinson replaced one CMG and restored power to another during spacewalks.

The landing marked the sixth night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, and the 50th time overall that a Shuttle concluded its mission in the California desert.

Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly, assisted by Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, began Discovery's return to earth by firing the spacecraft's orbital maneuvering system engines to slow its speed and begin its descent. Discovery's ground track took it from the firing of the 2 minute, 42-second deorbit burn at 6:06 a.m. over the western Indian Ocean, traveling in a loop around Australia, then northeast across the Pacific, across the California coast north of Los Angeles and then to Edwards.

Persistent thunderstorms at the primary landing site in Florida resulted in a wave-off of two opportunities to return to the launch site today.

The STS-114 flight of Discovery with Collins, Kelly, Robinson and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charlie Camarda provided unprecedented information on the condition of an orbiter in space. Noguchi and Robinson did three successful spacewalks at the International Space Station and Discovery transported tons of equipment and supplies to and from the Station.

From the Station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips sent their congratulations to Discovery's crew and the flight control team in Houston.

Discovery's crew will have a welcome home ceremony at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Houston's Ellington Field.