Anderson

Brown David

Chawla

Clark

Husband

McCool

Ramon

---

STS-107

16 January 2003 15:39 GMT. Landing Date: 2003-02-01 14:16:00 PM. Flight Time: 15.94 days. Flight Up: STS-107. Flight Back: STS-107. Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Anderson, Brown David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: STS.

Of note: First Israeli astronaut.

What went wrong: Crew perished when shuttle broke up during re-entry. Cause was damage to a leading-edge RCC from foam breaking off of external tank bipod strut. The last solo shuttle earth orbit mission ended in tragedy when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. Launch delayed from May 23, June 27, July 11 and 19, November 29, 2002.

Columbia was the oldest shuttle in the fleet. As the heaviest, it was never modified for International Space Station on assembly missions. Instead it was extensively refurbished during a 17-month stay in Boeing's factory in California and primarily destined for solo shuttle earth orbit missions to low inclination orbits (Spacelab and Spacehab; Hubble Space Telescope repair and upgrade). The first flight after the refurbishment was the Hubble repair mission STS-109 in March 2002.

STS-107 Re-entry STS-107 disintegrates during re-entry.... Credit- Amateur video

STS-107 was a mission specifically mandated by the US Congress. NASA had expected to fly the experiments aboard on the International Space Station, but certain members of Congress pushed to test microgravity experiments with commercial potential. These could not have been done on the Station for some time due to ISS construction work and crew limitations. STS-107 was originally to have been launched in 2001. However it had lower priority than the Hubble mission and was finally scheduled for July 2002 as the second Columbia flight after its refurbishment. A further delay of seven months resulted from the reshuffling of missions after the shuttle fleet was grounded for a time in 2002 due to cracks in main engine fuel-liners. Following resolution of that problem, ISS assembly and resupply missions (STS-110, -111, -112, -113) had priority.

Finally the turn of the STS-107 crew came. What appeared to be a nearly flawless mission was launched on-schedule in perfect weather at both the launch site and the contingency abort landing sites. A concern during lift-off was the observation that a chunk of insulation had broken off the external tank during ascent and may have struck the bottom of the left wing of the shuttle. A NASA assessment concluded that no significant damage was done. No request was made of the US intelligence services for the underbelly of the shuttle to be examined by reconnaissance satellite or ground-based cameras. In any case, there were no means on board for examination or repair of any damage to the tiles of the heat shield.

The mission continued without major problem with the series of experiments in the Double Spacehab module being conducted 24 hours a day by two shifts (Red Team and Blue Team). Closeout and preparation for landing went smoothly as well. Again weather was flawless over the south-eastern United States and there was no delay in landing (as on many other shuttle missions).

The re-entry OMS burn was nominal. However nearly as soon as Columbia began braking in the earth's atmosphere and heating of its belly began, problems began cropping up. A cascading series of drop-outs of sensors in the left elevon, wing, and then left wheel-well and tires were detected over a period of five minutes. At 14:53 GMT ground controllers noted the loss of data from four temperature sensors on the inboard and outboard hydraulic systems on the left side of the spacecraft. Such drop-outs had been noted on earlier missions, usually due to minor failures of avionics handling the sensor inputs. The shuttle was functioning normally otherwise and the crew was not notified. Three minutes later other sensors detected a rise in temperature and pressure in the tires on the shuttle's left-side landing gear. This was certainly a cause for concern, as it would indicate a loss of heat shield integrity and heating of the shuttle's internal aluminium structure. It also would have set off an alarm in Columbia's cockpit.

STS-107 Patch STS-107 Mission Patch... Credit- NASA

At 14:58 GMT data was lost from three temperature sensors embedded in the shuttle's left wing. At 14:59 Columbia was at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18.3. Houston mission control radioed "Columbia, Houston. We see your tire pressure messages and we did not copy your last." Flight Commander Husband replied, "Roger, uh ..." and transmission ceased. Amateurs watching and filming the re-entry over Texas and Louisiana at that moment saw one major chunk being shed from the shuttle. Seconds later the main body disintegrated into five or more pieces. Thousands of pieces of the Columbia survived re-entry and impacted a wide area of east Texas and Louisiana.

NASA followed procedures established for such a contingency. All data were secured, all production and processing of shuttle flight components was stopped, the shuttle fleet was grounded, and an independent investigation commission was named. Congress, true to form, announced its own investigation. Congress, of course, did not investigate itself -- which lobbyists, aides, and Congressman pressured NASA to conduct the solo mission. NASA believed the experiments aboard STS-107 would have been best performed aboard the ISS.

The ISS provided a 'space infrastructure' which would have allowed several ways to handle a situation if damage to the tiles was suspected. Columbia could have been flown in an orbit that allowed it to rendezvous with the ISS in an emergency (albeit with reduced payload). The ISS crew could have inspected the shuttle for damage. If damage had been seen, the shuttle could have rendezvoused (although not docked) with the station and the crew could have transferred to the station to wait for a repair or rescue mission.

The grounding of the shuttle fleet left the three-person crew aboard the ISS without the planned ride home. However they had a Soyuz lifeboat docked to the station and sufficient consumables to wait until June for a relief mission. This arrived in May aboard Soyuz TMA-2, which brought up the first of a series of two-man skeleton crews that would keep the ISS operating over the next two years until shuttle flights and station assembly resumed in July 2005.

The ISS was not cancelled, but the disaster should give fresh impetus to NASA's project to develop a much smaller manned Orbital Space Plane as a lifeboat and eventual shuttle replacement. This finally began full-scale development at the end of 2006 as the Orion space capsule, which was to provide American human access to space after the completion of station assembly and the retirement of the shuttle in 2010.

STS-107 Credit- www.spacefacts.de

Crew Members: Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon.

Launch

Jan. 16, 2003, at 10:39 a.m. EST, Columbia lifted off on time on the first shuttle mission of the year. It carried seven crew members, including the first Israeli astronaut, on a marathon international scientific research flight.

Landing

KSC landing was planned for Feb. 1 after a 16-day mission, but Columbia and crew were lost during reentry over East Texas at about 9 a.m. EST, 16 minutes prior to the scheduled touchdown at KSC. A seven-month investigation followed, including a four month search across Texas to recover debris. The search was headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La. Nearly 85,000 pieces of orbiter debris were shipped to KSC and housed in the Columbia Debris Hangar near the Shuttle Landing Facility. The KSC debris reconstruction team identified pieces as to location on the orbiter, and determined damaged areas. About 38 percent of the orbiter Columbia was eventually recovered.

Mission Highlights

As a research mission, the crew was kept busy 24 hours a day performing various chores involved with science experiments.

Experiments in the SPACEHAB RDM included nine commercial payloads involving 21separate investigations, four payloads for the European Space Agency with 14 investigations, one payload/investigation for ISS Risk Mitigation and 18 payloads supporting 23 investigations for NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR).

In the physical sciences, three studies inside a large, rugged chamber examined the physics of combustion, soot production and fire quenching processes in microgravity. These experiments provided new insights into combustion and fire suppression that cannot be gained on Earth.

An experiment that compressed granular materials in the absence of gravity furthered our understanding of construction techniques. This information can help engineers provide stronger foundations for structures in areas where earthquakes, floods and landslides are common.

Another experiment evaluated the formation of zeolite crystals, which can speed the chemical reactions that are the basis for chemical processes used in refining, biomedical and other areas. Yet another experiment used pressurized liquid xenon to mimic the behaviors of more complex fluids such as blood flowing through capillaries.

In the area of biological applications, two separate OBPR experiments allowed different types of cell cultures to grow together in weightlessness to elevate their development of enhanced genetic characteristics -- one use was to combat prostate cancer, the other to improve crop yield. Another experiment evaluated the commercial usefulness of plant products grown in space.

A facility for forming protein crystals more purely and with fewer flaws than is possible on Earth may lead to a drug designed for specific diseases with fewer side effects.

A commercially sponsored facility housed two experiments to grow protein crystals to study possible therapies against the factors that cause cancers to spread and bone cancer to inflict intense pain on its sufferers.

A third experiment looked at developing a new technique of encapsulating anti-cancer drugs to improve their efficiency.

Other studies focused on changes, due to space flight, in the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems; in the systems which sense and respond to gravity; and in the capability of organisms to respond to stress and maintain normal function.

NASA also tested a new technology to recycle water prior to installing a device to recycle water permanently aboard the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency (ESA), through a contract with SPACEHAB, flew an important payload focused on astronaut health, biological function and basic physical phenomena in space. These experiments addressed different aspects of many of the same phenomena that NASA is interested in, providing a more thorough description of the effects of space flight, often in the same subjects or specimens.

ESA performed seven in-flight experiments, and one ground-based, on the cardiopulmonary changes that occur in astronauts.

Additional ESA biological investigations examined bone formation and maintenance; immune system functioning; connective tissue growth and repair; and bacterial and yeast cell responses to the stresses of space flight.

A special facility grew large, well-ordered protein and virus crystals that were expected to lead to improved drug designs. Another studied the physical characteristics of bubbles and droplets in the absence of the effects of Earth’s gravity.

SPACEHAB was also making it possible for universities, companies and other government agencies to do important research in space without having to provide their own spacecraft.

The Canadian Space Agency sponsored three bone-growth experiments, and was collaborating with ESA on two others.

The German Space Agency measured the development of the gravity-sensing organs of fish in the absence of gravity.

A university was growing ultra-pure protein crystals for drug research. And another university was testing a navigation system for future satellites.

The U.S. Air Force was conducting a communications experiment. Students from six schools in Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein and the United States were probing the effects of space flight on spiders, silkworms, inorganic crystals, fish, bees and ants, respectively.

There were also experiments in Columbia's payload bay, including three attached to the top of the RDM: the Combined Two-Phase Loop Experiment (COM2PLEX), Miniature Satellite Threat Reporting System (MSTRS) and Star Navigation (STARNAV).

There were six payloads/experiments on the Hitchhiker pallet -- the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR), which was mounted on a bridge-like structure spanning the width of the payload bay. These six investigations looked outward to the Sun, downward at Earth's atmosphere and inward into the physics of fluid phenomena, as well as tested technology for space communications.

FREESTAR held the Critical Viscosity of Xenon- 2 (CVX-2), Low Power Transceiver (LPT), Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX), Space Experiment Module (SEM- 14), Solar Constant Experiment-3 (SOLCON-3) and Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE-2). The SEM was made up of 11 separate student experiments from schools across the U.S. and was the 14th flight of a SEM on the space shuttle.

Additional secondary payloads were the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local Exhaust Experiment (SIMPLEX) and Ram Burn Observation (RAMBO). During the debris recovery activities, some of the Columbia experiments were found. Scientists have indicated valuable science will still be produced. Much of the scientific data was transmitted to experimenters on the ground during the flight.

Payload Details

Commercial Payload:

• Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System
• Closed Equilibrated Biological Aquatic System
• U.S. Air Force Technology Demonstration Experiment
• Commercial and Macromolecular Protein Crystal Growth
• Combined Two-Phase-Loop Experiment
• Quick External Science Tray
• Space Technology and Research Students (STARS) Program
• Star Navigation
• Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit
• European Research In Space and Terrestrial Osteoporosis

• Physiology and Biochemistry Experiments Team (PhaAB-4)
• Enhanced Orbiter Refrigeration Freezer (EOR/F)
• Thermoelectric Holding Module (TEHM)
• Orbiter Centrifuge

• Biopack Experiment
• Facility for Absorption and Surface Tension
• Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility
• Biobox Experiment

• Vapor Compression Distillation Flight Experiment

• Combustion Module-2
• Space Acceleration Measurement System - Free Flyer
• Mechanics of Granular Materials
• Bioreactor Development System-05
• Ergometer Hardware

• Microbial Physiology Flight Experiments (MPFE)
• Automated Microbial System (AMS)
• SLEEP-3
• Astroculture (Plant Growth Chamber)
• Astroculture (Glovebox)
• Commercial Protein Crystal Growth-PCF
• Zeolite Crystal Growth-1
• Fundamental Rodent Experiments Supporting Health-Two
• Gravisensing and Response System
• Biological Research in Canisters
• Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments

• 2003 Jan 16 - STS-107  Crew: Husband, McCool, Anderson, Chawla, Brown David, Clark, Ramon. Spacecraft: Columbia. Payload: Columbia F28 / Spacehab. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. Duration: 15.94 days. Perigee: 280 km (170 mi). Apogee: 280 km (170 mi). Inclination: 39.00 deg.

  The last solo shuttle earth orbit mission ended in tragedy when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. Launch delayed from May 23, June 27, July 11 and 19, November 29, 2002.

• 2003 Jan 16 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #01 

  Columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center this morning on the first shuttle mission of the year, carrying the first Israeli astronaut into orbit along with six crewmates on a marathon international scientific research flight.

  Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark, Payload Commander Mike Anderson and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Israel Space Agency blasted off at 9:39 a.m. CST from Launch Pad 39-A. Less than nine minutes later, Columbia settled into an orbit inclined 39 degrees to the equator.

  The seven astronauts will divide their duties into two teams working 12-hour shifts to conduct round-the-clock science. Aboard Columbia more than 80 experiments dealing with astronaut health and safety, advanced tehnology development and Earth and space sciences.

  Husband, Chawla, Clark and Ramon comprise the Red team which will work in the pre-dawn and daytime hours, while McCool, Brown and Anderson make up the Blue team, working the evening and overnight hours.

  Once in orbit, the crewmembers will begin to unstow gear and prepared for the opening of Columbia's payload bay doors, before activating hardware and experiments in a double Spacehab research module housed in the shuttle's cargo bay, which contains the lion's share of the mission's science. Other experiments housed in the cargo bay also will be activated, along with a special pallet of cryogenic fuel tanks at the rear of the cargo bay which will provide Columbia and its experiments sufficient electrical power for the duration of the flight.

  Having shifted their sleep schedule to accommodate the dual-shift operations, McCool, Brown and Anderson will begin an abbreviated six-hour sleep period at 1:39 p.m. CST and will be awakened at 7:39 p.m. while Red team counterparts continue the early stages of experiment activation. Husband, Chawla, Clark and Ramon will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 8:39 p.m. and will be awakened Friday at 4:39 a.m. to handover work from the Blue team which will be continuing the initial phase of scientific studies overnight.

  As Columbia was launched, the Expedition 6 crew aboard the International Space Station was orbiting over the northern Pacific Ocean south of the Aleutian island chain. Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are in their 54th day in space, their 52nd day on board the station.

• 2003 Jan 16 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #02 

  Columbia's crewmembers unstowed equipment and began activation of the Spacehab Research Double Module in the shuttle's cargo bay, setting the stage for 24-hour-a-day science during the shuttle's 16-day research mission.

  Columbia lifted off at 9:39 a.m. CST from the Kennedy Space Center in near-perfect weather after a flawless countdown. The crew opened the spacecraft's payload bay doors about 11:35 a.m. and then were given the go-ahead for on-orbit operations.

  The seven-member crew is divided into two teams, each working 12 hours per day during most of the flight. Members of the blue team, Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Mike Anderson, began a six-hour sleep period at 2:47 p.m. CST and will be awakened at 8:49 p.m. Red team members, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark, and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, begin a 7-hour sleep period at 9:39 p.m.

  Spacehab is a pressurized research module 20 feet long, 14 feet wide and 11 feet high. It houses equipment for 59 experiments, three of them mounted on its roof. Its activation marks the beginning of the major science activities of Columbia's mission.

  All systems aboard Columbia continue to function flawlessly.

  The shuttle is at an altitude of about 178 statute miles, in an orbit inclined 39 degrees to the equator. Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 crewmembers, Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, received a live video uplink of the launch through the ISS Flight Control Room in the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

• 2003 Jan 17 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #03 

  In their first full day in orbit, Columbia's seven crewmembers completed activation of the SPACEHAB Research Double Module in the shuttle's cargo bay and all of its scientific experiments.

  Red Team members Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon were awakened at 4:39 a.m. CST. Following a handover with their Blue Team counterparts, they took over for Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Mike Anderson, who began an eight-hour sleep period at 10:39 a.m. CST.

  All SPACEHAB payloads are performing well and research activities continue on schedule. Specific experiment highlights so far include:

  All Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science Technology Applications and Research, or FREESTAR, payloads have been activated and are performing well. One FREESTAR experiment that measures the amount of energy coming from the sun completed an initial observation, with the best sun pointing ever seen on any shuttle flight. Another experiment that will perform measurements of the Earth's ozone layer is operating nominally. The Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment, or MEIDEX, which will measure small particles called aerosols in the atmosphere over the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Sahara desert, has been readied for initial observations.

  The Bioreactor Demonstration System made its initial run. The NASA-developed bioreactor is being used to grow prostate cancer tissues to help scientists better understand how the cancer spreads into bones and to aid in the development of future treatment methods. In the first 20 hours of experiment operations, a significant aggregate of tumor tissue was grown.

  The Critical Viscosity of Xenon-2 experiment has been working nominally. The instrument is cooling the xenon sample to begin calibration. A preliminary analysis of the flight data compares favorably with ground-based data. This research in fluid physics may be important to the production of paints, plastics, drugs, food and cosmetics.

  The Blue Team will be awakened at 6:39 p.m. CST to continue work on the more than 80 experiments aboard Columbia. Scheduled activities include using MEIDEX, consisting of a radiometric camera and a video camera, to measure a Mediterranean dust plume north of the Gulf of Sidra. Human life sciences experiments also are scheduled to begin.

  All systems aboard Columbia continue to function well.

  Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit completed their eighth week in space. Today, they unstowed a rendezvous system from the Russian Progress 9 resupply ship in preparation for the Progress' undocking Feb. 1. That will clear the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module for the arrival of a new Progress cargo craft Feb. 4.

  The Expedition 6 crew also conducted metabolic science experiments, exercised and prepared for a quiet weekend in orbit.

• 2003 Jan 18 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #04 

  Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts pointed two Israeli cameras over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean today in search of small dust particles that might impact the weather and began experiments in human life sciences in the third day of the STS-107 scientific research flight.

  Red Team members Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon were awakened at 4:39 a.m. CST. Following a handover with their Blue Team counterparts, they took over for Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Mike Anderson, who began an eight-hour sleep period at 9:39 a.m. CST.

  Specific experiment highlights today included:

  ·A radiometric camera and a video camera were aimed at the Atlantic and the Mediterranean as part of the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment. Although no dust was detected due to heavy cloud coverage, initial analysis showed that the two cameras are working well, supplying high-quality images. The cloud patterns imaged by the cameras showed remarkable details. The intent of the experiment is to help researchers better understand how dust particles in the atmosphere affect climate.

  ·An experiment that looks at the movement of calcium through the body to further understanding of bone loss in space began. Astronauts took oral calcium tracers that will be monitored over the course of the mission to examine how calcium metabolism changes in an astronaut's body during spaceflight.

  ·In the physical sciences, the second run of the Mechanics of Granular Materials was completed. The objective of the experiment is to improve and enhance science and technology in many disciplines including earthquake engineering and soil mechanics. Results may lead to answers concerning the consequences of earthquakes, such as damage to soils and foundations.

  Shortly after 2 p.m. CST, Red Team members took time out from their experiment schedule to talk with reporters from CNN, CBS News and Fox News Channel. Asked about the importance of the flight to Israel, Ramon commented that he views the mission as an "opening for great science for our nation."

  -more-

  The Blue Team will be awakened at 5:39 p.m. CST to continue work on the more than 80 experiments aboard Columbia. Scheduled activities include initiation of experiments in the Combustion Module. It will be used to conduct three experiments that examine soot formation, lean combustion and fire suppression.

  All systems aboard Columbia continue to function well.

  Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit observed a milestone today as they presided over the final run of the Zeolite Crystal Growth experiment in the Destiny Lab. Experiment results may contribute to the technology used to make gasoline, products for the chemical industry and commercial film products.

  The Expedition crew conducted a weekly planning conference with flight controllers in Houston and downlinked video of maintenance work performed this past week. Crewmembers have a light schedule of duties this weekend before resuming their full schedule of activities on Monday.

• 2003 Jan 19 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #05 

  Columbia's astronauts studied combustion properties and the response of their own bodies in weightlessness and the behavior of soot in space one-quarter of the way through their marathon scientific research mission.

  Red Team members Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon completed the first data collection sessions with the Combustion Module in the Spacehab research module housed in Columbia's cargo bay. One of three experiments housed in the Combustion Module --- the study of Laminar Soot Processes (LSP) --- is designed to gain a better understanding of soot formation, oxidation and radiative properties within flames.

  Additional data was gleaned from the Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment (MGM) in the Spacehab module, which is providing information on the behavior of saturated sand when exposed to confining pressures in microgravity. The experiment could provide engineers with valuable data for strengthening buildings against earthquakes.

  Work was also accomplished with a series of biomedical experiments studying the human body's response to weightlessness --- particularly dealing with protein manufacturing in the absence of a gravity environment, bone and calcium production, the formation of chemicals associated with renal stones and how saliva and urine change in space relative to any exposure to viruses.

  Experiments continued with the MEIDEX cameras in the cargo bay observing dust storms in the Mediterranean region and with the SOLSE experiment, geared to studying the amount of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere by using a special imaging spectrometer in the payload bay to look across the limb of the Earth during specifically scheduled orbits.

  Columbia's Blue Team science cadre --- Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Mike Anderson --- planned to continue the more than 80 experiments on board Columbia following their wakeup call this afternoon. The Red team will begin its eight-hour sleep period just before 9 p.m. Central time.

  Earlier today, TV cameras in the Spacehab research module captured Ramon conducting work with the Combustion Module. He reported that the materials science facility was operating perfectly as are all of the other experiment facilities aboard Columbia.

  Aboard the International Space Station, Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit completed their second month in space by enjoying an off-duty day. The crew will return to a full complement of scientific research activities, exercise and routine ISS maintenance work on Monday. The ISS crew is working a schedule, which calls for them to be awakened every morning at 12:00 a.m. Central time and for their 8 1/2 hour sleep period to begin at 3:30 p.m. CST.

  The ISS crew was informed that replacement parts for the Microgravity Science Glovebox will be ready for launch on the next Progress resupply vehicle to the ISS on February 2. With docking of that cargo ship to the ISS planned for Feb. 4, virtually all of the science planned for the facility during Expedition 6 will be accomplished as initially planned.

  All systems aboard Columbia and the ISS continue to function well.

• 2003 Jan 20 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #06 

  Columbia's astronauts conducted scientific studies ranging from the behavior of granular materials in weightlessness to the effects of microgravity on fungi, and filmed the sprites associated with thunderstorms across the globe as their scientific research flight continued in its fifth day.

  Red team members Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon conducted additional data takes with the Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment located in the Spacehab Research Module in Columbia's cargo bay. The MGM experiment is providing information on the behavior of saturated sand when exposed to confining pressures in microgravity. The experiment could provide engineers valuable data for strengthening buildings against earthquakes.

  The Red team is working what amounts to the day shift on orbit, while the Blue team --- Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialist Dave Brown and Payload Commander Mike Anderson --- is working the overnight shift. The division of the two teams into 12-hour shifts assures that scientific research is conducted round-the-clock.

  One of the host of experiments in the Spacehab science lab --- the Microbial Physiology Flight Experiment --- was monitored by Clark as she studied how specific fungi react to the absence of gravity for long periods of time.

  Additional data was acquired by Anderson and Ramon with an experiment in the Combustion Module in the Spacehab --- the study of Laminar Soot Processes (LSP) --- designed to gain a better understanding of soot formation, oxidation and radiative properties within flames. Two other experiments studying flame properties in space in the large Spacehab furnace are to be conducted throughout the course of the flight.

  Work was also accomplished with a series of biomedical experiments studying the human body's response to weightlessness --- particularly dealing with protein manufacturing in the absence of a gravity environment, bone and calcium production, the formation of chemicals associated with renal stones and how saliva and urine change in space relative to any exposure to viruses. The crewmembers also continued periodic blood draws to study how their bodies are adapting to the microgravity environment.

  Experiments continued with the MEIDEX cameras in the cargo bay observing thunderstorms to capture images of sprites, which are associated with discharges from the tops of thunderclouds into the Earth's upper atmosphere, and with the SOLSE experiment, studying the amount of ozone in the Earth's upper atmosphere by using a special imaging spectrometer in the payload bay to look across the limb of the Earth during specifically scheduled orbits.

  Having been awakened just after 4 p.m. Central time, McCool, Brown and Anderson planned to continue the more than 80 experiments on board Columbia. The Red team will begin its eight-hour sleep period just after 8 p.m. Central time.

  This afternoon, flight controllers observed a minor electrical current spike in one of two systems designed to collect and distribute water produced from condensation buildup caused by the operation of the cooling system in the Spacehab Research Module in the cargo bay.

  An identical system sprung a leak under the floorboards of Spacehab last night and was shut down. The secondary system had been operating normally until the electrical spike was observed at around 1:15 p.m. A plan was implemented to reconfigure a valve in Columbia, allowing cool air from the shuttle to flow into the science module, thus enabling the module's temperatures to remain at a level that will not require the use of Spacehab's cooling system, while preventing any further buildup of condensation. Later, an air duct was routed from Columbia to the Spacehab to increase the flow of cool air into the science facility.

  Flight controllers plan to continue their analysis of the Spacehab cooling issue throughout the night, with no impact expected to science operations.

  Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit entered their third month in orbit today with a full complement of scientific research activities, exercise and routine ISS maintenance work.

  The three ISS crewmembers conducted a number of cardiovascular tests, unloaded samples from a Zeolite Crystal Growth experiment in the Destiny laboratory that has completed its work for this Expedition. The Russian Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system in the Zvezda Module, which shut down last week, is now operating normally following the weekend replacement of a valve. The U.S. segment CO2 removal system, which has been operating in place of Vozdukh, was powered down as a result of the Vozdukh revival.

  All other station systems are operating normally as are all the systems aboard the shuttle Columbia, which, like the ISS, is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes.

• 2003 Jan 21 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #07 

  The seven astronauts aboard Columbia continued to conduct scientific studies 24-7 today, concentrating their efforts on combustion in weightlessness, the growth of cell cultures, and measurements of the ozone layer.

  The Blue Team was awakened at 3:39 p.m. CDT to the sounds of "The Wedding Song" by Paul Stookey, uplinked from Mission Control especially for Pilot Willie McCool. McCool and Blue Team Astronauts Dave Brown and Michael Anderson will begin work after a handover at 5:24 p.m. The Red Team of Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon begins its sleep shift at 7:39 p.m.

  Israel Space Agency Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon took a break from observations of thunderstorms today to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other dignitaries in Jerusalem. Ramon captured never-before-photographed lightning phenomena, known as "sprites" and "elves," in the extreme upper atmosphere using Middle Eastern Dust Experiment (MEIDEX) cameras. The experiment's primary objective is to study dust storms in the Middle East, but clouds in the region have delayed those observations thus far.

  Work continued with a study of combustion in space, focusing on understanding the nature of soot. The Laminar Soot Processes experiment was operated by Ramon to burn various fuels in weightlessness and study production of soot. Weightlessness alllows the process to be studied without the interference caused by gravity-induced convection.

  Other experiments run today included continued growth of prostate cancer cells in the Bioreactor Demonstration System (BDS), a device that has been shown on previous flights to grow cultures of much greater fidelity than can be produced in ground labs. The space-grown cultures may help scientists unlock lethal secrets of prostate cancer that allow it to spread through the bones and other body tissues. Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, a medical doctor, worked with the culture device today, checking its operation and photographing the tissues that have grown.

  For other experiments, Commander Rick Husband steered Columbia to aim payload-bay mounted instruments to study ozone in the upper atmosphere and another experiment that studies the solar constant. The Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment-2 (SOLSE-2) uses observations of sunlight scattering by the atmosphere to measure ozone. The Solar Constant Experiment (SOLCON) measures solar irradiance above the atmosphere.

  The Blue Team will continue observations of "sprites" with the MEIDEX cameras, studies of soot with the Laminar Soot Process apparatus and examinations of bone cell activity in microgravity using the Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit. The second half of its day will include off-duty time to help stay fresh for the extended-duration mission.

  Cooling and humidity control of the Spacehab module is being managed through minor adjustments to systems aboard Columbia and the science module. The Spacehab's dehumidifiers remain off due to problems experienced in the last few days. The cooling glitch is not expected to interrupt any of the mission's ongoing research. Flight controllers are continuing to investigate options for reactivating the dehumidifiers.

• 2003 Jan 22 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #08 

  The seven astronauts aboard Columbia beamed down television views of their smallest companions in orbit today, including insects, spiders, fish, bees and silk worms that are part of the Space Technology and Research Students package of experiments designed and developed by students in six countries.

  The television pictures showed ants busily creating and moving about tunnels in an ant farm developed by students from Fowler High School in Syracuse, N.Y.; Garden Orb Weaver spiders beginning to construct webs in an enclosure designed by students at Glen Waverly Secondary College of Melbourne, Australia; silkworm larvae beginning to develop in an experiment designed by students at Jingshan School, Beijing, China; Medaka fish embryos developing in a tank designed by students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Tokyo; and carpenter bees beginning to construct nests by boring tunnels in wood.

  The experiments are being monitored by both teams of astronauts as they work in shifts to support the 80 different experiments aboard the space shuttle and the Spacehab Research Double Module. The Red Team -- Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israel Space Agency Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon - enjoyed a half-day off before resuming work with a variety of other experiments.

  The Red Team worked with the growth of prostate cancer cells in the Bioreactor Demonstration System, shutdown of the Laminar Soot Processes experiment, which completed 14 runs in an effort to better understand the nature of soot created by combustion in microgravity, and bacteria and yeast growth as part of the Microbial Physiology Flight Experiment. They also checked on the growth of plants in the Astroculture experiment that includes miniature roses being grown in space to produce new fragrances for perfumes.

  The Red Team handed over to the Blue Team - Pilot Willie McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson and Mission Specialist Dave Brown - at 5 p.m. CST, and prepared for a sleep shift beginning at 7:09 p.m. The Blue Team awoke at 3:09 p.m. to the song "Hakuna Matata" by the Baja Men for Anderson from his two kids.

  The Blue Team began its day with work on the SOFBALL, or Structures of Flame Balls at Low Lewis-number experiment, which scientists hope will improve their understanding of lean (low fuel) burning combustion and lead to improvements in engine efficiency, reduced emissions, and fire safety.

  The overnight team also worked with the Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System, a European Space Agency experiment looking at how the human body adapts to weightlessness.

  After lunch, the team was to calibrate the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX) and resume observations after adjusting the shuttle orientation in orbit to facilitate measurement of small particles in the atmosphere over the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Sahara desert.

  Cooling and humidity control of the Spacehab module is being effectively managed through minor adjustments to systems aboard Columbia and the science module.

• 2003 Jan 23 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #09 

  The STS-107 scientific research mission aboard Columbia passed the halfway mark today as the 80 microgravity investigations continue on schedule.

  Highlighting the investigations today for both the Blue and Red Teams were the SOFBALL (Structures of Flame Balls) and ARMS (Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System) experiments, although both teams continued to support other experiments with a variety of activities.

  Mission Specialists Michael Anderson of the Blue Team and Kalpana Chawla of the Red Team initiated runs with the SOFBALL experiment, which is creating tiny ball-shaped flames using hydrogen as the fuel. The tiny flames, which are approaching some of the leanest and longest-lasting ever, are invisible to the human eye but visible to the crew and investigators on the ground through special video equipment. Dr. Paul Ronney of the University of Southern California and his team hope to discover new properties about combustion to improve engine efficiency and fire safety, as well as reduce emissions.

  Mission Specialist Dave Brown of the Blue Team and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Red Team concentrated on the Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System. The European Space Agency experiment alternated experiments targeting the human lung and circulatory system and the human muscular system as it looked at changes brought on by weightlessness.

  Commander Rick Husband, leader of the Red Team, and Pilot Willie McCool, leader of the Blue Team, adjusted Columbia's attitude relative to the Earth to support the different requirements of the experiments. They continued to manage the temperature inside the Spacehab Research Double Module in the wake of problems incurred with cooling systems. No experiments have or are expected to be affected by the cooling issue.

  Red Team Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, a medical doctor, worked with the Bioreactor Demonstration System, which is growing tissue samples as part of a prostate cancer study. She also beamed down data from the Astroculture experiment growing roses and rice flowers for commercial fragrance development. Clark also worked with bacteria and yeast cultures being grown as part of a Microbial Physiology Flight Experiment that looks at the effect of microgravity on antibiotics.

  In honor of the combustion experiments on this flight, the Blue Team's wake-up call this afternoon was "Burning Down the House," by the Talking Heads.

  Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit spent their 61st day in space and their 59th day on the station practicing techniques with the Canadarm2 robot arm. This activity was in preparation for the March mission of Atlantis to the ISS that will involve a variety of uses for the space crane.

  Columbia and the ISS are both operating in normal fashion, with the Shuttle orbiting at an altitude of 180 statute miles in an orbit inclined 39 degrees to either side of the equator and the station orbiting at an altitude of 240 statute miles in an orbit inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the equator.

• 2003 Jan 24 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #10 

  Research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the seven astronauts aboard continued to work in shifts, coordinating work with investigators on the ground.

  Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Red Team began their workday about 5 a.m. CST, focusing again on work with the SOFBALL (Structures of Flame Balls) experiment and the ARMS (Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System) human physiology experiment. Husband maneuvered Columbia into the proper positions for the various experiments.

  The two teams have completed seven SOFBALL runs so far, including the first of several using methane as a fuel, which is visible to the naked eye as a faint blue flame. This evening, the Blue Team will attempt the longest planned test, lasting 2 hours, 47 minutes, while the shuttle is placed in a "free drift" configuration to eliminate thruster firings that could affect the test.

  Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Michael Anderson of the Blue Team were awakened about 2:30 p.m. to the sounds of "Hotel California" performed by members of McCool's family. Their duty shift was scheduled to begin about 5 p.m. after a pre-bedtime handover from the Red Team.

  The Blue Team also will resume work with the Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment, looking at how sandy soil full of water behaves under pressure. Three compressions are planned over the next two days, with a final run set for later in the mission.

  The study of spiral moss growth in space completed a set of time-critical fixations on several sets of moss plants, so that their growth rates can be established after the flight. Four more fixations are planned. The Astroculture experiment harvested the last of its six samples of essential oils from rose and rice flowers, which could eventually result in new perfume fragrances. Checks of all of the insects, spiders and animals aboard Columbia showed that all are healthy in their enclosures.

  Flight controllers and the crew continue to manage temperatures in the Spacehab Research Double Module by periodically adjusting cooling loop settings. Columbia is in good shape, orbiting at an altitude of 180 statute miles.

• 2003 Jan 25 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #11 

  Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts completed an experiment studying the activity of bone cells in microgravity and began final tests with a technology demonstration designed to investigate the behavior of capillary-pumped loops in space as the 16-day international science mission completed Flight Day 10.

  Toward the end of their workday at 1 a.m. CST this morning, Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Michael Anderson of the Blue Team took time out from their experiment schedule for interviews with reporters from Black Entertainment TV, WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va., and KNSD-TV in San Diego. Following handover talks, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Red Team began their workday.

  Clark completed operations with the OSTEO (Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit) investigation for STS-107. The experiment studied the activity of bone cells in microgravity by looking at normal activity and activity under the influence of various drugs. Clark also continued work on the Bioreactor Demonstration System, which is using the NASA-developed bioreactor to grow prostate cancer tissues. The objective is to learn how the cancer spreads into bones and aid in the development of future treatment methods. She also worked on a study of how bacteria and yeast develop in space and how microgravity affects their response to antibiotics.

  Investigations with the Combined Two-Phase Loop Experiment were begun using a third cooling loop. Testing of this loop will continue for about 48 hours. The testing is performed to learn about the behavior of the loop in microgravity. The investigation examines three different two-phase thermal loops by transporting different amounts of heat from an evaporator to a condenser and then radiating the heat into space.

  The Facility for Adsorption and Surface Tension, known as FAST, has completed the last pre-planned sequence of experiments. It is designed to measure the response of surface tension to carefully controlled changes in the surface areas of bubbles or droplets.

  Ramon continued investigations with the SOFBALL (Structures of Flame Balls) experiment. The experiment studies lean combustion to help engineers design engines with better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions of pollution.

  Television from the crew, narrated by Ramon, was downlinked around 11:30 a.m. showing various aspects of experiment operations conducted by both teams. Husband maneuvered Columbia today as required for any scientific activities.

  McCool, Brown and Anderson were awakened at 2:39 p.m. to the sounds of "I Say a Little Prayer for You" sung by Dionne Warwick. The song was played for Anderson from his wife.

  Husband ended his 10th day in space by calibrating two Israeli cameras that will be used to continue photographing dust particles, sprites and other electrical phenomena in the upper atmosphere. The crew hope to use the camera to observe a substantial plume of dust and smoke that extends from the Nigerian coast westward toward the Atlantic and an additional plume off the coast of Mauritania and Mali. Sprites in storms over Western Australia near Perth also will be observed. Sprites are electrical discharges that shoot up from the tops of thunderstorms into the Earth's ionosphere.

  All of Columbia's systems continue to operate in excellent shape.

  It was a quiet day on board the International Space Station, meanwhile, as Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit enjoyed a light workday. They will also partake in an off-duty day tomorrow before resuming normal scientific research and routine station maintenance activities on Monday.

• 2003 Jan 26 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #12 

  Scientific research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the STS-107 mission headed into the homestretch with a variety of experiments in multiple disciplines.

  The Red team of astronauts, working by day, and the Blue team, working by night, maintained a round-the-clock presence in the SPACEHAB Double Research Module, tending to dozens of experiments as scientists reported excellent results. Temperatures in SPACEHAB were maintained at a comfortable 73 degrees, despite the loss of two dehumidifiers earlier in the mission. All of the animals involved in life science experiments were reported to be in good shape along with SPACEHAB hardware.

  Red team crewmembers Rick Husband, who is Columbia's Commander, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon conducted more experiments involving the study of flames in space in a special Combustion Module in the SPACEHAB.

  More investigations were conducted into the effect of dust storms on the atmosphere with multispectral cameras in Columbia's cargo bay. The MEIDEX experiment focused on plumes of dust in the Mediterranean region and in the Middle East as well as sprites in the targeted areas of interest. Science controllers reported the first successful digital downlink of imagery from the experiment as well as the observance of significant amounts of dust in the observed regions.

  A suite of student experiments called STARS yielded the hatching of a fish in an aquatic facility and the successful emergence of a silk moth from its cocoon. STARS contains a half dozen student developed experiments ranging from the study of Australian spiders to the analysis of spaceflight's effects on carpenter bees from Liechtenstein.

  The Biopack experiment involving the study of weightlessness on biological samples continued to produce what was described as excellent data for its team of researchers despite the loss of freezer and incubator capability for the storage of samples.

  Blue team crewmembers Willie McCool, who is Columbia's Pilot, Payload Commander Mike Anderson and Mission Specialist Dave Brown were awakened for their night shift shortly after 2:30 p.m. Central time. They planned to conduct final combustion studies with the SOFBALL experiment tonight after which the Combustion Module will be reconfigured for the Water Mist experiment, studying fire suppression techniques in spaceflight.

  The Blue team will spend some time refreshing water for 13 rodents in the Animal Enclosure Module in SPACEHAB. Data is being acquired on the effect of microgravity on the rodents' neurovestibular system. Now that SPACEHAB temperatures have cooled again, sound mufflers were reinstalled on the animal enclosure compartments.

  More data will also be received tonight from the SOLSE experiment, which uses imaging devices in the shuttle's cargo bay to study the Earth's ozone layer. Earlier today, the crew downlinked digital video of the Middle East with breathtaking views of Israel, the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. The video also contained scenes of life and work on orbit involving the seven astronauts. Columbia's systems continue to function perfectly as the shuttle orbits at an altitude of about 180 statute miles.

  Flying slightly higher, the Expedition 6 crew aboard the International Space Station is now in its 10th week in space. Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit spent a quiet Sunday, enjoying the views of Earth from orbit while conducting a minor maintenance procedure involving a hatch window in the Unity module. Station systems are also functioning normally.

  The space travelers aboard Columbia and the ISS will have a chance to talk to one another Monday in a brief ship-to-ship hookup scheduled at 11:34 a.m. Central time. At the time of the ship-to-ship call, Columbia will be orbiting over northern Brazil, while the ISS sails over southern Russia.

• 2003 Jan 27 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #13 

  Some experiments have run their course aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, but there is more in store as STS-107 science continues around the clock in the Spacehab Research Double Module.

  The Structures of Flame Balls experiment, looking at ways of improving engine combustion efficiency, was shut down after a total of 39 tests using 15 different fuel mixtures. A total of 55 flame balls were ignited, including the weakest and leanest flames ever burned. The longest-lived flame burned in space for 81 minutes, part of a total burn time for all flames of 6 1 /4 hours. Oscillating (shrinking and growing) flame balls, which had been predicted theoretically, were observed for the first time.

  The Mechanics of Granular Materials test, looking for ways to better understand and deal with soil movement associated with earthquakes, completed its 10th and final run. The Microbial Physiology Flight Experiment expended its eighth and final set of samples looking at yeast and bacteria growth in microgravity. The Canadian-developed Osteoporosis in Orbit also completed its operations.

  The Red team, or day shift - Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israel Space Agency Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon - took time out from microgravity experimentation about 11:30 a.m. CST to chat with the other three spacefarers on orbit - Commander Ken Bowersox, NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. At the time, the space station was some 240 miles above Southern Russia while the shuttle was over northern Brazil.

  The Expedition Six crew aboard the station concentrated on loading new software on the EXPRESS experiment racks, working with Russian and American experiments and preparing the old Progress for its undocking this week to make room for a new supply craft, scheduled to launch Feb. 2 from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Khazakstan and dock with the station Feb. 4.

  After a 2:39 p.m. CST wake-up to the sounds of "Slow Boat to Rio" by Earl Klugh, the Blue team of astronauts - Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialist Dave Brown and Pilot Willie McCool was scheduled to enjoy half a day of rest before resuming research activities concentrating on the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment, which yesterday captured its first observations of dust over the Atlantic. Scientists with the Israel Space Agency reported that preliminary data looks promising.

• 2003 Jan 28 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #14 

  The Red team of astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia accomplished repairs on the third and final combustion experiment of STS-107 this afternoon, and support scientists on the ground were looking forward to working with the Blue team on the first scientific runs.

  Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla reported a good leak check of the Combustion Module-2 Facility about 4 p.m. after five hours of work. She and Commander Rick Husband sent down video of the recovery procedures for the Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment (MIST) around 2 p.m. to give engineers on the ground an opportunity to visually inspect the equipment. The combustion facility, which provides control, containment, diagnostics and communications for fire-related experiments, worked flawlessly in support of the two previous combustion experiments, but failed its initial leak checks when MIST was installed Monday.

  Payload Commander Michael Anderson of the Blue team is scheduled to begin work with the MIST experiment overnight. Designed by the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., the experiment will investigate how water mist inhibits the spread of flames. Scientists hope to apply what they learn to designs for improved, lighter-weight fire suppression systems on Earth, as well as for spacecraft-based systems that won't require ozone-damaging chemicals such as Halons.

  Husband, Chawla and Red team colleagues Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon enjoyed some time off for the first half of their day, then moved ahead with other experiments in the Spacehab Research Double Module. Clark retrieved samples associated with the Bioreactor Demonstration System, which Project Scientist Tom Goodwin reported today has grown a bone and prostate cancer tumor tissue sample as large as a golf ball, the largest grown in space to date. She also collected blood and urine samples from her crewmates for the Physiology and Biochemistry (PhAB4) suite of experiments. Ramon also conducted observations of dust off the African coast for the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX).

  After a 2:39 p.m. CST wake-up to the Beach Boys singing "I Get Around," the Blue team of Anderson, Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialist Dave Brown resumed work with the tests of their breathing, hearts and muscle associated with Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System. Anderson was scheduled to check on the condition of the animals on board, which has continued to be good.

• 2003 Jan 29 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #15 

  Columbia's seven astronauts took a break from their around-the-clock scientific research today to answer reporters' questions in the traditional on-orbit crew news conference.

  Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson and Laurel Clark, and Israel Space Agency Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon fielded questions about how their shuttle was performing as a research laboratory, their work in support of the STS-107 mission's 80 different experiments and preparations for Saturday's planned landing.

  "The science we're doing here is great and it's fantastic," said Anderson, the payload commander, "it's leading edge. But I think once we get a seven-member crew on board the space station you're really going to see some outstanding science in space. A lot of experiments that we have are really just being demonstrated and developed. Once they're fully developed they'll reside on board the space station and the scientists ... will have years to conduct the experiments that we're trying to do here in a relatively short period of time."

  Ramon reported that dust storms off the east coast of Africa were scarce for the first week of the flight, but that a giant dust storm kicked up over the Atlantic and lasted three days, providing ample observations for the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment. He voiced wishes for peace in his area of the world from 180 miles above.

  "The world looks marvelous from up here, so peaceful, so wonderful and so fragile," Ramon said. "The atmosphere is so thin and fragile, and I think all of us have to keep it clean and good. It saves our life and gives our life."

  After a 2:39 p.m. CST Blue Team wake-up to the sounds of John Lennon singing "Imagine," McCool and Ramon said their observations from orbit reveal no borders on the Earth below and reiterated in both English and Hebrew their hopes for peace in the world.

  Initial tests in the Combustion Module Facility with the newly revitalized Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment took center stage today, with 14 sample runs completed after Chawla fixed a balky seal in the combustion module yesterday. Another 20 runs are planned before the end of the mission on tests designed to learn exactly how the water interacts with flames as it is extinguishing them.

• 2003 Jan 30 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #16 

  Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia are completing their final runs on experiments in the Spacehab Research Double Module and beginning preparations for Saturday's landing.

  Most of the 80 experiments already have completed their data collection, and today was the last day for the remaining investigations, in particular the Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment (MIST), the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX) and the Advanced Respiratory Monitoring System (ARMS).

  MIST, which got a late start due to problems setting up the test chamber, is nearing its 30th run as it studies the effectiveness of fog-like water droplet concentrations in putting out flames. The experiment is sponsored by the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden as part of continuing program to design replacements for environmentally hazardous chemicals such as Halons.

  MEIDEX will be recording its final data takes of lightning "sprites" and "elves," after successfully imaging a major dust concentration in support of its primary objective to study how fine dust particles, or aerosols, affect the Earth's environment. MEIDEX was sponsored by the Israeli Space Agency and Tel-Aviv University in association with Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon's first space flight for an Israeli.

  Crewmembers also began wrapping up and storing the final blood, urine and saliva samples they are providing for studies of human physiology associated with the ARMS cardiovascular experiments and the Physiology and Biochemistry Team experiments. The samples will be kept at appropriate temperatures in refrigeration systems in the Spacehab module for return to Earth and further study.

  And the Biotube experiment, which was activated Wednesday, looked at flax seeds as they grew in the presence of strong magnetic field. Scientists on the ground used video downlinks to monitor the length of root growth to ensure appropriate fixation times.

  Commander Rick Husband and Flight Engineer Kalpana Chawla of the day shift took turns simulating landing on the PILOT computer-based training system. Pilot Willie McCool of the night shift will get in his practice session overnight. Landing is scheduled for 8:16 a.m. CST Saturday and preliminary forecasts show excellent conditions at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. If weather decides not to cooperate, there are plenty of supplies to support the crew until conditions are favorable.

  Husband also peeked under the floor of the Spacehab module to look for water that might have leaked out of the balky air-conditioning system earlier in the mission. He reported finding no moisture that could contaminate Spacehab systems if jostled during Saturday's re-entry and landing, but covered several holes in the water sub-assembly with tape as a precaution.

• 2003 Jan 31 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #17 

  Columbia crewmembers deactivated experiments and began stowing gear to prepare for their scheduled Saturday landing at the Kennedy Space Center.

  Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson and Laurel Clark, and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon wrapped up final experiment runs, taking a final look at electrical activity above thunderstorms with the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX). They also shut down the Bioreactor Demonstration System where prostate cancer and bone cells were grown during much of the mission. Tonight the crew will deactivate the Spacehab Research Double Module in the cargo bay. The SPACEHAB will be closed for the final time early Saturday.

  This morning, Husband, McCool and Chawla checked out the flight control surfaces of Columbia after activating one of the orbiter's three auxiliary power units in a routine pre-landing test of the Shuttle's systems. A little later, the crew test-fired the reaction control system jets that will regulate Columbia's attitude as it begins its fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere. Opposing jets were fired simultaneously to avoid affecting the spacecraft's orientation.

  Two Kennedy Space Center landing opportunities are available to Columbia on Saturday. The first, on orbit 255, would see a deorbit burn at 7:15 a.m. CST and a landing at KSC at 8:16 a.m. to wrap up a flight of 6,649,757 statute miles. A second landing opportunity is available at KSC on the subsequent orbit. That would see the deorbit burn beginning at 8:50 a.m. and a landing at 9:50 a.m.

  Florida weather is forecast to be excellent on Saturday. Columbia has enough consumables to remain aloft for several additional days, if necessary.

  Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 6 crewmembers, Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, completed loading the Russian Progress supply vehicle for a planned undocking from the Zvezda Service Module Saturday at 9:59 a.m. Central time (1559 GMT). A new Progress bringing fuel, equipment and supplies to the station will be launched from Kazakhstan Sunday and will dock with the station on Tuesday.

• 2003 Feb 1 - Landing of STS-107 

• 2003 Feb 1 - Loss of STS-107 

  The shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. All hands aboard were lost. The loss grounded the shuttle fleet pending a failure investigation and left the crew of Bowersox, Pettit and Budarin aboard the International Space Station with a Soyuz emergency return vehicle but without means of major station resupply.

• 2003 Feb 1 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #19 

  The Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts were lost today when the vehicle broke up over north central Texas during its reentry from orbit.

  Communications were lost with Columbia and its crew at around 8:00 a.m. CST, while the shuttle was traveling about 18 times the speed of sound at an altitude of 207,000 feet. Columbia was 16 minutes from landing at the Kennedy Space Center when flight controllers at Mission Control lost contact with the vehicle. Columbia was returning from a 16-day scientific research mission, its 28th flight, which launched on January 16.

  Aboard Columbia were Commander Rick Husband, completing his second flight, Pilot William McCool, wrapping up his first mission, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, also completing his first mission, Kalpana Chawla, on her second flight, Laurel Clark, a first-time space traveler, Payload Commander Mike Anderson, ending his second flight, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Israel Space Agency, on his first flight.

  Prior to the loss of communications with Columbia, the shuttle's return to Earth appeared perfectly normal. After assessing some wispy fog near the shuttle's three-mile long landing strip at KSC before dawn, Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain gave approval for the firing of the shuttle's braking rockets to begin its descent from orbit.

  Husband and McCool began the deorbit burn to allow Columbia to slip out of orbit at 7:15 a.m. CST. There was no indication of anything abnormal with Columbia's reentry until the last communications between Mission Control and the crew.

  At Columbia's intended landing site, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy met with the families of the astronauts to offer their condolences, vowed to uncover the cause of the accident and press ahead with the Shuttle program.

  "This is indeed a tragic day for the NASA family, for the families of the astronauts who flew on STS-107, and likewise is tragic for the nation," said O'Keefe.

  "We have no indication that the mishap was caused by anything or anyone on the ground," O'Keefe added.

  In a briefing, Chief Flight Director Milt Heflin said that around 7:53 a.m. CST, just minutes before communications were lost with Columbia, flight controllers detected indications of a loss of hydraulic system temperature measurements associated with Columbia's left wing, followed three minutes later by an increase in temperatures on the left main gear tires and brakes. At 7:58 a.m., flight controllers noted a loss of bondline temperature sensor data in the area of the left wing followed a minute later by a loss of data on tire temperatures and pressures for the left inboard and outboard tires.

  After several attempts to try to contact Columbia, Cain declared a contingency, whereby flight controllers began preserving documentation regarding the entry phase of the flight. Recovery forces fanned out from Texas to Louisiana to try to recover debris that will be pertinent to the mishap investigation.

  Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore said several teams have been organized to gather data for analysis and will report to an external investigation board that was appointed by Administrator O'Keefe. Dittemore added that no specific orbiter debris or crew remains have been positively identified at this time, and that there is no leading theory for the cause of the accident.

  Dittemore said the processing of other shuttles at the Kennedy Space Center for future launches has been temporarily halted to enable engineers to review data regarding vehicle processing and to focus attention on capturing all pertinent information involving Columbia's prelaunch preparations.

  NASA managers will be meeting on a regular basis to begin reviewing data associated with Columbia's investigation. The next status briefing from the Johnson Space Center is tentatively scheduled from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX at 12:00 p.m. CST Sunday. It will be seen on NASA Television with two-way question and answer capability for reporters from NASA centers.

  NASA TV can be found on AMC-2, Transponder 9C, vertical polarization at 85 degrees West longitude, 3880 MHz, with audio at 6.8 MHz.

  On the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit were informed of the loss of Columbia and its crew shortly after a Russian Progress resupply vehicle undocked from the ISS. Filled with discarded items no longer needed on the ISS, the Progress was commanded to deorbit by Russian flight controllers and reentered the Earth's atmosphere.

  A new Progress cargo ship will be launched Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:59 a.m. CST (1259 GMT) filled with supplies for the Expedition 6 crew. It is scheduled to dock to the ISS Tuesday morning. ISS program officials say, if necessary, the current resident crew could remain in orbit until late June with the supplies being ferried to the station on the new Progress.

• 2003 Feb 2 - International Space Station Status Report #03-4 

  A Russian Progress 10 resupply craft lifted off today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying supplies and new scientific systems hardware to the International Space Station.

  The cargo ship was launched on time at 6:59 a.m. CST (1259 GMT) and successfully reached orbit nine minutes later with its solar arrays and navigational antennas fully deployed. The Progress is due to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on the ISS Tuesday at around 8:50 a.m. CST (1450 GMT).

  The stage was set for today's launch of the new resupply ship through Saturday's undocking of the older Progress 9 craft, which reached the ISS last June. A few hours after its undocking, the Progress 9 was commanded to deorbit, and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere.

  Awaiting the arrival of the Progress, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit spent a quiet day in orbit, their 71st day in space, and their 69th day aboard the ISS. They were informed of the loss of Columbia and its crew yesterday about an hour after the Shuttle broke up 16 minutes before its scheduled landing.

  The new Progress 10 is loaded with a ton of supplies for the Expedition 6 crew, most notably, replacement parts for the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the Destiny laboratory, which experienced a power failure back in November and has been dormant during Expedition 6. Pettit plans to install the new parts and test the Glovebox as soon as the Progress vehicle is unloaded. If it works, the Glovebox will be used to support all of the experiments planned for this Expedition before the crew returns to Earth in March.

• 2003 Feb 2 - STS-107 MCC Status Report #20 

  Aided by federal and local agencies, NASA stepped up its inquiry into the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts. Multiple investigative teams continue to pore over engineering data in an effort to uncover the cause of the breakup of the orbiter over Texas on Saturday 16 minutes from landing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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