Altman Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Three children. Born in Lincoln, Illinois, USA. US Navy US Navy

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 15 - 1995. Active Entered space service: 9 December 1994. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 38.63 days.

Official NASA Biography - 1998

NAME: Scott D. Altman (Lieutenant Commander, USN)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born August 15, 1959 in Lincoln, Illinois. Married to the former Jill Shannon Loomer of Tucson, Arizona. They have three children. Enjoys classic automobiles, flying and computers. Avid reader and sports fan/participant. Hometown is Pekin, Illinois, where his parents, Fred and Sharon Altman, currently reside. Her father, Larry Loomer, resides in San Diego, California. Her mother, Donna Loomer, is deceased.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Pekin Community High School, Pekin, Illinois in 1977; received bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois in May 1981, and a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in June 1990.

ORGANIZATIONS:

University of Illinois Alumni Association, Sigma Chi Alumni Association, life member Association of Naval Aviation and Military Order of the World Wars, full member Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, 1987 Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Tactical Aviation as selected by the Association of Naval Aviation.

EXPERIENCE:

Altman was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy following completion of Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida, in August 1981. Following training in Florida and Texas, he received his Navy wings of gold in February 1983 and was ordered to NAS Miramar in San Diego, California, to fly the F-14. Attached to Fighter Squadron 51, Altman completed two deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. In August 1987, he was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School-Test Pilot School Coop program and graduated with Test Pilot School Class 97 in June 1990 as a Distinguished Graduate. After graduation, he spent the next two years as a test pilot working on various F-14 projects such as the air to ground separation effort, and aft center of gravity flying qualities evaluation, as well as the Navy evaluation of the Air Force F-15 S/MTD technology demonstrator. Selected to help take the new F-14D on its first operational deployment, his next assignment was to VF-31 at NAS Miramar where he served as Maintenance Officer and later Operations Officer. Altman was awarded the Navy Air Medal for his role as a strike leader flying over Southern Iraq in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. Shortly following his return from this six month deployment, he was selected for the astronaut program. He has logged over 3400 flight hours in more than 40 types of aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994, Altman reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He has completed a year of training and was initially assigned to work technical aspects of orbiter landing and roll out issues for the Astronaut Office Vehicle Systems Branch.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:

Altman will serve as pilot on STS-90 Neurolab, a 16-day Spacelab mission dedicated to investigations on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Launch is targeted for April 1998.

• 17 April 1998 Flight: STS-90. Flight Up: STS-90. Flight Back: STS-90. Flight Time: 15.91 days.

• 8 September 2000 Flight: STS-106. Flight Up: STS-106. Flight Back: STS-106. Flight Time: 11.80 days.

• 1 March 2002 Flight: STS-109. Flight Up: STS-109. Flight Back: STS-109. Flight Time: 10.92 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.

• Spacelab transfer tunnel
• Spacelab Long Module, with Neurolab experiments for the following life science studies:
  • Chronic Recording of Otolith Nerves in Microgravity
  • Development of the Aortic Baroreflex under Conditions of Microgravity
  • Neural-Thyroid Interaction on Skeletal Isomyosin Expression in OG
  • Spatial Orientation of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex and Velocity Storage
  • Autonomic Neuroplasticity in Weightlessness

• Extended Duration Orbiter pallet
• Two Get Away Special beams with canisters G-197, G-467, G-772 (Colorado's COLLIDE experiment, which collided small particles into each other to simulate the formation of planets and rings).

The Neurolab mission was managed by NASA-Johnson at Houston, unlike earlier Spacelab flights which were NASA-Marshall/Huntsville's responsibility. Landed at Kennedy Space Center May 3 1998.

The next Shuttle crew to visit the ISS was finalized last week and includes Jim Voss, Susan Helms and Yuri Usachev - the second crew that will live aboard the ISS next year. They now will take an early 'peak' at their home during the STS-101 mission that will be commanded by Jim Halsell and piloted by Scott Horowitz. Rounding out the crew will be Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber and Jeff Williams. Atlantis is being readied at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch scheduled for no earlier than April 13.

While vehicle processing continues, mission planners are working on stowage and maintenance tasks that will be carried out on the 11-day flight. A spacewalk by Williams and Voss will include checking the position of a small crane mounted outside Zarya in addition to other tasks. The crane was installed during a spacewalk on the most recent Shuttle visit to the ISS. Plans call for Williams and Voss to ensure the crane is properly secured in its mounting socket.

Meanwhile, battery cycling continues on orbit with two of the six batteries currently in restoration mode, which is a procedure periodically carried out to maintain the life and capacity of each unit. At present, three batteries are supplying all the electrical needs of Station equipment.

STS-101 is designed to not only supply the Station with more logistics for use by future crews, but also to replace some of Zarya's aging batteries and other equipment in preparation for the arrival of the Zvezda service module in July. Presently, Zvezda is being readied for a launch between July 8-14.

Station managers plan to hold a meeting with the International Partners in the next week or two to finalize updates to the assembly sequence that will include launch target dates for the remainder of this year. That schedule will include Russian supply launches using the Progress resupply vehicles in addition to Shuttle logistics and assembly missions.

The first shuttle flight after the arrival of the Zvezda was approved to take place within a month after the service module's arrival. That STS-106 crew will be commanded by Terry Wilcutt with Scott Altman serving as pilot. Mission specialists include Dan Burbank, Rick Mastracchio, Ed Lu, Yuri Malenchenko, and Boris Morukov.

The International Space Station is in an orbit of 237 by 226 statute miles. Since the launch of Zarya in 1998, the ISS has completed more than 7,227 orbits. S

Atlantis docked with the PMA-2 adapter on the International Space Station at 05:51 GMT on September 10. The orbiter's small RCS engines were used to gently reboost the station's orbit several times.

Astronauts Lu and Malenchenko made a spacewalk on September 11 beginning at 04:47 GMT. They rode the RMS arm up to Zvezda and began installing cables, reaching a distance of 30 meters from the airlock when installing Zvezda's magnetometer. Total EVA duration was 6 hours 21 minutes.

During their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the International Space Station during which they worked as movers, cleaners, plumbers, electricians and cable installers. In all, they spent 7 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes docked to the International Space Station, outfitting the new Zvezda module for the arrival of the Expedition One crew later this fall.

The Shuttle undocked from ISS at 03:44 GMT on September 18 and made two circuits of the station each lasting half an orbit, before separating finally at 05:34 GMT. The payload bay doors were closed at 04:14 GMT on September 20 and at 06:50 GMT the OMS engines ignited for a three minute burn lowering the orbit from 374 x 386 km x 51.6 deg to 22 x 380 km x 51.6 deg. After entry interface at 07:25 GMT, the orbiter glided to a landing on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center with main gear touchdown at 07:56:48 GMT for a mission duration of 283 hr 11min.

The STS-106 launch countdown proceeded smoothly throughout the morning and the five astronaut, two cosmonaut crew was loaded into the crew compartment by 5 a.m. to await the final two and a half hours of the count.

Once on orbit, Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov began configuring the shuttle for 11 days of on-orbit operations.

Their mission to the 143-foot-long International Space Station will focus on unloading nearly three tons of cargo from the orbiter and a Progress supply craft already docked to the opposite end of the station's Zvezda module. The equipment and provisions basically complete the onboard stowage of supplies that will be used by the first resident crew - Expedition One - scheduled for launch aboard a Soyuz rocket in late October to begin permanent human presence on the station.

The crew begins its first sleep period just five hours after liftoff, at 12:45 this afternoon and will receive a wakeup call from Mission Control at 8:45 tonight.

After wakeup, Wilcutt and Altman will perform the first of a series of maneuvers designed to put the shuttle on a precise course to the International Space Station.

During its first full day in space the crew will prepare for Sunday's rendezvous and docking with the station and Monday's early-morning space walk by astronaut Ed Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.

About three hours after the wake-up call, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman will initiate the first burn of the orbiter's Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) to continue refining Atlantis' orbit for a precision rendezvous and docking. The docking will occur at about 12:53 a.m. Sunday at an altitude of about 220 statute miles over the Russia and Kazakhstan border north of the Caspian Sea.

Lu, Malenchenko and mission specialist Dan Burbank will unpack, assemble and test spacesuits and checkout the tools Lu and Malenchenko will use as they work on the station's exterior sometimes about 110 feet above the orbiter. The space walk to connect electrical, communications and fiberoptic cables and install a magnetometer to the station will last about 6 and a half hours.

Tonight, mission specialist Rick Mastracchio will check out the remote manipulator system, and then he and cosmonaut Boris Morukov will prepare to transfer station equipment and supplies from the orbiter and the Russian Progress vehicle.

In preparation for that linkup, the crew spent today readying a variety of tools and equipment needed to support the rendezvous and docking, as well as equipment that will be used during Monday morning's scheduled space walk.

With the assistance of crew mate Dan Burbank, spacewalkers Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko checked out the suits they will wear during their planned 6 ½ hour long space walk Monday. Burbank will act as the in-cabin choreographer for that space walk. Also today, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman verified the operation of navigational aids that will be used during the final phases of Sunday's rendezvous and docking.

Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio powered up the Shuttle's robot arm, verifying its operation and conducting a photographic survey of the payload bay. Cosmonaut Boris Morukov tended to experiments and photography and television-related activities.

Atlantis is scheduled to begin the final phase of rendezvous about 10 p.m. tonight, closing in toward the early Sunday docking. At present, Atlantis is approximately 1600 miles behind and slightly below the ISS, closing the distance between them by approximately 172 miles with each orbit of the Earth.

Today, flight controllers reported that one of Atlantis' two onboard star trackers is not operating properly and has been powered off. The star trackers can be used as one method of updating navigation information aboard Atlantis. The failure of the star tracker, a device located on the left side of Atlantis' nose that looks upward, will have no significant impact on the planned rendezvous and docking. The remaining star tracker can be used to perform the needed functions.

Once docked the astronauts and cosmonauts will briefly open the hatch between Atlantis and the mating adapter on ISS to gather an air sample. The hatch will then be closed in preparation for Monday morning's space walk.

Monday evening, the crew will open 12 hatches throughout the length of the 143-foot long station and the attached Progress supply vehicle to begin transferring equipment and hardware.

The crew will begin a seven hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. today. They will be awakened at 5:46 p.m. to begin the final rendezvous and docking.

As of about 6:30 p.m. this evening, the Shuttle trailed the station by about 230 statute miles and was closing in by about 184 miles with each 90-minute orbit of Earth. The final phase of rendezvous will begin when Atlantis reaches a point about eight nautical miles directly behind the station and fires its engines in a terminal phase initiation burn just before 10 p.m. Central.

The TI burn, as it is called, will put the Shuttle on a course directly toward the station during the next orbit of Earth. As Atlantis moves within about a half-mile of the station, Wilcutt will take over manual control of the Shuttle's approach, flying the Shuttle from controls in the aft cockpit. Atlantis will arrive at a point about 600 feet directly below the station about 11:28 p.m. Central, and Wilcutt then will begin a half-circle of the orbiting outpost. Atlantis will pass about 350 feet in front of the station and then move to a point about 250 feet directly above it about 11:55 p.m. Central.

Wilcutt will then begin to descend toward the station and, just before midnight Central, hold position at a point about 170 feet away. Wilcutt will maintain that distance for about 20 minutes to allow the station to move within range of Russian ground communications stations before continuing the approach. At 12:41 a.m., Wilcutt will hold position again briefly at a point about 30 feet from the station to verify the Shuttle and station docking mechanisms are precisely aligned. Docking is expected about 11 minutes later with the Shuttle contacting the station at a slow rate of about a tenth of a foot per second. At the time of docking, the ISS and Atlantis will be at 49.6 degrees North Latitude, 57.1 degrees East Longitude as they fly over Western Kazakhstan.

During the rendezvous, Altman will assist Wilcutt in controlling Atlantis' approach. Mastracchio and Malenchenko also will assist with the rendezvous and docking, with Burbank and Lu operating the Shuttle's docking mechanism.

Once docked the astronauts and cosmonauts will briefly open the hatch between Atlantis and the mating adapter on ISS to gather an air sample. The hatch will then be closed in preparation for Monday morning's planned 6½-hour space walk by Lu and Malenchenko.

Near the end of their work day, Atlantis's crew will get 4 hours of off duty time to relax before beginning a planned eight hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. on Sunday.

The approach and docking went almost exactly as planned, with Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov, helping Wilcutt close the final gap between the two spacecraft as they sped around the Earth at 17,500 miles an hour over Kazakhstan. The only change to the plan was a brief tilt of the shuttle to sight the station with Atlantis' only working star tracker at a distance of 50 miles from the station.

As soon as docking was complete, the crew activated hooks and latches to forge a hard bond between Atlantis and the station's Unity module. Soon after docking, the shuttle's cabin atmospheric pressure was lowered in preparation for tonight's six and a half hour space walk, or Extravehicular Activity (EVA), by Lu and Malenchenko. This significantly reduces the amount of time crewmembers must pre-breathe pure oxygen before exiting the airlock. This purges the body of nitrogen bubbles and prevents symptoms called "the bends," well known by divers.

The space walk is scheduled to begin about midnight and conclude at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

The two space walkers will integrate the recently docked Russian Zvezda module with the rest of the International Space Station, routing and connecting nine power, data and communications cables between Zvezda and the other Russian-built module, Zarya. They'll also assemble a magnetometer boom on the outside of Zvezda. All the while, the robot arm will be used to help move equipment from the payload bay to the station. Atlantis's STS-106 crew will turn in for the day at about 10:45 this morning and will be awakened for space walk preparations at 6:46 this evening.

The astronauts and cosmonauts will enter the station Monday night, by opening 12 hatches in preparation for delivering supplies for use by the first resident crew - Expedition One.

Wilcutt and his crew will open the doors to the recently expanded International Space Station later this evening as the crew begins the transfer of more than 3 tons of hardware and supplies from Space Shuttle Atlantis and a Russian Progress supply ship. Atlantis' astronauts will be the first individuals to see the interior of the Russian Zvezda Service Module since it was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan back on July 12.

A total of 12 different hatches will be opened as Wilcutt and his crew travel through the different sections of the station. The first station hatch, located on Primary Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2) is expected to be opened about 10 p.m. Central. The crew should enter the Unity Node about 10:45 p.m. The hatch to the Zarya Control Module will be opened just after midnight. The hatch to the Zvezda module, which will be the living quarters for the first station crew when they are launched later this year, should be opened around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Even before all the hatches are opened, the STS-106 crew will begin their transfer activities as items from Atlantis are moved into the Unity node. When the final hatch, the one between the rear portion of Zvezda and a Russian Progress supply vehicle which docked to the station on August 8, is opened, the crew will begin transferring items from the Progress to the station.

One of the major objectives in tonight's activities inside the station will be the removal of hardware that is no longer needed onboard the orbiting facility. Launch restraint hardware in Zvezda, the Zarya and Progress docking probe along with manual docking system hardware in Zarya will all be removed and brought back to Earth.

The crew will begin an eight hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. on Tuesday and will be awakened at 6:46 p.m. Tuesday evening to continue their station transfer activities.

The space walk was the sixth in support of ISS assembly and the 50th in Shuttle Program history. It began at 11:47 last night and ended at 6:01 this morning.

The two crewmembers essentially served as construction workers and electricians while outside, attaching cabling that fully, and permanently, integrate Zvezda to the rest of the ISS.

During the extravehicular activity (EVA), or space walk, Mission Specialists Lu and Malenchenko stayed ahead of the timeline with choreography from inside by their crewmate, Dan Burbank. By his side on the flight deck was Rick Mastracchio, who deftly maneuvered them around the station using the robot arm.

They connected nine cables between Zvezda and Zarya, including four 27-foot long cables to permit power usage from future solar arrays provided by the U.S. This will eventually allow the sharing of electrical power as the station grows in size. Another four cables extending 16 feet were secured that will provide video and data transmissions throughout the ISS. A final fiber-optic telemetry cable was installed that will be used to provide Russian spacesuit data to be transferred to the ground during future space walks.

The final task was to construct and attach a magnetometer that serves as a backup navigation system for the station. This task took the two tethered space walkers the furthest distance from the shuttle than ever before - 110 feet above the payload bay. That's twice as far as when astronauts work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Following the space walk, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman fired small thruster jets on Atlantis to slowly increase the station's overall altitude. Three separate one-hour reboost maneuvers are planned during the docked phase of the flight.

The STS-106 crew will be awakened at 6:46 p.m. today and open the 12 hatches required in preparation for the transfer of almost 3 tons of hardware and supplies from the shuttle and a Progress vehicle to the ISS.

The STS-106 crew was awakened at 6:46 p.m. to begin its fourth day of docked operations. This morning's wake up call - "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison - was played for Mastracchio at the request of his wife.

Some of the major activities for the crew today will include the installation of three batteries inside the Zvezda Service Module. In order to reduce it's weight for launch, Zvezda was launched with only five of its eight batteries in place. The STS-106 crew also will complete the battery replacement work in the Zarya Control Module begun by the STS-101 crew back in May by installing two new batteries to go along with the four installed earlier this year.

In and around the battery work in Zvezda and Zarya, the transfer of hardware and supplies from both Atlantis and the Russian Progress supply vehicle will continue with what will now be a full week of docked operations.

Early tomorrow morning as his work day is coming to an end, Wilcutt, a native of Kentucky, will take some time to conduct interviews with three Kentucky television stations about the progress of the flight. The trio of interviews is scheduled to begin at 6:51 a.m. Central.

To replace one component in Zarya, Mission Specialists Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov had to use a hammer and chisel to remove some rivets holding the floor bracket in place. They then were able to easily remove and replace the unit that controls the flow of current through the battery.

Burbank and Morukov's battery work took care of the first of two Zarya module batteries and related equipment replacement scheduled for this mission. The second battery will be replaced Wednesday. The replacements will finish work begun in May when the STS-101 crew replaced the other four of the module batteries.

Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko installed three batteries and associated electrical equipment inside the Zvezda module. The newest space station component was launched in July with only five of its eight batteries in place to save weight.

In and around the battery work in Zvezda and Zarya, Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio transferred hardware and supplies from both Atlantis and the Russian Progress supply vehicle. That work will now extend to a full week after mission managers in Houston and Moscow granted the extra day to continue outfitting the station for its first resident crew scheduled to arrive in November.

Early this morning as his workday neared its end, Wilcutt, a native of Kentucky, took time to answer questions from reporters at three television stations in his home state.

The crew's bedtime is about 11 this morning with the Flight Day 7 wake-up call scheduled for 6:46 p.m. today.

This morning's wake up song from Mission Control was Kombaht by the group called Loobeh, played for Mission Specialist Boris Morukov of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

After finishing their post-sleep activities, Commander Terry Wilcutt and his crew - Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Morukov, will resume the transfer of almost three tons of equipment and supplies from Atlantis and a Russian supply vehicle to the newly expanded Station.

Included in today's "To Do" list will be the installation of a battery charger in the Zvezda Service Module. The device will be hooked into Zvezda's electrical power system to allow batteries in visiting Progress or Soyuz vehicles to be charged, using the station's power system. The crew will also complete the installation of a final battery in the Zarya module before installing the two Russian Orlan spacesuits that will be used by resident crews to perform space walks outside the station.

Wilcutt and Altman will conduct a second space station reboost early Thursday at 1:13 a.m. The Shuttle's RCS jets will be pulsed 36 times over an hour to gently increase the station's altitude by about 4 ½ statute miles.

Near the end of the day's activities, Wilcutt and Burbank will answer questions from reporters from the Associated Press, ABC's "Good Morning America" and CNBC's "Squawk Box." program The trio of interviews is scheduled to begin at 7:11 a.m. Central on Thursday.

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov were awakened shortly before 7 p.m. Central. The wake up song was "Haze Has Melted Away" by Konstantin Nikolsky's Group and was requested for Malenchenko by his wife.

Highlights of the day include the continuing transfer of equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the International Space Station and the organization and stowage of that gear inside the ISS. The 1,300 pounds of ISS gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module already has been unloaded.

The Progress is beginning its second role, as a space garbage truck. It will be loaded with unneeded gear-packing material as an example-which will be incinerated with the vehicle during a fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Lu and Malenchenko will spend much of their day installing voltage and current stabilizers in the Zvezda Service Module. They also will install components of the Elektron system in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is vented overboard while the oxygen replenishes the air in the ISS. The system will not be activated until after arrival of the first station crew.

The third in a series of RCS jet firings to gently raise the station's altitude will happen early on Friday morning. Beginning about 1:46 a.m., Atlantis' maneuvering thrusters will be pulsed 36 times over a one hour period to raise the station about 3½ statute miles (5.6 km). One more altitude-raising burn is planned before the shuttle undocks Sunday.

Wilcutt and Altman will give their impressions of the ISS as a home and the progress of the STS-106 mission with reporters from The CBS "Early Show," the Cable News Network (CNN) and the Louisville Courier-Journal. The series of interviews will begin at 7:31 a.m. Central time on Friday.

Atlantis' astronauts will conclude their activities mid-morning on Friday and begin an eight-hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m.

Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko hooked up a third battery in the Zvezda module, bolstering its supply of power reservoirs. The module was launched in July with five of eight batteries installed to save weight. One of the newly installed batteries in Zvezda is not working properly and Russian flight controllers are investigating. Regardless, the station will have plenty of power to accommodate the needs of the first resident crew scheduled to arrive in early November.

Meanwhile, Mission Specialists Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov, removed and replaced a fourth battery and related equipment in the Zarya module, bringing its complement of six batteries back up to speed with fresh replacements.

Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman used Atlantis' propulsion system to reboost the station's orbit to an altitude of 236 by 225 statute miles (380 x 362 km) firing the jets 36 times over the course of an hour. The maneuver raised the stations orbit about 4 ½ miles (7 km). Two more altitude-raising burns are planned before the shuttle undocks Sunday.

Through it all, Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio oversaw the unpacking of Atlantis' cargo hold and the Progress supply ship, moving all manner of equipment and supplies on board the station for the first crew. The crew also unpacked Russian-made Orlan space suits that will be used to perform space walks outside the station.

Another important item for those first residents was installed earlier today when Malenchenko moved the hardware and hoses for the station's first toilet from the Progress to Zvezda. The unit's waste tank and hose were installed. The task of activating the bathroom will be left to the Expedition One crew.

As of Noon Wednesday, the crew had transferred 1,900 pounds of hardware and supplies to the ISS. Total planned transfer from the shuttle and Progress is expected to be about 6,000 pounds.

Atlantis' crew will turn in about 11 this morning and be awakened at 6:46 this evening.

Thirty-six pulses of Atlantis' reaction control system thrusters boosted the station another 3 ½ miles (5.6 km). The third reboost of the mission placed the ISS in a 237 by 229 statute mile orbit (381 x 368 km). One more reboost maneuver is scheduled Sunday before the shuttle undocks from the station.

Mission Specialists Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko spent much of their day installing power converters in the Zvezda module. These will allow current from U.S. solar arrays to be used in the Russian modules. The first set of these large arrays is scheduled to be installed on the station in early December.

The crew took a closer look at the connections on one of Zvezda's eight batteries that is not working properly. Mission managers have elected to disconnect cables from the battery and do no further work since seven of the eight batteries are working fine. As few as five can supply enough electrical capability when a crew is stationed on the ISS.

Lu and Malenchenko also installed components of the Elektron system in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen and will be used to replenish the air in the station. The system will be activated after arrival of the first station crew.

Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov concentrated their efforts on transferring, organizing and stowing equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the station. The 1,300 pounds of gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft that is docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module already has been unloaded, and that vehicle is now being utilized as a trash container that eventually will be remotely undocked to burn up harmlessly in the Earth's atmosphere.

So far, 3,700 pounds of hardware and supplies has been moved into the ISS, including six, 100 pound bags of water, all the food for the first resident crew, office supplies, onboard environmental supplies, a vacuum cleaner and a computer and monitor.

Atlantis' astronauts will go to bed mid-morning today and will be awakened from Mission Control at 6:46 this evening. Their next workday will focus on the assembly of the station's treadmill exercise equipment.

The astronauts began their sixth day attached to the Space Station this evening, as Mission Control awakened the crew at 6:46 p.m. Central time with the University of Connecticut Fight Song, performed by the University of Connecticut Band. The music was played for Rick Mastracchio, an alumnus of that school.

On the timeline for flight day nine will be the setup of the ISS treadmill and its associated equipment. The device, known as the Treadmill with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (TVIS), allows station crews to maintain physical conditioning during their extended flights without shaking sensitive experiments.

Astronauts also will reinstall the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Controllers that had been removed by the STS-96 crew to facilitate logistics transfer during the ISS supply and setup missions. The CBM controllers are suitcase-size devices that control the latching of modules and ISS hardware to the Unity node. They were removed to avoid damage to the units and to ease the transfer of bulky items through the hatches. This reinstallation was a get-ahead task that the crew was able to work into its timeline.

Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Ed Lu will participate in a series of in-flight interviews with three media outlets Saturday. They will talk with WHEC-TV in Rochester, NY, Fox News Network and the Orlando Sentinel beginning at 6:56 a.m. CDT.

Cargo transfer is proceeding well with more than 3,500 pounds of supplies, water and equipment having been moved from the orbiter into the station. The crew has unloaded approximately 1,300 pounds from the Progress resupply vehicle presently docked to the end of the Zvezda module. The empty Progress is now being used as a trash receptacle and will be remotely deorbited prior to the arrival of the first resident crew to the Station later this fall.

Atlantis is in a 206 x 199 nautical mile orbit with all systems functioning normally.

The wake up call for Wilcutt and his crew - Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov - was the U.S. Coast Guard's "Semper Paratus" (Always Ready), played for Burbank, a Lieutenant Commander in the Coast Guard.

The Atlantis astronauts will finish checking the three tons of supplies and equipment that have been transferred from the Shuttle and an unmanned Russian supply vehicle in preparation for the arrival of the first station crew in November. Then in a reversal of the procedures they followed last Monday when they entered the station, the crew will close and secure the hatches that connect each of the station components. The first hatch closure between the Progress vehicle and the Zvezda Service Module should take place just after 10 p.m. Central. The final hatch between the station and Atlantis will be secured around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday.

In addition to station closeout activity, the STS-106 astronauts will checkout rendezvous tools and install the centerline camera in the orbiter docking system that will be used to support the undocking and fly around of the station Sunday night.

The fourth and final in a series of jet thruster firings to gently raise the station's altitude will occur while the hatch closing activity is taking place. Beginning about 10:30 p.m., Atlantis' maneuvering thrusters will be pulsed to gently raise the station about 3½ statute miles. In all, the four maneuvers will have raised the average altitude of the orbiting facility by 14 statute miles.

The STS-106 crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. tomorrow morning. Following their wake up, the astronauts will immediately move into undocking preparations with undocking scheduled for 10:44 p.m. Sunday.

All of the systems on Atlantis and the International Space Station are functioning normally.

In an activity that occupied much of their work day, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov completed installing the treadmill in the Zvezda module of the station this morning. The treadmill includes a sophisticated vibration isolation system that prevents exercise-induced vibrations from being transmitted into the hull of the Space Station and disturbing sensitive experiments that will be conducted on board by resident crews.

Inside the Unity module, Burbank and Rick Mastracchio reinstalled four Common Berthing Mechanism controllers in the port leading from Unity to the docking port currently occupied by Atlantis. The CBM controllers were removed by the STS-96 crew to provide greater clearance during the transfer of supplies from the Shuttle to the Space Station. The installation of the controllers sets the stage for the arrival of the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, early next year.

Cargo transfer continues to proceed ahead of schedule with 4,285 pounds of supplies, water and equipment being moved from Atlantis to the station and 762 pounds of material carried to Atlantis for the return trip home. Among the supplies transferred to station today were additional food, a food warmer, a ham radio and the last of the computer equipment for the first station residents. About six hours of transfer activity remains for the crew tomorrow when they will move some final water containers and food to the station. The crew also has completed unloading supplies from the Progress cargo craft and reloading that craft with trash. The cargo craft will be undocked from the station remotely before the first resident crew arrives later this year.

The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period later this morning, with a wake-up call from Mission Control scheduled for 6:46 p.m. CDT. After almost one week working on board the station, the astronauts and cosmonauts will begin turning off lights and closing the doors of their home in space in preparation for Atlantis' departure from the station on Sunday night. The crew will back out of the station module-by-module, closing a series of 12 hatches beginning at the Progress cargo ship shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday and ending with closing hatches between Unity and Atlantis shortly after 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

Atlantis is in a 206 x 199 nautical mile orbit with all systems functioning normally.

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov received their wake up call from Mission Control at 6:46 p.m. Central. The wake up song, "YMCA" was played for Scott Altman at the request of his wife.

The seven STS-106 astronauts will shortly begin the final preparations for undocking. Atlantis is scheduled to separate from the station at 10:44 p.m. while the two spacecraft are flying over the northeastern portion of the Ukraine.

The initial separation will be performed by springs in the docking mechanism that will gently push the shuttle away from the station. Both Atlantis and the station's steering jets will be shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings during this initial separation.

Once the docking mechanism's springs have pushed Atlantis away to a distance of about two feet, when the docking devices will be clear of one another, Altman will turn the shuttle's steering jets back on and fire them to begin very slowly moving away from the station. From the aft flight deck, Altman will manually control Atlantis within a tight corridor as he separates from the station, essentially reversing the task performed by Wilcutt when Atlantis docked.

Atlantis will continue away to a distance of about 450 feet, where Altman will begin the close fly-around of the station, first crossing a point directly behind, then directly underneath and then again above the station. Altman will circle the station twice in 90 minutes as the crew records views of the exterior with still photography and video. As Atlantis crosses directly above the station for the second time, Altman will fire Atlantis' jets to perform a final separation.

Early on Monday, all seven astronauts will conduct an in-flight press conference during which they will answer questions from reporters at various NASA centers and the Russian mission control center outside of Moscow. The press conference is scheduled to begin at 2:11 a.m. CDT.

Atlantis' astronauts will get some off duty time just after 3 a.m. Central before they turn in for an eight hour sleep period at 9:46 a.m. When they wake up early Monday evening, the crew will checkout the orbiter systems used for reentry and landing and secure equipment and transfer items in preparation for landing at Kennedy Space Center at 2:56 a.m. Central on Wednesday.

The last hatch to the station was closed at 7 this morning, ending 5 days, 9 hours, 21 minutes inside the station for Atlantis' crew. Undocking is scheduled for 10:44 tonight.

The exit from the station began late last night when the hatch leading to the Russian Progress supply ship was closed. The Progress has been filled with trash and packing materials and eventually will be remotely commanded to undock and burn up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere.

Before closing off the shuttle from the station, a fourth altitude boost was given to the orbiting complex. The final series of shuttle thruster firings raised the station's orbit another 3½ statute miles (5.6 km) to 241 by 233 miles (388 x 375 km). In all, the four maneuvers raised the average altitude of the ISS by 14 miles (22.5 km).

Before going to bed in a few hours, the crew will prepare rendezvous tools to be used during the undocking from the station. Also, the centerline camera will be placed in the orbiter docking system window.

After wake up at 6:46 p.m. today, the crew will move into preparations for undocking. Wilcutt and Altman will guide Atlantis through a double-loop fly around of the station to fully document its current configuration.

Atlantis leaves the station in excellent shape to await its next visitors, who will board Discovery in early October on the STS-92 mission to deliver another tunnel adapter and a small truss support for the station's propellant-saving gyroscopes. The Z1 truss element also will provide support for the large communications antenna and first set of U.S. solar arrays.

Shuttle Program managers met earlier this morning and elected to leave Discovery on the launch pad based on the expected path of Hurricane Gordon, forecast to make landfall along the upper west coast of the Florida peninsula.

"We laid out the red carpet for the first crew to come aboard," said Bob Cabana, manager of international operations for the International Space Station Program.

Undocking occurred at 10:46 p.m. CDT Sunday over Russia near the northeastern portion of the Ukraine. When Atlantis was at a safe distance from the station, about 450 feet, Pilot Scott Altman performed a 90-minute, double-loop fly around to enable the crew to document the station's exterior. He fired Atlantis' jets one final time to separate from the station at 12:35 a.m.

"It glistened out there in the different sunlight, watching the sunrise and sunset. The way it illuminated the solar arrays on the service module was just phenomenal," Altman said, when asked about the fly around during a crew news conference early Monday. "It sparkled like a jewel against the blue background of the oceans."

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov all answered questions posed by reporters at NASA centers and the Russian mission control center outside of Moscow.

Wilcutt said he had no advice for the first station residents - Bill Shepherd, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko -- other than to "enjoy it like a new home." When asked about living conditions aboard the station, in particular noise levels inside the Zvezda service module, he said "We all think it's just fine. No louder than the shuttle. It's just fine the way it is."

Following the in-flight press conference, Malenchenko and Morukov remained in Atlantis' middeck to field questions from Russian reporters in Moscow before enjoying six hours of off-duty time and an eight-hour sleep period.

When the astronauts are awakened at 5:46 p.m. CDT this afternoon, they will check out the shuttle systems used for reentry and landing and secure equipment and transfer items in preparation for their homecoming. Landing is scheduled for 2:56 a.m. CDT Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center.

STS-106 Mission Commander Terry Wilcutt along with Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov were awakened at 5:46 p.m. Central to begin what should be their final full day in orbit. This evening's wake-up song was "Home in the Islands" by The Brothers Cazimero, played for Lu who considers Honolulu a hometown.

This evening Wilcutt and Altman will test the systems that will be used during the return home to Kennedy Space Center to ensure that equipment remains in good condition. Around 8:45 p.m. Central, a test of the flight control systems that maneuver the shuttle once it re-enters the atmosphere and begins to operate like an airplane will be conducted. Just before 10 p.m., a test fire of all 44 thruster jets on Atlantis will be performed to verify they are in good working order.

The astronauts also will spend part of their work day putting away the equipment they have been using over the last week along with items being brought back from the International Space Station in preparation for their return to Earth.

Atlantis remains in excellent operating condition, as does the International Space Station, now more than 100 statute miles behind the shuttle. The two spacecraft are moving about 8.8 miles farther apart with each orbit of Earth. For a touchdown in Florida at 2:56 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, Atlantis would fire its engines to begin a descent at 1:49 a.m. CDT. A second opportunity also exists for a landing in Florida on the next orbit. The second opportunity would have the deorbit burn taking place at 3:27 a.m. CDT and Atlantis touching down on the 3-mile-long runway at KSC at 4:33 a.m. CDT.

Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov were awaken at 5:46 p.m. to the song "Houston", performed by Dean Martin.

Just before 10 p.m., the astronauts will begin their deorbit preparations. After closing Atlantis' payload bay doors at 11:10 p.m., the crew will put on their pressurized launch and entry suits and strap into their seats shortly before 1 a.m. Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale is expected to poll the flight control team for the final decision for the deorbit burn 20 minutes prior to the planned firing of Atlantis' orbital maneuvering system engines at 1:50 a.m. Central which would result in a landing for Atlantis at 2:56 a.m.

There is a second landing opportunity available on the next orbit if needed. For the second landing opportunity, Atlantis would fire its engines at 3:26 a.m., for a KSC touchdown at 4:33 a.m. Central.

During their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the International Space Station during which they transferred more than 3 tons of supplies and equipment, preparing the orbiting facility as a home for the first resident, or Expedition, crew, scheduled to arrive at the new outpost in early November.

Winding down from the hectic pace of International Space Station outfitting, which saw the crew move more than 6,600 pounds of supplies into the station, the crew of five astronauts and two cosmonauts spent much of today tearing down their campsite. They'll turn in for one last night in space about 10 this morning and receive a wakeup call from Mission Control at 5:46 this afternoon.

STS-106 Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman tested the systems that will be used during the return home, ensuring that all 44 of Atlantis' thruster jets and flight control surfaces are in good working order.

The packing and housekeeping chores high on the list of priorities included deactivating systems in the pressurized Spacehab module that served as a cargo hold for the equipment and supplies transferred to the station, and putting away other equipment used in the rendezvous, docking, space walk, undocking and fly around of the previous week.

With weather conditions favorable in Florida, and nearly perfect in California at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, managers elected to aim for a landing in Florida only, Wednesday. Edwards would be considered for Thursday, however.

For a touchdown on the 3-mile-long Shuttle Landing Facility runway on the first opportunity tomorrow, Atlantis would fire its engines to begin a descent at 1:50 a.m. A second opportunity to land in Florida starts with a deorbit burn at 3:27 a.m. and ends with Atlantis touching down at 4:33 a.m. CDT.

Atlantis remains in excellent shape as it leads the International Space Station by 140 statute miles. That distance increases by 5 miles with each orbit of the Earth.

Commander Terry Wilcutt guided Atlantis to a landing at 2:56 a.m. Central time, wrapping up a 4.9 million mile mission in which more than three tons of equipment were delivered to the international outpost. Wilcutt and his crewmates, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov completed the 23rd consecutive landing of a shuttle at the Florida spaceport, and the 30th landing of a shuttle at the Cape in the last 31 flights.

During their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the International Space Station during which they worked as movers, cleaners, plumbers, electricians and cable installers. In all, they spent 7 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes docked to the International Space Station, outfitting the new Zvezda module for the arrival of the Expedition One crew later this fall.

Atlantis' landing came just two weeks before the launch of Discovery on the next assembly flight to the station, the STS-92 mission, scheduled for liftoff around October 5. Seven astronauts will install a large truss structure to the Unity node of the Station, housing motion control gear and communications equipment. The so-called Z1 truss will also serve as the mounting platform for the large U.S. solar arrays for the station which will be delivered late this year.

The STS-106 crew is scheduled to return to Houston and a welcome home at Ellington Field about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones were ordered to stay in orbit for an extra day after Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain concluded that crosswinds at the 3-mile long Shuttle Landing Facility were out of limits despite crystal clear skies. Atlantis' crew had only two opportunities today in which to return to Earth.

The astronauts closed the Shuttle's cargo bay doors just after 8 a.m. Central time this morning as Cain and his team of flight controllers closely monitored the winds in Florida. Chief Astronaut Charlie Precourt provided real-time observations as he flew the Shuttle Training Aircraft over the landing strip, a Gulfstream jet modified to mimic the landing characteristics of Atlantis.

Throughout the morning, winds were observed to be gusting in excess of the 15 knot crosswind limit for a daytime landing, and at 11:47 a.m. Central time, Cain called off today's landing efforts. Word of the waveoff was radioed up to Cockrell by Spacecraft Communicator Scott Altman in Mission Control.

Atlantis will have two opportunities again tomorrow in which to land at the Kennedy Space Center. The first, on orbit 185, calls for a firing of Atlantis' braking rockets at 11:21 a.m. Central time with a landing on KSC's Shuttle runway at 12:27 p.m. Central time. Atlantis' cargo bay doors would be closed at around 8:40 a.m. Monday in preparation for that first landing opportunity. A backup opportunity is also available on the following orbit, with a deorbit firing of the orbital maneuvering system engines at 12:57 p.m. Central time and a landing at 2:03 p.m. Central time. The weather forecast for the Cape tomorrow is promising, with only scattered clouds, a possibility of one deck of broken clouds, and somewhat lighter winds which are predicted to be acceptable for landing.

The backup landing site at California's Edwards Air Force Base is forecast to have unacceptable weather, with broken clouds, high winds and a chance of showers.

Shortly after today's landing attempts were called off, Atlantis' astronauts reopened the Shuttle's payload bay doors and removed their launch and entry suits to begin their bonus day in space. The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 7:43 p.m. Central time tonight and will be awakened at 3:43 a.m. Monday to begin their pre-landing preparations.

Atlantis continues to orbit the Earth in excellent shape, completing an orbit of the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 237 statute miles.

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev spent a relaxing day off aboard the orbital outpost and will enjoy an off-duty day again on Monday.

In the course of five spacewalks, the crew installed new equipment on HST. This was the first flight of Columbia since the launch of Chandra in 1999 following refurbishment. In the first two spacewalks, two new solar arrays were installed, and the two old arrays stowed on the RAC carrier. The RWA-1R reaction wheel assembly on the MULE carrier replaced the faltering RWA-1 in the telescope. The third spacewalk was the most difficult, as HST was entirely powered down while astronauts replaced its power controller unit, not designed for on-orbit replacement. On the fourth spacewalk the astronauts removed the European FOC camera, aboard HST since launch in 1990, and replaced it with the new ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys). They also installed the CASH wire harness, part of the aft shroud cooling system. On the final spacewalk, the astronauts installed the NCS (NICMOS cooling system) cryocooler in the aft shround and the associated NCS radiator on the telescope's exterior. The NICMOS infrared camera had been idle since its original thermal control system failed. With the removal of FOC, the COSTAR device (which deployed contact lenses for the original instruments) became obsolete, since the newer instruments made the corrections to the incorrect HST mirror internally. Cargo manifest:

• Middeck:4 EMU spacesuits - 480 kg
• Bay 4: RAC (Rigid Array Carrier) - 2393 kg. The RAC carried the two folded SA-III rigid solar arrays which replaced the SA-II roll-up arrays. It calso carried the DBA2 diode box assembly which controlled the arrays, and a wire harness and containers associated with the NICMOS cooling system.
• Bay 7-8: SAC (Second Axial Carrier) - 2517 kg. The SAC was a specially designed pallet that flew on the first two Hubble SM flights, STS-61 and STS-82. On this flight it carried the ACS camera up (and the FOS camera down) as well as the NCS cryocooler, the PCU-R power controller, the CASH wire harness, and the thermal covers used in the PCU replacement.
• Bay 11: FSS (Flight Support System) - 2111 kg. The FSS first flew on STS 41-C (the Solar Max Repair) and was reused for each of the HST SM flights. It carried the BAPS Berthing and Positioning System, which was the docking ring for HST. Stowed on the FSS were a support post for BAPS and a cover for the HST low gain antenna.
• Bay 12: MULE (Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier) - 1409 kg. The MULE carried the NCS radiator, the NCS electronics support module, and the RWA-1R reaction wheel unit. MULE first flew on STS-48 carrying the UARS satellite, and then on STS-95 carrying the HOST payload which tested out the NCS.
• Sill: RMS arm No 201 - 410 kg

Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, Flight Engineer Nancy Currie and spacewalkers John Grunsfeld, Rick Linnehan, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino are beginning a complex mission to replace and upgrade key systems in the Hubble Space Telescope - a job that requires five back-to-back spacewalks, each more than six and a half hours long.

Mission managers met Friday evening to review information about the performance of the port side freon cooling system in Columbia's payload bay, which exhibited a degraded flow rate shortly after launch. They gave Columbia's crew a "go" to proceed with normal operations today and expressed confidence the shuttle will be allowed to complete its full mission. However, shuttle managers will meet again at midday Saturday for a further review of the potential cooling system problem and they are expected to reach a final conclusion at that time on proceeding with a Sunday capture of Hubble and the ensuing spacewalks. The degraded cooling system is one of two such systems aboard Columbia. The other system is operating perfectly. Only one of the systems is needed to provide cooling for the shuttle's electronics, but the concerns are whether the degraded cooling system can be used as a backup in the event the fully operational system were to experience unexpected problems. Although the one system is operating at a lower capacity, the problem has had no impact on any of the crew's activities and is not noticeable by the crew. Altman and Carey are getting ready to fire Columbia's reaction control system thrusters to fine-tune its approach to Hubble at 11:10 p.m. CST. Also tonight, the crew will test Columbia's robotic arm, examine the spacesuits on board, check out rendezvous equipment, and prepare the Flight Support System that will hold the telescope while it is berthed in the orbiter's payload bay.

Currie is scheduled to use Columbia's robot arm to grapple Hubble shortly after 3 a.m. CST Sunday, setting the stage for the first spacewalk early Monday morning.

During Hubble's fourth service mission, the crew of Columbia will spend five days replacing the observatory's solar arrays, its main power switching unit, and a gyroscopic pointing mechanism called a Reaction Wheel Assembly. In addition, the spacewalkers will install a new camera called the Advanced Camera for Surveys that can view twice the area of the sky as Hubble's current camera. The spacewalkers will install a cooling system and an external radiator for the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, which requires very cold temperatures to function.

Columbia is in a 356 by 127 statute mile orbit of the Earth, catching up to Hubble about 1,000 miles every orbit.

Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, Flight Engineer Nancy Currie and spacewalkers John Grunsfeld, Rick Linnehan, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino blasted off of Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center at 5:22 a.m. Central time as Hubble orbited just west of Sarasota, Florida at an altitude of about 360 miles. Because of its brightness and elevation, the telescope was visible in the pre-dawn sky over the launch site as Columbia began its pursuit.

Less than nine minutes later, the pioneer shuttle was in orbit for the first time since July 1999, following an extensive modification period in which many of its systems were replaced and enhanced.

Columbia began a two-day chase to reach Hubble for its fourth service call, in which the observatory's solar arrays, main power switching unit, and a gyroscopic pointing mechanism will be replaced by newer components. In addition, the spacewalkers will also install a new scientific instrument ten times more powerful than the Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera to survey the universe and will attempt to restore an infrared instrument through the installation of a cooling system and an external radiator.

If all goes as planned, Currie will use Columbia's robot arm to grapple Hubble shortly after 3 a.m. CST on Sunday, setting the stage for five consecutive days of servicing spacewalks beginning early Monday morning.

Columbia's crew will spend the next few hours unpacking equipment, setting up computers and conducting the first of periodic engine firings that will occur over the next two days to refine the shuttle's approach to Hubble. The shuttle crew will begin its first sleep period at 12:22 p.m. CST and will be awakened at 8:22 p.m. this evening to begin its first full day in orbit, designed to test the ship's robot arm, spacesuits and rendezvous equipment which will be used over the next few days.

There are two freon cooling loops that are part of the shuttle's active thermal control system, one on the port and one on the starboard side of the payload bay. Freon loop 1 on the port side is showing a degraded flow rate.

While low, the flow rate is slightly above flight rule limits. Mission managers are currently reviewing the flight data and studying the past performance of the sensors that measure the flow rate of the freon through the loops to build confidence in the performance of the freon loop and its ability to support the STS-109 mission through completion.

After reaching orbit this morning, Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey commanded the first in a series of engine firings to position Columbia for its Sunday morning rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope. Their crew mates - Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Nancy Currie, Jim Newman and Rick Linnehan - began readying Columbia for its on-orbit operations by stowing away their launch and entry suits and opening the interior hatch to Columbia's airlock.

This is Columbia's first flight since July 1999, following an extensive modification period in which many of its systems were replaced or enhanced. Columbia was NASA's first shuttle orbiter and flew for the first time in April 1981.

Following an extensive analysis, managers determined that, although operating at a lower capacity, the system in question still provides sufficient cooling for shuttle equipment and Columbia can proceed with the capture and rejuvenation of the Hubble Space Telescope. Today, the STS-109 crew - Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jim Newman, Rick Linnehan, John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino - prepared for Sunday morning's planned rendezvous and capture of the orbiting observatory.

Altman, Carey and Currie checked out the various tools that will be used during the final phases of tomorrow's rendezvous activities and performed another in a series of burns designed to refine Columbia's approach to the telescope. The two space walking pairs, Grunsfeld and Linnehan, and Massimino and Newman, began a checkout of the spacesuits they will wear over the course of five scheduled space walks and configured the airlock in readiness for the first spacewalk early Monday morning.

Currie, who will operate the shuttle's robotic arm to capture the telescope and maneuver astronauts during the spacewalks, powered up the 50-foot long arm today, finding it in good condition.

The final phases of the rendezvous will begin about 1 a.m. Sunday as Altman closes in on the telescope. Nancy Currie is planned to capture the telescope at 3:14 a.m. Sunday using the robotic arm. At that time, the two spacecraft will be over the Pacific Ocean, just east of Australia.

Columbia's capture of the telescope is planned for 3:13 a.m. Sunday. The shuttle's final approach will begin this evening with the longest rendezvous engine firing in shuttle program history. The three and a half minute firing, to be performed using the shuttle's two large orbital engines just after 10 p.m., will dramatically slow the rate at which Columbia is closing on the telescope, raising the shuttle's orbital low point more than 200 miles.

In the cockpit, shuttle Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey will guide Columbia's approach. On the shuttle's lower deck this evening, Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld, Rick Linnehan, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino will check out and prepare the tools they'll use during five upcoming space walks. Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will power up Columbia's robotic arm, moving it to a position poised to capture Hubble.

The final phase of the rendezvous with Hubble will begin at about 1 a.m. Sunday, when Columbia is about nine statute miles behind the observatory. An engine firing at that time will put the shuttle on course to directly intercept the telescope. As the shuttle moves within about a half-mile below Hubble about an hour and a half later, Altman will take over manual control of the approach. Altman will ease Columbia to within 35 feet of the telescope, within reach of the outstretched 50-foot-long robotic arm.

As Columbia flies 350 miles above the Pacific Ocean east of Australia, Currie will latch the arm onto a fixture on Hubble. Currie will then lower the telescope into position to be latched to a special support structure in the shuttle's cargo bay. The cargo bay Flight Support System, as the structure is called, will hold the telescope for the next week, turning and tilting it as needed for the spacewalking work.

At about 7 a.m. Sunday, commands will be sent to begin retracting the telescope's two solar arrays, one at a time over the course of about two hours, in preparation for Monday's first space walk. The first space walk, which Grunsfeld and Linnehan are planned to begin at about 12:30 a.m. Monday, will install a pair of new-generation solar arrays on the telescope.

Within hours of awakening Grunsfeld and Linnehan, with the assistance of crewmates Jim Newman and Mike Massimino, will begin donning their spacesuits. Grunsfeld, performing his third spacewalk, will wear a spacesuit with red stripes. Linnehan, who is conducting his first spacewalk, will be wearing a spacesuit without any stripes. The pair may work ahead of schedule and leave the airlock as much as an hour earlier than planned.

They will begin the spacewalk with about an hour of setup activities in the payload bay to prepare for the total of five spacewalks for this mission. The next scheduled task is to install the new solar array's electrical support components, called a Diode Box Assembly, on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Space shuttle robot arm operator, Nancy Currie, will move the spacewalking duo by providing transportation to and from the worksite at the starboard array of the telescope. Grunsfeld, anchored to the telescope, will prepare the array for removal. Linnehan, on the end of the robotic arm, will then hold onto the array as Currie guides the arm into the payload bay where Linnehan will stow the old array for its return to Earth. Linnehan will then return to the worksite to help install the new solar array.

The third-generation solar arrays are two-thirds the size of the current arrays but will provide 20 percent more power to the telescope. Because of their smaller size, the new arrays will impart less atmospheric drag, slowing the rate at which Hubble's orbit decays.

Columbia Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey will document their crewmates' work during the spacewalk with television and still-photo cameras, while also monitoring systems onboard Columbia. Today's spacewalk is scheduled to last 6 1/2 hours.

The crew is to begin its sleep period at 11:52 a.m. CST.

Columbia's chase of the telescope ended with Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey manually flying Columbia to within 35 feet of Hubble allowing Mission Specialist Nancy Currie to use the shuttle's robot arm to gently grasp the orbiting observatory.

With the telescope safely in the payload bay, the crew turned its attention to retracting the two large solar arrays that generate power for the telescope. The motors that drive the two arrays had not been used since the panels were originally deployed during the first servicing mission in December 1993. The motors performed flawlessly taking approximately five minutes to retract each of the two arrays. The retractions were scheduled to take place during orbital daytime to allow sunlight to adequately warm the arrays prior to retraction.

The first in a pair of new-generation solar arrays will be installed by John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan on the first scheduled spacewalk of the mission, which is set to begin about 12:30 a.m. Monday. However, it is possible the spacewalk could begin up to one hour earlier than scheduled.

The crew is scheduled to wake up about 8 p.m. today, and within hours Grunsfeld and Linnehan, with the assistance of crewmates Jim Newman and Mike Massimino, will begin donning their spacesuits. They will begin the spacewalk by setting up some of the tools they will use, before Grunsfeld and Linnehan, working together, remove the old array, stow it in the payload bay and install the new starboard side array. They will also install its associated electrical support components, called a Diode Box Assembly. Mission Control bid the crew goodnight just before noon today concluding a busy and successful day culminating with the capture of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Newman, making his fifth spacewalk, will work closely with crewmate, Mike Massimino, who will be conducting his first spacewalk. Newman will wear a spacesuit marked with horizontal broken red strips for identification and Massimino will have on a spacesuit with diagonally broken red stripes.

This spacewalk mirrors much of the work done by spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan who replaced the Hubble Space Telescope's starboard solar array in today's seven-hour spacewalk. The second team of spacewalkers will remove the port-side array, stow it in the payload bay, and install a new-generation array along with its electrical components, or Diode Box Assembly. An additional task for the pair is to replace a Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) inside the telescope. Space shuttle robot arm operator Nancy Currie will provide transportation for the spacewalkers to and from the worksite at the port array of the telescope and Bay 6, the location of the RWA.

The RWA to be replaced is one of four onboard the telescope. They are pointing devices that control Hubble's steady view of the cosmos. After the solar array installation, Massimino will ride the end of the robot arm to Bay 6, remove the old RWA, and then carry it to the payload bay where Newman will be waiting with the new component. They will exchange the units and Massimino will take the new RWA back to Bay 6 for installation, while Newman stows the old RWA for the flight home. Setup tasks for future spacewalks of this mission, including removing the thermal cover on Bay 5 and installing foot restraints, will wrap up the spacewalk.

Columbia Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey will document their crewmates' work during the spacewalk with television and still-photo cameras, while also monitoring systems onboard Columbia. Today's spacewalk, the second of five for this mission, is scheduled to last almost seven hours.

The crew is to begin its sleep period at 11:52 a.m. CST.

Controllers at the Space Telescope Operations Control Center in Greenbelt, MD, will begin sending commands to power down the telescope's systems around 10:30 p.m. CST. The power is planned to be off until the telescope is brought back to life at 5:30 a.m. CST Wednesday with a newly installed power center.

The shuttle crew was awakened today by the song "Carmen Ohio," performed by the Ohio State University marching band and played for Ohio State alumni Nancy Currie and Rick Linnehan aboard Columbia. Space walkers John Grunsfeld and Linnehan are scheduled to begin their work outside the shuttle about 12:30 a.m. CST Wednesday.

Grunsfeld and Linnehan will replace Hubble's power control unit, or PCU, the central power switching station that distributes electricity to all of the observatory's systems and scientific instruments. Currie will operate the shuttle's robotic arm, moving the space walkers to and from worksites on the telescope. Linnehan will ride the arm first to a position where he will disconnect the telescope's batteries. Meanwhile, Grunsfeld will install blankets to protect components that will not be heated while the power is off.

The pair will work in tandem to replace the PCU. Linnehan will remove 30 of the 36 connectors on the old PCU and then move to the shuttle's payload bay to prepare the new unit for installation. Grunsfeld will then work at the end of the arm to unhook the remaining connectors, ease the old PCU out of the telescope and carry it to the shuttle's payload bay to be stored. There, Linnehan will hand the new unit to Grunsfeld, who will take it to the worksite, install the new box in its bay and reattach the 36 connectors.

Inside Columbia, the flight's other space walking team, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino, will assist. They will act as in-cabin choreographers guiding Grunsfeld and Linnehan through their tasks. Newman and Massimino are scheduled to perform the mission's fourth space walk on Thursday. Columbia Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey will operate television and still cameras to document the work.

The crew is to begin its sleep period at 11:52 a.m. CST Wednesday.

Spacewalkers Jim Newman and Mike Massimino spent seven hours 16 minutes installing the new equipment. Massimino, on his first spacewalk and Newman, making his fifth spacewalk, began their work at 12:40 a.m. CST. Newman and Massimino first removed the old port solar array and stowed it in Columbia's payload bay for a return to Earth. They then installed a third-generation solar array and its associated electrical components, the Diode Box Assembly. When the solar array installation was complete, the spacewalkers moved on to the removal and replacement of the RWA. Nancy Currie once again used the shuttle's robotic arm to maneuver the spacewalkers to and from the worksite at the port array of the telescope and the RWA in Bay 6.

Initial validation tests performed by the Space Telescope Operations Control Center in Greenbelt, Md. indicate that the new solar array and reaction wheel assembly are working flawlessly. The new RWA is one of four pointing devices on the telescope that uses its spin to control Hubble's position, providing a steady view of the universe for the telescope's sensitive cameras.

Toward the end of their spacewalk, Newman and Massimino also installed a thermal blanket on Bay 6, door stop extensions on Bay 5, and foot restraints in preparation for tomorrow's spacewalk by John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan.

The spacewalkers also tested two bolts on the telescope's aft shroud doors. Those doors protect the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS.) The two spacewalkers determined that the bottom of the two bolts required replacement and an aft shroud latch replacement kit was used to ensure that both bolts keep the door tightly closed.

During the spacewalk, Columbia Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey used television and still-photo cameras to document the work, while monitoring systems onboard Columbia. Grunsfeld and Linnehan, who will be outside Columbia tomorrow for the third spacewalk of the mission, assisted Newman and Massimino from the aft flight deck.

The crew is scheduled to awaken at 7:52 p.m. CST.

Spacewalkers Jim Newman and Mike Massimino are ready to begin the first science instrument upgrade of the servicing mission when they step outside about 2:30 a.m. CST Thursday. The fourth of five spacewalks to rejuvenate Hubble will feature installation of the Advanced Camera for Surveys, which will see far beyond the reach of current instruments. The final original science instrument remaining on the telescope, the Faint Object Camera, will be removed to make room for the advanced system.

Columbia's crew - Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey and mission specialists Nancy Currie, John Grunsfeld, Rick Linnehan, Newman and Massimino - was awakened at 9:52 p.m. CST. The original song "Sittin on Top of the World," played for the wakeup, was recorded and dedicated to the STS-109 crew by Les Paul, a music pioneer and space enthusiast.

Currie will operate the shuttle robot arm to provide transportation to and from the telescope worksites during the spacewalk. Newman will be lifted to Hubble's aft shroud doors where he will meet Massimino, remove the Faint Object Camera and temporarily stow it on the aft fixture of the enclosure holding the new instrument in Columbia's cargo bay. Together they will then unlatch the new camera from its carrier in the shuttle payload bay and install it in the aft shroud of the telescope. Once that is completed, they will stow the old camera in the payload bay carrier for return to Earth.

Massimino will then take a turn on the robotic arm, and the duo will install an Electronic Support Module for a new experimental cooling device to be installed on the fifth spacewalk for the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. They also will perform a few remaining cleanup tasks from Wednesday's power control unit installation.

Fellow spacewalkers Grunsfeld and Linnehan will be working inside the shuttle to choreograph the excursion as Altman and Carey provide photo and video documentation of the spacewalk.

Functionality tests continue and already have been fully successful on all of Hubble's major systems that were powered down for the third spacewalk. Functional tests of the telescope's scientific instruments will not be completed until after the telescope is released from Columbia and its aperture door is opened, allowing it to again view the heavens.

The crew is to begin its sleep period at 1:52 p.m. CST Thursday.

The crew onboard Columbia was awakened at 9:52 p.m. CST by the Mission Impossible: II theme song, performed by Limp Bizkit.

Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan plan to step out into the shuttle's payload bay about 2:30 a.m. CST Friday. The objective of the 6 1/2 hour spacewalk is to install the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) Cooling System.

NICMOS was installed on the second servicing mission to Hubble in 1997. The camera operated at extremely low temperatures and its solid-nitrogen cooling block was depleted earlier than expected. Engineers hope the new neon gas cooling system will restore the cold temperatures necessary for the camera to operate.

For the installation, Nancy Currie will give Grunsfeld a ride on the shuttle's robotic arm to the aft shroud doors, which he will open. These doors are on the opposite side of the telescope from where spacewalkers Mike Massimino and Jim Newman worked on Thursday.

Grunsfeld will then retrieve the NICMOS Cryogenic Cooler from the shuttle's payload bay and both spacewalkers will install the unit inside the telescope. After switching places on the arm Grunsfeld will close the left aft shroud door and Linnehan will move to the payload bay to remove the NICMOS Cooling System Radiator from its carrier. Together, they will install the radiator on the outside of Hubble. Linnehan will feed wires from the radiator through the bottom of the telescope to Grunsfeld, located inside Hubble, who will make the necessary connections to NICMOS. They will then close both aft shroud doors and perform the final activities of the spacewalk to prepare the shuttle payload bay for landing.

Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey will provide photo and video documentation of this last spacewalk from inside the shuttle.

After the spacewalk, Columbia's smallest steering jets will be employed to boost the shuttle and Hubble's orbit. With the payload bay facing the direction of travel, the shuttle's vernier jets will be fired in a series of pulses, lasting about 36 minutes. The reboost will increase the shuttle and Hubble's orbit by about 3.7 statute miles.

The crew is to begin its sleep period at 1:52 p.m. CST Friday.

Columbia's spacewalkers, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino, began the first science instrument upgrade of this servicing mission at 3 a.m. central time. The duo, with Newman on the shuttle's robotic arm, began by removing the last of Hubble's original science instruments, the Faint Object Camera to make room for the ACS. Newman and Massimino first opened Hubble's aft shroud doors, removing the Faint Object Camera and temporarily stowing it at the edge of Columbia's payload bay. After installing the ACS in the Hubble, Newman and Massimino stowed the old camera in the payload bay for its return to Earth.

Then Massimino, on the shuttle's robotic arm, installed the Electronic Support Module in the aft shroud, with Newman's assistance. That module will support a new experimental cooling system to be installed during tomorrow's fifth and final scheduled spacewalk of the mission. That cooling system is designed to bring the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) back to life.

Finally, Newman and Massimino completed some remaining cleanup tasks from yesterday's Power Control Unit installation.

During the first half of the spacewalk, mission specialist Nancy Currie operated the shuttle's robotic arm, providing transportation to and from the various worksites on both the Hubble and in Columbia's payload bay - Commander Scott Altman then took over operation of the arm to maneuver Massimino through his tasks.

Fellow spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan worked from inside the shuttle to choreograph the spacewalk, as Altman and Pilot Duane Carey continued to provide photo and video documentation of the work.

Initial functional tests on the ACS and the electronics module conducted by the Space Telescope Operations Control Center in Greenbelt, Md. were both good. Functional tests of the telescope's scientific instruments will not be completed, however, until after the telescope is released from Columbia and its aperture door is opened.

The crew is to begin its sleep period at 2:52 p.m. CST.

The crew completed five spacewalks on consecutive days, installing equipment that will give the telescope more energy, a new electronic "heart," and a camera more powerful than ever before. Columbia will release Hubble at about 4 a.m. CST Saturday, firing its engines soon after to separate the vicinity.

Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey and mission specialists John Grunsfeld, Nancy Currie, Rick Linnehan, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino aboard Columbia were awakened at 9:52 p.m. CST by "Who Made Who" by AC DC. The song was played for Carey.

Activities in preparation for Hubble's release will begin about 12:52 a.m. CST when Currie grips a fixture on the telescope with Columbia's robotic arm. The latches that have held the telescope to a special support structure in the shuttle's payload bay will be released at about 2:04 a.m. CST. Currie will then lift the telescope above the cargo bay to a position poised for release. Several systems checks will follow as ground controllers at the Space Telescope Operations Center, Greenbelt, Md., prepare the observatory to again fly free before it is finally released by the shuttle.

After separating from the telescope, Columbia's crew will take a break from duties at 7:03 a.m. CST to participate in interviews by the NBC Weekend Today Show, WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minn., and CNN.

The crew will begin a sleep period at 11:52 a.m. CST Saturday.

Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan began their third spacewalk of the mission at 2:46 a.m. CST. Linnehan was given a ride on the shuttle's robotic arm to the aft shroud doors by Nancy Currie, working from the aft flight deck of Columbia. After the shroud doors were open, Linnehan was moved back to Columbia's payload bay to remove the NICMOS cryocooler from its carrier. Grunsfeld and Linnehan then installed the cryocooler inside the aft shroud and connected cables from its Electronics Support Module. That module was installed yesterday during a spacewalk by Jim Newman and Mike Massimino.

Next, with Grunsfeld on the end of the shuttle's robotic arm, the Cooling System Radiator was retrieved from its carrier in Columbia's payload bat and installed on the outside of Hubble. Linnehan fed wires from the radiator through the bottom of the telescope to Grunsfeld, who made the necessary connections to NICMOS. After ensuring that all the cables were properly connected and stowed, the pair closed both aft shroud doors and performed the final activities of the spacewalk to prepare the shuttle payload bay for landing.

Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey provided photo and video documentation of the last spacewalk from inside the shuttle.

Initial tests of the new cooling system by the Space Telescope Operations Control Center in Greenbelt, Md. have all gone very well. NICMOS was originally installed on the second servicing mission to Hubble in 1997. The camera requires extremely low temperatures, but its solid-nitrogen cooling block was depleted earlier than expected. Engineers hope the new neon gas cooling system will restore the cold temperatures necessary for the camera to operate.

About an hour after the spacewalk, at 11:18 a.m., Columbia's smallest steering jets were fired for 36 minutes to boost the shuttle and Hubble's orbit by four statute miles. This reboost places Hubble in the proper orbit for its deployment from Columbia's payload bay early Saturday morning.

The crew began its sleep period at 1:52 p.m. and is scheduled to awaken at 9:52 p.m.

From the flight deck, spacewalker John Grunsfeld expressed the sentiments of the crew - Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Mike Massimino, Jim Newman and Rick Linnehan - as he said "from the crew of STS-109, we bid Hubble well on its new journey, with its new tools, to explore the universe."

Grunsfeld, Linnehan, Newman and Massimino completed five spacewalks to service and upgrade the telescope on five consecutive days, beginning early Monday morning. The spacewalks set a new record for a single shuttle mission with a total time of 35 hours 55 minutes, surpassing the previous record of 35 hours 26 minutes held by STS-61, the first Hubble servicing mission. The Hubble has now been serviced four times with a total of18 spacewalks, involving 14 different astronauts, for a total spacewalking time of 129 hours 10 minutes.

Over five days, the spacewalkers, assisted by Currie operating the shuttle's robotic arm, installed equipment that gave the telescope more power, a new module to dispense that extra power, and a camera able to see twice as much area, with more speed and clarity. They also installed an experimental cooling system that engineers hope will bring back to life the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer.

At 4:05 a.m., Commander Scott Altman and Pilot Duane Carey fired Columbia's orbital maneuvering system engines to begin separating themselves from Hubble - leaving the telescope to continue it observations of the universe with more capabilities than ever before.

The crew took time this morning to discuss the progress of their mission with the NBC Weekend Today Show, WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minn. and CNN. The crew is scheduled to begin their sleep period at 11:52 a.m. CST and to awaken at 8:52 p.m. to begin their 10th day in space.

The crewmembers onboard Columbia - Altman, Pilot Duane Carey and Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld, Nancy Currie, Rick Linnehan, Jim Newman and Mike Massimino - will have a rare opportunity to speak with another crew in orbit, the International Space Station Expedition Four crew.

At 2:15 a.m. Sunday the shuttle crew will talk with space station Commander Yury Onufrienko, and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch. STS-109 is the first space shuttle mission not dedicated to assembly of the space station, since a crew has been living aboard the orbiting laboratory. The station has been continuously inhabited since the first expedition crew arrived in November 2000.

Columbia's crew also will participate in a live question and answer session with reporters at 6:47 a.m. WABC Radio in New York City; KARE-TV of Minneapolis, Minn., and the CBS Radio Network will discuss the Hubble servicing mission with the crew.

Flight Controllers at the Space Telescope Operations Center in Greenbelt, Md., report that all systems on Hubble are operating well after its release from Columbia. The new, more efficient solar arrays and Power Control Unit are performing excellently. The activation of the science instruments is scheduled to begin about 11 p.m. Sunday. Controllers will continue to monitor the newly installed components until everything is brought back on line.

Science observations are expected to resume in the next few weeks from the veteran Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and Wide Field Planetary Camera. Any possible moisture accumulated during the maintenance operations will be allowed to evaporate before some instruments will be activated. The newest science instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, will begin peering more deeply into the cosmos in the next few months.

The crew will begin a sleep period at 11:22 a.m. Sunday.

Landing is scheduled for 3:32 a.m. CST Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The weather forecast for landing calls for generally acceptable conditions with only a slight chance of rain showers developing offshore.

Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, and Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will test Columbia's mechanical maneuvering systems at 12:47 a.m. CST Monday to ensure they will be able to steer the shuttle on the correct path for landing. They also will test the reaction control system jets at 1:47 a.m. for assured maneuverability during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Crewmates Mike Massimino, John Grunsfeld, Rick Linnehan and Jim Newman will help pack away the equipment used throughout the mission.

The crew also will take time to answer questions from middle school students at the Maryland Science Center and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science at 10:12 p.m. The crew news conference with reporters at Kennedy and the Johnson Space Center in Houston is scheduled for 11:57 p.m. Sunday.

The song "Floating" by the Moody Blues awakened the crew at 7:22 p.m. Sunday. The song was dedicated to first-time fliers, pilot "Digger" and spacewalker Massimino.

Tuesday's primary landing opportunity to Kennedy would begin with a deorbit engine firing by Columbia at 2:22 a.m. CST leading to the 3:32 a.m. touchdown. A second landing opportunity also is available for Kennedy on Tuesday, beginning with an engine firing at 4:05 a.m. leading to a touchdown at 5:13 a.m.

Although opportunities do exist for landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., shuttle managers plan to focus Tuesday only on a landing in Florida. Additional landing opportunities are available Wednesday, in both Florida and California.

The crew will begin a sleep period at 11:22 a.m. Monday.

Columbia's main landing gear touched down at 3:32 a.m. CST, completing a mission that covered 3,941,705 statue miles.

Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, and Mission Specialist/Flight Engineer Nancy Currie brought Columbia smoothly back to Earth. They fired the shuttle's orbital maneuvering system engines at 2:23 a.m., while Columbia was over the Indian Ocean, to begin their descent from orbit.

Their ground track took them across the Pacific Ocean and the coast of Baja California, then on an almost due east heading across the southern United States. The plasma trail of the orbiter was visible as it passed over Houston to some flight controllers at Houston's Mission Control Center who took a moment to go outside and watch it move quickly across the northern sky.

Florida weather remained good for the landing, though there had been some concern earlier in the day about formation of ground fog. It did not materialize, and Columbia landed right on time.

Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld, Jim Newman, Rick Linnehan and Mike Massimino completed the five spacewalks, working in teams of two on alternate days. They gave the Hubble new solar arrays, an advanced new camera and installed a cooling system to revive another instrument. They also installed a new power control unit to route electricity from the arrays to batteries and instruments, and a new reaction wheel assembly to help point the telescope.

Tuesday's landing was the 58th for a shuttle at Kennedy Space Center and the 14th night landing there. Five other missions have ended with night landings at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.