Curbeam Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Two children. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, 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: 37.61 days. Number of EVAs: 7.00. Total EVA Time: 1.90 days.

NAME: Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., (Lieutenant Commander, USN)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born March 5, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland. Married to the former Julie Dawn Lein; two children. He enjoys weightlifting, biking, and family activities.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Woodlawn High School, Baltimore County, Maryland, 1980. Bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the United States Naval Academy, 1984. Master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1990. Degree of aeronautical & astronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1991.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and the Association of Old Crows.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Fighter Wing One Radar Intercept Officer of the Year for 1989, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School Best Developmental Thesis (DT-II) Award, two Navy Commendation Medals, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Navy Battle Efficiency Award, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

EXPERIENCE:

Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, Curbeam commenced Naval Flight Officer training in 1984. In 1986 he reported to Fighter Squadron 11 and made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, and the Arctic and Indian Oceans onboard the USS Forrestal (CV-59). Upon completion of Test Pilot School in December 1991, he reported to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate where he was the project officer for the F-14A/B Air-to-Ground Weapons Separation Program. In August 1994, he returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in the Weapons and Systems Engineering Department.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Curbeam reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation and was assigned to the Computer Support Branch of the Astronaut Office.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:

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

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

• 7 February 2001 Flight: STS-98. Flight Up: STS-98. Flight Back: STS-98. Flight Time: 12.89 days.

• 10 December 2006 Flight: STS-116. Flight Up: STS-116. Flight Back: STS-116. Flight Time: 12.86 days.

9 June 1995 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 15 selected.. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. 10 pilots and 9 mission specialists, 6 civilians and 13 military officers, chosen from 2,962 applicants, of which 122 screened in June-August 1994. 4 additional international astronauts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev conducted biomedical and engineering experiments, Station systems maintenance and exercise this week, reporting that everything is proceeding smoothly more than halfway through their stay aboard the ISS.

The only technical issue being addressed by Russian flight controllers involves a minor problem with battery three in the Zvezda Service Module, which was temporarily taken offline to enable Krikalev to check connector pins from the battery itself to a current converter unit behind one of the panels in the Station's living quarters. The battery experienced a small drop in current flow, but has no impact on Station operations. All other batteries in Zvezda and the Zarya module are functioning normally as they draw power from the U.S. P6 solar arrays mounted on top of the Station's Unity module. The huge U.S. solar arrays are providing more than ample power for all Station systems.

Because the sun is shining obliquely to the Russian module solar arrays this week due to its angle relative to the Earth, Russian controllers decided to reduce the power output of the Elektron oxygen generation system in Zvezda to conserve electricity. One or two solid fuel oxygen generation canisters will be activated today and tomorrow to augment the output of oxygen on board the ISS until the Elektron is returned to full power Friday when the sun is in a more favorable angle to the solar arrays of both Zvezda and Zarya. All environmental systems on the ISS are functioning normally.

Later this week, Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev will review flight plans for the upcoming mission of Atlantis to the ISS to deliver the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, the cornerstone of scientific research for years to come on the Station. Today, Atlantis was transported to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center for final prelaunch preparations leading to liftoff in about three weeks on the first Shuttle mission of 2001.

Atlantis' five astronauts, Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones will conduct a variety of countdown dress rehearsal procedures later this week at the Cape, culminating in a simulated launch countdown Saturday morning with the crew on board the Shuttle.

Launch of Atlantis to bring Destiny to the ISS is targeted for no earlier than January 19. Next week, NASA Shuttle and ISS managers will hold their traditional Flight Readiness Review to set a firm launch date for Atlantis' mission to the Station.

The International Space Station continues to operate in excellent shape as it orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 230 statute miles.

Shuttle and station managers selected the target launch date following Wednesday's traditional Flight Readiness Review to assess the readiness of the shuttle, station, crew, payloads and flight control teams. Based on a Friday early morning launch, Atlantis is scheduled to dock to the ISS just before 9 p.m. Eastern on January 20.

In preparation for the shuttle's arrival, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev conducted a thorough inventory of items onboard and began stowing equipment and supplies to clear passageways that will be used by the two crews throughout the seven days of joint operations.

Remaining work for the Expedition One crew in preparing for Atlantis' arrival includes reviewing documentation for the laboratory's activation, conferences with various technical specialists and the STS-98 crew, and a mid-tour debrief with flight controllers.

Destiny's attachment and activation is the highlight of the 11-day mission along with the relocation of a shuttle docking port and three spacewalks designed to complete final connections between the laboratory, docking port and the station. The third spacewalk will mark the 100th in U.S. spacewalk history and the 60th based out of the shuttle.

In preparation for the relocation of the shuttle docking port, known as Pressurized Mating Adapter 2, flight controllers in Houston attempted to cycle four latches on the Common Berthing Mechanism to which the PMA currently is attached. The first latch cycled properly, but the second apparently was obstructed by a piece of the air ducting used to circulate air throughout the station while a shuttle is docked. Shepherd visibly detected the obstruction and a plan is in place to pressurize the volume of the PMA so that he can float in, move the vent and watch as flight controllers cycle the latch once again. This procedure sets the stage for the removal of the PMA to free the location for Destiny's installation.

The only technical issue on the station at present is an apparent faulty current converter unit on one of eight batteries inside the Zvezda module. It has no impact on the station's electrical generation capability, especially in light of the ample power available from the solar arrays installed on the STS-97 mission of Discovery in December. All station life support systems are working fine.

Atlantis' five astronauts, Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones conducted a countdown dress rehearsal last weekend as technicians were installing the Destiny lab in its payload bay at Launch Complex 39B.

The International Space Station continues to operate in excellent shape as it orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 230 statute miles.

Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev spent the last week reinstating the use of all eight batteries inside the Zvezda module by replacing a faulty current converter unit.

Meanwhile the crew pressurized and entered the shuttle docking port that will be repositioned on the next mission and moved an air duct that was obstructing the full motion of one of four berthing latches. Once the duct was moved, the latch was cycled without problem and is ready for the removal of the docking port in preparation for the installation of Destiny. The docking port then will be relocated to the opposite end of the laboratory.

For the next week, the Expedition One crew will continue to conduct a thorough inventory of items onboard and stow equipment and supplies. The three crew members also will review documentation for the laboratory's activation, practice for an emergency departure similar to building fire drills, and take part in conferences with various technical specialists.

Shuttle managers ordered the rollback of Atlantis off the launch pad so that inspections can be made to cables inside a tray on the Solid Rocket Boosters. Destiny was removed from the payload bay today and will remain in a protective room on the launch pad until Atlantis returns next week.

Launch of Atlantis on the 102nd shuttle flight now is scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 6. Liftoff is tentatively set for 5:37 p.m. CST (2337 GMT). Docking to the station will occur just after Noon on Feb. 8.

Destiny will provide the orbiting outpost with its first science facility. Its attachment and activation is the highlight of the 11-day mission along with the relocation of the shuttle docking port. Three space walks will complete final connections between the laboratory, docking port and the station. The third space walk marks the 100th in U.S. Space walk history and the 60th based out of the shuttle.

Atlantis' five astronauts, Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones will spend the next two weeks reviewing their official Flight Data File before flying to the Kennedy Space Center for the final days of the countdown.

International Space Station systems are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of approximately 230 statute miles.

Following the shuttle's return to the launch pad, the U.S. Laboratory Destiny was installed in the payload bay Tuesday and the doors closed for flight last night. Atlantis' launch remains scheduled for 6:11 p.m. EST, Feb. 7. The STS-98 flight crew of Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Tom Jones, Marsha Ivins and Bob Curbeam are scheduled to fly to the Kennedy Space Center Sunday afternoon with the countdown scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. EST.

Meanwhile aboard the station, the Expedition One crew of Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev continue the task of preparing for the shuttle's arrival while continuing their daily routine of exercise and housekeeping chores.

Troubleshooting efforts on a vibration measuring experiment paid off late last week when Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd recovered the operation of the Middeck Active Control Experiment (MACE). The experiment appears to be working fine and timeliners are busily searching for openings in the crew's long-range plan to accommodate further operations with this experiment that originally flew as a shuttle payload to measure tiny amounts of vibration in an effort to identify how normal activity onboard may affect sensitive experiments.

Flight controllers plan to conduct an experiment to measure the electrical charging on the outside of the station by strategically positioning the large U.S. solar arrays as the station circles the Earth. The hopes are to correlate the array position with the amount of arcing that may be generated. Plasma Contactor Units on the station are designed to eliminating the arcing, if present. This Detailed Test Objective is designed to gather additional information that will help verify engineering models and/or refine future planning that may be required.

Additionally, the crew and flight controllers are planning to conduct a dry-run of the procedures for the shuttle docking to the ISS planned for two days after launch.

Plans for the crew and flight controllers may include a test of station procedures that will be used for the docking of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Orbiting the Earth at an average altitude of 230 statute miles, the International Space Station is operating in excellent condition.

Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones rocketed away from Launch Pad 39-A at 5:13p.m. Central time, lighting up the central Florida skies as they began their pursuit of the international complex. The launch was delayed by about two minutes while ground controllers resolved a false reading from a sensor in a data relay unit on the Shuttle. Atlantis' flight is the 102nd Space Shuttle mission.

At the time of launch, the three Expedition One crewmembers aboard the ISS were passing over the north Atlantic due east of St. John's, Newfoundland, about 1,500 statute miles ahead of Atlantis. They were notified of the launch minutes after Atlantis reached orbit by Spacecraft Communicator Dan Burbank in Mission Control, and a video of the launch was transmitted to the crew. Expedition Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev will be awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Central time Thursday, their 100th day in space, a little over an hour before an unmanned Progress resupply vehicle is scheduled to be undocked from the ISS at around 5:25 a.m. The Progress undocking will clear the way for Atlantis to link up to the station on Friday. The Progress will be commanded into a destructive deorbit several hours after undocking.

Less than nine minutes after liftoff, Atlantis' astronauts went to work to prepare the Shuttle's systems for their planned 11-day mission. The first major task on the flight plan was to open Atlantis' cargo bay doors prior to receiving a "go" for orbital operations from Ascent Flight Director LeRoy Cain. The astronauts are expected to set up computers and flight deck gear before beginning an eight-hour sleep period at 10:11 p.m. Central time. The Shuttle crew will be awakened at 6:11 a.m. Friday to begin its first full day in space.

With this evening's successful launch behind them, Atlantis' astronauts will turn their attention to their chase of the International Space Station, performing several firings of the ship's jet thrusters over the next two days to set up a docking with the outpost on Friday just before 11 a.m. Over the ensuing week, the crew will perform three space walks as they help to install and hook up the 16-ton Destiny research lab.

More than two thousand miles ahead, the three-member space station crew -- passing their 100th day in space - watched early this morning as ground controllers commanded a Progress cargo craft to undock from the outpost, clearing the way for Atlantis' arrival. A few hours after the undocking, the Progress craft, filled with trash, descended into the atmosphere and was destroyed. Atlantis is planned to dock with the station at about 10:50 a.m. Central Friday.

Aboard Atlantis, astronauts Tom Jones and Bob Curbeam checked out the spacesuits they will wear for three spacewalks during the next week to finalize connections between the new laboratory and the station. The crew found the suits in good shape, but noted a preliminary indication of a possible oxygen tank leak in a third, spare spacesuit aboard the shuttle. Later, more precise checks of the spare suit showed that the preliminary finding was likely false. The spare suit is usable as well if needed. As suit checks were conducted on the lower deck of Atlantis, on the upper deck Astronaut Marsha Ivins powered up the shuttle's robotic arm and surveyed the cargo bay, finding everything in good shape. The arm will be used to lift the Destiny lab out of the shuttle bay on Saturday and maneuver it into position to attach to the station. Ivins also checked alignment aids and cameras that she will use to precisely maneuver the 28-foot long module.

Periodically, Commander Ken Cockrell and Polansky fired Atlantis' thrusters to adjust the rate at which the shuttle is closing in on the International Space Station, maintaining a course toward Friday's docking. At present, Atlantis is about 950 statute miles behind the station, moving about 110 miles closer with each orbit of Earth. Atlantis is in a 227 by 192 statute mile orbit. The International Space Station is in a 229 by 214 statute mile orbit. Atlantis and the station crew will go to sleep at 8:13 p.m. Central today. Atlantis' crew will awaken at 4:13 a.m. Friday, and the station crew will awaken at 4:43 a.m.

Both spacecraft are in excellent condition, ready for tomorrow's combined activities. The final phase of the rendezvous will begin with a terminal intercept engine firing by Atlantis at 8:24 a.m. Central, when the shuttle is about nine statute miles behind the station. Cockrell will take manual control of Atlantis' approach to the station at about 9:45 a.m., about a half-mile from the complex. After the 10:50 a.m. docking, the two crews will perform leak checks and open hatches between the spacecraft at 12:43 p.m.

The first full day in orbit for Astronauts Ken Cockrell, Polansky, Marsha Ivins, Tom Jones and Bob Curbeam will focus on preparations for the unberthing and installation of the Destiny laboratory to the International Space Station. Ivins and Cockrell will check out the 50-foot long robotic arm, and conduct a camera survey of the payload bay with the 16-ton Destiny laboratory housed inside. Curbeam and Jones, with assistance from Polansky, will test the space suits they will wear during three scheduled space walks, the first of which is planned for Saturday as Ivins uses the ship's robot arm to install Destiny onto the Unity module of the Station.

Cockrell and Polansky will command a series of engine firings to refine Atlantis' approach to the station, positioning themselves for a Friday morning docking, just before 11 a.m. Central time.

On board the station, the Expedition One crew - Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev - awoke just after 4 a.m. to mark its 100th day in orbit. From on board they kept tabs as an unmanned Progress resupply spacecraft, loaded with trash, undocked from the station at 5:26 a.m. Central time as the Station flew high over Asia. A series of engine firings on the Progress slowly increased the distance between the two vehicles. Just before 11 a.m., the Progress will be commanded to deorbit, causing it to burn up as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere.

Today the Expedition One crew will review its plans for joint operations with Atlantis' crew following docking Friday morning, perform some basic housekeeping tasks, and enjoy a regularly-scheduled exercise session.

Atlantis' crew will conduct a series of interviews with media representatives just after 4 p.m. this afternoon. The first Mission Status Briefing of the flight is planned for 5:30 p.m. on NASA Television.

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.

With the U.S. Laboratory Destiny operating in excellent shape as the newest addition to the International Space Station, Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones began to perform a series of procedures which will lead to the firing of the Shuttle's braking rockets late this morning to begin their hour-long reentry back to Earth.

There are two landing opportunities available today for Atlantis' return to Florida. The first begins with a deorbit firing of the Shuttle's orbital maneuvering system engines on Orbit 169 at 10:47 a.m. Central time, culminating in a landing at 11:53 a.m. Central time on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center. A backup opportunity one orbit later starts with a deorbit burn at 12:22 p.m., resulting in a 1:28 p.m. Central time landing. Weather forecasts for today are generally favorable with flight controllers watching the possibility of gusty winds in the vicinity of the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Cape. The backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, California was not called up for landing support today, but likely would be activated for backup landing support Monday if Atlantis' landing is blocked by the weather.

A landing on the first opportunity of the day would wrap up a journey of 4.4 million miles for the astronauts and the first Shuttle mission of the year.

Atlantis' astronauts begin their deorbit preparations at 6:50 a.m. today, configuring computers for reentry, deactivating the galley and installing seats on the flight deck and middeck. The payload bay doors should be closed at 8:07 a.m., and a final "go-no go" decision for the deorbit burn from Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain is expected about 10:30 a.m.

When Atlantis' astronauts were awakened at 3:43 a.m. today, they were approximately 408 statute miles in front of the International Space Station. On board the Station, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev will relax today as they enjoy another day of light activities. The Expedition One crew began its day at Midnight this morning and will go to sleep about 3:30 p.m. This is the 110th day in space for the Expedition One crew and its 108th day aboard the orbiting outpost.

Atlantis continues to orbit the Earth in excellent shape at an altitude of 237 statute miles as its astronauts gear up for landing.

Atlantis has two opportunities today for a landing 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 3-3 at 12:27 p.m. Central time. Atlantis' cargo bay doors would be closed at around 8:40 a.m. this morning 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. There are also two landing opportunities on the following orbits at the backup landing site for Atlantis at California's Edwards Air Force Base, which was activated for landing support. But gusty winds, low clouds and the chance of rain showers both today and tomorrow make Edwards a highly unlikely possibility for flight controllers to consider.

Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain will receive weather updates throughout the day from the Spaceflight Meteorology Group here at the Johnson Space Center and Chief Astronaut Charlie Precourt, who will be flying weather reconnaissance at the landing strip in a training jet modified to mimic the Shuttle's landing characteristics. A final "go-no go" decision for the deorbit burn for the first landing opportunity is expected around 11 a.m. Central time.

Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones were awakened just after 4 a.m. Central time today to prepare once again for landing.

At the time of crew wakeup on board Atlantis, the Shuttle was about 750 statute miles in front of the International Space Station. The Expedition One crewmembers, Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, are enjoying a final day of light duty in their extended weekend before beginning their work week on Tuesday. That work will include preparations for the undocking, flyaround and redocking of their Soyuz capsule from the aft docking port of the Zvezda module to the nadir docking port of the Zarya module, clearing the way for the arrival of an unmanned Russian Progress resupply ship at the end of the month. The Soyuz relocation procedure is planned for early Saturday morning, U.S. time.

Atlantis continues to orbit the Earth in flawless fashion at an altitude of 235 statute miles.

As was the case on Sunday, flight controllers tried to bring Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones home during two landing opportunities which were available at the Florida spaceport, but winds continued to gust out of limits, higher than the 15- knot crosswind limit permissible for a Shuttle landing. Weather at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, California was also unacceptable with high winds and rainshowers in the area of the Mojave Desert.

Finally, at 12:13 p.m. Central time, Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain called off today's landing attempts and directed his team to try to bring Atlantis home on Tuesday to KSC when the forecast calls for slightly improved weather and lighter winds. There are two landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday with the first opportunity calling for the firing of Atlantis' braking rockets on orbit 200 at 10:20 a.m. Central time, resulting in a landing at the Cape at 11:27 a.m. Central time. The second opportunity would begin with the deorbit burn maneuver on orbit 201 at 11:56 a.m. Central time and a landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 1:02 p.m. Central time.

Two landing opportunities also are available on the next two orbits at Edwards. The first of the Edwards' opportunities would call for the deorbit burn at 1:27 p.m. Central time and a landing at 2:33 p.m. Central time. The final opportunity of the day on Tuesday for Edwards would involve a deorbit burn at 3:04 p.m. Central time and a landing at 4:09 p.m. Central time. The weather at Edwards is also expected to be better, with a chance of broken cloud decks and lighter winds than were observed today.

Landing support will also be called up for the White Sands Space Harbor at Northrup Strip in New Mexico, which has three landing opportunities available, although all efforts will be made to try to bring Atlantis home in either Florida or California. After reopening Atlantis' cargo bay doors, the astronauts removed their launch and entry suits and will spend the rest of the day relaxing. They are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at 7:13 p.m. Central time tonight and will be awakened at 3:13 a.m. Tuesday to resume landing preparations.

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev wrapped up an extended weekend in which they relaxed in preparation for a busy week of work which begins Tuesday with the continuing activation of systems in the newly installed Destiny laboratory. The crew will also prepare for the undocking and redocking of its Soyuz vehicle Saturday from the aft end of the Zvezda module to the nadir port of the Zarya module, in anticipation of the arrival of an unmanned Progress resupply ship at the Station at the end of the month.

Atlantis is orbiting the Earth in excellent shape at an altitude of 237 statute miles.

With Commander Ken Cockrell at the controls, Atlantis darted through high clouds over the Mojave Desert test center touch down at 2:33 p.m. Central time on concrete runway 2-2. The landing was the 47th at Edwards to bring the 102nd flight in program history to a close.

Atlantis was diverted to California after broken clouds and precipitation formed over the landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center, preventing Atlantis from returning to the Florida spaceport in the two opportunities which were available today.

Instead, Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain ordered Atlantis to land 3000 miles to the West at Edwards, where the weather was deemed acceptable for landing. Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones were greeted by high, thin clouds at Edwards, but they posed no problem for Cockrell as he took over manual control of Atlantis a few minutes prior to landing.

The astronauts were scheduled to leave the orbiter about an hour after landing and will spend the night at Edwards before returning to Houston Wednesday afternoon.

After high winds thwarted Atlantis' homecoming Sunday and Monday, Cockrell and Polansky finally fired the ship's braking rockets at 1:27 p.m. Central time for the start of the Shuttle's hour-long descent back to Earth. Thirty-four minutes later, Atlantis and its astronauts reached the fringes of Earth's atmosphere and the first tug of gravity at an altitude of 400,000 feet.

Atlantis soared over the Pacific Ocean and the southern California coast north of Los Angeles, its computers honing in on the desert runway at Edwards. About four minutes before landing, Atlantis heralded its arrival at the landing site with a pair of double sonic booms as it went subsonic. Atlantis kicked up a small cloud of dust as its main gear met the runway and rolled out to a smooth stop as more clouds gathered around the Edwards complex.

Meanwhile, aboard the International Space Station, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev spent the day activating additional systems in the recently delivered Destiny Laboratory and began preparations for Saturday's undocking and redocking of their Soyuz capsule from the aft docking port of the Zvezda module to the Earthward facing docking port of the Zarya module.

That relocation maneuver, which is scheduled to begin just after 4 a.m. Central time Saturday, will clear the Zvezda docking port for the arrival of an unmanned Progress resupply craft next week, delivering supplies for the next Expedition crew which will be launched on the Shuttle Discovery on March 8 on the STS-102 mission.

Atlantis' astronauts are scheduled to return to Houston Wednesday afternoon for a welcome home ceremony at Hangar 990 at Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center at around 3:30 p.m. Central time.

The Kennedy Space Center remains the primary target for today's landing, with two opportunities to bring Atlantis and its crew home. The initial forecast for today shows generally acceptable conditions for landing, with a slight concern for some clouds produced by offshore sea breeze and possible crosswinds at the three-mile long landing strip. The first opportunity for the day would call for a deorbit burn at 10:21 a.m. Central time, resulting in a landing at 11:27 a.m. Central time. The second opportunity would begin with a deorbit burn at 11:56 a.m. Central time with a landing at 1:02 p.m.

Landing opportunities are also available on the following two orbits at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Weather conditions on the West Coast are marginal, however, with the possibility of rain within 30 miles of the landing site. The first of the Edwards' opportunities would call for the deorbit burn at 1:27 p.m. Central time and a landing at 2:33 p.m. The final opportunity of the day to Edwards would involve a deorbit burn at 3:04 p.m. and a landing at 4:09 p.m.

The White Sands Space Harbor at Northrup Strip in New Mexico has three landing opportunities available as well, and may be considered as a possible landing site, although all efforts will focus on returning Atlantis either to Florida or California. Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain intends to employ the three best opportunities of the day in an effort to bring the two-week flight to a close.

Atlantis has enough propellent and consumables to stay aloft until at least Wednesday, if necessary.

The STS-98 astronauts - Ken Cockrell, Mark Polansky, Bob Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Tom Jones - were awakened at 3:13 a.m. to the sounds of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash, as they prepared for their return trip to Earth.

Aboard the International Space Station, now about 1,100 miles behind Atlantis, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev started a busy work week today preparing for Saturday's relocation of their Soyuz vehicle. The crewmembers will deactivate key ISS systems early Saturday morning, then climb into their pressure suits to board the Soyuz capsule for a 40-minute maneuver in which the Soyuz will be undocked from its current location on the aft end of the Zvezda module and redocked to the nadir port of the Zarya module. That will make room for a Progress resupply vehicle due to arrive later this month.

All systems on board Atlantis are performing well and ready to support today's landing efforts as the orbiter continues to circle the Earth at an altitude of 237 statute miles.

Discovery's seven-member crew will link up with the International Space Station on Monday to begin a complex, week-long stay that will rewire the outpost and increase its power supply. During three spacewalks and intricate choreography with ground controllers, the astronauts will bring electrical power on line generated by a giant solar array wing delivered to the station in September.

Aboard Discovery are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein, and mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Bob Curbeam, Sunita Williams and Christer Fuglesang, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut. Aboard the station awaiting Discovery's arrival are Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter, also an ESA astronaut.

Williams and Reiter will switch places when Discovery arrives. Williams will begin a six-month stay as a station crew member and Reiter will journey home on Discovery. Reiter has been on the station since July.

After reaching orbit tonight, Discovery's crew began procedures to open the shuttle’s payload bay doors and set up computers and other equipment. They also plan to power up the shuttle's robotic arm to check its operation. They will use the arm on Sunday to inspect Discovery's heat shield. On Monday, Discovery is planned to dock to the station at about 3:47 p.m. CST.

During the mission, Fuglesang and Curbeam will conduct two spacewalks. Williams and Curbeam will perform a third spacewalk. The mission will retract one solar array on the station and begin the rotation of a giant joint on the complex to allow the recently added arrays to track the sun. The astronauts will rearrange the power cabling to a more resilient permanent setup, and they will prepare for the startup of new cooling systems.

Mission Control will power down virtually the entire station at one point or another to prepare it for the crew's work. The results will ready the complex for more solar arrays and laboratories to be added next year.

As Discovery launched, the station was 220 miles above southern England near Southampton. Discovery's crew begins a sleep period at 1:47 a.m. CST Sunday and will awaken for their first full day in space at 9:47 a.m. CST Sunday.

The astronauts will use the shuttle’s robotic arm to unberth the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) for a detailed examination of Discovery’s thermal protection system. Once the reinforced carbon-carbon on the wings’ leading edges and Discovery’s nose have been inspected, they will stow the boom and use the robotic arm to inspect Discovery’s crew cabin and orbital maneuvering system pods on either side of the tail.

In preparation for docking, the astronauts will install a centerline camera and extend the outer ring of the Orbiter Docking System. They also will check out rendezvous tools. Docking is scheduled for a little after 4 p.m. Monday. After hatch opening and welcome, Williams will become a member of the station’s Expedition 14 crew and stay for the first half of Expedition 15. Thomas Reiter, who joined Expedition 13 at its midway point and stayed for the first part of Expedition 14, will come home aboard Discovery.

Discovery’s astronauts also will check out the spacesuits to be used on three spacewalks outside the International Space Station. Curbeam and Fuglesang will do the first two spacewalks, and Williams will join Curbeam for the third. The primary goal of the first spacewalk is to install the P5 segment of the station’s main truss. The two subsequent spacewalks will focus on rewiring of the station’s electrical system, switching it from a temporary configuration to its permanent power grid.

Discovery’s crew was awakened at 9:48 a.m. Sunday with "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles, played for Polansky. The station crew, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Reiter, got their regular wakeup tone at 9:20 a.m.

The data will be analyzed by engineers to ensure the spacecraft's heat shield is in good condition.

Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Bob Curbeam, Sunita Williams and Christer Fuglesang also prepared for the planned 4:06 p.m. CST Monday docking with the International Space Station. The crew checked rendezvous tools, installed a centerline camera in Discovery’s docking system window and extended the docking system's outer ring.

While the robotic arm survey proceeded, Curbeam and Fuglesang checked the spacesuits that will be used for spacewalks on the fourth, sixth and eighth days of the mission. Curbeam and Fuglesang will install the fifth port segment (P5) of the station’s main truss during the first spacewalk. The two subsequent spacewalks will focus on rewiring the station’s electrical system, switching it to its permanent power configuration.

During Monday's final approach to the station, Polansky will guide Discovery in a backflip to allow the station crew to take digital imagery of the vehicle's underside for analysis by the ground. The rendezvous pitch maneuver, as the backflip is called, provides more data to ensure the shuttle's heat shielding is healthy.

Shortly after the shuttle and station hatches are opened, Williams will become a member of the station’s Expedition 14 crew. She also will stay for the first half of Expedition 15, living on the station for six months. Expedition 14 crew member Thomas Reiter, who has been in orbit since July, will come home on Discovery.

Later Monday, Patrick will lift the 2-ton P5 truss segment using the shuttle’s robotic arm and hand it to the waiting station arm, where it will remain until it is installed at the end of the P4 truss on Tuesday.

Discovery’s crew entered the station complex at 5:54 p.m. CST as Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria rang the on-board ship’s bell, a centuries-old naval tradition. Lopez-Alegria and crewmates Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter greeted Discovery Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Bob Curbeam, Sunita Williams and Christer Fuglesang with smiles and hugs. The warm welcome followed a 4:12 p.m. rendezvous and docking.

Before launching into their first joint task of the mission -- extracting the new P5 truss member from Discovery’s cargo hold -- the combined crew was called upon to conduct an impromptu inspection of the tip of Discovery’s port wing using the space station’s robotic arm. The inspection was precipitated by a minor vibration reading on a wing sensor in that area about 4:30 a.m. Monday.

Though the single reading could indicate an on-orbit impact, it was not unusual and mission managers did not expect to find any damage. End-effector camera views will allow imagery analysts in Houston to verify that the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the wing’s leading edge are unscathed. The imagery analysis team also began to review pictures taken of Discovery’s belly during its approach to the station. Teams will meet overnight to determine if a final inspection of the orbiter’s tiles is needed.

The added task delayed unberthing of the 4,100-pound truss section about an hour. But once the inspection was complete, the crew used the shuttle’s robotic arm to pull the truss section out of the payload bay and hand it to the station arm. The P5 truss will remain suspended over Discovery’s port wing overnight, awaiting installation in the first of three planned spacewalks tomorrow.

Before going to bed, the crews gathered for a thorough review of the plan for tomorrow’s spacewalk. Curbeam and Fuglesang will spend tonight in the station’s airlock, where pressure will be reduced to 10.2 psi. The airlock "campout" will purge the spacewalkers’ bloodstreams of nitrogen bubbles and protect against decompression sickness as the two go to the even lower pressure of spacesuits on Tuesday.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to awaken at 9:47 a.m. CST Tuesday, and the Expedition 14 crew at 10:17 a.m. The spacewalk is to begin at 2:22 p.m., with truss installation expected at 4:07 p.m.

Discovery’s crew, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Bob Curbeam, Sunita Williams and Christer Fuglesang, are looking forward to a very busy day. So are members of the station crew, Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter.

The shuttle crew was awakened at 9:18 a.m. CST with the song "Beep Beep," performed by Louis Prima. It was played for Williams.

Rendezvous operations will begin at about 10:35 a.m. CST. The terminal initiation engine firing by Discovery, a firing that begins the final phase of the rendezvous when the shuttle is about nine miles behind the station, is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. CST.

By 3 p.m. CST, Discovery should be about 600 feet below the station. At that point, Polansky will guide the shuttle through a backflip called the rendezvous pitch maneuver. The maneuver will allow station crew members to photograph Discovery's heat shield. The electronic images will be transmitted to the ground for analysis by engineers.

Shortly after docking, a safety briefing and a welcome ceremony, Williams will transfer her custom seat liner to the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. When that happens, she becomes a member of the station crew. At the same time, Reiter becomes a Discovery crew member for his ride home, completing about six months in space.

A little after 7:15 p.m. CST, Discovery’s robotic arm will lift the 4,100-pound P5 truss segment from the shuttle's cargo bay. It will be handed off to the station’s arm, where it will stay during the crews’ sleep period, in preparation for its installation on Tuesday.

To prepare for the mission's first spacewalk, Curbeam and Fuglesang will spend tonight in the station’s airlock, where pressure will be reduced to 10.2 psi, a pressure roughly equal to the atmosphere on Earth at about 10,000 feet above sea level. The airlock "campout" at the lower pressure protects against decompression sickness, commonly called "the bends," as the two go to the even lower pressure of spacesuits on Tuesday.

Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang ventured outside the station to attach the P5 segment of the station’s truss and replace a failed camera needed to support future assembly tasks. They also were able to fit in some extra tasks that will save future spacewalkers time, including plugging the new segment into the existing truss, removing the locks that held it steady during launch and opening a latch that will allow the P6 segment to be attached when it is moved from its current, temporary location to its permanent place at the end of the port truss.

The spacewalk began at 2:31 p.m. CST, and Curbeam and Fuglesang were back inside by 9:07 p.m. The truss was officially attached at 4:45 p.m., and installation was complete by 5:21 p.m. Total duration of the spacewalk was 6 hours, 36 minutes.

Upon their return to the Quest airlock at the end of the spacewalk, Curbeam took a moment to congratulate Nobel Prize winners, including Dr. John C. Mather, a Goddard Space Flight Center scientist honored for his work on the big-bang theory.

With the new port truss section in place, the crew is ready to move on to the second phase of the mission – rewiring the station. That work will begin Wednesday when the port solar array on truss segment P6 is folded up, allowing the P4 solar arrays delivered by the STS-115 crew to rotate and track the sun. Once that’s done, Curbeam and Fuglesang will head outside again Thursday to begin reconfiguring the external wiring so that power from the new solar arrays delivered in September can be used.

Meanwhile, after taking a close look at imagery gathered on the first three days of the flight, mission managers determined that the shuttle’s heat shield can support a safe return to Earth. They also decided a more detailed inspection that had been scheduled for tomorrow will not be necessary.

Space Shuttle Discovery’s seven astronauts woke at 9:47 a.m. this morning to the song "Waterloo" by Swedish group Abba in honor of Fuglesang, who is from Sweden. "Nice music this morning," Fuglesang said from the Quest airlock, where he spent the night preparing for the spacewalk with Curbeam.

The crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 1:17 a.m. Wednesday, after moving the space station arm into a position that will provide a good view of the P6 solar array retraction. The shuttle crew will start flight day four at 9:17 a.m. on Wednesday. The station crew will get an extra 40 minutes of sleep, awakening at 9:47 a.m.

The six-hour, 10-minute excursion by astronauts Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang is set to begin at 2:42 p.m. CST. Curbeam and Fuglesang spent the night in the station's Quest airlock, from which they will begin the spacewalk. The installation of the new truss section, called the P5 truss, will require intricate teamwork by the astronauts. The spacewalkers will visually guide astronaut Joan Higginbotham as she maneuvers the piece in place from aboard the station using the station's robotic arm. The installation is a tight fit -- at times with only a couple of inches to spare.

Discovery remains in good condition. Mission Control has informed Discovery's crew that engineers analyzing imagery of the shuttle's heat shield likely will not request a focused inspection of heat shield areas during time that could be set aside for that activity tomorrow. Mission managers will review the status of all shuttle systems during their regular meeting this afternoon.

Discovery's crew changed late yesterday. Astronaut Sunita Williams, who launched aboard Discovery, officially became a member of the Expedition 14 station crew at 11 p.m. CST Monday as reported by station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria. At the same time, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, who has been on the station since July, became a member of Discovery's crew for a trip home. Williams joins Lopez-Alegria and Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin aboard the station as she begins a six-month stay.

Discovery’s crew, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Curbeam, Fuglesang, Higginbotham and Reiter, were awakened at 9:47 a.m. CST to the song "Waterloo," performed by ABBA. The song was played for Fuglesang.

The installation of the P5 truss is expected to begin about 4:07 p.m. CST, after Curbeam and Fuglesang have removed launch restraints and a arm capture fixture that is no longer needed. Once the segment has been maneuvered into its permanent position, the spacewalkers will bolt it in place and hook up electrical connections. At the end of the spacewalk, they will replace a malfunctioning camera on the starboard side of the station truss.

During the spacewalk, Curbeam will wear a spacesuit with red stripes on the legs. Fuglesang will be in an all-white suit.

Furling of the wing, the left wing of the station's P6 solar arrays that were launched and deployed in December 2000, is the first step as astronauts and Mission Control begin a complex rewiring of the station's power system. The array retraction, performed slowly and in stages, should begin about 12:22 p.m. CST. Within about 40 minutes, the 115-foot long wing should be folded to only a few feet in length. At about 2 p.m. CST, the ground will send commands to power up a giant rotating joint on the station's truss that will begin turning, paddle wheel-style, a new set of solar arrays that were added to the station in September.

The joint, called the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, will allow the new arrays to track the sun as it rises and sets with each station orbit. If the left P6 solar array wing was not retracted, it would interfere with the rotation of the new set of arrays.

The retraction of the final few feet of the left P6 wing should be completed by 5:17 p.m. CST. The rotation of the new set of arrays, called the P4 arrays, sets the stage for activities beginning tomorrow, during the mission's second spacewalk, to rewire the station. The rewiring will bring power generated by the P4 arrays on line for use by the station's systems and prepare for more arrays to be added next year.

The retraction isn’t the only thing on today’s schedule. The shuttle crewmembers, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Bob Curbeam, Christer Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter, will join their station colleagues in transfer activities, moving equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft.

A total of 4,107 pounds was brought up in the single Spacehab module in Discovery’s cargo bay. An additional 1,107 pounds came up on the shuttle middeck. The shuttle is to take 2,998 pounds from the station back to Earth in Spacehab and 727 pounds on the middeck.

Oefelein, Patrick, Curbeam and Fuglesang will take a break from their work at 7:07 p.m. CST for an interview by CBS Radio, Fox Radio and Space.com.

Discovery’s crew received its wakeup call at 9:17 a.m. CST with the song, "Suavemente," performed by Elvis Crespo, played for Higginbotham. The station crew, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Sunita Williams, got their wakeup tone half an hour later.

Flight controllers sent commands to enable a large joint to begin rotating around 7 p.m. CST, moving the solar arrays on the P4 truss like a giant paddle wheel to track the sun as the station moves from daylight to darkness in orbit. A few hours later, just before 10 p.m. CST, valves were opened to allow 300 pounds of ammonia to flow into the truss segments of the station and its radiators, the first step toward providing permanent cooling for the avionics and electronics on the complex.

Those vital activation tasks occurred after a day-long effort by Discovery’s crew to retract the port array on the P6 solar array truss structure, which was installed six years ago to provide early electrical power for the station.

The crew spent six hours today sending as many as 45 commands in a start-stop fashion to retract, then redeploy, then retract the balky Venetian-blind like array panels in an effort to fold them into a narrow blanket box at the base of the array. But guide wires that help fold the arrays flat into the box apparently became snagged with only 17 out of 31 bays of the port array retracted. That was enough, however, to provide enough clearance to enable the new P4 arrays to begin rotating as planned.

Mission managers met tonight to discuss various options for completing the P6 array retraction, and decided to press ahead with the second of three scheduled spacewalks Thursday by Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang during which they will rewire the first pair of electrical channels for the permanent power system on the station.

Managers will convene over the next few days to determine whether additional spacewalk activity by Discovery’s crew will be scheduled to complete the retraction of the P6 array, although they have concluded that the array is in a safe configuration for the remainder of this mission, Discovery’s undocking next week, and if necessary, for the arrival of a new Russian Progress resupply ship in January should a spacewalking task be added to the Expedition 14 crew following Discovery’s flight.

Late tonight, to gather data for a future decision, Mission Control asked Discovery Commander Mark Polansky and Station Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria to consider which flight day would be best for a fourth spacewalk if one is ordered to complete the P6 array retraction. Polansky and Lopez-Alegria asked for more details about what such a spacewalk would entail before offering their thoughts.

With the station’s new solar arrays rotating and its permanent cooling system operating as advertised, Discovery’s crew members will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 1:17 a.m. CST and will wake up Thursday at 9:17 a.m. CST to begin preparations for the second spacewalk of the flight. The station crew members will be awakened thirty minutes later.

Curbeam and Fuglesang spent the night in the station's Quest airlock at a reduced atmospheric pressure of 10.2 psi. The "campout" procedure reduces nitrogen levels in the blood to help avoid decompression sickness as the astronauts go to the even lower pressure of spacesuits.

The spacewalk is planned to last about six hours. The two spacewalkers are scheduled to reconfigure two of the station's four power channels, channels 2 and 3, bringing power on line from the new set of solar arrays added to the station in September. The remaining two power channels, 1 and 4, will be reconfigured in a third spacewalk on Saturday. The changes will convert the station power system to a permanent setup, ready for even more arrays and science modules to be added next year.

At about 11:22 a.m. CST, station flight controllers will be sending commands that will power down roughly half of the station's systems in preparation for the spacewalkers' rewiring job this afternoon. The result will partially power down some communications systems, lighting, ventilation systems and backup computers, among other systems. Once the spacewalkers have completed the new power connections, flight controllers will power all the equipment and systems back on. As changes are made in the power system, additional cooling systems also will need to be brought online as well.

Late last night, half of the new cooling system for the P4 truss was filled with ammonia to be ready to begin circulating today when pumps are activated.

During the spacewalk, Curbeam, who will wear a suit with red stripes on the legs, and Fuglesang, who will wear an all-white suit, also will relocate two small handcarts that run along rails on the station’s main truss. Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Suni Williams and Discovery Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham will operate the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm in support of the spacewalk.

Managers and engineers continue to evaluate whether further actions will be taken during STS-116 to complete the retraction of the port P6 truss solar array. The array was retracted almost halfway Wednesday, with only 17 bays of its center mast remaining extended. Fully extended, the mast has 31 bays. The array was retracted sufficiently to allow the new P4 solar arrays to begin rotating last night, an operation that was completed without problems. In their current state, the P6 port array and the P4 arrays have more than 16 feet of clearance from one another. Should they remain as they are, the partially retracted arrays pose no issue for the shuttle's undocking or any planned station activities until a Soyuz relocation flight set for April 2007.

A decision on any further action regarding the partially retracted array – including a possible fourth spacewalk during STS-116 for Curbeam and Fuglesang to assist in the retraction -- is not expected before Saturday.

Discovery’s crew was awakened at 9:17 a.m. CST today with the song, "Under Pressure," performed by Queen. It was played for Curbeam. The station crew, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Williams, woke up a half-hour later.

Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang began their second spacewalk at 1:41 p.m. CST. Less than two hours later, they had the first half of the station’s permanent power system – channels two and three – up and running, taking advantage of power generated by the solar arrays delivered in September.

The second half of the station’s power system – channels one and four – will be reconfigured during the mission’s third spacewalk Saturday. Once that’s done, the station’s power system will be in its assembly complete configuration, ready for the addition of more solar arrays and science modules next year.

Before the spacewalkers swapped the cable connections, station flight controllers had to shut down about half of the station’s systems, including some lights, communication gear, ventilation fans and back-up computers. They started the power down just before 2 p.m., and by 3:45 p.m., were powering up main bus switching units for the first time ever and activating power channels two and three. By 4:30 p.m., one of two external thermal control system loops was actively shedding excess heat into space, and the direct current-to-direct current converter units were regulating power voltages.

The spacewalkers headed out the hatch of the Quest airlock this afternoon about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and made it through their tasks quickly enough to pick up another thirty minutes. They finished at 6:41 p.m., an hour earlier than planned and exactly five hours after they started. Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Suni Williams and STS-116 Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham operated the station's robotic arm in support of the spacewalk.

Before heading back into the station, Curbeam and Fuglesang also relocated two small handcarts that run along rails on the station’s main truss, put a thermal cover on the station’s robotic arm and installed bags of tools for future spacewalkers.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 1:47 a.m. Friday. Flight Day 7 begins with a wakeup call at 8:47 a.m. The crew will spend the day transferring supplies and equipment from Discovery to the station, participating in a news conference and enjoying some off-duty time.

Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang rewired channels 2 and 3 of the station’s power system in a five-hour spacewalk Thursday. A similar task will be done with the two remaining station power channels, channels 1 and 4, on Saturday. However, for Saturday's spacewalk, Curbeam will be joined by International Space Station Flight Engineer Suni Williams for the outside work while Fuglesang will coordinate activities inside the spacecraft. Once the third spacewalk is complete, power will be fully online from the station’s P4 Truss solar array wings, which were installed in September. At that point, the station's power system will be ready for additional expansion with more arrays and new laboratories to be delivered next year.

Discovery Commander Mark Polansky and his crew—Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Thomas Reiter, Curbeam and Fuglesang—were awakened at about 8:52 a.m. CST to the song "Low Rider," performed by War, and played for Oefelein.

Discovery and the station are in good condition. Discovery is currently maintaining the orientation of both the station and shuttle using the shuttle steering jets, a function it began performing during preparations for the spacewalk on Thursday. Control of the station's orientation was transferred to Discovery on Thursday as part of the normal preparations of the station's power system for the rewiring job. The station usually uses its own control moment gyroscopes to maintain its orientation, without having to use fuel.

Originally, control of the station's orientation was to be transferred back to those gyroscopes late Thursday after the spacewalk tasks were completed and station systems powered up. However, problems were experienced as that transfer was attempted. Flight controllers believe the problems were due to a higher than usual amount of atmospheric drag currently experienced by the station due to recent solar activity. They may attempt to transfer control of orientation back to the station again today, although the shuttle thrusters can be used if needed for that purpose through the rest of the mission. If necessary, the station has thrusters that can be used for orientation control as well.

During the first half of their day, the astronauts will transfer supplies and equipment between the station and shuttle. At 1:07 p.m. the two European Space Agency astronauts, Fuglesang of Sweden and Reiter of Germany, will participate in a VIP call from Swedish dignitaries. At 2:47 p.m. all 10 astronauts and cosmonauts on the shuttle/station complex will conduct a news conference with reporters in the U.S. and Europe. The shuttle crewmembers will be off duty the last half of the day.

Station Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin are scheduled for interviews with KNX Radio, Los Angeles, and National Public Radio at 4:27 p.m. CST.

Engineers investigating the difficulties with fully retracting the port-side solar array wing of the station's P6 Truss believe a guide wire may be snagged in a swiveling grommet on one of the array's panels. The snag could be keeping the panels from folding up completely. The array remains almost halfway retracted as it has been since Wednesday. Early this morning, station flight controllers commanded the array through a series of "wiggle" tests, swiveling the wing 10 degrees at a time repeatedly to see if that would help the situation. They are continuing to evaluate the results of those tests and to investigate options for further work with the array, including the potential to add a spacewalk to latter part of this mission. Options also may include some additional troubleshooting commanding that could be performed with the array during the crew's day today.

The final attempt of the day came at 8:04 p.m. CST when Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams deployed the P6 solar array blanket slightly and then retracted it the same distance. This left 14 of the array’s 31 bays in their storage box, the same condition in which they started the day.

After the deployment and retraction technique made no significant progress in clearing the jam, the team briefed the crew on an inspection task that is being planned for use at the end of the mission’s third spacewalk. The task would be added only if the rest of the electrical rewiring activities planned for the excursion go smoothly. Mission managers have not yet decided whether a fourth spacewalk will be attempted, but the inspection task on the third spacewalk could provide information valuable to those making the decision.

Earlier in the day, flight controllers "wiggled" the solar arrays using the beta gimbal assembly, a rotating mechanism on the truss, and the crew worked out vigorously on an a resistive exercise device. Both techniques were attempts to jostle the guide wires and stainless steel grommets that are believed to be the cause of the stalled retraction.

The third spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 1:37 p.m. CST Saturday. During the excursion, Mission Specialist Bob Curbeam and Williams will finish rewiring the station’s power system, stow three Service Module Debris Panel bundles, install an adjustable grapple bar and, if time permits, troubleshoot the problem with the stuck array. The spacewalk will be Williams’ first.

In addition to their troubleshooting activites, the crew shared its experiences in space with both U.S. and European news media during a joint press conference today, and the two European Space Agency astronauts, Christer Fuglesang of Sweden and Thomas Reiter of Germany, participated in a VIP call with Swedish dignitaries.

STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein, Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham, Curbeam, Reiter and Fuglesang also continued to transfer food, supplies and equipment with the help of Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Williams. The spacefarers also enjoyed some off-duty time together.

Meanwhile, the new Port 4 solar arrays continued to rotate and track the sun, generating power for the station. Flight controllers completed re-powering station systems using the updated electrical grid and power from the new solar arrays delivered in September.

To prepare for the spacewalk, Curbeam and Williams will "camp out" in the Quest airlock starting at 10:57 p.m. Spending the night at a reduced atmospheric pressure of 10.2 psi will purge their bloodstreams of nitrogen bubbles to protect against "the bends." The rest of the crewmembers begin their sleep period at 12:47 a.m. Saturday.

By finishing the electrical work, the spacewalkers set the stage for installation of more solar arrays and science modules, including those being supplied by international partners.

For a second time, flight controllers shut down about half of the station’s systems, including some lights, communication gear, ventilation fans and back-up computers as the third spacewalk of Discovery’s mission began at 1:25 p.m. CST. Curbeam and Williams finished their rewiring tasks at nearly the same time posted by Curbeam and Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang on Thursday. By 3:18 p.m., controllers were powering up the second half of the station’s new power grid and cooling systems.

The spacewalkers also installed a robotic arm grapple fixture and positioned three bundles of Russian debris shield panels outside the Zvezda service module before moving on to their P6 solar array panel 4B retraction work. The debris panels will be installed on a future spacewalk.

Then, using maneuvers dubbed the "Beamer Shake" and the "Suni Shake," the spacewalkers tackled grommets and guide wires that have been preventing a full retraction of the array since Wednesday. Curbeam and Williams stationed themselves on opposite sides of the array and took turns shaking the array blanket box while the crew inside the station reeled in the array one bay at a time. Curbeam shook the blanket 19 times, and Williams shook it 13 times. The crew inside the station, coordinating with flight controllers on the ground, initiated eight retraction cycles.

As a result of their combined efforts, the array is now 65 percent retracted, with only 11 bays still deployed. The 7 hour, 31 minute spacewalk concluded at 8:56 p.m.

In the midst of the excursion, Mission Control informed the crew that managers had decided to extend Discovery’s mission one day to allow a fourth spacewalk. Curbeam and Fuglesang will venture outside Monday in an attempt to complete retraction of the array and collect additional information that could prove useful when the opposite side of the array is retracted on the next shuttle mission, STS-117, in March. The extended flight plan preserves a late inspection of Discovery’s heat shield after it undocks from the station. Discovery is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center on Friday afternoon.

Discovery’s crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 12:17 a.m. Sunday, and will awaken at 8:17 a.m. for a day devoted to cargo transfers and spacewalk preparations.

Discovery Mission Specialist Bob Curbeam and station Flight Engineer Sunita Williams will venture outside to finish the job started on Thursday’s spacewalk. Station flight controllers will begin commanding about half of the station's systems to power down at about 10:52 a.m. CST. After Mission Control has cut the power on the two station electrical channels that are the subject of today's work, channels 1 and 4, the spacewalkers will rewire them. Completing that task will put the station power system in its permanent configuration, ready for more solar arrays and laboratories to be added in 2007.

Curbeam and Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang, a European Space Agency astronaut from Sweden, completed a rewiring job on the other two station power channels, channels 2 and 3, during a spacewalk on Thursday.

Additional tasks for today’s spacewalk include relocating debris shield panels from the station’s interior to a storage point outside. The panels, designed to increase the protection of the station's Zvezda living quarters module, will be installed during a later spacewalk by the station crew. Curbeam and Williams also will install a robotic arm grapple fixture.

Today's spacewalk is planned to be completed at 7:47 p.m. CST, but can go longer if needed. If time allows after all originally planned tasks are completed during the excursion, one or both of the spacewalkers will move up the P6 truss atop the station to the base of its partially retracted port solar wing. From that point, they will push on a blanket box into which the array has been folding to attempt to jiggle apparently misaligned guide wires and grommets into place. The result may allow additional retraction of the array.

Meanwhile, managers are continuing to evaluate a possible fourth spacewalk that would take place on Monday to attempt to fully retract the array. However, no decision has been made regarding whether that spacewalk will be pursued. To prepare for that possibility, the spacewalkers today may bring several tools inside the station that would need to be prepared with insulating tape for use on a fourth spacewalk.

The transfer of equipment and supplies between the two spacecraft continues. Late Friday, the crews were slightly ahead of the transfer schedule.

Inside the station today, station Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin will replace a component of the orbiting laboratory’s carbon dioxide removal system to restore it to full operation.

The orientation of the shuttle and station is again being controlled by the station's control moment gyroscopes. Small shuttle thrusters had been controlling the orientation of the spacecraft since Friday, when an initial attempt to switch to gyroscope control was not successful. A second attempt Saturday worked. Flight controllers believe the difficulty was due to increased atmospheric drag resulting from recent solar activity.

Shuttle crewmembers Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Curbeam, Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter, along with Williams in the airlock campout, were awakened at 8:52 a.m. CST to composer Aaron Copeland’s "Fanfare for the Common Man," performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The music was played for Patrick.

Monday’s spacewalk is set to begin at 1:12 p.m. as veteran spacewalkers Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang go out to continue attempts to retract a solar array wing. The team has allotted six hours and 30 minutes for the spacewalk, but hopes to have the work completed in about four hours and 30 minutes.

Plans call for Curbeam to work from the end of the station’s Canadarm2 to reach specific areas of the solar array. Today the arm was moved atop its mobile platform into position on the truss railway to support the spacewalk. From the arm, Curbeam can use Kapton tape-insulated tools, including a scraper, needle-nose pliers and an extended bail puller to free up the array for retraction.

The techniques designed to fix the array include lightly pulling on guide wires along the length of the panels, flipping grommets that the wires may be hung up on and gently pushing on hinges in the panels to allow them to fold up.

Fuglesang will work from the truss to assist Curbeam and shake the solar array, as was done in Saturday’s spacewalk, if needed. He will also take photographs of the solar array wing on the other side of the truss to document its configuration before its retraction on the next joint shuttle and station mission.

After the crewmembers work on the array and change its configuration they will move clear as the crew inside the shuttle and station complex attempts to retract the array one bay at a time.

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Joan Higginbotham will operate the station’s robotic arm during the spacewalk. Pilot Bill Oefelein will serve as the spacewalk coordinator.

In other activities, transfer of equipment and supplies between the spacecraft is almost complete. Crewmembers and flight controllers planned for the last bit of transfer to include tools and equipment remaining after the final spacewalk. That work is set to be completed before Discovery undocks from the station Tuesday afternoon.

Shuttle Commander Mark Polansky and astronauts Nicholas Patrick, Curbeam, Oefelein and Higginbotham participated in media interviews at 6:27 p.m.

This evening, the crew has time to review the spacewalk plans before Fuglesang and Curbeam enter the Quest airlock for their third overnight campout together. Lowering the pressure of the airlock to 10.2 psi is part of a process to avoid any possibility of the two spacewalkers developing decompression sickness in the relatively low pressure of their spacesuits. The suits are pressurized to a little less than 5 psi.

The crew goes to bed at 12:17 a.m. Monday and will awaken at 8:17 a.m. for another spacewalk day.

On Saturday, Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam and Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams finished rewiring the International Space Station during a 7-hour, 31-minute spacewalk.

After planned tasks had been completed smoothly and ahead of schedule, they also shook a balky solar array wing in hopes of completing its retraction. That helped gain some ground – the wing is about 65 percent retracted, compared to less than 50 percent before the spacewalk. About 11 bays remain deployed, compared to about 17 before.

Managers decided Saturday afternoon to add that fourth spacewalk to Discovery’s visit to the station. This one will be done by Curbeam, who participated in all three of the previous spacewalks, and Christer Fuglesang, a spacewalker on the first two. While Curbeam and Williams were still outside Saturday, mission managers decided to add the spacewalk, scheduled to start at 12:47 p.m. CST on Monday, and to add a day to Discovery’s stay at the station.

Today the station’s Canadarm2 will be moved into position to support the Monday spacewalk. Discovery’s arm will be used to provide camera views. Discovery crew members will reconfigure spacesuits and transfer them to the station’s Quest airlock. At 8:02 p.m., Discovery and station crews will hold a procedure review for the spacewalk.

Curbeam and Fuglesang will begin an overnight "campout" in the airlock, its pressure reduced to 10.2 psi. The crew goes to bed at 12:17 a.m. Monday. The campout is part of a process to avoid any possibility of the two spacewalkers developing decompression sickness in the relatively low pressure of their spacesuits. The suits are pressurized to a little less than 5 psi.

In other activities, transfer of equipment and supplies between the spacecraft is about 70 percent complete. Crewmembers and flight controllers believe it should be mostly finished after today’s work. Shuttle crewmembers Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Curbeam, Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter, were awakened at 8:17 a.m. CST to the "Beautiful Blue Danube" performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The music was for Fuglesang.

Astronaut Bob Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang, a European Space Agency astronaut from Sweden, will venture outside the station at 1:12 p.m. CST. It will be Curbeam's fourth spacewalk of the mission, more than any astronaut has performed during a single shuttle flight, and it will be Fuglesang's third. Using a variety of specially prepared, tape-insulated tools, they will work to complete the retraction of the port solar array wing of the station's P6 truss.

Curbeam and Fuglesang spent the night in the station's Quest airlock in a procedure called a "campout." The air pressure in the compartment was reduced to 10.2 pounds per square inch to assist in purging nitrogen from their bodies, a measure that helps prevent decompression sickness.

The shuttle crew was awakened at 8:17 a.m. CST to the song "Good Vibrations," performed by the Beach Boys. The song was played for the entire crew in honor of the vibrations the spacewalkers may create today to attempt to free the balky solar panels. As part of the suite of potential activities they have on hand to assist with folding the array, Curbeam and Fuglesang will shake the solar blankets by pushing on the boxes into which they fold. If needed, the spacewalk could last as long as six and a half hours.

Curbeam will be on the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm during the spacewalk. He will be equipped to work on two problems believed to be experienced by the array. One is the apparent jamming of the guide wires in the grommets designed to guide them. The other is some backward, balky folding of hinges between solar panels that has been seen during attempts at retraction. As those issues are dealt with by the spacewalkers, crew members inside will send commands to further fold the array.

Fuglesang will be on the P6 truss. He will push the blanket boxes into which the arrays fold to shake the wing. He also will take pictures, including some of the P6 starboard solar wing. That wing is to be retracted on the next shuttle flight to the station. The photos taken by Fuglesang will assist in the planning of that task.

Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Suni Williams and Discovery Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham will operate the station’s robotic arm during the spacewalk. Pilot Bill Oefelein will serve as the spacewalk coordinator, or intravehicular officer, inside the spacecraft.

The transfer of equipment and supplies between the shuttle and station will continue today as well. Almost all of the 4,292 pounds brought up aboard Discovery has been moved to the station, and the loading of 3,725 pounds of gear in those areas for return to Earth is nearing completion as well. Discovery's undocking from the station is now planned for 4:09 p.m. on Tuesday. Discovery is planned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 2:56 p.m. on Friday.

The coordinated effort with flight controllers finished the retraction begun on Wednesday and set the stage for the shuttle’s spring mission, when the International Space Station’s starboard overhead array will be similarly stowed. The arrays will be moved to the far end of the port truss on STS-120, and redeployed.

Applause broke out in Mission Control when the arrays glided into the retention box at 5:54 CST. Crewmembers aboard the shuttle-station complex praised the ground support team after latches along the array’s two blanket boxes locked at 6:34 p.m. Fuglesang took pictures, including some of the P6 starboard solar wing set to be retracted in March. The photographs will assist in planning for that task.

The P6 arrays were first deployed on the station in November 2000, when they were delivered on STS-97. On Wednesday, flight controllers retracted the array almost halfway, leaving 17 of its 31 bays extended. Then, on Saturday, at the end of the mission’s third spacewalk, Curbeam and helped flight controllers retract six more bays, leaving 11 exposed. In all, flight controllers initiated 71 commands.

During the fourth spacewalk of the mission, Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams and STS-116 Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham used the station's robotic arm to position Curbeam and Fuglesang near the array. Pilot Bill Oefelein choreographed the spacewalk from inside the spacecraft. The two spacewalkers also firmly secured some multi-layer insulation that had been installed on the robotic arm during an earlier spacewalk.

Curbeam set a record as he made his fourth spacewalk of the mission -- more than any astronaut has performed during a single shuttle flight -- and his seventh in support of the station. Curbeam has a total of 45 hours, 34 minutes of spacewalking time. Astronaut Mike Fincke also conducted four spacewalks on the station during Expedition 9.

The total time for spacewalks on this STS-116 mission is 25 hours, 45 minutes.

Also today, the crew completed the transfer of about two tons of equipment and supplies between the shuttle and station and one and a half tons between the station and the shuttle’s pressurized cargo carrier.

Discovery is set to undock from the station tomorrow at 4:09 p.m. CST, and land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 2:56 p.m. CST on Friday.

During their eight days docked to the station, the shuttle crew also dropped off more than two tons of additional equipment and supplies and a new station crew member.

After some final equipment transfers between the two spacecraft, Discovery crew members will bid their station colleagues farewell. Hatch closing is scheduled for 12:57 p.m. CST. Undocking is to occur at 4:09 p.m.

With Pilot Bill Oefelein at the controls, Discovery will slowly move away from the station. A partial fly-around of the station will give the crew a look at the orbiting laboratory, with its new P5 spacer truss segment and the port wing of the P6 solar array fully retracted and firmly secured in its retention box.

Discovery will begin its departure from the area at about 6 p.m. The crew is to begin its scheduled sleep period at 10:47 p.m. Landing is scheduled for 2:56 p.m. CST Friday at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Highlights of docked operations include the four spacewalks. Mission Specialist Bob Curbeam participated in all of them, giving him the record for the number of spacewalks during a single shuttle mission. He teamed up with Sunita Williams, the new station crewmember for the third spacewalk, and with Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang for the other three.

The first spacewalk was for the P5 truss segment installation, the second and third focused on the power reconfiguration, and the fourth was dedicated to completing retraction of the port solar wing of the P6 truss.

The P6 arrays were deployed in late 2000. On Wednesday almost half the port wing was retracted, leaving 17 bays out. Saturday spacewalkers Curbeam and Williams helped retract six more bays. In a dramatic Monday spacewalk, Curbeam and Fuglesang helped complete the retraction.

Discovery crewmembers -- Commander Mark Polansky, Oefelein and Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick, Curbeam, Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter, the European Space Agency astronaut from Germany who will be coming home after about six months in space -- were awakened at 7:47 a.m. CST to "The Zamboni Song," performed by the Gear Daddies. The song, dedicated to the entire crew, was requested by the training team who sent a message to Oefelein saying they had arranged for him to fly the shuttle half a lap around the station.

Aboard the station, Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Williams got their wakeup tone at 8:17 a.m.

Staying behind on the newly rewired space station were Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams, and departing with Discovery’s crew was Thomas Reiter, a European Space Agency astronaut on his way home after a six-month space voyage.

Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin rang the ship’s bell in Navy fashion and saluted the shuttle and crew as they departed. "From the crew of Discovery – we wish you smooth sailing – thank you for the hard work, and we hope you enjoy the new electrical system on the station," STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky radioed back from a distance of 650 feet during a half-lap fly-around.

Pilot Bill Oefelein was at the controls for the fly-around, which gave Discovery’s crew a look at its handiwork, a new P5 spacer truss segment and a fully retracted P6 solar array wing. During 7 days, 23 hours and 58 minutes of docked operations, the combined crew installed the newest piece of the station’s backbone and completely rewired the station’s power grid over the course of four spacewalks.

Before the hatches closed at 1:42 p.m., Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham and her cargo team had transferred more than two tons of food, water and equipment for use by the Expedition 14 crew and its newest member. They also filled Discovery’s pressurized cargo carrier with equipment and experiment samples returning to Earth.

Discovery fired its orbital maneuvering system engines to finish separation from the station at 6:12 p.m., bound for a landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:56 p.m. Friday, weather permitting.

On Wednesday, Polansky, Oefelein and Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick will use the shuttle’s robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System to inspect Discovery’s heat shield for damage from orbiting debris or micrometeoroids. Spacewalkers Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang will work with Higginbotham and Reiter to stow equipment and supplies used during the mission in preparation for landing.

After the inspection, Discovery will deploy two small scientific satellites. A third will be deployed Thursday.

Discovery Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick will use the boom and sensor to look at thermal tiles on the shuttle’s underside. They also will inspect the reinforced carbon-carbon that protects the leading edges of the wings and the nose.

The heat shield inspection activities begin at 9:52 a.m. CST with the unberthing of the boom extension. Scanning of the heat shield with the sensor system begins at 10:52 a.m. and should take about five hours. The boom is to be reberthed into its cradle along the right side of the shuttle cargo bay at 4:22 p.m.

During the inspection, other Discovery astronauts will stow equipment in preparation for landing. Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Christer Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter will begin packing up in the shuttle’s cabin and the Spacehab module in its cargo bay.

At about 6:19 p.m. CST, the Microelectromechanical System-Based PICOSAT Inspector (MEPSI) mini-satellite will be released from Discovery's cargo bay. The coffee cup-sized satellite will demonstrate the use of tiny, low-power satellites to observe larger spacecraft. It will test the function of small camera systems and gyroscopes.

At about 7:56 p.m. CST, the Radar Fence Transponder (RAFT) satellite will be released from the cargo bay. The satellite is a student experiment from the United States Naval Academy that uses picosatellites to test the Space Surveillance Radar Fence.

All activities aboard Discovery are aimed toward a landing that would begin with a deorbit engine firing by the shuttle at 1:53 p.m. CST Friday that would lead to a touchdown at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 2:56 p.m. CST Friday. Mission Control continues to monitor the weather in Florida, and shuttle landing opportunities at both Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and at White Sands Space Harbor, N.M., also will be considered on Friday.

Fuglesang and Reiter are European Space Agency astronauts. Fuglesang, from Sweden, participated in three of the four spacewalks during Discovery’s stay at the station. Curbeam set a record for spacewalks on a shuttle mission, performing four. Reiter, from Germany, is returning aboard Discovery after six months on the station.

Discovery’s crew was awakened at 6:47 a.m. by "Say You’ll be Mine," performed by Christopher Cross. It was for Reiter.

On the orbiting laboratory, Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Sunita Williams are beginning a light-duty day after eight days of joint operations with Discovery. At 6:30 a.m. CST they were trailing Discovery by about 730 statute miles. The gap was increasing by more than 80 miles with each 91-minute orbit of the Earth.

One hour after removing the sensor-equipped 50-foot Orbiter Boom Sensor System from the payload bay with the shuttle’s robotic arm, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein and Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick began to scan the reinforced carbon-carbon surface of Discovery’s wings and its nose cap to ensure the shuttle incurred no micrometeoroid debris damage during its time in space. The six-hour inspection was completed at 4:22 p.m. Imagery and damage assessment teams at the Johnson Space Center immediately began analyzing the data. A report will be offered to mission managers on Thursday.

While the inspection was conducted, Mission Specialists Bob Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham and European Space Agency astronauts Christer Fuglesang and Thomas Reiter began to pack up equipment for Discovery’s scheduled landing Friday at the Kennedy Space Center. With only one wave-off day available on Saturday, backup landing sites at Edwards Air Force Base, CA and the White Sands Space Harbor, NM are being activated for landing support Friday in the event weather diverts the shuttle and its crew from the Florida spaceport. Discovery’s scheduled landing time at the Kennedy Space Center Friday is 2:56 p.m. CST.

Late today, Discovery’s astronauts sent commands to deploy small technology demonstration satellites for the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program.

The crew deployed a pair of coffee cup-sized satellites at 6:19 p.m. CST to demonstrate how a small, low-powered autonomous satellite can observe larger spacecraft. The Micro-Electromechanical System-Based PICOSAT Inspector, known as MEPSI, may one day use on-board imagery to assess spacecraft damage.

The crew then released another pair of small scientific satellites as part of a student experiment sponsored by the United States Naval Academy at 7:58 p.m. CST. The Radar Fence Transponder, or RAFT, experiment is designed to test technology for new spacecraft design.

The last satellite experiment, the Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment, or ANDE, will be deployed from Discovery’s payload bay Thursday afternoon. ANDE consists of two spherical microsatellites that will measure the density and composition of the low Earth orbit atmosphere while being tracked from the ground. The data will be used to better predict the movement of objects in orbit.

Aboard the International Space Station, the newly comprised Expedition 14 crew, Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams, enjoyed their first full day together after Discovery’s departure yesterday.

Discovery’s astronauts will begin their sleep period just after 10 p.m. CST and will be awakened Thursday at 6:17 a.m. for a day in which they will check out the shuttle’s aero surfaces and steering jets in preparation for Friday’s landing.

STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein, and Flight Engineer Bob Curbeam started checking out Discovery’s aerodynamic control surfaces at 9:31 a.m. CST, and test firing the shuttle's steering jets at 10:11 a.m. The commander and pilot also practiced landings on a laptop computer trainer, and performed final checks of the communications systems that will be used for landing.

A little later in the day, Mission Specialists Christer Fuglesang and Joan Higginbotham deployed a third small satellite from the shuttle’s cargo bay. The Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment (ANDE) microsatellite, ejected at 12:23 p.m., will gather information on atmospheric drag in low-Earth orbit. The first two microsatellites were deployed Wednesday.

Mission Specialists Nicholas Patrick joined the rest of the crew in talking with reporters from CNN and ABC. Oefelein, who considers Anchorage, Alaska, to be his hometown, was the main focus of questions from students at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai.

Throughout the day, the crew took turns securing their gear for landing. The crew will awaken at 6:17 a.m. Friday, and begin final deorbit preparations at 9:48 a.m.

Entry Flight Director Norm Knight said landing sites at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; and White Sands Space Harbor, N.M., all will be activated to support landing. The Friday forecast calls for a chance of rain and low clouds at Kennedy; potential strong crosswinds at Edwards; and acceptable landing conditions at White Sands.

Knight said the entry team’s strategy will be to watch weather conditions carefully, focusing – in order – on the first landing opportunity in Florida, the second opportunities in Florida and California, and the third opportunities in California and New Mexico. A fourth California opportunity is available, but may not be used. Saturday landing opportunities are available at all three locations if weather prohibits a Friday landing.

Discovery’s first landing opportunity Friday is to Kennedy, beginning with a deorbit engine firing at 1:49 p.m. CST with wheels touching down at 2:56 p.m. CST. The next opportunity is to Edwards with an engine firing at 3:19 p.m. CST leading to a 4:27 p.m. touchdown. The first opportunity to land at White Sands begins with an engine firing at 3:20 p.m. CST leading to a touchdown in New Mexico at 4:27 p.m.

Opportunities also exist for Discovery to land at Edwards with an engine firing at 4:54 p.m. CST leading to touchdown at 6 p.m. CST. A second opportunity to land at White Sands begins with an engine firing by the shuttle at 4:57 p.m. CST leading to a 6:02 p.m.

touchdown. The final Friday landing opportunity is to Edwards, beginning with an engine firing at 6:32 p.m. CST leading to a touchdown at 7:36 p.m. CST.

Meanwhile, the Expedition 14 crew aboard the International Space Station, is settling back to normal operations with its new member, Flight Engineer Sunita Williams. Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, are about halfway through their six-month increment. Williams, who arrived aboard Discovery, is just beginning her six months on the station. She’ll span the last half of Expedition 14 and the first half of Expedition 15.

The crew, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein, and mission specialists Bob Curbeam, Nicholas Patrick, Christer Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter, were awakened at 6:17 a.m. CST to the song "The Road Less Traveled," performed by Joe Sample. It was played for Higginbotham.

The crew began stowing gear away at 8:47 a.m., with all seven crewmembers participating off and on during the day.

Polansky, Oefelein and Curbeam, who serves as flight engineer, checked out flight control surfaces – the wing and body flaps and the rudder – beginning at 9:17 a.m. CST. At 10:27 a.m., they began a test firing of the shuttle's steering jets used during the early portions of descent from orbit.

Fuglesang and Higginbotham will deploy the third of three small satellites from Discovery's cargo bay today. The first two were successfully pushed into space Wednesday. The Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment (ANDE) microsatellite will be deployed at 12:19 p.m. The satellite will gather information on atmospheric drag in low orbit.

After lunch, all seven crewmembers will talk with reporters from CNN and ABC, and with students at the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai, Alaska.

The crew will review deorbit procedures at 2:32 p.m. CST. The KU-band antenna, used as the primary method to transmit television to the ground among other communications, will be stowed for landing at 7:17 p.m. CST. The crew begins a sleep period at 10:17 p.m.

Shuttle landing sites at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; and at White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. all will be active for a landing on Friday. The weather forecast currently calls for a chance of rain and low clouds at Kennedy; potential strong crosswinds at Edwards; and acceptable landing conditions at White Sands.

Discovery’s first landing opportunity Friday is to Kennedy, beginning with a deorbit engine firing at 1:49 p.m. CST with wheels touching down at 2:56 p.m. CST. The next opportunity is to Edwards with an engine firing to begin descent at 3:19 p.m. CST leading to a 4:27 p.m. touchdown. The first opportunity to land at White Sands begins with an engine firing at 3:20 p.m. CST leading to a touchdown in New Mexico at 4:32 p.m.

Opportunities also exist for Discovery to land at Edwards with a descent beginning with an engine firing at 4:54 p.m. CST leading to touchdown at 6 p.m. CST. A second opportunity to land at White Sands begins with an engine firing by the shuttle at 4:57 p.m. CST leading to a 6:02 p.m. touchdown.

The final landing opportunity available for Discovery on Friday is to Edwards, beginning with an engine firing at 6:32 p.m. CST leading to a touchdown at 7:36 p.m. CST.

Discovery is now about 2,200 statute miles ahead of the International Space Station. The distance increases by about 92 miles with each orbit.

Two station crew members, Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, are about half way through their six-month increment. The third crewmember, Flight Engineer Sunita Williams, came to the station aboard Discovery and is just beginning her six months on the station with the last half of Expedition 14 and the first half of Expedition 15.

Discovery touched down on Runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at 4:32 p.m. CST. The crew had spent 12 days, 20 hours and 44 minutes in flight. Discovery’s nose gear touched down at 4:32 p.m. exactly, and the shuttle's wheels came to a stop 52 seconds later.

After an afternoon in limbo, weather conditions along Florida’s Space Coast took a dramatic turn for the better, giving flight controllers confidence that a band of approaching showers would dissipate before the orbiter’s arrival. The first opportunity for landing at Kennedy was waved off because of stormy weather, and first chance at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., passed due to gusty winds.

The landing was the 63rd to touch down in Florida, but did not qualify as a night landing.

Discovery crew members, Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Bill Oefelein, and mission specialists Bob Curbeam, Nicholas Patrick, Christer Fuglesang, Joan Higginbotham and Thomas Reiter, who is returning home after about six months on the station, will return to Houston on Saturday. A welcoming ceremony for the crew's return to Houston is planned at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at NASA Hangar 276 at Ellington Field.

During Discovery’s mission to the International Space Station, the crew continued construction of the outpost adding the P5 spacer truss segment during the first of four spacewalks. The next two spacewalks rewired the station’s power system, preparing it to support the station’s final configuration and the arrival of additional science modules. A fourth spacewalk was added to allow the crew to retract solar arrays that had folded improperly.

Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the station, most of which were located in the SPACEHAB cargo module. Almost two tons of items no longer needed on the station returned to Earth with STS-116.

The next shuttle mission, targeted for March, will deliver a second starboard truss segment and a third set of solar arrays and batteries during the Space Shuttle Program's 21st mission to the station.