Glenn Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Two children. Born in Cambridge, Ohio, USA. US Marine Corps US Marine Corps

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 1 - 1959. Inactive Entered space service: 2 April 1959. Left space service: 7 November 1998. Number of Flights: 2.00. Total Time: 9.11 days.

Born July 18, 1921, Cambridge, Ohio. First American to orbit the Earth. The "Clean Marine" flew missions in W.W.II, and Korea, selected in 1959 to be one of the Original Seven astronauts. Third American in Space. Resigned from space program in 1964, and the Marine Corps in '65. Elected to the Senate from Ohio as a Democrat in 1974. Reelected in '80 and '86. Made unsuccessful bid for Democratic Presidential Nomination in 1984. One of 5 senators investigated by Senate Ethics Committee for improper intervention on behalf of Charles Keating. He was exonerated. NASA Official Biography

NAME: John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (Colonel, USMC, Ret.)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio. Married to the former Anna Margaret Castor of New Concord, Ohio. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.

EDUCATION:

Glenn attended primary and secondary schools in New Concord, Ohio. He attended Muskingum College in New Concord and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. Muskingum College also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in engineering. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from nine colleges or universities.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Glenn has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on six occasions, and holds the Air Medal with 18 Clusters for his service during World War II and Korea. Glenn also holds the Navy Unit Commendation for service in Korea, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy's Astronaut Wings, the Marine Corps' Astronaut Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

EXPERIENCE:

He entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in March 1942 and was graduated from this program and commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1943. After advanced training, he joined Marine Fighter Squadron 155 and spent a year flying F4U fighters in the Marshall Islands.

During his World War II service, he flew 59 combat missions. After the war, he was a member of Marine Fighter Squadron 218 on the North China patrol and served on Guam. From June 1948 to December 1950 Glenn was an instructor in advanced flight training at Corpus Christi, Texas. He then attended Amphibious Warfare Training at Quantico, Virginia. In Korea he flew 63 missions with Marine Fighter Squadrons 311 and 27 while an exchange pilot with the Air Force in F-86 Sabrejets. In the last nine days of fighting in Korea Glenn downed three MIG's in combat along the Yalu River.

After Korea, Glenn attended Test Pilot School at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. After graduation, he was project officer on a number of aircraft. He was assigned to the Fighter Design Branch of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (now Bureau of Naval Weapons) in Washington from November 1956 to April 1959, during which time he also attended the University of Maryland.

In July 1957, while project officer of the F8U Crusader, he set a transcontinental speed record from Los Angeles to New York, spanning the country in 3 hours and 23 minutes. This was the first transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed. Glenn has nearly 9,000 hours of flying time, with approximately 3,000 hours in jet aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Glenn was assigned to the NASA Space Task Group at Langley, Virginia, in April 1959 after his selection as a Project Mercury Astronaut. The Space Task Group was moved to Houston and became part of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in 1962. Glenn flew on Mercury-6 (February 20, 1962) and has logged 4 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds in space. Prior to his flight, Glenn had served as backup pilot for Astronauts Shepard and Grissom. When astronauts were given special assignments to ensure pilot input into the design and development of spacecraft, Glenn specialized in cockpit layout and control functioning, including some of the early designs for the Apollo Project. Glenn resigned from the Manned Spacecraft Center on January 16, 1964. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in October 1964 and retired from the Marine Corps on January 1, 1965. He was a business executive from 1965 until his election to the United States Senate in November 1974 where he now serves. Glenn is assigned to serve as payload specialist on the crew of STS-95. This mission will support a variety of research payloads including deployment of the Spartan solar-observing spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and investigations on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is scheduled for launch in October 1998.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE:

On February 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States. Launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, he completed a successful three-orbit mission around the earth, reaching a maximum altitude (apogee) of approximately 162 statute miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour. Glenn's "Friendship 7" Mercury spacecraft landed approximately 800 miles southeast of KSC in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island. Mission duration from launch to impact was 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds.

• 20 February 1962 Flight: Mercury MA-6. Flight Up: Mercury 6. Flight Back: Mercury 6. Flight Time: 0.21 days.

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

2 April 1959 - Seven astronauts selected for Mercury project.. Seven astronauts were selected for Project Mercury after a series of the most rigorous physical and mental tests ever given to U.S. test pilots. Chosen from a field of 110 candidates, the finalists were all qualified test pilots: Capts. Leroy G. Cooper, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, and Donald K. Slayton, (USAF); Lt. Malcolm S. Carpenter, Lt. Comdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Lt. Comdr. Watler M. Schirra, Jr. (USN); and Lt. Col. John H. Glenn (USMC).

Of the seven astronauts, all eventually flew in space. Grounded due to a heart murmur, Slayton had to wait 16 years for his flight aboard the last Apollo mission. Glenn left for a career in politics after becoming the first American to orbit the earth, but returned to space aboard a shuttle over 36 years later in a NASA publicity stunt. Schirra was the only astronaut to fly aboard Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft. Shepard was the only one to reach the lunar surface (after being grounded for a medical condition during the Gemini program). Grissom would die in the Apollo 204 ground fire.

Specialty areas for the second generation were: trainers and simulators, Neil A. Armstrong; boosters, Frank Borman; cockpit layout and systems integration, Charles Conrad, Jr.; recovery system, James A. Lovell, Jr.; guidance and navigation, James A. McDivitt; electrical, sequential, and mission planning, Elliot M. See, Jr.; communications, instrumentation, and range integration, Thomas P. Stafford; flight control systems, Edward H. White II; and environmental control systems, personal equipment, and survival equipment, John W. Young.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Payload Specialist John Glenn, 77, will begin providing the 10 blood samples and 16 urine samples needed to look into the effects of space flight on his body. Researchers want to better understand how the removal of gravity affects balance and perception, immune system response, bone and muscle density, metabolism and blood flow, and sleep. Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, 35, also will provide blood samples, which will be taken by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski and Payload Specialist Chiai Mukai, both trained physicians.

The blood draws are part of the Protein Turnover in Space Flight study, which will track the balance between protein building and breakdown, the two parts of protein turnover that contribute to muscle atrophy. The astronauts in the experiment take small amounts of the amino acids alanine and histidine, which contain a special tracer molecules, 12 hours before each blood draw. This research may help benefit people on Earth who suffer from weakened muscles or loss of bone mass.

The on-orbit researchers also will continue their examinations of plants., animals and other materials as they react to environmental changes related to the absence of gravity. And Canadian developers of a Space Vision System will check out on board software that will allow them to switch from camera to camera in the payload bay and provide precise positioning information for use by robot arm operators assembling the pieces of the International Space Station.

Early in the crew day, Commander Curt Brown will switch back to a tried and true method of removing iodine from the shuttle's drinking water supply. Yesterday, the crew reported a strange taste in water coming out of a system being tested for the first time. Ground researchers are trying to determine what is causing the strange taste. Iodine is used to prevent contamination of the water system tanks and lines, but must be removed before the crew drinks the water or uses it in food preparation.

At 11:35 a.m., Brown and Glenn will answer questions posed by students at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio; the Newseum in Arlington, Va., and John Glenn High School in New Concord, Ohio.

The crew was awakened at 7:10 a.m. Central time to the sounds of "Cachito," a song about parenthood. Duque and his wife, Consuelo, recently had a baby. The crew will go to bed at 10:35 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discovery is in a 348 by 338 statute mile orbit.

Research continues, however, as the Spartan solar science satellite released by Discovery yesterday now trails the Shuttle by about 30 miles, performing observations of the sun and the solar wind. Discovery Commander Curt Brown and Payload Specialist John Glenn also took time out to answer questions about the mission from reporters with major broadcast television networks in the U.S. during the afternoon.

Later, Pilot Steve Lindsey and Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski set up lap top computers in Discovery's cockpit in preparation for the retrieval of the Spartan satellite on Tuesday. Spartan is planned to be recaptured by the Shuttle at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow.

The crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 9:25 p.m. Central tonight and awaken at 5:25 a.m. Tuesday. Prior to going to sleep, Brown will perform a small firing of Discovery's steering jets to maintain the distance from Spartan during the crew's night. Also, Glenn and fellow Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai will don special instrumentation they will wear for a second night in a row that records a variety of information such as brain waves and body motions as they sleep.

Discovery remains in excellent condition with no systems problems of concern to Mission Control, orbiting Earth at an altitude of 348 by 338 statute miles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All systems aboard Discovery continue to operate well.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All systems on board Discovery continue to operate well.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commander Curt Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey will spend a good part of their day checking out important spacecraft systems for entry and landing. At about 7:20 a.m. Central time, the commander and pilot will begin the flight control system checkout, powering up one auxiliary power unit and evaluating the performance of aerodynamic surfaces and flight controls. The flight crew will perform a reaction control system hot fire about 8:30 a.m., followed by a test of the communications system.

At about 12:30 p.m. Central time, the crew will begin stowing the equipment used to conduct the mission's array of on-board science activities. Just before turning in for the night, Lindsey will stow the Ku-band antenna, which provides high data-rate relay and television.

The flight control teams in the Mission Control Center are also preparing for Saturday's landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Preliminary weather forecasts indicate generally favorable weather to support Saturday's landing at 11:06 a.m. Central time. Remnants of tropical storm Mitch have passed through the area and moved off Florida's east coast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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