Lu Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, married. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. PhD

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 15 - 1995. Active Entered space service: 9 December 1994. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 205.97 days. Number of EVAs: 1.00. Total EVA Time: 0.26 days.

NAME: Edward Tsang Lu (Ph.D.)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born July 1, 1963, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Considers Honolulu, Hawaii, and Webster, New York, to be his hometowns. Unmarried. He enjoys aerobatic flying, coaching wrestling, piano, tennis, surfing, skiing, travel. His parents, Charlie and Snowlily Lu, reside in Fremont, California.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from R.L. Thomas High School, Webster, New York, in 1980. Bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University, 1984. Doctorate in applied physics from Stanford University, 1989.

ORGANIZATIONS:

American Astronomical Society, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Cornell University Presidential Scholar, Hughes Aircraft Company Masters Fellow.

EXPERIENCE:

Since obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Lu has been a research physicist working in the fields of solar physics and astrophysics. He was a visiting scientist at the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, from 1989 until 1992, the final year holding a joint appointment with the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado. From 1992 until 1995, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Lu has developed a number of new theoretical advances which have provided for the first time a basic understanding of the underlying physics of solar flares. He has published articles on a wide range of topics including solar flares, cosmology, solar oscillations, statistical mechanics, and plasma physics. He has given over 20 invited lectures at various universities and international conferences. He holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument and multi-engine ratings.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Dr. Lu reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995, has completed a year of training and evaluation, and is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist. He was initially assigned to work technical issues in the Computer Support Branch of the Astronaut Office. Most recently, he served as a mission specialist on STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997), NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. In completing this 9-day mission, Dr.Lu traveled 3.6 million miles in 144 orbits of the Earth logging a total of 221 hours and 20 minutes in space.

• 15 May 1997 Flight: STS-84. Flight Up: STS-84. Flight Back: STS-84. Flight Time: 9.22 days.

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

• 26 April 2003 Flight: ISS EO-7. Flight Up: Soyuz TMA-2. Flight Back: Soyuz TMA-2. Flight Time: 184.95 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.

Riding aboard the upgraded and refurbished space Shuttle Atlantis, Commander Jim Halsell, Pilot Scott Horowitz and Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber, Jeff Williams, Jim Voss, Susan Helms and Yury Usachev rocketed away from their Florida launch site at 5:11 a.m. Central time, a pre-dawn launch by Shuttle standards. Atlantis quickly rose into daylight as it raced up the Eastern seaboard in pursuit of the 76-foot long, 35-ton international station, which was flying over the Ukraine, southwest of Kiev.

The launch was Atlantis' first since September 1997. Atlantis recently underwent major modifications, including the introduction of a state-of-the-art, hi-tech glass cockpit filled with computer displays to replace the old cockpit dials and switches.

Atlantis launched on time after three delays last month caused by high winds at the launch site and at overseas emergency landing strips. Today, conditions were perfect. Atlantis is scheduled to link up to the space station at 11:31 p.m. Central time Saturday night (12:31 a.m. Eastern time Sunday morning).

Once on orbit, Atlantis' crew began to set up shuttle systems for the planned 10-day mission, preparing to open the ship's cargo bay doors, which will be followed by the activation of the double Spacehab module housed in the rear of the cargo bay, containing more than a ton of supplies the crew will transfer to the station.

The astronauts will begin their first eight-hour sleep period just five hours after liftoff, at 10:11 a.m. Central time, and will be awakened at 6:11 p.m. this evening to begin their first full day in orbit. Prior to the start of that sleep period, Halsell and Horowitz will fire Atlantis' maneuvering jets in the first of a series of maneuvers designed to put the shuttle on a precise course to the International Space Station.

After the first rendezvous maneuver, Atlantis will be circling the Earth in a slightly elliptical orbit of about 201 by 124 statute miles, inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the equator.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today's wake up call was "All Star" by the band Smash Mouth. The song was played for the two space walkers at the request of the EVA training and flight control teams to celebrate what will be the sixth space walk in support of station assembly and the 50th space walk in Space Shuttle history. After completing a final pre-breathing session of pure oxygen to purge nitrogen from their blood stream and putting on their EVA spacesuits, Lu and Malenchenko will exit Atlantis' airlock just after midnight Central.

Lu who carries the designation EV 1, will be making his first space walk and will wear the space suit marked by red stripes. Malenchenko, who conducted two space walks totaling 12 hours during his 1994 flight aboard the Russian Mir Space Station, is designated EV 2 and will wear the pure white suit.

The main objective of the space walk will be to attach a 6-foot long magnetometer and boom to a port on the Russian Zvezda Service Module. The magnetometer will serve as a type of navigation tool, or compass, using data acquired from the Earth's magnetic field to "tell" Zvezda's computers how it is oriented in relation to the Earth. The information provided by the magnetometer will minimize the amount of propellent Zvezda's thrusters use to maintain the position of the International Space Station.

STS-106 Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Dan Burbank will also play key support roles in the space walk activities. Mastracchio will operate the Shuttle's robot arm to move the two space walkers as far as the arm will take them, about 50 feet above Atlantis' cargo bay. Lu and Malenchenko then will use tethers and handrails along the ISS' modules to make their way to a point more than 100 feet above the cargo bay for the magnetometer installation, the farthest any tethered space walker has ventured outside a Shuttle. Burbank, the IV crewmember, will serve as "space walk choreographer " guiding Lu and Malenchenko's through their various activities.

Once the magnetometer hook up is complete, electrical, data and television cables between the Zvezda Service Module and the Zarya Control Module will be connected. In all, nine cables will be rigged between the two spacecraft in a procedure expected to last almost three hours.

Four of the cables are critical power connections required before the end of the future STS-97 mission to the ISS which will deliver the U.S. solar arrays. These cables will enable power to flow from the U.S. arrays to the Russian modules to augment the solar arrays on both Zarya and Zvezda since the U.S. arrays will shade portions of the Russian arrays once they are installed on the top of the Z-1 truss framework.

Two of the cables installed by Lu and Malenchenko will provide an internal closed circuit video feed and two other cables will link data from Zvezda to Zarya and allow commanding of Zarya solar array pointing from Zvezda now that the Zarya's motion control system has been deactivated.

A final fiber optic cable will be strung between Zvezda and Zarya to enable data to flow from the suits worn by Russian space walkers once the ISS airlock is installed at the starboard port of the Unity connecting node to accommodate joint U.S.-Russian space walks. Until then, ISS space walks must be conducted from Zvezda's transfer compartment.

The STS-106 crew will wind up the day's efforts early Monday morning before turning in for an eight-hour sleep period beginning at 10:46 a.m. CDT. After they wake up Monday evening, the will enter the station Monday evening by opening 12 hatches in preparation for delivering supplies for use by the first resident crew who will arrive at the station in late October.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spacewalk tasks include reconfiguring power connections, providing a second power source for one of the station's control moment gyroscopes, securing thermal covers on quick disconnect fittings for the station's thermal control system, and releasing a light stanchion on one of the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) carts.

The preparations included a talk with experts on the ground today, spacesuit and tool battery charging through much of the week, a detailed review Wednesday of the spacewalk timeline preceded by a checkout of the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) by Pettit and followed by a 30-minute EVA conference with experts on the ground. Earlier in the week they had worked with EVARM (EVA Radiation Monitoring) equipment.

Expedition 6 crewmembers also prepared for their return home, members gathering and packing personal items and working to put the orbiting laboratory in top condition for its next residents. On Tuesday the Expedition 7 crew, Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Astronaut Ed Lu, was formally named. They are to be launched to the ISS from Kazakhstan in a Soyuz TMA capsule on April 26.

Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will return to Earth in early May aboard the Soyuz TMA now attached to the Russian segment's Pirs Docking Compartment. They were launched Nov. 23 and have been aboard the station since Nov. 25. Malenchenko and Lu will visit the Kazakhstan launch site at Baikonur next week to inspect the Soyuz TMA on which they will travel to the station.

Russian controllers at Mission Control Moscow today used thrusters of the unpiloted Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the Zvezda Service Module to increase the altitude of the station in preparation for arrival of the Expedition 7's Soyuz. The 14-minute firing of the Progress thrusters raised the average altitude of the station by about 1.9 statute miles.

A wide range of science activities continues aboard the ISS. Pettit had spent considerable time since arriving on the station troubleshooting the power supply of the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox. The MSG provides a sealed environment for experiments that involve potential hazards like fluids, flame, fumes or particulates. After successful testing of his repairs, Pettit this week completed the increment's first experiment runs in the facility. The MSG performed successfully in the InSpace (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment, which studies how particles and clumps of particles respond to an external magnetic field. Though the InSpace runs Monday and Tuesday produced unexpected results, many scientists were delighted to see the MSG working again.

Taking advantage of the final days of a three-man presence on the ISS before the new Expedition 7 crew is launched, Bowersox and Pettit began the second spacewalk of their increment at 7:40 a.m. CDT (1240 GMT). It was the second spacewalk for both Bowersox and Pettit, the 51st spacewalk for ISS assembly and maintenance and the 17th spacewalk staged from the U.S. Quest Airlock. Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin helped the crew suit up and monitored ISS systems from inside the Destiny Laboratory during the excursion.

Bowersox and Pettit set out immediately to set up tools and tethers, and quickly went to work on separate tasks. Bowersox reconfigured electrical connectors at the interfaces between the Starboard Zero (S0) Truss and the two trusses flanking it, the Starboard One (S1) Truss and the Port 1 (P1) Truss. The connector work will insure that additional protection is in place to prevent the inadvertent release of the truss segments from the S0 Truss through the trusses' Bolt Bus Controller system. Bowersox also inspected a faulty heater cable on the P1 Truss Nitrogen Tank Assembly but found nothing unusual.

While that work was being conducted, Pettit replaced a power relay box in the Mobile Transporter railcar system, which has experienced some electrical problems in recent weeks.

Both spacewalkers then made their way to the Z1 (Zenith One) Truss, where they successfully rerouted power cables to two of the four Control Moment Gyros (CMGs) that provide orientation control for the ISS from the U.S. segment. One CMG failed almost a year ago, and the cable reconfiguration to CMGs # 2 and 3 will prevent both from being disabled in the unlikely event a power failure occurs. The ISS can be properly oriented with just two CMGs in operation. A replacement for the failed CMG will be flown to the ISS and installed on the first post-Columbia shuttle mission, STS-114.

Bowersox and Pettit pressed ahead to install two so-called Spool Positioning Devices on fluid quick disconnect lines for the heat exchanger on the Destiny Laboratory. The devices help keep internal seals and moving parts from experiencing internal leakage as ammonia flows through the station's cooling system.

With that completed, the two station crewmembers ventured to the S1 Truss to secure a thermal cover on the truss' Radiator Beam Valve Module, which controls the flow of ammonia to the truss' heat-rejecting radiators.

One final task awaited Bowersox and Pettit --- the deployment of a balky light stanchion for the handrail cart on the S1 Truss that would not unfurl during the previous spacewalk by the two crewmembers in January. The stanchion proved to be just as stubborn this time, but Pettit used a hammer to tap the stanchion free from its stowed position on the 10th try. A light was then installed on the stanchion, giving the truss the illuminating capability it needs to assist future spacewalkers.

With all of their work completed, Bowersox and Pettit retrieved some tools for future spacewalks from external locations and returned to Quest to complete their spacewalk at 2:06 p.m. CDT (1906 GMT).

The crew will spend a quiet day tomorrow relaxing before resuming its complement of scientific research and routine maintenance work on board the ISS Thursday.

Meanwhile, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer/NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu completed final preparations before traveling to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan tomorrow from their training base in Star City, Russia to inspect the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle in which they will be launched on April 26 to begin a six-month mission on the ISS.

During a 6-hour, 26-minute spacewalk Tuesday, Bowersox and Pettit reconfigured critical power cables and continued the external outfitting of the station. They also completed a number of get-ahead tasks for future ISS assembly.

Science experiments this week measured the amount of radiation the astronauts receive and the possible changes in their lung function, before and after spacewalks. Other experiments studied fluids used in mechanical lines such as those in automobile brake systems for possible improvement, and allowed middle school students around the world to command a camera to take pictures of Earth from the station.

Bowersox and Pettit maneuvered the space station robotic arm, Canadarm2, three times this week. The first session, on Sunday, put the robotic arm in position to use its cameras to view the spacewalk and the next two completed the on-orbit checkout of robotic components and gathered data from a sensor.

The altitude of the station was raised to an average 244 statute miles in preparation for the arrival of a new Soyuz spacecraft and its crew. Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer/NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu traveled to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan from their training base in Star City, Russia, to inspect the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle in which they will be launched on April 26 to begin a six-month mission on the ISS. They also did fit checks today.ce operations can be found on an Internet site administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Monday the Expedition crewmembers -- Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit-got into their Sokol launch and entry suits for a fit check in the shock-absorbing seats in the Descent Module of the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft docked to the station's Pirs Docking Compartment. Wednesday morning, taking advantage of their ability to look at the actual hardware on orbit, the crewmembers spent an hour answering questions from members of the flight control team in Houston about the details of several maintenance and repair tasks completed during the past few months. Packing of personal gear, and other preparations for departure and landing, continued all week.

Plans for the launch of the next crew to the International Space Station advanced this week, too. On Monday at the General Designer's Review in Moscow officials confirmed that the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle is ready for launch. Today officials at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, certified the Expedition 7 crewmembers for flight.

Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu are due to depart Star City for the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan on Sunday to make final preparations for their launch April 26, at 9:54 a.m. Baikonur time (10:54 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 25). The new crew should arrive at the station early in the morning of Monday, April 28, to begin six days of handover briefings with the returning crew. Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit are scheduled to land in the old Soyuz on May 4; Bowersox and Pettit will be the first American astronauts ever to land in a Soyuz spacecraft.

While spending more time on departure preparations this week, the station crew continued their science operations. All three participated in biomedical experiments looking into lung function and kidney stone formation in microgravity, and each day Pettit oversaw experiment runs of the InSpace investigation in the Destiny Laboratory's Microgravity Sciences Glovebox. Pettit has been applying and removing magnetic forces to particles and clumps of particles suspended in paramagnetic fluids for the benefit of investigators looking to develop better fluids for brake and vibration damping systems.

All three crewmembers also continued their participation in several research protocols to learn more about how the human body reacts to extended periods in a weightless environment.

Thursday the Expedition 6 crewmembers participated in another educational event, answering questions about their mission and about living in space posed by students from Mountain Park Elementary School in Roswell, Ga., who have been participating in a year-long celebration of the Centennial of Flight.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Ed Lu, who will become the NASA ISS Science Officer, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 10:54 p.m. CDT. They are now bound for a docking with the orbiting complex at 12:58 a.m. CDT Monday. After a six-day handover of responsibilities aboard the station, Malenchenko and Lu will take over duties from the Expedition 6 crew of Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit. Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit have now been in orbit for 154 days.

Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will undock from the complex at 5:40 p.m. CDT May 3 en route to a landing at 9:03 p.m. CDT in Kazakhstan that same day. They will travel home in a Soyuz spacecraft that has been docked to the station for six months. Malenchenko and Lu will remain aboard the station conducting a series of scientific and educational activities until October.

Early Saturday morning, Malenchenko and Lu will oversee two engine firings by their spacecraft that will adjust its course toward the Monday docking. On Sunday, another engine firing will be performed to further refine its course. Aboard the station, the Expedition 6 crew will spend Saturday with a quiet slate of activities that includes participating in planning teleconferences with the ground, off duty time and a series of "Saturday Morning Science" hobby activities conducted by Pettit.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu monitored systems as their Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft gently flew to a smooth, automated docking with the station's Zarya Control Module at 12:56 a.m. CDT. At the time of docking, the two space vehicles sailed some 240 statute miles over Kazakhstan, home of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, from where Malenchenko and Lu were launched on Saturday. Within minutes, hooks and latches on the Soyuz and Zarya docking mechanisms were fully engaged to provide a firm mate.

On the ISS, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit watched closely as the first visitors of their increment eased the new Soyuz to its port along side the Soyuz TMA-1 capsule, which has been linked to the Pirs Docking Compartment since November. Three Russian vehicles now reside at the ISS, including a Progress resupply ship.

Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will ride home in on the older Soyuz Sunday (late Saturday CDT) to a landing in Kazakhstan to complete a mission that began with their launch Nov. 23, 2002. It will mark the first time in history U.S. astronauts will have returned from space in a Russian craft.

At the time of docking, Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit had been in space for 156 days, 154 days on the station.

Shortly before docking, while the new Soyuz sat about 200 meters away from the ISS for a few minutes of stationkeeping and systems checks, Pettit used high-powered digital camera lenses in the Destiny laboratory to document the capsule's arrival at the station.

At 2:27 a.m. CDT, after comprehensive leak checks between the newly arrived Soyuz and the Zarya module, hatches swung open and the two crews greeted one another to begin six days of joint handover operations primarily designed to familiarize the new crew with ISS systems and the location of key hardware and consumables.

The five crewmembers accepted congratulations from Deputy NASA Administrator Frederick Gregory, Deputy Associate Administrator Michael Kostelnik and ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier in a call from the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow, where they watched the docking with a large contingent of U.S. and Russian space officials.

The crews then began to transfer a small amount of clothes and supplies carried into orbit on the new Soyuz, and are scheduled to conduct a safety briefing later today.

Malenchenko, Budarin and Bowersox will have a Soyuz descent and landing training session Wednesday to fine tune techniques Budarin will use on Saturday as he commands the return craft for its trip back to Earth. Bowersox, Budarin and Pettit will undock from the complex at 5:40 p.m. CDT May 3 en route to a landing in Kazakhstan at 9:03 p.m. that day.

Malenchenko and Lu will remain aboard the station conducting a series of scientific and educational activities until late October.

A little over three hours later, at 9:07 p.m., the Expedition 6 crew, Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, is scheduled to land in northern Kazakhstan. Their return will end a mission that began with their launch on Nov. 23 and their docking to the orbiting laboratory two days later. Weather for the landing area is predicted to be acceptable.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu spent much of the week learning the ropes aboard their new home, where they are to remain for about the next six months. They also unpacked gear and equipment.

On Thursday, the station's file server went down. The event was not a serious impediment to crew activities, though flight controllers and computer experts on the ground and the crew did spend time working to restore the server. The server was up and running again by Friday morning. As a result of the incident, the Expedition 7 crew got a quick review on how the server and the station computers function.

Bowersox and Lu did a handover session on Friday with the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. Both the CDRA and the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal system in the Russian Zvezda Service Module are operating because of five crewmembers being on the station. On Thursday Budarin had temporarily shut down the Vozdukh to install new power cables. Normally only the Vozdukh or the CDRA is running.

On Friday the Expedition 7 crew got familiarization training with the Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm. That and the CDRA activity were, in contrast to the rest of the week, among the few familiarization periods today. Much of the day was devoted to stowing materials on the station and packing Expedition 6 gear in their Soyuz.

The Soyuz landed about 275 miles west and a little south of its predicted touchdown point. The aircraft found the capsule and established radio contact with the crew at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The plane's crew subsequently reported seeing Expedition 6 crewmembers outside the Soyuz, waving and apparently well.

The crew, Commander Ken Bowersox, Soyuz Commander Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, spent about 51/2 months in space, all but two days of it on the station. The landing ended a mission that began with their launch on Nov. 23 and their docking to the orbiting laboratory two days later. It marked the first landing of an advanced Soyuz TMA spacecraft, and it was the first time U.S. astronauts have landed in any Soyuz capsule.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who arrived at the station early last Monday, formally began their increment on the station with the departure of their predecessors. A change-of-command ceremony began at 1:15 p.m. Saturday. After farewells, hatches between the station and the Soyuz TMA-1 were closed at 2:38 p.m. Malenchenko and Lu will be aboard the orbiting laboratory for about six months.

The undocking procedure began right on time at 5:40 p.m. Saturday, with springs pushing the Soyuz away from the ISS three minutes later. At 5:46 p.m. a separation burn of Soyuz thrusters increased its speed as it moved away. Minutes later, the station began maneuvering itself from the undocking attitude back to the standard "duty attitude."

The 4-minute, 18-second deorbit burn began at 8:12 p.m. About 8:40 p.m. the orbital and instrumentation/propulsion modules separated from the crew's descent module, the only one of the three intended to return to Earth. Minutes later that module began to feel the effects of the upper atmosphere. About 8:52 p.m. the first of a series of parachutes deployed to slow the module's rate of descent and six small rocket engines fired just before touchdown to further slow the capsule.

Helicopters with ground support personnel had to refuel before flying to the Soyuz to retrieve the crew. The crew will fly today to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan before returning to Star City, the Russian space center near Moscow. There the crew will begin debriefings and physical rehabilitation. Bowersox and Pettit are scheduled to return to Johnson Space Center in a little over two weeks.

The week began with Sunday and Monday off for Malenchenko and Lu to help them become accustomed to their home for the next six months. An hour of ISS familiarization followed on Tuesday, along with standard maintenance and inspection activities.

The station's toilet system underwent three hours of periodic maintenance on Wednesday, with Malenchenko changing out elements, including hoses and filter inserts. Lu also had a three-hour project, inspecting emergency lighting power sources in the station's U.S. segment.

The first medical tests for the new crew were a Thursday highlight. The experiments looked at crew body mass, red blood cell count and heart activity. The Resistive Exercise Device (RED) was out of kilter, showing higher than normal resistance and making unusual sounds.

Today was the Russian holiday, Victory Day, marking the end of World War II in Europe.The crew had the day off, but they did perform scheduled maintenance and two sessions each of physical exercise. Lu changed out canisters on the RED. The device is functioning well after the canister change out.

Meanwhile, the Expedition 6 crew remains at Star City, the Russian cosmonaut training center near Moscow, after its landing in Kazakhstan on May 3. E6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are undergoing debriefings and physical rehabilitation. Bowersox and Pettit are scheduled to return to Johnson Space Center a little over a week from now.

Each ISS crew undergoes orientation sessions to become familiar with its new home during the first two weeks of the mission, as has Expedition 7. This week, Malenchenko and Lu, along with flight controllers on the ground, also went through fire and emergency evacuation procedures.

Malenchenko and Lu also did maintenance throughout the station. They focused on the Russian Zvezda Service Module by cleaning out the ventilation duct work and taking inventory of the Russian communication system equipment. Lu also worked with the U.S. defibrillator unit and checked out the system.

The E7 crewmembers harvested their first crop on the ISS. The "Red and White" peas harvested were planted by the Expedition 6 crew. They were part of the Russian PLANTS-2 experiment.

Lu worked in the U.S. laboratory Destiny on daily science payload status checks and is scheduled to work with the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) next week. Lu will activate the InSPACE (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment inside the MSG on Monday. InSPACE studies new fluids that may help improve brake systems, robotics, airplane landing gear and vibration damper systems.

On Thursday, Lu took digital photos of the lunar eclipse.

Meanwhile, the Expedition 6 crew remains at Star City, the Russian cosmonaut training center near Moscow, after its landing in Kazakhstan on May 3. Commander Ken Bowersox, Cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit are undergoing debriefings and physical rehabilitation. Bowersox and Pettit are scheduled to return to Johnson Space Center next week.

Each day this week Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu completed a variety of maintenance tasks to keep their home on orbit in good shape, from monitoring the operation of life support systems to testing the quality of air and water.

In the coming week mission managers plan to have the crewmembers replace a storage battery in the Zvezda Service Module. As training for a contingency spacewalk, they also will have Malenchenko and Lu get into, and then out of, the American spacesuits. In their pre-flight training Malenchenko and Lu always had help donning and doffing the Extravehicular Mobility Unit. No spacewalks are planned for this increment.

The science mission of Expedition 7 picked up this week. Malenchenko took part in Russian biomedical experiments gauging the impact of the microgravity environment on blood cell count and body mass, while Lu began a new series of experiment runs with the InSPACE experiment in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) this week.

The MSG is a sealed container in the Destiny laboratory housing experiments involving materials that need to be isolated from the station environment. InSPACE, or Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions, which was started during Expedition 6, studies how particles that are capable of being magnetized respond when a magnetic field is pulsed on and off.

Scientists hope to develop better fluids for systems that are routinely exposed to magnetic fields, such as automobile brake fluids and vibration damping systems, and to develop new applications such as vibration damping systems for buildings in earthquake-prone areas.

Wednesday morning the Expedition 7 crewmembers discussed the progress of their mission and its scientific research with the BBC Radio's World Service and WHEC-TV in Rochester, N.Y., near Lu's hometown of Webster, N.Y. Thursday they took part in an educational event, answering questions from students gathered at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

The station's Microgravity Science Glovebox is back in action supporting hands-on experiments in a closed/controlled environment after researchers reset the unit's computer to resume activity with the InSPACE experiment (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions), which began during the Expedition Six increment on the station.

Scientists hope to develop better fluids for systems that are routinely exposed to magnetic fields, such as automobile brake fluids and vibration damping systems. Experimenters also hope to use data from InSPACE to develop new applications such as vibration damping systems for buildings in earthquake-prone areas.

Earlier this week a faulty battery in the Zvezda living quarters module was replaced and the crew practiced techniques for conducting a spacewalk without the assistance of a third crewmember. Portions of the demonstration will be rescheduled due to a problem encountered when the water flow in Lu's undergarment failed to work properly. The Extravehicular Activity team is evaluating the problem.

No spacewalk is planned for the six months the Expedition Seven crew is aboard the complex, but the on-orbit training exercise - or dry run - was designed to prepare the crew in the event an unscheduled spacewalk is warranted.

Earlier today, trajectory flight controllers planned, and then executed, a slight orbit-raising firing of the Progress resupply ship engines to position the ISS out of the path of an orbiting satellite.

The one-meter per second posigrade maneuver lasted a little more than 7 minutes and was conducted at 11:50 a.m. CDT Friday after three days of tracking confirmed the need for the burn. The result of the burn actually raised the station's average altitude by about 1.8 kilometers. The closest approach to the station occurred at 3:55 p.m. CDT Friday. The maneuver was the sixth in the history of the ISS since construction began in November 1998. The ISS Program estimates that about two such maneuvers would be needed each year, but the actual number thus far is fewer than one each year.

Thursday, the crew gathered in the Destiny Laboratory to talk about their mission with WABC Radio's "Rambling with Gambling" show in New York City and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.

That followed Lu's demonstration of the properties of flight in microgravity using a paper airplane and a small model of the Wright Flyer he brought along in honor of the Centennial of Flight activities of the Wright Brothers' achievement. Preparations continue on track for the launch of a new Progress 11 cargo ship to the ISS June 8, which will dock to the station June 11, delivering more than 5,000 pounds of food, water and supplies for the crew on board.

Preparations stepped up this week for the launch and docking of a new unmanned Progress spaceship carrying about 5,300 pounds of supplies for the Space Station crew. Today, Malenchenko and Lu reconfigured stowed items in the Pirs Docking Compartment to which the Progress ship will link up next Wednesday. Malenchenko also completed a successful test of a backup docking system that would allow him to manually control the Progress' docking from inside the station in the unlikely event the primary automated docking system was not available.

Early this morning, the Soyuz rocket carrying the new Progress resupply vehicle was moved to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for its scheduled launch Sunday.

The 11th Progress supply ship destined for ISS is set to lift off Sunday at 5:34 a.m. CDT (1034 GMT) and is scheduled to dock at the Pirs at 6:17 a.m. CDT (1117 GMT) Wednesday. NASA Television coverage of the docking will begin at 5:30 a.m. CDT on Wednesday.

Another Progress vehicle is currently docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module, and the crew's Soyuz TMA-2 return craft is docked to the nadir port of the Zarya Module.

Lu conducted additional operations with the InSPACE experiment (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) this week and had a conference with the experiment's principal investigator to provide her with a first-hand report on recent activities as well as discuss future experiment runs. Located in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox in the Station's Destiny Laboratory, the InSPACE experiment investigates how particles capable of being magnetized react to a pulsed magnetic field. The results are hoped to provide insight that will contribute to the development of better fluids for systems that are exposed to such conditions on Earth, such as automobile braking systems and vibration damping systems.

On Wednesday, both crewmembers had an opportunity for some hands-on experience flying the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Malenchenko and Lu each guided the 58-foot-long, double-ended arm through the capture and release of a fixture on the exterior of the Destiny lab. The operations served not only as training for the crew but also as a successful test of an adjustment made to the arm's software to improve its grappling procedure.

Tomorrow, the crew, on a request from engineers involved with planning for the Space Shuttle's return to flight, will calibrate and focus cameras aboard the Station on several ISS locations to test lighting and imagery capabilities for future inspection of the Shuttle's thermal protection system as the vehicles approach the ISS for docking. Imagery will be downlinked to flight controllers for analysis. The inspection procedures are expected to be included in return to flight requirements being developed for future Shuttle missions to the Station.

The Progress 11 vehicle lifted off on time from its Central Asia launch pad at 5:34 a.m. Central time (1034 GMT, 2:34 p.m. Baikonur time). Less than nine minutes later the Progress settled into orbit, and moments later, its solar arrays and navigational antennas had been deployed. At the time of the Progress launch, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were flying near the Equator off the west coast of Africa at an altitude of 240 statute miles.

After three days of pre-programmed engines firings to reach the ISS, the Progress will link up automatically to the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Station's Zvezda Service Module on Wednesday at 6:17 a.m. Central time (1117 GMT). Within a few hours, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and begin to unload its cargo.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the Progress are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew for about a week's worth of scientific research on the ISS under a contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle currently docked to the Station.

The Progress 11 vehicle automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment attached to the Zvezda Service Module over Central Asia at 6:15 a.m. Central time (1115 GMT) three days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the Progress neared Pirs for docking, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were in Zvezda, monitoring its approach. At the time of contact and capture, the ISS was flying over Central Asia at an altitude of 240 statute miles. After conducting leak checks to insure a tight seal between the Progress and the ISS, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and begin to unload its cargo.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the Progress are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew for about a week's worth of scientific research on the ISS under a contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle currently docked to the Station.

The arrival of the new Progress puts three Russian vehicles at the ISS. Docked to the aft port of Zvezda is the Progress 10 resupply craft that arrived at the Station on February 4, and docked to the Zarya Module is the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle that brought Malenchenko and Lu to the ISS on April 28.

The Progress brought replacement parts for environmental systems in both the U.S. and Russian segments of the Station, office supplies, two tanks of potable water, and some clothing items for the two crewmembers. Also aboard the cargo ship are two experiment kits for European Space Agency cosmonaut Pedro Duque, who will launch in October on the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle with the Expedition 8 crew. Duque will return to Earth with Malenchenko and Lu in the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle, which is currently docked to the Station.

On Tuesday, Lu used the Microgravity Science Glovebox to continue the Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) experiment. InSPACE is investigating a type of 'smart materials' that researchers hope will improve the types of fluids used in braking and vibration damping systems. InSPACE is one of three experiments Lu will do aboard the Space Station using the glovebox.

While looking out the window of the Destiny Lab Thursday, Lu noticed an object floating away from the Station. Lu characterized the object as a rectangular-shaped piece of metal that was about 5 cm long. Station flight controllers determined that the object was possibly a small label that may have come loose from an exterior part of the station, and that, because of its low mass and relative velocity, it posed no threat to the complex. However, an analysis of photographs of the object taken by Lu before it drifted away continues.

Malenchenko and Lu answered questions posed by reporters from CNN, CBS and KCRA-TV, Sacramento, Calif., during breaks in their Progress unloading and scientific research. Lu even took a moment in one interview to play a short rendition of the "Peanuts" theme on a keyboard he has been practicing with on orbit.

But for the most part, it was a busy week of work as the pair unloaded about two tons of food, water, clothing, office supplies, environmental system replacement parts and experiment gear from Progress 11. The Russian cargo craft automatically docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment on June 11; the Expedition 7 crew began unloading the cargo ship last Friday. Water transfers were effected using hoses and a portable electric pump that moved about 210 liters of drinking water from the Progress into a bladder in the Zvezda Service Module. Each crewmember uses about 2 liters of water per day.

In addition, propellant valves were opened between the Service Module fuel system and the Pirs system to enable fuel to be transferred from the new Progress to Zvezda.

Tuesday, Lu slipped his hands into the Microgravity Science Glovebox to continue work with the Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) experiment. InSPACE is investigating a type of "smart fluids" that researchers hope will help improve braking and vibration damping systems. Lu beamed down video of his setup and deactivation of the experiment, as well as shots of the bright green liquid inside the experiment chamber. Scientists at the Payload Operations Center at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., monitored the experiment and the associated video.

Next week, the crew will continue unpacking the Progress and transferring fuel to Zvezda's tanks. Also on the schedule is a ship-to-ship conversation between the crew and Peggy Whitson, the Expedition 5 science officer who is commanding a 14-day underwater research mission as part of the NASA Extreme Environment Operations (NEEMO) project. That conversation will be broadcast live on NASA TV at 11:25 a.m. CDT Wednesday, June 25, between the ISS and the Aquarius underwater lab off the coast of Key Largo, Fla.

InSPACE stands for Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions. The experiment, in the U.S. laboratory Destiny, looks at fluids that contain small particles that can be magnetized. The research could result in improved brake or vibration dampening fluids, or even improved systems to make buildings better able to survive earthquakes.

Malenchenko spent part of today loading the Progress 10 unpiloted supply craft docked to the aft port of Zvezda with ISS discards. With its load of trash, that progress will be undocked in October and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. A similar craft, Progress 11, arrived at one of the Zarya docking ports on June 11 and crewmembers have worked to unload it.

Lu and Malenchenko on Monday and Wednesday replaced the flexpacks in the canisters of the resistive exercise device (RED). The flexpacks provide the resistance as crewmembers exercise major muscle groups. The new flexpacks were brought up on Progress 11.

Tuesday Lu calibrated an ultrasound device and downlinked ultrasound images from the instrument in the Human Research Facility, a rack in the U.S. laboratory. Malenchenko did maintenance on the Zarya module's cooling system, replacing a pump in one of the cooling loops.

Medical tests continued throughout much of the week. On Wednesday Lu set up and calibrated the Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer (PCBA). The next day each crewmember performed health status checks on one another using a variety of equipment, including the PCBA.

The two crewmembers talked on Tuesday with reporter Stephen Young of SpaceflightNow.com. Wednesday they held a ship-to-ship chat with the six-member Aquarius crew of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO). Peggy Whitson, the first NASA ISS science officer, who flew on ISS Expedition 5 from June to November 2002, commands the Aquarius crew. And on Thursday they talked with people from the NASAexplorers website at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Saturday and Sunday will be days off, though exercise and necessary station maintenance will be performed both days. On Sunday they will have a chance to talk with their families in private family conferences. Another InSPACE run is scheduled for Monday, as is data transfer with the EXPRESS Rack 1 in the Destiny laboratory.

Lu, who considers Honolulu, Hawaii, one of his hometowns, celebrated his 40th birthday aboard the Station on Tuesday, a milestone that was marked by the observance of "Edward Tsang Lu Day" in Hawaii. Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle read a proclamation of the observance to Lu on Monday. Lu's birthday also was marked by an "Aloha Day" celebration in Mission Control and throughout NASA with ground team members donning Hawaiian garb and shirts such as those Lu has frequently worn in orbit. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe took part in the celebration with a congratulatory call to Lu marking the occasion.

Lu completed work this week with the InSPACE experiment in the Destiny Laboratory's Microgravity Science Glovebox. Lu conducted runs of the experiment, which studies the behavior of magnetic particles in a fluid when subjected to a pulsed magnetic field, almost daily during the week. InSPACE stands for Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions.

Other activities during the week included standard maintenance inspections of Russian systems, windows, and the Pirs Docking Compartment's docking cone. The Expedition 7 crew took time out of its activities on Monday to field questions from educators gathered in Seattle, Washington, for launch of the NASA Explorer Schools program. The program includes teams of educators from 50 schools who will work with NASA to bring the excitement of space exploration and science into the classroom. Friday, July 4, will be a holiday for the crew. Light activities interspersed with time off also are planned for Saturday and Sunday.

In the Russian segment of the Station, Malenchenko installed a refurbished component of the Satellite Navigation System and new pipe conduits in the condensate separation and pumping unit; all of that hardware was delivered to the ISS last month on a Russian resupply craft. The crewmembers upgraded a relay unit in the Russian audio system which enables module-to-module "telephone" calls; completed inspections of life support systems, smoke detectors and microbe filters throughout the Station; rebuilt and restored laptop computer hard disk drives; and audited supplies to help mission managers decide what to launch on upcoming Progress resupply ships.

The presence of a crew on orbit supplies test subjects for human life sciences research into how people respond to long periods in the absence of gravity, and this week Malenchenko and Lu gathered data for U.S. and Russian experiments gauging their health in microgravity. They also completed two hours or more of exercise each day to maintain their muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness.

Last weekend Lu set up an electronic still camera in the Earth-facing window of the Destiny Laboratory for another session of the EarthKAM experiment (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools). In this experiment, students in grades six through eight study Earth geography and orbital mechanics to understand when Station will be over a particular spot on Earth, and then submit requests that are uplinked to the on-board computer that controls the camera. The students later study the photos "they took" of the Earth from an altitude of more than 240 miles; more than 300 such photos were taken during this week's operations.

Malenchenko and Lu took time throughout the week to share the experience of ISS. On Monday they used the Station's amateur radio system to answer questions from participants in the Euro Space Center Space Camp in Belgium, and sent a message of greeting and encouragement for a Space Day event at ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of the city of Korolev, home of the Russian Mission Control Center. Tuesday they chatted with Japanese middle school students at the "Tokyo FM" Radio Network station, and on Thursday they discussed the mission with a reporter from the Voice of America. Today they talked with the winners of a Russian school science contest.

Lu completed the installment of, and checkout procedures for the Coarsening of Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2 experiment in preparation for its first scientific run aboard the Space Station next week. The materials science payload is ready for data collection in the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The experiment will study a process called coarsening during which the strength of a material is reduced. This phenomenon is seen in high-temperature turbine blades and even in the material used in dental fillings.

Lu transferred the file server that houses information for the Station Support Computer (SSC) laptops to a Next Generation Laptop to increase the speed and memory of the Station network. The crew uses the six SSC laptops to access daily plans, procedures, the inventory management system and electronic mail. Ultimately all of the SSC laptops as well as the Portable Station Computers that perform command and control functions of the ISS will be upgraded to the Next Generation Laptops.

Malenchenko and Lu routinely inspected the Zvezda Service Module and Pirs Docking Compartment windows and took electronic images to downlink to engineers for analysis. Malenchenko also replaced a failed battery in Zvezda with a spare.

A troubleshooting procedure performed by Lu to recover the cooling capability in his spacesuit was unsuccessful. A third, larger spacesuit is available to be resized for Lu's use in the event a spacewalk is necessary. The cooling system in Lu's spacesuit did not function correctly during a practice run in the Quest Airlock at the beginning of this mission. The Expedition 7 crew is not scheduled to conduct a spacewalk, but had practiced getting into the U.S. spacesuits in case of emergency.

Earlier this week, the Johnson Space Center and the Mission Control Center remained at a concerned level of preparedness but there was no impact to mission operations during the arrival of Hurricane Claudette along Texas Coast. Lu was able to capture video and still images of the storm as it approached the coast on Tuesday.

Today's activity, with Lu working with flight controllers in Houston, began a little after 3 a.m. CDT. It was a feasibility study. Lu performed task the ground cannot yet do - operating the latching end effector and initiating joint motion, for example. The task was completed successfully before 7 a.m. Results will be used in validation of the concept and in determining software, hardware or procedural changes that would be needed for arm control from the ground.

Lu also spent some time working with the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) experiment's sample processing units (SPUs) in the Microgravity Science Glovebox of the U.S. laboratory Destiny. One unit Lu installed was found to be distorted, so he reinstalled the previous SPU. The CSLM experiment was delayed from early in the week because of internal humidity and dew point concerns. The experiment is expected to begin next week. It will study "coarsening" during which the strength of a material is reduced. This phenomenon is seen in many materials, including water droplets in rain clouds and dental fillings. It can weaken high-temperature turbine blades. Meanwhile, Malenchenko worked for more than two hours to load discarded items into the Progress 10 unpiloted cargo craft docked at the rear of the Zvezda Service Module.

Last Monday the crew focused on medical experiments and an inventory by Malenchenko of 44 Russian medical, food supplement and ointment kits, about a two-hour task. Tuesday saw additional medical tests and Mission Control Moscow continued testing a new satellite navigation system antenna. Both crewmembers took time to answer questions from elementary, middle and high school students relayed to them by educators at Kennedy Space Center.

After Soyuz descent training and continued work with the week-long process of space suit batteries conditioning Wednesday, Lu and Malenchenko on Thursday prepared for today's robotic operations and Malenchenko continued participation in a Russian study of bioelectrical heart activity while at rest.

Throughout the week both crewmembers continued regular maintenance activities on the Station, and performed their daily exercise sessions, designed to ward off the effects of lengthy exposure to the microgravity environment of the orbiting laboratory.

NASA announced on Friday that astronaut Michael Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri will be the Expedition 8 crew of the International Space Station. They are scheduled to launch on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain on Oct. 18. Duque will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew, which arrived at the station April 28. Their Soyuz is scheduled to land in Kazakhstan Oct. 28.

On Tuesday, the crew marked the 1,000th day of human occupancy of the Station with a downlinked video message and a call from the heads of the five global space agencies that represent the 16 nations of the ISS Program.

During the week, Lu worked with the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the Destiny Laboratory. That experiment will be continued next week. CSLM is being used to study a physical process called "coarsening" that can reduce the strength of metals, such as those in jet engine turbine blades. Lu also performed a functional check of the Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller, which will be used in a fluid dynamics experiment later in the Expedition 7 mission.

Throughout the week, Malenchenko took part in various Russian medical studies to continue gathering data on the effects of microgravity on the human body during a long-duration spaceflight. He also worked with the Russian/German Plasma Crystal-3 (PK-3) experiment, which is being used to examine fine particles inside an evacuated work chamber that have been charged and excited by radio frequencies.

Both crewmembers also took time from their schedules to answer questions from TV Globo's "Fantastico" show in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and from teachers participating in the NASA Explorer Schools Program at Ames Research Center, Calif.

Throughout the week, Malenchenko and Lu continued regular maintenance activities on the Station and performed daily physical exercises to minimize the long-term effects of living in microgravity.

The Expedition 7 crewmembers, who arrived at the station April 28, are scheduled to return to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft on Oct. 28. They will be replaced by the Expedition 8 crew, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain. Duque will then return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station.

On Monday, the crewmembers passed the 100-day mark on orbit since their launch to the Station April 26. The crew is scheduled to return to Earth in late October aboard the same Soyuz vehicle they arrived in. The Expedition 8 crew, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, will replace the Expedition 7 crew. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain. Duque will then return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station. Foale, Kaleri and Duque will talk to reporters about their upcoming mission during a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, which will be broadcast on NASA TV.

Throughout the week aboard the ISS, Lu worked with a run of the Coarsening of Solid-Liquid Mixtures-2 (CSLM-2) experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. CSLM-2 is studying how the strength of metals, such as those used in jet engine turbine blades, is reduced during a process called coarsening. Malenchenko worked with Earth observation experiments and wrapped up a Russian agriculture experiment studying the growth of plants in space. He saved the data from the Rasteniya-2 experiment in preparation for its return to Earth.

Tuesday, the Station operating system briefly shifted into "survival mode" when the on-board computers did not recognize both thermal system loops in the Russian segment. Nonessential systems were automatically turned off, but flight controllers and payload controllers worked with the crew to reactivate the operating and payload systems without major impacts to operations or science.

Lu and Malenchenko resized a spare U.S. spacesuit to fit Lu. Malfunctions in Lu's original suit were found during a test earlier in the mission and the larger modular-designed suit was easily adjusted to fit Lu in the event he needs to conduct a U.S. airlock-based spacewalk. Initially, during the fit check of the suit, the cooling system did not function correctly but began working later in the test. Spacesuit experts will continue to troubleshoot the issues with both spacesuits.

This week, Malenchenko used oxygen from the Progress cargo vehicle docked to the aft of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station. The extra oxygen is being used before the spacecraft is undocked later this month to make room for a new Progress resupply craft scheduled for launch to the Station Aug. 28 (U.S. time).

Lu talked with former Station Science Officer Don Pettit to help locate hardware for the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) that Lu installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox Monday. Lu was scheduled to begin science operations with PFMI this week, but was unable to locate an essential cable to complete the installation. Pettit's ideas as to where he left the cable were fruitful. With the cable now installed, Lu can begin a run of the experiment next week.

Troubleshooting continued this week with the two U.S. spacesuits experiencing cooling system issues onboard. Lu and Malenchenko executed a procedure to closely inspect valves and filters for water circulation in the system of the first suit Lu tried on during the mission. Investigations of the cooling system of the spare suit he re-sized last week are still underway. Even though they are not scheduled to conduct a spacewalk during this mission, Lu and Malenchenko could use the Russian Orlan spacesuits to conduct a spacewalk, if needed, since Lu does not currently have a working U.S. spacesuit to wear.

This week, Malenchenko continued to use oxygen from the Progress cargo vehicles docked to the aft of the Zvezda Service Module and to the Pirs Docking Compartment to repressurize the Station. The extra oxygen is being used before the two spacecraft are undocked, taking with them trash and used supplies to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. The Progress docked to Zvezda will undock Aug. 27 to make room for a new Progress resupply craft scheduled for launch to the Station Aug. 28 (U.S. time). The Progress docked to Pirs will undock Sept. 4 to make room for the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft scheduled to arrive Oct. 20 with the Expedition 8 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque.

Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, will replace the Expedition 7 crew. Foale and Kaleri are scheduled to launch to the Station Oct. 18 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, along with Duque who will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew after completing more than a week of science activities aboard the Station on Oct. 28.

Today marked the crew's 118th day on orbit. Sample processing for the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) concluded today after beginning Wednesday inside the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the protective environment of the Microgravity Science Glovebox. Processing of the first Expedition 7 sample had been postponed from the previous week due to a missing data cable. Lu found the cable after he talked with former Station Science Officer Don Pettit via cell phone. Plans call for Lu to process seven more samples.

Malenchenko participated in his fifth session with a Russian heart experiment, Study of the Bioelectric Activity of the Heart at Rest, with Lu assisting as crew medical officer and administering the electrocardiogram. Lu also performed periodic health tests with a portable clinical blood analyzer.

"The crew is in great spirits and looking forward to a busy week of departures and arrivals next week," said Expedition 7 Lead Flight Director John McCullough.

As the crew exhausted the supply of oxygen from the Progress 10 cargo vehicle docked to the back of the Zvezda Service Module to repressurize the Station, they continued filling it with trash and worn-out equipment. The old Progress is scheduled to undock from Zvezda at 5:43 p.m. CDT Aug. 27, and later will be commanded to re-enter and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. That undocking will vacate a port for the Progress 12 vehicle that is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:48p.m. CDT Aug. 28, and dock to Zvezda at 10:43p.m. CDT Aug. 30. Progress 12 will deliver about 1,000 pounds of food, supplies and equipment for use on the Station.

Early next month, the Progress 11 resupply craft will depart its Pirs docking compartment moorings to make room for the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft that will ferry the Expedition 8 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the Station on Oct. 20. Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri will replace the Expedition 7 crew, which will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Duque after he completes more than a week of science activities.

The Progress 10 craft, which arrived at the Station in early February, departed from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 5:48 p.m. CDT (2248 GMT) after hooks holding the Progress to Zvezda had been commanded to unlatch. As the Progress undocked, the ISS was flying 240 statute miles over eastern China. The Progress was filled with items no longer needed on the Station and trash. The Progress will automatically fire its engines later this evening to drop out of orbit and will burn up in the atmosphere.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu was asleep at the time of undocking, but ISS Commander Yuri Malenchenko was allowed by flight controllers to remain awake to monitor the autonomous operation.

The departure of Progress 10 sets the stage for tomorrow's scheduled launch of a new Progress resupply ship to the ISS. Progress 12 is due to liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Thursday at 8:48 p.m. CDT (148 GMT Aug. 29). It will dock to the Zvezda aft port on Saturday night at 10:45 p.m. CDT (345 GMT Aug. 31).

The new Progress will carry a half ton of food, fuel, supplies and water for Malenchenko and Lu and science gear for European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is scheduled to launch October 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

The new Progress is also filled with personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on September 4 to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 20.

The Progress 12 craft lifted off right on time from its Central Asian launch pad at 8:48 p.m. CDT (148 GMT Aug. 29) as the ISS sailed over the south Atlantic Ocean east of South America at an altitude of 240 statute miles. Less than 10 minutes later, the Progress settled into its preliminary orbit and its solar arrays and navigational antennas were successfully deployed.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were already in their sleep period as the Progress climbed to orbit.

The new Progress is scheduled to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Saturday night at 10:45 p.m. CDT (345 GMT Aug. 31). Another Progress ship that arrived at the ISS in February filled with discarded items and trash was undocked yesterday and commanded to deorbit, burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Progress 12 is loaded with supplies for Malenchenko and Lu and science gear for European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is set to launch October 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

Among the supplies aboard the Progress is a satellite phone and Global Positioning System locator hardware which Malenchenko, Lu and Duque would use in the unlikely event they land off-course, as did the Expedition Six crew back in May.

The new Progress also carries personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on September 4 to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 20.

The Expedition 7 crew, Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, spent part of their week seeing to the proper operation of the Station's systems, as well as completing their regularly scheduled exercise. They also finished preparing the old Progress ship for its departure. After loading the craft with material no longer needed on board and removing hardware that will be refurbished and used on future Progress flights, the Station crew closed the hatch on Progress 10 Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon, specialists at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow commanded the ship to release its grip on the ISS and back away from the Station. It was destroyed as it plunged into the Earth's atmosphere.

In the Station's Destiny laboratory this week, Lu oversaw completion of the second successful test run inside the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation, in which samples of a transparent test material are melted so researchers can study the formation of bubbles that might diminish the strength or usefulness of metals or crystals. Two more test sessions of PFMI are scheduled for next week, and three others later in Expedition 7.

Supported by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., Lu also activated the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus for use in future fundamental space biology research. He also installed a new laptop computer to function as an interim control unit for the Space Acceleration Measurement System. SAMS, which measures small vibrations on the Station that might impact delicate microgravity science, is now back to full operation.

Russian mission managers reported this week that the charge/discharge unit of Battery No. 2 in the Zvezda module has been declared fully failed and will need replacement. The seven other storage batteries in Zvezda are fully operational and provide sufficient electricity.

The Progress 12 vehicle automatically linked up to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module at 10:40 p.m. CDT (0340 GMT), two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the Progress neared the Space Station for docking, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu were inside Zvezda, monitoring its approach. At the time of contact and capture, the Station was flying over Central Asia at an altitude of 240 statute miles. After conducting leak checks to insure a tight seal between the Progress and the ISS, Malenchenko and Lu will open the hatch to the ship and then begin unloading the supplies.

Stowed in the Progress are replacement parts for Station systems, tools, a satellite telephone and Global Positioning System hardware, next generation laptop computers, educational demonstrations, science experiment gear and office supplies. The Progress also carried to the ISS science equipment for European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who is set to launch Oct. 18 from Baikonur on the Soyuz TMA-3 craft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque will spend eight days aboard the Space Station conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

The new Progress also carries personal items and hardware for Foale and Kaleri, who are scheduled to spend almost 200 days aboard the ISS.

Another Progress vehicle currently docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment will undock from the ISS on Sept. 4, to clear the way for the arrival of Foale, Kaleri and Duque in the Soyuz TMA-3 on Oct. 20.

Just a week after a twin vehicle was cast away from a different Station port, the ISS Progress 11 craft, which arrived at the Station in mid-June, departed the Pirs Docking Compartment at 2:42 p.m. CDT (1942 GMT) following the unlatching of hooks holding the Progress to Pirs. As the Progress undocked, the ISS was flying 240 statute miles over eastern China. The Progress was filled with items no longer needed on the Station and trash.

Aboard the ISS, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu monitored the autonomous operation and kept tabs as the Progress backed away from the Station.

For the next month, Russian flight controllers will conduct several scientific experiments with the Progress, using its television cameras to capture imagery of sites of ecological interest to Russian researchers while maintaining a safe distance away from the Station. Once those experiments are completed, the Progress will automatically fire its engines to drop out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere.

A new ISS Progress 12 vehicle arrived at the ISS late Saturday night, U.S. time, ferrying food, fuel, water and supplies for the Station's current inhabitants and those to follow.

The departure of ISS Progress 11 sets the stage for next month's arrival of the Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle to the Pirs Docking Compartment delivering the next resident crew to the ISS along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain.

Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, and Duque are scheduled to be launched October 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, headed for a docking to Pirs on October 20. Duque will spend eight days aboard the ISS conducting science experiments under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Duque will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu. Foale and Kaleri will spend almost 200 days on the Station.

The ISS Progress 12 unpiloted cargo vehicle arrived Saturday with about 5,000 pounds of food, water, equipment and fuel for the ISS. Its docking port had been vacated a week earlier by ISS Progress 10. It re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned shortly after its Aug. 27 undocking.

The ISS Progress 11 spacecraft left its Pirs berth Thursday at 2:42 p.m. CDT for another month alone in orbit, as part of a Russian scientific experiment. It will then be deorbited with its load of station refuse and burn in the Earth's atmosphere. The docking port it occupied will in October welcome the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft with Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri aboard. With them will be Spaniard Pedro Duque a European Space Agency astronaut who will spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory. He will return to Earth with the Expedition 7 crew.

The spacesuit work today by Lu and Malenchenko involved what amounted to annual maintenance. The work is called a mid-term checkout and included emptying and refilling the suit's water tank and loops, cycling relief valves, checking sensors and collecting data, a leak check and running the suit's fan for two hours to lubricate it. Such maintenance is required no more than 369 days after the last spacewalk, previous maintenance or a checkout on the ground.

Other activities during the week included successful completion by Lu of two more runs of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox of the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The experiment involves melting a transparent material to see how bubbles form in the molten material and how they interact with one another. Researchers hope to gain understanding of molten materials and the potentially weakening bubbles that can form in them.

Malenchenko and Lu also continued regular station maintenance activities and their daily exercise sessions scheduled to mitigate some of the physiological effects of their extended stay in micorgravity.

The ISS Progress 12 (12P) vehicle brought food, fuel and equipment to the Station Aug. 30,U.S. time. This week, the thrusters on 12P were successfully tested and can be used to increase the Station's altitude when necessary. Also, nitrogen from the cargo vehicle's gas tanks was used to add pressure to the atmosphere inside the Station, while oxygen repressurization from 12P will occur later.

Among the new supplies were two canisters for the Resistive Exercise Device weightlifting machine, which Lu installed Friday. Coincidentally, Lu had trouble adjusting the resistance on one of the previous canisters Wednesday. He removed that set and will work to repair the problematic canister next week so that the new ones that arrived on Progress can be reserved for the next crew to live aboard the Station.

Friday, flight controllers in Mission Control Houston worked on the communication link between the Space Station and control centers in Houston, Moscow and Huntsville, Ala. The crewmembers noticed they were barely able to hear voice calls from the capcoms, or spacecraft communicators, from each of the centers. The problem was narrowed down to equipment in Houston that relays the audio to the Station from all the control centers. Engineers will continue to troubleshoot the issue with the hardware. In the meantime, the audio link to the Station has been restored to normal levels by temporarily bypassing that specific piece of hardware.

This week's Earth Observation research focused on Hurricane Isabel. Starting last Friday morning, and continuing this past Saturday and Monday, cameras on the Station's S1 Truss and Destiny Laboratory, plus a handheld camera operated by Lu, provided an additional perspective on the size and shape of the large storm as it moved through the western Atlantic Ocean on its way to landfall along the North Carolina coast.

Lu performed the first operations with the Hand Posture Analyzer this week; it was delivered on the most recent Russian Progress resupply vessel last month. Working at the Human Research Facility rack in the Destiny Laboratory, Lu donned an instrumented glove and performed a series of hand and arm movements. Researchers will study the data to learn how a person in zero-g uses hand and arm muscles to reach and grasp items, and what impact that has on muscle fatigue. Lu also used the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) to complete two more experiment runs of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation, a study of the formation of bubbles in samples of metals or crystals that may weaken the sample's strength or effectiveness.

Lu's work inside Destiny this week included two educational activities: his demonstration of how to use MSG will be incorporated into a NASA Educator Guide for teachers of middle school students, who will attempt to build their own gloveboxes and perform simple experiments. He also completed a demonstration illustrating the difference between the scientific concepts of weight and mass. NASA's Office of Spaceflight sponsored both demonstrations.

Both Station crewmembers spent time each day looking after the proper operation of Station systems. In particular, Lu completed troubleshooting ISS's Resistive Exercise Device, which affords the crewmembers another option for exerting muscles that don't encounter even routine resistance in the weightless environment of the Station, and Malenchenko performed upgrades in the Russian Service Module Zvezda by installing a replacement 800-amp battery, replacing a failed hard drive in Zvezda's portable computer system, and installing removable handrails on the galley table.

Malenchenko and Lu took time Thursday to discuss their mission with reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Crew News Conference was part of a workshop on NASA efforts to meet the recommendations set out by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board to return the Space Shuttle to flight after the loss of Columbia and its crew on Feb. 1.

Preparation of components for delivery to ISS continues at the Kennedy Space Center, where the Multi-Element Integrated Test between the Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module-Kibo-and NASA's Node-2 has been completed. Node-2 will be attached to the forward end of the Destiny Laboratory after its delivery on assembly mission 10A, and Kibo will later be docked to the port side of Node-2.

Malenchenko and Lu powered up the Station's 60-foot Canadian robotic arm, named Canadarm2, on Tuesday for some in-flight training and tests. The conducted a series of maneuvers that moved part of the arm into sunlight to characterize how a force and moment sensor on the arm might work differently in sunlight than in shade. Later in the week, they performed systems checks and maintenance work on the two Russian spacesuits aboard the Station. The activities verified that the gear remains in good condition, although there are no plans for Malenchenko and Lu to use the suits. The next Station spacewalk is tentatively scheduled for the next crew, Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, in late February or early March 2004.

Science activities this week included a final Expedition 7 run of the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The experiment studied how air bubbles can weaken metals, crystals and other materials as they form in space. Lu also worked with the Fluid Dynamics Investigation to optimize operations of the Cellular Biotechnology Support System bioreactor equipment that grows three-dimensional tissue samples for biological research. Malenchenko participated in a Russian experiment to improve the equipment and routines used to stay in good physical condition during long-duration spaceflight. Biological readings were taken while Malenchenko exercised on a stationary bicycle and performed weight lifting exercises. For the third part of the experiment, Malenchenko provided blood samples for analysis.

In a separate task, Malenchenko used an ultrasound device in the Destiny Lab's Human Research Facility to take echocardiograph measurements of Lu while Lu exercised on a stationary bicycle. The operations were the first time such measurements had been attempted while exercising aboard the station and helped ground medical personnel verify that the equipment could be used for diagnostic purposes if needed.

Expedition 8's Foale and Kaleri, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, will hold a prelaunch press conference next week at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow. The press conference will be replayed on NASA TV at 8 a.m. CDT Wednesday. The trio is scheduled to launch at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18. Duque, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

Lu spent much of his time inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory setting up and performing science investigations. He installed a protein crystal growth experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox that will be operated by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who will arrive at the Station Oct. 20 with the oncoming Expedition 8 crew. Duque, who is flying to the Station on a Soyuz spacecraft under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will return to Earth Oct. 28 with Malenchenko and Lu.

A soldering experiment that is providing insight into how solder connections in space can be improved and an automated Earth observation camera system were also set up by Lu in the lab. This week, Lu worked with the Fluid Dynamics Investigation, which scientists believe will help alleviate problems with mixing samples for tissue growth experiments. Those samples are housed in a bioreactor, which allows three-dimensional tissue cells, like those in the human body, to grow.

As part of an educational project to help inspire the next generation of explorers, Lu used well-known objects to videotape center-of-mass demonstrations. Using a screwdriver, a compact disc player, a cassette tape and a ruler, he showed how these objects behave differently without gravity. The video will be distributed to science centers across the country for use in lesson plans and future exhibits.

Malenchenko conducted science experiments in the Russian segment of the Space Station. They included biomedical studies of the human body in microgravity as well as observations of thunderstorm activity, the world's ocean biology and studies of how space-based predictions of man-made disasters could be made.

The maintenance activities onboard the Station included Malenchenko inspecting fire sensors in the Zarya control module and checking systems in the Pirs Docking Compartment. Both Lu and Malenchenko did monthly maintenance on the treadmill and resistive exercise equipment.

Lu also configured the U.S. laptop computers so the Expedition 8 crew can begin using them when it arrives. The oncoming resident crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, along with Duque, are set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18.

Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow began inserting about an hour a day into the crew's timeline to concentrate on preparations for their return to Earth on Oct. 28. Malencheno and Lu will ride home in the Soyuz that delivered them to the Station and is docked to a port on the Zarya control module.

Thursday, the duo put on their Sokol launch and reentry suits and measured how well they fit into their custom seat-liners, which help absorb shock during the reentry and brake rocket-aided landing. The fit check is required because astronauts gain additional height during long-duration stays on orbit as the absence of gravity allows their spines to stretch slightly.

Similar fit checks were under way at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for Expedition 8 Commander and Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Along with Spaniard Pedro Duque, who is flying to the Station under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The trio is making final preparations for launch aboard another Soyuz at 12:37 a.m. CDT Oct. 18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Friday, the two crews had an opportunity to converse by teleconference about the upcoming week of joint operations, handover activities and scientific investigations. The Expedition 7 crew also reviewed computer training lessons on the operation of the Chibis lower body negative pressure device that will be used by Malenchenko as part of his Russian protocol for return to gravity.

Lu spent time inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory checking out acceleration sensor systems and monitors, and making electrical connections as part of the In Space Soldering Investigation, or ISSI. That experiment is designed provide information useful to future Station assembly and maintenance work, as well as fundamental scientific information about the role surface tension plays in soldering on Earth. He also exchanged ideas with Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg from the National Institutes of Health about a Fluid Dynamics Investigation, about how to alleviate problems with mixing samples for tissue growth experiments in the Station's bioreactor, which allows three-dimensional tissue cells, like those in the human body, to grow.

Late in the week, one of the remote power controller modules that is used to route electricity and data throughout the station experienced a failure in one of its circuits. The affected circuit is for the Destiny Laboratory's video switching unit. The failure poses no serious obstacles for the crew or the upcoming Soyuz rendezvous and docking, but does disable a camera port in Destiny and eliminate some redundancy on board. Flight controllers are working on a plan to troubleshoot the failure and possibly replace the module.

Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu worked to prepare their ISS Soyuz 7 spacecraft for their voyage home, checking out its systems and related station equipment, gathering their personal possessions and beginning to pack the spacecraft. They also checked out instrumentation that will be used to dock the ISS Soyuz 8 capsule bringing Expedition 8 Commander and Science Officer Michael Foale and Cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri to the station, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain.

Duque is flying to the Station under a commercial contract between the European Space Agency and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. He will return home with the Expedition 7 crew after about a week of conducting science experiments.

The Expedition 8 crew and Duque are scheduled to launch at 12:38 a.m. CDT Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Their spacecraft will dock to the Station at about 2:17 a.m. CDT on Monday. Hatches between the two spacecraft should open about 5:14 a.m. CDT.

On Oct. 27 at about 5:20 p.m. CST, Malenchenko, Lu and Duque are to undock Soyuz 7 and perform a burn to drop out of orbit at about 7:40 p.m. CST. A landing in Kazakhstan will follow at about 8:35 p.m. CST (8:35 a.m. Oct. 28 Kazakhstan time).

Malenchenko and Lu continued to work with scientific experiments. On Wednesday, Lu successfully removed and replaced a Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) in the U.S. laboratory Destiny. The device routes electricity and data throughout the station. One of its circuits had failed. The replacement RPCM is functioning well.

Another highlight of the week was the launch of China's first human space mission. Lu took some time on Wednesday to welcome the single crewmember of the Shenzhou V spacecraft into orbit. Lu, speaking in Chinese and English, wished him a successful mission and a safe return home.

On Friday, Lu spent several hours taking a water sample from the cooling system in the U.S. airlock Quest. The system provides cooling to spacesuits. Officials want to confirm the quality of the water with the samples that will be returned with the Expedition 7 crewmembers. Meanwhile, Malenchenko was prepared a workspace for Duque and his scientific experiments.

ISS Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Expedition 8 Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri are accompanied by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft. The trio plan to dock Soyuz 8 to the Station at about 2:17 a.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 20, and hatches between the Station and Soyuz 8 are to be opened at about 5:14 a.m. CDT. Foale and Kaleri are bound for a six-month stay aboard the international research complex. Duque, flying under a commercial agreement between Rosaviakosmos and the European Space Agency, will spend a week aboard the Station conducting a series of scientific studies.

Foale and Kaleri will relieve Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who have flown aboard the Station since late April. Malenchenko, Lu and Duque will depart the station on Oct. 27 aboard the ISS Soyuz 7 craft en route to a landing hours afterward in Kazakhstan.

The week ahead will include a variety of joint activities for the five station crew members as they hand over activities onboard. The plans include an interview by ABC News and the Houston Chronicle at 8:45 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 21; an interview by CNN and CBS News at 9:25 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 22; a crew news conference at 10 a.m. CDT Thursday, Oct. 23; and a formal change of command ceremony at 1:20 p.m. CDT Friday, Oct. 24. Undocking of the Soyuz 7 carrying Duque and the Expedition 7 crew home is planned for 5:20 p.m. CST on Oct. 27 leading to a touchdown in Kazakhstan at 8:36 p.m. CST.

With Soyuz Commander and Expedition 8 Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri at the controls, the Soyuz vehicle softly linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment as the two spacecraft flew 240 miles above central Asia. The docking followed Saturday's launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Joining Kaleri are Expedition 8 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Foale and Pedro Duque of Spain.

Foale and Kaleri will spend more than six months living on the Station while Duque, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, will conduct an eight-day research mission before returning October 27 with Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who monitored the new crew's arrival from onboard the ISS. Today marked 177 days in space for Malenchenko and Lu, and 175 days on the ISS.

After docking, clamps were affixed to the interface between the Soyuz and Pirs, and leak checks in the small tunnel connecting the two craft was underway. The hatches will be opened at about 5:15 a.m. Central time signaling the start of eight days of joint operations. Foale, Kaleri and Duque are the first visitors for Malenchenko and Lu, who have overseen operations and been in orbit since late April.

On the scene at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev outside Moscow are NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy and International Space Station Program Manager William Gerstenmaier.

Greeting them on the station were Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who are 177 days into their six months in space. The two crews will conduct eight days of joint operations and research before Expedition 7 and Duque return home on October 27.

Among those observing the on orbit arrival of Expedition 8 to the station were NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy and International Space Station Program Manager William Gerstenmaier. Both talked to the five station crew members delivering best wishes for the mission.

The plan for the two crews includes eight days of handover activities and scientific experiments carried out by Duque for Spanish and other European scientists under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

After lunch, the new crewmembers will receive a safety briefing from Malenchenko and Lu and install a seat liner for Duque in the Soyuz earmarked for landing Oct. 27 (U.S. time) and then begin setting up a host of Duque's equipment previously launched on Russian Progress resupply spacecraft.

The crews are scheduled to go to bed about 3 p.m. CDT today and wake up at midnight to begin their first full day of joint operations. Expedition 8 officially will take control of Station operations October 27 when Malenchenko, Lu and Duque close the hatches between their returning Soyuz and the station. Foale and Kaleri will remain on board until late April 2004.

Ready to take over is the Expedition 8 crew, which has spent the last week in space "cramming" for its role as prime station crew effective Monday afternoon when the hatches close between the station and returning Soyuz spacecraft, signaling the official change of command. A ceremonial "Change of Command" ceremony took place Friday afternoon.

Flight controllers in the U.S. and Russia have been closely monitoring the predicted effects of the recent solar activity and anticipate no change to any of the landing plans. NASA flight control personnel have determined that no additional radiation exposure to the ISS crew is expected as a result of the solar activity. Increased solar activity is forecast for the next few weeks, and the control team will continue to monitor the progress of events with support from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Since arriving early Monday morning at their home for the next six months, Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri have spent the week familiarizing themselves with real-time station operations from departing Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu.

Among the handover activities conducted this week were robotic training for Foale on the station's remote manipulator system, called Canadarm2. He will serve as the incoming NASA ISS science officer also, and spent a great deal of his handover activities in the Destiny laboratory where most of the experiment work will take place during his six months aboard. Meanwhile, Kaleri and Malenchenko devoted their attention to operational handover in the Russian segment of the station, which will be overseen by Kaleri throughout the increment.

The weekend will be devoted almost exclusively to Soyuz stowage activities for the Expedition 7 crew's return to Earth along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, who has spent the last eight days conducting a host of science experiments in support of a commercial contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

The station crews will wake up Monday about 1 a.m. CST and the hatch to the Expedition 7 crew's Soyuz is set to be closed around 2 p.m. Undocking is planned for 5:18 p.m. followed by the deorbit burn at 7:47 p.m. and landing at 8:41 p.m.

Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque undocked from the Station at 5:17 p.m. today, leaving behind the eighth resident Space Station crew, Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Duque flew to the Station with the Expedition 8 crew, launching on October 18.

A formal change of command ceremony between the Expedition 7 and 8 crews occurred this afternoon, just before Malenchenko, Lu and Duque climbed aboard their Soyuz spacecraft for the return trip home. After final farewells, hatches between the Station and the ISS Soyuz 6 were closed at 2:14 p.m. Foale and Kaleri are beginning a planned six-month stay on board the ISS. About three hours later, a command was issued to release latches, with undocking occurring at 5:17 p.m.

A 4-minute, 17-second deorbit burn began at 7:47 p.m. CST. About 8:17 p.m., the orbital and instrumentation/propulsion modules separated from the crew's descent module, the only one of the three modules intended to return to Earth. Minutes later, that module began to feel the effects of the upper atmosphere. About 8:25 p.m. the first of a series of parachutes deployed to slow the module's rate of descent, with six small rocket engines firing just before touchdown to further slow the capsule.

Helicopters with U.S. and Russian ground support personnel retrieved the crew shortly before 9 p.m. CST. NASA officials and flight surgeons reported Malenchenko, Lu and Duque were in excellent condition. Following brief medical exams, the crew will return to Star City, near Moscow, site of the Russian space center where they will be reunited with their families and begin their formal rehabilitation regimen. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston in approximately two weeks.

Video of the crew's arrival will air on NASA Television at 5 a.m. EST Tuesday.

Kaleri spent much of the day setting up, working with and then stowing the Russian PILOT experiment, which looks at psychological and physiological changes in crew performance during long-duration spaceflight. The subject uses two hand controllers to make inputs for the experiment. Foale did inspections of the emergency lighting power supply in the U.S. laboratory Destiny and the Unity Node modules of the Station.

The crew's workweek began with the Monday departure of its Expedition 7 predecessors, Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, along with European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque in their ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft. Duque had come to the Station with the Expedition 8 crew Oct. 18. He flew under a European Space Agency contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Administration. After about eight days of intensive and very successful science activity, he landed with the Expedition 7 crew in Kazakhstan at 8:41 p.m. CST Monday.

That crew is resting and debriefing at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City near Moscow. Malenchenko and Lu are expected to return to Johnson Space Center in mid-November.

Tuesday was a quiet day for Foale and Kaleri aboard the ISS, with a chance to rest a little after intensive handover activities and moving in with equipment and supplies. They got another half-day off on Wednesday, followed by a training drill on emergencies. Both crewmembers performed maintenance and Station configuration activities.

Thursday was a full day for the crew, including exercise and maintenance and inspection of exercise devices and work with medical experiments. Both crewmembers had an hour of Station familiarization, as they do each day early in their increment.

Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri began their week by making room inside the habitable volume of the Station. After equalizing pressure with the Destiny Laboratory, they opened Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA2) and stowed a variety of supplies and equipment that will not be needed on short notice. They then closed the hatch to PMA2 and depressurized the module.

Foale slipped on a specially instrumented glove as part of an Italian scientific investigation into how hand and arm muscles are used differently for reaching and grasping in microgravity. The Hand Posture Analyzer also will attempt to quantify muscle fatigue associated with long-duration space flight. Measurements taken with a Posture Acquisition Glove on the hand, an Inertial Tracking System on the wrist and Hand Grip and Pinch Force Dynamometers will be compared with those taken before and after flight.

Foale and Kaleri also began taking either potassium citrate pills or placebos and recording their food, water and medication intake as part of the Renal (Kidney) Stone Risk During Spaceflight experiment. Previous on-orbit experiments have shown an increased risk in the development of kidney stones during and immediately after space flight, and the experiment is testing a proven Earth-based remedy in space.

Finally, Foale set up the Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools digital camera in Destiny's optical-quality window so that students in grades six through eight could take photos of the Earth and downlink them for analysis by the student science team.

Meanwhile, Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu are at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, continuing their immediate post-flight medical evaluations and debriefings. They are expected to return to Houston on Nov. 18. They landed on Oct. 27 after spending 183 days aboard the Station. Joining them on the returning ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft was European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain, who conducted eight days of intensive research after launching with the Expedition 8 crew.

The first Station component, the control module Zarya, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Nov. 20, 1998. Thirty-seven launches later, the Station now has a mass of more than 412,000 pounds and an interior volume of 15,000 cubic feet, as large as a three-bedroom house. More than 100 different space travelers from five space agencies and nine countries have visited the complex.

To assist planners as they evaluate a potential spacewalk early next year, Expedition 8 Commnader Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri spent the first part of this week working with Russian Orlan spacesuits. They evaluated how to get into the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the Station's Pirs compartment while wearing the bulky suits. Such a procedure could be necessary if they were unable to repressurize Pirs, which is used as an airlock to begin and end Russian spacewalks, and had to board the Soyuz.

The potential February spacewalk would exchange samples in exterior experiments and prepare an aft Station docking port for the European Space Agency's Automated Transport Vehicle, a new, uncrewed station cargo vehicle targeted for launch late next year.

In anticipation of the crew's first use of the Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, Foale spent time Friday going through a computer-guided refresher on arm operations. Their first use of the arm, a training session, is planned for early next week.

On Friday, Foale completed alterations to an instrumented suit for use in next week's work with the Foot/Ground Reaction Forces During Spaceflight (FOOT) experiment. The Lower Extremity Monitoring Suit (LEMS), a customized pair of Lycra cycling shorts outfitted with 20 sensors, will measure forces on Foale's feet and joints and gauge his muscle activity while completing his normal activities in the Station. The experiment's researchers hope to learn more about the reasons for bone and muscle loss by astronauts in orbit, insight that may lead to better countermeasures for astronauts.

Engineers are analyzing the effects of a possible gyroscope failure in the Station treadmill's vibration isolation system. The analysis began after the crew reported hearing unusual noises from that system. While the analysis is under way, the crew has been asked not to use the treadmill and instead to use a stationary bicycle and other exercise equipment.

The Expedition 7 crewmembers returned to Houston this week after more than three weeks of medical checkups and debriefings with Russian specialists. Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, who completed a 185-day spaceflight with a landing in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz spacecraft on Oct. 27, will continue their postflight operations with checkups and debriefings at the Johnson Space Center.