Melvin Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Single. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 17 - 1998. Active Entered space service: 4 June 1998. Number of Flights: 1.00. Total Time: 12.77 days.

NAME: Leland D. Melvin (Mr.)

NASA Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist)

PERSONAL DATA:

Born February 15, 1964 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Unmarried. Recreational interests include piano, reading, music, cycling, tennis, and snowboarding. Chosen by the Detroit Lions in the 11th round of the 1986 NFL college draft. Also participated in the Toronto Argonauts and Dallas Cowboys football training camps. His parents Deems and Grace Melvin, reside in Lynchburg, Virginia.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Heritage High School, Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1982; received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia in 1986; and a master of science degree in materials science engineering from the University of Virginia in 1991.

ORGANIZATIONS:

National Technical Association (Hampton Roads Chapter Secretary 1993), American Chemical Society, The Society for Experimental Mechanics.

SPECIAL HONORS/AWARDS:

Invention Disclosure Award for Lead Insensitive Fiber Optic Phase Locked Loop Sensor, NASA Outstanding Performance Awards (8), NASA Superior Accomplishment Award (2), Key to the City of Lynchburg, Virginia, NCAA Division I Academic All American, University of Richmond Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Mr. Melvin began working in the Fiber Optic Sensors group of the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch at NASA Langley Research Center in 1989 where he conducted research in the area of physical measurements for the development of advanced instrumentation for Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE). His responsibilities included using optical fiber sensors to measure strain, temperature, and chemical damage in both composite and metallic structures. Additional projects included developing optical interferometric techniques for quantitative determination of damage in aerospace structures and materials. In 1994 Mr. Melvin was selected to lead the Vehicle Health Monitoring (VHM) team for the cooperative Lockheed/NASA X-33 Reuseable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program. The team developed distributed fiber optic strain, temperature and hydrogen sensors for the reduction of vehicle operational costs and to monitor composite liquid oxygen tank and cryogenic insulation performance. In 1996 Mr. Melvin codesigned and monitored construction of an optical NDE facility capable of producing in-line fiber optic Bragg grating strain sensors at rates in excess of 1000 per hour. This facility will provide a means for performing advanced sensor and laser research for development of aerospace and civil health monitoring systems.

Selected by NASA JSC in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Following a period of training and evaluation, he will receive technical assignments within the Astronaut Office before being assigned to a space flight.

• 7 February 2008 Flight: STS-122. Flight Up: STS-122. Flight Back: STS-122. Flight Time: 12.77 days.

19 July 1985 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 17 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.. Of 25 Americans, eight pilots and 17 mission specialists.

Yest kasaniye! Progress M-63 (28P), approaching from below the station, docked flawlessly at the DC1 Docking Compartment nadir port at 9:38am EST, followed by docking probe retraction and hook closure ('sborka') after motion damp-out, while the ISS was in LVLH (local vertical/local horizontal) attitude. All Progress systems operated nominally from Automated Rendezvous start. (Launched on 2/5 (8:02am EST), the 28P resupply drone delivered about 2.5 tons of cargo for the ISS crews, including propellants for the Russian thrusters, fresh water, oxygen, food, spare parts, repair gear, life support and science experiment hardware.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/07/08.

Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-122 at 1:45 p.m. CST. Aboard the shuttle are Commander Steve Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts. Schlegel and Eyharts are European astronauts.

Atlantis is in excellent condition. The shuttle is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Saturday. On Friday, the crew will use the shuttle's robotic arm to inspect Atlantis' heat shield on the wing leading edges and nose. They also will check the spacesuits that will be used for three spacewalks during the mission.

After Atlantis arrives at the station, Eyharts will become a member of the Expedition 16 crew, joining Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko. Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who has been aboard the station since October 2007, will return to Earth on Atlantis.

The launch of Atlantis is the 121st space shuttle launch and the 29th flight of Atlantis. The Columbus module is Europe's primary contribution to the space station. Columbus will host experiments in life, physical and earth sciences.

The shuttle crew will begin a sleep period at 7:45 p.m. CST and awaken at 3:45 a.m. CST Friday to begin their first full day in space.<

Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Leopold Eyharts, today completed a five-hour inspection of Atlantis' heat shield using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. Imagery analysts and engineers on the ground will add today's three-dimensional sensor images to imagery and accelerometer data collected at launch and during the climb to orbit and continue their analysis of the shuttle's heat shield.

Also today, the crew checked out the tools that will be used during tomorrow's rendezvous and docking to the station, installed the centerline camera that will be used during docking and extended the outer ring of the Orbiter Docking System.

Spacewalkers Walheim, Schlegel and Love checked out the spacesuits that they will wear during the mission's three spacewalks. At 2:02 p.m. Walheim reported that the suits had been fully prepared for transfer to the space station.

On board the space station, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani readied the station for the arrival of Atlantis' crew by conducting a leak check of Pressurized Mating Adapter-2, Atlantis' docking point.

Tomorrow, Frick will perform the rendezvous pitch maneuver, an orbiter back-flip 600 feet below the space station that will allow Whitson and Malenchenko to take hundreds of detailed images of the orbiter's underside. With the pitch maneuver complete, Frick will fly the shuttle ahead of the station and slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking with the space station.

Tomorrow also marks Whitson's 48th birthday. She commented today that she was looking forward to Atlantis' arrival as her birthday present.

The STS-122 crew is on an 11-day mission that will deliver a new research module to the International Space Station, the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory. Columbus will be Europe's largest contribution to the construction of the station, adding 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the orbiting complex.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 7:45 p.m. and will awaken at 3:45 a.m.

Installing the laboratory, named for Christopher Columbus, is the primary goal of this 121st space shuttle mission. It will add 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the space station.

This morning's wakeup song, 'The Book of Love,' performed by Peter Gabriel, was played for European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts at 3:45 a.m. CST. Eyharts will become a member of the Expedition 16 crew, replacing Flight Engineer Dan Tani, after Atlantis arrives at the space station Saturday.

Today Atlantis Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel and Eyharts will perform an inspection of Atlantis' heat shield using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System. They'll also check out the tools they need for Saturday's rendezvous and docking to the station and install a centerline camera in the shuttle's orbiter docking system.

Spacewalkers Walheim, Schlegel and Love will prepare spacesuits that they will wear during the mission's three spacewalks; two by Walheim and Schlegel and one by Walheim and Love.

The International Space Station's Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani started their day at 4 a.m. CST. Today they will conduct a leak check of the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 where Atlantis will dock to the station Saturday morning at 11:25 a.m. CST.

aturday = Docking Day. Happy Birthday, Peggy Whitson!

STS-122/Atlantis docked smoothly at the PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter-2) port at 12:17pm EST, eight minutes ahead of time, after successfully completing the RPM (R-Bar Pitch Maneuver) at 11:32am. The station now hosts ten occupants again as Mission 1E is underway. (The combined crew is comprised of ISS CDR Peggy Whitson, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko, FE-2 Dan Tani, STS CDR Steve Frick, PLT Alan Poindexter, MS1 Leland Melvin, MS2 Rex Walheim, MS3 Hans Schlegel, MS4 Stanley Love, and MS5 LĂ(c)opold Eyharts who replaces Dan Tani as FE-2, while the latter returns on the Atlantis as MS-5.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/09/08.

Ahead: Week 17 of Increment 16.

Mission 1E replanning by MCC-Houston, driven by the one-day delay of the first spacewalk, was completed last night, as follows:

Approved mission extension by one day (i.e., 12+0+2 instead of 11+0+2), resulting in 2/19 (Tuesday) as return date for Atlantis;
Limiting resource being oxygen (O2), under further discussion is the option to either extend by one more docked day or transfer the unexpended O2 to the ISS (current O2 margins are estimated to be 11+1+2 plus an additional 20-25 hours. These are still being refined given the insertion of the new FD4);
All FD 4 activities moved to FD 5. EVA-1 will be conducted by Stanley Love and Rex Walheim tomorrow, with Campout of the two tonight;
Today (FD 4) was replanned and includes 1.5 hrs of focused inspection (FI) of the starboard OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) pod blanket that has a corner slightly peeled back (the FI, starting at ~ 2:15 pm EST, is planned for 90 min, with additional FI time available on FD 06 if needed);
Transfer status: 22% of transfer complete, 6 hours of transfer scheduled for FD 4, expect 35/40 lbs N2 transfer today, 3 CWCs filled.
Wakeup time for the ISS crew remains at 4:45am EST, with sleep time tonight 8:45pm. Same times for the Shuttle crew.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/10/08.

Mission 1E's EVA-1 was completed successfully by Stanley Love & Rex Walheim in 7hr 58min, accomplishing all its objectives.
(During the spacewalk, Walheim (EV1) & Love (EV2) prepared Columbus for unberthing and installation, hooking up electric cables, removing protective covers from the module's docking mechanism and equipping Columbus with the PDGF (Power & Data Grapple Fixture) required for grappling. They also started preparing the NTA (Nitrogen Tank Assembly) for removal, preparatory to replacement with a new NTA on EVA-2 (disconnecting electric cables and two ammonia flex hoses was deferred to Wednesday, but Walheim unfastened two of the four bolts holding down the NTA). Official start time of the spacewalk was 9:13am EST, about 25 minutes ahead of the timeline, and it ended at 5:11pm. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 7h 58min. It was the 102nd spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 74th from the station (28 from Shuttle, 52 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 451h 11min, and the 6th for Expedition 16 (totaling 43h 19min.) After today's EVA, a total of 125 spacewalkers (94 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and ten astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-1 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 639h 33min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 124th spacewalk by U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/11/08.

The day began at 3:46 a.m. CST. The wakeup song 'Fly Like an Eagle,' written by Steve Miller, was played for Mission Specialist Leland Melvin on the day he will use the station's robotic arm to lift the Columbus research module from Atlantis' payload bay.

Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love will leave the Quest airlock at 8:35 a.m. CST for a 6.5-hour spacewalk to mate Columbus to the Harmony module. Inside the space station, Melvin will operate the station's arm and Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel will assist the two spacewalkers.

Walheim and Love will first install a grapple fixture on Columbus while it rests inside the shuttle's payload bay. The two spacewalkers will then prepare to replace a large nitrogen tank used for pressurizing the station's ammonia cooling system.

Meanwhile, Melvin will use the station's robotic arm to grasp Columbus and move it into place on the starboard side of Harmony. Motorized bolts will lock Columbus in place. Once Columbus is attached, crew members will do an initial leak check.

Columbus is the cornerstone of the European Space Agency's contribution to the International Space Station and is the first European laboratory to be dedicated to long-term research in space.

'The European Columbus module is now part of the ISS,' Expedition 16 astronaut Leopold Eyharts radioed to Mission Control in Houston at 3:44 p.m. CST.

Mission Specialists Love and Walheim worked during the day to install a grapple fixture on Columbus while it rested inside the shuttle's payload bay. They also worked to prepare electrical and data connections on the module. Once this work was complete, astronauts Leland Melvin, Dan Tani and Eyharts operated the space station's robotic arm to grab on to Columbus, lift it out of the orbiter and begin the 42-minute journey to its final attachment onto the starboard side of the station.

As Columbus was moving into place, Walheim and Love began work to replace a large nitrogen tank used for pressurizing the station's ammonia cooling system. This work will be completed during the second EVA, which will take place on Wednesday.

Columbus is the cornerstone of Europe's contribution to the International Space Station. With this addition, the station is now 57 percent complete in terms of mass.

The crew will wake at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow and will spend the day completing the initialization of Columbus, once all leak checks are complete.

Atlantis' crew started its day at 3:45 a.m. CST. The wakeup song, 'Dream Come True' by Jim Brickman, was played for Mission Specialist Rex Walheim.

The main activity of the day will be getting the International Space Station's newest international module ready for business. The crew will begin outfitting the station's newest science module at 6:40 a.m.

During a partial ingress of the module at 7:50 a.m., European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts will start ventilation between Columbus and the rest of the station. Then the rest of the shuttle and station crew members are scheduled to take their first steps into Columbus at 1:55 p.m. Soon afterward, the Columbus Control Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, will take over command of the module.

Between Columbus work and transfer operations, some members of the shuttle crew will take time out to talk with reporters. At 7:53 a.m., Commander Steve Frick and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Stanley Love and Walheim will talk with FOX News' Fox and Friends, KGO-TV in San Francisco and The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS. And at 3:35 p.m., Frick, along with Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, will be interviewed by CBS News and Pittsburgh television stations KDKA-TV and WPXI-TV.

Crew sleep cycle remains at 4:45am EST - 8:15pm for both crews.

Mission 1E's EVA-2 was completed successfully by Rex Walheim & Hans Schlegel in 6h 45m, accomplishing all its objectives and get-aheads.
(During the spacewalk, Walheim (EV1) & Schlegel (EV2) removed the new NTA (Nitrogen Tank Assembly) from the Shuttle PLB (Payload Bay), 'flew' it to the CETA (Crew & Equipment Translation Aid) cart for transfer to the P1 truss, installed it in place of the failed NTA, which they returned via CETA for stowage in the PLB, and performed Get-Aheads, viz.: Clean up Lab MMOD (Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris Shield) & install Columbus Trunnion Covers.) Official start time of the spacewalk was 9:27am EST, about 8 min ahead of the timeline, and it ended at 4:12pm. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 6h 45min. It was the 103rd spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 75th from the station (28 from Shuttle, 53 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 457h 56min, and the 7th for Expedition 16 (totaling 50h 04min). After today's EVA, a total of 127 spacewalkers (95 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and 11 astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-2 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 646h 18min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 125th spacewalk involving U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/13/08.

Crew sleep cycle shifted one hour earlier: 3:45am - 7:15pm for both crews.

Last night, Mission 1E was extended by one day (13+0+2), with landing now on Wednesday, 2/20, at ~9:03am EST (if at KSC).

Columbus final activation has been completed.

After yesterday's command queue lockup between the COL CCS (Columbus Orbital Laboratory Command & Control System) and the COL MMC (Mission Management Computer), final activation of COL data management systems was accomplished late last night by transitioning/swapping the primary & backup C&C MDM (Multiplexer/Demultiplexer) computers. (The MMC is the intermodule interface computer required between the US C&DH (Command & Data Handling) system and the COL DMC (Data Management Computer) which handles equipment monitoring)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/14/08.

ISS crew goes to sleep one hour earlier than yesterday: 3:45am - 6:15pm, Shuttle crew half an hour later. 3:45am - 6:45pm.

Mission 1E's EVA-3 was completed successfully by Rex Walheim & Stan Love in 7h 25m, accomplishing all its objectives and get-aheads.
(During the spacewalk, Walheim (EV1) & Love (EV3) transferred the European SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory) and the EuTEF (European Technology Exposure Facility) to the COL EPF (Columbus Orbital Laboratory External Payload Facility), retrieved the failed CMG (Control Moment Gyro) for stowage in the Shuttle PLB for return, installed COL worksite interface fixtures and handrails, inspected a suspected sharp-edged MMOD impact site on an Airlock (A/L) handrail (#508), and inspected, photographed and took samples from the failed starboard SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint) race ring and covers not yet inspected before. Official start time of the spacewalk was 8:07am EST, about 28 min ahead of timeline, and it ended at 3:32pm. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 7h 25min. It was the 104th spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 76th from the station (28 from Shuttle, 54 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 465h 21min, and the 8th for Expedition 16 (totaling 57h 29min). After today's EVA, a total of 129 spacewalkers (97 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and 11 astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-2 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 653h 43min outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 126th spacewalk involving U.S. astronauts.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/15/08.

r the sun, called SOLAR -to the Columbus module for installation. Pilot Alan Poindexter worked to guide Walheim and Love from inside the International Space Station, while Mission Specialist Leland Melvin operated the station's robotic arm to guide the astronauts and experiments to the proper locations.

After the installation of SOLAR, the crew transferred a failed gyroscope that controls the orientation of the ISS into Atlantis' payload bay so it can be returned to Earth. The two astronauts completed the final major objective of the mission by installing a second experiment onto the outside of Columbus, the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF). This experiment will allow scientists to expose experiments to the vacuum and elements of space.

Once this work was completed, Walheim and Love examined a damaged handrail on the outside of the station's Quest airlock. They used an improvised tool covered with spacewalk overglove material to rub the area to see if it could be the source of some glove abrasions that have been noticed on recent activity outside the station. Mission managers in Houston will discuss the results to determine if the area is indeed the source of the issue.

Tomorrow at 6:17 a.m., the shuttle will fire its propulsion system for 31 minutes and 13 seconds in order to re-boost the orbit of the ISS. This will allow the station to achieve the proper alignment needed in advance of next month's arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission.

A crew news conference is scheduled for 7:40 a.m. tomorrow, with all 10 crew members participating in a question-and-answer session with media from the United States and Europe.

The next STS-122 status report will be issued after crew wake-up tomorrow morning, which is scheduled for 1:45 a.m.<

king with reporters on Earth.

The crew was allowed to sleep in about 30 minutes after Friday's long spacewalk. This morning's wake-up call -'I Believe I Can Fly,' performed by Yolanda Adams and Kenny G and played for Mission Specialist Leland Melvin -came at 2:20 a.m. CST.

Columbus outfitting and transfer operations will continue throughout the day, and the crew will be reconfiguring the tools and suits used during Friday's spacewalk.

At 6:16 a.m., the shuttle will fire its propulsion system for 36 minutes to reboost the orbit of the space station. This will allow the station to achieve the proper alignment needed in advance of next month's arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission.

And then at 7:40 a.m., all 10 members of the shuttle and station crews will participate in the traditional joint crew news conference. Reporters at Johnson Space Center in Texas, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the European Space Agency's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and the French Space Agency Headquarters in Paris will be participating in the question-and-answer session.

Toward the end of the day, Pilot Alan Poindexter and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Stanley Love will have some off-duty time. Walheim and Love performed Friday's spacewalk, and Poindexter worked inside as their intravehicular officer.

Earlier in the day, space shuttle Atlantis' propulsion system was used to reboost the station's altitude by about 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers) -the first reboost of the station using shuttle thrusters since 2002.

The altitude adjustment lasted 36 minutes and used four of the shuttle's vernier jets that produced about 28 pounds of thrust each to gently raise the orbit. The increased altitude will allow the station to be in the proper orbit for next month's arrival of Endeavour on the STS-123 mission.

Early Saturday, all 10 members of the shuttle and station crews held their traditional news conference with media in the United States and Europe. Today set the stage for the final transfer of cargo between the shuttle and station early on Sunday. The crews will bid farewell to one another and close the hatches between the shuttle and station shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday. Atlantis' departure remains scheduled for early Monday.

Dan Tani's 118th day in space (116 aboard ISS). Ahead: Week 18 of Increment 16.

Wake/sleep cycle shifted further back to prepare for 2/18 undocking: 1:45am - 4:15pm EST (incl. Eyharts), Shuttle crew: 1:45am - 4:45pm (incl. Tani).

CDR Peggy Whitson performed her final INTEGRATED IMMUNE blood collection, assisted by MS1 Leland Melvin, right before hatch closure. FE-2 Dan Tani will continue his saliva collections, both liquid and dry, and blood collections aboard the Atlantis all the way home FE-2-16 Leo Eyharts transferred his and Peggy's saliva return pouches and blood sleeves as well as Dan's saliva collection kit to the Shuttle for return. (Background: IMMUNE assessment, integrated with the Russian IMMUNO, is a 24-hr. test of human immune system changes, with the objective to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit, to develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. The strategy uses both long and short duration crewmembers as study subjects. The saliva is collected in two forms, dry and liquid. The dry samples are collected at intervals during the collection day using a specialized book that contains filter paper. The liquid saliva collections require that the crewmember soak a piece of cotton inside their mouth and place it in a salivette bag; there are four of the liquid collections during docked operations. The on-orbit blood samples are collected right before undocking and returned on the Shuttle so that analysis can occur with 48 hours of the sampling. This allows assays that quantify the function of different types white blood cells and other active components of the immune system. For cold storage, samples are secured in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end. Urine is collected during a 24-hour period, conventionally divided into two twelve-hour phases: morning-evening and evening-morning.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/17/08.

The crew's 11:45 p.m. CST Monday wake-up call was the Spamalot rendition of 'Always Look on the Bright Side' played for STS-122 Commander Steve Frick.

The crew is expected to begin routine de-orbit preparations and cabin stowage at 2:45 a.m. Then, at 4:10 a.m., Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will power up an auxiliary power unit to check out the orbiter's flight control surfaces. At 5:20 a.m. they will start a test firing of each of the shuttle's reaction control system jets.

Late Monday afternoon, the heaters on Atlantis' four aft vernier engines, part of the reaction control system, failed. Those jets, located near the Orbiter Maneuvering System pods, are the small attitude control jets used to tweak a shuttle's position in orbit and are not used during de-orbit maneuvers.

The shuttle astronauts will take a break from packing at 7:35 a.m. to talk about the flight with ABC News, CNN and WRIC-TV in Richmond, Va., near the home of Mission Specialist Leland Melvin.

At 12:15 p.m. Walheim and returning Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani will set up a recumbent seat on the middeck for Tani to use during entry and landing. Melvin and Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel will stow the Ku-band communications antenna at 12:35 p.m.

The International Space Station's crew is enjoying a day off-duty before starting a heavy schedule. They are preparing for the delivery of the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's multi-armed dexterous robotic system, Dextre, on the STS-123 mission targeted for launch March 11.

Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday at 8:07 a.m. The weather forecast is favorable. Today the crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 3:45 p.m. and awaken at 11:45 p.m.

Atlantis is planned to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:07 a.m. CST with the forecast of near perfect weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle would fire its engines to begin a descent to Florida at 7 a.m.

Atlantis has three additional opportunities to land Wednesday if needed. A second opportunity to land in Florida would begin with an engine firing at 8:35 a.m. leading to touchdown at 9:42 a.m.

Opportunities also are available to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The first opportunity to land at Edwards would begin with an engine firing at 10:05 a.m. leading to an 11:12 a.m. touchdown. A second opportunity to land in California would begin with an engine firing at 11:41 a.m. leading to a 12:47 p.m. touchdown.

Atlantis crew -Commander Steve Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stan Love, Hans Schlegel and Dan Tani -began a sleep period at 3:45 p.m. and will awaken at 11:45 p.m. Tani is returning home after a four-month stay aboard the International Space Station.

The wakeup song, 'Hail to the Spirit of Liberty' by John Philip Sousa, was played at 11:55 p.m. Tuesday for Pilot Alan Poindexter.

Deorbit preparations begin at 3:05 a.m. Then the crew will ready their seats and should get the okay to close the payload bay doors at 4:19 a.m. If the near perfect weather continues, Commander Steve Frick will conduct the deorbit burn at 6:59 a.m. That will slow Atlantis enough to fall out of orbit to begin its descent toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 8:07 a.m.

Atlantis has three additional opportunities to land today if needed. A second opportunity to land in Florida would begin with an engine firing at 8:35 a.m. leading to touchdown at 9:42 a.m.

Opportunities also are available to land at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The first opportunity to land at Edwards would begin with an engine firing at 10:05 a.m. leading to an 11:12 a.m. touchdown. A second opportunity to land in California would begin with an engine firing at 11:41 a.m. leading to a 12:47 p.m. touchdown.

Atlantis' crew -Commander Steve Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Stan Love, Hans Schlegel and Dan Tani -installed Columbus Feb. 11 and conducted three spacewalks to prepare the lab for its scientific work. They also replaced an expended nitrogen tank on the station's P1 truss and retrieved a failed control moment gyroscope for return to Earth.

The next STS-122 status report will be issued following landing.<

wn at 8:07:20 a.m. Wheels stop occurred at 8:08:08 a.m.

During 202 orbits of Earth, the crew of Atlantis, which includes Commander Steve Frick, Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel, Stan Love and Dan Tani, installed the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. Columbus, Europe's largest contribution to the station, adds more than 2,600 cubic feet to the station and a wide variety of experiments and research.

The astronauts conducted three spacewalks to install and set up Columbus. They also removed a spent nitrogen tank assembly and a failed gyroscope, both of which were returned to Earth. During the final spacewalk, the astronauts examined an area outside of the station's air lock, where a small divot was discovered. The astronauts used an improvised tool comprising some material from an unused overglove to see if this area could be causing cuts and abrasions on the astronauts' gloves. Engineers in Houston will examine the results.

Atlantis delivered European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts to the station, replacing Tani as a flight engineer aboard the complex. Tani spent 107 days in space as a resident of the station. He launched on Oct. 23, 2007, aboard space shuttle Discovery on the STS-120 mission.

Atlantis will be towed to its orbiter processing facility this afternoon, where it will begin preparations for its next mission, STS-125, which is targeted to launch Aug. 28 to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the final time.

As Atlantis landed, the astronauts saw out their left window space shuttle Endeavour standing ready at launch pad 39-A. Endeavour's launch on mission STS-123 is scheduled for March 11. The crew of Atlantis is scheduled to return to Houston on Thursday. An arrival ceremony is planned for about 4 p.m. at NASA Hangar 276 at Ellington Field.<