Richards Paul Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, four children. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 16 - 1996. Inactive Entered space service: 1 May 1996. Left space service: February2002. Number of Flights: 1.00. Total Time: 12.83 days. Number of EVAs: 1.00. Total EVA Time: 0.26 days.

NAME: Paul William Richards

NASA Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist)

PERSONAL DATA:

Born May 20, 1964 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His hometown is Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Enjoys cycling, golf, sailing, snow skiing, cooking, and home repair/improvement. Married to the former Susan Geiger Palmer, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania. They have two children. His parents are Angela Cordaro Richards and the late James J. Richards. Her parents are Samuel and Joan Geiger of Erdenheim, Pennsylvania.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Dunmore High School, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in 1982; received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University in 1987 and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland in 1991.

ORGANIZATIONS:

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Naval Engineers, United States Naval Reserves.

AWARDS:

Silver Snoopy Award (1994). NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (1994). Goddard Honor Awards; Group Achievement Award (1994). HST First Servicing Mission Extravehicular Activity Team. HST First Servicing Mission Crew Aids and Tools Development Team. NASA Manned Flight Awareness Award (1994). NASA Outstanding Performance Award (1993).

EXPERIENCE:

Department of the Navy, Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, 1983-1987. Transferred to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in 1987. Worked in the Verification Office, Electromechanical Branch, Robotics Branch, Guidance and Controls Branch, all within the Engineering Directorate. Senior EVA Tool Development Engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Servicing Project. Lead Engineer for GSFC HST EVA crew aids and tools. Responsibilities included the design, analysis, fabrication, test, and integration for breadboard, WETF/NBS, engineering, and flight hardware, and the financial tracking, documentation, and review process for these tools. Additional duties included engineering support for the HST WETF/NBS Servicing Mission Simulations as a utility diver and EMU suited subject.

Selected by NASA in April 1996, Richards reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996 to begin two years of training and evaluation. Successful completion of initial training will qualify him for various technical assignments leading to selection as a mission specialist on a Space Shuttle flight crew.

• 8 March 2001 Flight: STS-102. Flight Up: STS-102. Flight Back: STS-102. Flight Time: 12.83 days.

8 March 2001 - STS-102. STS 102 was an American shuttle spacecraft that carried a crew of seven astronauts (six American and one Russian). The primary mission was to deliver a multi-rack Italian container (Leonardo MultiPurpose Logistics Module, LMPLM) to the Destiny Module of the International Space Station, ISS. It docked with the ISS at 05:34 UT on 9 March. The 6.4 m x 4.6 m cylindrical LMPLM delivered new equipment to Destiny, and retrieved used/unwanted equipment, and trash back to the shuttle. The crew did a few spacewalks to install a platform on the ISS to support a Canadian robot arm when it arrives next month. The STS 102 left behind three of the astronauts (two American and one Russian) and brought back the three astronauts (one American and two Russian) who had been inhabiting the ISS for about four and a half months. It landed at Cape Canaveral at 07:31 UT on 21 March.

Discovery was launched on mission STS-102 (Space Station flight 5A.1) into an initial 60 x 222 km x 51.6 deg orbit. The mission was delivery of supplies and equipment, and changeout of the Expedition One and Expedition Two station crews. STS-102 carried the Leonardo Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), built by Alenia Spazio (Torino), to the International Space Station. The 6.4 m x 4.6 m cylindrical MPLM was a descendant of the Spacelab long modules. Also carried was a Spacehab/Energia unpressurized Integrated Cargo Carrier with LCA/MTSAS-A, RU, and PFCS. A sidewall adapter beam with two GAS canisters (G-783 and WSVFM) was also on board. WSVFM measured vibration during launch. Another adapter beam, probably at the rear of the payload bay, carried SEM-9. SEM-9 and G-783 contained high school microgravity experiments.

Leonardo carried 16 'racks' of equipment, including the Human Research Facility Rack (Rack 13) which allowed the astronauts to do extensive medical experiments, the CHeCS Rack (28), the DDCU-1 and DDCU-2 racks (7 and 9), the Avionics-3 (Rack 6), and the MSS Avionics/Lab (Rack 11) and Avionics/Cupola (Rack 12) racks for a total of 7 equipment racks to be installed on Destiny. Three Resupply Stowage Racks (50, 51, 52) and four Resupply Stowage Platforms (180, 181, 182 and 188) remained installed on Leonardo, with their equipment bags being individually transferred to the Station. System Racks 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 were already on Destiny together with stowage racks 110 through 117. Each rack had a mass of 150-300 kg.

The orbiter fired its OMS engines at 1221 GMT to raise the orbit to 185 x 219 km. Discovery docked with the PMA-2 port on the Station at 0639 GMT on March 10. The LCA (Lab Cradle Assembly) was attached to Destiny's +Z side during an EVA. It was to be used on the next mission to temporarily place a Spacelab pallet on Destiny during installation of the Station's robot arm. Later, it would be the site for the main Station truss, beginning with segment S0.

The PMA-3, on Unity at the -Z nadir position, had to be moved to the port position to make room for Leonardo. An external stowage platform was attached to Destiny and the External Stowage Platform and the PFCS Pump Flow Control System were added to the port aft trunnion on Destiny. A rigid umbilical (RU) was connected to the PDGF grapple fixture on Destiny to support the Station's future robot arm. Leonardo was docked to Unity at -Z for a while so that its cargo could be transferred to the station easily; it was then be returned to the payload bay and brought back to earth.

At 0232 GMT on March 19 command of ISS was transferred to Expedition 2 and the hatches were closed. Discovery undocked at 0432 GMT and flew once around the station before departing at 0548 GMT. ISS mass after undocking was 115527 kg. The OMS engines fired for the deorbit burn at 0625 GMT on March 21, and Discovery touched down on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center at 0731 GMT.

In preparation for that rendezvous and docking, Discovery's crew was awakened at 6:42 p.m. Thursday to begin its first full day on orbit. The wakeup song from Mission Control was "Living The Life" by the Rockit Scientists, a group of training division instructors with whom shuttle Commander Jim Wetherbee plays drums from time to time.

After wakeup, the crew of four shuttle and three station expedition crewmembers got busy checking out systems and equipment to assist with mission objectives, including the robotic arm, the two spacesuits that will be worn for the first Extravehicular Activity (EVA), and the rendezvous tools to assist with the final hours of Discovery's approach and docking to the station.

The STS-102 crew is made up of Wetherbee, Pilot Jim Kelly, Flight Engineer Paul Richards and Mission Specialist Andy Thomas. The Expedition Two crew consists of Russian Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms.

Usachev, Voss and Helms, will replace Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, who shortly will wrap up a 4-½ month stay aboard the station and return home aboard Discovery.

With a docking test behind it, the Expedition One crew turns its attention to final stowage in preparation for Discovery's arrival.

After Friday's late night docking, the astronauts will perform two space walks outside the ISS to continue the process of outfitting the Destiny research laboratory. The Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, built by the Italian Space Agency, will be attached to the ISS late Sunday. It is filled with nearly five tons of equipment, including systems and science racks that will be transferred to Destiny.

The Expedition crews will exchange places on the ISS in a three-step fashion, beginning with Usachev and Gidzenko, who will swap places as Station and Shuttle crewmembers early Saturday within hours after docking.

As of 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Discovery trailed the station by about 7,000 miles, closing that distance at a rate of 700 miles each orbit of the Earth, or every 90 minutes. Simultaneously, the ISS is in good shape and ready to support the shuttle's arrival Friday.

Commander Jim Wetherbee, Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Paul Richards, Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms rocketed away from Launch Pad 39-B at 5:42 a.m. Central time, lighting up the crystal clear central Florida skies as they began their pursuit of the international complex. Usachev, Voss and Helms, who make up the second Expeditionary crew to the ISS, will replace Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, who were in their 128th day in space and their 126th day aboard the Station as Discovery began its pursuit.

At the time of launch, the three Expedition One crewmembers aboard the ISS were passing over the south Pacific, about 1000 statute miles south of Perth, Australia. Shortly after Discovery reached orbit, a videotape of the Shuttle launch was uplinked to the Station crew on a laptop computer onboard.

Less than nine minutes after liftoff, Discovery's astronauts settled into orbit and went to work to prepare the Shuttle's systems for their planned 12-day mission. The first major task on the flight plan was to open Discovery's cargo bay doors prior to receiving a "go" for orbital operations from Ascent Flight Director Wayne Hale. The astronauts are expected to set up computers and flight deck gear before beginning an eight-hour sleep period at 10:42 a.m. Central time. The Shuttle crew will be awakened at 6:42 p.m. Thursday to begin its first full day in space.

With this morning's successful launch behind them, Discovery's astronauts will turn their attention to their chase of the International Space Station, performing several firings of the ship's jet thrusters over the next 40 hours to set up a docking with the outpost on Friday night just before midnight Central time. Over the ensuing week, the crew will perform two space walks outside the ISS as they help to outfit the recently installed Destiny research laboratory. The Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, built by the Italian Space Agency, will be attached to the ISS early next week, loaded with almost five tons of equipment, and systems and science racks for transfer to Destiny.

The Expedition crews will exchange places on the ISS in a three-step fashion, beginning with Usachev and Gidzenko swapping roles as Station and Shuttle crewmembers early Saturday within hours after docking.

Discovery is circling the Earth in excellent shape as it flies in an orbit inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the Equator. The International Space Station continues to sail around the Earth with no significant systems issues being tracked by ISS flight controllers.

The shuttle crew was awakened with the Russian song "Vashe Blagorodiye," a song from a movie entitled "White Sun of the Desert" that is traditionally watched by cosmonauts the night before a launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The song was played for Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev, who is spending his last day aboard Discovery before beginning a handover of station command with Expedition One crewmember Yuri Gidzenko.

All activities are on track for a docking of Discovery to the station at 11:34 p.m. The final phase of Discovery's rendezvous with the station was to begin with a Terminal Initiation (TI) engine firing by the shuttle at 9:13 p.m. with Discovery about 50,000 feet behind the station. The TI burn puts the shuttle on course to intercept the station during the next orbit of Earth. At about 10:30 p.m., as Discovery reaches a point about a half-mile below the complex, Commander Jim Wetherbee will take over manual control of the approach. Wetherbee will fly Discovery to a position about 300 feet in front of the station, then move in toward a docking port attached to the end of the station's Destiny Laboratory.

During the docking, Pilot Jim Kelly will help control Discovery's approach as astronauts Andy Thomas and Paul Richards manage the shuttle's docking mechanism and rendezvous tools. Using a view from a camera mounted in the center of Discovery's docking mechanism, Wetherbee will center the docking ports of the two spacecraft precisely, double-checking the alignment 30 feet out. The final approach will be at a relative velocity of one-tenth of a foot per second.

When Discovery makes contact with the station's docking port on Destiny, latches will automatically connect the two spacecraft as they fly high off the east coast of Brazil. Once relative motion between the spacecraft stops, Thomas will retract the docking ring on Discovery's mechanism, closing latches to firmly secure the shuttle to the station. The hatches between the shuttle and station are to be opened about two hours later at 1:42 a.m. Saturday.

The crew will begin transferring crews, equipment and supplies immediately. The first crew exchange is planned to allow Usachev to be aboard the station jointly with Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd for as long as possible to facilitate the change of leadership. The hatches will be closed again at 4:37 a.m. Saturday so the shuttle crew can prepare for the first of two planned spacewalks, a sojourn by astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms set to begin Saturday evening.

The stage is set for the eighth shuttle docking to the ISS with both spacecraft in good shape.

Overnight, the STS-102 astronauts Jim Wetherbee, Jim Kelly, Paul Richards and Andy Thomas, and Expedition 2 crew members Yury Usachev, Jim Voss and Susan Helms installed and checked out a targeting camera, extended the orbiter docking system's spring-loaded docking ring and unpacked rendezvous tools such as laptop computers and hand-held range-finders. They are scheduled to begin an abbreviated seven-hour sleep period at 9:42 a.m. today. When the crew wakes up at 4:42 p.m. to begin their final rendezvous activities, Discovery will be about 40 miles behind and slightly below the ISS.

About 9:15 p.m., at a distance of about nine miles behind the station, Wetherbee will fire Discovery's engines in a Terminal Initiation (Ti) burn, allowing the shuttle to close in, using its rendezvous radar system to track distance and approach speed. Once Discovery is about half a mile below the station, Wetherbee will take over manual control. Wetherbee will fly Discovery slowly to a point about 600 feet directly below the station, then move up and in front of the orbiting outpost. Closing in and stopping a little more than 300 feet directly in front of the station, Kelly will help control Discovery's approach as Thomas and Richards manage the shuttle's docking mechanism and rendezvous tools. Using a view from a camera mounted in the center of Discovery's docking mechanism, Wetherbee will center the docking ports of the two spacecraft precisely, double-checking the alignment 30 feet out. The final approach will be at a relative velocity of one-tenth of a foot per second.

When Discovery makes contact with Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 on the end of the Destiny module, latches will automatically attach the two spacecraft together. Once relative motion between the spacecraft stops, Thomas will retract the docking ring on Discovery's mechanism, closing latches to firmly secure the shuttle to the station

Early this morning, Wetherbee and Usachev received a congratulatory call from Sergio De Julio, president of the Italian Space Agency responsible for developing the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, Leonardo, that holds nearly five tons of equipment to be transferred to the station. Leonardo will be temporarily attached to the station during the first of two scheduled space walks on Saturday, to allow the transfer of the equipment and supplies housed inside.

Meanwhile, on board the ISS, Expedition 1 Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev made last-minute preparations for the arrival of their temporary guests and long-term replacements. The Expedition crews will exchange places on the ISS in a three-step fashion, beginning with Usachev and Gidzenko, who will swap places as Station and Shuttle crew members early Saturday within hours after docking.

While their Commander Yury Usachev begins a handover of duties from Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd aboard the International Space Station, the remaining members of the second station crew, astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms, will perform the space walk tonight, which will be the 17th devoted to assembly of the station.

The shuttle crew was awakened this evening by the song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," performed by Starship and played in anticipation of the planned Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Voss and Helms were scheduled to begin putting on their spacesuits about 7:30 p.m. Throughout the planned seven hour EVA, they will be assisted by Paul Richards, serving as the in-cabin space walk choreographer.

Once outside the shuttle's airlock, their first tasks will be to prepare for the repositioning of Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 - a shuttle docking port - which will be repositioned from the Earth-facing berth on the Unity module to its left-side berth. They will detach cables on that docking port and also detach a communications antenna from the left-side berth on Unity. Then their work will focus on preparing the exterior of the station's Destiny Laboratory for the arrival of the space station robotic arm that will be launched aboard Endeavour next month. They will attach an exterior cradle to the lab as well as cables that will be used for the arm's installation.

After about six hours of work, Voss and Helms will return to Discovery's airlock where they will stand by, ready to assist if needed, as Andy Thomas uses the shuttle's robotic arm to reposition the docking port. After more than seven hours outside, they plan to repressurize the airlock and enter Discovery's cabin at about 6:12 a.m. Sunday.

The hatches between Discovery and the International Space Station are closed now after having been opened for only a couple of hours early this morning just after Discovery docked to the complex. Usachev immediately moved to the station from the shuttle and Yuri Gidzenko, pilot for the first station crew, moved to Discovery. The hatches between the two spacecraft are to be reopened shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, as the crew begins the fifth day of the mission.

Discovery and the station are in excellent condition in an orbit with a high point of 237 statute miles and a low point of 230 statute miles.

"You have a great looking ship there, Captain Shepherd," Wetherbee radioed to the station.

The linkup, which occurred as the two spacecraft were flying above the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of New Zealand, was delayed by about an hour when one of the station's P-6 solar arrays failed to register as being properly feathered to avoid damage from the shuttle steering jet plumes. Wetherbee hovered 400 feet away from the Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 port as he awaited the array latch verification and proper lighting conditions for his final approach.

Station flight controllers and crew members also teamed up to overcome a shuttle communications problem that occurred just after docking. Downlinked signals could not be relayed from the White Sands Ground Station in New Mexico to Houston for about 34 minutes, but messages were passed on to the shuttle crew via the space station control room and a radio link between the station and shuttle.

After hooks and latches created a secure bond, the hatches between the two spacecraft were opened at 2:51 a.m. CST, beginning eight days of docked operations. The eighth shuttle mission to the station will feature the first crew exchange aboard the multinational orbiting outpost and the delivery of the first research experiment package for the Destiny laboratory module.

Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev was the first to join Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev aboard the station. He was followed closely by Wetherbee, Expedition Two Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, and visiting shuttle astronauts Jim Kelly, Andy Thomas and Paul Richards. All 10 crew members spent several minutes greeting each other in the spacious Destiny module.

The arrival of Discovery signaled the beginning of the end of the Expedition One crew's four and a half month stay onboard the International Space Station. The first crew members to trade places Saturday morning were Usachev and Gidzenko. Voss and Krikalev will switch out on Sunday. Shepherd won't trade his personalized Soyuz seat liner for Helms' until Tuesday evening, allowing almost a week for the the two commanders to exchange notes. Shepherd remains in control of expedition operations until the hatches close for the final time next Saturday.

The hatches between the two spacecraft were to be closed temporarily about 5:45 a.m. CST Saturday so that preparations for STS-102's first space walk by Helms and Voss can begin on time at 10:47 p.m. CST Saturday. That space walk will involve preparations for berthing of the Leonardo "moving van," or Multipurpose Logisitics Module to the Destiny module.

The orbiting complex is operating in fine shape at an altitude of 235 statute miles.

The pair, destined to become members of the Expedition Two crew aboard the station later in the mission, began the 17th station assembly space walk at 11:12 p.m. CST Saturday. Inside Discovery, Paul Richards choreographed their activities and served as liaison with Mission Control.

The space walkers were delayed early in their excursion when a portable foot restraint attachment device became untethered, and Voss had to retrieve a spare from its storage location on the outside of the station's Unity module.

Helms and Voss successfully prepared Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 for repositioning from Unity's Earth-facing berth to its port-side berth to make room for Leonardo, the Italian Space Agency-built Multipurpose Logistics Module. They disconnected eight cables and removed an Early Communications System antenna from the left-side Common Berthing Mechanism so that shuttle robotic arm operator Andy Thomas could put the mating adapter in its place, freeing up the Earth-facing berthing port for Leonardo.

The space walkers also removed a Lab Cradle Assembly from the cargo bay and installed it on the side of the Destiny laboratory module, where it will form the base for station robotic arm to be launched on STS-100 in mid-April. Because of the early delay, they were instructed to defer power and data cable connections for the cradle until Monday's scheduled space walk by Richards and Thomas. Voss and Helms also installed a cable tray to Destiny for later use by the station's robot arm.

The pair reentered Discovery's airlock early Sunday and waited for Thomas to maneuver the docking port to its new location, but remained at the ready to assist if needed. After Commander Jim Wetherbee drove the Common Berthing Mechanism latches home and secured the docking port at 7:43 a.m., the airlock was repressurized, ending the space walk at 8:08 a.m. Sunday after 8 hours 56 minutes, making it the longest space walk in Shuttle history. The space walk brings the total exterior construction time on the station to 117 hours 39 minutes over the course of 17 space walks, and the total EVA time in Shuttle program history to 386 hours, 15 minutes over 61 separate space walks.

Meanwhile aboard the station, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev began a handover of duties from Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, with Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev also still on board. The hatches between Discovery and the International Space Station are to be reopened shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, as the crew begins the fifth day of the mission.

Both crews are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at 9:42 a.m. central time, awakening at 5:42 p.m. Discovery and the station are in excellent condition in an orbit of about 235 statute miles.

Discovery's crew was awakened today by the song "Blast Off" from the animated feature Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders, played for astronaut Paul Richards as a selection from his children. The shuttle and station crews plan to reopen hatches between the two spacecraft at about 8:12 p.m. today. They will remain open for about eight hours before they again must be closed in preparation for a second space walk Monday night.

Just after the hatches open this evening, the crew exchange will continue with Expedition Two Flight Engineer Jim Voss taking up residence aboard the station and Expedition One Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev moving to Discovery. With Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev already aboard the complex since Saturday, only one more crewmember switch remains to complete the station's change of watch. Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd will trade places with Expedition Two Flight Engineer Susan Helms Tuesday night.

As the crews work together tonight, moving gear inside the shuttle and station, Astronaut Andy Thomas will use Discovery's robotic arm to remove the Italian Space Agency-built Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the shuttle's cargo bay and attach it to the station's Unity module. Leonardo carries more than 5 tons of equipment and experiments that will be unloaded during the next few days before it is again detached from the station and stowed aboard Discovery to return to Earth.

Tonight's plan calls for Thomas to begin lifting Leonardo from Discovery's cargo bay at 9:12 p.m. He will maneuver it into place and latch it to the station at about 10:57 p.m. The station crew plans to enter the cargo module at about 5:42 a.m. Monday to begin the unloading.

Discovery and the International Space Station remain in excellent condition in an orbit with a high point of 236 statute miles and a low point of 229 statute miles.

The song "From a Distance" performed by Nanci Griffith awakened Discovery's crew, and astronauts Paul Richards and Andy Thomas quickly began preparing for a planned six and a half hour space walk. Richards and Thomas plan to install a stowage platform for spare station parts as well as attach a spare pump to the platform, ready in the event future crews need it. They also will complete the connection of several cables that were put in place by astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms during their space walk conducted on Sunday. The cables, on the exterior of the Destiny laboratory, will be used by the station's robotic arm set for launch aboard the next space shuttle in April.

After the cable connections are completed, Richards and Thomas will climb to the top of the station where the giant, 240-foot wingspan United States solar arrays are attached and attempt to tap a brace for the port side array into its latched position. The brace, one of four, did not latch in place properly when the arrays were installed on the station last year. However, the other three braces are secure and the array's stability has not been a concern. In addition, several quick tasks are planned during the space walk, including work with a connector on the Unity module as part of an analysis of a past lab heater problem; taking photos of a vent on the Destiny lab and of the Zvezda service module's general exterior; and inspecting an exterior experiment called the Floating Potential Probe that has operated intermittently since it was installed on the station a few months ago.

During the space walk, Discovery Pilot Jim Kelly will operate the shuttle's robotic arm to maneuver Thomas as he carries gear between the shuttle and the station. Astronaut Susan Helms will serve as the in-cabin space walk coordinator aboard Discovery.

While Discovery's crew is busy installing exterior equipment, inside the station Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Expedition Two Flight Engineer Jim Voss will continue unloading the Leonardo logistics module. Leonardo, attached to the station last night, carried almost five tons of gear to be installed aboard the complex.

Richards and Thomas are scheduled to begin donning their space suits and associated gear at about 7:42 p.m. and exit Discovery's cabin at 10:47 p.m. The space walk is scheduled to conclude at 5:17 a.m. Tuesday.

Discovery and the International Space Station continue to orbit in excellent condition.

Operating Discovery's robotic arm, Thomas grappled the "crate" full of equipment racks and supplies at 9:37 p.m. Sunday, lifting it out of the shuttle's cargo bay at 10:10 p.m. Over the course of the next two hours, he slowly and deliberately moved the 11-ton module into place. At 12:02 a.m. today, STS-102 Commander Jim Wetherbee commanded the latches on the station's Earth-facing Common Berthing Mechanism to establish a tight seal with the Leonardo module.

The berthing of Leonardo to Unity took slightly longer than planned while Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd rerouted video from the Centerline Berthing Camera System to the television monitors on the shuttle's aft flight deck so that Thomas could use the view looking directly out the berthing port at its corresponding opening on Leonardo. There also was a delay in activating the cargo carrier while Shepherd connected a Unity-to-Destiny power cable that provides electricity to systems inside Leonardo. Shepherd briefly entered the Leonardo module at 5:51 a.m. to retrieve the cable. He took it to the vestibule between the U.S. laboratory and Unity and made the required connections. Leonardo carries more than five tons of equipment and experiments that will be unloaded during the next few days before it is again detached from the station and stowed aboard Discovery to return to Earth.

The shuttle and station crews rejoined each other at 9:15 p.m. Sunday when the hatches separating them during the previous day's record-setting 8-hour, 56-minute space walk were reopened. With the hatches open, Jim Voss - the station's newest resident after a 10:45 p.m. swap-out with Sergei Krikalev - joined Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd and Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev on board the station. Only one more crew swap remains to complete the station's change of watch. Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd will trade places with Expedition Two Flight Engineer Susan Helms on Tuesday. The hatches were closed once again at 5:39 a.m. today after 8 hours, 24 minutes. So far, the hatches between the shuttle and station have been open for a total of 10 hours, 27 minutes.

Meanwhile mission specialists Paul Richards and Thomas, with help from Helms, checked out the space suits they will wear for a planned 6-hour, 30-minute space walk scheduled to begin at 10:47 p.m. Monday. Richards and Thomas will finish up a task that was deferred from the first space walk, connecting cables on the Lab Cradle Assembly that will be the mounting location for the station's robotic arm when it arrives next month. Next, they'll install an External Stowage Platform on the hull of Destiny and hook up cables that will provide heater power to spare equipment that will be stored there. They'll place the first of such spares, a Pump and Flow Control Subassembly that regulates ammonia coolant flow, on the platform. The pair also will inspect the Floating Potential Probe that is designed to measure the electrical charge on the outside of the station but has not been providing data since being temporarily shut down for repositioning of the station's Soyuz escape vehicle in February.

Discovery and the International Space Station remain in excellent condition at an altitude of about 235 statute miles.

With help from shuttle robotic arm operator Jim Kelly and space walk choreographer Susan Helms, Richards and Thomas installed a stowage platform for spare station parts and attached a spare ammonia coolant pump to the platform. They also finished connecting several cables put in place by Astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms during their nearly nine-hour-long space walk Sunday. The cables, on the exterior of the Destiny laboratory module, will provide power and control of the station's Canadian-built robotic arm. Known as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, the arm will be delivered and installed by the STS-100 crew in April.

Commander Jim Wetherbee deactivated and then reactivated Leonardo's DC-to-DC power converters and checked out the Lab Cradle Assembly, installed during the first space walk, which eventually will be used to connect the station's large truss structure to Destiny's hull.

Richards and Thomas also scaled the station to the top of its 240-foot-wide solar arrays and were successful in engaging a fourth latch for the port-side array's structural brace. Several other get-ahead tasks also were accomplished during the space walk, including a check of a Unity module heater connection and inspection of an exterior experiment called the Floating Potential Probe that has been operating intermittently. The space walkers reported they did not see any status lights on the probe; investigators on the ground will use that information to continue troubleshooting.

"Well, Andy, we were on top of the world there for a while," Richards said as the pair began returning to the airlock. "Yes, we were," Thomas replied.

The second and final planned space walk of the mission began at 11:23 p.m. Monday, and concluded at 5:44 a.m. Tuesday. The 6-hour, 21-minute space walk brings the total exterior construction time on the station to 124 hours over the course of 18 space walks, and the total EVA time in shuttle program history to 392 hours, 36 minutes over 62 separate space walks.

As Richards and Thomas worked outside the station, returning Expedition One Cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev - now members of the Discovery crew - exercised inside the shuttle to help prepare their bodies for the return to Earth after four and a half months in orbit.

Inside the station, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, and Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineer Jim Voss continued to unload the Leonardo logistics module. Among the five tons of gear being transferred is the first station research rack, the Human Research Facility, which will be installed inside Destiny this evening.

Discovery's crew will go to bed at 9:42 a.m. CST, and will get an extra half-hour of sleep before being awakened at 6:12 p.m. All station and shuttle systems are working well.

Expedition Two Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms spent most of their workday installing the Space Station Remote Manipulator System workstation inside the Destiny Laboratory. They activated a portion of the system that will be used to route television pictures from docked space shuttles to the control station for use by arm operators. The remaining activation work will start after Discovery undocks Saturday evening.

The Canadian-built appendage will be delivered on the STS-100 mission - set to launch April 19 - and attached to the Lab Cradle Assembly that Voss and Helms bolted to the side of the Destiny Laboratory Module during their space walk Sunday. The station arm's first job will be to install the airlock on STS-104, set for launch this June.

Load master Andy Thomas coordinated the transfer of equipment, supplies, trash and luggage between the station and shuttle with the help of Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and fellow Mission Specialist Paul Richards. All five tons of equipment and supplies delivered aboard the Leonardo Module have been transferred to the station. The crew is now concentrating on packing trash, unneeded equipment and luggage in the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module for return to Earth.

Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Jim Kelly answered questions posed by reporters in the area of Burlington, Iowa, Kelly's hometown. Wetherbee, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Usachev and Thomas talked with school children in Dundee, Scotland, who are following the mission because the crew is carrying a piece of the sailing research ship RRS Discovery launched 100 years ago at Dundee.

The astronauts and cosmonauts also took some time off to rest after a busy week and to continue handing over duties aboard the scientific outpost.

The station and shuttle are orbiting in fine fashion at an altitude of 240 statute miles following a 50-minute long series of reboost maneuvers. The gentle, repeated firings of Discovery's smallest steering jets took place a day earlier than originally planned to ensure that the complex would remain clear of a piece of equipment that floated free during the mission's first space walk. Further tracking has shown that the 10.5-pound Portable Foot Restraint Attachment Device is about 20 miles below and in front of the shuttle-station complex. Two more reboosts for the station are planned Friday and Saturday.

The crew was awakened to the Irish song "The Rising of the Moon" performed by The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, selected for Discovery's Pilot Jim Kelly by his family in honor of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow.

Two more full days of joint work remain before Discovery is scheduled to undock from the complex Sunday night. Tonight, in addition to packing work, Commander Jim Wetherbee will perform a third and final reboost of the station's altitude, gently firing the shuttle's small steering jets to raise the spacecraft by a little over two statute miles. Altogether, Discovery will leave the station a little more than seven miles higher than when it arrived.

Wetherbee, Kelly, Paul Richards and Andy Thomas will take a break from other activities to field questions from NBC News' Weekend Today Show and ABC News at 5:20 a.m. Saturday. An hour later, at 6:22 a.m., Cosmonauts Yury Usachev, commander of the second International Space Station crew, Yuri Gidzenko, pilot of the first station crew, and Sergei Krikalev, flight engineer for the first station crew, will field questions from media gathered at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow.

The shuttle and station remain in excellent condition orbiting Earth every 92 minutes.

Mission Specialist Andy Thomas coordinated the loading of about a ton of materials and equipment into the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module with help from Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialist Paul Richards. The astronauts are to exit the module at 8:42 p.m. CST, deactivate it at 9:02 p.m. and uncouple it from the station at 11:52 p.m. Using the shuttle's robotic arm, they are to latch it in the payload bay at 12:57 a.m. Sunday.

Commander Jim Wetherbee set in motion the third and final reboost of the station's altitude by executing a programmed series of gentle steering jet firings. The third reboost raised the shuttle altitude two statute miles, making the total reboost imparted during the STS-102 mission a little more than seven statute miles.

Departing Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev concentrated on sharing their handover notes with Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss.

Kelly, Richards and Thomas took time to answer questions from NBC News' Weekend Today Show and ABC News. About an hour later, Usachev, Gidzenko and Krikalev talked with reporters gathered in the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow.

Discovery is scheduled to undock from the station at 10:32 p.m. Sunday. When Discovery undocks from the station, it will mark the end of the Expedition One crew's 136-day stay onboard the outpost, beginning with their Nov. 2 arrival onboard a Soyuz spacecraft.

The shuttle and station remain in excellent health orbiting Earth at an altitude of approximately 235 statute miles.

After crewmate Paul Richards released the 16 bolts and associated latches holding the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to its Common Berthing Mechanism port, Thomas received a "go" to begin moving the module with the shuttle's 50-foot-long robotic arm about 4:40 a.m. CST. About 90 minutes later, at 6:08 a.m., the Italian-built module was securely latched back in its its cargo bay cradle, ready for return to Earth.

Leonardo's unberthing occurred about four hours later than originally scheduled, due in part to a leaky vacuum access hose used to depressurize the small vestibule between Unity and Leonardo. The hatches between the two modules were closed and the vestibule was depressurized, but after a 15 minute leak check period, ground controllers noted pressure in the vestibule was not at expected levels. Expedition Two flight engineer Jim Voss reported he had found - and tightened - a loose fitting on one of those hoses. The crew was then asked to repeat the depressurization procedure, a process that takes approximately 45 minutes, to verify good seals between the modules. With that action complete, Thomas was given a go to proceed with the unberthing of Leonardo.

Also overnight, Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Jim Kelly verified the performance of Discovery's general purpose computers. Ground analysis indicated that Saturday morning's quick power-up of two of those computers would not affect their performance, but flight controllers elected to perform the on-orbit procedure to validate the software load.

Discovery's crew is scheduled to begin its eight-hour sleep period at 8:42 a.m., waking at 4:42 p.m. The Expedition Two crew will go to sleep one hour later, at 9:42 a.m. and will awaken at 5:42 p.m. The hatches between Discovery and the ISS will be closed for the final time on this mission at 7:37 p.m. today following a final farewell between the STS-102 crew and the two Expedition crews. Discovery is set to undock from the ISS at 10:32 p.m. today, concluding a 136-day stay on board the station for its first resident crew - Commander Bill Shepherd, Soyuz Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev.

The hatches between the shuttle and station were closed for a final time at 8:32 p.m., about an hour after departing Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd passed responsibility for the station to Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev. As the hatches closed, Usachev, and flight engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms marked the start of their four-month stay on orbit. The previous Expedition crew - Shepherd and Cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev - are now headed home on board Discovery.

After the undocking -- which occurred as the two vehicles flew over Guyana, South America, and its capital of Georgetown -- Pilot Jim Kelly flew Discovery one-and-a-quarter turns around the space station before initiating a final steering jet separation burn at 11:48 p.m. CST. During the flyaround at a distance of 450 feet the crew recorded television and still images of the station's exterior.

The two vehicles were docked for a total of 8 days, 21 hours, 54 minutes, which brings the total time shuttles have been docked to the station to 55 days, 23 hours, 7 minutes. The hatches were open for a total of 142 hours, 22 minutes during three periods punctuated by space walk-necessitated closures.

Over the course of joint operations between the station and shuttle crews, Discovery Commander Jim Wetherbee, Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas and Paul Richards worked with the station crew unloading almost five tons of experiments and equipment from the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, and packing almost one ton of items for return to Earth. Discovery's space walkers - Voss and Helms, and Thomas and Richards -- also set the stage for continued expansion of the station by installing a platform that will be used to mount a Canadian-built robotic arm to the station next month.

After undocking, Discovery's crew spent the rest of the day exercising, talking with their families and enjoying some scheduled off-duty time. The shuttle crew will go to sleep at 8:12 a.m. and awaken at 4:12 p.m., while the station crew will begin its sleep shift at 3:30 p.m., awakening at midnight.

Landing is scheduled for 11:56 p.m. CST Tuesday (12:56 a.m. EST Wednesday), but Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale and his team are carefully watching weather conditions at the primary landing site. With low clouds, possible rain and gusty crosswinds expected at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Hale decided to activate support at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Wednesday when conditions are expected to be at their best this week.

The first landing opportunity begins with a deorbit burn on Orbit 200 at 10:50 p.m. CST Tuesday and ends with landing at 11:56 p.m. in Florida. The second opportunity on Orbit 201 starts with an engine firing at 12:26 a.m. CST Wednesday and ends with landing in Florida at 1:31 a.m. The third chance calls for an Orbit 202 deorbit burn at 1:57 a.m. CST Wednesday and landing at Edwards at 3:02 a.m. The final prospect of the crew day begins with an engine firing at 3:33 a.m. CST Wednesday and ends with a California landing at 4:38 a.m.

Wetherbee and the shuttle crew - Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas and Paul Richards - spent the day packing for the trip home and completing checks of the steering jets and flight controls the shuttle will use. They also fired Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines to adjust the shuttle's orbit and optimize landing opportunities, testing the braking rockets they use to begin re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

ISS Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd and crewmates Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev took time out from their packing to answer questions posed by three television news reporters. Tonight, the returning Expedition One crew members will set up the reclining seats to help ease the stress of landing on their bodies, which have not experienced gravity for four and a half months.

Meanwhile, the Expedition Two crew aboard the station - Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss - began settling into their new home and shift schedule. Awakening at midnight Tuesday, they began their daily exercise regimen and set up the station toilet for use by its first female crew member.

The crew aboard Discovery is scheduled to begin its sleep shift at 7:42 a.m. CST and wake up to begin final landing preparations at 3:42 p.m. Bedtime for the station crew is 3:30 p.m. CST.

There are two landing opportunities available this evening for Discovery's return to the Kennedy Space Center. The first landing opportunity begins with a firing of the Shuttle's orbital maneuvering system engines at 10:50 p.m. for an 11:56 p.m. landing. A second opportunity, one orbit later, begins with a deorbit burn at 12:26 a.m. Wednesday, resulting in a landing at 1:31 a.m. Weather at the Kennedy Space Center is not expected to be favorable today, however, with the possibility of high winds, rain and clouds in the vicinity of the Shuttle Landing Facility. The backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in Calif. was called up for landing support this morning and weather conditions are expected to be acceptable there for landing. Flight controllers will continue to monitor the weather at both landing sites and Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale is expected to make a decision regarding landing opportunities shortly after 10:30 p.m. today.

Discovery's astronauts are scheduled to begin their deorbit preparations at 6:53 p.m. today - configuring the shuttle's computers for reentry, deactivating the galley and installing seats on the flight deck and middeck. The payload bay doors are scheduled to be closed at 8:10 p.m.

If given a go to land, Wetherbee and the shuttle crew - Pilot Jim Kelly and Mission Specialists Andy Thomas and Paul Richards will perform a series of procedures that will lead to the firing of the Shuttle's large orbital maneuvering engines later this evening, beginning the crew's hour-long reentry to Earth. Discovery is also bringing home the first occupants of the International Space Station, Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd and Russian crewmates Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. After 141 days in space, the Expedition One crew will re-enter Earth's atmosphere reclining on seats designed to help ease the stress of gravity and landing on their bodies.

On board the International Space Station, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss spent a relatively quiet day in space as they enjoyed another day of light activities.

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

STS-102 Commander Jim Wetherbee fired Space Shuttle Discovery's engines at 12:26 a.m. CST to begin the shuttle's descent. With assistance from Pilot Jim Kelly, he made a smooth landing on Runway 15, the 17th night landing in the shuttle program and the 12th night landing at Kennedy. The shuttle had traveled a total of 5,357,762 statute miles.

Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, riding home in reclining seats to lessen the stress, felt the tug of gravity for the first time in 141 days following their Oct. 31, 2000, launch to the station aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. The Expedition One crew will be reunited with their families in Florida this morning, and then begin a medical and rehabilitation period of about 45 days.

Wetherbee, Kelly and Mission Specialists Paul Richards and Andy Thomas had spent a total of 12 days, 19 hours, 49 minutes on orbit. They had conducted a successful rendezvous and docking with the space station complex, supported two space walks to facilitate the first use of the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and installed a station robot arm anchor point. They also witnessed the first station crew changeout, unloaded 5 tons of equipment and experiments, and packed up a ton of unneeded station equipment and trash for return to Earth on Discovery.

All seven spacefarers are expected to return home to Houston on Thursday afternoon.

Entry Flight Director Wayne Hale made the a decision to land in Florida just before midnight after cloudy skies and gusty winds had cleared due to a low-pressure system that raced through the Shuttle Landing Facility area faster than expected Tuesday night.

On board the International Space Station, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss were expected to hear word of their compatriots' landing later this morning. The trio spent a relatively quiet day in space getting acclimated to their news surroundings and preparing themselves for what will soon be a busy schedule of activiities continuing the outfitting of the space station and beginning scientific research in its Destiny laboratory.