Ross Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Two children. Born in Crown Point, Indiana, USA. US Air Force US Air Force

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 9 - 1980. Active Entered space service: 19 May 1980. Number of Flights: 7.00. Total Time: 58.04 days. Number of EVAs: 9.00. Total EVA Time: 2.44 days.

NAME: Jerry L. Ross (Colonel, USAF)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born January 20, 1948, in Crown Point, Indiana. Married to the former Karen S. Pearson of Sheridan, Indiana. They have two children. He enjoys softball, racquetball, woodworking, photography, model rocketry, and flying. His mother, Mrs. Phyllis E. Ross, resides in Crown Point. His father, Donald J. Ross, is deceased. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Morris D. Pearson, reside in Sheridan, Indiana.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Crown Point High School, Crown Point, Indiana, in 1966; received bachelor of science and master of science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 1970 and 1972, respectively.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of the Association of Space Explorers, the Air Force Association, Pi Tau Sigma; and a lifetime member of the Purdue Alumni Association.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster; named a Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School and recipient of the Outstanding Flight Test Engineer Award, Class 75B. Recipient of 5 NASA Space Flight Medals. Awarded the American Astronautical Society, Victor A. Prather Award (1985 and 1990), and Flight Achievement Award (1992 and 1996).

EXPERIENCE:

Ross, an Air Force ROTC student at Purdue University, received his commission upon graduation in 1970. After receiving his master's degree from Purdue in 1972, he entered active duty with the Air Force and was assigned to the Ramjet Engine Division of Air Force Aero-Propulsion Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He conducted computer-aided design studies on ramjet propulsion systems, served as the project engineer for captive tests of a supersonic ramjet missile using a rocket sled track, and as the project manager for preliminary configuration development of the ASALM strategic air-launched missile. From June 1974 to July 1975, he was the Laboratory Executive Officer and Chief of the Management Operations Office. Ross graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School's Flight Test Engineer Course in 1976 and was subsequently assigned to the 6510th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. While on assignment to the 6510th's Flight Test Engineering Directorate, he was project engineer on a limited flying qualities evaluation of the RC-135S aircraft and, as lead B-1 flying qualities flight test engineer, was responsible for the stability and control and flight control system testing performed on the B-1 aircraft. He was also responsible, as chief B-1 flight test engineer, for training and supervising all Air Force B-1 flight test engineer crew members and for performing the mission planning for the B-1 offensive avionics test aircraft.

STS-61-B Astronaut Jerry Ross at threshold of airlock compartment following EVA... Credit- NASA

Ross has flown in 21 different types of aircraft, holds a private pilot's license, and has logged over 2,800 flying hours, the majority in military aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

In February 1979, Ross was assigned to the Payload Operations Division at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center as a payload officer/flight controller. In this capacity, he was responsible for the flight operations integration of payloads into the Space Shuttle.

Ross was selected as an astronaut in May 1980. His technical assignments since then have included: EVA, RMS, and chase team; support crewman for STS 41-B, 41-C and 51-A; spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) during STS 41-B, 41-C, 41-D, 51-A and 51-D; Chief of the Mission Support Branch; member of the 1990 Astronaut Selection Board; and Acting Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. A veteran of five space flights, Ross has logged 850 hours in space, including nearly 23 hours on four spacewalks.

Ross was a mission specialist on the crew of STS 61-B which launched at night from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 26, 1985. During the mission the crew deployed the MORELOS-B, AUSSAT II, and SATCOM Ku-2 communications satellites, conducted two 6-hour space walks to demonstrate Space Station construction techniques with the EASE/ACCESS experiments, and operated numerous other experiments. After completing 108 orbits of the Earth in 165 hours, STS 61-B Atlantis landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 3, 1985.

Ross then flew as a mission specialist on the crew of STS-27, on board the Orbiter Atlantis, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1988. The mission carried a Department of Defense payload, as well as a number of secondary payloads. After 68 orbits of the earth in 105 hours, the mission concluded with a dry lakebed landing on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 6, 1988.

Ross flew as a mission specialist on STS-37 aboard the Orbiter Atlantis. The mission launched from KSC on April 5, 1991, and deployed the 35,000 pound Gamma Ray Observatory. Ross performed two space walks totaling 10 hours and 49 minutes to manually deploy the stuck Gamma Ray Observatory antenna and to test prototype Space Station Freedom hardware. After 93 orbits of the Earth in 144 hours, the mission concluded with a landing on Runway 33, at Edwards Air Force Base, on April 11, 1991.

From April 26, 1993 through May 6, 1993, Ross flew as Payload Commander/Mission Specialist on STS-55 aboard the Orbiter Columbia. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Runway 22, after 160 orbits of the Earth in 240 hours. Nearly 90 experiments were conducted during the German-sponsored Spacelab D-2 mission to investigate life sciences, material sciences, physics, robotics, astronomy, and the Earth and its atmosphere.

Most recently, Ross was a mission specialist on STS-74, NASA's second Space Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. STS-74 launched on November 12, 1995, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on November 20, 1995. During the 8 day flight the crew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis attached a permanent docking module to Mir, conducted a number of secondary experiments, and transferred 1-1/2 tons of supplies and experiment equipment between Atlantis and the Mir station. The STS-74 mission was accomplished in 129 orbits of the Earth, traveling 3.4 million miles in 196 hours, 30 minutes, 44 seconds.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:

Colonel Ross will serve on the crew of STS-88, the first Space Shuttle mission to carry hardware to space for the assembly of the International Space Station. He is scheduled to conduct 3 space walks on this mission. Launch is targeted for July 1998.

• 27 November 1985 Flight: STS-61-B. Flight Up: STS-61-B. Flight Back: STS-61-B. Flight Time: 6.88 days.

• 2 December 1988 Flight: STS-27. Flight Up: STS-27. Flight Back: STS-27. Flight Time: 4.38 days.

• 5 April 1991 Flight: STS-37. Flight Up: STS-37. Flight Back: STS-37. Flight Time: 5.98 days.

• 25 April 1993 Flight: STS-55. Flight Up: STS-55. Flight Back: STS-55. Flight Time: 9.99 days.

• 12 November 1995 Flight: STS-74. Flight Up: STS-74. Flight Back: STS-74. Flight Time: 8.19 days.

• 3 December 1998 Flight: STS-88. Flight Up: STS-88. Flight Back: STS-88. Flight Time: 11.80 days.

• 8 April 2002 Flight: STS-110. Flight Up: STS-110. Flight Back: STS-110. Flight Time: 10.82 days.

19 May 1980 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 9 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..

If weather and spacecraft systems cooperate, Discovery will touch down at KSC at 11:04 a.m. Central time after having flown 134 orbits of the Earth. Deorbit ignition of the shuttle orbiter's maneuvering engines will occur at 9:53 a.m. CST to slow the spacecraft's forward velocity allowing it to drop back into the Earth's atmosphere. Returning as an unpowered hypersonic glider, Discovery will follow a ground track taking it across Texas and Louisiana before it sweeps out over the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida.

Weather was predicted to be marginal, near the acceptable limits for crosswind and with scattered to broken clouds.

There are two landing opportunities to KSC Saturday and two to Edwards Air Force Base, California. Discovery has a second chance to land at KSC at 12:45 p.m. CST or could land at Edwards at either 12:35 p.m. or 2:17 p.m. Weather at Edwards was predicted to be good on Saturday but unacceptable on Sunday. KSC weather will be marginal both days. Earlier Friday, entry Capcom Susan Still told Discovery Commander Curt Brown that the plan would be to try both opportunities into KSC before considering the Edwards landing.

If Discovery lands Saturday, the seven astronauts will spend the night at the landing site before returning to Houston mid-day on Sunday to a welcome at Ellington Field.

Earlier today, Commander Curt Brown and Pilot Steve Lindsey spent a good part of their day checking out important spacecraft systems for entry and landing. One of the three auxiliary power units was turned on to provide hydraulic power for a test of the orbiter's aerodynamic surfaces. The reaction control jets were test fired and the shuttle's communications equipment tested. One of the RCS jets leaked during testing and was isolated. It will have no effect on entry and landing.

At the end of the crew day, the Ku-band antenna which provides television and high-rate data relay was stowed for the duration of the mission.

If weather and spacecraft systems cooperate, Discovery will touch down at Kennedy Space Center at 11:04 a.m. Central time after completing 134 orbits of the Earth. Deorbit ignition of the orbiter's maneuvering engines will occur at 9:53 a.m. CST to slow the spacecraft's forward velocity, allowing it to drop back into the Earth's atmosphere. Returning as an unpowered hypersonic glider, Discovery will follow a ground track taking it across Texas and Louisiana before it sweeps out over the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida.

Weather in Florida is predicted to be near but within acceptable margins for crosswinds and clouds.

Today there are two landing opportunities at KSC and two to Edwards Air Force Base, California. Discovery has a second chance to land at KSC at 12:45 p.m. CST or could land at Edwards at either 12:35 p.m. or 2:17 p.m. Weather at Edwards is predicted to be good on Saturday but unacceptable on Sunday. KSC weather will be near margins both days. Flight controllers will try both opportunities into KSC before considering the Edwards landing.

Although a normal entry, approach, and landing are expected, precautionary plans are in place to accommodate a deployment of Discovery's drag chute during reentry. The Shuttle Training Aircraft that performs routine weather observations prior to landing and during final approach will also visually monitor Discovery's drag chute compartment.

If Discovery lands today, the astronauts will spend the night at KSC before returning to Houston mid-day on Sunday to a welcome at Ellington Field.

With temperatures hovering around 28 degrees Fahrenheit, the Proton and the Zarya Control Module were delivered by rail car to its launch pad with everything on track for launch Friday at 11:40 a.m. Baikonur time (1:40 a.m. EST, 12:40 a.m. CST, 6:40 a.m. GMT, 9:40 a.m. Moscow time). The Proton's rollout to the launch pad occurred after Russian and American officials met to give final approval for the launch, following a review of vehicle and booster systems.

The early forecast for Friday at Baikonur called for overcast skies and subfreezing temperatures, no constraint to the launch of an unmanned Russian booster. The Proton's three stages will be fueled with asymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide about six hours before launch. American flight controllers belonging to the Houston Support Group at the Russian Mission Control Center outside of Moscow have joined a team of flight controllers from the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center to keep tabs on final preparations for the start of the multinational project.

Khrunichev built Zarya under contract to prime contractor, Boeing, and will work in concert with American flight controllers to monitor Zarya's systems during launch and its early life on orbit. Another team of U.S. flight controllers will operate out of the International Space Station Flight Control Room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to provide round-the-clock support for the lifetime of the International Space Station.

The Proton rocket weighs one and a half million pounds fully fueled and generates more than 2 and a half million pounds of thrust from its three stages during the 9 minute, 47 second-ride from launch pad to spacecraft separation.

Within seconds after the Zarya is separated from the Proton's third stage, a pre-programmed sequence of events will occur when the module's computers command the deployment of critical antennas and the Zarya's solar arrays, providing the new module with a wingspan of 80 feet for the generation of electricity.

Zarya's initial orbital altitude will be about 220 by 115 statute miles. The altitude will be circularized next week following a series of maneuvering system engine firings, placing Zarya in the proper orbit for the arrival of the shuttle Endeavour almost three weeks from now, carrying the Unity connecting module, or node. Zarya will be grappled by Endeavour astronaut Nancy Currie through the use of the shuttle's robot arm during the first assembly mission, STS-88, and will be mated to Unity, setting the stage for three spacewalks by Jerry Ross and Jim Newman to connect cables and install equipment for future Station construction flights.

Zarya began its third full day in space in an orbit 226 by 156 statute miles. During two separate engine firings, the module's orbit was raised on both sides placing it in a 248 by 194 statute mile orbit. One final altitude adjust maneuver is scheduled for early Tuesday morning that will nearly circularize the orbit at about 250 statute miles.

Zarya will then drift for two weeks, slowly dropping its orbit to an altitude of about 242 statute miles at which Endeavour and its crew will arrive on Dec. 6.

The first engine firing aboard Zarya occurred at 8:26 this morning Moscow time (12:26 a.m. EST). The 31 second burn changed the module's velocity by 21 feet per second. The second burn about an hour later, lasted nearly two minutes and changed the velocity by 78 feet per second.

System checks continued as well throughout the day as Zarya moved within tracking range of several linked ground sites across Russia. Each ground station pass allowed flight controllers in the Zarya control room and NASA's Houston Support Room to monitor the data flowing from computers onboard the module.

Other highlights from on-orbit checkouts aboard Zarya included completion of checkouts of its motion control system in the 'free flight' mode; confirmation of on board systems to monitor atmospheric temperatures inside the module; a test of the fire detection and suppression system, and deactivation of the Gas Analyzer.

The Gas Analyzer continues to show slightly higher humidity levels, but controllers believe this may be a simple calibration error. The unit's manufacturer is being consulted on this possibility.

Battery number 1 continued to indicate a higher charge than the other five batteries. Telemetry data is being analyzed to determine the discrepancy.

Yesterday's activities showed an indication of a possible failure to deploy of two small antennae elements in the Teleoperator Control System (TORU) manual docking system on Zarya. Russian specialists will conduct a more complete systems test later this week that will provide more data on the antenna system.

Plans for tomorrow in addition to the orbit raising burn, controllers will test Zarya's multiplexer-demultiplexer and monitor systems already checked out.

During times when Zarya is not actively performing systems checks or other operations, it is put into a slow spin to conserve fuel and maintain moderate temperatures on the spacecraft. Now at its higher altitude, Zarya is circling Earth every 91 minutes at inclination of 51.6 degrees to the equator.

Zarya remains in excellent condition overall with only a few minor mechanical issues under analysis that are not expected to pose any problems for the planned operations of the International Space Station. For one of the problems -- a potential glitch with the energy storage and discharging capability of one of six batteries housed in the Zarya module - flight controllers are planning to carry replacement parts aboard Endeavour that could be installed by the shuttle crew. The battery is still usable with the glitch, and even without any repairs performed, the problem would not be expected to have an impact on Endeavour's mission or following station operations, although it would decrease the amount of backup energy and battery systems available.

Station mission managers have decided to load two small replacement electronics boxes for the battery system, a current converter unit and a storage battery current regulator unit (referred to by the Russian acronym PTAB), aboard Endeavour along with associated cabling. A decision on whether the crew will be asked to install any of the equipment during the flight has not been made.

Tests of the battery system during the weekend have led Russian flight controllers to suspect the problem may most likely be within the storage battery current regulator unit (PTAB). Endeavour Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut, has performed a similar repair on equipment aboard the Mir Space Station.

Flight controllers also plan to request that Endeavour's crew use television cameras to view the antennas on Zarya associated with the Telerobotically Operated, or TORU, manual docking system. Recent signal-strength testing has indicated these antenna may be fully deployed, although the deployment cannot be confirmed from other data. The crew will inspect the antennas during a standard television survey of Unity and Zarya planned on Day 4 of Endeavour's flight. Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman are planned to traverse near the area of one of the TORU antennas during the third spacewalk planned for STS-88, as they move to the far end of Zarya to install a handrail. No spacewalking activities involving the antenna are planned, however.

The TORU system is a manually operated docking system that serves as a backup for the Kurs automated docking system, which is the primary docking system to be used for the arrival of the Service Module in summer 1999.

During times when Zarya is not actively performing systems checks or other operations, it is put into a slow spin to conserve fuel and maintain moderate temperatures on the spacecraft.

Zarya is circling Earth once every 92 minutes in an orbit of 250 by 240 statute miles.

During the last two days, work has centered on monitoring Zarya's systems and uplinking a minor software change to the computer to rectify a time synchronization problem with the ground. All other systems are performing as expected with no major activities planned prior to Saturday when Endeavour arrives with the Unity connecting module to begin the assembly of the new station.

The few minor technical issues still under analysis pose no problems for the shuttle mission, or the International Space Station's future performance. The potential glitch with one of Zarya's six batteries remains under investigation and replacement parts are being carried aboard Endeavour that could be installed by the shuttle crew, if the decision is made by mission managers to do so. The battery is still usable, and even without repairs, is not expected to have an impact on station operations.

The crew plans to use Endeavour's cameras to document the outside of Zarya during the final phase of the rendezvous and after its capture by the shuttle's robot arm to evaluate the position of two small antennae that make up part of the Telerobotically Operated (TORU) manual docking system. Experts on the ground believe the antennae are fully deployed based on recent signal strength tests, but won't be able to confirm their theory until camera views are available from Endeavour. In any case, the shuttle mission and its three spacewalks will continue as planned and no additional work by spacewalkers Jerry Ross and Jim Newman is foreseen at this time.

Weather forecasters continue to predict a 60 percent chance against launching with low clouds and rain showers expected during the brief 5 minute launch window that opens at 3:59 a.m. EST.

During times when no operational systems checks are conducted, Zarya is placed into a slow spin to conserve fuel and maintain moderate temperatures on the spacecraft. It is presently circling the Earth once every 92 minutes in an orbit of 249 by 241 statute miles.

The next launch attempt is tentatively scheduled for 2:36 a.m. CST Friday.

With the countdown clock at T-minus 4 minutes, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana reported the alarm, forcing the countdown to be placed on hold. At a briefing following the launch attempt, Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Don McMonagle, said the alarm turned out to have been triggered by a sudden, brief dip in pressure that had never been seen before in one of the shuttle's three hydraulic systems.

The pressure change occurred when the auxiliary power units that provide pressure to the hydraulic lines shifted from low to high pressure after startup, McMonagle said, but then the pressure readings returned to normal and held steady. As hydraulic and instrumenta-ion engineers analyzed the data to identify what had caused the master alarm to sound and to assure that the systems were safe for flight, time ran out on Endeavour's ability to reach the Zarya control module, orbiting 240 statute miles above the Earth.

Once the launch had been postponed, support teams safed all of Endeavour's systems, drained the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the external tank and began recycling the shuttle for Friday's launch attempt. Engineers will review all of the data from today's launch attempt to ensure that all systems are functioning well.

Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev exited the shuttle and returned to crew quarters to rest for tomorrow's launch opportunity. The astronauts will awaken at mid-afternoon today and will sit down for the traditional prelaunch meal at 9:30 p.m. CST.

The countdown will resume at the T-11 hour mark at 10:46 a.m. CST, and. NASA Television coverage will begin at 9 p.m. CST tonight.

On December 5 at 22:25 GMT Nancy Currie unberthed the Unity space station node from the payload bay using the RMS arm. She then moved the Unity to a position docked to the Orbiter Docking System in the payload bay in readiness for assembly with the Russian-launched Zarya FGB ISS component. After rendezvous with the Zarya FGB module, on December 6 at 23:47 GMT Endeavour grappled Zarya with the robot arm, and at 02:07 GMT on December 7 it was soft docked to the PMA-1 port on Unity. After some problems hard dock was achieved at 02:48 GMT. Unity and Zarya then formed the core of the future International Space Station. Ross and Newman made three space walks to connect cables between Zarya and Unity, on December 7, 9 and 12. On the last EVA a canvas tool bag was attached to the exterior of Unity to provide tools for future station assembly workers. Docking cables were disconnected to prevent Unity and Zarya from inadvertently undocking. Following an internal examination of the embryonic space station, Endeavour undocked at 20:30 GMT on December 13. The SAC-A and Mightysat satellites were ejected from the payload bay on December 14 and 15. Deorbit burn was December 16 at 03:48 GMT, and Endeavour landed at 04:53:29 GMT, on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center.

Payloads included:

• Sill: RMS arm No. 303
• Bay 1-2: Tunnel Adapter 002
• Bay 3-4: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock (Boeing/Palmdale)
• Bay 7-13: Unity (Node 1) (Boeing/Huntsville), including the PMA-1 and PMA-2 docking adapters (Boeing/Huntington Beach)
• Bay 2 Port: GABA adapter with SAC-A satellite
• Bay 4 Starboard: Carrier with Tool Stowage Assembly
• Bay 5 Port: GABA adapter with two PFR space walk platforms and one PFR stanchion.
• Bay 5 Starboard: GABA adapter with two more PFR space walk platforms and one PFR stanchion.
• Bay 6 Port: GABA adapter with Mightysat
• Bay 6 Starboard: APC carrier with TCS laser rendezvous sensor
• Bay 7 Starboard: APC carrier with TCS laser rendezvous sensor
• Bay 13 Port: GABA adapter with SEM-7 and G-093 canisters
• Bay 13 Starboard: GABA adapter with IMAX Cargo Bay Camera

A series of precise maneuvering burns in the early portion of the flight will help Endeavour continue its pursuit of the Zarya control module. The orbital chase between the two spacecraft is scheduled to conclude on Sunday afternoon when Cabana maneuvers the Shuttle into close proximity with the first piece of the International Space Station and Currie uses the Shuttle's mechanical arm to grapple Zarya and dock it to the Unity connection module which will already be mated to the orbiter's docking mechanism.

Events onboard Endeavour during the first half of today's activities have included the two EVA crewmembers - Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman - performing a checkout of the SAFER or Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue unit. SAFER is a mini maneuvering system that can provide self-rescue capability for a spacewalker if they inadvertently become separated from the spacecraft during a spacewalk. Also this afternoon, the crew downlinked video taken inside the crew cabin during their ascent to orbit.

Later today Ross and Newman will setup the Orbiter Space Vision System equipment which provides the mechanical arm operator precise data on the position and alignment of hardware located in the area of the payload bay.

Also in preparation for the three planned spacewalks, the cabin pressure inside Endeavour will be lowered from its normal 14.7 psi setting down to 10.2. The lower cabin pressure will shorten the amount of time Newman and Ross have to breath pure oxygen to prevent nitrogen bubbles from forming in their blood stream, a condition commonly referred to as "the bends" while they operate in the 4 psi environment of their spacesuits.

Other activities later today will have Newman and Ross doing verification checks of the EVA suits they will use during their space walks as well as preparing the airlock area that they will use to transition into Endeavour's payload bay.

Currie will power up the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) mechanical arm to make sure it is ready to support Unity module unstow and installation activities on Saturday afternoon. She will also use the RMS arm to perform a photo survey of the payload bay.

There are no issues being worked by either the crew or the flight control team allowing all attention to remain focused on the mission objectives of this first ISS assembly flight.

The STS-88 crew will finish their first full day of work early tomorrow morning and will begin a sleep rest period at 5:36 a.m. Saturday morning with their next wake up call coming eight hours later at 1:36 p.m. tomorrow.

Following a smooth launch earlier today, Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev began preparing the orbiter for 12 days of operations to begin construction of the International Space Station. Endeavour is carrying the first American-built component of the station -- a connecting module named Unity -- in its cargo bay.

Just half an hour after lift-off, the shuttle's payload bay doors were opened. A few minutes later, the crew was given the go-ahead to begin orbit operations - preparing the vehicle for space flight activities. The Shuttle's KU-band antenna, which provides high data-rate and television transmissions, was successfully deployed. Crewmembers also activated the Hitchhiker payload, which includes the Mightysat and SAC-A satellites that will be deployed late in the mission.

The first of six engine firings to refining Endeavour's orbit and close the distance from the Zarya control module, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 20, also was completed early this morning. Final rendezvous maneuvers to bring Zarya (the Russian word for "sunrise") in close proximity with Endeavour is planned to take place on Sunday afternoon. Endeavour currently trails Zarya by approximatley 1,300 miles and is closing on Zarya at a rate of 675 miles per orbit.

All systems aboard Zarya, which will provide the initial control and command capabilities for the space station, continue to function well with the minor exception of one of six battery charging systems. Endeavour is carrying replacement parts for the system in the event they are needed.

After they wake up to begin Flight Day 2, Endeavour's crew will conduct a check out of the shuttle's robot arm that will be used to remove the Unity module from the payload bay and connect one of Unity's Preassurized Mating Adapters (PMA) to the orbiter's docking mechanism. The robot arm will also be used to grapple Zarya and dock it to the PMA located at the other end of the Unity connection module.

Other Flight Day 2 activities will include a check-out of the spacesuits that will be used in three spacewalks planned for the mission, as well as checks of the SAFER unit. SAFER or Simplified Aid for EVA Resuce, is a mini-maneuvering unit that can provide self-rescue capability for a spacesuited crew member who inadvertently separates from a spacecraft during a spacewalk.

All systems aboard Endeavour continue to perform well with the Shuttle currently flying in a 200 by 118 mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes.

The STS-88 launch begins the largest cooperative space construction project in history. Endeavour is scheduled to rendezvous with the U.S.-funded and Russian-built Zarya control module on Dec. 6. Zarya, which in Russian means sunrise, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan, on Nov. 20.

After reaching orbit, Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev began preparing for the first of several engine firings that will bring Endeavour within robot arm's reach of Zarya. Along the way, the crew will use the same 50-foot-long arm Dec. 5 to remove the Unity module from the payload bay and connect it to the shuttle's docking hatch. Crew members will use the robot arm to grapple Zarya about 5:48 p.m. CST Dec. 6 and dock it to one of Unity's two Pressurized Mating Adapters.

Newman and Ross are scheduled to conduct the first of the mission's three space walks Dec. 7. The space walks will connect electrical and communications lines between Unity and Zarya, and prepare Unity's systems for activation.

At launch, Zarya was making its 222nd orbit of the Earth about 240 statute miles above the Kennedy Space Center. Russian flight controllers in Mission Control Korolev reported that all systems aboard Zarya, which will provide the initial control and command capabilities for the space station, were functioning well with the minor exception of one of six battery charging systems. Endeavour is carrying replacement parts for the system in the event they are needed.

After Endeavour undocks from the International Space Station on Dec. 13, the crew will deploy two small technology demonstration satellites called MightySat and the Argentine Satelite de Aplicaciones/Scientifico-A.

The astronauts are scheduled to begin their sleep period at 7:36 a.m. CST, and will awaken at 3:36 p.m. for their first full day in space.

At about 3:50 p.m. Central time, Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will power up the shuttle's 50-foot-long robotic arm and use it to grapple the Unity connecting module, a procedure scheduled to begin at 4:06 p.m. Currie then will hoist the 12.8-ton Unity module out of Endeavour's cargo bay and carefully place it in position perpendicular to the shuttle. One of the mating adapters on Unity, called pressurized mating adapter 1 (PMA-1), will be latched to Endeavour's docking system using a mechanism identical to that used during Shuttle/Mir dockings. Currie will maneuver Unity precisely to within a few inches of the Shuttle's docking mechanism and then put the mechanical arm into a "limp" mode. Commander Bob Cabana will then fire Endeavour's thrusters to force the mechanisms together.

Preparations for tomorrow's capture of Zarya will continue as the crew equalizes the air pressure between Endeavour and Unity's mating adapter. The astronauts then will enter the adapter to install caps on air vents between PMA-1 and Unity, and then readjust the Shuttle and mating adapter's air pressure to about 10.2 pounds per square inch. This equalization of air pressure between Unity's mating adapter and Endeavour's cabin is done to provide better structural performance of the docking mechanism during the capture and attachment of Zarya.

The crew also will perform a check of connections with the docking mechanism located on the other end of Unity, called PMA-2, that will attach to Zarya. For the check, the docking ring on that adapter will be extended and retracted using controls located on the aft flight deck of Endeavour. Unity and its two mating adapters will form a complex 15 feet wide and about 36 feet long - taller than a 3-story building - towering above Endeavour's payload bay.

This evening, astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman will check out the various tools they will use during the three scheduled spacewalks to be conducted later in the flight, and begin an early set-up of the Shuttle airlock in preparation for that first spacewalk on Monday. Later, Commander Bob Cabana and Newman will check equipment needed for tomorrow's rendezvous with Zarya, including laptop computer displays and a hand-held laser ranging device. Checks also will be performed of the Orbiter Space Vision System, an alignment aid for operations with the Shuttle's mechanical arm that will be used during the capture and attachment of Zarya.

Newman and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev also will take time to take part in an on-line interview by the New York Times at 11:01 p.m. Central time.

Endeavour is trailing Zarya by about 7,600 statute miles, narrowing the distance to the Russian-built module by almost 500 statute miles with each orbit. Endeavour is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 202 statute miles. An engine firing will be performed late today to raise the Shuttle's orbit and adjust the rate at which Endeavour is closing in on Zarya, which is currently in an orbit of about 240 statute miles. All of Endeavour's systems are in excellent condition.

With the Russian-built Zarya Control Module orbiting about 16,000 nautical miles in front of Endeavour, Mission Specialist Nancy Currie successfully checked out the 50-foot-long robot arm she will use to grapple the Unity connecting module late this afternoon. Currie will lift Unity out of the shuttle's cargo bay and carefully position it perpendicular to the shuttle, ready for latching to the Orbiter Docking System in the front portion of the bay. Currie moved the robot arm around the cargo bay last night, offering an extensive television survey of Unity and its pressurized mating adapters.

Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman successfully tested all three of the space suits carried on Endeavour. They will use two of the suits during three space walks to hook up electrical cables and other connectors between Unity and Zarya. With the help of Pilot Rick Sturckow, the space walk choreographer on the flight, Ross and Newman also checked out a pair of jet-powered backpacks they will wear during the space walks as a precaution in the event they become untethered during their work in the void of space.

Endeavour's cabin pressure also was lowered to 10.2 pounds per square inch to set the stage for the space walks, which begin late Monday afternoon.

Commander Bob Cabana monitored the work as the astronauts extended the outer ring of the docking system on which Unity will be mounted later today, and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev checked out other gear that will be used during Sunday's rendezvous to catch Zarya for its mating to Unity.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 202 statute miles, preparing to climb to about 240 statute miles for the rendezvous Sunday with Zarya. All of Endeavour's systems are functioning normally.

The astronauts are scheduled to be awakened at 1:36 p.m. Central time to begin their third day of work on orbit.

Deftly manipulating the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm, Currie placed Unity just inches above the extended outer ring on Endeavour's docking mechanism, enabling Commander Bob Cabana to fire downward maneuvering jets, locking the shuttle's docking system to one of two Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMA's) attached to Unity. The mating occurred at 5:45 p.m. Central time, as Endeavour sailed over eastern China.

The new connecting node, to which the Russian-built Zarya control module will be mated later today, towered almost three stories over Endeavour's cargo bay, awaiting the arrival of the Zarya, which was launched from Kazakstan on Nov. 20 on a Russian Proton rocket.

After Unity was attached to the docking mechanism, the vestibule running between Unity's PMA-2 and the Orbiter Docking System was pressurized and the hatch was opened. Cabana and Jerry Ross entered the new module's adapter for the first time and placed caps over vent valves in preparation for the crew's entrance into Unity later this week.

The astronauts also extended and retracted the docking ring on PMA-1, to which the Zarya module will be mated after it is grappled by Currie around 5:46 p.m. Central time this afternoon.

The grapple of Zarya will follow a carefully choreographed rendezvous by Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow. Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev will use a number of rendezvous tools and hand-held lasers to provide range and closure rate information as Endeavour narrows the gap between itself and the Zarya. The rendezvous will begin about 12:30 p.m., with the final major maneuver planned for about 3:14 p.m. This terminal initiation burn will place Endeavour on a path to arrive about 500 feet below Zarya for the start of the final phase of the rendezvous.

Working from the aft flight deck, Cabana will manually guide Endeavour in a looping maneuver to a point 250 feet above Zarya, where he will slowly close in on the 21-ton module for its grapple by Currie. Zarya will be the heaviest object ever handled by the shuttle's robot arm, exceeding the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory by about 7,000 pounds.

Once Zarya is mated to Unity, the International Space Station components will rise some 76 feet above Endeavour's bay and have a combined weight of 35 tons. When it is fully assembled a few years from now, the new station will span the length of a football field and have a mass of more than a million pounds.

While Endeavour orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 241 by 134 statute miles, Zarya continues in orbit at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all of its systems operating in excellent fashion.

Before the astronauts began an abbreviated 7-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time, Cabana fired the shuttle's jets to keep a safe distance from a spent Delta II rocket casing during the sleep period. U.S. Space Command had alerted Mission Control that the shuttle would be passing near the debris from a Nov. 6 launch of communications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and Flight Director John Shannon decided to have Cabana make the maneuver to ensure the crew's sleep would not need to be interrupted.

When the crew awakens at 10:36 a.m. to begin preparations for their rendezvous, Endeavour will be about 20 miles farther away from Zarya than originally planned. However, the rendezvous burn schedule will not be affected.

Endeavour's crew will begin the final stages of a rendezvous with the Zarya module with an engine firing planned at about 1:30 p.m. CST, when Endeavour is at a point about 55 statute miles behind Zarya. That burn will slow the rate at which the shuttle is closing on the module. The final phase of the rendezvous will begin at about 3:15 p.m. CST, when Endeavour performs a terminal phase initiation engine firing, or TI burn, at a point about 9 statute miles behind Zarya. The TI burn will place Endeavour on a path to arrive about 600 feet directly below Zarya on its next orbit of the Earth. With the three-story-high Unity connecting module latched upright in the shuttle's payload bay, Cabana will take manual control of the shuttle at about 4:45 p.m. CST as it moves to within about a half-mile of Zarya. Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow will execute a sequence of maneuvers that will bring Endeavour from 600 feet below Zarya along a circular path, passing about 350 feet in front of it and finally reaching a point about 250 feet directly above the module.

From there, Cabana will fly Endeavour down toward the Zarya, relying on views from television cameras in the shuttle's payload bay to align the module, since Unity obstructs the view out of the cockpit windows. Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will operate Endeavour's outstretched arm for the capture of Zarya. Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev will assist with the rendezvous, using a hand-held laser to provide range and closing rate information as Endeavour narrows the gap with Zarya.

When the edge of Endeavour's payload bay is within 10 feet of Zarya, Currie will use the robotic arm to capture the module, about 5:46 p.m. CST. She then will maneuver it into a position precisely aligned above Unity's docking mechanism. The 21-ton Zarya will be the most massive object ever moved with the robotic arm, more than three tons heavier than the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory that was released using the arm on Space Shuttle mission STS-37.

Once the Zarya and Unity docking mechanisms are aligned and positioned only inches apart, Currie will put the arm into a "limp" mode while Cabana fires Endeavour's thrusters to force the mechanisms together, about 7:36 p.m. CST.

Zarya is 41.2 feet long and 13.5 feet wide at its widest point. Once attached to Unity, the new station will tower about 76 feet above Endeavour's payload bay and have a solar array span of about 78 feet and a combined mass of approximately 80,000 pounds. When fully assembled in 2004, the International Space Station will be larger than a football field and have a mass of more than one million pounds.

Following the mating of Unity with Zarya, Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross will begin early preparations for the crew's entry into the new station, planned for Thursday, and begin setting up equipment for tomorrow's planned spacewalk by Ross and Newman to connect power and data cables between Unity and Zarya.

Using the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm, astronaut Nancy Currie plucked Zarya out of orbit at 5:47 p.m. Central time Sunday, more than 16 days after it was launched on a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan as the first component of the new station. After slowly and carefully aligning Zarya's docking mechanism with a comparable mechanism on Unity's Pressurized Mating Adapter-1, Commander Bob Cabana fired Endeavour's downward jets at 8:07 p.m. to drive the two large modules together.

Initial attempts to firmly latch Zarya and Unity together while the shuttle's robot arm was attached to Zarya's grapple fixture were unsuccessful. But after Currie ungrappled the module, hooks and latches between Zarya and Unity engaged at 8:48 p.m., forming a tightly sealed, 35-ton, 76-foot-tall structure rising from Endeavour's payload bay, the size of a seven-story building.

Currie used the robot arm cameras to conduct a detailed survey of Zarya, focusing on two antennas belonging to the Telerobtically Operated Rendezvous System (TORU), which failed to deploy following launch on Nov. 20. Flight controllers concluded that the pyrotechnic pins holding the antennas in place actually fired, but the antennas did not unfurl as planned. The antennas, which are part of a backup navigational aid system, are emitting signal strength in their current position and pose no problem for future station operations. But flight controllers are considering having astronaut Jerry Ross conduct a more thorough survey of the antennas while affixed to the end of the shuttle's robot arm during the first space walk he and Jim Newman will conduct Monday night. Mission managers have not decided whether Ross and Newman will be called upon to manually deploy the antennas on a future space walk.

The first space walk, scheduled to begin about 4:30 p.m. Central time today, may begin earlier if Ross and Newman are ready to depressurize Endeavour's external airlock ahead of schedule. During the planned 6 ½-hour excursion, Ross and Newman will hook up electrical cables and connectors between Zarya and Unity, enabling power to flow into the U.S. component for the first time. That will allow Unity's avionics, computers and heaters to be activated to set the stage for the ultimate shifting of command and control and the origination of the power for the International Space Station from the Russian components to the U.S components once the American-built Destiny laboratory is joined to the station in February 2000.

Russian and American flight controllers also are continuing discussions on the possible swap out of a suspect component for one of Zarya's six batteries. The battery is not discharging properly in its automatic mode. A replacement unit is available for installation if mission managers approve the plan. The battery is operational and poses no threat to future station operations even if left in its current configuration.

The astronauts are scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time and will be awakened at 11:36 a.m. to prepare for the first space walk of the flight.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Today's space walk, scheduled to begin about 4:30 p.m. Central time, may begin earlier if Ross and Newman are ready to depressurize Endeavour's external airlock ahead of schedule. This space walk, which will last 6-1/2 hours, will focus on connecting computer and electrical cables between Unity, the two mating adapters attached to either end of Unity, and Zarya. In all, Ross and Newman will make about 40 connections during the spacewalk. This will enable power to flow to Unity for the first time in orbit and will permit Unity's avionics, computers and heaters to be activated.

Ross and Newman will begin today's space walk by readying Endeavour's payload bay for their activities. Then, as Ross rides on the shuttle's robot arm, he will install mating plugs and jumper cables to reroute power through Unity while Newman releases cables from where they were secured for launch on the mating adapter between Unity and Endeavour, called Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2). Ross and Newman will begin "plugging in" the cables and locking them into place, and then pull a thermal cover over each connector. The space walkers will next install a safety slidewire that will hold their tethers as they connect cables between the modules.

They will repeat the cable connection process again as they make connections between Unity, Zarya and the mating adapter that attaches Unity to Zarya, labeled Pressurized Mating Adapter 1 (PMA 1). Finally, they will remove thermal covers from Unity's two exterior computers, known as multiplexer-demultiplexers (MDMs), which are mounted on PMA 1.

Once the cables are connected, Russian ground controllers will send commands to Zarya to begin providing power to Unity, powering up Unity's exterior computers. At that point, Commander Bob Cabana and Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev will send commands to the exterior computers to prepare them to accept ground commands that will activate systems aboard Unity.

Before reentering Endeavour's airlock at the conclusion of the space walk, Ross and Newman may, if time allows, perform a close-up inspection of the Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous System (TORU) on the Zarya module. Although flight controllers are confident the pyrotechnic pins holding the TORU antennas did deploy as expected, the two antennas did not unfurl as planned following Zarya's launch on Nov. 20. The antennas are part of a backup rendezvous system and are emitting signal strength in their current position and pose no problem for future station operations. At this point, there are no plans for Ross and Newman to attempt to manually deploy the antennas on a future space walk.

Early this morning, Russian and American flight controllers decided to have Krikalev replace a battery current converter unit in Zarya suspected of not working properly. A spare unit is carried aboard Endeavour. Krikalev has performed a similar activity in the past during stays on the Mir space station and will perform the task during the time the crew is inside Zarya on Thursday.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Following yesterday's 7-hour, 21-minute spacewalk, Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Jerry Ross will relax today beginning preparations for tomorrow's spacewalk, the second of three planned during this mission. Ross, Newman and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie and Sergei Krikalev will set up and prepare equipment for tomorrow's spacewalk. This evening, all six astronauts will gather to review procedures prior to Ross and Newman's second excursion into space tomorrow.

Flight controllers will conduct command checks between Mission Control, Houston, and Mission Control, Moscow, to verify the ability to command Zarya from Houston via the Moscow control center. In preparation for the crew's entry into the International Space Station on Thursday, the mating adapter between Unity and Zarya, Pressurized Mating Adapter 1 (PMA 1) will be pressurized via remote commands from Moscow and checked for leaks. Flight controllers in Houston also will power on filters and fans and monitor temperatures inside Unity as heaters warm up the module prior to Thursday's entry.

Cabana and Sturckow will fire Endeavour's primary reaction control jets shortly after 2:30 CST this afternoon for about 22 minutes to raise the altitude of the International Space Station by about 5-1/2 statute miles. An opportunity for a second reboost maneuver is available later in the flight as well.

At 5:41 p.m. this evening, Cabana, Sturckow and Currie will be interviewed by ABC News/Discovery Channel and MSNBC. Once these activities are completed, the crew will have off-duty time starting around 7:30 CST this evening.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Working smoothly and ahead of schedule, Ross and Newman mated 40 cables and connectors running 76 feet from the Zarya control module to Unity as the 35-ton station towered over the cargo bay of the shuttle Endeavour.

The two veteran space walkers began their excursion at 4:10 p.m. Central time, quickly pressing ahead with the connection of crucial data and power cables between Zarya and Unity. Ross and Newman also installed handrails and other hardware that will help space walkers move around the station on upcoming assembly missions, completing all of the connections within three hours. At various times, robot arm operator Nancy Currie moved Ross and Newman around the station modules on the end of the shuttle's manipulator system to conduct their work.

As Endeavour and the International Space Station passed over Russian ground stations, commands were sent from the Russian flight control team to activate a pair of Russian-American voltage converters, enabling power to flow from Zarya to Unity for the first time. International Space Station flight controllers in Houston saw Unity's systems come to life at 9:49 p.m., confirming perfect electrical continuity between the two modules. Unity's systems were then activated, including a pair of data relay boxes serving as the brain and nervous system for the U.S.-built component. Near the end of the space walk, Ross removed thermal covers from the relay boxes after Unity's heaters began to control the module's temperature.

With Pilot Rick Sturckow serving as the space walk choreographer, Newman was raised on the robot arm to the Zarya module to take a close look at a pair of Russian rendezvous antennas that did not fully deploy following the module's launch on Nov. 20. The so-called TORU system serves as a backup to the automatic Kurs system on Zarya, providing navigational data for spacecraft approaching the Russian component for docking. Russian flight controllers say the TORU antennas are emitting signal strength, but space station managers wanted additional engineering data so they can decide on a course of action for deploying the antennas.

Shortly before the space walk ended, Ross broke the record for most cumulative extravehicular activity time by a U.S. astronaut of 29 hours and 41 minutes previously held by former astronaut Tom Akers during five space walks on STS-49 and STS-61. Ross, who completed his fifth space walk tonight, now has 30 hours and 8 minutes of time spent in the void of space.

About an hour after Endeavour's astronauts were scheduled begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time, Cabana asked if the wake-up time could be postponed. Mission Control agreed, and the crew now will be awakened at 12:06 p.m. to begin its sixth day in orbit. The astronauts plan to raise the altitude of the International Space Station by about 3 1/2 statute miles Tuesday by firing Endeavour's jets in the first of two planned reboost maneuvers. The crew also will take half a day off to relax and enjoy the view from orbit after a busy start to the first International Space Station assembly flight.

Endeavour and the station are orbiting at an altitude of 242 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

Commander Bob Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow fired Endeavour's steering jets in a staccato fashion for about 22 minutes Tuesday to gradually raise the highest point of the shuttle and attached station's orbit about 5½ statute miles to 248 miles. Throughout its lifetime, the station's altitude will be periodically raised to maintain a proper orbit.

With all Endeavour and station systems in excellent shape, astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman prepared for a second space walk later today to set up a communications system in the Unity module that will allow U.S. flight controllers to monitor Unity's systems. The so-called S-band early communications system includes two boxy antennas that will be installed on the outside of Unity as one of today's first tasks, and avionics gear that will be set up inside Unity on Thursday after astronauts enter the module for the first time. A test of the system's videoconferencing capability is planned after Thursday's installation.

Ross and Newman also will remove launch restraints over four hatchways on the Unity connecting node to which future station modules and an airlock will be attached. The hatchways, or Common Berthing Mechanisms, serve as docking ports for new hardware that will be delivered to the station over the next 18 months.

Near the end of today's space walk, Newman will use a grappling hook in an attempt to unfurl one of two balky antennas on Zarya's backup rendezvous navigation system. The antennas would be used to transmit range and closure rate information to approaching spacecraft heading for dockings with the Russian control module. It is believed that stiff cabling or interference from thermal blankets on Zarya may be preventing the antennas from fully extending, even though pyrotechnic pins have fired to enable the antennas to roll free from their spools. Pending final approval from mission managers, Newman will attempt to free the antenna on the nadir port of Zarya today. If successful, the same procedure may be used to free the antenna on the zenith port Saturday.

Before the astronauts began an eight-hour sleep period, International Space Station flight controllers in Houston reported that Unity's lower Pressurized Mating Adapter had warmed enough to permit astronauts to enter the module Thursday. Heaters were activated for the first time late Monday after power from Zarya was connected to the U.S. component.

The astronauts are scheduled to be awakened at 10:36 a.m. Central time to begin space walk preparations. The space walk by Ross and Newman is scheduled to get under way about 3 p.m. Central time, but could begin as soon as the astronauts are ready to depressurize Endeavour's airlock.

Today's 6-1/2-hour space walk by Newman and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross is scheduled to begin about 3 p.m. Central time, but may start earlier if the astronauts are ready to depressurize Endeavour's airlock ahead of schedule. Ross and Newman will install two box-like antennas on the outside of the Unity module that are part of the S-band early communications system. The antennas will allow U.S. flight controllers to monitor Unity's systems. Additional S-band electronics gear will be set up inside Unity on Thursday after astronauts enter the module for the first time. The spacewalkers also will connect an external video cable between Zarya and the S-band system. This cable will support early communications videoconferencing from Zarya. The system's videoconferencing capability will be tested after Thursday's installation. Newman, positioned on the end of Endeavour's robot arm, then will install a sunshade over one of Unity's externally mounted computers.

Ross and Newman will remove launch restraints over four hatchways on the Unity module to which future station modules, an early exterior framework and a cupola will attach. The hatchways, or Common Berthing Mechanisms, serve as docking ports for new hardware that will be delivered to the station during the next 18 months. Then Newman will install insulating covers on the trunnion pins that held Unity in the Shuttle's cargo bay.

If time allows toward the end of today's spacewalk, and pending final approval from U.S. and Russian managers, Ross and Newman may try to free one of two balky antennas on the TORU system, Zarya's backup rendezvous navigation system. Still attached to the robot arm, Newman would use an extendable, 10-foot-long grappling hook in an attempt to unfurl the antenna. Flight controllers believe that stiff cabling or interference from thermal blankets on Zarya may be preventing the antennas from fully extending, even though pyrotechnic pins have fired to enable the antennas to roll free from their spools. If Newman is successful, the same procedure may be used to free the second antenna on Saturday during the third and final spacewalk.

The last task for today will be to disconnect and stow cables that were used by Endeavour's crew to control the docking mechanism, called the Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS), that docked Zarya to Unity earlier in the mission. With that system never again to be opened, the cable used by Endeavour to control it, which runs along Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA 2), will be disconnected on this spacewalk as a "get-ahead task" for future assembly missions when PMA 2, currently the adapter to which Endeavour is docked, will be moved. Ross and Newman also will spend some time bundling umbilicals on the exterior of Zarya and ensuring that the markings used by the Space Vision System robotic arm alignment aid are not obstructed by any cables.

After the spacewalk is complete, Currie will use Endeavour's robot arm to survey the payload bay and videotape all of the Space Vision System targets on Unity and Zarya.

Systems on board Endeavour and the International Space Station continue to operate smoothly.

Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will continue their work removing access panels inside Unity and unstowing hardware that will be used by visiting astronauts on future assembly missions.

Commander Bob Cabana, Sturckow and Currie will work inside Unity to locate part of a missing mid-bay rack pivot fitting, which was lost yesterday. Following removal of launch restraint bolts, the lock ring fell behind the panel during attempts to install it on the rack. The pivot fitting will allow the entire equipment rack to be tilted forward.

After turning off the lights and ventilation system, Endeavour's crew will close the hatch and leave Zarya for the final time just before 4 p.m. Central time. Prior to closing the hatch, Endeavour's life support systems will be used to increase the station and Shuttle atmospheric pressure to 15 pounds per square inch, a little above sea level pressure on Earth. Then, as each hatch is closed in the station, the crew will lower the pressure slightly to keep positive air pressure on the inside of each hatch to assist in sealing the hatches. Dessicant bags will be installed in Unity's portable, battery-operated fans to remove humidity from the module and the portable fans will be left running. The crew's final exit from Unity is set for just after 5:30 p.m. today.

After they have completed exiting the station, Cabana and Sturckow will lower the pressure inside Endeavour from 14.7 pounds per square inch to 10.2 pounds per square inch in anticipation of tomorrow's spacewalk. The lower air pressure will reduce the amount of time Newman and Ross must spend breathing pure oxygen before beginning their spacewalk on Saturday and going to the lower pressure of their spacesuits, 4.3 pounds per square inch of pure oxygen.

The oxygen pre-breathe protocol removes nitrogen from the bloodstream to prevent a potentially dangerous malady commonly referred to as the "bends," caused when nitrogen bubbles form in the bloodstream. Newman and Ross also will pre-breathe pure oxygen from masks for about an hour today during the depressurization of Endeavour as part of the protocol.

Later, Newman will complete a performance evaluation of the Orbiter Space Vision System targets, part of an alignment aid for operations with the Shuttle's mechanical arm. Endeavour's crew will be interviewed by CNN and CBS News at 7:36 p.m. Central time.

Preparations will get under way late this evening for tomorrow's third and final spacewalk by Newman and Ross. With Sturckow's assistance, they will prepare the tools they will use, then check out the Simplified Aid for Extravehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) backpacks, which are a type of space "life jacket" that provides the capability for spacewalking astronauts to fly back to the station should they become untethered. During tomorrow's spacewalk, Ross will check out a new valve on the unit, firing the backpack's jets while remaining tethered to Endeavour.

Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent shape.

Jerry Ross and Jim Newman began the second of three planned space walks for the STS-88 mission at 2:33 p.m. Central time Wednesday, and immediately set out to install two boxy antennas on the side of the Unity module that will enable U.S. flight controllers to monitor that component's systems and provide basic videoconferencing for the first permanent occupants of the station in January 2000. The so-called "early" S-band communications system will be completed later today when the astronauts install hardware inside Unity. The system will provide more capability to retrieve data and telemetry from Unity, which otherwise would be available only as the new International Space Station passed over Russian ground stations.

Ross and Newman pressed ahead with the removal of launch restraint pins on the four hatchways on the body of Unity to which additional station modules and truss structures will be mated on future assembly missions. The two space walkers also installed a sunshade over Unity's two data relay boxes to ensure that they will be protected against harsh sunlight as the station circles the Earth.

Near the end of the space walk, Newman was hoisted to the Zarya control module on the end of Endeavour's robot arm so that he could use a grappling hook to free a backup rendezvous system antenna. After nudging the antenna with the grappling device, the pole popped out to its fully extended position as the shuttle passed over the northeast coast of Australia. The astronauts will attempt to free a duplicate antenna that is jammed on the other side of Zarya during their final space walk Saturday.

Ross and Newman returned to Endeavour's external airlock and began to repressurize it at 9:35 p.m., completing a 7 hour, 2 minute excursion. So far, they have worked outside Endeavour a total of 14 hours and 23 minutes. This was the third space walk for Newman and the sixth for Ross, who now has spent 37 hours, 10 minutes in the void of space -- a U.S. record.

Later today, the astronauts will enter the International Space Station for the first time as they open hatches to Unity and Zarya. If all goes as planned, the astronauts will climb aboard Unity around 1:15 p.m. Central time to complete installation of the S-band communication system in the U.S. component, and float into Zarya about an hour and a half later to unstow hardware that will be used by visiting astronauts on future assembly missions.

After arriving in Zarya, cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev will install a new battery charging unit in the Russian module. One of Zarya's six batteries has experienced a problem discharging stored energy in its automatic configuration. Krikalev has swapped out an identical component during two previous flights on the Russian Space Station Mir.

The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 2:36 a.m. Central time and be awakened at 10:36 a.m. to begin their eighth day of work in orbit.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are flying at an altitude of 248 statute miles with all of their systems in excellent shape.

After opening the hatch between Unity and the Pressurized Mating Adapter that connects it to Endeavour, the astronauts will climb aboard Unity about 1:15 p.m. CST. Once inside, Commander Bob Cabana and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman will install portable fans and lights. They also will complete installation of the S-band communication system in the U.S. component. Pilot Rick Sturckow will remove some access panels inside Unity and unstow hardware that will be used by visiting astronauts on future assembly missions.

Less than 90 minutes after entering Unity, the astronauts will float into the Zarya module, where Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev and Currie will install a new battery charging unit. One of Zarya's six batteries has experienced a problem discharging stored energy in its automatic configuration. Krikalev has swapped out an identical component during two previous flights on the Russian space station Mir. Sturckow and Currie also will remove launch restraint bolts from some of the panels inside Zarya. These bolts were installed before launch to ensure that none of the panels popped open during launch. Astronauts will remove some of these bolts today as a "get-ahead" task to expedite access to the panels during future space station assembly missions. Cabana, Ross and Newman will check out the early communications system's videoconferencing capability.

Ross, Newman and Krikalev then will begin transferring equipment and supplies from Endeavour for use by future inhabitants of the space station, including the first crew to begin a permanent human presence on the space station in January 2000.

During the entry into the International Space Station today, the crew will open a total of six hatches in the following order: the hatch on Endeavour's docking system; the hatch to Unity's mating adapter (designated PMA-2); the hatch to Unity; the hatch from Unity to the upper mating adapter (designated PMA-1); the hatch to Zarya's spherical pressurized adapter (PA); and finally, a hatch between the spherical pressurized adapter on Zarya and the main Zarya instrument module, Zarya's main compartment.

Prior to beginning the sequence of hatch openings, the crew will bring the air pressure inside Endeavour to 14.7 pounds per square inch, the same pressure as at sea level on Earth. Then, the crew will go through a procedure to equalize the air pressure on both sides of each hatch prior to opening them.

About 8:45 p.m. Central time this evening, the entire crew will gather inside the station for an interview with KNX Radio in Los Angeles and KARE-TV in Minneapolis, MN, Cabana's home town.

Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent shape.

After spending the day unstowing final items and installing air ducts for the Russian-built Zarya control module and the U.S.-built Unity module, Commander Bob Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev closed the hatch to Zarya at 4:41 p.m. Central time. They closed a series of additional hatches as the crew made its way back to Endeavour, finally swinging the door to Unity shut at 6:26 p.m. This ended the first excursion by astronauts into the international outpost, an excursion that lasted 28 hours and 32 minutes.

Left behind were tools, supplies and clothing for the crew that will visit the station during the next shuttle assembly flight in May, and for the first crew members who will establish a permanent occupancy of the station in January 2000.

Back inside Endeavour, the astronauts completed preparations for a third and final space walk Saturday by Jerry Ross and Jim Newman to tidy up cable configurations. Ross and Newman plan to disconnect several jumper cables used to route power from Zarya to Unity before permanent electrical connections were made and disconnect cables used to permanently lock the two modules' docking mechanisms together. In addition, tool bags will be stowed on the side of Unity's uppermost Pressurized Mating Adapter for use by space walkers Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry on the STS-96 assembly mission in May.

Near the end of Saturday's space walk, Ross plans to use a grappling hook to try to free the second of two jammed antennas that are part of Zarya's backup rendezvous system. Just as Newman did on Wednesday, Ross will use the device to pry the balky antenna free to its fully extended position while attached to the end of Endeavour's robot arm.

The space walk is scheduled to begin about 3:06 p.m. Central time Saturday, but could get under way earlier if Ross and Newman are ahead of schedule in their space walk preparations.

With all of their work complete, Endeavour's crew members will undock from the newly outfitted station at 2:25 p.m .Sunday, leaving the 35-ton complex to fly on its own for the next five months. Through an S-band communications system installed in Unity by the astronauts, station flight controllers will be able to monitor the health of Unity and Zarya as the complex orbits the Earth.

The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 2:36 a.m. Central time Saturday and will be awakened at 10:36 a.m. to begin space walk preparations.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at and altitude of 246 statute miles with all of their systems in excellent shape.

Reflecting the international cooperation involved in building the largest space complex in history, Commander Bob Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev opened the hatch to the U.S.-built Unity connecting module at 1:54 p.m. Central time Thursday and floated into the new station together.

The rest of the crew followed and began turning on lights and unstowing gear in the roomy hub to which other modules will be connected in the future. Each passageway within Unity was marked by a sign leading the way into tunnels to which new modules will be connected.

About an hour later, at 3:12 p.m., Cabana and Krikalev opened the hatch to the Russian-built Zarya control module, which will be the nerve center for the station in its embryonic stage. Joined by Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Nancy Currie, Cabana and Krikalev hailed the historic entrance into the International Space Station and said the hatch opening signified the start of a new era in space exploration.

Ross and Newman went right to work in Unity, completing the assembly of an early S-band communications system that will allow flight controllers in Houston to send commands to Unity's systems and to keep tabs on the health of the station with a more extensive communications capability than exists through Russian ground stations. The astronauts also conducted a successful test of the videoconferencing capability of the early communications system, which will be used by the first crew to permanently occupy the station in January 2000. Newman downlinked greetings to controllers in the station flight control room in Houston and to astronaut Bill Shepherd, who will command the first crew and live aboard the station with Krikalev and Cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko.

Krikalev and Currie replaced a faulty unit in Zarya which controlled the discharging of stored energy from one of the module's six batteries. The battery had not been working properly in its automatic configuration, but the new unit was functioning normally shortly after it was installed.

The astronauts also unstowed hardware and logistical supplies stored behind panels in Zarya, relocating the items for use by the shuttle crew that will visit the station in May and Shepherd's expedition crew. Late this afternoon, the astronauts will complete their initial outfitting of the station.

The hatches to Zarya and Unity will be closed before Endeavour undocks from the new station Sunday, leaving the new complex to orbit the Earth unpiloted.

The astronauts begin an eight-hour sleep period at 2:36 a.m. Central time this morning and will be awakened at 10:36 a.m. to begin their ninth of day in orbit.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are circling the globe every 90 minutes at an altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems operating in excellent shape.

This afternoon's spacewalk, set to begin about 3:06 p.m. CST, could get under way earlier if Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and Jim Newman are ahead of schedule in their space walk preparations. Today's activities will be devoted mostly to tasks that ready the station for future assembly work.

The crew's first job will be to release some cable ties on four cables connected on an earlier space walk, three located on Unity's upper mating adapter and one on its lower adapter, to relieve tension on the lines. Flight controllers noted the cable tension from camera views of the station, and they are concerned that leaving the cables as they are would not allow enough play in them to accommodate cyclical heating and cooling that occurs between orbital night and day. The space walkers also will check an insulation cover on one cable connection on the lower Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA 2) to make sure it is fully installed.

Ross and Newman then will attach a bag of tools - wrenches, power grip tools, ratchets and foot restraints - on the side of Unity's upper mating adapter (PMA 1). Astronauts Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry will use these tools during their space walk next May during the STS-96 assembly mission. Ross and Newman also will inspect bubbling paint that has been noted on some of the Orbiter Space Vision System targets on Unity.

Next, the space walkers will disconnect cables that the crew used to operate the docking mechanism on Unity's upper mating adapter when Zarya was docked earlier in the mission. Also, Ross will use a 10-foot-long grappling hook to try to free the second of two jammed antennas that are part of Zarya's backup rendezvous navigation system. The first antenna was successfully deployed on a space walk Wednesday by Newman using the same method. After the antenna deploy, Ross will stow the grappling hook on the outside of Zarya, and he and Newman will install a handrail at the far end of the module.

Near the end of the space walk, after packing up their tools , the astronauts will do a detailed photographic survey of the space station from top to bottom. Finally, each astronaut will test fire the Simplified Aid for Extravehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) jet backpacks they are wearing, a type of space "lifejacket," that would allow an astronaut to fly back to the station if they should ever become untethered. During an earlier flight test on STS-86, a valve failed and prevented the propulsion jets on the backpack from firing. The valve was redesigned and extensively tested on the ground and today's in-flight test will assist in verifying the new design.

With the first steps in the orbital construction of the International Space Station completed, Endeavour is planned to undock from the new outpost at 2:25 p.m. CST on Sunday, leaving the 7-story, 35-ton complex to fly on its own for the next five months. Station flight controllers will be able to monitor the health of the station through an S-band communications system installed in Unity by the astronauts.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all systems operating normally.

Having begun its on-orbit assembly, Endeavour's astronauts are now preparing for their departure from the International Space Station this afternoon.

At 2:25 p.m. CST, Pilot Rick Sturckow will undock Endeavour from the station and back the shuttle away to a distance of 450 feet above the station before beginning a nose-forward fly-around just before 2:45 p.m. CST. During Endeavour's one and a half revolutions of the station, the astronauts will conduct a detailed photographic survey of the new outpost. About an hour later, Sturckow will fire Endeavour's jets to separate from the station, leaving it to fly unpiloted for the next five months. The next visit to the station will be by the STS-96 crew in May on an assembly and resupply mission.

Once Endeavour departs the area of the station, the crew will have a few hours of scheduled off-duty time. At about 8:15 p.m. CST, Commander Bob Cabana and Sturckow will fire one of Endeavour's large Orbital Maneuvering System engines for about 10 seconds as part of the SIMPLEX experiment, a Department of Defense study tracking Shuttle engine firings from various radar sites, this one from a site located in Peru. At about 8:30 p.m. CST, the entire crew will gather for interviews by ABC Radio, Associated Press Radio and the Associated Press.

Cabana, Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross will deploy the SAC-A satellite from Endeavour's payload bay around 10:30 p.m. CST. SAC-A is a small, self-contained, non-recoverable satellite built by the Argentinean National Commission of Space Activities. The cube-shaped, 590-pound satellite will test and characterize the performance of new equipment and technologies that may be used in future scientific or operational missions. The payload includes a differential global positioning system, a magnetometer, silicon solar cells, a charge-coupled device Earth camera and a whale tracker experiment.

Near the end of the crew's day, Ross, Newman and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev will stow some of the tools used during yesterday's space walk, as Mission Specialist Nancy Currie increases Endeavour's cabin pressure to 14.7 pounds per square inch.

All systems on board Endeavour and the space station remain in excellent shape as they orbit at an altitude of 247 statute miles.

The third and final space walk of the flight by astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman began at 2:33 p.m. Central time Saturday. Working close to the timeline, Ross and Newman accomplished all of the tasks planned for the excursion. The astronauts stowed a tool bag on the U.S.-built Unity connecting module and disconnected umbilicals used to drive the docking mechanisms that mated it with the Russian-built Zarya control module last week. They also installed a handrail on Zarya for use by future space walkers, and a made a detailed photographic survey of the station for review by engineers over the next several months.

Standing at the end of the shuttle's robot arm, Ross duplicated the accomplishment of Newman last Wednesday, freeing a jammed backup rendezvous system antenna on Zarya with a grappling hook. Ross found the antenna to be a bit stubborn, but after tapping it and nudging it several times, the antenna finally rolled out from its spool to the fully deployed position.

Before returning to Endeavour's airlock, Ross and Newman also tested out jet-powered backpacks they wore for use in the unlikely event they could become untethered during station assembly work. The jet packs seemed to use a bit more nitrogen gas than had been planned, but flight controllers said the engineering objectives of the brief test were met.

In all, Ross and Newman spent 21 hours and 22 minutes outside Endeavour in the initial assembly of the station. Ross now has completed seven space walks totaling 44 hours and 9 minutes, more than any other American space walker. Newman moved into third place on the all-time U.S. space-walking list, with a total of 28 hours and 27 minutes on four excursions.

After the space walk ended, Pilot Rick Sturckow depressurized the vestibule between Endeavour's docking system and the docking adapter at the base of Unity, setting the stage for today's undocking from the International Space Station at 2:25 p.m. Central time.

Sturckow will be at the controls of Endeavour during undocking, backing the shuttle away to a distance of 450 feet above the station before beginning a nose-forward fly-around. One and a half revolutions of the station are expected to provide ample time for the astronauts to conduct a detailed photographic survey of the outpost. Sturckow will fire Endeavour's jets at 3:52 p.m. to separate from the station, leaving it to fly unpiloted for the next five months. The next visit to the station will be by the STS-96 crew in May on an assembly and resupply mission.

Endeavour's astronauts began an eight-hour sleep period at 2:36 a.m. and will awaken at 10:36 a.m. Central time to begin preparations for undocking.

Endeavour and the station are orbiting at an altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

At the time of crew wake-up, Endeavour was about 222 statute miles ahead of the space station and pulling away from the station by about 12 statute miles per orbit. The SAC-A satellite, deployed by Commander Bob Cabana last night, trails Endeavour by about 35 statute miles.

Crew members will focus their activities today on preparing for their scheduled return to the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday night. Cabana and Pilot Rick Sturckow will spend a good part of the day checking out spacecraft systems for entry and landing. At about 2:30 p.m. CST, the commander and pilot will begin checkout of the flight control systems and the performance of aerodynamic surfaces and flight controls. About an hour later, the flight crew will conduct a hot fire test of Endeavour's reaction control system jets.

Shortly before 5 p.m. CST, the crew will gather for its traditional in-flight crew news conference talking with reporters at NASA centers and at Canadian Space Agency Headquarters in St. Hubert, Quebec.

After about 3 hours of off-duty time, Cabana, Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jerry Ross will eject another small satellite from a canister in Endeavour's payload bay. MightySat is a 705-pound U.S. Air Force/Phillips Laboratory satellite that will demonstrate several advanced technologies, including a composite structure, advanced solar cells, a microparticle impact detector, advanced electronics and a shock device. Deployment is set for 8:09 p.m. CST.

The crew will wrap up the day's activities as they begin configuring Endeavour's cabin and stowing equipment in preparation for tomorrow's planned landing. Just before12:30 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Sturckow will stow the Ku-band antenna, which provides high data-rate relay and television. The flight control teams in the Mission Control Center also are preparing for Tuesday's landing in Florida. Preliminary weather forecasts indicate possible scattered clouds and rain showers in the vicinity of the landing site for Tuesday's scheduled 9:54 p.m. CST landing.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 247 statute miles with all systems on the space shuttle and space station operating normally.

With Endeavour more than 340 miles in front of the new station, the astronauts tested the shuttle's aerosurfaces and steering jets to ensure the ship's controllability during reentry to the Earth's atmosphere. All of Endeavour's systems were declared in good working order, enabling the astronauts to stow equipment used during the flight in preparation for their high-speed homecoming.

International Space Station flight controllers report that all systems on the new complex are functioning normally as the station orbits the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles, the Unity module facing the Earth and the Zarya module facing deep space. The station was commanded to spin slowly at one revolution every 30 minutes to maintain the proper heating and cooling while it flies unpiloted for the next five months. The next shuttle assembly mission to the station is STS-96, scheduled for launch aboard Discovery in May.

Late last night, at 8:09 p.m. Central time, the astronauts completed the final task of the flight, deploying a 700-pound Air Force technology satellite called MightySat as Endeavour sailed over Indonesia. MightySat will send back data on the effect of the space environment on composite materials and advanced solar power cells.

The six astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. and be awakened at 11:36 a.m. to begin final landing preparations.

If all goes as planned, Endeavour's cargo bay doors will swing shut at 6:07 p.m., after which the astronauts will climb into their launch and entry suits and strap into their seats. Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Flight Engineer Nancy Currie will be joined on the flight deck for entry by Mission Specialist Jim Newman, while crew mates Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev will be seated down on the middeck.

Scattered to broken clouds and no rain showers are predicted for Kennedy Space Center at landing time. If the forecast holds, Entry Flight Director John Shannon will give the green light to fire Endeavour's twin braking rockets at 8:47 p.m. Central time. The deorbit burn will slow the shuttle by 349 feet per second, allowing it to descend back to Earth. Landing is scheduled at 9:54 p.m. Central time on runway 3-3 at the Shuttle Landing Facility to complete a 4.6-million-mile mission, the 10th night landing in shuttle program history.

A backup landing opportunity is available at KSC 90 minutes later, at 11:30 p.m. Central time (12:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday). Mission managers decided not to call up landing support at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for this evening's opportunities.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles, with all of its systems in excellent shape.

If weather cooperates, Endeavour will touch down at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:54 p.m. CST after completing 185 orbits of the Earth. A deorbit firing of the Shuttle's maneuvering engines will occur at 8:47 p.m. CST to slow the spacecraft's forward velocity, allowing it to drop back into the Earth's atmosphere. Returning as an unpowered, hypersonic glider, Endeavour will follow a ground track that takes it over the Mexico-Guatemala border and across the Gulf of Mexico, making U.S. landfall over the Ft. Meyers/Sarasota, Florida, area before heading in for a landing at runway 33.

If all goes as planned, Endeavour's cargo bay doors will swing shut at 6:07 p.m., after which the astronauts will climb into their launch and entry suits and strap into their seats. Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Flight Engineer Nancy Currie will be joined on the flight deck for entry by Mission Specialist Jim Newman, while crew mates Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev will be seated down on the middeck.

Forecasters are keeping a close watch on weather in the vicinity of the landing site, with current predictions calling for scattered clouds at 3,000 feet with a chance of showers within 30 miles of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Forecasters predict about a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather for the first of tonight's two landing opportunities.

If the forecast holds, Entry Flight Director John Shannon will give the green light to fire Endeavour's two orbital maneuvering system engines at 8:47 p.m. CST. The deorbit burn will slow the shuttle by 349 feet per second, allowing it to descend back to Earth. Landing is scheduled at 9:54 p.m. CST, completing a 4.6-million-mile mission.

Weather conditions are expected to be somewhat better for tonight's second landing opportunity at KSC, with forecasters indicating an 80 percent chance of favorable weather. For the second opportunity, a deorbit burn at 10:24 p.m. CST would see Endeavour land at 11:30 p.m. CST. Mission managers have decided not to call up landing support at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for this evening's opportunities. However, Edwards will be called up for backup landing support on Wednesday should landing at KSC tonight be waved off.

The crew will remain at KSC on Wednesday, returning to Houston's Ellington Field about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 246 statute miles with all of its systems in excellent shape.

While weather forecasts in the final days of the mission had indicated that rain showers might delay the astronauts return, the weather cleared, allowing Entry Flight Director John Shannon to give a "go" for the deorbit burn which occurred at 8:46 p.m. CST.

Tonight's landing at KSC marked the 10th night landing in the history of the Shuttle program. It was also the 17th straight landing at Kennedy Space Center and the 24th in the last 25 Shuttle missions to land at the Florida spaceport.

While Endeavour is back on firm ground, 246 miles above, the new International Space Station continues to orbit with all systems functioning normally. The current orientation of the ISS has the Unity module facing the Earth and the Zarya module facing deep space. The station is also in a slow rotation at one revolution every 30 minutes to maintain the proper heating and cooling. The next shuttle assembly mission to the station is STS-96, scheduled for launch aboard Discovery in May.

Cabana and his crewmates, Pilot Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jim Newman, Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev will remain in Florida until Thursday morning when they are scheduled to return to Houston. The STS-88 crew are scheduled to land at Ellington Field, near the Johnson Space Center at approximately 10:30 a.m. CST where they will be welcomed home with a crew return ceremony.

The two five-second engine firings, performed 45 minutes apart on December 21, slightly raised the station's orbit. The firings, which used both of Zarya's large thrusters simultaneously, checked the performance of the station software that will be used for docking with the Russian-provided Service Module, an early living quarters for the station. At this time, no further engine firings are planned prior to the start of a rendezvous with the Service Module next year.

The Service Module is targeted for a July 1999 launch aboard a Russian Proton rocket. Prior to the Service Module's launch, the Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to visit the station in May 1999, carrying supplies to be stored in the interior and a Russian-built spacewalkers' cargo crane to be installed on the exterior.

Following the engine tests, flight controllers in the Zarya Flight Control Room at Mission Control, Korolev - near Moscow, Russia - maneuvered the station back into a naturally stable spinning orientation to conserve propellant and moderate temperatures on the spacecraft. Called an X-nadir spin, the orientation has the Unity module pointed toward Earth and Zarya pointed toward deep space with the station slowly spinning a few tenths of a degree per second. It is the standard orientation for the station until the arrival of Discovery in May. About once each week, however, controllers turn on the station's steering jets and maneuver it into position to update the guidance system and perform other checkouts or activities as needed.

Other activities performed on the station this week included deep-cycling, individually fully discharging and then recharging, each of Zarya's six batteries. The battery deep-cycling procedure is a standard housekeeping activity that will be performed a couple of times each month to optimize the batteries' performance. Flight controllers also successfully tested the Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous (TORU) system on Zarya, a manually-operated backup rendezvous system for which two stuck antennas were freed by astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman during a spacewalk on Space Shuttle mission STS-88.

Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow continue to monitor the station around the clock. No major activities or checkouts are planned for next week, and all station systems are operating normally. The International Space Station is in an orbit with a high point of 256 statute miles and a low point of 248 statute miles, circling Earth once every 92 minutes.

Today's space walk - the 45th in space shuttle history and the fourth of the International Space Station era - began at 9:56 p.m. Central time Saturday night, and concluded at 5:51 a.m. Sunday, lasting 7 hours, 55 minutes. The longest spacewalk was conducted by STS-49 Astronauts Rick Heib, Pierre Thuot and Tom Akers, which lasted 8 hours, 29 minutes on May 13 and 14, 1992.

During today's spacewalk, Jernigan and Barry transferred and installed two cranes from the shuttle's payload bay to locations on the outside of the station. They also installed two new portable foot restraints that will fit both American and Russian space boots, and attached three bags filled with tools and handrails that will be used during future assembly operations. Once those primary tasks were accomplished, Jernigan and Barry installed an insulating cover on a trunnion pin on the Unity module, documented painted surfaces on both the Unity and Zarya modules, and inspected one of two early communications system antennas on the Unity.

Throughout the space walk, Jernigan and Barry were assisted by their crew mates as Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa operated the Shuttle's robot arm to maneuver Jernigan around Discovery's cargo bay, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette acted as "choreographer" of the spacewalk from Discovery's flight deck.

The excursion raised the total number of International Space Station era space walks to four, with the total time spent on construction activities now standing at 29 hours, 17 minutes. STS-88 Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman spent 21 hours, 22 minutes outside Endeavour during their three space walks.

The crew is scheduled to begin its sleep shift at 8:50 a.m. today and will receive a wake-up call from Mission Control at 4:50 p.m. The crew is scheduled to open a series of hatches connecting Discovery with the International Space Station and enter the new facility about 7:35 p.m. Central time to begin the transfer of equipment and logistical supplies from the Shuttle to the station. They'll also conduct repairs on battery charging systems in Zarya and a balky communications system in Unity.

Logistics transfer activities will dominate the on-orbit day as all crew members will moves supplies from the Spacehab module to designated locations in the International Space Station. By the end of docked operations, Discovery's crew will have transferred almost 3,000 pounds of items, including clothing, sleeping bags, water, medical support equipment, maintenance spares and computer support and maintenance equipment into the orbiting complex to support future resident crews. This transfer effort is being managed by Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa is managing this effort while Payette stands ready inside the station to receive the goods. At the start of today's work, the transfer was about 70 percent complete.

Payette and Commander Kent Rominger exchanged greetings and discussed the mission with Canada's Prime Minister Jean Cretien and Science Minister John Manley and also answered questions from students across Canada.

Later, at 11:00 p.m. CDT on NASA TV, the entire crew will answer questions from both U.S. and Canadian reporters.

Finally, at 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, Rominger, Pilot Rick Husband and Ochoa will be interviewed by Good Morning America, KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas and KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado. Rominger is a native of Del Norte, Colorado and Husband is a native of Amarillo, Texas.

Near the end of the day, Ochoa again will conduct a transfer status briefing with the ground to confirm the day's completed transfer tasks. The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 7:50 a.m. Wednesday and wake up to begin Flight Day Eight at 3:50 p.m.

Discovery and the International Space Station are in excellent health orbiting 240 miles above the Earth.

Weather permitting, Discovery's computers will ignite the twin breaking rockets on the tail just before midnight to slow the vehicle toward a descent through the atmosphere high above the Pacific Ocean. The ground track shows the orbiter navigating its way to its seaside home at the Kennedy Space Center from the south after crossing Costa Rica, Cuba, the Florida Everglades, and East of Lake Okechobee.

The forecast for landing still shows a chance of rain within 30 miles of the runway and a possibility of crosswind violations on the 3-mile-long concrete Shuttle Landing Facility. The runway of choice for tonight's landing is Runway 15. The final turn to align the shuttle with the runway would be out over the water with landing from the northwest to the southeast. If landing is delayed one orbit, touchdown one orbit later at 2:38 a.m. CDT.

Following crew wakeup at 4 p.m. today, the astronauts began the final preparations for landing, including closing the hatches to the Spacehab module, which has served as the cargo transfer compartment throughout the flight. The wakeup music was "The Longest Day," to commemorate what spacecraft communicator in Mission Control Mario Runco called a "landing of a different kind." His reference was to the 55th anniversary of the Allied troop landing on the beaches of Normandy during World War II that occurred on June 6, 1944.

If all goes as planned, Discovery's cargo bay doors will swing shut at 9:18 p.m., after which the astronauts will climb into their launch and entry suits and strap into their seats. Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Rick Husband and Flight Engineer Ellen Ochoa will be joined on the flight deck for entry by Mission Specialist Julie Payette. Tammy Jernigan, Dan Barry and Valery Tokarev will be seated down on the middeck for entry.

If landing occurs on the first opportunity, Discovery will have covered 3.8 million miles during the mission. STS-96 will be the 11th shuttle mission to end in darkness. Five previous flights have ended at Edwards AFB in California and five at KSC.

Discovery swooped out of darkness as Commander Kent Rominger set the shuttle and his crewmates down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida to successfully complete the first shuttle mission of the year.

Rominger and Pilot Rick Husband fired Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines just before midnight Saturday over Thailand to enable the spaceship to drop out of orbit for its high speed return to Earth.

Traveling in an almost due northerly ground track, Discovery crossed over Costa Rica, the southern Caribbean, northwest Cuba, and the Florida Everglades before honing in on the Kennedy Space Center for the 18th consecutive landing at the Florida spaceport.

Rominger and Husband were joined on the flight deck for entry and landing by Flight Engineer Ellen Ochoa and Mission Specialist Julie Payette, while Mission Specialists Tammy Jernigan, Dan Barry and Valery Tokarev were seated down in the middeck.

After landing, Discovery's astronauts were scheduled to undergo routine medical exams and be reunited with their families before spending the rest of the day relaxing in Florida.

The crew is expected to return to Houston early Monday afternoon, with their crew arrival at Ellington Field planned for about 1:30 p.m. The STS-96 crew's return to Ellington is open to the public.

With the Chandra X-Ray Observatory undergoing what so far has been a flawless checkout on orbit for future scientific investigations, Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jeff Ashby successfully exercised Columbia's aerosurfaces and fired all of its steering jets late Monday night, confirming that the Shuttle is ready to support its high speed return to Earth.

With all systems operating in good fashion, Mission Specialists Cady Coleman, Steve Hawley and Michel Tognini stowed all of their hardware and deactivated secondary experiments in preparation for tonight's landing opportunities at the Florida spaceport.

The astronauts have two chances to land tonight, the first calling for a firing of the orbital maneuvering system engines in a braking maneuver at 9:19 p.m. Central time tonight. That will slow Columbia down by 250 feet per second, allowing it to drop out of orbit for its hour-long entry back to Earth. If all goes as planned, landing will occur on Runway 3-3 at the Kennedy Space Center at 10:20 p.m. Central Daylight time, after Collins executes an overhead right hand turn to align Columbia with the southeast to northwest approach to the 3-mile long landing strip. This will be the 12th night landing in Shuttle program history.

If weather somehow prevents a landing on the first opportunity, a backup opportunity exists 90 minutes later. The alternate landing site at California's Edwards Air Force Base will not be called up for landing support tonight.

Additional opportunities for landing will be available on Wednesday at both landing sites if weather prevents Columbia from coming home tonight. The forecast, however, looks very favorable, with only a few clouds predicted near the Shuttle Landing Facility and a slight chance of a thundershower offshore at the time of touchdown.

The astronauts began an eight-hour sleep period at 6:31 a.m. Central time this morning and will be awakened at 2:31 this afternoon to begin deorbit preparations.

The first major task will be the closing of Columbia's cargo bay doors at about 6:40 this evening, followed by the astronauts climbing into their launch and entry suits shortly before 8 p.m. Entry Flight Director John Shannon and his team of flight controllers will receive updated weather forecasts throughout the late afternoon and evening before a "go-no go" decision for the deorbit burn is issued around 9 p.m.

Assuming clear weather, the orbiter should be visible as it streaks across the night sky over Texas, Lousiana, and then Florida. In Houston, Columbia should appear in the northern sky at about 10:05 p.m. CDT before the 10:20 landing.

If Columbia lands this evening, the astronauts are due back at Ellington Field in Houston around mid-morning on Wednesday. An exact time for crew arrival will be firmed up after landing.

Columbia is orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 179 statute miles with all systems operating normally.

The first major task will be the closing of Columbia's cargo bay doors at about 6:40 this evening, followed by the astronauts climbing into their launch and entry suits shortly before 8 p.m. The entry flight control team led by Flight Director John Shannon will receive updated weather forecasts throughout the late afternoon and evening before a "go-no go" decision for the deorbit burn is issued around 9 p.m.

There are two opportunities to land Tuesday night. The first begins with a deorbit burn on orbit 79 at 9:19 p.m. with a landing at 10:20 p.m. at Kennedy Space Center Florida. Columbia's orbital maneuvering engines will fire, slowing the 100-ton spacecraft by 250 feet per second, enough to drop it into the atmosphere halfway around the world. Columbia's unpow