Tani Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, married. Born in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, USA.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 16 - 1996. Active Entered space service: 1 May 1996. Number of Flights: 2.00. Total Time: 131.75 days. Number of EVAs: 6.00. Total EVA Time: 1.63 days.

NAME: Daniel M. Tani

NASA Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist)

PERSONAL DATA:

Born February 1, 1961 in Ridley Park Pennsylvania, but considers Lombard Illinois, to be his hometown. Single. He enjoys golf, flying, running, tennis, music, cooking. His mother, Rose Tani, resides in Lombard, Illinois. His father, Henry N. Tani, is deceased.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Glenbard East High School, Lombard, Illinois, in 1979; received a bachelor and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984 and 1988, respectively.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member, Japanese American Citizens League, Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

AWARDS:

Orbital Sciences Corporation Outstanding Technical Achievement Award, 1993.

EXPERIENCE:

After Tani received his bachelor's degree from MIT, he worked at Hughes Aircraft Corporation in El Segundo, California as a design engineer in the Space and Communications group. In 1986, he returned to MIT and received his master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1988, specializing in human factors and group decision making. After graduation, Tani worked for Bolt Beranek and Newman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the experimental psychology department. In 1988, Tani joined Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) in Dulles Virginia, initially as a senior structures engineer, and then as the mission operations manager for the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). In that role, he served as the TOS flight operations lead, working with NASA/JSC mission control in support of the deployment of the ACTS/TOS payload during the STS-51 mission in September 1993. Tani then moved to the Pegasus program at OSC as the launch operations manager. In that capacity, he served as lead for the development of procedures and constraints for the launching of the air launched Pegasus unmanned rocket. Tani also was responsible for defining, training, and leading the team of engineers who worked in the launch and control room.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

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

• 5 December 2001 Flight: STS-108. Flight Up: STS-108. Flight Back: STS-108. Flight Time: 11.82 days.

• 23 October 2007 Flight: ISS EO-16-1. Flight Up: STS-120. Flight Back: STS-122. Flight Time: 119.94 days.

11 February 2000 - STS-99 Mission Status Report #02. Space shuttle astronauts deployed the longest rigid structure ever built in space today and continued work to check out the equipment they will use to produce unrivaled three-dimensional images of the Earth's surface.

Red Team leader Commander Kevin Kregel, and colleagues Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele initiated extension of the radar mast at 5:27 p.m. CST. After 17 minutes, all 87 cube-shaped bays of the carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, stainless steel, alpha titanium, and Invar structure were deployed by 5:44 p.m. Total length of the mast was 60.95 meters, or just under 200 feet.

The crew also maneuvered the shuttle into the proper attitude, or orientation, for mapping. This orientation points the shuttle payload bay - and its inboard and outboard radar antennas - at the Earth. Endeavour's tail is leading the way as the shuttle orbits about 150 statute miles above the surface. The Red Team then began a series of jet thruster firings to test the ability of dampers to absorb the force of planned maneuvering jet firings and keep the inboard and outboard antennas properly aligned. This alignment is crucial for scientists who will need to combine the radar images received by the two sets of antennas.

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission will record radar data in both C-band and X-band radar wavelengths. This data eventually will be processed into 3-D maps of the Earth that are 30 times more exact than those currently available. These maps will be important to scientists in many disciplines, ranging from ecology to geology to hydrology, as well as a number of military and commercial applications. As the Red Team performed the checkout procedures, Blue Team members Dom Gorie, Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri set up the shuttle's network of portable computers and began an abbreviated six-hour sleep period at 3:44 p.m. They'll be awakened at 9:44 p.m. to begin radar mapping operations late tonight.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth in an orbit inclined 57 degrees to either side of the Equator for the radar mapping of a majority of the Earth's surface. The shuttle completes one orbit every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 150 statute miles.

"We are starting to see the first 'quick look' results from the X-band and C-band antennas and the details are fantastic," said Dr. Michael Kobrick, SRTM project scientist. "Even in this lower resolution, quick-look results, we can see many topographic features that were completely invisible in the best maps we have today."

Two members of the Blue Team - Dom Gorie and Mamoru Mohri - spent a few minutes early this morning talking to Dr. Bob Ballard, discoverer of the RMS Titanic and founder of the JASON Foundation, an educational program designed to spark students' interest in science and technology. They also took questions from the Fox News Network.

Endeavour's crew and flight controllers continue troubleshooting a problem with a small nitrogen thruster mounted at the tip of the radar's outboard antenna. Although gaseous nitrogen propellant is flowing, little or no thrust is being produced. Crew members cycled the valve open and closed in an attempt to pinpoint the problem. Controllers plan to leave the valve closed for several hours to attempt to quantify the rate of propellant usage. The thruster was designed to keep the mast from "righting" itself in response to Earth's gravity and remove the need for additional orbiter thruster firings to keep the antenna in its data-taking position. Without the thruster on the antenna, crew members have to fire the orbiter's thrusters more than expected.

As the Blue Team wrapped up its third day in space, the Red Team of Kevin Kregel, Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele took over mapping operations shortly after their wake-up call this morning. Gorie, Mohri and Janice Voss turned in shortly after 2 p.m., with a wake-up call set for 10:14 tonight to begin their fourth day of mapping activities.

Controllers also did some troubleshooting on one of the on-board cameras after Gorie reported the system that records the time at which images are taken was not working. Controllers suspect that the batteries were weakened due to the delay in launching Endeavour. The weak batteries should have no impact on the use of the camera to support NASA's Earth observation program.

After yesterday's repositioning of a camera bracket on the flight deck, EarthKAM operations continue nominally. As of late this afternoon, some 355 images had been downlinked from the EarthKAM. This NASA program allows students to use interactive Web pages to target and select images to be photographed from a camera onboard the shuttle. All of Endeavour's spacecraft systems are continuing to function normally as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 150 miles.

Engineers at the Mission Control Center outside of Moscow conducted a series of tests and verified that the exterior connections made by Commander Frank Culbertson and Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov during Monday's space walk had successfully brought the Pirs Docking Compartment's automated Kurs telemetry system to full functionality.

With the help of Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, they spent Wednesday cleaning up, servicing and storing the Orlan spacesuits they had used on the 5-hour, 4-minute space walk. They also spent about 20 minutes answering questions posed by middle school students in Texas and Kansas as part of a regional education conference.

With those activities complete, the trio of space researchers began getting ready for a series of comings and goings, and packing for their impending return home. The Progress 5 resupply craft currently docked to the Zvezda service module is scheduled to undock Nov. 22; it later will be commanded to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere where it will burn up along with refuse being stored inside by the crew this week. Another supply vehicle, Progress 6, is scheduled to launch Nov. 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and dock with the station Nov. 28.

All preparations for the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Expedition Four crew - Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz - are on schedule for launch at 6:42 p.m. CST Nov. 29. Mission managers will meet at Kennedy Space Center this Thursday to review all preparations for launch; an official launch target is expected at the conclusion of that meeting. The shuttle crew - Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani - joined the new station crew in Florida for a final dress rehearsal of the launch last week.

While visiting the station, the shuttle crew will conduct a space walk to install insulation blankets on the beta gimbal assemblies for the station's large solar array wings. These large swivels, which allow the solar arrays to track the Sun's rays and provide maximum power generation, appear to be experiencing adverse effects related to the extreme temperature swings that occur as the station moves in and out of direct sunlight. These multi-layer insulation blankets are expected to reduce the temperature swings and allow normal operation of the solar arrays.

Meanwhile in Florida, the next major component to be launched to the space station has successfully completed acceptance testing and been moved to a work platform for final closeouts. One last software test remains, and that will be completed in January. The S-zero truss, which will serve as the base section of a framework connecting more large solar array wings, is scheduled for launch on STS-110 in March 2002.

With systems operating normally, the station is orbiting at an average altitude of 247 statute miles (397 km).

Science work aboard the station continues with emphasis on human physiology experiments as the crew nears the end of its time on orbit, and with autonomous microgravity materials research. Overall coordination of the research is the responsibility of the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Human Research Facility is managed by the Johnson Space Center.

The Progress, attached to the docking port at the rear of the Zvezda service module, is the fifth to visit the station. It will undock at 10:06 a.m. CST Thursday, to be deorbited and burn up in the atmosphere with its load of trash and unneeded equipment. Its undocking makes room for Progress 6, scheduled for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:24 p.m. CST Monday. The new Progress, filled with fresh supplies, is planned to dock to the station at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

The Expedition Three trio also began preparations for their return home after about four months in space. They began packing up gear and readying station equipment in anticipation of the arrival of the space shuttle Endeavour, targeted for a launch to the space station from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 29 at 6:41 p.m. CST on the STS-108 mission. Endeavour is commanded by Dom Gorie. Pilot is Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists are Linda Godwin and Dan Tani.

The major purpose of the mission is bring the Expedition Four crew, cosmonaut and Commander Yury Onufrienko and Astronauts Dan Bursch and Carl Walz, to the station and bring home Expedition Three. Also during the flight, Godwin and Tani will do a spacewalk to install thermal blankets over the station's beta gimbal assemblies of the orbiting laboratory's solar wings, which stretch 240 feet from tip to tip. The assemblies let the wings track the sun to provide maximum power.

Flight controllers at Houston's Mission Control Center have seen in those mechanisms occasional unexpected surges in the power required to turn the wings. They believe the surges are related to extreme temperature swings that occur as the station moves in and out of direct sunlight. Installation of the blankets is expected to reduce the temperature fluctuations and eliminate the "power spikes" seen as the wings pivot.

The spacewalkers will go out of Endeavour's airlock, then get a 50-foot lift from the shuttle's robotic arm. They will have to climb with the blankets another 30 feet to the worksite, atop the P6 Truss and about 80 feet from Endeavour's cargo bay.

With systems operating normally, the station is orbiting at an average altitude of 247 statute miles (397 km).

Human physiology experiments continue to be a focus of crew science activities as the crew prepares for its return home. Autonomous microgravity materials research continued to accumulate scientific experiment run time hours in a variety of disciplines. Overall coordination of the research is the responsibility of the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Human Research Facility is managed by the Johnson Space Center.

At 12:24 p.m. CST (1824 GMT) today, the Progress 6 resupply craft, filled with fresh supplies for the station, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and successfully reached orbit nine minutes later. Progress 6 is planned to dock to the station Wednesday at 1:40 p.m. CST (1940 GMT). The Progress 5 capsule that was attached to the docking port at the rear of the Zvezda service module undocked from the station last Thursday and reentered the atmosphere, where it was destroyed.

Today, the crew also tested a manual docking system, called the TORU, which can be used should the Progress 6 experience any problems with its automated docking system as it approaches the aft docking port of the Zvezda Service Module Wednesday. The crew also prepared some of the spacewalking equipment that will be used by STS-108 astronauts Linda Godwin and Dan Tani. Godwin and Tani will conduct a 4-hour spacewalk next week with Endeavour docked to the ISS to install thermal blankets over the station's mechanisms which enable the large U.S. solar wings to rotate to track the sun for the manufacture of electricity for station systems.

Flight controllers at Houston's Mission Control Center have seen those mechanisms experience occasional unexpected surges in the power required to turn the wings. They believe the surges are related to extreme temperature swings that occur as the station moves in and out of direct sunlight. Installation of the blankets is expected to reduce the temperature fluctuations and eliminate the "power spikes" seen as the wings pivot.

The major purpose of the 108 mission, however, is to bring the Expedition Four crew, Russian Commander Yury Onufrienko and U.S. Astronauts Dan Bursch and Carl Walz, to the station and bring home Expedition Three.

With systems operating normally, the station is orbiting at an average altitude of 247 statute miles (397 km).

Human physiology experiments continue to be a focus of crew science activities as the crew prepares for its return home. Autonomous microgravity materials research continued to accumulate scientific experiment run time hours in a variety of disciplines.

The Progress 6 craft, which launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Monday, gently docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module over Central Asia at 1:43 p.m. CST, completing a two-day automated flight.

On board the station, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin monitored the docking, and prepared for the opening of the hatch between Zvezda and Progress later today.

The Progress is carrying more than a ton of food, fuel and equipment for the Expedition Four crew, Russian Commander Yury Onufrienko and U.S. Astronauts Dan Bursch and Carl Walz, who are scheduled to be launched aboard the shuttle Endeavour tomorrow night on the STS-108 mission to relieve the Expedition Three crew, which has been in orbit since August. They will be ferried to the ISS by Endeavour Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani. Launch from the Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 6:41 p.m. CST.

With systems operating normally, the station is orbiting at an average altitude of 247 statute miles (397 km).

Human physiology experiments continue to be a focus of crew science activities as the crew prepares for its return home. Autonomous microgravity materials research continued to accumulate scientific experiment run time hours in a variety of disciplines. Overall coordination of the research is the responsibility of the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Human Research Facility is managed by the Johnson Space Center.

STS-108 cargo bay payload was dominated by the Raffaello (MPLM-2) logistics module with 4 RSP and 8 RSR resupply racks. Also in the cargo bay were the MACH-1 and LMC experiment trusses flown under the Goddard small payloads program. MACH-1 was an MPESS-type Hitchhiker bridge carrying the CAPL-3 capillary thermal control experiment on top. On its forward side was the Starshine-2 launch canister, the CAPL-3 avionics plate, the Hitchhiker avionics plate, and the SEM-15 canister. On the aft side was the G-761 canister containing experiments from Argentina, the PSRD synchrotron detector (a prototype for the AMS antimatter experiment which will fly on Station later), and the COLLIDE-2 and SEM-11 canisters. The SEM (Space Experiment Modules) are collections of high school experiments. LMC, the Lightweight MPESS Carrier carried four canisters with materials science and technology experiments: SEM-12, G-785, G-064 and G-730. In addition, an adapter beam on the starboard sidewall carried G-221 and G-775, with materials science and biology experiments.

Raffaello was transferred back to the Shuttle payload bay on December 14. Endeavour undocked from the Station at 17:28 UTC on December 15 and made a half loop around the station before making a small separation burn at 1822 UTC. The Starshine-2 reflector satellite was ejected from the MACH-1 bridge in Endeavour's payload bay at 1502 UTC on December 16. Endeavour landed on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center at 1755 UTC on December 17. The Expedition 3 crew of Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin returned to Earth aboard Endeavour, leaving the Expedition 4 crew of Onufrienko, Bursch and Walz in charge of the Station.

The station was about 250 statute miles above the central Indian Ocean as Endeavour rocketed away from Launch Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center, FL, on time at 4:19 p.m. CST. Endeavour will close in on the station for the next two days and dock with the complex on Friday to begin a week-long stay.

Endeavour is commanded by Dom Gorie with Mark Kelly serving as pilot. Mission Specialists are Linda Godwin and Dan Tani. Also aboard Endeavour are station Expedition Four crew members Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch, who are beginning more than five months in orbit.

Endeavour will bring home the Expedition Three station crew, Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, who have been aboard the station since mid-August. In addition to the new crew, Endeavour is carrying more than three tons of food, supplies and equipment in the Raffaello logistics module to the orbiting outpost.

Endeavour's crew will spend the next few hours unpacking equipment, setting up computers and conducting the first of periodic engine firings that will occur over the next two days to refine the shuttle's approach to the station. The shuttle crew will begin a sleep period at 11:19 p.m. CST and will be awakened at 7:19 a.m. CST Thursday. On Thursday, Endeavour's crew will check out the shuttle's equipment and systems that will be needed for Friday's final approach and docking to the International Space Station. Docking is planned for just after 2 p.m. CST Friday. On Saturday, the Raffaello module will be lifted from the shuttle payload bay using Endeavour's robotic arm and attached to a station berthing port to be unloaded. Godwin and Tani are planned to conduct a four-hour space walk on Monday to install insulation around two solar array rotation mechanisms. Raffaello will be returned to the shuttle payload bay later in the mission and brought back to Earth.

In addition to a new station crew and supplies, Endeavour is carrying a host of scientific investigations, including experiments from space agencies, schools and universities across the United States, Europe and South America as well as a small satellite that has involved more than 25,000 students in 26 countries.

The crew, Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani, Expedition Four Commander Yury Onufrienko, Flight Engineer Carl Walz and Flight Engineer Dan Bursch, was awakened by the song "Soul Spirit" and "Put a Little Love in Your Life," sung by Bursch's daughter and her second-grade classmates.

The crew will spend the day preparing shuttle systems for docking with the International Space Station, which is scheduled for about 2 p.m. CST Friday. Preparations include powering up the shuttle's robotic arm and checking out the airlock and the space suits that will be used on Monday's planned four-hour spacewalk by Godwin and Tani to place thermal blankets on the motors that rotate the solar arrays atop the P6 truss.

In addition to performing the spacewalk, other activities during the mission include a crew exchange on board the space station Saturday and the transfer of more than three tons of cargo. The cargo, housed in the Raffaello logistics module that will be attached to the Unity module, includes food, supplies and equipment that the Expedition Four Crew will use during its stay on the station. The Expedition Three crew, Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin have been living aboard the space station since mid-August and will return home on Endeavour.

Also on board Endeavour is a host of scientific investigations, including experiments from other space agencies, schools and universities across the United States, Europe and South America. Two experiments located in the Multiple Application Customized Hitchhiker-1 (MACH-1) in the shuttle payload bay had already completed 15% and 10% of their mission objectives by the time the crew went to sleep last night. Those experiments are the Capillary Pumped Loop Experiment (CAPL) and the Prototype Synchrotron Radiation Detector (PSRD) respectively. The CAPL demonstrates a multiple evaporator capillary pumped loop system and the PSRD measures cosmic ray background data.

Endeavour Commander Dom Gorie and Pilot Mark Kelly fired the shuttle's steering engines and jets twice today to adjust course toward the station. Gorie and Kelly also checked out the rendezvous systems and navigation aids Endeavour will require for its final approach to the orbiting complex, finding everything in good shape. Later, Kelly, assisted by Mission Specialist Linda Godwin, powered up the shuttle's robotic arm to check its operation and to use its television cameras to survey the Raffaello cargo module and experiments housed in Endeavour's payload bay. On Saturday, the robotic arm will be used by Kelly to attach Raffaello to a station berthing port so that more than three tons of food, supplies and experiments it holds can be moved aboard the complex.

Godwin and Mission Specialist Dan Tani also powered up and tested the space suits they will wear for a four-hour space walk on Monday, finding all the equipment in good condition. Godwin and Tani will install extra insulation on mechanisms that rotate the station's solar arrays during the excursion. Also today, Godwin powered up Endeavour's docking mechanism and extended it into position to await contact with the station. The Expedition Four crew members aboard Endeavour, en route to begin an almost six-month mission aboard the station, assisted the shuttle crew today with preparations and worked with several secondary scientific investigations.

All crew members on the shuttle had a few hours off-duty this evening, providing a short break in advance of what will be a busy week docked with the International Space Station. Endeavour is scheduled to dock at the station at about 1:59 p.m. CST Friday. The final phase of the approach begins with an engine firing by Endeavour at about 11:44 a.m. CST, when the shuttle is some nine miles behind the complex. Gorie will take over manual control of Endeavour's approach just after 1 p.m. CST, when Endeavour moves within a half-mile underneath the station. Gorie will fly the shuttle closer, maneuvering a quarter-circle around the station to dock at the complex's front port. Hatches will be opened between the two spacecraft and the crews will greet one another around 4 p.m. CST.

Meanwhile, aboard the station today, the Expedition Three crew, Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, spent their final solo day in flight packing for the trip home. The station crew, completing more than four months in space, also continued to unload a Russian cargo supply craft that docked to the station last week.

Endeavour's crew will begin a sleep period at 10:19 p.m. CST and awaken at 6:19 a.m. CST on Friday. Endeavour is now about 3,500 statute miles behind the station, closing in 260 miles with each orbit of Earth.

Endeavour's crew - Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani, Expedition Four Commander Yury Onufrienko, and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch - will quickly move into their final rendezvous activities today, bringing the shuttle to a position about 9 ½ miles behind the International Space Station about 11:44 a.m. today.

From that position behind the station, Gorie and Kelly will command Endeavour 's jets in a final major rendezvous maneuver to begin the final phase of the approach for docking. Endeavour will close the final miles to the station during the next orbit of the Earth, about 90 minutes.

As Endeavour approaches the station, the on-board rendezvous radar system will begin tracking the station providing distance and closing rate information to the crew. During the approach, the shuttle can perform up to four, small mid-course corrections at regular intervals. Just after the fourth burn, Endeavour will be about one-half mile below the station. Gorie will take over manual control of the approach, slowing Endeavour's approach and maneuvering to a point about 600 feet directly beneath the station. There he will begin a quarter-circle of the station, slowly moving to a position in front of the complex, in line with its direction of travel.

Once Endeavour has firmly docked to the station, and required leak checks are complete, the hatches between the spacecraft will open around 4 p.m. allowing Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin to greet their newest guests.

Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin began their formal residency on the station on August 13 as their custom-made Soyuz seat liners were installed on the Soyuz return vehicle. Their residency will officially end once those seat liners are transferred to Endeavour and the Expedition Four crew's seat liners are installed in the Soyuz on Saturday.

With the new Expedition Four station crew of Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch looking on from Endeavour's flight deck, shuttle Commander Dom Gorie brought Endeavour to a gentle linkup with the ISS at 2:03 p.m. CST as the two craft sailed over England. Within minutes, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani began to conduct post-docking checks of the mechanical interface between Endeavour and the station's Destiny Laboratory prior to the opening of the hatches on the two vehicles. At first, the shuttle's docking ring and the docking mechanism on the ISS did not align properly, but after allowing the two craft to dampen their relative motion against one another, the vehicles were hard mated for a week of joint operations by the ten crewmembers.

On board the ISS in their 119th day in space and their 116th day aboard the station, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin watched as their replacements arrived for the start of more than five months of orbital duty. The only other visitors for the Expedition Three crew during its increment arrived on the ISS in October to deliver a new Soyuz return vehicle.

The hatches were opened between Endeavour and the ISS' Destiny Laboratory at 4:42 p.m. CST, enabling the ten crewmembers to greet one another. Onufrienko, Walz and Bursch will officially take over command of the ISS Saturday afternoon from Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin after transferring custom made Soyuz seatliners and conducting leak checks to their spacesuits.

The crews now begin a busy week of handing over station responsibilities and unloading tons of supplies brought to the complex by Endeavour. Saturday's activities will be highlighted by Kelly's use of the shuttle's robotic arm to hoist the Italian-built Raffaello logistics module from Endeavour's payload bay and attach it to a station berthing port. Raffaello will stay attached to the station for most of the week while it is unloaded. The crews will begin a sleep period at 10:19 p.m. CST today and awaken at 6:19 a.m. CST on Saturday.

Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Linda Godwin will work together to remove the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from Endeavour's payload bay and attach it to the Unity node of the International Space Station. Over the course of about three hours, Kelly will use the shuttle's robotic arm to gently lift Raffaello from the payload bay and maneuver it into place, securing it to the Earth-facing berthing port on the Unity module about 12:39 p.m. CST today.

As Kelly works to install the Raffaello module, the formal exchange of space station crews will occur as the Expedition Three crew - Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov, and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin - and the Expedition Four crew - Commander Yury Onufrienko, and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch, exchange their customized seat liners in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. As each Expedition Four crew member's seatliner is installed in the Soyuz and checked out, he officially becomes a resident of the space station with the Expedition Three crew member moving over to become a member of the Endeavour crew. Handover briefings between the crews will continue throughout docked operations.

Mission Specialist Dan Tani will focus his attention on transferring equipment from Endeavour to the space station while Commander Dom Gorie tends to vehicle operations.

The three commanders onboard - Gorie, Culbertson and Onufrienko - along with Endeavour's Pilot Kelly will participate in media interviews at 3:44 p.m. CST. MSNBC, CBS News and WAGT-TV in Augusta, Georgia will have the opportunity to interview the crewmembers in the station's Destiny laboratory.

Two payload bay experiments located in the Multiple Application Customized Hitchhiker-1 (MACH-1) facility have already completed 50% and 76% of their mission objectives. Those experiments are the Capillary Pumped Loop Experiment (CAPL) and the Prototype Synchrotron Radiation Detector (PSRD) respectively. The CAPL demonstrates a multiple evaporator capillary pumped loop system and the PSRD measures cosmic ray background data.

The transfer of the Expedition Four seatliners to the Soyuz return vehicle attached to the station marked the official exchange of crews. Culbertson reported that his crew had completed the exchange and that Expedition Four Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch had become official station residents at 4:11 p.m. CST. Handover briefings between the two crews will continue for the duration of docked operations.

While the crew exchange was under way, aboard Endeavour Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Linda Godwin used the shuttle's robotic arm to lift the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the shuttle payload bay and attach it to a berth on the station's Unity node. Raffaello was removed from the payload bay at 11:01 a.m. CST and secured in place on the station at 11:55 a.m. CST. The hatch to Raffaello was opened and the crews began unloading the cargo module just before 7:30 p.m. CST. Over the course of the next several days, the crews will work together to transfer approximately three tons of food and supplies from Raffaello to the station.

The crews will begin a sleep period at 10:19 p.m. CST and awaken at 6:19 a.m. CST Sunday. Sunday's work will focus on unloading Raffaello, continuing an exchange of information between the two station crews and some preparatory work for a space walk planned to take place Monday by shuttle astronauts Godwin and Dan Tani. Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent condition with no significant systems problems of concern to Mission Control.

A New York firefighter presented Pilot Mark Kelly with today's wake-up music when Kelly visited the World Trade Center site with former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin shortly after the September 11 attacks. All the astronauts and cosmonauts on board Endeavour and the International Space Station will take time today to remember the victims, their families and rescue workers in a special message from space, at 4:24 p.m. CST today.

Commander Dom Gorie, Kelly, Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, Expedition Four Commander Yury Onufrienko, and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch will all gather in the Destiny laboratory aboard the station to display a U.S. flag and take a moment to honor the victim's families and survivors of the attacks.

Coordinated through the "Flags for Heroes and Families" campaign, which was initiated by Former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, several American flags are being flown aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. Those flags include 6,000 small U.S. flags, one U.S. flag that was recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center, a Marine Corps flag that was retrieved from the Pentagon, and an American flag from the State of Pennsylvania. Also onboard, is a large New York Fire Department flag, 23 replica New York Police Department shields, and 91 New York Police Department patches. Those items are stowed away in the shuttle and will be distributed upon Endeavour's return to Earth.

The crew's activities today will focus on continuing transfer of several hundred pounds of equipment and supplies from the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that was attached to the station yesterday. Transfer of equipment, supplies and experiments to and from the shuttle mid deck is already complete. Today, Godwin and Tani will also check out and prepare the tools they will use for Monday's scheduled spacewalk.

Aboard Endeavour are 6,000 small United States flags that will be distributed to heroes and families of the victims of the attacks after the shuttle returns to Earth. Also aboard are a U.S. flag that was found at the World Trade Center site after the attacks, a U.S. flag that has flown above the Pennsylvania state capitol, a U.S. Marine Corps Colors flag from the Pentagon, a New York Fire Department flag, and a poster that includes photographs of firefighters lost in the attacks.

Shuttle Commander Dom Gorie said the flag carried aboard Endeavour which came from the World Trade Center elicited especially poignant thoughts among the crew.

"This was found among the rubble and it has a few tears in it. You can still smell the ashes. It is a tremendous symbol of our country," Gorie said. "Just like our country, it was a little battered and bruised and torn, but with a little bit of repair it is going to fly as high and as beautiful as it ever did. And that is just what our country is doing."

International Space Station Expedition 3 Commander Frank Culbertson and his crew -- cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin -- were in orbit Sept. 11 and will be on their way home to Earth when Endeavour departs the station next week. The space station flew above New York the morning of Sept. 11, and the crew could see evidence of the attacks out the windows.

"That was quite a disturbing sight, as you might imagine, to see my country under attack," Culbertson said. "All of us were affected by that day greatly.

"To all of those who lost loved ones, to all of those who worked so hard to help people survive, and to the people who are trying so hard to stop this threat, we wish you the best. We have thought about you often over the last three months that we've been here ... and we will continue to keep you in our thoughts," Culbertson added. "We will continue, I hope, to set a good example of how people can accomplish incredible things when they have the right goals. We will continue to think of how we can improve peace around the world and how we can improve knowledge, and hopefully that will bring people together."

While the unloading of almost three tons of new food, supplies and experiments continued today, Culbertson's crew also conducted a handover of station work to the oncoming Expedition Four crew -- Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz. Also today, Endeavour fired its steering jets gradually over the course of an hour to increase the station's altitude by about two statute miles, the first of three similar reboost maneuvers planned for this week's mission.

The hatches were closed between the shuttle and the station, with only the Expedition Four crew remaining aboard the station, at about 6:43 p.m. CST today in preparation for a space walk planned from the shuttle on Monday. Closing the hatch allows the cabin pressure on the shuttle to be lowered slightly, part of a protocol that protects space walkers from decompression sickness when they go to the low pressure, pure oxygen space suits.

Astronauts Linda Godwin and Dan Tani are scheduled to exit the shuttle airlock at 11:24 a.m. CST Monday to begin four hours of work outside to add insulation to mechanisms that rotate the station's solar arrays. After the space walk is completed Monday afternoon, the hatches between Endeavour and the station will be reopened.

The crews begin a sleep period at 10:19 p.m. today and awaken at 6:19 a.m. on Monday.

The focus of activities aboard Endeavour today will be on the planned four-hour spacewalk to be conducted by Godwin and Dan Tani. Godwin and Tani will exit the shuttle's airlock about 11:24 a.m. and will be carried about half way up the truss of the space station by the shuttle's robotic arm, operated by Pilot Mark Kelly. Commander Dom Gorie will coordinate efforts as the two spacewalkers maneuver hand-over-hand to their worksite location at the top of the P6 truss, some 80 feet above Endeavour's cargo bay.

The prime objective of the spacewalk is to place insulating blankets on the two Beta Gimbal Assemblies (BGA) that control the rotation of the solar arrays as they track the sun. The thermal blankets will protect the BGAs from temperature variances experienced in space, which has been leading to current spikes from the motors inside the BGAs. Once that task is complete, the spacewalkers will perform some get-ahead-tasks including retrieving tools from an outside pouch and bringing them inside for use during a spacewalk on the next mission to the space station early next year.

With hatches between the two spacecraft closed for today's space walk, the Expedition Four Crew, Commander Yury Onufrienko, and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz will continue transferring equipment and supplies from the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the station. This is the crewmembers' first day alone on the space station after exchanging places with the Expedition Three Crew, Commander Frank Culberston, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, on Saturday.

The space walk went smoothly as Godwin and Tani installed insulation around the two barrel-shaped devices atop the station's five-story tall truss structure. The space walkers also attempted to secure one of four legs that brace the starboard station array, but they were unable to close the latch, which has been open since the array was installed a year ago. The other legs have always been latched securely and are sufficient.

On their way down from the top of the station, the two space walkers stopped at a stowage bin to retrieve a cover which had been removed from a station antenna during an earlier flight. The cover will be brought back to Earth and may be reused. Godwin and Tani also performed a "get-ahead" task, positioning two switches on the station's exterior to be installed on an upcoming shuttle mission, STS-110, that will deliver a central, 40-foot long truss section this spring. Godwin and Tani left Endeavour's airlock at 11:52 a.m. CST as the shuttle and station flew above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America. They ended the space walk at 4:04 p.m. CST.

Meanwhile, aboard the station, the Expedition Four crew -- Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz -- continued moving supplies to and from the Raffaello logistics module, now more than 70 percent unloaded. So far, at least 3,500 pounds of food and supplies have been moved from Raffaello to the station and another 1,000 pounds of gear and experiments have been moved to the station from Endeavour's cabin. The hatches between Endeavour and the station, closed late yesterday to prepare for today's space walk, were reopened just before 6 p.m. CST.

Today's space walk completes a record year with 18 space walks conducted: 12 originating from the shuttle and six from the station. That number eclipses the previous records for most space walks performed in a single year, a tie between the years 1973, when nine space walks were conducted from the Skylab space station, and 1997, when nine space walks were conducted from the shuttle and from the Russian Mir space station combined. The space walking record set this year is expected to be broken again next year -- in 2002, 22 space walks are planned from the shuttle and station.

The crews will begin a sleep period at 10:19 p.m. CST and Endeavour's crew will awaken at 6:19 a.m. CST Tuesday with the station crew awakening a half-hour later.

Shortly after the crews onboard Endeavour and the International Space Station were awakened, they prepared to take a moment to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the attacks on America on September 11, as part of President Bush's "Anthems of Remembrance" event. The event will take place at 7:46 a.m. CST, the exact moment of the attack three months ago.

The United States and Russian national anthems will be played in the shuttle and station flight control rooms in Mission Control and aboard the shuttle and the space station. The three commanders aboard the two spacecraft - Shuttle Commander Dom Gorie, Expedition Three Commander Frank Culbertson, and Expedition Four Commander Yury Onufrienko, will share their personal thoughts as well as play a special pre-recorded message from the rest of the crew currently in orbit.

Onufrienko, along with Expedition Three crew members Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, will take time today to talk with Russian media located at the mission control center outside Moscow in an interview scheduled to begin at 9:24 a.m. Later in the day, the full crews - Gorie, Onufrienko, Culbertson, Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani, Expedition Four flight engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch, along with Dezhurov and Tyurin - will have an opportunity to talk with American news media during a crew news conference scheduled for 2:04 p.m.

A ceremony to mark the change of command from Culbertson to Onufrienko will take place at 2:48 p.m. today. Culbertson, in his 123rd day in space, will ceremoniously pass command of the space station on to Onufrienko, its newest commander. The official crew exchange occurred Saturday, December 8 with the transfer of Soyuz seatliners for each crew member. Today's event continues the tradition begun by Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd in March of this year, when he relinquished command of the ISS to Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev.

The crews will also continue transferring equipment and supplies from the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the space station for later use by the Expedition Four Crew. About 4,000 pounds of cargo has already been transferred from Raffaello to the station.

Flight Day 8 for Endeavour's crew began with a wake-up call from Mission Control offering a rendition of "Fly me to the Moon", sung by Oliver "Ollie" O'Regin for Dan Tani.

The astronauts and cosmonauts have transferred more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and material from Endeavour's middeck, and the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the station. Today, the crews will focus on packing up the Raffaello module with items bound for a return trip to Earth. Raffaello will be detached from the Unity module of the station onFriday and reberthed in Endeavour's cargo bay for its ride home.

With a one-day extension to the mission, Endeavour's crew - Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Tani - will spend today assisting the Expedition Four crew - Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Expedition Dan Bursch and Carl Walz - with maintenance tasks on board the station, including the replacement of some of the components of the on-board treadmill. Tomorrow, the crew will replace a failed compressor in one of the air conditioners in the Zvezda Service Module. As the Expedition Three crew - Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin - prepare for a return to Earth on Monday, they continue a series of handover briefings to acquaint the newest resident crew with their orbital home.

Endeavour is currently scheduled to undock from the ISS on Saturday morning, with landing planned for early Monday afternoon at the Kennedy Space Center.

When the day began, the crews had already completed unloading more than 4,600 pounds of food, clothes, supplies and equipment from Raffaello, about 95 percent of the module's total cargo. They also had completed moving the 1,000 pounds of station gear and experiments that were launched in Endeavour's cabin to the orbiting complex.

In repacking the cargo module and Endeavour with unneeded equipment bound for Earth, the crews have loaded more than 1,800 pounds of material into Raffaello, almost half the amount expected by the time the packing is completed. Packing of Raffaello and Endeavour will continue on Thursday. On Friday, Raffaello will be detached from the station and moved back into Endeavour's payload bay for the trip home.

In addition, Endeavour's crew - Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani, and offgoing station crew members Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin - assisted the new station Expedition Four crew in replacing most components of a station treadmill today. Expedition Four - Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz - will use the new treadmill almost daily during their five and a half months aboard the station. The job went smoothly and the crews finished several hours ahead of schedule, loading the old treadmill parts into Raffaello to be refurbished on Earth and, eventually, reused. A third and final scheduled reboost of the station by Endeavour also was completed today. The three boosts performed during the mission, each accomplished by a gradual, hour-long periodic firing of the shuttle steering jets, have raised the station's altitude by a total of almost 9 statute miles. The station's average altitude is now about 241 statute miles.

On Thursday, the crews will continue maintenance work as well as packing, replacing a faulty compressor in a Russian air conditioner on the station. Although the new crew officially took over aboard the station on Saturday, a formal handover ceremony also is planned for the two station crews at 2:04 p.m. CST Thursday.

The crews begin a sleep period at 10:19 p.m. CST today and awaken at 6:19 a.m. CST Thursday.

Today's agenda for the shuttle crew - Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Dan Tani and Linda Godwin - will focus on packing up the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics module with unneeded equipment and supplies for the return flight home. Raffaello will be detached from the Unity module of the International Space Station tomorrow and reberthed in Endeavour's cargo bay for its ride back to Earth. Endeavour is currently scheduled to undock from the station on Saturday morning, with landing planned for early Monday afternoon at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Expedition Three crew will also continue handover activities with the Expedition Four crew - Commander Yury Onufrienko, and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz.

A ceremony to mark the change of command from Culbertson to Onufrienko will take place at 3:09 p.m. CST. Culbertson, in his 125th day in space, will formally hand command of the space station on to Onufrienko, it's newest commander. The official crew exchange occurred Saturday, December 8 with the transfer of Soyuz seatliners for each crew member. Today's event continues the tradition begun by Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd in March of this year, when he relinquished command of the ISS to Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev.

With the crew completing the stowage of Raffaello for the trip home, work to replace a faulty compressor in an air conditioner unit in the Zvezda Service Module was deferred until tomorrow morning, concurrent with the closing of the hatch to the Raffaello module prior to its detachment from the ISS.

Raffaello has been loaded with unneeded equipment, as well as gear from the returning Expedition Three crewmembers, including their custom Soyuz spacesuits and seat liners. The hatch between Raffaello and the space station will be closed about 10 a.m. CST today once final transfers are complete. About 1:20 p.m., Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Linda Godwin will begin the process of detaching Raffaello from the station using the shuttle's 50-foot long robotic arm. The process of removing Raffaello from the station and carefully placing it back in Endeavour's payload bay is expected to be complete shortly after 3:30 p.m.

The two station commanders - Frank Culbertson and Yury Onufrienko - will continue their handover briefings even as they prepare for Endeavour's scheduled departure Saturday morning. Expedition Three crew member Vladimir Dezhurov will join Onufrienko in some final maintenance work on the station this morning replacing a faulty compressor in an air conditioner unit in the Zvezda Service Module.

All of the crew members - Endeavour Commander Dom Gorie, Kelly, Godwin and Dan Tani, along with Expedition Three crew members Culbertson, Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin and the Expedition Four crew, Onufrienko, Dan Bursch and Carl Walz - will meet late in the day today for a final briefing in preparation for Endeavour's departure tomorrow. Following final farewells tomorrow morning, about 7:30 a.m., the hatches between Endeavour and the station will be closed for a final time during this mission. Endeavour will undock from the station at 10 a.m. Saturday, and after a brief fly-around of the station, a final engine burn will mark Endeavour's departure from the station, leaving the Expedition Four crew on board for a planned five-month stay.

Endeavour's crew was awakened at 5:12 a.m. today by a traditional Russian song, "My Sweetheart," played for Onufrienko, Dezhurov and Tyurin. The Expedition Four crew was awakened about a half-hour later with a wake-up tone on board the station.

Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in good shape, orbiting at an average altitude of 241 statute miles. Wednesday, the crew and flight control teams noted a transient problem with one of the shuttle's three inertial measurement units (IMUs), the primary navigation units for the shuttle. That IMU, designated IMU2, experienced about an hour-long "drift rate," subsequently returning to normal operation. Flight controllers have taken IMU2 off line and declared it "failed," though it has performed normally since the initial problem was observed. The remaining two IMUs on board are performing well and the loss of a single IMU has no impact on Endeavour's mission or planned landing. Endeavour could operate well on only one IMU if required.

Endeavour is scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center about 11:55 a.m. CST tomorrow, weather permitting. Preliminary weather forecasts predict generally acceptable conditions at the landing site, with a chance of rain showers in the vicinity. Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain and his team of flight controllers will oversee the crew's checkout of flight control systems and surfaces this morning from Mission Control. They also will receive updated weather forecasts for Monday's planned landing.

On what should be their final full day in space, Endeavour's crew - Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani, along with the returning Expedition Three crewmembers Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin - were awakened at 3:14 a.m. by the song "I'll Be Home For Christmas," sung by Bing Crosby.

About 9 a.m. today, Endeavour's crew will deploy a small satellite called STARSHINE 2 from a canister located in the payload bay. More than 30,000 students from 660 schools in 26 countries will track STARSHINE 2 as it orbits the Earth for eight months. The students, who helped polish STARSHINE'S 845 mirrors, will use the information they collect to calculate the density of the Earth's upper atmosphere.

Endeavour's middeck will carry home the results of several experiments completed during Expedition Three's stay on the station. These include the Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility, the Dynamically Controlled Protein Crystal Growth experiment and cells from the Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System (CBOSS). The CBOSS equipment aboard the space station will remain active during Expedition Four, growing ovarian and colon cancer cells, as well as kidney cells in microgravity.

Experiments in Endeavour's payload bay also will be coming home, to be returned to investigators around the world. The Multiple Application Customized Hitchhiker-1 (MACH-1) is carrying a wide array of experiments, including the Prototype Synchrotron Radiation Detector, the Collisions Into Dust Experiment-2, the Capillary Pump Loop, and the Space Experiment Module (SEM). The SEM is carrying experiments from Argentina, Portugal, Morocco and Australia, as well experiments from U.S. schoolchildren. Several other canisters in Endeavour's payload bay are also carrying student experiments.

Concluding a successful mission to the International Space Station, today's landing brings to an end a voyage of more than 4.8 million miles for Endeavour and marks the 57th shuttle landing at the Florida spaceport.

On Endeavour's flight deck are Commander Dom Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani. On the middeck, strapped into recumbent chairs to reduce the effects of reentry, is the Expedition Three crew, Commander Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin.

Following routine medical examinations, the STS-108 and Expedition Three crewmembers will enjoy a reunion with their families. All seven crewmembers are expected to return to a public welcome home at Hangar 990 at Houston's Ellington Field about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

During their 12 days in orbit, the STS-108 crew worked with both the returning Expedition Three and newly-arrived Expedition Four crews to transfer more than three tons of material, hardware and supplies from Endeavour to the station. Godwin and Tani also conducted a spacewalk to install thermal protection on motor assemblies that control the motion of the station's large solar arrays.

On board the International Space Station, the Expedition Four crew - Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz - are settling in for a planned five-month stay on orbit, unloading the recently arrived Progress resupply vehicle.

The first KSC landing opportunity today would begin with a deorbit burn of Endeavour's large orbital maneuvering engines at 10:50 a.m. resulting in an 11:55 a.m. central time (12:55 p.m. eastern) landing. If weather precludes landing on that first opportunity, there is a second opportunity, one orbit later, with an engine firing at 12:28 p.m. resulting in a 1:32 p.m. central (2:32 p.m. eastern) touchdown. The alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California has not been called up for launch support today.

Just before 7 a.m., the crew will begin its formal deorbit preparations and by 8:10 a.m., Endeavour's payload bay doors should be closed in preparation for reentry. The crewmembers will begin climbing into their seats at 9:50 a.m., with a final "go, no go" call from the Entry Flight Director expected about 10:30 a.m. A landing today in Florida would conclude a voyage of more than 4.8 million miles for Endeavour and a 129-day stay in orbit for Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin.

Toward the end of their workday at 1 a.m. CST this morning, Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Michael Anderson of the Blue Team took time out from their experiment schedule for interviews with reporters from Black Entertainment TV, WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va., and KNSD-TV in San Diego. Following handover talks, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Red Team began their workday.

Clark completed operations with the OSTEO (Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit) investigation for STS-107. The experiment studied the activity of bone cells in microgravity by looking at normal activity and activity under the influence of various drugs. Clark also continued work on the Bioreactor Demonstration System, which is using the NASA-developed bioreactor to grow prostate cancer tissues. The objective is to learn how the cancer spreads into bones and aid in the development of future treatment methods. She also worked on a study of how bacteria and yeast develop in space and how microgravity affects their response to antibiotics.

Investigations with the Combined Two-Phase Loop Experiment were begun using a third cooling loop. Testing of this loop will continue for about 48 hours. The testing is performed to learn about the behavior of the loop in microgravity. The investigation examines three different two-phase thermal loops by transporting different amounts of heat from an evaporator to a condenser and then radiating the heat into space.

The Facility for Adsorption and Surface Tension, known as FAST, has completed the last pre-planned sequence of experiments. It is designed to measure the response of surface tension to carefully controlled changes in the surface areas of bubbles or droplets.

Ramon continued investigations with the SOFBALL (Structures of Flame Balls) experiment. The experiment studies lean combustion to help engineers design engines with better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions of pollution.

Television from the crew, narrated by Ramon, was downlinked around 11:30 a.m. showing various aspects of experiment operations conducted by both teams. Husband maneuvered Columbia today as required for any scientific activities.

McCool, Brown and Anderson were awakened at 2:39 p.m. to the sounds of "I Say a Little Prayer for You" sung by Dionne Warwick. The song was played for Anderson from his wife.

Husband ended his 10th day in space by calibrating two Israeli cameras that will be used to continue photographing dust particles, sprites and other electrical phenomena in the upper atmosphere. The crew hope to use the camera to observe a substantial plume of dust and smoke that extends from the Nigerian coast westward toward the Atlantic and an additional plume off the coast of Mauritania and Mali. Sprites in storms over Western Australia near Perth also will be observed. Sprites are electrical discharges that shoot up from the tops of thunderstorms into the Earth's ionosphere.

All of Columbia's systems continue to operate in excellent shape.

It was a quiet day on board the International Space Station, meanwhile, as Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit enjoyed a light workday. They will also partake in an off-duty day tomorrow before resuming normal scientific research and routine station maintenance activities on Monday.

Additional Details: ISS EO-15: Space Station Crew Back on Earth.

• Orbiter Docking System - Bay 1-2 - 1800 kg
• Spacesuit EMU 3004 - 130 kg
• Spacesuit EMU 3003 - 130 kg
• Station Power Distribution Unit SPDU - Bay 3P - 100 kg
• Fixture for return of S-band Antenna - SASA FSE - Bay 3P - 4S - 100 kg
• Power/Data Grapple Fixture for Node-2 - PDGF - Bay 5P - 50 kg
• Main Bus Switching Unit - MBSU - Bay 6S - 238 kg
• MBSU adapter - Bay 6S - 122 kg
• Station Power Distribution Unit - SPDU - Bay 6S - 7P - 100 kg
• Node-2 Harmony module - Bays 8-12 - 14,300 kg
• OBSS 203 - Sill 450 kg
• RMS 301 - Sill 410 kg

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #01.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #02.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #03.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #04.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #5.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #6.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #8.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #10.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #09.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #12.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #11.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #13.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #15.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 10/30/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 10/31/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #20.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/01/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #21.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/03/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #25.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #26.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/04/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/05/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #30.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/06/07.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #32.

Additional Details: STS-120 MCC Status Report #31.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/07/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/08/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/09/07.

Additional Details: ISS EO-16: Station Spacewalk Prepares for PMA, Harmony Moves.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/10/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/11/07.

Additional Details: ISS EO-16: PMA-2 Move Readies Station for Harmony Relocation.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/12/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/13/07.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/14/07.

Additional Details: ISS EO-16: Harmony Moved to Front of Space Station.

Additional Details: ISS EO-16: Spacewalkers to Hook Up Harmony at its New Location.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy and Dan wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/15/07.

"Uborka", normally done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the FE's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/16/07.

After setting up the video camera gear for covering their CEVIS cycle ergometer workout, Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani activated the OUM-PFE (Oxygen Uptake Measurement - Periodic Fitness Evaluation) equipment at the HRF-2 (Human Research Facility 2) rack, including the HRF PFM/PAM (Pulmonary Function Module/Photoacoustic Analyzer Module), Mixing Bag System and GDS (Gas Delivery System). Both crewmembers then completed the evaluation protocol, wearing HRMs (Heart Rate Monitors), with each one in turn acting as subject and operator, obtaining measurements on themselves on the CEVIS cycle ergometer. (The operations were documented with photo and video. Later, Peggy and Dan updated the evaluation protocol, deactivated & stowed the gear, including photo/video equipment, and powered down the OUM-PFE laptop. Purpose of OUM-PFE is to measure aerobic capacity during exercise within 14 days after arrival on ISS, and once monthly during routine PFEs. The data allows exercise physiologists & flight doctors to assess the crew's health & fitness and to provide data for modifying & updating crew-specific exercise regimes. PFE-OUM is a collaborative effort between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/17/07.

Ahead: Week 5 of Increment 16.

The crew completed the mandatory CHeCS (Crew Health Care Systems) emergency/contingency medical OBT (on-board training) drill, a one-hour U.S. exercise designed to refresh crewmembers' acuity in applying HMS (Health Maintenance System) equipment like ACLS (Advanced Cardio Life Support) in an emergency. (The drill gives the crew the opportunity to work as a team in resolving a simulated medical emergency onboard ISS and to refresh their memory of on-orbit stowage & deployment locations, equipment use, and procedures. Setting up (but not actually operating/manipulating) onboard equipment such as the RSP (Respiratory Support Pack), ALSP (Advanced Life Support Pack), intubation kit, HMS defibrillator, all stowed in the Lab CHeCS rack, and the CMRS (Crew Medical Restraint System), Peggy, Yuri and Dan stepped through the ACLS algorithm manual to resolve a simulated medical emergency onboard ISS. Objectives of the exercise include practicing communication and coordination necessary to perform medical emergency procedures, locating appropriate emergency medical components, and determining each crewmember's individual method of delivering CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) in zero-G.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/18/07.

Before breakfast, CDR Peggy Whitson & FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Peggy and Dan wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, currently as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/19/07.

Crew sleep cycle: 1:00am - 4:30pm EST.

EVA-11 'Bravo' was completed fully successfully in 7 hrs 16 min, accomplishing all objectives plus several get-ahead tasks. During the spacewalk, CDR Peggy Whitson (EV1) and FE-2 Dan Tani (EV2), supported by FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko as intravehicular (IV) crewmember, connected and configured one half of the Node-2 fluid, power, and cooling jumpers. The other half will be done on EVA-12 'Charlie' on 11/24 (Saturday).
Specifically, the spacewalkers -

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/20/07.

(The test, using the RSS2 laptop, consisted of switching from the regular 128-byte TM frame to a 206-byte format, for the ground to run tests overnight from RGS (Russian Ground Sites). Tomorrow, in part 2 the FE-1 will reconfigure the BSR-TM back to 128-byte format.)

Afterwards, Malenchenko recorded the post-EVA radiation readings from the Russian EMU-worn plus one background 'Pille-MKS' dosimeters in a log table for subsequent downlink to the ground.

Starting preparations of their next spacewalk, EVA-12 'Charlie' on 11/24 (Saturday), CDR Whitson and FE-2 Tani -

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/21/07.

CDR Whitson & FE-1 Malenchenko started off on today's light-duty schedule with another standard 30-min Shuttle RPM (R-bar Pitch Maneuver) skill training, Peggy's third, Yuri's fourth, using DCS-760 digital still cameras with 400 & 800mm lenses at Service Module (SM) windows 6 & 8 to take imagery of documented EO (Earth Observation) targets facing the velocity vector (in flight direction). Afterwards, Peggy downlinked the obtained images to the ground for analysis, to be discussed at a subsequent tagup. (The skill training prepares crewmembers for the bottomside mapping of the Orbiter at the arrival of STS-122/1E in December. During the RPM at ~600 ft from the station, the ISS crew will have only ~90 seconds for taking high-resolution digital photographs of all tile areas and door seals on the Atlantis from SM windows 6 & 8, to be downlinked for launch debris assessment. Thus, time available for the shooting will be very limited, requiring great coordination between the two headset-equipped photographers and the Shuttle.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/22/07.

(The test, controlled from the RSS2 laptop, began 11/21 with Yuri switching from the regular 128-byte TM frame to a 206-byte format, for TsUP to run tests from RGS (Russian Ground Sites). Today, in Part 2 as per plan the FE-1 returned the BSR-TM to the nominal 128-byte format.)

Malenchenko also transferred measurements & imagery from the ESA/RSC-Energia experiment ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS) to OCA for subsequent downlink to the ground, after yesterday's first repositioning of the spectrometer. (ALTCRISS uses the AST spectrometer to monitor space radiation in the Russian segment (RS).)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/23/07.

Node-2 Harmony is ready to accept Columbus!

EVA-12 'Charlie' was completed fully successfully in 7 hrs 4 min, accomplishing all objectives & get-ahead tasks.
As a consequence, Node-2 Harmony was fully activated by the ground, one day earlier than originally planned, enabling interior activations by the crew tomorrow.

During the spacewalk, CDR Peggy Whitson (EV1) and FE-2 Dan Tani (EV2), supported by FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko as intravehicular (IV) crewmember, connected and configured the second half of the Node-2 fluid, power, and cooling jumpers (the first half was accomplished on EVA-11 'Bravo' on 11/20).
Specifically, the spacewalkers -

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/24/07.

Ahead: Week 6 of Increment 16.

The FE-1 started his day by recording post-EVA radiation readings from the Russian 'Pille-MKS' dosimeters in the two spacesuits worn by Whitson & Tani during yesterday's spacewalk and from one background dosimeter. Measurements were logged in a table for subsequent downlink to the ground.

In the SM (Service Module), Malenchenko afterwards activated the Kenwood D700 amateur radio station and started the program for the Russian SHADOW-BEACON (Tenj-Mayak) experiment. (Objective of the experiment is the automatic retranslation of time tag (pre-planned executable) packets from ground stations. SHADOW (or ECLIPSE), sponsored by Roskosmos and its leading Moscow research organization TSNIIMASH (Central Research Institute of Machine Building), employs VHF amateur radio (ham) operators around the globe (via ARISS/Amateur Radio on ISS) to help in observing refraction/scattering effects in artificial plasmas using the method of RF (radio frequency) sounding in space experiments under different geophysical conditions. This is the experiment's second run, after Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin conducted it first on Expedition 14 in November 2006.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/25/07.

ff-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani. Underway: Week 6 of Increment 16. Having passed the Day 30 mark in her flight, CDR-16 Whitson began her second session with the NASA/JSC experiment NUTRITION w/Repository, for which she had to forego exercising and food intake for eight hours. (After collecting an initial urine sample, Whitson, assisted by Dan Tani, followed it with phlebotomy, i.e., drawing blood samples (from an arm vein) which she first allowed to coagulate in the Repository, then spun in the HRF RC (Human Research Facility/Refrigerated Centrifuge) and finally placed in MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The RC was later powered off after a temperature reset to limit wear on the compressor, and cleaned (see RC troubleshooting, below). The equipment was then stowed. NUTRITION activities today included the required 24-hour data urine collection by Whitson, by securing samples during the day, all stored immediately in MELFI. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile currently required on all U.S. Astronauts collects blood and urine samples preflight and postflight. NUTRITION expands this protocol by also capturing inflight samples and an additional postflight sample. Furthermore, additional measurements are included for samples from all sessions, including additional markers of bone metabolism, vitamin status, and hormone and oxidative stressor tests. The results will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures (exercise and pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and nutrient requirements. The Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L), first started on two Mir crewmembers and then on all ISS US crews, nominally consists of two pre-flight and one post-flight analysis of nutritional status, as well as an in-flight assessment of dietary intake using the FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire). The current NUTRITION project expands MR016L testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/26/07.

Today she collected another urine sample for storage in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). The sampling kit was then stowed away. (The current NUTRITION project expands the previous Clinical Nutritional Assessment profile (MR016L) testing in three ways: Addition of in-flight blood & urine collection (made possible by MELFI), normative markers of nutritional assessment, and a return session plus 30-day (R+30) session to allow evaluation of post-flight nutrition and implications for rehabilitation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/27/07.

(The FE-2 configured the hardware to allow the ground to perform ground commanding to the MLC (Microgravity Science Glovebox Laptop Computer) for diagnostic testing and to develop recovery steps for the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to be reprogrammed correctly.)

FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko performed a thorough 2-hr. troubleshooting inspection & verification of the connections of the Russian segment's Onboard Cabling System (BKS) to the FGB's Thermal Control System (SOTR). (Using the Nikon D200 digital camera, Yuri documented the SOTR layout behind panel 215 and checked connector pins for dirt or misalignment.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/28/07.

(SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/29/07.

This includes inspection and audio function checks of all comm panels (PA) in and between the Service Module (SM), FGB and Docking Compartment (DC1), VHF receiver tests, and an audit of headsets. (The "Voskhod-M" STTS enables telephone communications between the SM, FGB, DC1 and U.S. segment (USOS), and also with users on the ground over VHF channels selected by an operator at an SM comm panel, via STTS antennas on the SM's outside. There are six comm panels in the SM with pushbuttons for accessing any of three audio channels, plus an intercom channel. Other modes of the STTS include telegraphy (teletype), EVA voice, emergency alarms, Packet/Email, and TORU docking support. Last time done 4/15/07 by Yurchikhin & Kotov.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 11/30/07.

(After yesterday's hardware setup, leak checking of the electronics box and evacuation of the vacuum work chamber (ZB) with the turbopump, the CDR conducted more testing and calibration, uploaded new software from a USB stick to the payload laptop, checked out the software installation and verified the readiness of the experiment. After additional leak checking on the work chamber during the day, Yuri will deactivate the turbopump tonight at ~4:25pm EST. The experiment is performed on plasma, i.e., fine particles charged and excited by HF (high frequency) radio power inside the evacuated work chamber. Main objective is to obtain a homogeneous plasma dust cloud at various pressures and particle quantities with or without superimposition of an LF (low frequency) harmonic electrical field. The experiment is conducted in automated mode. PK-3+ has more advanced hardware and software than the previously used Russian PKE-Nefedov payload.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/01/07.

Ahead: Week 7 of Increment 16.

FE-1 Malenchenko supported his first experiment session with the Russian TEKh-20 Plasma Crystal-3+ (Plazmennyi-Kristall/PK-3+) payload by activating the turbopump in the Service Module (SM)'s Transfer Compartment (PkhO) for keeping the vacuum chamber (ZB) in the SM Work Compartment (RO) evacuated. The turbopump will be deactivated tonight at ~4:25pm EST. (Main objective of PK-3 is to study dust plasma wave propagation and dispersion ratio at a specified power of HF discharge, pressure, and a varied number of particles.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/02/07.

FE-1 Malenchenko continued his support of his first experiment session with the Russian TEKh-20 Plasma Crystal-3+ (Plazmennyi-Kristall/PK-3+) payload by activating the turbopump in the Service Module (SM)'s Transfer Compartment (PkhO) for keeping the vacuum chamber (ZB) in the SM Work Compartment (RO) evacuated. The turbopump will be deactivated tonight at ~4:25pm EST. (Main objective of PK-3 is to study dust plasma wave propagation and dispersion ratio at a specified power of HF discharge, pressure, and a varied number of particles.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/03/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/04/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/05/07.

The next liftoff opportunity is tomorrow, Friday, at 4:09pm EST.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/06/07.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/07/07.

The delayed launch of STS-122/Atlantis/Mission ISS-1E has tentatively been rescheduled for tomorrow, Sunday (12/9) at 3:21pm EST, assuming no major problems turn up in engineering reviews taking place today. Weather forecast for 12/9 predicts an 80 percent chance of good weather.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/08/07.

Ahead: Week 8 of Increment 16.

The launch of STS-122/Atlantis/Mission ISS-1E has now been targeted for not earlier than 1/2/08 for additional troubleshooting of the four LH2 low level cutoff sensors (after the #3 sensor again failed this morning during another tanking attempt).

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

The FE-2 later conducted inflight maintenance on the Node-2 ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System)'s MTL (Moderate Temperature Loop) by adjusting its fluid sampling adapter metering valve and then taking another fluid sample for return to the ground and one for OPA (Ortho-Phthalaldehyde) testing.. Afterwards, Dan repeated the sampling process on the LTL (Low Temperature Loop) side of the Node-2 ITCS. (OPA, an antimicrobial agent, was introduced into the Lab ITCS coolant by the AmiA (Antimicrobial Applicator).)

FE-1 Malenchenko performed monthly maintenance on the Russian IK0501 GA (gas analyzer) of the SOGS Pressure Control & Atmospheric Monitoring System, deactivating the unit and replacing its CO2 filter assembly (BF) with a new unit from FGB stowage (replaced last: 10/29). (After ensuring good seals on the instrument's base and no leaks around the installed filter, Yuri reactivated the GA and stowed the spent BF for disposal. IK0501 is an automated system for measuring CO2, O2, and H2O in the air as well as the flow rate of the gas being analyzed.)

CDR Whitson completed the periodic offloading of the Lab CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) dehumidifier's condensate tank, filling CWC (Contingency Water Container) #1062 with the collected water slated for processing, and putting aside two water samples in sample bags for analysis. (Estimated offload time before termination (leaving ~6 kg in the tank): ~20 min.)

The crewmembers conducted their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exerciser (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Job items on Peggy's and Dan's discretionary 'job jar' task list today were -

Removal of panel fasteners in Node-2 to provide temporary access to the AR SDS (Atmosphere Revitalization/Sample Delivery System). (The SDS, along with the MCA (Major Constituents Analyzer), PCA (Pressure Control Assembly), TCCS (Trace Contaminant Control Subassembly) and CVV (Carbon Dioxide Vent Valve assembly), is a subsystem of the Atmosphere Control & Supply System of the Lab's ECLSS (Environment Control & Life Support System));
Lubrication of TVIS treadmill SPDs (Subject Positioning Devices); and
Monthly battery check and rebooting of the PCS (Portable Computer System) A31p laptops.
No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

Aboard the space station, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/10/07.

FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software after wakeup and before breakfast, for data logging, completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/11/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/12/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/13/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/14/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/15/07.

Ahead: Week 9 of Increment 16.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/16/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/17/07.

During the spacewalk, Tani (EV1) & Whitson (EV2), supported by FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko as intravehicular (IV) crewmember, inspected the Stbd (right-side) 1A BGA (Beta Gimbal Assembly) and BMRMM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module), followed by a detailed investigation and photo documentation of the Stbd SARJ (Solar Alpha Rotary Joint).
Specifically, the spacewalkers -

Found no obvious signs of external damage on cables or hardware of the BGA & BMRMM that might have caused the repeated tripping of circuit breakers (RPCs/Remote Power Controllers), making it more likely that the issue is internal to the hardware or its electrical system;
Entered into the S5 truss to disconnect some wiring to allow the ground to perform diagnostic continuity tests, and later reconnected the cables;
Temporarily removed 22 protective MLI (Multi-Layer Insulation) covers to inspect the SARJ, its two DLAs (Drive Lock Assemblies), and its 12 TBAs (Trundle Bearing Assemblies), reattaching the covers afterwards,
Found most metal shavings around TBA-4 and TBA-5, i.e., metallic, magnetic contamination on the main gear bearing's outboard angled race ring as well as pitting and abrasions on the ring but no obvious damage on the inboard race ring or on the gear teeth themselves. DLA (Drive Lock Assembly) #2 appeared especially 'ugly', i.e., filled with contamination, and, according to the spacewalkers, the further away from the DLA, the less contamination was observed;
Took photographs, measured the depth of surface pits with a special probe and collected debris samples; and
Deinstalled and removed TBA-5 from its housing under cover #20, using a PGT (Pistol Grip Tool), then brought it inside in a bag for eventual return to Earth aboard STS-122/Atlantis (SARJ can function OK on only 11 TBAs).
(Official start time of the spacewalk was 4:50am EST, 70 minutes ahead of the timeline, ending at 11:46am. Total EVA duration (PET = Phase Elapsed Time) was 6h 56min. It was the 100th spacewalk for ISS assembly & maintenance and the 72nd from the station (28 from Shuttle, 50 from Quest, 22 from Pirs) totaling 436h 3m, and the 4th for Expedition 16 (totaling 28h 11m. During the spacewalk, her fifth, Peggy Whitson set a new record of aggregated EVA time by a woman (of 32h 36m) when she exceeded the 29h 18m held by Sunita Williams. After today's EVA, a total of 121 spacewalkers (90 NASA astronauts, 21 Russians, and ten astronauts representing Japan-1, Canada-4, France-1, Germany-1 and Sweden-3) have logged a total of 624h 25m outside the station on building, outfitting and servicing. It was also the 122nd spacewalk by U.S. astronauts. The 100th EVA dedicated to ISS assembly & maintenance originally was to have been conducted by Rex Walheim & Hans Schlegel of the delayed STS-122/1E mission.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/18/07.

billion kilometers (1.37 billion st.miles) in 3316 days. The 19,300 kg (42,600 lbs) Zarya ('Dawn') was launched on a Russian/Khrunichev Proton from Baikonur over nine years ago (11/20/1998) as the first element of the multi-national space station.<<<<

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/19/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/20/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/21/07.

Happy 46th Birthday, Yuri Ivanovich!

Last night, Progress M-61/26P successfully undocked from the ISS at 10:59pm EST (hook opening command: 10:57pm). The separation appeared smooth with no vibrations noted. Downlinked video from the cargo vehicle showed that the docking ring surface was nominal. The first separation burn was performed at 11:03pm and a second separation burn followed at 11:09pm. The spacecraft initially moved aft of the station, then forward, overtaking the ISS on a lower (faster) orbit. 26P will remain in orbit in free flight for 3-4 weeks, continuing to phase out in front of the ISS (about 40 km per orbit) as part of a Russian Earth observation experiment.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/22/07.

Ahead: Week 10 of Increment 16.

With the usual dependability, Progress M-62/27P launched nominally this morning at Baikonur at 2:12am EST. Orbit insertion and 3rd stage separation were nominal at ~2:21:30am. Critical antennae and solar array deployments took place without issue. Docking is scheduled on Wednesday, 12/26 (~3:25am EST). Congrats, Baikonur!

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani and CDR Peggy Whitson completed their daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/23/07.

Merry Christmas and Great Holidays to everyone!

Progress M-62/27P is continuing its 3-day flight to the ISS for docking Wednesday morning (12/26) at ~3:25am EST at the DC1 nadir port. All onboard tests (TV, KURS, TORU), performed today during RGS (Russian ground site) passes, were without issues.

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani and CDR Peggy Whitson completed their daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/24/07.

Progress M-62/27P is continuing its 3-day flight to the ISS for docking tomorrow morning (12/26) at ~3:25am EST at the DC1 nadir port. All onboard tests (TV, KURS, TORU) and the DV3 burn on Orbit 33, during RGS (Russian ground site) passes were nominal. (See Timeline, below).

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani and CDR Peggy Whitson completed their daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process will be terminated at ~2:45pm EST. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. Filter bed 1 was regenerated yesterday.)

Yuri also performed the routine servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. (Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.)

The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation (CDR, FE-1), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Afterwards, Peggy copied the exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

At ~1:00pm, Dan Tani had a PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop).

At ~11:30am, CDT Whitson conducted a teleconference with the Houston Flight Control Team (FCT).

ASN-M Testing: TsUP-Moscow began with tests of the ASN-M Satellite Navigation System over six orbits, without crew involvement. (ASN-M is required for ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) 'Jules Verne' prox ops next year.)

Timeline for 27P Approach & Docking (all times EST):

ISS mnvr to dock attitude: 12:50am - 1:40am (-XVV -YLV)
Start of automated rendezvous: 12:56am
Progress Kurs-A activation: 1:42:30am
SM Kurs-P activation: 1:44:30am
Good Kurs-P data at 80 km: 2:09:36am
Range = 9km - VHF-2 activation (TORU cmd link): 2:36am
Range = 8km - Progress TV activation: 2:37am
Flyaround mode start: 2:54am
Stationkeeping start: 3:03am
RGS AOS: 3:15am
Final Approach start: 3:17am
27P Docking at DC1 nadir port: 3:25am
RGS LOS: 3:37am
Progress hooks closed: 3:46am
CEO photo targets uplinked for today again were Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMC - also known as noctilucent clouds) over selected ground sites (12 minutes for each). Also suggested for Dan Tani were a series of night photographs of city lights. (Use of the footprint of city lights as a proxy for population size and density (in different cultures/economies) is proving out as a workable method of observing population change through time).

Progress M-62 (27P), approaching from below the station, docked nominally at the DC1 Docking Compartment nadir port at 3:14am EST, with automatic AO-VKA orientation antenna retraction, followed by docking probe retraction and hook closure ('sborka') at 3:23am after motion damp-out, while the ISS was in free drift. (Launched 12/23 (2:12am EST), the 27P resupply drone delivered about 2.5 tons of cargo for the ISS crews, including propellants for the Russian thrusters, fresh water, oxygen, food, spare parts, repair gear, life support and science experiment hardware. For the docking, ISS attitude control authority was handed over to Russian MCS (Motion Control System) thrusters at 11:48pm and returned to US Momentum Management at 5:06am. Starting with TV camera activation at ~2:37am (range ~8 km), the KURS TV camera display data overlay failed to show through docking despite attempts by the crew to activate the numerical display. The docking took place nominally, without violation of any joint flight rules, since Malenchenko and Whitson had all numerical data on a laptop before them. Telemetry was also available in TsUP-Moscow.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/26/07.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani again accessed the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and completing questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for later downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/27/07.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Upon wakeup, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko terminated his fifth MBI-12 SONOKARD experiment session, started last night, by taking the recording device from his SONOKARD sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-MED laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/28/07.

Whitson and Tani began the day with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/29/07.

New Year's Eve's Eve! Ahead: Week 11 of Increment 16.

Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani began the day with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/30/07.

Crew off-duty day. Underway: Week 11 of Increment 16.

Peggy and Dan began the day with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment 's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers ' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew 's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 12/31/07.

Peggy and Dan began the New Year with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/01/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Peggy and Dan spent several hours getting 'the broom out of the closet', i.e., accessing the PMA-3 (Pressurized Mating Adapter 3) at the Node-1 nadir port and retrieving the spare BMRMM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module) for its planned installation at the Stbd (right-side) 1A BGA (Beta Gimbal Assembly) on the S4 truss in an upcoming EVA, replacing the failed BMRRM. The following steps were successfully executed to retrieve the spare part:

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/02/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Dr. Whitson conducted her first clinical blood analysis of the US PHS (Periodic Health Status) with Blood Labs exam. Afterwards, all PHS hardware was stowed again. (The PHS exam, with PCBA (Portable Clinical Blood Analyzer) analysis and clinical evaluation, is guided by special software (IFEP, in-flight examination program) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer). While PCBA analyzes total blood composition, the blood's hematocrit is particularly measured by the Russian MO-10 protocol.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/03/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Also before breakfast, Peggy Whitson, Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani performed the periodic Russian biomedical routine assessments PZEh-MO-7/Calf Volume Measurement and PZEh-MO-8/Body Mass Measurement (5th for CDR & FE-1, 4th for FE-2), using the IM mass measurement device which Malenchenko afterwards broke down for stowage. (Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference pints, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures. For determining body mass in zero-G, where things are weightless but not massless, the Russian IM "scales" measure the inertial forces that arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical metering springs with known spring constants. By measuring the time period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember's mass is calculated by the computer and displayed.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/04/08.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/05/08.

Ahead: Week 12 of Increment 16. Also:

Christmas Eve for tomorrow's Russian Orthodox Christmas.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/06/08.

Ahead: Week 12 of Increment 16.

S Rodzhestvom Kristovym!

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

At ~5:00am EST, FE-1 Malenchenko received a 10-min VIP call via S-band from Patriarch Alexis II of the Russian Orthodox Church, speaking from TsUP/Moscow and extending best wishes to the crew on the occasion of today's Orthodox Christmas celebration. (The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates its Christmas 13 days after Western Christmas, on January 7, in accordance with the old Julian calendar. It is a day of both solemn ritual and joyous celebration. Christmas was banned throughout Russia after the 1917 Revolution, along with other religious celebrations, and it wasn't until 75 years later, in 1992, that the holiday was again openly observed. Today, it's once again celebrated in grand fashion, with citizens participating in an all-night Mass in incense-filled Cathedrals amidst the company of the painted icons of Saints, along with a traditional family get-together and special meal on Christmas Eve.)

Later, Yuri completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.

The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (FE-2), TVIS treadmill (CDR, FE-1), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Afterwards, Peggy Whitson copied the exercise data file to the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop for downlink, including the daily wristband HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

With the Russian O2 (oxygen) generator 'Elektron' turned off since 12/28/07, the FE-1 had time set aside for another 1-hour O2 repress of the cabin atmosphere from Progress M-62/27P storage tankage, if required. Yesterday's repress added about 8 mmHg of O2 into the ISS as per plan. (The Elektron will remain powered down until 1/9/08 to conserve hardware lifetime. During this time, the station will be periodically repressurized with oxygen from Progress 27P.)

A new entry still on discretionary US 'job jar' task list for Peggy and Yuri is 'ghosting' an updated personal image with their preferred material on a 60GB hard disk in an A31p laptop UltraBay Adapter reserved as their CPSD (Crew Personal Support Disk), a 45-min task for each.

Also on Whitson's voluntary task list, at her convenience, is an audit of rack locations, using the IMS (Inventory Management System). (The audit function, introduced with the implementation of IMS software version 2.0, allows the crewmember to set up audits of bags, kits, containers and stowage locations on the laptop.)

A third new item on the 'job jar' task list is for FE-2 Tani to continue his crew departure preparations.

The two flight engineers were scheduled for PFCs (Private Family Conferences) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-9 laptop), Yuri at ~6:20am EST, Dan at ~11:50am.

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Working in the DC1 Docking Compartment, FE-1 Malenchenko, later joined by CDR Whitson, started a three-day maintenance activity on three Russian Orlan-M spacesuits (#25, #26, #27), first initiating discharge of 825M3 Orlan battery pack #1, then scrubbing and degassing the Orlan water loops, followed by the coolant loops in the DC1 and SM PkhO (Service Module Transfer Compartment) BSS Orlan Interface Units. (Functional inspection & checkout of the suits and their spare parts, including bladder leak tests, are scheduled tomorrow & Thursday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/08/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

The FE-2 worked in the Airlock (A/L), starting on a lengthy (2h 25m) troubleshooting procedure on the EACP (EVA/EMU Audio Control Panel), first setting up comm from the A/L, then activating the EACP and connecting it via the 'low clearance' Y-cable to ATU-4 (Audio Terminal Unit, #4) and ATU-6 on the A/L Avionics Rack. After initial testing, the EACP was turned off again. (ATU-6 was installed by Clay Anderson on 10/11/07 in place of a failed unit, and the failed ATU-6 was returned on 10A. The new ATU-6 has been experiencing periodic lockups and PBIT (passive built-in test) faults. Engineering analysis and testing indicate that these issues may be caused by improperly mated J3 & J4 connections, a problem with the address connector, or a dirty fiber-optic connector. There are 3 ATUs in the A/L, one of which must be functional for EVAs, so long as the suited EVA crew has established UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio communication.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/09/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Upon wakeup, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko terminated his seventh MBI-12 SONOKARD experiment session, started last night, by taking the recording device from his SONOKARD sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-MED laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/10/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

At ~3:10am EST, the FE-2 activated the VDS MPC (Video Distribution System/Multi-Purpose Converter) with its four downlinks to allow the ground to conduct HDTV (high-definition TV) playback and downlink operations. Later (~11:30am), the MPC was powered off again.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/11/08.

Saturday -- off-duty day for CDR Whitson, FE-1 Malenchenko and FE-2 Tani except for housekeeping and voluntary work. "CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers ' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew 's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/12/08.

Ahead: Week 13 of Increment 16.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko prepared for today's last day of his five-day wearing test of the spring-loaded 'Penguin-3' antigravity pressure/stress suit with its load measuring system (SIN), donning the suit and its equipment, then going about his business and downloading performance measurements several times. (Each day, Yuri has selected higher symmetrical (shoulders) & asymmetrical (chest & back) loads (~20-30 kgf), after calibrating the system with no load on the suit's internal tension straps. Load data are then collected by the SIN electronics (via analog-to-digital converters) and downloaded to a A31p laptop three times daily, followed by downlink to the ground via BSR-TM.)

FE-2 Tani performed his daily status check on the BCAT-3 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3) science payload, running by itself in Node-2 since 12/13/07 (briefly interrupted for EVA-13 photo support). (The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.)

Malenchenko completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.

The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

The CDR and FE-2 each had their weekly PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop), Dan at ~9:05am EST, Peggy at ~12:00pm.

Working off his discretionary 'time permitting' task list, Yuri conducted another session of the Russian "Uragan" (hurricane) earth-imaging program, using the Nikon D2X digital camera with 800 mm focal length lens. (Targets uplinked for today were Patagonia Glaciers and Icebergs in the Drake Passage.)

A second job item on the FE-1's voluntary list for today was another KPT-3 session to make observations and take aerial KPT-3 photography of environmental conditions for Russia's Environmental Safety Agency (ECON) using the Nikon D2X digital camera with SIGMA 300-800mm telephoto lens.

Task items on Peggy's and Dan's discretionary 'job jar' task list today were (1) a thorough review of uplinked draft material on the BMRRM (Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module) hardware and EVA-14 procedures for its upcoming R&R, (2) an audit of CTB (Cargo Transport Bags) and their contents, and (3) installation of a ground wire on the PFA (Portable Fan Assembly).

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/14/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary "job jar" task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #1 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process will be terminated before sleeptime, at ~2:20pm EST. Regeneration of bed #2 follows tomorrow. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/15/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

FE-1 Malenchenko serviced the Russian BMP (Harmful Impurities Removal System), starting the "bake-out" cycle to vacuum on absorbent bed #2 of the regenerable dual-channel filtration system. The regen process was terminated at ~2:00 EST. (Regeneration of each of the two cartridges takes about 12 hours and is conducted only during crew awake periods. Filter bed 1 was regenerated yesterday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/16/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Preparatory to today's pump R&R (Removal & Replacement) of the EHS VOA (Environmental Health Systems/Volatile Organic Analyzer), CDR Whitson rotated the CHeCS rack down for some AAA(Avionics Air Assembly) fan/filter and smoke detector cleaning, before FE-2 Tani performed the VOA IFM (Inflight Maintenance), with filter inspection, preceded and followed by taking CSA-O2 (Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen) readings in the affected rack areas. (If the O2 percentage was between 15.7% - 24.1%, Dan was Go to proceed. If not, the ground had steps to be taken to ventilate the area. Ground analysis has shown that the secondary seals in QDs (Quick Disconnects) in the Nitrogen/Oxygen systems do not always seal properly, which can result in an increased N2/O2 concentration behind panels & racks with no ventilation. The CHeCS (LAB1D4) is one of these racks.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/17/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Also before breakfast, Peggy Whitson, Yuri Malenchenko and Dan Tani performed the periodic Russian biomedical routine assessments PZEh-MO-7/Calf Volume Measurement and PZEh-MO-8/Body Mass Measurement (6th for CDR & FE-1, 5th for FE-2), using the IM mass measurement device which Malenchenko afterwards broke down for stowage. (Calf measurements (left leg only) are taken with the IZOG device, a custom-sewn fabric cuff that fits over the calf, using the knee and lower foot as fixed reference pints, to provide a rough index of deconditioning in zero-G and effectiveness of countermeasures. For determining body mass in zero-G, where things are weightless but not massless, the Russian IM "scales" measure the inertial forces that arise during the oscillatory motion of a mass driven by two helical metering springs with known spring constants. By measuring the time period of each oscillation of the unknown mass (the crewmember) and comparing it to the period of a known mass, the crewmember's mass is calculated by the computer and displayed.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/18/08.

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/19/08.

Ahead: Week 14 of Increment 16.

For today's VolSci (Voluntary Weekend Science) program, CDR Whitson continued her work with the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) and the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment, today conducting runs #18, #19, and #20, then powered down the payload and switched the MSG to standby. (After activation of MSG plus InSPACE & InSPACE-2 equipment, Peggy checked on alignment & focusing of MSG video cams, switched the magnetic field between runs, today pulsing the field at 2 Hz (Hertz) instead of 20 Hz as she did previously. Peggy also repositioned the sample vial (VA-004) by 90 deg, used camera 2 & recorder 2 in the vial position 2 starting with run #19, changed out video recorder tapes and later deactivated InSPACE & MSG. InSPACE, conducted last in June 2006 by Jeff Williams on Increment 13, obtains basic data on magnetorheological fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The dispersed particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields of certain strength and frequencies.)

FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily status check on the BCAT-3 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-3) science payload, running by itself in Node-2 since 12/13/07 (briefly interrupted for EVA-13 photo support). (The status check, conducted on the last image taken by the DCS 760 digital still camera which is controlled by EarthKAM software on an A31p laptop, is to verify proper image focus and camera alignment. The SSC (Station Support Computer) is taking photography of the phase separation occurring in the BCAT Sample 3, with the photo flash going off every half hour.)

FE-1 Malenchenko conducted today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the Service Module (SM), including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables, the weekly collection of the toilet flush (SP) counter and water supply (SVO) readings for calldown to TsUP.

The crewmembers performed their regular 2.5-hr physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-2), RED (CDR, FE-2) and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

At ~9:30am EST, Yuri had his PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on the SSC-10 laptop).

At ~2:22pm, Dan had his PFC.

With the Elektron-VM O2 (oxygen) generator currently off, a 5-min cabin air refresh is to be performed by the FE-1 (off his voluntary task list) from Progress M-62/27P storage (SrPK) as required.

MPC HDTV Update: Dan Tani was lauded by the ground for his great work on 1/17 verifying the MPC HDTV (Multi-Purpose Converter/High-Definition TV) capability all the way to the NASA TV satellite. The test was very successful, yielding an overall end-to-end audio latency (delay) for the MPC System of 3.2 seconds. This is the delay from the crewmember to JSC/MCC-H to NASA Headquarters and out to the NASA TV satellite in high definition, i.e. the sum total of the audio delay the interviewer and interviewee will "feel" during an interactive event. This Japan/JAXA originated system will be utilized soon for downlink messages and in-flight interviews based on client capability.

No CEO photo targets uplinked for today. (Due to the Martin Luther King Federal Holiday tomorrow (1/21), the next CEO observations will be conducted on 1/23 (targets uplinked 1/22).)

CDR Whitson & FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/21/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

At ~2:55am EST, the FE-2 again activated the VDS MPC (Video Distribution System/Multi-Purpose Converter) with its four downlinks to allow the ground to conduct HDTV (high-definition TV) playback and downlink operations. Later (~12:15pm), the MPC was powered off again. (The end-to-end test of the system, conducted by the crew and ground specialists on 1/17 to verify the MPC HDTV (Multi-Purpose Converter/High-Definition TV) capability all the way to the NASA TV satellite, was very successful, yielding an overall end-to-end audio latency (delay) for the MPC System of 3.2 seconds. This is the delay from the crewmember to JSC/MCC-H to NASA Headquarters and out to the NASA TV satellite in high definition (including, but are not limited to, CNNHD, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Discovery HD Theater), i.e. the sum total of the audio delay the interviewer and interviewee will "feel" during an interactive event. This Japan/JAXA originated system will be utilized soon for downlink messages and in-flight interviews based on client capability.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/22/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Peggy Whitson continued her work with the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox), today conducting runs #23 and #24, then powering down the payload and switching the MSG to standby. (After activation of MSG plus InSPACE & InSPACE-2 equipment, Peggy checked on alignment & focusing of MSG video cam #2, repositioned the sample vial, changed out video recorder tapes and later deactivated InSPACE & MSG. InSPACE, conducted last in June 2006 by Jeff Williams on Increment 13, obtains basic data on magnetorheological fluids, i.e., a new class of "smart materials" that can be used to improve or develop new brake systems, seat suspensions robotics, clutches, airplane landing gear, and vibration damper systems. The dispersed particles are contained in CAs (Coil Assemblies) in the MSG that subject them to electric fields of certain strength and frequencies.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/23/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Dan Tani dismantled the InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions) experiment in the MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox) and stowed the equipment, including the video gear.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/24/08.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan and Peggy wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Upon wakeup, FE-1 Yuri Malenchenko terminated his eighth MBI-12 SONOKARD experiment session, started last night, by taking the recording device from his SONOKARD sports shirt pocket and later copying the measurements to the RSE-MED laptop for subsequent downlink to the ground. (SONOKARD objectives are stated to (1) study the feasibility of obtaining the maximum of data through computer processing of records obtained overnight, (2) systematically record the crewmember's physiological functions during sleep, (3) study the feasibility of obtaining real-time crew health data. Investigators believe that contactless acquisition of cardiorespiratory data over the night period could serve as a basis for developing efficient criteria for evaluating and predicting adaptive capability of human body in long-duration space flight.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/25/08.

FE-1 Malenchenko finished Part 2 of his first stress test plus saliva and blood sampling of the ESA/Russian biomed experiment 'IMMUNO' (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS), today completing remaining urine sample collections. Specimens were then stowed in a special urine containment bag (blood samples were secured yesterday in the MELFI {Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS} in cold packs). (IMMUNO is a 24-hr. test of human immune system changes, with the objective to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit. Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end of the first day.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/26/08.

Ahead: Week 15 of Increment 16.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night on his Actiwatch, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink.

The crew performed the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough station cleaning. ("Uborka", usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the Service Module (SM) dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the CDR's sleep station with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/27/08.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night on his Actiwatch, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink.

The FE-2 also performed standard switch-over maintenance on the starboard & portside Lab CCAA (Common Cabin Air Assembly) air conditioners, closing the ITCS LTL (Internal Thermal Control System/Low Temperature Loop) flow to the first (LAB1S6) and initiating it on the second (LAB1P6) unit. This is a periodic service task.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/28/08.

With the Elektron-VM O2 (oxygen) generator currently off, a one-hour cabin air refresh was to be performed by the FE-1 from Progress 27P storage (SrPK) if required.

CDR Whitson conducted the periodic (every two weeks) 10-min inspection of the RED (Resistive Exercise Device) canister cords and accessory straps as well as the canister bolts for re-tightening if required.

Malenchenko completed today's routine maintenance of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM, including ASU toilet facilities systems/replaceables.

Working off his 'time permitting' discretionary job list, Yuri performed the daily 20-min. IMS maintenance, updating/editing its standard 'delta file' including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

At ~8:45am EST, the crew conducted a teleconference with the Shuttle crew of STS-122/1E, scheduled for launch on 2/7.

At ~9:40am, Peggy, Dan and Yuri tagged up with EVA specialists at MCC-H to discuss final arrangements for tomorrow's EVA-14 spacewalk.

Spending time in the Airlock (A/L) for final preparations for EVA-14, Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani -

Configured the DCS-760 digital camera and flash attachment to be taken outside,
Recharged three batteries for the EVA EMU-prebreathe period, to be installed in the EVA photo flash unit and EVA camera just prior to the spacewalk (when off station power),
Prepared the A/L EL (Airlock Equipment Lock) for the Campout & spacewalk,
Tagged up with ground specialists at ~9:40am EST for reviewing EVA particulars, and
Underwent the standard pre-EVA PMC (Private Medical Conference) via S- & Ku-band audio/video.
Yuri prepared three Russian 'Pille-MKS' radiation dosimeters, recorded their dosages and equipped each of the two EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) with a radiation sensor (A0309/CDR & A0310/FE-2). (A third sensor, A0308, was placed in the SM on the PULT reader for background readings.)

The CDR powered down the ham radio equipment in SM (Service Module) and FGB at ~12:30pm to prevent RF interference with the EMUs during the spacewalk. Peggy also closed the protective Lab science window shutters.

The crewmembers completed their regular 2.5-hr. physical workout program (about half of which is used for setup & post-exercise personal hygiene) on the CEVIS cycle ergometer (CDR, FE-2), TVIS treadmill (FE-1, FE-2), RED resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-2), and VELO bike with bungee cord load trainer (FE-1).

Whitson then transferred the crew's exercise data file to the MEC for downlink, as well as the daily wristband HRM data of the workouts on RED, followed by their erasure on the HRM storage medium (done six times a week).

At ~2:50pm EST, Whitson and Tani began their overnight Campout prebreathe and lockout in the A/L. With METOX (Metal Oxide) canisters for CO2 removal in the A/L, the two spacewalkers performed PBA (Portable Breathing Apparatus) mask prebreathe for denitrogenation, while readying their equipment, then depressed the A/L to 10.2 psi for the campout.

After the 8.5-hr sleep period before the spacewalk, the A/L CL (Crewlock) hatch will be cracked at ~1:00am EST for a hygiene break/with mask prebreathe for Whitson and Tani, after spending the night on 10.2 psi. Around 2:10am, the hatch will be closed again by IV Yuri Malenchenko for EVA preparations in 10.2 psi, followed by EMU purge & prebreath. Afterwards, Yuri will support CL depressurization and EV1 & EV2 will egress (~5:20-5:30am).

CEO photo targets uplinked for today were IPY - Aurora Borealis; Heard Island, S. Indian Ocean (clear weather windows continue to be present in the region of Heard Island at the time of the ISS orbit pass. Looking to the right of track as ISS approached Antarctica. Mapping photography of the island was requested to capture snow and ice extent. The island of Kerguelen may also be visible to the northwest of Heard Island), and Patagonian Glaciers, S. America (this orbit track provided a traverse across the central portion of the Patagonian ranges. Overlapping, nadir mapping frames of glaciers on the western side of the mountains were requested).

>>>>Today 50 years ago, the U.S. launched its first Earth satellite, Explorer 1, on a Redstone/Jupiter rocket built by the Wernher von Braun team for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). The satellite, developed by JPL and equipped with radiation sensors by Dr. James Van Allen, discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belts of Earth.<<<<

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 01/31/08.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink.

(To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Before breakfast, CDR Whitson completed her 120-Day NUTRITION/w Repository session (blood collection only). Whitson also set up NUTRITION w/Repository hardware for the 24-hour urine sample collections that will begin tomorrow morning and end Sunday morning.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/01/08.

>>>Yesterday, NASA observed the annual Day of Remembrance honoring those members of the NASA Family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. This memorial event honors the families and crews of Columbia STS-107, Challenger STS 51-L, and Apollo 1, as well as all the astronauts who have sacrificed their lives for this nation. <<<

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

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

Ahead: Week 16 of Increment 16.

FE-2 Tani started out with the daily reading of SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) experiment data accumulated during the night, for logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the SLEEP session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmembers' sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/03/08.

This morning, Progress M-62/27P successfully undocked from the ISS DC1 at 5:32am EST 26P will remain in orbit in free flight until 2/15, continuing to phase out in front of the ISS (about 40 km per orbit) in order to support Russian Earth observation experiments. (The separation appeared smooth, with no anomalous behavior reported by the crew. TsUP-Moscow confirmed a 15 second first separation burn complete at approximately 5:35:07anm EST. The ISS returned to US Momentum Management (MM) at approximately 6:46am EST.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/04/08.

Ascent was nominal, all appendages (antennae and solar arrays) deployed nominally and the vehicle reached orbital insertion at 8:12am. 28P is scheduled to dock to the ISS on 2/7 (Thursday) at 9:38am. Congrats, Baikonur!

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/05/08.

After wakeup and before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/06/08.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The crew's work/sleep cycle was shifted once more in preparation for Atlantis 1E arrival, to 5:00am-8:15pm.

STS-122/Atlantis continues its catch-up flight for tomorrow's FD3 ISS docking at ~12:25pm EDT, to begin ISS Stage 1E. (Catch-up rate ~480 nmi. per revolution of ~92 min.). (Hatch opening: expected at ~1:35pm, followed by: Safety Briefing, OBSS (Orbiter Boom Sensor System) handoff from SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) to SRMS (Shuttle RMS) at ~4:30pm, Soyuz seat liner transfer (for the Tani/Anderson exchange), and preparations for the first spacewalk, EVA-1, by EV1 Walheim & EV2 Schlegel, on 2/10, preceded by their overnight Campout tomorrow night in the Airlock (A/L) for denitrogenation/pre-breathe. Objectives of the nominal 11-day mission: Delivering & installing the Columbus module, delivering new ISS-16 crewmember LĂ(c)opold Eyharts & bringing Dan Tani back home, and conducting a total of three EVAs. Landing will nominally take place at KSC on FD10 (2/18) at ~9:59am EST.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

aturday = Docking Day. Happy Birthday, Peggy Whitson!

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

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

Space shuttle Atlantis will deliver the new module and a new crew member to the station when it docks at 11:25 a.m. CST to begin 6 days of docked operations.

Today's wakeup song, played for Commander Steve Frick, at 3:45 a.m. CST was the theme song from Garrison Keillor's radio variety show 'A Prairie Home Companion.' The song is the Spencer Williams composition "Tishomingo Blues," but with lyrics written especially for the show.

Frick and his shuttle crewmates begin rendezvous operations at 5:30 a.m. CST. At 10:23 a.m., at a range of 600 feet below the station, Frick will command Atlantis to perform a back flip so ISS Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko can photograph the thermal tiles on the shuttle's underside. Those digital images will be sent to Mission Control for analysis.

With the pitch maneuver complete, Frick will then fly the shuttle ahead of the station and slowly ease the orbiter back to a docking with the space station.

After hatch opening, the crew members will begin moving spacewalking equipment into the Quest airlock to prepare for the first excursion on Sunday. Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Hans Schlegel will go outside to prepare the Columbus module to be grappled by the station's robotic arm, lifted from Atlantis' payload bay, and installed on the starboard side of Harmony.

The official exchange of Atlantis crewmember LĂ(c)opold Eyharts with space station Flight Engineer Dan Tani, who arrived at the station in October, is planned for 6 a.m. CST Sunday. The transfer becomes official with the installation of Eyharts' customized seat liner in the Soyuz.

The STS-122 crew is on an 11-day mission to install and activate Columbus. The new laboratory is Europe's largest contribution to the construction of the station, adding 2,648 cubic feet of pressurized volume, four science experiment racks and one storage rack to the orbiting complex.

What wasn't delayed, however, was the official crew rotation of ESA Astronaut Leopold Eyharts and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Dan Tani, which was completed at 5:20 p.m. Eyharts now is a member of Expedition 16 and Tani is an STS-122 mission specialist.

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Tani welcomed the seven-man Atlantis crew into the space station at 12:40 p.m., following an 11:17 a.m. docking, following a flawless rendezvous throughout the morning.

They'll have 24 extra hours to finish preparing for the mission's next major milestone, however, due to a crew medical issue. The mission's first spacewalk originally was scheduled for Sunday, but has been postponed until Monday. Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will be joined for the spacewalk by Mission Specialist Stanley Love, rather than Mission Specialist Hans Schlegel, as originally planned.

Space Shuttle Program Deputy Manager John Shannon said ground teams are currently reworking the mission timeline and there should be no impact to the completion of the mission's objectives, despite being shifted one day later.

To make up for the delay, Shannon said the crew will conserve enough power to spend an additional day in space. Atlantis went into orbit with the option of adding one day to its mission, which was to be used for additional work commissioning the new Columbus module. By adding a second day, the crew could shift their activities by one day and still have time for more Columbus work after the module is installed.

Before docking, Commander Steve Frick flew the shuttle through a backflip to allow the space station crew a good view of Atlantis' heat shield. Whitson and Malenchenko took about 300 photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system and sent them down to teams on the ground for analysis.

The teams also are paying close attention to photos sent down by the crew Friday of minor damage to a thermal blanket over the shuttle's right Orbital Maneuvering System pod. A similar condition occurred on the left pod last year on STS-117 and was repaired during a spacewalk.

Shannon said this case does not seem to be as much of a concern, because this particular blanket location does not experience as much heat during the shuttle's reentry.

Docking went smoothly with the exception of a hiccup with one of the station's five general purpose computers. After experiencing some problems with guidance and navigation software on the computer, the crew opted to use other computers for the shuttle's rendezvous with the station. Only one computer is needed to perform the rendezvous, with one computer required for backup. Mission Control will review the computer's software to ensure its health.

Ahead: Week 17 of Increment 16.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At ~9:15am EST, the European Columbus laboratory was opened and entered by crewmembers for the first time. (Columbus is permanently attached at the starboard port of Node-2.)

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

Before breakfast, FE-2 Dan Tani completed his daily access of the SLEEP experiment (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight) software for data logging and filling in questionnaire entries in the experiment's laptop session file on the HRF-1 laptop for downlink. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, Dan wears a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by him as well as his patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days, as part of the crew's discretionary 'job jar' task list.)

CDR Peggy Whitson and FE-2-16 Leo Eyharts continued their IMMUNO (Integrated Immune Assessment) experiment, begun on 2/9, with liquid saliva collections, first thing after wake-up and prior to breakfast, drinking and teeth-brushing. All samples were stored at ambient temperature. Dan Tani's IMMUNO liquid saliva collection starts tomorrow morning. (IMMUNO (Integrated Immune Assessment)is a 24-hr. test of human immune system changes, with the objective to investigate immune neuro-endocrine reactions in the space environment by studying samples of saliva, blood and urine using collection kits and the biomedical (MBI) protection kit, to develop and validate an immune monitoring strategy consistent with operational flight requirements and constraints. The strategy uses both long and short duration crewmembers as study subjects. The saliva is collected in two forms, dry and liquid. The dry samples are collected at intervals during the collection day using a specialized book that contains filter paper. The liquid saliva collections require that the crewmember soak a piece of cotton inside their mouth and place it in a salivette bag; there are four of the liquid collections during docked operations. The on-orbit blood samples are collected right before undocking and returned on the Shuttle so that analysis can occur with 48 hours of the sampling. This allows assays that quantify the function of different types white blood cells and other active components of the immune system. For cold storage, samples are secured in the MELFI (Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS). Also included are entries in a fluid/medications intact log, and a stress-test questionnaire to be filled out by the subject at begin and end. Urine is collected during a 24-hour period, conventionally divided into two twelve-hour phases: morning-evening and evening-morning.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/12/08.

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

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

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

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

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

Columbus final activation has been completed.

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

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

The shuttle crew woke up at 2:45 a.m. to 'Consider Yourself at Home.' The song, which is from the musical 'Oliver!', was played for Mission Specialist Stanley Love.

The first major event of the day will begin at 8:55 a.m., when shuttle Commander Steve Frick, Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts speak with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. Schlegel, a European Space Agency astronaut, is from Germany.

Tani, Whitson and Malenchenko will then speak with reporters from NBC News, WOI-TV and WBBM radio at 10:10 a.m. WOI-TV is in Des Moines, Iowa, capital of Whitson's home state. WBBM will be calling from Chicago, near Tani's hometown of Lombard, Ill.

Before the day is over, the crews will also go over the plan for the mission's third and final spacewalk. Love and Mission Specialist Rex Walheim will be installing experiment platforms on the outside of the new Columbus laboratory and storing a failed control moment gyroscope in the shuttle's cargo bay. They will also take a closer look at some damage to a handrail on the Quest Airlock that may be the cause of cuts to spacesuit gloves on recent missions.

Part of today's preparations will involve building a tool that will be used in the inspection. Astronauts will wrap an overglove around a socket, then run the tool over the damaged handrail to see if there are any edges sharp enough to cut the material.

This morning, Shuttle Commander Steve Frick and Mission Specialists Hans Schlegel and Daniel Tani, station Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Leopold Eyharts spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Also participating were European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and former astronaut Thomas Reiter of the German Space Agency.

The astronauts then spoke with NBC News, WOI-TV and WBBM radio. WOI-TV is in Des Moines, Iowa, capital of Whitson's home state. WBBM is in Chicago, near Tani's hometown of Lombard, Ill.

Tonight, Mission Specialists Stanley Love and Rex Walheim will camp out inside the Quest airlock. This will purge the nitrogen from their bodies in advance of tomorrow's spacewalk.

During the 6.5-hour spacewalk that is scheduled to start at 7:40 a.m. CST, Love and Walheim will install two experiment platforms on the outside of the Columbus module. If time allows, they also will take a closer look at some damage to a handrail on the Quest airlock. The astronauts have built a special tool that will be used during the inspection, which comprises an overglove material wrapped around a socket. They will run the tool over the damaged handrail to see if there are any edges sharp enough to cut the material.

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

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

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

Wake/sleep cycle shifted back again to prepare for 2/18 undocking: 3:15am - 5:15pm EST, Shuttle crew: 3:15am - 5:45pm.

More crewtime was applied to COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) rack configuration, activation & operation, led by CDR Peggy Whitson and FE-2-16 Leo Eyharts. (In particular, Whitson focused on readying the EDR (European Drawer Rack), gathering equipment, outfitting the rack, installing PCDF EU (Protein Crystalization Diagnostic Facility Electronic Unit) coolant water and data connections, setting up the laptop, verifying its software load & activating it, checking out the EDR RFI (Rack Fire Indicator), and checking out the functionalities of the rack's various subsystems.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/16/08.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to leave the space station on Monday, with undocking slated for 3:27 a.m. The departure sets up Atlantis for its scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday at 8:07 a.m.

Before closing hatches, the seven-member crew of Atlantis completed the final cargo transfers between the two spacecraft. Atlantis launched with one of heaviest middecks in the history of the shuttle program and will land with the heaviest middeck ever, weighing 2,040 pounds.

The most important transfer completed is the exchange of astronaut Daniel Tani for European Space Agency Astronaut Leopold Eyharts. Tani joined the station's Expedition 16 crew in October and is being replaced by Eyharts, who arrived at the station with the STS-122 crew. Eyharts will finish commissioning the Columbus laboratory.

In addition to delivering Columbus to the orbital outpost, Atlantis' astronauts performed three spacewalks to prepare the module for its scientific work, replaced an expended nitrogen tank on the station and retrieved a failed control moment gyroscope for return to Earth.

Farewells are scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m., followed by hatch closing at 11:30 a.m.

The wakeup call for the crew's final full docked day came at 12:45 a.m. Mission Specialist Stan Love was treated with 'Hail Thee, Harvey Mudd,' the Harvey Mudd College anthem written by Amy Lewkowicz. Love is a 1987 graduate of the Claremont, Calif., private math, science and engineering college.

Overnight Atlantis transferred 92 pounds of oxygen to the station's Quest airlock tank. In addition, a final leak check of the vestibule between the Harmony and Columbus modules was done.

The most important transfer completed is the return of astronaut Dan Tani. Tani, who joined the station's Expedition 16 crew in October, is being replaced by European Space Agency Astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who arrived at the station with the STS-122 crew. Eyharts will finish commissioning Columbus.

In addition to delivering the Columbus laboratory to the orbital outpost, Atlantis' astronauts performed three spacewalks to prepare the module for its scientific work, replaced an expended nitrogen tank on the station and retrieved a failed control moment gyroscope for return to Earth.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to leave the space station on Monday, with undocking slated for 3:26 a.m. that day.

US Holiday (President's Day).

STS-122/Atlantis and ISS are flying in separate orbits again (Flight Day 12 for STS-122/1E)

After final preparations on both sides of the hatches (closed yesterday on ISS side at 1:03pm EST), Atlantis this morning undocked smoothly at 4:27am from PMA-2 (Pressurized Mating Adapter 2), after a total docked time of 11d 13h 42m. (For undocking, the station was turned from -XVV through ~180 deg to +XVV ZLV (+x-axis in velocity vector, z-axis in local vertical) at ~3:30am, put briefly on free drift for the undocking, and then maneuvered to 1E Stage attitude of +XVV TEA attitude at 5:06am.) See picture from Atlantis flight deck, below.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/18/08.

Atlantis and the seven-member crew left behind the station's new European Space Agency (ESA) Columbus laboratory and ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts to prepare science experiments inside for operation.

After undocking, Atlantis Pilot Alan Poindexter completed a full fly around so his crewmates could obtain video and digital still imagery of Columbus docked to Harmony's right-side port.

The crew is performing a final inspection of the shuttle's thermal protection system in preparation for return to Earth. The Orbiter Boom Sensor System is used to search for any evidence of damage from orbital debris. That data will be reviewed by engineers over the next day.

Astronaut Daniel Tani, who has been in space since his launch to the space station in October, exercised to help prepare his body to feel the pull of gravity again.

Atlantis is targeted to land at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday at 8:07 a.m. The weather forecast is favorable.

Today the crew is scheduled to go to sleep at 3:45 p.m. and awaken at 11:45 p.m.

Today's wake-up song, played for STS-122 crew member Dan Tani, at 11:53 p.m. was 'Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World,' sung by Hawaiian-Japanese vocalist Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, accompanied by his ukulele.

With their delivery of the new laboratory, Atlantis' STS-122 astronauts will leave a larger space station and one with increased science capabilities. The Columbus Research Module adds nearly 1,000 cubic feet of habitable volume and affords room for 10 experiment racks, each an independent science lab.

Atlantis also left behind new Expedition 16 crew member Leopold Eyharts, 95 pounds of oxygen and nearly 1,400 pounds of water.

After undocking, Atlantis will move in front of the station to a range of 400 feet, and then Pilot Alan Poindexter will begin a full one lap fly around so his crewmates can get video and digital still imagery of Columbus docked to Harmony's right-side port.

When the shuttle again crosses directly in front of the station, Poindexter will fire the reaction control system jets to begin Atlantis' separation. He'll make the final separation jet firing at 5:10 a.m. to start the crew's trip home.

The crew will conduct a final inspection of the shuttle's thermal protection system using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System at 7:20 a.m. The crew will re-examine the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on both wings and the nose cap for any evidence of damage from orbital debris.

As the other crew members prepare for landing, Tani, who has been in space since his launch to the space station in October, is scheduled for exercise to help prepare his body to feel the pull of gravity again. Atlantis is targeted to land at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday at 8:07 a.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STS-122/Atlantis returned to Earth this morning after 12d 18h 22min in space, touching down at KSC on the first landing opportunity at 9:07am EST, after 202 orbits & 5.3 million miles. During the perfectly executed ISS 1E mission, its seven-member crew conducted three EVAs, delivered and installed the European Columbus laboratory, brought up new Expedition 16 crewmember LĂ(c)opold Eyharts and returned his predecessor Dan Tani who spent 121 days in space (116 on board the station). It was the 121st flight of a Space Shuttle, the 24th Shuttle mission to visit the station and the 29th for Atlantis. Welcome back, Atlantis! Next up: STS-123/Endeavour/1J/A on March 11 with the Kibo laboratory module - Japan/JAXA's BIG day.

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/20/08.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Progress thrusters (DPO) were inhibited and not involved. (Crew activities focused on TORU activation, inputting commands via the RUO Rotational Hand Controller and close-out ops. TORU lets an SM-based crewmember perform the approach and docking of automated Progress vehicles in case of failure of the automated KURS system. Receiving a video image of the approaching ISS, as seen from a Progress-mounted docking television camera ('Klest'), on a color monitor ('Simvol-Ts', i.e. 'symbol center') which also displays an overlay of rendezvous data from the onboard digital computer, the crewmember steers the Progress to mechanical contact by means of two hand controllers, one for rotation (RUO), the other for translation (RUD), on adjustable armrests. The controller-generated commands are transmitted from the SM's TORU control panel to the Progress via VHF radio. In addition to the Simvol-Ts color monitor, range, range rate (approach velocity) and relative angular position data are displayed on the 'Klest-M' video monitor (VKU) which starts picking up signals from Progress when it is still approximately 7 km away. TORU is monitored in real time from TsUP over Russian ground sites (RGS) and via Ku-band from Houston, but its control cannot be taken over from the ground.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 02/28/08.

FE-1 Malenchenko updated software on the Russian RS1 laptop HDD (Hard Disk Drive). (After first connecting the A31p to the AGAT external monitor (temporarily disconnected from TP2 laptop), the FE-1 'ghosted' (cloned) its HDD with Vers. 07.05 file structure from a DVD, then updated the RS1 HDD new software from an USB memory stick, and created a copy of the load.)

Afterwards, Malenchenko conducted the periodic/long-term inspection of the pressure hull in the Service Module Working Compartment (SM RO), looking for any moisture, deposits, mold, corrosion and pitting behind panels 107, 109, 130, 134, 135, 138, 139, 452, also underneath the TVIS treadmill (where deposit was discovered earlier) and the cold plates (where SNT and STR lines are installed). (The inspection of the hull surface, which is coated with a primer and dark-green enamel, is done using cleaning napkins to wipe the area in question if required and reporting results to the ground. The hull inspection looks for changed color and cavities; if cavities are found, they are to be measured for depth after cleaning. Digital photographs of the shell before and after the removal of deposits will be made for documentation.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 03/03/08.

Yi So-yeon, the South Korean SFP (Space Flight Participant), will participate in the experiment. (To monitor the crewmember's sleep/wake patterns and light exposure, crewmembers wear a special Actiwatch device which measures the light levels encountered by them as well as their patterns of sleep and activity throughout the Expedition. The log entries are done within 15 minutes of final awakening for seven consecutive days.)

Also upon wake-up, CDR Whitson started Part 2 (of 5) of the periodic acoustic measurement protocol by recording post-sleep data of the crew-worn acoustic dosimeters, later deploying the dosimeters statically in Node-2, COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory), and SM (Service Module) near the Central Post for the duration of the day. (Acoustic data must be taken twice per Increment, each time for the duration of the 16-hour crew workday.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/02/08.

MSG was later powered down from its A31p laptop (~8:30am EDT). (CSLM-2 examines the kinetics (e.g., growth rate) of 'competing' particles within a liquid matrix. During this process, small particles shrink by giving up atoms to larger particles, causing the larger particles of tin, suspended in a liquid comprised of molten lead/tin alloy ('matrix'), to grow in size ('coarsen'). This study defines the mechanisms and rates of coarsening that govern the manufacture with metals from turbine blades to dental amalgam fillings.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 04/25/08.

>>>Today 47 years ago (1961), the first U.S. Astronaut, Navy Commander Alan 'Big Al' Shepard Jr., launched into a suborbital flight of 15 minutes duration, reaching an altitude of 116 miles. This restored faith in the U.S. space program only 23 days after the Soviet space program launched Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit around the planet.<<<

FE-2 Reisman supported the Japanese CW/RW (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) experiment in the MSG EMCS (Microgravity Science Glovebox/European Modular Cultivation System), removing and relocating EC1 (Experiment Container 1) and EC2 on Rotor A and Rotor B. (CW/RW operates in the EMCS facility in eight special ECs (Experiment Containers) which Garrett recently (3/30) installed on the centrifuges of the facility. The EMCS rack contains two rotating centrifuges, Rotor A & Rotor B, which can support a wide range of small plant & animal experiments under partial gravity conditions.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 05/05/08.

(Today's measurements were taken with the AU-1, Kelvin-Video, Iva-6A & TTM-2 instruments near welds along SM (Service Module) structural rings and near the shell ring in the FGB for subsequent downlinking via BSR-TM channel. At the FGB pressurized shell ring, the two cosmonauts also inspected structural elements, equipment, and cable bundles for moisture, mold, or evidence of corrosion. The BAR-RM data are being used for experimenting with ISS leak detection based on environmental data anomalies (temperature, humidity, and ultrasound emissions) at possible leak locations, in order to develop a procedure for detecting air leakage from ISS modules. The payload uses a remote infrared thermometer (Kelvin-Video), a thermohygrometer (Iva-6A), a heat-loss anemometer/thermometer (TTM-2), an ultrasound analyzer (AU-1), and a leak detector (UT2-03) to determine physical background signs of loss of ISS pressure integrity which could be indicative of leaks in the working compartments of the station. Measurements are taken in specific zones in SM PkhO, FGB and DC1, both with lights, fans & ASU pump turned on and off.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 05/06/08.

Later, the pumping equipment was dismantled and the activities were closed out. (After hooking up the plumbing connecting the 29P water tanks with the SM Rodnik tankage, the water was transferred at first in self-flow (under its own tank pressure), then using a compressor pump via a GZhS gas/liquid separator, to remove air bubbles in the water. The subsequent filling of the empty Progress tanks with urine will be scheduled later.)

After CDR Volkov prepared the auditory test equipment, he, FE-1 Kononenko & FE-2 Reisman took the periodic O-OHA (on-orbit hearing assessment) test, a 30-min. NASA environmental health systems examination to assess the efficacy of acoustic countermeasures, using a special MEC (Medical Equipment Computer) laptop application. It was the second session for the three crewmembers. (The O-OHA audiography test involves minimum audibility measurements for each ear over a wide range of frequencies (0.25-10 kHz) and sound pressure levels, with the crewmembers using individual-specific Prophonics earphones, Bose ANC headsets and the SLM (sound level meter). To conduct the testing, the experimenter is supported by special EarQ software on the MEC, featuring an up/down-arrow-operated slider for each test frequency that the crewmember moves to the lowest sound pressure level at which the tone can still be heard. The baseline test is required not later than about Flight Day 14 for each new Expedition and is then generally performed once per month. Note: There have been temporary hearing deficits documented on some U.S. and Russian crewmembers, all of which recovered to pre-mission levels.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 05/21/08.

Sleep time tonight will be back at regular time (5:30pm).

In the DC1 'Pirs', the CDR & FE-1 continued preparations for the EVA-20 on 7/10-11, with the DC1 comm links configured for their presence. Activities by Volkov & Kononenko today focused on

Functional testing of the Russian BETA-08 ECG (electrocardiogram) lead cable belts, worn under the Orlan-M suits, using the Gamma-1M medical complex from the PKO medical exam panel,
Transmission tests, after setting up the Orlan 'Tranzit' communications links via the suits' BRTA radio telemetry units, with the ground via RGS VHF, for spacesuit voice, telemetry & biomedical parameters; followed by
Restoring nominal communications setup in the DC1, and
Configuring the backup Orlan #25 for stowage mode, leaving Orlans #26 (FE-1) & #27 (CDR) ready for use on the upcoming spacewalk.
In the U.S. 'Quest' Airlock, FE-2 Chamitoff continued post-1J EVA activities, terminating the 13-hr discharge process on the last 16-volt EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) battery in the BCM-3 (Battery Charger Module 3) from yesterday. (BCM-4 is currently nonfunctional. The discharge process, originally handled manually by a crewmember, is an automated procedure controlled from an A31p SSC (Station Support Computer) laptop with a special DOS application.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 06/20/08.

It was the second session for Volkov & Kononenko, the first for Chamitoff. (The blood samples were drawn from a finger with a perforator lancet, then centrifuged in two microcapillary tubes in the M-1100 kit's minicentrifuge, and its hematocrit value was read off the tubes with a magnifying glass. It is a well-known phenomenon of space flight that red blood cell count (normal range: 30-45%) tends to go down over time. After the exam, the data were saved in the IFEP software (In-Flight Examination Program) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer), and Kononenko stowed the equipment.)

Additional Details: ISS On-Orbit Status 06/24/08.