Wolf Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, married. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. MD

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASA Group 13 - 1990. Active Entered space service: 17 January 1990. Number of Flights: 3.00. Total Time: 152.67 days. Number of EVAs: 4.00. Total EVA Time: 0.95 days.

NAME: David A. Wolf (M.D.)

NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:

Born August 23, 1956, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Single. He enjoys sport aerobatic flying, scuba diving, handball, running, and water skiing. His parents, Dr. and Mrs. Harry Wolf, reside in Indianapolis.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from North Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1974; received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1978, and a doctorate of medicine from Indiana University in 1982. He completed his medical internship (1983) at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, and USAF flight surgeon primary training at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; the Aerospace Medical Association; the Experimental Aircraft Association; the International Aerobatic Club; and the Air National Guard.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Recipient of the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal (1990); NASA Inventor of the Year, 1992. Dr. Wolf graduated "with distinction" from the honors curriculum in electrical engineering at Purdue University and received an Academic Achievement Award upon graduation from medical school. He received the Carl R. Ruddell scholarship award for research in medical ultrasonic signal and image processing. He is a member of Eta Kappa Knu and Phi Eta Sigma honorary societies. Dr. Wolf has received 11 U.S. Patents and over 20 Space Act Awards for 3-dimensional tissue engineering technologies earning the Texas State Bar Patent of the Year in 1994. He has published over 40 technical papers.

EXPERIENCE:

As a research scientist at the Indianapolis Center for Advanced Research from 1980 to 1983, he developed digital signal and image processing techniques utilizing matched filter detection of high time-bandwidth product transmissions producing "state of the art" high resolution medical ultrasonic images to the 100 micron level. He also developed new doppler demodulation techniques extending the range velocity product limitation of conventional pulsed doppler systems. He is a USAF senior flight surgeon in the Air National Guard (1982 to present) and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He has logged over 2000 hours of flight time including air combat training as a weapons systems officer (F4 Phantom jet), T-38 Talon, and competition aerobatics (PITTS Special and Christen Eagle).

NASA EXPERIENCE:

In 1983, Dr. Wolf joined the Medical Sciences Division, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. He was responsible for development of the American Flight Echocardiograph for investigating cardiovascular physiology in microgravity. Upon completion he was assigned as chief engineer for design of the Space Station medical facility. In 1986 he was assigned to direct development of the Space Bioreactor and associated tissue engineering and cancer research applications utilizing controlled gravitational conditions. This resulted in the state of the art NASA rotating tissue culture systems. He has particular expertise in the design of real time computer process control systems, communications, bioprocessing, physiology, fluid dynamics, and aerospace medicine. Dr. Wolf is an active public speaker.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in January 1990, Dr. Wolf became qualified for spaceflight July 1991. His technical assignments have included Orbiter vehicle processing and test at Kennedy Space Center (1991-1992), STS-58 mission specialist (1993), and spacecraft communications (CAPCOM) (1994-1995). He is qualified for Extravehicular Activity (Spacewalk), Remote Manipulator System (Robot Arm), and Rendezvous. He was the CAPCOM for the first and third Shuttle-MIR rendezvous. He is at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, training for a mission aboard the Russian Space Station Mir in early 1998. He will launch aboard Space Shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-89 crew.

Dr. Wolf served as a mission specialist astronaut aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-58), a 14 day dedicated Spacelab life sciences research mission (10/16/93-11/1/93). During this record length shuttle mission the crew conducted neurovestibular, cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and musculoskeletal research utilizing microgravity to reveal fundamental physiology normally masked by earth gravity. They accomplished 225 orbits in 336 hours, 13 minutes, 01 seconds.

• 18 October 1993 Flight: STS-58. Flight Up: STS-58. Flight Back: STS-58. Flight Time: 14.01 days.

• 26 September 1997 Flight: Mir NASA-5. Flight Up: STS-86. Flight Back: STS-89. Flight Time: 127.83 days.

• 7 October 2002 Flight: STS-112. Flight Up: STS-112. Flight Back: STS-112. Flight Time: 10.83 days.

17 January 1990 - NASA Astronaut Training Group 13 selected.. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Reported to the Johnson Space Center in late July 1990 to begin their year long training. Chosen from 1945 qualified applicants, then 106 finalists screened between September and November 1989.

Atlantis undocked from Mir at 17:28 GMT on October 3 and conducted a flyaround focused on the damaged Spektr Module to determine the location of the puncture in its hull. The Mir crew pumped air into the Spektr Module using a pressure regulator valve, and the Shuttle crew observed evidence that, as expected, the leak seemed to be located at the base of the damaged solar panel. Final separation of Atlantis from Mir took place around 20:28 GMT. After two landing attempts were waved off on October 5 due to heavy cloud cover, the crew fired the engines to deorbit at 20:47 GMT on October 6 and landed at Kennedy Space Center at 21:55.

Today's planned 7 ½ hour-long space walk will see Smith and Grunsfeld install a transmitter that relays Hubble's scientific data from the telescope to the ground and an upgraded digital recorder replacing an older mechanical version.

The transmitter to be installed today replaces one that failed in 1998. Since that time, the second on-board transmitter has successfully carried the load without any disruption to Hubble operations. The transmitters are considered very reliable, and unlike most of the equipment aboard Hubble, were not designed to be changed out in orbit. Special tools were developed to enable astronauts to do the job more easily.

The digital Solid State Recorder being installed on the telescope will replace an older mechanical model and provide more than 10 times the storage capacity. Smith and Grunsfeld also will apply some new insulation on equipment bay doors to minimize any degradation of the telescope's protective thermal coverings.

The space walk currently is scheduled to being at 1:20 p.m. Central Time and is expected to last about 7 ½ hours.

Mission Control awakened the crew at 8:50 a.m. today to the sounds of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" played for Smith and the children's song "Skinnamarink" by Kimbo for Grunsfeld. Discovery remains in excellent condition, in an orbit with a high point of 380 statute miles and a low point of 364 miles.

"We had a great day," Glenda Laws, lead EVA officer, said at an evening briefing.

Space walkers Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega also installed a centerline camera cable outside the Unity module. It will transmit television images to help a shuttle crew attach the U.S. laboratory Destiny next month. The last of their scheduled tasks was installation of the Floating Potential Probe. The FPP, atop the P6, measures the electrical potential of plasma around the station. The evergreen tree image was on a transfer bag they attached to the FPP symbolizing "topping out" of the space station - a tradition followed by Earth-based construction workers when a building reaches its final height.

The blanket tensioning task had been quickly and carefully planned. On Wednesday Mission Control sent up to Endeavour descriptions of the task and video of fellow Astronaut David Wolf performing the solar blanket work on the ground.

The space walk began at 10:13 a.m., more than 35 minutes earlier than planned. After the space walkers moved to the top of the P6, crew members inside Endeavour, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialist Marc Garneau retracted the mast extending the starboard wing, which had been deployed Sunday, by two or three feet. Noriega pulled the slack tensioning cables through each take-up reel. Tanner turned the spring-loaded tension reels, then let them unwind while Noriega guided the cable onto the reel grooves, tensioning the slack blanket. The 240-foot-long, 38-foot-wide solar array continues to function well.

The scheduled activities went so smoothly that Tanner and Noriega were able to complete some "get-ahead" tasks for the next scheduled space walks outside the space station in January. These included installing a sensor on a radiator, installing small antennas and doing a photo survey. Even so, they were able to conclude their space walk at 3:23 p.m., after 5 hours and 10 minutes outside. This brings total space walk time during STS-97 to 19 hours and 20 minutes, and total space walk time outside the station to 88 hours and 54 minutes.

The space station's crew, Commander Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko, packaged items for transfer to Endeavour and return to Earth. Their scheduled sleep period began a little after 3:30 p.m. They were to be awakened at 12:06 a.m. Friday. Endeavour's crew was scheduled to go to bed a little after 10 p.m. and be awakened at 6:06 a.m. Friday.

The two crews will meet face to face, for the first time since Endeavour docked to the space station last Saturday, a little after 8:30 a.m. Friday.

After carefully going through the plan with Mission Control on Wednesday and receiving descriptions and videotapes of fellow Astronaut David Wolf performing the additional task on the ground, Commander Brent Jett and his crew voiced optimism they could accomplish the new task.

Mission Specialists Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega will float out the shuttle's hatch at 10:51 a.m. CST and move up to the top of the new solar array truss structure. Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialist Marc Garneau will retract the mast extending the two blankets of the starboard solar array wing approximately two or three feet. Once the mast is shortened, Noriega will pull the slack in the tensioning cables through each take-up reel. Tanner will manually turn the spring-loaded tension reel until it reaches its limit and then will let the reel unwind by spring force while Noriega guides the cable onto the reel grooves. The outboard reel will be done first, followed by the inboard reel.

The 240-foot-long, 38-foot-wide solar array continues to function well, sending power to the International Space Station. The starboard array's cables apparently came out of the reel grooves when the wing was extended on Sunday. The port solar array wings were deployed to their full tension Monday using a modified deployment technique.

After the solar wing repair, Tanner and Noriega will install the Floating Potential Probe atop the P6 structure. The probe will measure the electrical potential of plasma around the station. Plasma Contactor Units already are at work on the solar array truss, emitting electrons that complete an electrical circuit and avoid the potential for arcing.

Expedition One Commander Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko awoke just after midnight CST and continued packing up items that will be returned to Earth aboard Endeavour. They also set up, but did not activate, a wireless instrumentation system that will attempt to measure and further model the structural integrity of the station as shuttle steering jets fire.

Humidity levels are coming down in the station after Wednesday's successful installation by the crew of a new air conditioning unit. The crew also replaced a malfunctioning fan in the Vozdukh carbon dioxide removal unit, bringing that life-support unit back on line. The hatch between the Zarya and Unity modules remains open indefinitely. The two crews are scheduled to meet inside Unity about 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Endeavour's crew was awakened at 6:06 a.m. CST to the sounds of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," sent up for Joe Tanner. The station crew is scheduled to go to bed at 3:36 p.m. CST, and the shuttle crew will begin its sleep shift at 10:06 p.m.

Ground controllers in mission control will command the Mobile Transporter to move up and down the truss three times, testing its computers, drive motors, suspension unit, video and data umbilicals, and the railway itself. The railcar will travel a total of about 71 feet at speeds of 1, 0.4 and 0.1 of an inch per second, stopping at future worksites to test its ability to latch and unlatch itself to the railway.

This is the first time that a software-controlled movable robot has been used on an orbiting vehicle. The Mobile Transporter software controls about 20 motors, directing it to travel from one point to another, latch itself down to the truss, and plug itself into a power source. The Mobile Transporter ultimately will move the station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, along the orbiting laboratory's 356-foot Integrated Truss.

The Atlantis crew - Commander Mike Bloomfield, Pilot Steve Frick, Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa, Rex Walheim, Lee Morin, Jerry Ross and Steve Smith - was awakened at 3:48 a.m. to "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf, dedicated to Smith. The station crew - Commander Yury Onufrienko, Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch - was awakened at 4:14 a.m.

The crews will continue to transfer equipment between the two spacecraft and will review procedures for the fourth and final spacewalk of the mission, scheduled for Tuesday.

The 10 crewmembers will participate in a news conference with media representatives at NASA centers in Florida and Houston and at Mission Control- Moscow. The event will be carried live on NASA television beginning at 11:47 a.m. CDT. Afterwards, the crews will have a few hours off. Both crews are scheduled to begin their eight-hour sleep period at 7:44 p.m.

It was the second of two spacewalks for the Expedition Five crew, the fourth of Korzun's career and the first for Treschev. Today's excursion was the 43rd spacewalk in support of ISS assembly and maintenance and the 18th staged from the station itself. 25 spacewalks at the ISS have originated from visiting space shuttles. While Korzun and Treschev worked outside, Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson tended to station systems and choreographed the spacewalk from inside Zvezda.

Whitson and Korzun conducted a 4 hour, 25 minute spacewalk on August 16 to install six micrometeoroid debris shields on Zvezda.

After a slight delay to track down a small pressure leak across the hatch between Zvezda and the Zarya module, Korzun and Treschev opened the hatch to Pirs at 12:27 a.m. Central time (527 GMT) as the ISS flew over Russia at an altitude of 235 statute miles. They went to work right away, installing a frame on the Zarya as a "parking place" for modular equipment to be temporarily stowed during future ISS assembly spacewalks and hardware on Zarya which will better route tethers for spacewalkers working around the Russian segment of the station.

The two Russian spacewalkers then exchanged trays of experiments in suitcase-like devices on Zvezda for NASDA, the Japanese Space Agency, which measure the effect of the space environment on engineering materials.

With that work accomplished, Korzun and Treschev completed a task left over from the previous spacewalk ten days ago. They replaced an experiment on the outside of Zvezda called Kromka, which measures the amount of residue emitted from the module's jet thruster firings. Deflectors previously installed on Zvezda have significantly reduced the buildup of residue on the hull of the module.

The final job for Korzun and Treschev was the installation of two additional ham radio antennas on Zvezda to enhance amateur radio operations in the future. ISS residents frequently conduct conversations with "hams" back on Earth.

After retrieving their tools, Korzun and Treschev returned to Pirs and closed the hatch at 5:48 a.m. Central time (1048 GMT) to wrap up their excursion.

The next series of spacewalks to be conducted at the ISS is planned for October when two shuttle astronauts, Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers, conduct three excursions from the Quest Airlock on the STS-112 mission aboard Atlantis to help install and activate the S1 (Starboard One) truss segment, further expanding the station's backbone.

The Progress 9 vehicle linked up to the aft docking port of the Zvezda Service Module of the ISS at 12:01 p.m. Central time (1701 GMT) as the two spacecraft flew over Central Asia after a four-day flight following its launch Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The automated docking went off without a hitch as Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson, and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev viewed the arrival of the new capsule from inside Zvezda. A few minutes later, hooks and latches closed between the two vehicles to form an airtight seal.

Korzun was prepared to take over manual control of the Progress for the docking in the event its automated rendezvous system did not work, but the linkup was executed flawlessly.

The crew was scheduled to open hatches between Zvezda and Progress this afternoon and will begin unloading supplies from the craft on Monday.

Some of the supplies include clothing and personal items for the Expedition Six crew - Commander Ken Bowersox and Flight Engineers Nikolai Budarin and Don Pettit - who will be launched aboard Endeavour on the STS-113 mission in November to replace Korzun, Whitson and Treschev following the completion of their 5 1/2 month mission.

The older Progress 8 vehicle, which arrived at the ISS in June and which was undocked on Tuesday, remains in orbit a safe distance away from the station, spending another 10 days aloft to enable Russian flight controllers to document smog and smoke over northeastern Russia through its cameras.

The Progress docking clears the way for the launch of Atlantis on the STS-112 mission Wednesday to deliver the 14-ton Starboard 1 (S1) Truss to the station. A Wednesday launch would result in Atlantis' docking to the ISS Friday. Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Fyodor Yurchikhin are in the final stages of their prelaunch preparations.

Aboard Atlantis are Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. A small television camera on the shuttle's external fuel tank captured a unique view of the Earth as Atlantis headed into orbit.

Less than nine minutes after launch, Atlantis and its crewmembers settled into orbit and work began to prepare for a planned 11-day mission.

As Atlantis headed toward space, on board the ISS, Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev were completing their 124th day in orbit and their 122nd day aboard the station. At the time of Atlantis' launch, the space station orbited 240 statute miles above the Pacific Ocean west of Ecuador.

Atlantis' crew is setting up equipment on board and preparing to open the shuttle's payload bay doors to begin orbital operations prior to heading to bed just before 9 p.m.

Atlantis is scheduled to dock to the station at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, setting the stage for the installation of the S1 truss on the starboard side of the S0 truss, which arrived at the ISS in April. Three spacewalks are scheduled during the mission by Wolf and Sellers to help activate the new truss' systems. The S1 truss is the fourth of 11 truss segments which will form the structural backbone for the station and provide the cooling and support for new solar arrays to be delivered to the station next year.

The shuttle crew will be awakened at 4:46 a.m. Tuesday to begin its first full day in orbit and to prepare for Wednesday's docking.

After arising at 4:46 a.m. CDT, the crew began its first full day on orbit with Pilot Pam Melroy assisting Mission Specialists Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers in a checkout of spacewalk suits and equipment. Commander Jeff Ashby worked with the prime robotic arm operator, Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus, to verify the arm's readiness. Ashby and Magnus powered up the arm for a video survey of Atlantis' payload bay.

In preparation for Wednesday's rendezvous and docking with the station at 10:24 a.m., the crew set up the orbiter docking system's centerline camera, extended the orbiter's spring-loaded ring that will make first contact, and checked out rendezvous tools.

The crew successfully completed three Orbital Maneuvering System burns to boost the orbiter into the station's orbit and refine its approach path to the station.

Science already is getting underway on Atlantis with Wolf leading check-out activities for the SHIMMER experiment sponsored by the Naval Research Lab. The Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals experiment uses an ultraviolet sensing camera to observe the Earth's atmosphere at 40-90 kilometers looking for possible ozone loss. The experiment proved a bit balky, but with help from Mission Control the crew worked out steps to ready the gear for observations during the mission.

Meanwhile, the space station residents readied their home for the first visitors in the123 days since their arrival at the vehicle. Peggy Whitson and crewmates Valery Korzun and Sergei Treschev have been prepacking materials to return on Atlantis and to make room for about 7,500 pounds of gear arriving at the station.

Whitson has been sending letters describing her life on the International Space Station back to Earth over the last few months. Her most recent letter describes her anticipation and preparations for the shuttle visitors.

Both crews will head for sleep two hours earlier than Monday at 6:46 pm to get plenty of rest before Wednesday's busy day. Rendezvous operations begin at 5:06 a.m., with station docking scheduled for 10:24 a.m. Hatch opening between Atlantis and the station is expected at 12:36 p.m.

Aboard Atlantis, Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin were awakened at 4:46 a.m. to the song "Venus and Mars" by Paul McCartney and Wings. It was for Wolf, requested by his wife, Tammy.

The Expedition Five crew, Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev – in their 18th week in space – were awakened at 3 a.m. Atlantis' crew will be their first visitors since June. They are shifting their sleep schedules to prepare for the week of docked operations with Atlantis.

Today, Atlantis' crew focuses on preparations for rendezvous and docking by checking out the necessary tools. The crew also will prepare the spacesuits to be used during the three planned spacewalks by Wolf and Sellers scheduled for Thursday, Saturday and Monday. The shuttle's robotic arm also will be checked out and used to survey the payload bay, including the Starboard 1 (S1) Truss.

This afternoon the centerline camera will be mounted in the Orbiter Docking System hatch to assist Ashby as he guides the orbiter in for docking. The crew then will extend the docking ring, which makes first contact with the station.

The station crew is continuing with science operations and standard exercise activities. Whitson is working with radiation monitors for Wolf and Sellers, who will conduct the spacewalks to hook up the S1 after it is lifted from Atlantis' cargo bay and installed on the station Thursday. She will activate the monitor's badge readers and do pre-spacewalk background readings.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to begin an eight-hour sleep period at about 6:30 p.m. today.

All efforts pointed toward the deployment and installation of the Starboard One (S1) Truss. Pilot Pam Melroy, Space Station Commander Valery Korzun, and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Piers Sellers, and Fyodor Yurchikhin configured the spacesuits for Thursday's spacewalk. Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus and NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson reviewed robotic arm operations for moving the new truss segment into place. Sergei Treschev, ISS Flight Engineer, participated in the safety briefing for the station visitors.

Thursday, Magnus and Whitson will use the Canadarm2 from inside Destiny to grapple the huge S1 Truss, take it out of Atlantis' payload bay and move it into position at the starboard end of the S0 Truss. After the segments are soft-mated, capture bolts will make the mating solid. With the truss firmly attached to the station, the spacewalkers will exit the station.

Tomorrow's EVA begins three days of spacewalks – Thursday, Saturday and Monday - at the station-shuttle complex. Shuttle and Mir veteran Wolf and space rookie Sellers will perform the EVAs, which are primarily focused on the installation and hookup of the S1 segment. In Thursday's six-hour spacewalk, Wolf and Sellers will connect power, data and fluid umbilicals between the segments; install a camera and antenna assembly; and release a number of launch restraints. Wolf will ride on the end of the robotic arm for most of the excursion, while Sellers will be a "free floater" moving around the truss structure.

Tonight the crew is scheduled to begin its sleep period at 6:46 p.m. with the wake-up call to sound at 3:16 a.m. Thursday.

Shortly after the musical wakeup call to the crew at 2:46 this morning – Tina Turner's "The Best" for Commander Jeff Ashby from his wife, Paige – the shuttle crew focused its attention on the rendezvous and docking procedures that will culminate with the orbiter docking to a port on the U.S. Destiny Lab of the station.

The Terminal Initiation burn preceding the final approach is planned for 8:04 a.m. and occurs with the two spacecraft 50,000 feet apart. That is followed by a series of four small correction burns, which set the stage for Ashby's taking manual control of Atlantis' thruster jets as he looks out the overhead and rear windows of the flight deck. He will fly Atlantis to a point 600 feet below the station, then begin a quarter circle alignment of the orbiter's docking system and Destiny, which will place the shuttle about 300 feet in front of the station.

Assisting with the rendezvous using lasers and computers are the remaining shuttle crewmembers, including Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin.

Awaiting the arrival of Atlantis are the three station crewmembers – Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev – in their 126th day in space.

Thursday will see the installation of the station's newest component – the Starboard 1 (S1) Truss – and shortly thereafter, the first of three planned spacewalks will begin by Wolf and Sellers to connect power, data and fluid lines between S1 and the station.

Crew sleep is set to begin about 6:30 this evening.

Expedition Five's Peggy Whitson and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus will use the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to install the 45-foot long, 15-ton structure beginning about 5:30 this morning. Simultaneously, Astronauts Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers will prepare for the first of three spacewalks to attach plumbing, data and electrical lines to bring S1 to life. They plan to exit the Quest Airlock at about 9:40 a.m. and can easily be identified while outside. Wolf will wear a suit with solid red stripes, while Sellers will wear an all white spacesuit.

Throughout the spacewalk, Pilot Pam Melroy will be inside offering guidance and advice to the spacewalkers and keeping them on schedule. Shuttle Commander Jeff Ashby will operate the shuttle robotic arm providing camera views for documentation.

Following grapple of the S1, Magnus and Whitson will move it into position at the starboard end of the first truss segment where it will be secured in place by four remotely operated bolts. That first segment was delivered on a shuttle flight earlier this year.

In addition to hooking up power, data and fluid lines, Wolf and Sellers will release locks on a beam allowing S1's radiators to be oriented for optimal cooling. They also will deploy an antenna and release restraints on a handcar, which can be used to move spacewalkers and equipment along the truss. The next spacewalk, or Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is planned for Saturday to continue hooking S1 connections to the station.

S1 is the third of what will be 11 segments of the Integrated Truss delivered to the station. The truss eventually will stretch 356 feet from end to end and will support four huge solar wing assemblies, one pair of which is already atop the station's P6 Truss. The truss also will support cooling radiators and the first railroad in space, capable of carrying the robotic arm to assembly and maintenance sites around the station.

The workday began at 3 a.m. with a musical wakeup call to Atlantis' crew from Mission Control, Houston. The "medley of childhood songs" was played for Magnus from her family. The Expedition Five crew, Commander Valery Korzun, Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev, woke aboard the station at the same time.

The crew is scheduled to go to bed about 8 o'clock this evening.

Expedition Five's Peggy Whitson and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus used the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the 45-foot-long, 14-ton S1 structure, remove it from Atlantis' cargo bay and move it to the starboard end of S0. Motorized bolts locked the two truss segments together at 8:36 a.m. CDT.

Wolf and Sellers ventured outside the station's Quest airlock at 10:21 a.m. Their first task was to connect power, data and fluid lines between the S0 and the S1 trusses. As Wolf worked to accomplish this task, Sellers, on his first spacewalk, released the locks on three folded-up radiators mounted to the S1, allowing S1's radiators to be oriented for optimal cooling

Wolf and Sellers then worked together to install a new S-band antenna assembly. Wolf, attached to the end of the station robotic arm, moved the antenna into position. He then tightened stanchion bolts to lock the antenna into place near the end of the S1 Truss where it connects to the S0 as Sellers held it in place. The new component will increase the S-band data and voice communications capability from the space station to ground controllers.

The duo then went to work releasing restraints that had held the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart to the S1 for launch and configure its brakes. The CETA cart, a handcar that rides along rails on the station's truss, can be used to move spacewalkers and equipment.

Installation of the S1's outboard nadir external camera was the final major task of the spacewalk. The camera, launched on Atlantis' middeck, is the first of two that will be installed on S1. They will be used as situational awareness tools for spacewalkers and robotic arm operators.

Throughout the spacewalk, Pilot Pam Melroy was inside, offering guidance and advice to the spacewalkers and keeping them on schedule. She had help with arm operations and spacewalk guidance from controllers in the International Space Station Flight Control Room because the spacewalk originated out of the station's Quest airlock. Shuttle Commander Jeff Ashby operated the shuttle robotic arm, providing camera views for documentation.

Following an inventory of the tools they used during the spacewalk and cleanup activities, Wolf and Sellers re-entered Quest. Airlock repressurization began at 5:22 p.m., signaling the end of the spacewalk.

The crew moved a number of scientific experiments back and forth between the vehicles to return completed experiments to Earth and deploy new experiments at the station. Transfer items included a set of liver cell tissue samples from an experiment studying the function of human liver cells in microgravity, moved from the station onto the shuttle for return to Earth. Payload experiments such as Marshall Space Flight Center's protein crystal growth thermal enclosures for growing high-quality protein crystals in micro-gravity experiments were moved to and from the station. Seven water containers were transferred to the station.

Commander Jeff Ashby initiated a nitrogen transfer process that moved about 15 pounds of the gas from the shuttle to the station by the end of Friday. About another 35 pounds will be transferred through Flight Day 8.

STS-112 spacewalkers Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers, assisted by Pilot Pam Melroy, readied the EVA equipment for Saturday's excursion outside the station-shuttle complex. They recharged water on the extravehicular mobility unit, configured their tools and prepared the airlock.

Since it wasn't an EVA day, there was time for the crew to relate their experiences to several media organizations during live interviews. STS-112 Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus, Wolf and Sellers discussed Thursday's EVA and first-time experiences in space with CBS Radio Network and Cable News Network (CNN). Russian Commander Valery Korzun, Expedition Five Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev and STS-112 Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin participated in several interviews with the Russian press.

This evening, shortly before sleep, the crew reviewed procedures for tomorrow's spacewalk. Saturday the spacewalkers reverse positions for most of the EVA, with Sellers riding the arm and Wolf free-floating while tethered to the station. They'll attach umbilicals, install a second camera - this time on the U.S. laboratory Destiny, install spool positioning devices to quick disconnect fittings on ammonia lines and release radiator beam launch locks.

Completing the day, the crew had a joint meal in the Service Module. Wake up time Saturday is 4:16 a.m.

On Thursday, crewmembers attached the 14-ton, 45-foot Starboard One (S1) truss to the station, using the station's Canadarm2 operated by Atlantis' Sandy Magnus and NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson. That was followed by the first of three planned spacewalks by Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers to complete a series of tasks, including connecting power lines to the station.

The spacewalk lasted 7 hours, 1 minute and brings the total time for ISS assembly via Extravehicular Activity (EVA) to 272 hours, 45 minutes.

In addition to the time off and transfer operations, Wolf and Sellers will prepare the tools and other equipment for use during tomorrow's second spacewalk. Just before their evening meal, crewmembers will gather to review Quest Airlock procedures for the spacewalk, which is expected to begin about 9:40 a.m. Saturday.

The crew will take part in two interviews today. First, the three Russian crewmembers – Expedition Five Commander Valery Korzun, Expedition Five Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev and STS-112 Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin – will discuss the mission with Russian press beginning at 10:46 a.m. Later in the day at 1:56 p.m., Wolf, Sellers, Magnus and possibly other crewmembers will be interviewed by CBS Radio, Fox News and the Cable News Network (CNN). Both interviews can be seen on NASA Television.

Today's wakeup call to Pilot Pam Melroy and the rest of Atlantis' crew came at 3:46 a.m. "Oh Thou Tupelo," performed by the Wellesley College Choir, was for Melroy, a 1983 graduate. The station crew woke up about 4:15 a.m. today.

The Atlantis and ISS complex is orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 244 statute miles.

The Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, is set to begin about 9:40 this morning and is planned to last about 6 1/2 hours. It includes installation of devices to prevent pressure buildup in line fittings; connecting cooling system lines; removing launch restraints from a radiator which will be deployed Sunday, and installing a second camera.

The Spool Positioning Devices (SPDs) are designed to prevent pressure buildup in Quick Disconnect fittings, which could make it impossible to disconnect fittings, if necessary. Sellers and Wolf will install 24 of the devices – most of which are on ammonia lines – during the spacewalk.

Sellers, in the all-white spacesuit, will ride the station's robotic arm to the S1 Truss worksite to hook up nitrogen lines used to pressurize the ammonia system, while Wolf, wearing the suit with red stripes, releases launch restraints on the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid – a handcar on the truss rails. Peggy Whitson, NASA ISS science officer, and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus will operate the robot arm. As with the first spacewalk Thursday, Pilot Pam Melroy will choreograph the EVA from Atlantis' flight deck.

Prior to the spacewalk, Commander Jeff Ashby and Melroy will gently raise the altitude of the station by firing small thrusters on Atlantis. This reboost maneuver will increase the altitude of the complex from 238 statute miles (383 kilometers) to 242 sm (389 km).

Atlantis' crew was awakened at 2:46 a.m. today by the song "Push It," performed by the group Garbage. It was for Sellers, requested by his family. The station crew woke up about 30 minutes later.

Atlantis and station crewmembers are scheduled to go to bed about 7:30 tonight.

The spacewalk began at 9:31 a.m. CDT and ended about a half-hour early at about 3:35 p.m. CDT for an official duration of six hours, four minutes. About six and a half hours had originally been allotted for the spacewalk, the second of three ventures outside the station planned for Wolf and Sellers during STS-112 to set up the new station S1 (S-One) truss segment delivered by Atlantis.

The duo prepared a new handcar system for future use on the station's truss-mounted railway. Called the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid, the car will allow astronauts to propel themselves, maintenance and construction equipment hand-over-hand along what eventually will be a 100-yard railway atop the station's truss. The spacewalkers also installed 22 Spool Positioning Devices (SPDs) on station ammonia cooling line connections, devices that will prevent a possible condition that could lock up those connections, preventing them from being opened if needed.

Two more such devices were to be installed during the spacewalk, bringing the total to 24, but they were not attached. Due to a different configuration than anticipated on the two line connections in question, the additional two SPDs would not have fit properly. However, space station engineers and managers have determined those two connections are in a satisfactory condition and will not require any further work.

Other work included the installation of an additional exterior station television camera outside of the Destiny Laboratory; hooking up an ammonia supply for lines to a radiator on the new truss segment that will be deployed Monday afternoon; and checking equipment that will be used to add the next starboard truss segment to the station in the fall of 2003.

During today's spacewalk, STS-112 Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus and ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson operated the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, using it to position the spacewalkers at various times. Prior to today's outing by Wolf and Sellers, Atlantis Commander Jeff Ashby and Pilot Pam Melroy fired the shuttle's small steering jets periodically over the course of an hour to boost the altitude of the shuttle and station by about 4 statute miles. The shuttle will perform another boost of altitude for the complex tomorrow, raising it an additional 2 miles.

The station and shuttle crews will begin a sleep period at 7:46 p.m. CDT and awaken at 3:46 a.m. CDT Sunday.

The Expedition 5 station crew spent a big part of its day taking apart the station's exercise treadmill, installing replacement parts and putting the system back together. Engineers on the ground quickly pulled together a backup plan for the task when the on-orbit maintenance team reported a broken cable on the gyroscope that is part of the vibration dampening system for the treadmill. Using some Teflon and Kapton tape to protect metal parts that might rub together until a new cable can be delivered to the station, the crewmembers were able to put the system back together so that it could be restored to fully operational status. After a final test Monday, exercise on the treadmill will resume.

One planned activity was deferred until tomorrow. The radiator assembly on the newly installed S1 Truss was rotated into position today, but the first radiator deployment won't occur until 2:52 a.m. central time Monday. The radiator was slated to be deployed Sunday afternoon, but protective circuits designed to measure current during preliminary steps needed to be adjusted. The tolerance levels set during ground testing needed to be expanded to a greater tolerance level in space. With that complete, ground controllers elected to defer actual deployment until early Monday morning, when they will be able to watch the deployment live.

Final preparations for Monday's spacewalk, slated to begin at 9:41 a.m., included a review of procedures, and recharging of the suits to be worn by Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers. During the planned 6 1/2-hour-long spacewalk, Wolf and Sellers will remove and replace an interface cable to the station's mobile transporter unit, or railcar. With that complete, they will install a series of fluid jumpers that will allow ammonia coolant to flow between the S0 and S1 trusses. That activity is expected to last about 1 1/2 hours. They also will install the last of the spool position devices on quick disconnect fittings in the ammonia lines.

All nine crew members took time out today to talk with media gathered at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts and cosmonauts fielded questions about life on board the station and the upcoming return of the Expedition 5 crew in November.

Atlantis' crew will awaken at 2:46 a.m. Monday, with the station crew arising about 30 minutes later.

The spacewalk began at 9:11 a.m., and was the 46th devoted to assembly and maintenance of the station. Making quick work of their first task, to remove a bolt preventing activation of a cable cutter on the mobile transporter, Wolf and Sellers moved on to connect ammonia lines and remove structural support clamps that held the truss in place during launch. With Sellers and Wolf working well ahead of schedule, an additional "get ahead" task – installing Spool Positioning Devices on a pump motor assembly – was added to the spacewalk. The pump motor assembly helps to circulate ammonia through the station's cooling system. Throughout today's spacewalk the station's robotic arm, which was used as a work platform by Sellers and Wolf, was operated by NASA's ISS science officer Peggy Whitson and Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus.

Earlier in the day at 6:20 a.m. Commander Jeff Ashby and Pilot Pam Melroy pulsed Atlantis' thrusters for 35 minutes gently raising the altitude of the station by 2.3 miles. The combined results of two reboost maneuvers by Atlantis increased the station's altitude by a total of six miles, setting the stage for the arrival of a replacement Soyuz spacecraft, set for launch on October 28.

Atlantis' crew is scheduled to awaken at 3:46 a.m. Tuesday with the station crew awakening about one-half hour later. Tuesday will see some scheduled off-duty time for the two crews, allowing them some final hours together before Wednesday's scheduled undocking and departure of Atlantis from the station.

Dave Wolf and Piers Sellers once again will conduct the spacewalk out of the Quest Airlock beginning about 9:40 this morning. It is the 46th spacewalk devoted to the assembly and maintenance of the station. Today they will focus on the removal and stowage of launch support brackets no longer required; installation of additional clamps on fittings to prevent pressure buildup in fluid lines; install an attach bracket for a future station truss element; and remove a balky bolt preventing activation of a cable cutter on the Mobile Transporter.

Ahead of the spacewalk, Atlantis' thrusters will again be used to gently raise the station's altitude another couple of miles. The reboost lasts about 35 minutes and sets the stage for the arrival of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 28. The Soyuz serves as the emergency rescue vehicle of the station and must be replaced about every six months.

Shortly after crew wakeup today, one of the three cooling radiators on the newly installed S1 Truss was deployed serving as a mechanical test for the deployment system. The deployment to its full length of 75 feet began at 3:01 a.m. and was completed nine minutes later. The task was delayed from Sunday for an electrical adjustment. The radiator is not needed operationally until next year.

Peggy Whitson, NASA ISS science officer, and Atlantis' Sandy Magnus will operate the station's robot arm throughout the spacewalk, while Pilot Pam Melroy will again choreograph the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) from Atlantis' flight deck. Wolf will wear the spacesuit with red stripes and Sellers' suit will be all white.

Today's wakeup music for Dave Wolf from his wife Tammy was "You Gave Me The Answer," by Paul McCartney and Wings and came at 2:46 a.m. The station crewmembers awakened about 30 minutes later.

Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus activated one of three hydraulic power units on Atlantis, tested all of the orbiter's aerosurfaces, and then test-fired the steering jets. All of the systems are in good shape for reentry and landing. The remaining crew members - Dave Wolf, Piers Sellers and Fyodor Yurchikhin - continued packing up gear and hardware in anticipation of tomorrow's landing.

Atlantis has two opportunities to land at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Friday. The first begins with a deorbit burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System engines at 9:36 a.m., followed by a landing at 10:44 a.m. Central (11:44 a.m. Eastern.) In the event weather prevents a landing on that first opportunity, there is a second opportunity, beginning with a deorbit burn at 11:16 a.m. and resulting in a 12:21 p.m. Central (1:21 p.m. Eastern) landing in Florida.

Tomorrow's weather forecast for the shuttle landing facility at KSC is favorable. The backup-landing site at California's Edwards Air Force Base was not called up for support Friday. Atlantis has sufficient consumables to remain in orbit, if necessary, until Tuesday.

Atlantis' crew will begin a scheduled eight-hour sleep period at 6:16 p.m. today, waking just after 2 a.m. Friday to prepare for a homecoming to the Kennedy Space Center. Actual deorbit preparations will get underway at 5:40 a.m. Atlantis' payload bay doors are scheduled to be closed at 6:56 a.m. and the crewmembers will get into their seats at 8:36 a.m.

Meanwhile, aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition Five crew - Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev - enjoyed a few hours of off-duty time today. Tomorrow they will turn their attention back to unpacking the Russian Progress resupply vehicle that arrived at the station in late September.

The first steps in changing Atlantis from a spaceship to an airplane are to test its aero surfaces, required as the orbiter begins to interact with the upper atmosphere on reentry and landing. Also tested today are the thruster jets on the nose and tail of Atlantis which maneuver the vehicle prior to dropping below 400,000 feet in altitude following the deorbit burn.

Atlantis' computers systematically deactivate these jets when desired air pressure readings are detected at various stages throughout entry and landing.

The crew of Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin spend the day stowing equipment, supplies and belongings in preparation for tomorrow's anticipated return to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

At 11:46 this morning, the crew will discuss the success of the mission with media representatives from the AP Radio Network, KMOX Radio of St. Louis and WISH-TV of Indianapolis. The interview will air on NASA Television.

Behind the shuttle at a distance of 120 miles (193 kilometers), the ISS Expedition Five crew of Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev are preparing for their next visitors, a Soyuz taxi crew scheduled to arrive late this month. The taxi crew will return to Earth in the Soyuz at the station, which is nearing its certified on orbit life limit.

The shuttle crew began its last full day on orbit with a wakeup call from Mission Control at 2:18 a.m. The song "These are the Days" performed by Natalie Merchant was played for Sellers at the request of his wife.

Atlantis' crew sleep begins at about 6:30 this evening and the crew will be awakened at 2:16 a.m. Friday to begin landing preparations.

Atlantis has two landing opportunities at KSC. The first begins with the firing of the shuttle's braking rockets at 9:36 a.m. and a landing at 10:44 a.m. CDT. A second opportunity for a KSC landing would see the deorbit burn at 11:16 a.m. and a landing at 12:21 p.m. Forecasts call for favorable weather for landing, with scattered clouds, good visibility and 10-knot winds.

The backup-landing site at California's Edwards Air Force Base will not be activated today. Atlantis has enough consumables to stay in orbit until Tuesday.

The crew, Commander Jeff Ashby, Pilot Pam Melroy and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Sandy Magnus, Piers Sellers and Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, was awakened at 2:25 a.m. by "Someday Soon," performed by Suzy Bogguss. It was for Ashby, requested by his wife.

Deorbit preparations began about 5:40 a.m. The payload bay doors are to be closed at 6:56 a.m.

About 3,000 miles behind the shuttle, the ISS Expedition 5 crew, Commander Valery Korzun, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Cosmonaut Sergei Treschev, is in its 135th day in space. Crewmembers are awaiting a taxi crew scheduled to arrive late this month with a replacement for the Soyuz now at the station. Expedition 5 is to return home on the STS-113 mission of Endeavour, scheduled for launch with their Expedition 6 replacements no earlier than Nov. 10.

During the week it was docked to the station, Atlantis did two reboosts of the orbiting laboratory, raising its altitude by about six miles. Another station reboost was performed about 3:25 a.m. today using the engines of the Progress unpiloted cargo carrier docked to the rear of the Zvezda Service Module. It was to raise the station's altitude an additional 6.9 miles and adjust the orbit for the arrival of the new Soyuz. The station's average altitude after the reboost was expected to be 249 miles.

If Atlantis lands on time, crewmembers are tentatively scheduled to return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston Saturday afternoon.