ISS Final Stage Credit - NASA

President Reagan, in his spend-to-the-death race with the Soviet 'Evil Empire', tasked NASA in 1984 to provide America with space station Freedom. NASA lumbered into action. The current mantra 'faster, better, cheaper' was then unknown. A bizarre programme-management scheme had each station subsystem being developed by different NASA centres and contractors. By 1990, the first operational date had slipped from 1994 to 1997 and the station had ballooned into a $30 billion, 298-tonne monster.

Meanwhile, the Russians successfully assembled and operated the 124-tonne Mir station. The station's modules were evolved from those of the secret military Almaz station of the 1970s. Mir and its crews whirled round and round the world, through the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russian economic meltdown. By 1993, Russia had acquired unmatched experience in long-duration human flight, but it was apparent that there was no money for the follow-on Mir-2.

By this time, NASA had scaled down its station in the seventh redesign in nine years. This more modest station Alpha deleted most of the original science experiments, but would still cost more than Clinton was willing to spend. In October 1993, with the gunfire of the coup attempt outside their windows, NASA negotiators in Moscow agreed to the 'International Space Station' (ISS), a merger of stations Alpha and Mir-2.

The latest crisis came in April 1997 when NASA noticed that the essential Service Module, originally the core for the Mir-2 station, was still only an empty hull even though it was meant to be launched eight months later. Without the Service Module, the station would not have the rocket power needed to reboost its orbit and prevent it from spiralling in to a fiery re-entry. After an American ultimatum, Yeltsin put his government deeper into debt and saved the program.

Construction of the ISS began with the launch of the NASA-funded, Russian-built Zarya Functional Cargo Block (FGB, from its Russian name) in November 1998. A few weeks later, the shuttle *Endeavour* rendezvoused with Zarya and attached the first American module. Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman conducted three spacewalks to make electrical and data bus connections. By July 1999, it is hoped that the delayed Russian Service Module will dock with the complex.

Thereafter, permanent occupancy can begin. In January 2000, veteran cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Krikalyov and astronaut Bill Shepherd will arrive aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a five-month stay. No less than 33 assembly flights are scheduled through to July 2004, with additional equipment, habitation or laboratory modules being added every month. At first the cluster will resemble Mir. But on the fourteenth flight, in the spring of 2001, the long truss will be installed. This will be extended on following missions and huge solar wings deployed, until the station achieves its final form.

NASA plans six research facilities initially devoted to fluids and combustion, materials science, gravitational biology and human zero-gravity adaptation. The first US lab module will be attached in March 2000, with the Canadian remote manipulating system arriving a month later. The Japanese JEM module is planned for July 2002. Europe's Columbus module is scheduled for October 2003.

A major concern is whether the Americans will have the nerve to stay the course when inevitable mishaps occur. The station, like Mir, will require constant maintenance. It could not be shut down if America stopped shuttle flights for years as it did after the *Challenger* explosion. Russian engineers calculate that there is a 23% chance that the exposed Service Module will be punctured by orbital debris during the lifetime of the station. Although the alloy and type of construction there would contain any puncture within a 70x70-centimetre panel, they believe an impact on the American section would result in fractures propagating quickly across a 400x400-centimetre area, leading to explosive decompression, an uncontrollable spin and rapid break-up of the station. Fortunately the probability of such an impact is only 2%.

The reality of 2001 will not quite match the vision of the film of the same name. But if all goes well there will be an international space station, where crews from all the nations of the Earth conduct experiments in the spirit of international science instead of that of nationalist competition. The systems proved on the station will then be available for the outward push of mankind, together, to Mars, Europa and 'Beyond the Infinite'.

Appendix - Comparison of ISS with Freedom and Alpha Stations:

ISS final configuration is similar to Alpha configuration 'A' in comparison to original 'Freedom' configuration:

                         Freedom     A      B         C
Cost to Finish ($Bil)     20       16.5     19.3     15.1
Complete Date             09/2000  10/2000  12/2001  01/2001
Annual Ops Cost ($Bil)    2.4      1.4      1.5      1.0
Crew Size                 4        4        4        4
Research Hours/Year       6566     6724     6566     6866
Alpha Gimbal              Y        N        Y        N
Total Avg. Power (kW)     68.3     57       68.3     46.5-62.9
Avg. User Power (kW)      34.2     31       40.3     24.4-40.2
Total Pressrzd Vol(m^3)   878      760      878      1117
User Science Racks        46       39       46       72
External Attach Sites     14       21       15       14
Tot. Asmbl/Outfit Flights 20       16       20       9
Tot. Asmbl EVA Hours      381      224      311      24
Logistics Flights/Year    4        6        6        6
Maintain EVA Hours/Year   253      187      253      80

• 1995 During the Year - X-38 development authorised..  Spacecraft: X-38, International Space Station.

  When doubts about the availability of Soyuz developed in 1995, NASA proceeded with development of the X-38, a NASA Johnson concept - a smaller version of the X-24 lifting body with a parafoil.

• 1996 June - Soyuz TMA, X-38 selected as ISS lifeboat over Alpha Lifeboat.  Spacecraft: Alpha Lifeboat, Soyuz TMA, X-38, International Space Station.

  The Alpha lifeboat was based on the Zarya reentry vehicle with a solid retrofire motor and cold gas thruster package. The design was rejected in favor of use of modified Soyuz TM in short term, US X-38 in long term.

• 1996 November - X-38 Rollout.  Spacecraft: X-38.

  Roll out of first of two slightly subscale 7.31 m long atmospheric test vehicles for use in parafoil landing tests was in November 1996.

• 1998 March 12 - X-38 V-131 Flight 1.  Spacecraft: X-38. Launch Site: Edwards.

  After dropping away from its B-52 mothership, the X-38 deployed a ram-air parafoil, and maneuvered to a precise landing on the Edwards Air Force Base bombing range.

• 1998 October 21 - ARD.  Spacecraft: ARD. Launch Site: Kourou. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5.

  The ARD was an 80 percent scale model of the Apollo Command Module, and a technology test for a possible International Space Station Crew Rescue Vehicle. Equipment included a TDRS satellite communications system; a GPS navigation system; 7 DASA 40 kgf hydrazine attitude control thrusters; a 2.8 m diameter heat shield; three 23 metre diameter parachutes, and a SARSAT recovery beacon. The ARD separated from the Ariane EPS upper stage at 12 minutes 2 seconds after launch. ARD and the EPC stage manoeuvred into a 1 km x 830 km orbit, guaranteeing re-entry at the end of the first orbit. The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific at 3.69 degrees N, 153.35 degrees W, and was successfully recovered by the French Navy.

• 1998 November 16 - ISS Status Report 1. 

  With the first component of the International Space Station encapsulated in its nose fairing, a 180-foot long Russian Proton rocket was transported to its launch pad at dawn today at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan in preparation for liftoff Friday to begin assembly of the new complex.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 November 19 - ISS Status Report 2. 

  All is ready at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan for tomorrow's launch of a Russian Proton rocket to deliver the first component of the International Space Station to orbit, inaugurating a new era of space exploration.

  With everything on track for liftoff at 1:40 a.m. EST tomorrow (9:40 a.m. Moscow time, 11:40 a.m. Baikonur time), the Russian State Committee prepared to meet later today (early Friday Baikonur time) to give final clearance for the launch of the 180-foot long Proton. Encapsulated in the rocket's nose fairing is the 42,000-pound Zarya Control Module, which will provide the initial propulsion, orientation capability and commanding for the fledgling station.

  The weather forecast calls for clear skies and unusually balmy temperatures at the time of launch, perfect conditions for an unmanned Proton launch vehicle. Top officials from the international project's Partner agencies including NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, Russian Space Agency General-Director-Yuri Koptev, Canadian Space Agency President Mac Evans, European Space Agency Director-General Antonio Rodota, and NASDA President Isao Uchida as well as International Space Station Program Manager Randy Brinkley, will be on hand in Baikonur to view the maiden liftoff of station hardware.

  At the Asian launch site, Russian officials planned to be at their stations at about 4:30 p.m. EST today to begin final prelaunch preparations. Following a final meeting of Russian space managers, similar to NASA's Mission Management Team, the Proton's three stages will be fueled with asymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, at about 7:40 p.m. EST.

  At 12:30 a.m. EST Friday, the gantry surrounding the Proton will be retracted and final checks of the Proton and the Zarya's systems will be conducted. It will take less than 10 minutes from launch to spacecraft separation, triggering a series of computer commands to deploy Zarya's antennas and its large solar arrays. The arrays should be unfurled and locked in place a little over 13 minutes after Zarya's launch.
  SIGNIFICANT PRELAUNCH AND POSTLAUNCH EVENTS FOR NOV. 20 INCLUDE: EST/GMT/Moscow Time
  Proton oxidizer fueling 7:40 p.m. Nov. 19 /00:40/3:40 a.m.
  Proton propellent fueling 9:20 p.m. Nov. 19 2:20/5:20 a.m.
  Launch gantry retraction 12:30 a.m./5:30/8:30 a.m.
  Zarya systems powerup 12:40 a.m./5:40/8:40 a.m.
  Ground systems "ready for launch" 1:30 a.m./6:30/9:30 a.m.
  Zarya goes to internal power 1:31 a.m./6:31/9:31 a.m.
  Final launch sequence initiated 1:35 a.m./6:35/9:35 a.m.
  T-2.5 secondsIgnition Sequence Commanded
  T-1.6 seconds Engine Start Initiated
  LAUNCH OF PROTON AND ZARYA 1:40 a.m./6:40/9:40 a.m.
  T +2:06......First Stage Separation 1:42 a.m./6:42/9:42 a.m.
  T +3:03......Launch Fairing Jettison 1:43 a.m./6:43/9:43 a.m.
  T +5:34......Second Stage Separation 1:45 a.m./6:45/9:45 a.m.
  T +9:47......Third Stage Separation and Spacecraft Separation 1:49:47 a.m./6:49:47/9:49:47 a.m.
  T +10:05 Deploy Kurs and Komparus Antennas 1:50 a.m./6:50 a.m./9:50 a.m.
  T +10:52 Initiate Zarya docking probe extension 1:51 a.m./6:51/9:51 a.m.
  T +13:21.....Initiate solar array deployment 1:53 a.m./6:53/9:53 a.m.
  Russian and American flight controllers at both the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow and the Johnson Space Center in Houston will continue to checkout Zarya's systems over the next two weeks in preparation for the launch of the Shuttle Endeavour on Dec. 3 to carry the Unity connecting hub to orbit. Unity will be mated with Zarya during the 12-day flight by five U.S. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to complete the first station assembly mission.

• 1998 November 20 - Zarya.  Spacecraft: ISS Zarya. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Proton.

  This was the first launch in the assembly of the International Space Station. The Zarya FGB was funded by NASA and built by Khrunichev in Moscow under subcontract from Boeing for NASA. Its design from the TKS military station resupply spacecraft of the 1970’s and the later 77KS Mir modules. Zarya included a multiple docking adapter, a pressurised cabin section, and a propulsion/instrument section with a rear docking port. Initial orbit was 176 lm x 343 km x 51.6 degrees. By November 25 it had manoeuvred to a 383 km x 396 km x 51.7 degree orbit, awaiting the launch of Shuttle mission STS-88 which docked the Unity node to it.

• 1998 November 20 - ISS Status Report 3. 

  Under overcast skies from a launch pad not far from where Yuri Gagarin became the first human to be launched into space, a spacecraft named Zarya, the Russian word for sunrise, rocketed into orbit today to usher in the era of the International Space Station.

  Enclosed in the nose fairing of a Russian Proton rocket, the Zarya Control Module lifted off at 11:40 a.m. local time (1:40 a.m.EST, 9:40 a.m. Moscow time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the steppes of the Asian nation of Kazakstan, the first component of an international complex involving five Partner agencies and more than a dozen nations.

  The launch was viewed in person by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, Russian Space Agency General-Director Yuri Koptev and other heads of the Partner agencies along with a host of station program officials.

  After a flawless countdown, the 180-foot long Proton rocket thundered away on a trajectory carrying the Zarya to an initial orbit about 220 statute miles by 115 statute miles. A little less than 10 minutes after launch, the Proton's third stage separated from Zarya, triggering a sequence of pre-programmed commands to deploy critical communications and rendezvous antennas. Three minutes later, Zarya's large solar arrays unfurled, enabling the module to convert sunlight into electricity through a wingspan of 80 feet. Zarya's docking probe was also extended for its linkup to the Russian Service Module following that component's launch next summer.

  A little more than three hours after launch, computer commands were successful sent to Zarya by Russian flight controllers to place the module in an orientation which will provide even heating on the spacecraft.

  Other key activities today included a successful test of the solar arrays' ability to articulate, or follow the sun as the new module travels around the Earth.

  Tomorrow, one of Zarya's two large maneuvering engines will be test-fired to insure its ability to raise or adjust the module's orbit. Then, later in the day Saturday, the engine will be fired again to raise the perigee, or lower portion of Zarya's orbit, from 115 statute miles to about 157 statute miles. Zarya will fly in an almost circular orbit by next Tuesday, 243 by 233 statute miles, following three additional engine firings.

  Russian and American flight controllers at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow and U.S. controllers at the International Space Station Flight Control Room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were on console for the historic launch and are now following the activation of Zarya's systems. They will be involved in the round-the-clock monitoring of space station systems for the lifetime of the new facility.

  Zarya's successful launch set the stage for the launch of the Shuttle Endeavour on December 3 on the STS-88 mission to carry the next component of the new station to orbit --- the Unity connecting hub, or node. Zarya will be grappled by astronaut Nancy Currie, who will use Endeavour's robot arm to capture the Control Module for its mating to Unity, which will be housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay.

  Flight controllers report that Zarya's systems are functioning normally in the early hours of its life on orbit.

• 1998 November 21 - ISS Status Report 4. 

  The International Space Station's Zarya module completed a first day in orbit early this morning as flight controllers at Mission Control in Korolev, Russia, continued checks of the module's systems and fired an engine to begin raising its orbit to the planned altitude for a rendezvous by the Space Shuttle Endeavour on Dec. 6.

  Today, flight controllers tested the television cameras Zarya will use for its eventual automated rendezvous in summer 1999 with the early station living quarters, the Service Module. During two tests of the black-and-white television system, all equipment worked as expected. Flight controllers also performed a successful 10-second test firing of one of the two large engines on the module that are used for making major orbital changes, finding it in good condition.

  Later, the same engine was fired for one minute, 40 seconds in the first of several maneuvers over the next few days that eventually will raise Zarya to a circular orbit of about 242 statute miles altitude, the orbit at which Endeavour will capture the module. Prior to today's engine firings, Zarya was in an elliptical orbit with a high point of about 225 statute miles and a low point of about 114 statute miles. Today's engine firings raised Zarya's orbit to about 226 by 156 statute miles. Zarya is circling Earth every 90 minutes at inclination of 51.6 degrees to the equator.

  Both Russian and American flight controllers are on duty at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow watching over Zarya's operations. U.S. flight controllers also are monitoring the activities at the International Space Station Flight Control Room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Upcoming events for Zarya include further engine firings on Monday and Tuesday to continue rasing its orbit followed by several systems tests later in the week in preparation for the rendezvous by Endeavour. During times when Zarya is not actively performing systems checks or other operations, it is put into a slow spin to conserve fuel and maintain moderate temperatures on the spacecraft.

• 1998 November 23 - ISS Status Report 5. 

  Flight controllers in Moscow commanded the first element of the International Space Station through two altitude raising maneuvers today placing it closer to the desired orbit planned for the rendezvous by Space Shuttle Endeavour two weeks from now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 November 24 - ISS Status Report 6. 

  After a final orbit-raising engine firing was successfully conducted today, the International Space Station's Zarya module reached an orbit in which it will await the arrival of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, planned to launch Dec. 3 and rendezvous with Zarya on Dec. 6.

  Flight controllers in Moscow commanded a 1-minute, 56-second long firing of one of Zarya's two large engines today to raise the spacecraft to an orbit of 251 by 240 statute miles. The engine firing was the fifth such firing performed since Zarya's launch, all using the same engine, to raise the module's orbit to the proper altitude for a capture by Endeavour. Zarya's altitude is expected to gradually decrease to an almost circular orbit of roughly 242 statute miles by the time Endeavour arrives.

  Ground controllers also continued checks of the module, which is in excellent condition with no systems problems of significance for any planned station operations. Tomorrow, flight controllers plan to continue systems checks of the spacecraft with tests of computers, or multiplexer-demultiplexers, on the module that will be used with an early communications system to be installed by Endeavour's crew in Unity that will transmit data from the Zarya systems to the ground as a backup to the Russian communications system.

  During times when Zarya is not actively performing systems checks or other operations, it is put into a slow spin to conserve fuel and maintain moderate temperatures on the spacecraft. Zarya is circling Earth once every 92 minutes.

• 1998 November 25 - ISS Status Report 7. 

  Flight controllers in Moscow continued to monitor the health of systems aboard the first component of the International Space Station as it passed within range of ground stations in Russia today, performing a standard check of two command relay electronics boxes and of the fire detection and suppression system.

  The checks of the command relay equipment, technically called multiplexers/demultiplexers, found both in good condition. The two devices make up part of the Zarya module's command and data handling system and provide an interface with computers for control of the International Space Station's power system, environmental system, guidance and navigation system and sensors. For the checks, one of the devices was turned on and operated for about three minutes while a second was turned on and will be left operating through the arrival of Endeavour.

  System experts in Moscow and in Houston also are continuing to evaluate several minor systems problems that have been noted on the spacecraft, none of which are anticipated to have any effect on the planned space station operations. The systems issues included an indication of high humidity onboard Zarya from an air monitoring sensor; difficulties with charging and discharging equipment associated with one of the module's six batteries; and a possible problem with the deployment of a TORU manual docking system antenna on Zarya's exterior.

  Flight controllers have determined that the indication of high humidity on Zarya was due to a problem in ground software and was an errant indication. In addition, checks of all systems that contain fluid on the module have indicated there has been no apparent leakage. Engineers are working to correct the ground software responsible for the errant indication.

  Indications and tests of one of the six batteries onboard have shown that the battery appears to be operating but that electronics equipment associated with it may not be functioning properly. Tests of the battery have verified that it is capable of charging and discharging normally and further evaluations of the situation are continuing. The possibility of carrying replacement equipment aboard Endeavour also is being evaluated. Regardless of the possible problem with the battery's associated equipment, backup procedures may be available that allow the battery to be used, and all planned station operations could be performed on five batteries only if that were necessary. The six batteries aboard Zarya store energy gathered by the twin solar arrays to be used during the orbital night.

  Indications from the TORU antennae show that the antennae may not have deployed properly. Further tests of signal strength from the system over the next few days are hoped to provide more information on whether or not the antennae have deployed. The TORU system is a manually operated docking system that serves as a backup for the Kurs automated docking system, which is the primary docking system to be used for the arrival of the Service Module in summer 1999.

  During times when Zarya is not actively performing systems checks or other operations, it is put into a slow spin to conserve fuel and maintain moderate temperatures on the spacecraft. Zarya is circling Earth once every 92 minutes. Zarya is in an orbit of 251 by 239 statute miles circling the Earth every 92 minutes.

• 1998 November 27 - ISS Status Report 8. 

  Flight controllers in Moscow and Houston have completed the formal checkout of the various systems on the Zarya module and reported it is ready for the arrival of Space Shuttle Endeavour and the next element of the International Space Station - the Unity connecting node.

  Completing its first week on orbit, Zarya was put through the final major systems checkout Friday as engineers spent the day conducting the orbiter docking test, which involved verifying a series of specific actions that will take place prior to Endeavour's rendezvous with Zarya a week from tomorrow. Considered a "dry run" of commands that will be uplinked during the final hours of the rendezvous, this docking test included:

  - Locking the solar arrays into the berthing position
  - Conducting an electrical checkout of the grapple fixture
  - Inhibiting specific thruster jets from firing during the shuttle's rendezvous
  - Maneuvering the module to the position planned for its capture by the shuttle's robotic arm
  - Activating the three external cameras to verify they are in good working order
  - Turning on Zarya's external lights

  This test essentially completed the checkout of systems prior to the shuttle's launch next Thursday.

  Additionally, controllers verified an update to the ground software of the air monitoring sensor. The humidity level inside the module was measured over the course of three successive orbits and was reported by the Russian flight director to be within normal parameters by the final check.

  Meanwhile, International Space Station program managers are discussing with Russian officials the possibility of flying replacement hardware to Zarya aboard Endeavour next week because of a potential glitch with the energy storage and discharging capability of one of six batteries housed in the Zarya module. The batteries store electricity for operation of the module's systems while the Zarya orbits the Earth in darkness. Battery # 1 is apparently not discharging stored energy properly through automatic methods.

  Although the battery is functional and can be operated manually through ground commands, a replacement charging device and a replacement battery controller may be stowed aboard Endeavour for potential replacement by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev during STS-88 while crew members work inside Zarya. Krikalev has replaced similar hardware on the Mir Space Station in the past.

  Thursday, attention was focused on conducting a more detailed test of the Telerobotically Operated, or TORU, manual docking system to verify the signal strength from two small antennae on the exterior of Zarya. Russian flight controllers said data from the tests indicated that the signal strength was indicative of a deployed antenna, although it cannot be confirmed at this time that the antennae are, in fact, fully deployed. No additional tests are planned prior to the STS-88 shuttle mission, but photo documentation of the antennae is likely to be requested of the shuttle crew during the approach and berthing operations, and possibly during one of the three spacewalks planned for the flight, to visually verify the antennae position.

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

  Over the weekend, activities will focus on conducting systems health checks with all formal checkouts having been completed. No other major activities are planned before Endeavour's launch on the first International Space Station assembly mission.

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

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

• 1998 November 30 - ISS Status Report 9. 

  Flight controllers in Moscow and Houston continued to monitor systems on the Zarya module during the weekend and prepare for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Unity connecting node.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 2 - ISS Status Report 10. 

  Flight controllers in Moscow and Houston continue to monitor systems on the Zarya control module and briefed the STS-88 astronauts earlier today on its status on the eve of the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to carry the second component of the International Space Station to orbit.

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 3 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 01. 

  The first International Space Station assembly mission was postponed for 24 hours when the brief 5-minute launch window ran out before flight controllers could fully analyze the cause of a master alarm that sounded inside the Space Shuttle Endeavour's crew cabin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 4 - STS-88.  Spacecraft: Endeavour. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle.

  First attempted launch of STS-88 was scrubbed at 09:03 GMT on December 3 due to a problem with a hydraulic system sensor. Launch came the next day, with Endeavour entering an initial 75 km x 313 km x 51.6 degree orbit. Half an orbit after launch, at 09:19 GMT, Endeavour fired its OMS engines to raise the orbit to 180 km x 322 km x 51.6 degree.

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

  Payloads included:

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

• 1998 December 4 - Unity.  Spacecraft: ISS Unity. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle.

• 1998 December 4 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 03. 

  Endeavour's six astronauts wrapped up their first day in space a bit later than planned, at approximately 8:21 a.m. Central time today, when they began an abbreviated sleep period. Crew members were trouble-shooting a minor problem with the Orbiter Communications Adapter (OCA) system, which is used to transmit software files between the Space Shuttle and the flight controllers on the ground. A wake-up call from Mission Control is planned for 3:36 p.m. Central time, for the crew to begin their first full day of on-orbit activities.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 4 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 02. 

  Five Americans and one Russian set off to begin building the International Space Station at 2:36 a.m. CST today, launching from Kennedy Space Center with the first American-built component of the station -- a connecting module named Unity -- in the Space Shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay. The shuttle's climb to orbit was flawless.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 4 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 04. 

  STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana and his crew received their first wake up call from Mission Control this afternoon at 3:36 p.m. CST to begin their first full day of on orbit activities. The crew were awakened with the song "Get Ready" by the Temptations, an appropriate description of the full slate of activities the crew will be involved with as they get ready for the important events of the flight by checking out the equipment and tools that will be utilized during rendezvous, docking and space walking activities.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 5 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 06. 

  Endeavour's astronauts were awakened at 1:36 p.m. Central time today to begin in earnest preparations for on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 5 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 05. 

  Endeavour's astronauts began an eight-hour sleep period at 5:36 a.m. Central time following a full night of activity in which they checked out equipment that will be used in the assembly of the first two components of the International Space Station.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 6 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 07. 

  Astronaut Nancy Currie gently mated the 12.8-ton Unity connecting module to Endeavour's docking system late Saturday afternoon, successfully completing the first task in assembling the new International Space Station.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 6 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 08. 

  Endeavour's crew awoke at 10:36 a.m. CST today to begin the orbital assembly of the International Space Station, uniting the first two station modules, Zarya and Unity. The astronauts were awakened to the sounds of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," requested by Commander Bob Cabana's daughter, Sarah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 7 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 09. 

  Endeavour's astronauts continued the assembly of the International Space Station late Sunday, mating the Russian-built Zarya control module with the U.S.-built Unity connecting module in the shuttle's cargo bay following a flawless rendezvous and grapple of Zarya.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 7 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 10. 

  Following a wake-up call from Mission Control at 11:41 a.m. CST today, Endeavour's six astronauts began preparing for the first of three scheduled space walks. The wake-up song, "Jerry the Rigger," was in honor of Mission Specialist Jerry Ross, who with fellow Mission Specialist Jim Newman, will conduct more than 18 hours of space walks during this flight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 8 - EVA STS-88-1.  Spacecraft: International Space Station.

  Began assembly of International Space Station. Connected cables between Zarya and Unity modules.

• 1998 December 8 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 12. 

  At the request of Commander Bob Cabana, Mission Control delayed Endeavour's wake-up call by one-half hour today, waking the crew at 12:06 p.m. CST, after the astronauts remained up past their scheduled sleep time to enjoy the view and relax following a very busy and successful day yesterday. The crew was awakened by Dwight Yokum's "Streets of Bakersfield," requested by the wife of Pilot Rick Sturckow, a California native.

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 8 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 11. 

  The first U.S. segment of the International Space Station came to life Monday night as the Unity module was activated for the first time. Activation followed the connection of electrical and data cables by Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman during a 7-hour, 21-minute space walk.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 9 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 13. 

  Endeavour's astronauts boosted the fledgling International Space Station to a higher altitude Tuesday and had a chance to relax for a few hours as the first station assembly flight neared the halfway mark.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 9 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 14. 

  After enjoying a half day of rest yesterday, Endeavour's crew was awakened at 10:36 a.m. Central time to begin preparations for a second spacewalk. The crew awoke to the tune "Floating in the Bathtub," selected for Mission Specialist Jim Newman by his wife, Mary Lee.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 10 - EVA STS-88-2.  Spacecraft: International Space Station.

  Continued assembly of International Space Station. Connected cables between Zarya and Unity modules and deployed antennae.

• 1998 December 10 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 16. 

  Endeavour's six astronauts awoke at 10:41 a.m. CST today and are preparing for a historic day - entry into the International Space Station for the first time. The crew was awakened to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," played for Mission Specialist-2, Nancy Currie at the request of her husband, David.

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent shape.

• 1998 December 10 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 18. 

  Endeavour's crew was awakened at 10:36 a.m. CST today to continue their work of preparing the International Space Station for future crews. "Trepak," a Russian dance from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet, was played as the wake-up music in honor of cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  Endeavour and the International Space Station remain in excellent shape.

• 1998 December 10 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 15. 

  Endeavour's astronauts installed antennas for an International Space Station communications system and helped free a jammed antenna on the station's Russian module, achieving all the objectives planned for the seven-hour space walk.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 11 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 17. 

  Endeavour's astronauts opened the new International Space Station for business Thursday, entering the Unity and Zarya modules for the first time and establishing an S-band communications system that will enable U.S. flight controllers to monitor the outpost's systems.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 11 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 19. 

  Endeavour's astronauts wrapped up the first visit inside the International Space Station and prepared it for undocking, closing the hatches for the final time to the new complex before it is left unpiloted Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 12 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 20. 

  Endeavour's astronauts awoke at 10:36 a.m. CST today, to the sounds of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," and began preparing for the third and final scheduled space walk of the mission.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 13 - EVA STS-88-3.  Spacecraft: International Space Station.

  Completed initial assembly of International Space Station. A canvas tool bag was attached to the exterior of Unity to provide tools for future assembly workers. Also disconnected some docking cables, so that Unity and Zarya could no longer undock.

• 1998 December 13 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 22. 

  For the first time ever, the new International Space Station Flight Control Room in Houston issued a wake-up call to orbiting astronauts. At 10:36 a.m. CST, space station communicator Astronaut Mike Fincke awoke Endeavour's crew with the song" Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" as they prepare to say "goodnight" to the space station.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 13 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 23. 

  Endeavour's astronauts bid farewell to the International Space Station this afternoon, undocking from the new complex which will fly unpiloted for the next five months until the next shuttle assembly flight in May 1999.

  Pilot Rick Sturckow separated Endeavour from the station at 2:25 p.m. Central time, firing the shuttle's jets to place the orbiter 450 feet above the outpost. Sturckow then initiated a nose-forward flyaround of the station as shuttle TV cameras captured spectacular views of the two station modules framed against the blue backdrop of the Earth.

  Less than an hour and a half after undocking, at 3:49 p.m., Sturckow fired Endeavour's jets one final time as the orbiter passed 450 feet below the complex, separating for the final time as the station faded from view along the horizon. More than six hours after undocking, Endeavour trailed ISS by some 70 s.m., increasing its distance from the station at about 19 s.m. every orbit.

  International Space Station flight controllers at Mission Control, Houston and at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow, will now spend the next five months monitoring the station's systems and awaiting the launch of Discovery on the STS-96 mission. STS-96 will see a multinational crew of seven astronauts return to the station in a logistics resupply flight which will include at least one spacewalk to attach additional hardware to the new orbiting facility.

  Late Sunday, flight controllers commanded the station into a new orientation to point the Zarya Control Module toward deep space and the Unity Module toward the Earth. Commands were then sent to place the station into a slow spin of about one revolution every 30 minutes to keep the station within proper thermal conditions as it orbits the Earth. Zarya's motion control system will be reactivated about once a week over the next few months to insure it is working properly and its guidance system will be updated with the latest orbital parameters.

  Before beginning their presleep period, the astronauts deployed a small 590-pound satellite called SAC-A for the Argentinean National Committee of Space Activities. Equipped with five technology experiments, including one to track the movement of whales off the coast of Argentina, SAC-A was ejected from a canister in Endeavour's cargo bay at 10:31 p.m. Central time as the shuttle few over the northern Indian Ocean. The satellite is expected to remain in orbit from five to nine months sending back data to Argentine researchers back on Earth.

  The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 3:36 a.m. Central time Monday and will be awakened at 11:36 a.m. to begin preparations for their scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center Tuesday night. On Monday, the astronauts will conduct the routine pre-landing check of Endeavour's flight control surfaces and steering jets to insure that the shuttle is ready for its high-speed reentry back to Earth.

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

• 1998 December 13 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 21. 

  Endeavour's astronauts completed the first assembly work of the International Space Station on Saturday, securing tools, tethers and cables to the new outpost and freeing a second jammed antenna on Zarya during a 6-hour, 59-minute space walk.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 14 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 24. 

  Endeavour's crew awoke to the sounds of James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)," today, in honor of the good feelings evoked by this successful first International Space Station Assembly mission. That wake-up call from Mission Control at 11:36 a.m. today, marks the start of the final full-day of operations for the six-member crew of STS-88.

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 15 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 25. 

  Endeavour's astronauts wrapped up their mission objectives and packed up their ship, ready for a landing late tonight at Kennedy Space Center and the end of the first mission to assemble the International Space Station.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 15 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 27. 

  NASA's final Shuttle mission of 1998 came to an end this evening with the landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center. Following a 4.6 million mile journey, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana guided the orbiter down onto runway 15 with landing gear touchdown occurring at 9:54 p.m. CST.

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 15 - STS-88 Mission Status Report # 26. 

  Endeavour's astronauts awoke to the sounds of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" today, and are now preparing for a return trip to Earth. The wake-up call came at 11:36 a.m. CST, and was chosen by the flight control team to energize the six crew members in anticipation of tonight's landing in Florida, marking the 10th nighttime Shuttle landing in the program's history.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 1998 December 15 - Landing of STS-88. 

  STS-88 landed at 04:16 GMT.

• 1998 December 17 - ISS Status Report: ISS11. 

  Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow continued to monitor and checkout systems on the International Space Station this week, completing a successful test firing of both of the Zarya module's large thrusters that raised the station's orbit by about four statute miles.

  Controllers also performed a successful check of Zarya's Kurs rendezvous system and the module's docking system, an automated Russian system that eventually will steer the station to dock with the third station module, the Service Module. The Service Module, an early crew quarters and station core that is the primary Russian contribution to the station, is targeted for a July 1999 launch aboard a Russian Proton rocket. Prior to the Service Module's launch, the Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to visit the station in May 1999, carrying supplies to be stored in the interior and a Russian-built spacewalkers' cargo crane to be installed on the exterior.

  A few hours after Endeavour's undocking from the station on Sunday, flight controllers at Mission Control, Korolev, maneuvered the station into a naturally stable spinning orientation to conserve propellant and