"The delays have led flight managers to study the possibility for an extra day of docked operations and a shuttle mission extension to ensure all of the mission's work can be completed. "

"The International Space Station received a new airlock early Sunday, an addition that will permit spacewalks without a space shuttle docked to the station. The airlock, named Quest, can accommodate either Russian or U.S. spacesuits and brings the mass of the space station to about 130 tons."

"A request recently approved by NASA's Space Station program will soon allow the crew aboard the International Space Station to "phone home" by dialing directly from their laptop computers - so long as the telephone number has been pre-approved by someone at NASA JSC."

"EVA: The EVA to relocate the docking cone was completed successfully on Friday. The CDRs bio-med pack did not function prior to the EVA but permission to perform the EVA was given by the Russian FD without it. As a result of the depress to support the EVA, the ISS went out of attitude by 11 degrees. While this is outside the attitude envelope, the time the ISS is permitted to be outside the envelope was not exceeded."

Internal NASA email:

"For 7A, we are going to continue trying for July for one more week. If by this time next week (6/19), we are able to isolate the SSRMS Shoulder Pitch problem to a maskable fault that can be fixed via a "simple" software patch, we will continue to march to a July launch opportunity (though by next week it would most likely be NET 7/12). If we do not know for sure that a simple software patch will fix the problem, we will flip-flop to the other side of 7A.1 and launch in late September."

Editor's note: in case you aren't aware people have been working extra-long shifts to resolve the current ISS problems. The extra hours haven't been pleasant for those folks at JSC who have also had to worry about their homes being flooded after days of torrential rain.

Editor's note: have a look at the images David Cash in the UK made of the ISS the other night.

Editor's note: think of this as a "pre-Felicity" report.

Note the comment on page 7 that ISS progress flights "6P/ 7P/ 8P BEHIND SCHEDULE / FUNDING ISSUES / SCHEDULE TBD" and that on page 10 Flight 4R shows several "red" items due to "Testing at risk without propulsion components. Missing Cargo Vehicle Module propulsion components"; "Testing schedule risk - Delayed assembly of DC1 & CVM for stage 2 testing."; and "Issues SM- DC1- Soyuz SM- DC1- Progress test have been completed. Joint SM- DC1 test are delayed".

Ron Dittemore has decided upon the following dates:

"NASA officials have again postponed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis on the next international space station construction mission while engineers struggle to understand problems with the outpost's new robotic arm. "

"We don't anticipate any delay in our ability to support launch milestones,'' said Kari Fluegel, spokeswoman for the United Space Alliance, the private consortium of NASA contractors hired for shuttle processing and operations. The union machinists are all USA employees."

"Company officials say if the walkout moves forward, it will have no effect on the shuttle's launch schedule. However, it would be the first-ever strike by workers who do hands-on processing of the shuttle fleet at Kennedy Space Center."

Editor's note: the USA strike at the Cape has been moved up 24 hours and will start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday instead of Sunday.

"Problem Title: Possible Lab Window Contamination

Problem Description: Lab window cover was left open during Soyuz docking resulting in potential contamination from the Soyuz RCS jets.

Current Status: Procedure is in place to establish rules for closure in order to minimize accummulated contaminants for all flights. A special rule has been drafted for the 7A mission."

"Increment 2 Contingency EVA An EVA task to remove and replace an Arm Computer Unit (ACU) on the Space Station Remote Manipulator System during the scheduled EVA on June 8, 2001, is being assessed. The current task for the EVA is to transfer the docking cone to the Service Module nadir hatch in preparation for the docking of the DC1. Activities underway for the ACU task assessment include VR evaluation of translation paths and work sites, procedures and techniques to use U. S. tools with the Orlan, NBL runs in both EMU's and Orlans, and bilateral development of EVA procedures and timelines. Many open issues are being addressed, and an EVA Readiness Review was performed on May 30, 2001. The ISS program is expected to decide by June 4, 2001, whether the ACU task will be added to the June 8, 2001 EVA."

Update: Continuing problems with the on-orbit checkout of Canadarm2 have forced slips of several weeks of the launch dates of the next two shuttle missions, STS-104/ISS-7A (recently slipped to 20 June 2001 due to wet tile problems) and STS-105/ISS-7a.1 (originally planned for 23 July 2001)

Editor's note: word has it that continued problems with the on-orbit check out of the ISS's robotic arm (including a scrubbed practice session yesterday) are leading NASA planners to consider swapping the ISS-7A (STS-104 - airlock delivery) and ISS-7a.1 (STS-105 - MPLM logistics) missions. Due to the location of the airlock on the ISS the Shuttle RMS would not be able to complete the task. With no redundancy in ISS RMS operations (back up systems are not operating) , replacement units would need to be launched and installed before the robotic arm would be cleared to attempt airlock installation.

Meanwhile, NASA has slipped the launch date of STS-104 a few days due to tile-drying efforts. It is expected that Atlantis will roll over to the Vehicle Assembly Building no earlier than Tuesday, May 29. As a result, the target launch date has been reset for no earlier than June 20. This may give the crew time to work out some problems on-orbit - and give NASA some time to consider a mission swap in case they don't.

Dennis Tito and his crewmates departed the ISS in the Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft and landed in Kazakhstan at 1:41 AM EDT

After a 4.9 million mile journey Space Shuttle Endeavour landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base at 12:11pm EDT. The landing was moved due to bad weather at the landing site at NASA KSC.

The landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour has been moved to Edwards Air Force Base due to bad weather at the landing site at NASA KSC. Landing procedures will commence during orbit with an OMS deorbit burn at 11:06 am EDT followed by landing at 12:11pm EDT.

The Endeavour crew begins preparation for deorbit early Tuesday morning with a total of four landing opportunities at KSC and Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), Calif. EAFB is available to support landing tomorrow if needed.

ORBIT	SITE	Deorbit	LANDING
184	KSC	7:55am	9:04am
185	KSC	9:31am	10:39am
186	EAFB	11:06am	12:11pm
187	EAFB	12:43pm	1:47pm

"The orbiter Endeavour is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Tuesday morning, May 1, at about 9:04 a.m. EDT completing the nearly 12-day STS-100 mission that was launched from KSC April 19, 2001."

Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station yesterday at 1:34 PM EDT. Soyuz TM-32 docked with the ISS today, barely 14 hours later, at 3:58 AM EDT. Hatch opening between ISS and Soyuz is expected around 5:22 AM EDT. This will be carried live on NASA TV - but not much else will be seen of Dennis Tito's visit to the ISS.

Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station at 1:34 PM EDT. Soyuz TM-32 is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 3:52 AM EDT. Hatch opening between ISS and Soyuz is expected around 5:20 AM EDT. These events will be carried on NASA TV - but not much else will be seen of Dennis Tito's visit to the ISS.

"After a day of negotiations and another looming standoff over Dennis Tito's flight, NASA and Rosaviakosmos have come to an agreement regarding the launch of Soyuz TM-32. The mission will be launched on time on Saturday at 3:37 AM EDT. The Soyuz may wait in orbit for an extra day or so until Endeavour leaves the ISS. Who knows. Dennis Tito may get a few bonus days in space."

"Earlier today, NASA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviakosmos, reached a decision on the launch of the Soyuz replacement vehicle, for 2:37 a.m. central time Saturday. Rosaviakosmos has agreed to delay the Soyuz docking to the station if additional time is required to resolve command and control problems aboard the station. Mission managers will assess the need for that additional docked day of operations based on specific criteria, including a minimum of two fully functioning command and control computers, securing the Canadarm2 cradle pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay, successfully reloading software in Command and Control computer Three, and completing final transfer activities between the station and shuttle."

• The C&C 2 computer continues to function nominally. C&C 3 and C&C 1 are in diagnostics. All of the remaining MDMs are in sync. The GNC MDMs were recovered this morning after a hiccup during the attempt to sync them with C&C 2 and are functioning nominally. GNC-2 is primary.
• Testing continues in ISIL to verify the data load to DRAM in C&C 3 in order to be able to reload C&C 3 and bring it up as a backup C&C MDM. The team continues to work through the checksum errors experienced during ISIL testing today.
• Testing also continues on the use of ePCS as a redundant computer for MPLM operations in ISIL. The crew was able to locate a ePCS laptop with the correct load and is in the process of checking it out. Two attempts to power on the laptop has been no joy. Flight Controllers and the MER continue to discuss options to get the ePCS up and running. The C&C Anomaly Resolution Team expects to have the procedures ready by 10:30am today.
• FCT is looking at deberthing the MPLM around noon our time with the anticipation that ePCS or C&C 3 will be ready to go. Flight will wait for a go from the MER prior to proceeding with MPLM deberthing operations.
• The ART is also looking at the procedures required to perform an R&R of C&C 1 with Payload MDM 2 and use the R&R'd MDM as the backup C&C MDM.

• Upon crew wake up today, the FCT was successful in recovering C&C 2. All I/O was inhibited to preclude unnecessary communications with the C&C. Communication with the OIU was re-established and data dumps were performed of C&C 2. Communication with the INT-2 MDM was reestablished. The FCT has performed a data dump of the N1-1 MDM and as of 10 am was not able to dump N1-2. Both NCS MDMs were in diagnostics, which may have caused by an ADA Exception set off by the C&C 2 time stamp (1992) when the C&C 2 was brought back up. C&C 2 is still on line and functioning nominally.

• NCS MDM N1-1 MDM data dump performed. N1-2 data dump has not been perfomed. ODIN has attempted the dump several times. MER is has given the go power cycling the MDMs to recover them. N1-1 has been recovered. MER gave the go to power cycle N1-2. N1-2 is now in Standby.

• Still looking at bringing up a second C&C MDM. Primary objective is to ensure the NCS is operating nominally prior to continuing with C&C backup MDM recovery.

Computer problems continue to hamper operations on the International Space Station. This has caused NASA to decide to keep Space Shuttle Endeavour docked to the ISS for another two days. NASA has also asked Russia to delay the launch of Soyuz TM-32 carrying Dennis Tito. Since Soyuz launches begin some irreversible operations 24 hours before launch, NASA needed to send formal notification to Russia today."

"As flight controllers continued to troubleshoot computer systems on board the International Space Station (ISS), the ten crewmembers were told late today they would spend some bonus time together, after mission managers requested an additional two days of docked operations to allow ground teams to recover the use of command computers in the Destiny laboratory and to complete joint activities."

"If the space shuttle Endeavour were not docked to the station, NASA would be completely out of communication with the astronauts. The controversial launch of "space tourist'' Dennis Tito this weekend will have to be delayed if the problem is not corrected, NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said."

Given the events of the past few days, Dennis Tito can now climb into his Soyuz seat on Saturday morning safe in the knowledge that nothing except hardware problems will prevent him from going into space and visiting the International Space Station.

It wasn't easy getting to this point.

A command computer aboard the International Space Station malfunctioned on Wednesday, and NASA said the problem could halt the first major test of a new robotics system."

Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian to perform a spacewalk today. With NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, now an honorary Canadian, they installed an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) antenna and moved the Canadarm2, which is still on its pallet, onto the International Space Station (ISS).

"Parazynski and Hadfield spent 7 hours and 10 minutes working outside the station, installing first an Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) antenna before turning their attention to the station's new robotic arm. They floated out of Endeavour's airlock at 6:45 a.m. central time and about two hours later had installed and deployed the UHF antenna on the Destiny module of the station. With that complete, the two astronauts turned their attention to installing the new station robotic arm. The main boom was deployed at 10 a.m. central, and a few minutes later, at 10:10 a.m. Hadfield and Parazynski began unfolding the arm as Endeavour and the station flew 238 miles over the Atlantic Ocean."

"Now docked to the International Space Station, Endeavour and its seven-member crew are preparing for the first of two planned spacewalks set to begin about 6:20 this morning to install the orbiting outpost's Canadian built robotic arm. Called Canadarm2, the high-tech robotic arm is the most versatile ever flown in space."

Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station at 9:59 AM ET this morning. The crews of Atlantis and ISS will not meet face-to-face until early Monday, after the first space walk by Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski wherein Candarm2 installation will begin.

Note: the next Felicity will he held on 4, May 2001 at 1: 00 P. M. CDT. Speical topics: ECLSS; NODES 2/ 3

ISS-5A.1/STS-102 News

"After a dramatic reversal of fortune, the shuttle Discovery dropped out of orbit and glided to a pre-dawn landing at the Kennedy Space Center today, bringing the international space station's first full-time crew back to Earth after a 141-day space odyssey. "

"NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base is preparing for a possible Space Shuttle landing at Edwards early Wednesday morning, March 21. The shuttle Discovery may land at Edwards to conclude mission STS-102 because of inclement weather at the primary landing site, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA mission controllers will make a final decision on whether to land the Discovery at Kennedy or at Edwards about 90 minutes before the scheduled landing."

"SYNOPSIS: Strong surface low pressure system in southern Georgia will move northeast by Thursday night. Crosswinds, and a threat of cloud ceilings will be concerns for tonight's landing opportunities at KSC. In the event of a 24-hour wave-off, weather conditions in Florida will be improving by Wednesday night. Conditions remain favorable at the back-up landing site at Edwards AFB, California through Thursday night."

"Dennis Tito's plans to fly to the International Space Station as a paying customer aboard a Russian Soyuz taxi flight have hit a major snag. When Tito and his crewmates arrived at NASA JSC this morning NASA informed Tito that he would not be allowed to begin training until some legal and crew proficiency issues are resolved. His crewmates refused to begin their training without him."

NASA has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, 20 March at 3:30 PM EST at NASA Headquarters to discuss this issue. This press conference will be carried live on NASA TV - Watch it on SpaceRef.TV

"William Shepherd, on his way back to Earth after serving as commander of the international space station's first full-time crew, expressed reservations early today about launching Tito in April. "Our crew trained for over four years to get ready for our flight," he told a reporter. "The day will come when we'll have civilians and tourists up there, but it's not something you can enter into lightly."

"A fire alarm went off in the Destiny laboratory module of the international space station today. It turned out to be a false alarm, but it shut down ventilation systems, computers dropped off line and the station's new crew was unable to find the documentation needed to reactive critical systems."

Editor's note: Perhaps these are some of the procedures they were looking for... (Acrobat)

"Discovery's touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday will mark the end of a 141-day stay in space Shepherd and his crewmates, who were launched to the station complex on Oct. 31 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket."

Last 24 Hours Status

• SD-2 RPCM trip during power up post charcoal filter replacement activities.
• RWS Checkout tripped UOP 7. Reconfigured for one monitor only, checkout completed.
• ISS reboost
• MPM transfer activities.
• ISS initialized vents (Pre heated to 260 deg. F) for impending water dump.

Last 24 Hours Status

• SD-2 RPCM trip during power up post charcoal filter replacement activities.
• RWS Checkout tripped UOP 7. Reconfigured for one monitor only, checkout completed.
• ISS reboost
• MPM transfer activities.
• ISS initialized vents (Pre heated to 260 deg. F) for impending water dump.

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

The Progress M-44 Cargo vehicle flying the ISS-3P mission docked with the ISS today at 4:50 AM EST /09.50 GMT. The spacecraft docked with the aft docking port of the Service Module. Unpacking is to begin this morning. This Progress carries various supplies needed for the Expedition 2 Crew who are due to be launched on the STS-102 mission

ISS-5A/STS-98 News

"At 11:09:35 Moscow Time the Progress M-44 transport cargo vehicle was launched to a near-earth orbit within the implementation of the Russian commitments under the International Space Station (ISS) program."

The Expedition One crew of the ISS moved their Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft from the aft port of the Service Module Zvezda to the nadir (Earth-facing) port of the FGB Zarya on Saturday so as to make room for a new supply ship, Progress M-44, which will be launched on the ISS-3P mission on Monday. Progress M-44 will dock with the aft port of the Zvezda on Wednesday. Progress M-44 carries supplies for the Expedition Two crew, which will be launched on Shuttle Discovery in March on STS-102/ISS 5A.1.

Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 3:33 PM EST today. Unacceptable weather forced NASA to wave off the landing attempts at KSC today, Monday, and Sunday.

Unacceptable weather has forced NASA to wave off the first landing attempt today. The next opportunity at KSC is for a 2:02 PM EST landing. If conditions at KSC do not improve, landing opportunities exist at Edwards Air Force Base in California and at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico later today. The last (and only) Shuttle Mission to ever land at White Sands was STS-3 in March 1982.

Yesterday NASA "waved off" Space Shuttle Atlantis from landing at NASA KSC in Florida due to unacceptable cross winds at the KSC landing strip. Weather at Edwards Air Force Base in California has been (and continues to be) problematic. Now NASA has called off today's landing attempts as well - for the same reason. The next attempt to land will be made at KSC on Tuesday.

"Mission managers determined the crosswinds at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) were too high to permit a safe landing of Atlantis today. As a result, managers decided to extend the STS-98 mission 24 hours. At decision time today, winds at the SLF were peaking to 24 knots, well beyond the 15-knot crosswind limit. Landing is now set to occur at KSC on Monday, Feb. 19 at 1:27 p.m. EST. The deorbit burn is scheuled to take place at 12:21 p.m. EST. A second landing opportuinity exists at KSC tomorrow at 3:03 p.m. The weather forecast at KSC tomorrow is better than today with high pressure dominating weather over Florida. There is some threat of low clouds from the easterly wind flow, but otherwise conditions appear favorable for landing"

At 12:47 PM EST today NASA "waved off" Space Shuttle Atlantis from landing at NASA KSC. Unacceptable cross winds at the KSC landing strip are expected to continue throughout the day. Weather at Edwards Air Force Base tomorrow maybe problematic so the attempt to land will be made at KSC tomorrow. Two landing times are available tomorrow at KSC: one at 1:26 PM EST and 3:02 PM EST.

"There are two landing opportunities available Sunday for Atlantis in Florida. The first begins with a deorbit burn on Orbit 169 at 10:47 a.m. and culminates in a landing at 11:53 a.m. Central time on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center. A backup opportunity one orbit later starts with a deorbit burn at 12:22 p.m., resulting in a 1:28 p.m. Central time landing. The weather forecast Sunday calls for generally favorable conditions in Florida, with the possibility of brisk winds near the three-mile-long landing strip."

The crews of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station parted company at 8:06 a.m. Central today, as Pilot Mark Polansky flew Atlantis halfway around the station and its new Destiny laboratory before moving off toward a Sunday landing. The forecast calls for favorable conditions at the landing strip for an 11:50 a.m. Central touchdown, although winds are expected to be gusty.

"The first series of training for the crew has been completed at the Hydrolab. The ISS-3 crewmembers will return to the Hydrolab for the second series of training runs on February 28, 2001. The crew is scheduled to launch on Flight 7A.1 on July 12, 2001, and will return on Flight UF1 scheduled to launch November 1, 2001."

"Astronauts Tom Jones and Bob Curbeam completed their third and final planned spacewalk outside the International Space Station today, pausing to celebrate the mission, which included the 100th spacewalk in United States space history. "This achievement, this golden anniversary so to speak, is a tribute to all the people who have done spacewalks, all the people who designed the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and now Shuttle suits," Curbeam said as he and Jones held a placard commemorating the spacewalks in Atlantisí payload bay. "And we salute all of you and appreciate your hard work and thank you so much."

After having completed two of three planned spacewalks, the crew of the ISS and Space Shuttle Atlantis have accomplished most of the tasks required for the installation and activation of the U.S. Laboratory Module "Destiny". With the addition of Destiny, the ISS is now the largest spacecraft ever to orbit Earth. The first of Destiny's payloads will be launched on the next shuttle mission STS-100 in March 2001.

"The lab module will give you the ability to do research in microgravity 365 days a year for the next 10 or 12 years,'' said Keith Cowing of NASA Watch, a space watchdog group. "There are going to be furnaces up there, there are going to be incubators up there, glove boxes, the whole thing.''

"We may find things that are just incremental increases in knowledge,'' Cowing said. But he said the unknowns of working in space may lead to exciting discoveries. "When you take things that have lived on Earth for 4 billion years and put them in microgravity, they could go off in unexpected directions.'' Because scientists hope to learn more about the properties of substances and genetic material from experiments in space, Cowing said, "Going into space may teach you how to do something better on the ground."

"Awakened to the sounds of the "Blue Danube Waltz" from the movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey", Atlantis' astronauts geared up for their first entry into the newly installed Destiny Laboratory of the International Space Station later this morning."

"While Curbeam was attaching a cooling line, a small amount of frozen ammonia crystals leaked. However, the leak was quickly stopped. The ammonia dissipated and vaporized, and it posed no problems as the crew continued their work. Because of the leak, however, flight controllers followed a decontamination procedure, ensuring no ammonia would enter Atlantis' cabin. Curbeam remained in the sun a half-hour to vaporize any ammonia crystals on his spacesuit while Jones brushed off the suit and equipment. Then, the spacewalkers performed a partial pressurization and venting of the shuttle airlock to flush out any ammonia before a final repressurization. Then, as the airlock began exchanging air with the shuttle cabin, Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky and Ivins wore oxygen masks in the cabin for about 20 minutes as a protective measure, allowing any residual ammonia to be cleansed from the cabin by shuttle life support systems. In the end, the crew reported no contamination or smell of ammonia when the inside airlock hatch was opened and they were rejoined by Jones and Curbeam."

The crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis installed the U.S. Lab module "Destiny" onto the forward docking port of Node 1 "Unity" today. By adding this module to the International Space Station, the ISS becomes the largest spacecraft ever to orbit Earth - surpassing Mir and all Salyut space stations and the U.S. Skylab space station in both weight and volume.

Editor's note: this weekly report now contains the status of Soyuz and Progress vehicle production.

Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station this morning at 11:51 AM EST / 16.51 GMT. Preparations are underway for tomorrow's EVAs and the installation of the US Lab module onto the ISS. The Progress M1-4 spacecraft which had been docked to the ISS, was undocked yesterday and performed a destructive reentry over New Zealand yesterday. This was done to provide a clear path for Atlantis to dock. After Atlantis departs the Soyuz docked to the aft end of Zarya will be moved to the nadir port of the FGB to allow another Progress to dock. Future Shuttle missions will dock to the Destiny lab module allowing two Russian spacecraft (Progress or Soyuz) to be docked to the ISS at any given time.

"The two Russian spacesuits installed aboard the International Space Station are unusable due to technical problems, MSNBC.com has learned. The crew of the station, astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergey Krikalyov, are unable to perform spacewalks from the station until the problems are resolved."

ISS Orlan Spacesuit EVA Communications: RSC Energia is continuing to evaluate the results of the unsuccessful Orlan communications checkout conducted January 5th, 2001. RSC Energia is working with their radio sub-contractor and NASA counterparts to determine the likely causes of the interference noted by the ISS crew and ground controllers during the test. Their efforts are currently focused on irregularities in the procedures rather than hardware issues, and a re-test is planned in February, most likely following the STS-98/5A mission. The EVA Project Office has requested that the re-test also include routing the communications to the U.S. on-orbit segment (USOS) S-Band system and Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) link to demonstrate the capability for more complete communications coverage each orbit.

"On January 4- 5, 2001, the ISS crew conducted the initial inspection, assembly and checkout of the two Orlan spacesuits in the Service Module (SM) Transfer Compartment airlock. Spacesuit functionality was nominal in all respects except with regard to audio communications with the SM Audio Telemetry Unit (ATU). The audio transmission was of poor quality and experienced interference with an unknown third party. It is likely that the SM ATU is the source of the problem, rather than the Orlan suits, since the condition was present in both the hard-line and radio frequency transmission modes. Given the poor quality of the audio transmission, it is not clear whether the Orlan EVA system is usable in its present condition. The JSC EVA community is working with the ISS Communications and Tracking team to understand the root cause and assist RSC Energia with corrective action."

Expedition 1 News

"After 17 years of planning, dozens of reviews and redesigns, and billions of dollars, the U.S. scientific centerpiece of the international space station is ready to open its hatches for business. Called Destiny, the 8.5-meter-long aluminum vessel is scheduled for launch next month from Kennedy Space Center here. But putting the laboratory module into orbit is only the first step in a long and difficult road toward making the space station a scientifically credible venture."

"Shuttle Processing Note: Workers at Launch Pad 39A are preparing to roll Space Shuttle Atlantis back into the Vehicle Assembly Building to undergo additional solid rocket booster cable testing. This unplanned work leads to a launch date of no earlier than Feb. 6."

"After additional testing and analysis of Solid Rocket Booster cables throughout the Shuttle fleet, Shuttle Program officials decided late today to return Atlantis to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center to conduct further inspections."

"On the eve of shuttle Atlantis' countdown to launch Friday, NASA managers today instead ordered engineers to haul the spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for work to test suspect wiring in the ship's booster separation system."

"NASA will begin the countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-98 Jan. 16 at 5:30 a.m. EST at the T-43 hour mark. This mission marks the 7th Shuttle flight to the International Space Station and the 1st Shuttle mission this year. The KSC launch team will conduct the countdown from Firing Room 3 of the Launch Control Center."

"Shuttle Processing Note: Activities at launch pad 39A continue on schedule for launch of Shuttle Atlantis on Jan. 19. Work at the pad this weekend includes finalizing launch pad validations and the completion of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The U.S. Laboratory "Destiny" is scheduled for installation into Atlantis' payload bay this weekend."

"At about 10:21 a.m. today, Space Shuttle Atlantis departed the Vehicle Assembly Building atop a replaced crawler transporter headed for Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis arrived at the pad at about 3:45 p.m. today. "

"The Expedition One crew moved into its tenth week in orbit today aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as preparations stepped into high gear for the launch of the next Shuttle assembly flight to the outpost. Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev conducted biomedical and engineering experiments, Station systems maintenance and exercise this week, reporting that everything is proceeding smoothly more than halfway through their stay aboard the ISS."

"Shuttle Processing Note: The Space Shuttle Atlantis began its move to Launch Pad 39A today at about 8:30 a.m., but an hour later stopped on the crawler path so engineers could troubleshoot a failed computer processor on the crawler transporter. "

The year 2001 has now swept around our planet. For many people interested in space exploration the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" has served as both a prediction of- and a stimulus to create the future for more than a generation. Now it is here. Over the coming weeks SpaceRef will be taking a detailed look at the film and its impact on how we both expected - and have actually built - our future in space.

What do you think? If you have any comments you'd like to share please send them to 2001@spaceref.com, Please tell us what you do (aerospace engineer, student, etc.) and where you do it - including your website address. We'll post your comments with your name and affiliation unless you ask us not to. Comments are subject to editing by SpaceRef.

Our first reader's comments are from Mike Okuda, Star Trek's Scenic Art Supervisor and Rick Sternbach, Senior Illustrator for Star Trek "Voyager" - two people who work in the tradition of Kubrick and Clarke in shaping our vision of the future. Read the full text of their comments and see an image Okuda created to show just how close "2001" is to 2001.