"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.

"Having spent a quiet holiday weekend in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Alpha, the Expedition One crew members maintained a Naval New Year's tradition as they prepared to begin their tenth week in space. With crewmates Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev at his side, Alpha Commander Bill Shepherd, a U.S. Navy Captain, provided a poem he wrote on board, capturing his thoughts and reflections, as he and his shipmates ushered in 2001."

  "More than three weeks after it was undocked and placed in a parking orbit, an unmanned Russian Progress resupply vehicle was manually redocked to the International Space Station (ISS) this morning to be used as a trash receptacle and a fuel farm by the Expedition One crew.   Operating from a control panel in the ISS' Zvezda command center, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko guided the 7 - ton Progress in for a smooth linkup to the Zarya module's nadir, or downward facing docking port at 5:03 a.m. Central time (1103 GMT) as the two craft flew over northwest Mongolia, just south of the Russian-Mongolian border."

"Russian flight controllers - and ultimately, cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko - will have overall control authority during the upcoming redocking of a Progress supply to the international space station Dec. 26, NASA flight directors said Thursday."

"In accordance with the underlying ISS Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and other agreements concluded between NASA and each of the ISS partners and other participating states, the ISS Code of Conduct is intended to: establish a clear chain of command on-orbit; establish a clear relationship between ground and on-orbit management; establish a management hierarchy; set forth standards for work and activities in space, and, as appropriate, on the ground; establish responsibilities with respect to elements and equipment; set forth disciplinary regulations; establish physical and information security guidelines; and define the ISS Commander's authority and responsibility, on behalf of all the Partners, to enforce safety procedures, physical and information security procedures, and crew rescue procedures for the ISS."

"The International Space Station (ISS) Program organizations review potential Off-nominal Situations (ONS) to ensure that timely decisions and plans are made to preserve the ISS mission plan and mitigate any potential safety risk or impact on research. The prevention of and recovery from ONS is taken into consideration in all phases of the development and operation of the ISS. Potential ONS are identified and assessed by all ISS program organizations. Redundancy built into the ISS hardware and systems, operations planning for reserve crew supplies in case of missed resupply, propellant reserve supplies, critical spares, and malfunction procedures are examples of program processes designed to overcome or mitigate the risks of ONS. This document describes the overall ISS Program ONS processes, development schedule timeline, and documentation product flow for defining, planning, and documenting ONS and agreed to response measures in order to ensure that the appropriate flight products are developed and executed."

"NASA's mission management team today formally approved a Russian proposal to redock the Progress M1-4 cargo vehicle to the international space station on Dec. 26."

"The international space station's air purification system is working smoothly, NASA's lead flight director said Friday. But unexpected equipment failures during the crew's first six weeks in space have left the astronauts just one failure away from a possible forced evacuation."

1- Shortly after undocking, a limit switch on the Solar Array Blanket Box was indicating latched and unlatched. The sensor has continued to toggle between the two positions during day and night. Indications are that the sensor is toggling due to the thermal cycles. ISS MER is still investigating.

2- FGB Battery 1 completed Capacity Restoration Mode on 12/14. Battery 1 is currently in Cycle Mode.

3- Crew performed trouble shooting procedure on the STBD UOP on 12/13. The UOP tripped the RPC during the test and is considered failed. Future trouble shooting will be performed on the "failed" UOP.

4- Port UOP #2 tripped several times on 12/13 while the crew was using the SSC computer. The crew performed the troubleshooting procedure on the port UOP and the UOP worked nominally. The crew also connected the SSC and could not recreate the trip. Efforts are still underway to troubleshoot other causes as identified on the Fault Tree.

"Originally scheduled for blastoff February 15 from the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery's launch has been pushed back to March 1 because of unplanned work ordered on the $2 billion spaceship before it can fly again. Ten steering thrusters on the shuttle are being replaced after some were found chipped, while others will be swapped to prevent leaks. "

Fresh off the successful mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour to deliver the large solar arrays to the International Space Station, status briefings will be held on Dec. 15 and Dec. 21 to discuss the progress of the ongoing Expedition One mission.

Space Shuttle Endeavour ended the STS-97 mission by landing on Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 at at NASA Kennedy Space Center at 6:04 p.m. EST.

"There are two landing opportunities in Florida today, the first beginning with an orbital maneuvering system engine firing at 3:57 p.m. CST, and culminating in a landing on Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 at 5:04 p.m. CST (6:04 p.m. EST). In the event weather precludes a landing on that first opportunity, a second landing opportunity exists one orbit later with a de-orbit burn at 5:35 p.m. CST, resulting in a 6:40 p.m. (7:40 p.m. EST) landing at the Kennedy Space Center. If that second opportunity is selected, residents along the Gulf of Mexico may have a good view of Endeavour's plasma trail as it blazes through the atmosphere on its way home to Florida."

"Dennis Tito wants to fly into space. He has wanted to fly in space since he first saw Sputnik arc across the night sky in October 1957. Since he didn't make the one in a million cut to be a government astronaut, he chose the only other alternative available: he's buying his own ride into space. Dennis Tito's path to space is a complex tale. The political complexities involved are complex and often confusing. Indeed, becoming a millionaire seems almost simple by comparison."

"After their successful mission to the International Space Station, Endeavour astronauts spent much of Sunday getting ready to land at Kennedy Space Center Monday afternoon. They tested Endeavour's controls and stowed equipment in preparation for their 5:04 p.m. CST landing in Florida. The weather forecast for the anticipated landing time at Kennedy Space Center calls for a slight chance of showers in the area, and flight controllers will continue to monitor the weather conditions in Florida tomorrow. Landing opportunities are available at Edwards Air Force Base in California as well on Monday, and flight controllers could opt to send Endeavour there if conditions warrant. The weather at Edwards is predicted to be favorable."

"Endeavour's astronauts said good-bye to the crew aboard the International Space Station at 9:51 a.m. CST today, closing the hatches between the two vehicles in preparation for undocking at 1:13 p.m. Before closing the hatches over the northern portion of the Persian Gulf, the two crews completed final transfers of supplies being delivered to the station and used equipment along with other items that were removed from the station for return to Earth."

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

All ISS systems are in nominal flight/stage configuration with the exception of the following:

• UOP RPC circuit trip

"The crews of the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Endeavour opened the last hatch separating them at 8:36 a.m. Space station commander Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev greeted the Endeavour astronauts, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Marc Garneau, Carlos Noriega and Joe Tanner, with handshakes.

The space station crew was scheduled to go to bed about 6 p.m. and wake up at 2:36 a.m. on Saturday. The shuttle crew will begin its sleep period about 10 p.m. and be awakened at 6:06 a.m. Saturday. Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the space station at 1:13 p.m. Saturday and, after the flyaround of the ISS, begin final separation at 2:17 p.m."

Editor's note: the IMAX Camera in the Endeavour's cargo bay has failed so the flyaround will be modified accordingly.

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

All ISS systems are in nominal flight/stage configuration with the exception of the following:

Previously Reported Status

"During launch of shuttle Endeavour November 30, one of two explosive cartridges used to separate a strut holding the base of the orbiter's left-side solid-fuel booster to the ship's external fuel tank failed to fire."

"The International Space Station recorded another milestone today - the arrival of its first houseguests. The crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the station's Expedition 1 crew opened the hatches of their respective spacecraft at 8:36 a.m. CST Friday. Station Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev shook hands with their first station guests in 38 days -- STS-97 Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Mike Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Marc Garneau, Carlos Noriega and Joe Tanner."

Spacewalking Endeavour astronauts sailed through an add-on job to tension a solar blanket Thursday, then completed their other tasks in textbook fashion. The scheduled activities went so smoothly that Tanner and Noriega were able to complete some "get-ahead" tasks for the next scheduled spacewalks outside the space station in January. These included installing a sensor on a radiator, installing small antennas and doing a photo survey.

"The premiere this Sunday, December 10, of the Discovery Channel's ``Watch With The World'' program INSIDE THE SPACE STATION is complemented by a Friday, December 8 Discovery News special focused on the International Space Station that will include interviews with both President Clinton and the Space Station Expedition One crew"

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

All ISS systems are in nominal flight/stage configuration with the exception of the following:

"Two of Endeavour's astronauts will return to their jobs as orbiting construction workers today, installing probes that will measure electrical potential surrounding the station and performing some added "warranty work" on solar array blankets didn't stretch out completely on Sunday. After carefully going through the plan with Mission Control on Wednesday and receiving descriptions and videotapes of fellow Astronaut David Wolf performing the additional task on the ground, Commander Brent Jett and his crew voiced optimism they could accomplish the new task."

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

All ISS systems are in nominal flight/stage configuration with the exception of the following:

"Endeavour's astronauts worked Wednesday to get ready for the Thursday spacewalk by Mission Specialists Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega. They also took a few hours off to rest and enjoy the view from their spacecraft, moving at five miles a second about 235 miles above the Earth. Spacewalk preparations focused on techniques to tighten one of two solar blankets on the starboard wing. They got the word that task had been added to the spacewalk schedule shortly after they were awakened about 6:30 a.m. They reviewed the procedures during a conference with flight controllers later in the day."

"NASA managers today formally approved a bold plan for two spacewalking astronauts, working nine stories above the shuttle Endeavour, to tighten up a loose solar array blanket, one of four on the international space station's new $600 million solar power tower."

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

All ISS systems are in nominal flight/stage configuration with the exception of the following:

"Endeavour astronauts deployed the second of two huge solar wings on the International Space Station Monday in a slow and deliberate, almost two-hour-plus process that began at 6:52 p.m. The other solar wing, the starboard wing, was deployed nonstop Sunday in about 13 minutes. Deployment of the port wing was delayed while ground controllers studied an apparent slackness in one of two blankets that make up the starboard structure. They believe that two tensioning cables had jumped off their guides during deployment. Despite that anomaly, the starboard array is functioning well and producing electricity. The slackness should have no effect on its ability to produce power for the space station."

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

An EVA was performed on Sunday to install the solar panels. The starboard array was deployed at 8:23 PM EST and is providing a nominal level of power. However the starboard solar array has not been commanded into its full and final taut position due to slack seen in the array's torsion bars. The photovoltaic heat radiator was deployed just after 11:15 PM EST. The port solar array remains stowed pending resolution of problems encountered earlier in the day with the deployment of the starboard array.

OVERALL SYSTEM STATUS:

All ISS systems are in nominal flight/stage configuration with the exception of the following:

Editor's note: it would seem that there was a bad Ethernet card in a computer on the ISS. The crew joked about not being able to send email. A simple procedure to change out the card (see 2.209 SSC PCMCIA CARD CHANGEOUT on page 61 in the document below) apparently solved the problem. That's the nice thing about using off the self stuff in space.

FYI if you go to page 121 you will see that Shep's incoming email is stored at c:\Oca-up\Mail\Shep on the ISS server.

This document details the procedures for setting up laptop computers aboard ISS including network schematics covering both US and Russian segments. Included are detailed 3D drawings of where computers can be located within the Service Module.

Space Shuttle Endeavour was launched at 10:06 PM EST. The orbiter made a perfect ascent - no OMS-1 burn was required. The primary objective of STS-97 is mission ISS 4A which will deliver the first set of solar arrays and batteries to the ISS. This will provide enough power to activate Node 1. The Shuttle will arrive at the ISS on Saturday and will spend 5-days docked to ISS. Two spacewalks will be performed to complete the installation and unfurling of the solar arrays. The S-band communications system will also be activated to provide voice communication and telemetry.

The Progress M1-4 spacecraft will be undocked Friday morning and will be placed in a parking orbit pending a decision to test the automatic docking system which failed during its first attempt last week.

The Progress M1-4 cargo spacecraft was docked manually to the ISS this evening after a short delay due to unacceptable image quality from the video camera on Progress. The Progress was supposed to dock automatically with ISS at 10:06 PM EST. As the Progress approached the ISS the TORU automated docking system failed to obtain contact with the ISS. The crew then used the KURS manual docking system to steer the Progress to the forward nadir (Earth-facing) docking port of the Service Module. Mission ISS-2P is delivering logistics and supplies to the International Space Station including items required for the outfitting of the Service Module. After remaining docked for approximately two weeks, the Progress-M1 will be loaded with items to be disposed, undocked from the ISS, and commanded to perform a destructive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

"The three men spent the first week installing an oxygen generator, carbon-dioxide removal unit and other life-support systems. It took longer than planned, Shepherd said, because of hard-to-find parts and confusing procedures. "It's kind of a brave new world for an organization like NASA, where we fly 100 pounds of documents on each shuttle flight," he said. "But we're kind of a test bed for how that's all going to work. So far, it hasn't been flawless, but it's been working OK."

"While the occupants of the International Space Station (ISS) slept, a new resupply vehicle sped to the orbiting outpost, carrying supplies and hardware for the three residents on board. Launch of the second Progress spacecraft to the ISS occurred at 8:33 p.m. EST (0133 GMT Nov. 16) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan."

"Scientists who have in the past been sceptical about space-based research should recognize and applaud the changes under way at NASA. The station has never been exclusively a science project, and should not be judged as such. It is most impressive as a feat of off-planet engineering, and it exists primarily because the United States and its partners want to establish a continuous human presence in space. For scientists, however, Alpha offers a real chance, at last, to find out whether there are substantive research questions worth pursuing on the high frontier."

"There will certainly be some interesting science [on the space station]," says Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, "but probably not $90 billion worth. The only way that you can really justify this project is if you want Star Trek to come true."

The Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station at 4:21 AM EST/09.21 GMT this morning. The Soyuz docked with the aft port of the Service Module Zarya. The Expedition 1 crew has now entered the ISS and has begun the series of activtation tasks and equipment transfers required to make the Space Station their home for the next 4 months.

A Soyuz rocket left Baikonur Cosmodrome today carrying the first crew to live aboard the International Space Station. Upon arrival at the space station this crew will inaugurate an unparalleled chapter in human history: hence forth, humans will no longer be limited to living on planet Earth.

We no longer just visit space. We live there.

According to NASA the International Space Station "is visible to the naked eye as a (not-so-faint-anymore) star, if the sky is without overcast and haze. As ISS assembly continues over the next four-five years, the light dot will grow to a brilliant star in the morning or evening skies, second only in brightness to the planet Venus, the brightest object (besides the moon) in the morning or evening. The OSF Orbital Visibility schedules at present cover 3,406 locations worldwide. To determine if your data for your city is available click on the "List of Cities Served" link below and scroll through the list (alphabetized by city name).

° ISS Naked-Eye Visibility Data From Selected Cities 26 Oct - 7 Nov 2000

"Discovery glided to a textbook landing under sunny skies at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Tuesday, completing a successful mission to the International Space Station. The crew spent more than two extra days in space because of unfavorable weather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at Edwards. Discovery touched down at 4 p.m. CDT and rolled to a stop on Edward's concrete runway at 4:01, for a mission elapsed time of 12 days, 21 hours and 43 minutes."

"Discovery will have two opportunities to land at KSC, though weather there is predicted to be unacceptable. Discovery is not expected to attempt a landing on the first opportunity, at 12:52 p.m. CDT. They will look at the second opportunity, for a 2:28 p.m. Edwards weather is predicted to be acceptable. The first landing opportunity there would see a burn of the orbital maneuvering engines at 2:54 p.m. CDT and a landing at 3:59 p.m. The second has a deorbit burn at 4:31 p.m. and a landing at 5:35 p.m. CDT"

Forecasters expect low cloud ceilings, high cross winds and rain showers at KSC tomorrow, but conditions at EAFB are expected to improve. Mission managers will assess the following landing opportunities on Tuesday:

SITE 		ORBIT	               DEORBIT BURN             LANDING
KSC		201			2:21 p.m.		3:28 p.m. EDT
EAFB		202			3:52 p.m.		4:59 p.m. EDT
EAFB		203			5:29 p.m.		6:35 p.m. EDT

Unacceptable weather at both Kennedy Space Center and Edwards Air Force Base has caused today's landing to be delayed 24 hours. The next opportunity is 1:52 PM EDT at KSC (orbit 200) followed by a second opportunity at KSC (orbit 201) and then two opportunities at Edwards (orbits 202 and 203).

"After persistent crosswinds at Kennedy Space Center forced to NASA to give up trying to brin