"Flying five miles a second above the Ukraine, Commander Jim Halsell gently pulled the Shuttle Atlantis into port last night, flawlessly latching his 200-ton spacecraft to the 35-ton International Space Station for a five-day stay."

"During an engine firing Friday evening using both large orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines on Atlantis, flight controllers saw an indication that one of two propellant valves for the left OMS engine may have failed to close. The engine's backup valve did operate normally, and the engine remains in good operating condition. However, as a precaution, the left engine will not be used again until Atlantis is ready to deorbit at the completion of the flight."

"NASA managers today set May 18 as the target launch date for Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-101 following a thorough evaluation of launch options for both STS-101 and the Atlas GOES-L mission."

"Shuttle Atlantis could get a new launch date today for its weather-foiled mission to the International Space Station. NASA managers were working Thursday to secure the ship's fourth opportunity as early as next week. The shuttle was fueled and ready for flight three times this week, but bad weather canceled each attempt. "

The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-101 mission, originally scheduled for Monday, was scrubbed for a third time today because of unacceptable weather. On Monday and Tuesday, the launch was scrubbed because of high winds at the emergency landing strip at KSC. Today the cause was bad weather at the emergency landing sites in Spain and Africa. The soonest another launch attempt can be made is 11 May. This is due to the fact that several launches are scheduled for nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

"Flight weather officers reported to flight controllers in Houston, TX that all three TAL sites would not be able to support an unlikely emergency landing. The TAL sites were marginal throughout the day, but managers were hopeful that the site at Ben Guerir, Morocco would improve by launch time. When the decision was made, crosswinds were above acceptable limits and low cloud ceilings were being monitored. "

The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-101 mission, originally scheduled for Monday, was scrubbed again today due to unacceptable weather at KSC. A third launch attempt will be made tomorrow at 3:36 pm EDT.

"Following a very smooth countdown today, launch controllers scrubbed Space Shuttle Atlantis' second launch attempt at about the T-40 minute mark."

"Space Shuttle Atlantis is in excellent health, and the launch team stands ready to support a second launch attempt this afternoon. Shuttle managers today gave the go ahead to begin loading Shuttle Atlantis' external tank with liquid propellant following the standard pretanking management meeting. Loading operations started at 6:30 a.m. and will continue for about 3 hours. "

"After a weekend of successful work, NASA is on track to start the countdown Friday for shuttle Atlantis' flight next week to the International Space Station. Officials said Monday that some newly replaced parts worked fine during weekend testing. The ship is set to fly at 4:15 p.m. April 24 from Kennedy Space Center. "

"As you can see, there is a lot going on at the pad but the KSC folks are still working hard to hold the launch date."

"The OV102 PDU has been installed in OV104 and is undergoing testing. An APU hotfire is scheduled for Sunday."

"Observation: During STS-101 Frequency Response Test (FRT), All Four Speedbrake Secondary Delta Pressures Were Unusually High in the Positive Polarity

Concern: Anomalous Signatures Could Be Indicative of A Mechanical Obstruction in the Power Valve Resulting in Loss of Control of Speedbrake

Recommendation: Remove OV-104 Rudder/Speed Brake PDU and Replace with Unit Removed from OV-102."

Editor's note: Word has it that Jim Halsell, the Commander of STS-101 fell while getting out of a simulator the other day, twisting his ankle in the process. Apparently the Flight Physicians are saying that NASA will not be able to launch Halsell (and his crew) before 26 April.

Update: It now seems that Halsell's ankle injury will not affect the STS-101 launch date after all.

"NASA officials announced Thursday that the next space shuttle mission to the International Space Station would be pushed back to no sooner than April 17, confirming what had been expected for some time."

"Workers will replace one of space shuttle Atlantis' main engines before the ship launches to the International Space Station next month because of another paperwork snafu."

Editor's note: These dates are the result of S042013BK: "RE-BASELINE ISS LAUNCH DATES", dispositioned at the CRG on 16 Feb 2000.

• STS-92 - 21 Sep 2000
• STS-97 - 30 Nov 2000
• STS-98 - 18 Jan 2001
• STS-102 - 15 Feb 2001
• STS-100 - 19 Apr 2001
• STS-107 - NET 22 Feb 2001

Meanwhile, NASA JSC has generated new crew assignments for the 2A.2a and 2A.2b missions. Ed Lu has been reassigned to the STS-106 (2A.2b) mission. Scott Horowitz will now be the backup EVA crew member for STS-101 (2A.2a). Yuriy Usachev has been added to STS-101 which also includes Jim Voss and Susan Helms plus previous crew members Halsell, Horowitz, Weber, and Williams. Voss, Helms, and Usachev now comprise the Expedition 2 crew.

"UPI has learned that one Russian request in particular may outrage the American side. After learning of the potential split of this shuttle mission into two flights, the Russians have asked to transfer a ton of their space supplies to the shuttle so they can use another supply ship for Mir instead of the international project. That supply ship was largely constructed using NASA funds."

Editor's note: word has it from Jim Oberg that "the STS-101 crew will consist of Halsell, Horowitz, Weber, Williams, Jim Voss and Helms -- Lu and the two Russians, Morukov and Malenchenko, have been pulled. STS-106's crew will be Wilcutt, Altman, Lu, Mastracchio, Burbank, Morukov, and Malenchenko. If the SM fails to dock and ICM must be launched, STS-106 will switch from 2A.2B to 2A.3, and will fly the ICM mission, with the same crew, minus the Russians.