Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #14

Thursday, November 10,  5 p.m. CST

As the crew on board Atlantis took a few hours off from their duties
today, the science instruments they carried into orbit continued observing
changes in the Earth's atmosphere. 

During space flights lasting more than 10 days, flight controllers
schedule a few hours of off-duty time for each crew member. This break
from the steady pace of activities helps astronauts maintain their high
performance levels throughout the mission. The Red Team - - Mission
Commander Don McMonagle, Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa and Mission
Specialist Joe Tanner -- had its off-duty time Thursday afternoon while
the Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown, and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois
Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- has Thursday evening off. 

Maneuvers to orient Atlantis to enhance the science gathering efforts of
the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science continued
throughout the day. During the first half of its day, the Red Team also
worked with a variety of middeck experiments being carried on Atlantis. 

The Blue Team is now awake and will continue to monitor ATLAS-3 activities
throughout their ninth day on orbit. 

All systems on board Atlantis are performing well in support of the
science-gathering activities as the orbiter circles the Earth every 90
minutes at an altitude of approximately 161 x 158 nautical miles. 

* * *