STS-96 Day 3 Highlights

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On Saturday, May 29, 1999, 1:00 a.m. CDT, STS-96 MCC Status Report # 05 report:

Discovery's astronauts executed the first-ever docking with the International Space Station late Friday night, easing the shuttle to a textbook linkup with the new orbital facility at 11:24pm Central time as the two craft flew over the Russian-Kazakh border.

Commander Kent Rominger nudged Discovery to the docking with the ISS following a flawless rendezvous. Once a hard mate was established between the two vehicles, the astronauts began to perform leak checks and pressurization checks prior to opening the hatch to the Pressurized Mating Adapter attached to the Unity module. Discovery docked to Unity's Pressurized Mating Adapter # 2, which was pointed to deep space during the final phase of the rendezvous and approach to the station by the shuttle.

The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 8:50am Central time this morning and will be awakened just before 5pm this afternoon to begin preparations for the spacewalk by Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry late tonight to install additional equipment to the outside of the ISS.

On Saturday, May 29, 1999, 7:00 a.m. CDT, STS-96 MCC Status Report # 06 reports:

Having completed the first space shuttle docking with the International Space Station late last night, Discovery's astronauts will go to sleep at 8:50 a.m. Central time to rest up for a space walk late tonight to install a pair of cranes and other gear to the exterior of the orbital complex.

Commander Kent Rominger completed a textbook rendezvous and docking with the station that Mission Control said would set the standard for future ISS assembly flights. Contact between Discovery and the station occurred right on time at 11:24 p.m. Central time Friday.

Once the two spacecraft were solidly mated together at 11:39 p.m., the astronauts performed leak and pressurization checks, then opened the hatch to Pressurized Mating Adapter 2, attached to the Unity module. Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa and Valery Tokarev temporarily stowed docking targets and lights and checked hatch seals in the narrow passageway.

Rominger and Pilot Rick Husband removed and stowed four electronics boxes used to supply power to the docking ports around the Unity module, clearing the sides of the passageway into Unity for easy transfer of some 3,600 pounds of equipment and supplies. The briefcase-sized boxes will be kept in storage until the end of the next station assembly flight on STS-101 in December, when they will be reinstalled to prepare for the arrival of the U.S. Laboratory module, Destiny, next spring.

Mission Specialists Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry spent the rest of the morning checking the tools they will use on their space walk, which is scheduled to begin shortly after 10 p.m. Central time. They also checked out their emergency rescue backpacks and reviewed their space walk procedures one last time.

The astronauts will be awakened at 4:50 p.m. today to begin final preparations for the 6 = hour excursion into Discovery's cargo bay. With Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa operating the shuttle's robot arm to maneuver Jernigan up toward the space station modules, and Julie Payette acting as the spacewalk choreographer from Discovery's aft flight deck, Barry and Jernigan will move the two cranes from a payload bay cargo support structure to locations on the outside of the station. One crane is U.S.-built and the other is Russian-built to help move large modular components from one module to another during ISS assembly. Next, they will move two portable foot restraints from the cargo carrier to the mating adapter to which the Zarya and Unity modules are attached. Then, they'll move three bags containing handrails and tools for future space walkers to the outside of Unity. If time permits, the space walkers also will install a thermal cover on a Unity trunnion pin, inspect some peeling paint on Zarya, and survey one of two Early Communications System antennas on the starboard side of Unity.

The space walkers are scheduled to reenter the hatch about 4 a.m. Central time Sunday. Meanwhile, all systems aboard the Discovery / ISS space complex continue to work well as the two craft orbit 240 statute miles above the Earth's surface.

On Saturday, May 29, 1999, 7:00 a.m. CDT, STS-96 MCC Status Report # 07 reports:

At 4:50 this afternoon, the crew of Discovery awoke to the sound of the Space Center Intermediate Band playing familiar themes from "Star Wars." The music and performers were of particular interest to Mission Specialist Dan Barry because his daughter, Jenny, plays flute in that band. Barry and fellow Mission Specialist Tammy Jernigan are STS-96's own "skywalkers" tonight as they prepare to work outside Discovery during an Extravehicular Activity scheduled to begin shortly after 10 this evening.

During the planned six and a half hour space walk, Jernigan and Barry are scheduled to install some 700 pounds of tools and equipment on the International Space Station's exterior for use on future assembly flights.

The space walk will include the transfer of two cranes from the shuttle's payload bay to locations on the outside of the station. The cranes will help subsequent space station crews move large modular components from one module to another. With Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa operating the shuttle's robot arm to maneuver Jernigan up toward the space station, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette will choreograph the activities from the Discovery's flight deck.

The astronauts will move the first crane, the American built Orbital Transfer Device from the cargo pallet to one of the pressurized mating adapters located on either side of the Unity module. Jernigan and Barry then will move components of a second crane, the Russian-built Strela - Arrow in English - to the other PMA closest to the shuttle.

Their last scheduled task is to open a storage box on the cargo carrier and move three equipment and tool bags to locations on the outside of the ISS. Time permitting, they will install a thermal cover on Unity's payload bay attach pin, inspect some painted surfaces on Zarya's exterior and examine a communications antenna on Unity's starboard side.

The space walkers are scheduled to climb back aboard Discovery at about 4 a.m. Central time Sunday. Meanwhile, all systems aboard the Discovery and ISS space complex continue to work well as the two craft orbit 240 statute miles above the Earth's surface.

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