STS-101 Day 2 Highlights
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- On Saturday, May 20, 2000, 7:00 a.m. CDT, STS-101 MCC Status Report # 03
reports:
- Atlantis' crew spent a smooth day in space checking equipment in
preparation for upcoming activities: docking with the International
Space Station late tonight; a spacewalk planned for late Sunday; and
the transfer of over a ton of equipment to the station that will begin
late Monday.
- Atlantis' Commander Jim Halsell and Pilot Scott Horowitz tested the
navigation equipment and flight controls they will use late tonight to
rendezvous with and then dock to the station. They also fired
Atlantis' engines periodically to adjust the rate at which the Shuttle
is closing in on the station. Atlantis is 430 statute miles behind the
station now, closing in 30 statute miles with each orbit of
Earth. Atlantis will continue that closing rate throughout the day
while the crew sleeps.
- 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. Controllers are
continuing to analyze the information and are uncertain if the valve
actually did not operate properly or whether the indication may have
been an errant sensor reading. The right OMS engine alone can be used
for large rendezvous engine firings with no impact on the mission.
- Astronauts Jeff Williams and Jim Voss checked the spacesuits and
equipment they will use during the upcoming spacewalk, finding them in
good shape. Three suits -- one for Williams, one for Voss and a spare,
which could be used by either -- were checked out aboard
Atlantis. Williams and Voss were assisted in the checks by Horowitz,
who will coordinate the spacewalk activities from within the
cabin. Later, fellow crew member Mary Ellen Weber successfully tested
the Shuttle's robotic arm. Weber will operate the arm during the
spacewalk to maneuver Williams and Voss between Atlantis and the
station. Weber uncradled the arm this morning and used it to survey
the Shuttle's payload bay. Later, Weber powered on the docking system
Atlantis will use to attach to the station and extended the system's
docking ring. The ring latches onto the station when the Shuttle makes
contact and is then retracted to secure the two spacecraft together.
- The crew will begin a sleep period at 8:11 a.m. and awaken at 4:11
p.m.. At 8:39 p.m., with Atlantis trailing the International Space
Station by about 50,000 feet, Halsell will fire the Shuttle's engines
to initiate the final phase of the rendezvous. Just before 10 p.m., as
Atlantis reaches a point about a half-mile below the station, Halsell
will take over manual control of the approach. He will reach a
distance of about 170 feet from the station at 10:39 p.m. Docking is
expected at about 11:31 p.m. Atlantis is in an orbit with a high point
of 204 miles and a low point of 199 miles, circling Earth every 90
minutes.
- On Saturday, May 20, 2000, 7:00 p.m. CDT, STS-101 MCC Status Report # 04
reports:
- Atlantis' astronauts were awakened at 4:11 p.m. Central today to the
song "Still Shining" by Bob Seger in honor of tonight's
rendezvous with the International Space Station. STS-101 Mission
Commander Jim Halsell will guide Atlantis to the second Shuttle
docking with the International Space Station late this evening.
Atlantis is planned to dock with the station at 11:31 p.m. Central.
- As of about 6:30 p.m. this evening, the Shuttle trailed the station
by about 70 nautical miles and was closing in by about 14 nautical
miles with each orbit of Earth. The final phase of rendezvous will
begin when Atlantis reaches a point about eight nautical miles
directly behind the station and fires its engines in a terminal phase
initiation burn at 8:39 p.m. Central.
- The TI burn, as it is called, will put the Shuttle on a course
directly toward the station during the next orbit of Earth. As
Atlantis moves within about a half-mile of the station, Halsell will
take over manual control of the Shuttle's approach, flying the Shuttle
from controls in the aft cockpit. Atlantis will arrive at a point
about 600 feet directly below the station about 10:09 p.m. Central,
and Halsell then will begin a half-circle of the orbiting outpost.
Atlantis will pass about 350 feet in front of the station and then
move to a point about 250 feet directly above it about 10:34
p.m. Central.
- Halsell will then begin to descend toward the station and, at about
10:38 p.m. Central, hold position at a point about 170 feet away.
Halsell will maintain that distance for about 20 minutes to allow the
station to move within range of Russian ground communications stations
before continuing the approach. At 11:20 p.m., Halsell will hold
position again briefly at a point about 30 feet from the station to
ensure the Shuttle and station docking mechanisms are precisely
aligned. Docking is expected about 11 minutes later with the Shuttle
contacting the station at a slow rate of about a tenth of a foot per
second.
- During the rendezvous, Pilot Scott Horowitz will assist Halsell in
controlling Atlantis' approach. Mission Specialists Susan Helms and
Yury Usachev also will assist with the rendezvous and docking, with
Mary Ellen Weber and Jeff Williams operating the Shuttle's docking
mechanism.
- After docking, a hatch leak check will be performed and the
astronauts will review plans for Sunday night's scheduled space walk
by Williams and Jim Voss. Atlantis' crew will not open the hatch to
the Unity module and enter the station until Monday evening, 24 hours
after the spacewalk is completed.
- The next mission status report will be issued about 4 a.m. Central on
Sunday.
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