Mission Control Center
STS-81 Status Report #3
January 13, 1997  6:00 a.m. CST

Atlantis' six astronauts spent their first full day on orbit by
activating many of the experiments on board and preparing for
tomorrow's docking with Russia's Mir Space Station.

While the orbiter continues to close in on Mir, payload work involved
activating a radiation monitor in addition to the Biorack multipurpose
facility designed to investigate the effects of microgravity and
radiation on plant, tissue, cell and fungus growth.  Mission
Specialists Jeff Wisoff and John Grunsfeld spent much of their work
day setting up and performing initial experiment work in the
experiment's glovebox.

Pilot Brent Jett tested laptop computers and laser range finders that
will be utilized throughout tomorrow's rendezvous and docking
activities.  While Commander Mike Baker flies the final approach to
Mir, Jett and other crew members will assist by providing range and
range rate data.

Also in preparation for the transfer activities after docking, Mission
Specialist Marsha Ivins stored about 300 pounds of water in three bags
that will be transferred into storage tanks aboard Mir.  At leat 1,400
pounds of water is expected to be transferred for use by the
cosmonauts during the five days of docked operations.

The docking is scheduled for 9:53 Tuesday night central time, followed
an hour and a half later by the hatch opening and welcome ceremony.
Soon after the hatches are opened between the two spacecraft, Mission
Specialist Jerry Linenger will exchange places on Mir with John Blaha
who is currently serving as a flight engineer on the Mir-22 crew.
Following the crew swap, Linenger becomes a member of the Mir-22 crew
and Blaha officially becomes a mission specialist aboard Atlantis.

As of 5 a.m. today, Atlantis was at a phase angle of exactly 180
degrees to the Mir Space Station, meaning the two were an equal
distance in front of, or behind, one another, depending on the
perspective.  That distance was about 8,500 statute miles.

The astronauts will be awakened at 4:27 this afternoon to begin the
third day of the mission.  The next STS-81 mission status report will
be filed at about 5 p.m.

###
 

NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information
are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail
message to jscnews-request@listserver.jsc.nasa.gov.  In the body of
the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe" (no
quotes). This will add the email address that sent the subscribe
message to the news release distribution list. The system will reply
with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription.  Once you have
subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail.