STS-104 Mission Control Center Status Report # 18 Friday, July 20, 2001 – 6 p.m. CDT

Atlantis and International
Space Station crewmembers will mark the 32nd anniversary of the first
human steps on the moon tonight by completing another phase of station
construction. Atlantis spacewalkers Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly will
float out of the station’s new Quest airlock around 11 p.m., completing
airlock activation and marking the beginning of independent operations
aboard the space station.

During the mission’s
third spacewalk, Gernhardt and Reilly will install a second nitrogen
tank on the Quest airlock. Three other tanks, two oxygen and one nitrogen,
were installed during a previous spacewalk. Expedition Two Flight Engineer
Jim Voss, assisted by Flight Engineer Susan Helms, will lift the final
gas tank from the payload bay of Atlantis around 10:40 p.m. and slowly
deliver it to Gernhardt and Reilly, who will be awaiting its arrival
at the Quest airlock.

Atlantis Pilot
Charlie Hobaugh assisted by Station Commander Yury Usachev will coordinate
the nearly five-hour spacewalk. Commander Steve Lindsey will operate
the shuttle’s robotic arm.

The Atlantis crew
was awakened at 4:04 p.m. by the song “I Could Write A Book”
from the motion picture When Harry Met Sally. The song was played for
Lindsey. All systems aboard both Atlantis and the International Space
Station continue to function normally as the two spacecraft orbit the
Earth at an average altitude of 240 statute miles.

The next mission
status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Saturday or as events warrant.