STS-105 Status Report #2 – 11 Aug 2001 – 8:00 AM CDT

The seven crewmembers
aboard Discovery were awakened shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday for their
first full day in space, a day of pursuit and preparation for a Sunday
rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery’s astronauts
and cosmonauts, Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission
Specialists Pat Forrester and Dan Barry, and Expedition Three Commander
Frank Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail
Tyurin, were awakened to “Back in the Saddle Again” by Gene
Autry. It was played for Culbertson, making his third flight into space,
eight years after he last flew.

At the time the
crew was awakened, some 8000 statute miles separated Discovery from
the ISS. A second firing of Discovery’s orbital maneuvering systems
engines is scheduled for early in the crew’s day today to further adjust
its orbit in preparation for rendezvous and docking with the station.
Also scheduled today are the checkout of spacesuits to be worn by Barry
and Forrester during two spacewalks next week, the preparation of rendezvous
and navigation tools and a test of the shuttle’s robotic arm, all routine
work on the day before docking. Crewmembers also will perform a camera
survey of Discovery’s cargo bay with arm-mounted cameras.

Discovery is scheduled
to linkup to the ISS tomorrow at 1:37 p.m. Central time as the two spacecraft
fly over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, just south of the
Indonesian island of Jawa.

The major objective
of the STS-105 mission of Discovery is the swapout of the new resident
Station crew, led by Culbertson, with the Expedition Two crew, Commander
Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who have
been aboard the Station more than five months. They are to return to
Earth aboard Discovery on August 22.

Discovery also
is bringing equipment, supplies and scientific experiments to the Station.
Almost 7,000 pounds of that cargo is in Leonardo, the Italian-built
Multipurpose Logistics Module in Discovery’s cargo bay. Once that is
transferred to the station, Leonardo will be packed with other equipment,
unused items and trash for return to Earth.

During their eight
days docked to the station, Discovery Mission Specialists Barry and
Forrester will perform two spacewalks. On the first, next Thursday,
they will install an device called an Early Ammonia Servicer on the
Station. It contains spare ammonia that could be used to cool Station
systems should it be needed. During the second spacewalk, two days later,
they will install heater cables for the station’s large S0 truss segment,
which will be delivered on a future mission, as well as handrails.

Discovery is orbiting
the Earth in excellent shape with no issues being worked by the flight
control team.

The next mission
status report will be issued Saturday evening prior to the start of
the crew’s sleep period, or earlier, as events warrant.