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ZL1TOB > SAREX 23.11.95 18:25l 71 Lines 2915 Bytes #-11189 (0) @ AMSAT
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Subj: STS-74 MCC Status #5
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Sent: 951115/0723Z @:ZL1TOB.#11.NZL.OC #:5218 [Auckland] FBB5.15c $:5218_ZL1TOB
From: ZL1TOB@ZL1TOB.#11.NZL.OC
To : SAREX@AMSAT
STS-74
Tuesday, November 14, 1 995 5 a.m. CST
STS-74 crew members early Tuesday successfully mated a 15-foot, Russian
built docking module from the Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay to
the shuttle's Orbiter Docking System. The mating operation went by the
book with no problems reported.
Chris Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut and STS-74 mission
specialist, used the shuttle's robot arm to hoist the docking module out
of the aft portion of the payload bay, rotated it to a vertical position,
and moved it to within five inches of the Orbiter Docking System. At that
point, the shuttle fired its downward steering jets and moved the shuttle
toward the docking module. Once the two spacecraft were locked together,
the docking ring on the Orbiter Dockin g System retracted, and a series of
hooks and latches were engaged insuring an airtight seal between the two
spacecraft.
The mating was confirmed at 1:17 a.m. CST with Atlantis was over the
eastern portion of Europe on its 30th orbit. Shortly after the capture,
Commander Ken Cameron expressed the crew's appreciation for the training
that prepared them for the docking module installation.
At about 3 a.m. CST, the crew received a go from ground flight controllers
to ungrapple the robot arm from the docking module. Shortly after that,
crew members raised the orbiter's cabin pressure from 10.2 pounds per
square inch to 14.7 psi. The cabin's pressure was lowered in the event
that a problem durin g the mating process neccessitated an emergency
spacewalk.
Crew members also mounted a centerline camera into the top hatch of the
docking module. The camera will provide the primary visual cue for Cameron
as he maneuvers Atlantis to its docking with Russia's Space Station Mir
early Wednesday.
Atlantis is trailing Mir by about 1450 statute miles and is closing at a
rate of about 180 statute miles every orbit. A series of rendezvous jet
firings will fu rther refine the closing rate, leading up to a docking
with Mir at 12:27 a.m. CST Wednesday.
The crew is scheduled to begin a shortened sleep period at 12:31 p.m.
today and will be awakened at 6:31 p.m. today. Flight controllers are
working toward an earlier start to the crew's sleep period to enable the
astronauts to get additional rest time in advance of tomorrow's docking.
Because of the federal government furlough situation, it is likely that
the JSC Newsroom will close about 10 a.m. CST today and reopen when the
furlough is lifted.
###
Forwarded by:
Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R
Assistant to the Manager
Educational Activities Department
American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street Newington CT 06111-1494 USA
Telephone: (860) 594-0213 FAX: (860) 594-0259
Internet: rinderbi@arrl.org ARRL BBS: (860) 594-0306
CompuServe: 70007,3373 Prodigy: PTYS02A America Online: HQARRL1
World Wide Web: http://www.arrl.org/
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