MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-59 Status Report #7

Monday, April 11, 1994, 6 p.m. CDT

The Earth observing radar instruments in Endeavour's payload bay
continue to operate without interruption allowing scientists to
record all the scheduled observations as they test the
capabilities of the most advanced radar system ever used to
examine the Earth.

Several real-time images were processed by the X-Band Synthetic
Aperture Radar today, looking at the Sahara Desert in Algeria, a
geology site, and the area around the Japanese Islands, an
oceanography site.  Endeavour flew over the southern portion of
Japan, and the quick-look processor showed oil slicks covering
the ocean. Scientists from a Tokyo research laboratory are
working with an oceanographer from Hamburg, Germany, to interpret
the radar images.  Of particular interest to those scientists was
the ocean front where cold and warm currents meet.

The X-SAR images were being complemented by Spaceborne Imaging
Radar-C images recorded on board for analysis after the flight,
and with Earth observations photography and notes recorded
by the crew.

Today's radar work included calibration passes over Palm Valley,
Australia, and the Amazon forests of Brazil; oceanography
observations over the Northeast Pacific Ocean, the Gulf Stream,
the Southern Ocean and the gulf of Mexico; ecology observations
over Altona, Manitoba, Canada; geology observations over the
Bighorn Basin, Wyoming; hydrology studies of Mammoth
Mountain, California, and geology studies of the tectonic
activity around the Galapagos Islands of the southeastern
Pacific.

Thus far in the mission, all 16 "supersites" planned for
observations have been completed.  Supersites are those with
highest priority throughout the flight.

Payload Commander Linda Godwin reported good photography of
"tremendous" thunderstorms over South America and ocean wind
patterns around the Galapagos.  She also reported three
Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment contacts with students at Ealy
Elementary School in West Bloomfield, Mich., and Country Club
School in San Ramon, Calif., and Boy Scouts in Richardson, Texas.

The Red Team of Sid Gutierrez, Kevin Chilton, and Godwin went to
work a few minutes after five this morning, and is scheduled to
begin its sleep shift about 7 p.m..  The Blue Team of Jay
Apt, Rich Clifford and Tom Jones awakened about 4 p.m.

Endeavour continues its flawless performance allowing the crew to
devote all its time to science work.  The crew has reported air
bubbles in the water supply for Endeavour's galley, and flight 
controllers are working on a plan to alleviate this nuisance for
the crew.  The orbiter circles Earth every 89 minutes at an
altitude of 120 nautical miles.

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