MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-68 Status Report #7


Tuesday, October 4, 1994, 9 a.m. CDT

STS-68 crew members this morning performed two slight maneuvers to fine
tune Endeavour's orbit to mirror its track on the first Space Radar
Laboratory mission to support a new experiment called interferometry. 

The trim burns adjust the orbit to within 30 feet of where it was in April
which will allow scientists to make near identical measurements with the
radar equipment to develop a three dimensional comparison of environmental
changes during the six months separating the two missions -- STS-59 and
STS-68. 

Radar images over the Sahara desert and the North Atlantic will help
scientists evaluate global changes and how they affect the climates in
other areas of the world. 

Also today, Payload Commander Tom Jones discussed the significance of
radar systems and the Earth's environment in an interview with ABC's Good
Morning America. 

The STS-68 mission remains scheduled to end on Monday with a landing at
the Kennedy Space Center.  Mission managers will assess the orbiter's
consumables and decide later this week if Endeavour can stay in space an
additional day. 

The earlier trim burns placed Endeavour in a 117 by 115 nautical mile
orbit, circling the earth every one hour 28 minutes.  The vehicle
continues to operate in excellent shape with no systems problems being
tracked by the flight control teams in Mission Control. 

***