STS-72 Mission Status Report # 6
Mission Control Center

Sunday, Jan. 14, 6 a.m. CST

Using Endeavour's robot arm for the second time in as many days,
Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata released a NASA satellite into orbit
this morning for two days of free- flying scientific investigations.

The OAST-Flyer was deployed by Wakata at 5:32 a.m. Central time as
Endeavour crossed the equator just east of South America. Within
minutes, Commander Brian Duffy and Pilot Brent Jett backed Endeavour
away from the 2600-pound satellite.

The OAST-Flyer contains four experiments that will study spacecraft
contamination, the use of the Global Positioning System for spacecraft
attitude control, laser-initiated pyrotechnic devices in the
environment of space, and an amateur radio experiment to allow radio
operators on the ground to track the satellite.

The satellite will operate about 45 nautical miles from Endeavour
during its two days of freeflight, awaiting its retrieval Tuesday to
complete the second satellite capture of the mission.

Prior to the satellite's release, crewmembers Leroy Chiao and Dan
Barry inspected a host of tools they will use during the first of two
6 1/2 hour spacewalks Sunday night to practice methods for the
assembly of the International Space Station. That spacewalk is
scheduled to begin about 11:30 p.m. Central time.

Winston Scott spent most of his day conducting secondary experiments
in the Shuttle's middeck before assisting in the deployment of the
OAST-Flyer.

This morning, flight controllers monitored colder than expected
temperatures observed on a fuel line of the Japanese Space Flyer Unit
satellite. The concern was for the potential of a hydrazine leak if
the fuel lines froze.  It appears that the fuel line thermostats are
working properly and maintaining reaction control system temperatures
at acceptable levels.

At the time of crew wakeup, the two solar panels which were jettisoned
from the Space Flyer Unit prior to its retrieval Saturday were more
than 5300 nautical miles behind Endeavour, seperating from the shuttle
at a rate of 830 nautical miles with every orbit of the Earth.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 190 statute miles,
circling the Earth every 90 minutes.

The JSC newsroom will close at 11 a.m. today and will reopen at 10:30
p.m. The next status report will be issued at 7 a.m. Monday.