Mission Control Status Report #17
8 a.m. CDT Saturday, October 28, 1995

  The Space Shuttle Columbia continues to perform well on its 18th
mission, allowing crew members and flight controllers time to
concentrate on the United States Microgravity Payload experiments.
This morning, Columbia passed the midway mark of its marathon mission.

  Flight controllers in Houston had another quiet shift last night
with orbiter systems functioning normally. This gave the team plenty
of time to fine tune the timeline for the Red Team's ninth day in
space. Columbia's smooth operation also is allowing orbiter crew
members to assist in the science operations in the Spacelab module.

  Columbia is now in a 169 by 165 mile orbit, completing a revolution
of Earth every 90 minutes.

  NASA Television programming today includes Mission Update at 11:30
a.m.  CDT and the Flight Day Video File at 3:30 p.m.