STS-76 Mission Control Center 
Status Report # 13

Thursday, March 28, 1996, 10 a.m. CST

The Atlantis and Mir crews bid an emotional farewell to one another
early this morning, in what STS-76 Commander Kevin Chilton called
'a bittersweet moment.' Atlantis is now scheduled to undock this
evening and land at 6:57 a.m. CST Saturday at the Kennedy Space
Center, one day earlier than originally planned, to avoid predicted
rain and clouds in Florida on Sunday.

The eight astronauts and cosmonauts exchanged handshakes and hugs in
the Mir core module, and then praised mission control centers in both
Houston and Kaliningrad for their support throughout the joint phase
of the mission.

"We just don't believe that in a few minutes the STS-76 crew will go
through the docking module and we'll say farewell," said Mir 21
Commander Yuri Onufrienko. "We will observe each other only through
the portholes -- they'll be looking at us and we'll be looking
at them.  It will be sad to say farewell to such a good team."

At the start of the farewell ceremony, the Mir crew received a call
from Vladimir Solovyev, Chief Flight Director at Mission Control
Kaliningrad, congratulating the crews on the success of the mission.

With the official goodbyes complete, the eight astronauts and
cosmonauts spent time together for a more personal farewell between
friends.  Hatches between the Shuttle and Mir were closed for the
final time at about 7:15 a.m. today, in preparation for Atlantis'
undocking at about 7:08 p.m. tonight.

When the capture mechanism on the docking module releases and Atlantis
moves away from the Mir Space Station, the STS-76 crew will leave
behind former crewmate Shannon Lucid to begin more than four months of
scientific research on board Mir.  Lucid is inaugurating a continual
American presence on board Mir that will continue to 1998. Following
tonight's undocking from Mir, Atlantis will fly around the space
station once, instead of twice as previously planned, before firing
its engines and dropping into a lower orbit of about 220 nautical
miles altitude. Tonight, the crew also will perform checkouts of the
shuttle's flight control systems and steering jets in preparation
for the Saturday landing.

Prior to this morning's hatch closure, the crews transferred about two
tons of scientific equipment, logistical material, and resupply items
between the two spacecraft, including 1,507 pounds of water in 15
containers.  They also performed a final check of their inventory
lists to ensure all the transfer activity was complete.

Thie decision to aim Atlantis toward the one-day-early landing in
Florida was made by shuttle managers this morning. The Kennedy Space
Center is the only landing site that will be considered on Saturday,
with the primary landing opportunity set to begin with a deorbit
engine firng at 5:53 a.m. CST leading to the 6:57 a.m.  CST
touchdown. A second opportunity to land at KSC also exists on
Saturday, starting with a deorbit burn at 7:29 a.m. CST leading to an
8:33 a.m. CST touchdown. The Saturday weather forecast for Florida
predicts light winds and scattered clouds, good weather for a landing.

If Atlantis should have to stay in space until Sunday for any reason,
both KSC and Edwards Air Force Base, Ca., would be considered for a
landing. A total of five opportunities are present for a Sunday
landing, two to KSC and three to Edwards.

All systems on board Atlantis are continuing to perform well.

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