STS-76 Mission Control Center 
Status Report # 14

Thursday, March 28, 1996, 8:30 p.m. CST

Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Space Station Mir moved slowly
away from each other Thursday night, following an undocking at 7:08
p.m. CST.  Atlantis spent about an hour flying around Mir at a
distance of 600 feet, conducting a photographic survey.  The shuttle
initiated a separation burn at 8:07 p.m. central time, dropping into a
slightly lower orbit and moving ahead of Mir.

Tonight, the crew also was scheduled to perform checkouts of the
shuttle's flight control systems and steering jets in preparation
for the landing Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Atlantis and Mir crews bid an emotional farewell to one another
early Thursday, in what STS-76 Commander Kevin Chilton called "a
bittersweet moment." The eight astronauts and cosmonauts exchanged
handshakes and hugs in the Mir core module, and then praised mission
control centers in Houston and Kaliningrad for their support
throughout the joint phase of the mission.

With the separation of the two spacecraft, the STS-76 crew leaves
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.

Atlantis is now scheduled to 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 decision to
aim Atlantis toward the one-day-early landing in Florida was made by
shuttle managers Thursday 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 firing
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.