STS-76 Day 1 Highlights

On Friday, March 22, 1996, 7 a.m. CST, STS-76 MCC Status Report # 1 reports:

Atlantis was launched from the Kennedy Space Center.on time at 2:13 a.m. CST today to begin Shuttle mission STS-76, the third shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Mir space station.

Currently in a 157 by 123 nautical mile orbit, Atlantis is now trailing Mir by 13,100 nautical miles and closing in on the Russian station at 694 nautical miles with each hour and a half -long orbit of Earth. Docking with the station remains targeted for about 8:34 p.m. CST Saturday.

Atlantis' crew -- Commander Kevin Chilton, Pilot Rick Searfoss, Payload Commander Ron Sega, and Mission Specialists Rich Clifford, Linda Godwin and Shannon Lucid, who will join two cosmonauts as a member of the Mir-21 crew after docking -- is now setting up the shuttle for an extended stay in orbit. All of Atlantis' systems are currently functioning well.

Flight controllers did notice an apparent small leak of hydraulic fluid from one of three hydraulic systems aboard the shuttle shortly after liftoff. The hydraulic systems are only used during launch and landing, and the leak from the backup system was observed only while that system was in operation during the climb to orbit. When all three hydraulic systems were shut down after reaching orbit, as is normal, no further indications of a leak were observed.

Only two hydraulic systems are actually needed for the shuttle to land safely, although flight controllers prefer to have all three operating to ensure a backup system is available in the event of a problem. Shuttle managers believe it is unlikely that the leak in the backup system will cause any change to the planned mission, although they are continuing to evaluate the situation.

The leaking hydraulic system, which is powered by Auxiliary Power Unit 3 aboard Atlantis, still has sufficient hydraulic fluid to be used during landing operations, the next time it would normally be powered up. None of the hydraulic systems are needed for Atlantis' operations in orbit, and flight controllers have ample time to analyze the leaking system and assess any impact it could have on the flight.

On Friday, March 22, 1996, 5:30 p.m. CST, STS-76 MCC Status Report # 2 reports:

Closing on the Russian Space Station Mir at a rate of 661 nautical miles per orbit, the STS-76 crew will perform several rendezvous burns today as the third Shuttle docking mission proceeds as planned.

This afternoon, the Mission Management Team met in Houston to discuss a leak seen in one of the hydraulic systems during the ascent portion of the flight. After an examination of the data, engineers concluded that the leak began as the high pressure hydraulic fluid system pumps were started shortly before launch. Data showed a leak rate of about 1 percent of the system's total reservoir per minute leading flight controllers to believe that about 20 percent of the reservoir leaked from the system.

The leak stopped when the system was shut down after ascent, and no further leakage has been detected. Since the leak only appears while the system is operating, mission managers are confident that the system will remain stable on orbit, and that there is no reason to change the duration of the mission. Controllers will continue to monitor the system for any changes in its status.

Today, crew members will configure the SPACEHAB module for its on-orbit operations, check out the spacesuits that will be used by Mission Specialists Rich Clifford and Linda Godwin later in the flight, and test the equipment that will be used for the rendezvous operations.

The crew began its day today at 3:13 p.m. Central with the song "Anywhere Is" by Enya. Atlantis, making its 16th flight, is performing well as it circles the Earth in a 159 by 127 n.m. orbit.

Go to STS-76 Flight Day 2 Highlights: