STS-76 Day 2 Highlights

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On Saturday, March 23, 1996, 5 a.m. CST, STS-76 MCC Status Report # 3 reports:

STS-76 Commander Kevin Chilton and Pilot Rick Searfoss fired Atlantis' orbital maneuvering system jets just before 3:30 a.m. today, refining its path for this evening's rendezvous with the Mir Space Station.

This morning's burn slowed the rate at which Atlantis is closing on Mir, and raised the high point of its orbit to 210 nautical miles in anticipation of the terminal initiation burn that will position Atlantis to intercept the space station. Currently Atlantis trails Mir at a distance of about 3,000 nautical miles, closing the distance by about 400 nautical miles every 90 minutes.

Throughout the night and into the early morning hours, the six astronauts prepared for their docking with Mir, checking out the radio communications equipment they will use during their approach. Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Rich Clifford also checked out the space suits they will wear during Wednesday's planned six-hour EVA. The suits and hardware have been temporarily stowed in Atlantis' airlock.

Chilton, Searfoss and Mission Specialist Shannon Lucid also spent time this morning discussing the progress of their mission and Lucid's planned stay on the Mir Space Station with NBC's Nightside program. Lucid told Nightside host Tom Miller that she believed her four-month stay on Mir "will be a great adventure."

The astronauts will begin a 7-hour sleep period at 7:13 a.m. central time today before waking to begin final rendezvous and docking activities. About one hour after waking up, Chilton and Searfoss will fire Atlantis' maneuvering system engines in the final phasing burn designed to further slow Atlantis' closing rate to 34 nautical miles per orbit. One orbit later, Atlantis will be eight miles away from Mir, in position for the terminal initiation burn that allows Atlantis to intercept the Russian space station.

Chilton will initiate the TI burn at 5:52 p.m. central time, moving Atlantis along a precise course to meet up with Mir. Atlantis will stationkeep at a distance of 170 feet from Mir while flight controllers in Houston and Moscow confer before giving a final "go" for docking operations. Docking is targeted for 8:34 p.m. today.

All systems are continuing to perform well as Atlantis makes its 16th journey into space.

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