STS-77 Mission Control Center 
Status Report # 3

Monday, May 20, 7 a.m. CDT

The Spartan satellite was released at 6:29 Central time this morning
for its 24 hour free flight away from Endeavour to test new inflatable
antenna technology

The Inflatable Antenna Experiment, or IAE, was scheduled to be
inflated shortly after 8:30 this morning.  The inflation procedure
lasts about 5 minutes, bringing the antenna to its full size of 90
feet by 50 feet, or the equivalent size of a tennis court.  After an
hour and a half, the antenna was to be jettisoned from the Spartan.
The satellite will be retrieved tomorrow morning and placed back in
the payload bay for the remainder of the flight.

Experiment activity continues around the clock aboard the orbiter and
in the Spacehab science module -- even while the crew sleeps.  An
investigation using Global Positioning System satellites to determine
a spacecraft's orientation rather than just location is in
progress.  GPS is becoming a more and more useful tool in position
location and attitude which will be beneficial with the International
Space Station in precisely determining its proper position in space.

Another experiment called BETSCE (pronounced betsy) is testing a new,
supercold refrigeration system that needs no moving parts and could be
used on orbiting astronomical instruments.  The Commercial Float Zone
Furnace operates continuously to produce large crystals for use in
semiconductors and infrared sensors.

Endeavour is currently in a 176-mile high circular orbit, completing
one revolution of Earth every 90 minutes. The crew was awakened at
12:30 this morning to the "Air Force Song" in honor of Casper,
an Air Force Colonel and Brown, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.  The
crew will go to sleep at 4:30 this afternoon.

The JSC Newsroom will remain open around the clock during the flight
of Endeavour.