STS-77 Mission Control Center 
Status Report 7

Wednesday, May 22, 1996 6 a.m. CDT

With the Spartan satellite's mission completed, Endeavour's six
astronauts turned their attention today to the deploy of a small
technology demonstration satellite known as PAMS.

The Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite
uses aerodynamic stabilization to orient itself properly and
demonstrates a technique that could prolong the lifetime of a
satellite by reducing or eliminating the requirement for attitude
control propellants.

After Mission Specialist Mario Runco deployed the satellite from a
canister in the rear of Endeavour's payload bay on time at 4:18
a.m. Central time, it drifted away from the orbiter in a rotating,
unstable attitude by design to evaluate how quickly and effectively
the spacecraft could stabilize itself using the aerodynamic
stabilization method rather than with thrusters.

Commander John Casper and Pilot Curt Brown backed Endeavour away to a
distance of 48,000 feet to begin one of three planned rendezvous with
the satellite to measure its stability using lasers mounted in the
payload bay. The first rendezvous approach was scheduled later this
morning as the crew placed Endeavour at a station-keeping distance of
about 2,000 feet. The second and third rendezvous are scheduled for
Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Inflatable Antenna, jettisoned from the Spartan
satellite after its mission Monday, was expected to enter the
Earth's atmosphere today.

Endeavour is in a 176-mile high circular orbit, completing one
revolution of Earth every 90 minutes. The crew will go to sleep at
3:30 today and awaken at 10:30 tonight.

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