STS-77 Mission Control Center 
Status Report 10

Thursday, May 23, 1996 4 p.m. CDT

Endeavour's crew members spent their fifth day in space tending to
a host of experiments today, ranging from biological studies of sea
creatures in weightlessness to experiments in crystal growth and
materials processing.

Commander John Casper, Pilot Curt Brown and Mission Specialists Dan
Bursch and Andy Thomas took a brief break from their work today to
answer questions from CNN, and Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau, along
with Bursch, also spoke with Canadian networks CBC and RDI. As the
attention of the crew turned to the laboratory work inside the
spacecraft, Endeavour maintained its distance from the PAMS-STU
satellite released yesterday. Casper fired the shuttle's jets today
in one of a series of periodic engine firings which, during the next
two days, will keep Endeavour poised for a return to the PAMS- STU
Saturday for continued studies of the satellite's stability.

Also today, Bursch and Garneau repaired the Fluid Generic
Bioprocessing Apparatus, an orbital soft drink dispenser, which had a
cooling problem. The dispenser was then tested by the crew and
currently is working well in filling drink containers.

The six astronauts will be awakened at 10:30 p.m. central time today
to begin their sixth flight day on orbit, another day devoted to
scientific and technical investigations in the Spacehab module.  The
crew also will enjoy a few hours off tomorrow, a standard policy
during longer shuttle missions, to ensure the crew remains well
rested.

Endeavour continues to circle the Earth every 90 minutes at an
altitude of 175 miles with all systems on board performing well.

The JSC newsroom will remain open 24 hours throughout the STS-77 mission.


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