STS-79 Day 5 Highlights
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- On Friday, September 20, 1996, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-79 MCC Status Report # 9
reports:
- The first full day of joint Shuttle/Mir operations began in earnest
overnight with the transfer of a biotechnology investigation and
logistical supplies from Atlantis to Mir.
- The Biotechnology System, an investigation that will study the
long-term development of cartilage cells in microgravity, was
transported to Mir early this morning. During his planned four-month
stay on Mir, John Blaha will take weekly samples of the culture which
may provide researchers with information on engineering cartilage
cells for possible use in transplantation.
- Blaha and Shannon Lucid are conducting handover discussions concerning
the location and status of hardware and experiments he will use during
his tenure on Mir. They also took time out of their schedules to talk
with Good Morning America's Elizabeth Vargas in a brief interview
today.
- Prior to beginning the day's transfer activities, all nine astronauts
and cosmonauts participated in a joint planning session to outline the
day's schedule. Atlantis Commander Bill Readdy and Mir Commander
Valery Korzun continue to oversee the transfer of water containers and
supplies from the shuttle's SPACEHAB module into Mir. More than 4,000
pounds of equipment and logistical supplies will be transferred to
Mir, and some 2,000 pounds of experiment samples and equipment will be
moved from Mir to Atlantis for return to Earth.
- On Friday, September 20, 1996, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-79 MCC Status Report # 10
reports:
- Astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the combined shuttle/Mir spacecraft
will awaken at 8:54 p.m. CDT to begin their second full day of docked
operations that will include more cargo transfers and work with the
Active Rack Isolation System.
- The day's work again will begin with a planning session led by
Atlantis Commander Bill Readdy and Mir 22 Commander Valery Korzun and
involving all nine crew members. The crews are more than half finished
transferring supplies, hardware and experiment samples between the
spacecraft, but will continue those transfers throughout the day.
- After that is complete, Mission Specialist Carl Walz again will work
with the Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment in the double
Spacehab module while Mission Specialist Shannon Lucid gets a workout
on the Mir treadmill, continuing physical conditioning exercises
designed to prepare her body for the return to Earth's gravity after
six months in orbit. About the same time, Mir Flight Engineer 2 John
Blaha will begin biomedical tests that are part of his four-month
protocol aboard Mir
- Shortly after midnight, Mission Specialist Jay Apt will monitor the
ARIS experiment as Readdy and Korzun fire maneuvering jets on their
spacecraft to test the ability of the International Space Station
prototype experiment rack to dampen the resulting vibrations.
- Several hours later, Apt will conduct a photographic survey of Mir
from the shuttle's flight deck windows while Mission Specialist Tom
Akers shoots IMAX movie scenes of Readdy, Pilot Terry Wilcutt and
Korzun in the Spektr module. Later in the day, Akers and Korzun will
move the IMAX camera to the Priroda module.
- At 5:29 a.m., Readdy, Wilcutt, Akers, Lucid, Blaha, Korzun and Kaleri
will be interviewed by Russian journalists in the Mir core module. The
interview will not be broadcast on NASA Television.
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