STS-80
Report # 17 
 Tuesday, November 26, 1996 6 p.m. CST 
 
 Following retrieval yesterday, the Wake Shield Facility satellite
will be powered up again today for futher experiment work.  Work
throughout the round of space manufacturing will be conducted with the
satellite attached to Columbia's robotic arm.

 Astronaut Tom Jones plans to use the arm to unberth the Wake Shield
from the payload bay at 6:06 p.m. CST for three hours and a half of
work with the Atomic Oxygen Processing experiment (AOProc).  The
satellite's wake side will be angled 45 degrees into Columbia's
direction of travel to investigate the use of atomic oxygen in low
orbit to produce aluminum oxide films.  The Wake Shield is expected to
be latched back into the payload bay at 9:41 p.m.

  Meanwhile, the ORFEUS-SPAS astronomy satellite, still trailing
Columbia by about 30 statute miles, is continuing to perform its
scientific observations.  Columbia is slowly closing in on the
satellite, but the shuttle is expected to reach no closer than 23
statute miles before again beginning to slowly separate.

  Early tomorrow morning, near the end of the work day, preparations
for two planned spacewalks will begin with the depressurization of the
shuttle's cabin from 14.7 pounds per square inch to 10.2 pounds per
square inch.  This reduces the amount of time Tammy Jernigan and Tom
Jones will have to prebreathe pure oxygen before beginning the
spacewalk.  The first spacewalk is scheduled to begin shortly after
eight p.m. Thanksgiving to evaluate assembly and maintenance
techniques that will be used for construction of the International
Space Station.

  Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Kent Rominger and Mission Specialist
Story Musgrave will be interviewed at 1:36 Wednesday morning by the
NBC Newschannel.  The crew will begin a sleep period at 6:56 a.m. and
awaken for Day 9 of STS-80 at 2:56 p.m.

Columbia is in excellent condition in a 221 by 214 statute mile
orbit, circling the Earth every 91 minutes.


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