STS-80 Day 13 Highlights

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On Sunday, December 1, 1996, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-80 MCC Status Report # 28 reports:

Columbia's astronauts spent a relatively quiet day monitoring experiments on board and carrying out two rendezvous burns to maintain a stable distance from the free-flying ORFEUS-SPAS astronomy satellite.

Late yesterday afternoon, the crew was notified that the two planned spacewalks for the mission were canceled following extensive ground analysis and testing of the balky airlock hatch. Mission managers could not conclusively identify the problem that was causing the hatch to jam, and decided not to risk unnecessary damage to the hatch or seals. The engineering analysis will continue even though the spacewalks have been canceled in case a contingency spacewalk is needed later in the flight.

The spacewalks were designed to test tools and maintenance procedures that would be used during and after the assembly of the International Space Station, scheduled to begin one year from now.

With all other shuttle systems in excellent shape, Columbia is scheduled to remain in orbit for the full 16 days planned for STS-80, and managers will meet Monday to decide on a possible extension of the flight to allow for additional astronomical observations by the German ORFEUS-SPAS satellite.

The five astronauts will end a nine-hour sleep period with a wakeup call from Mission Control at 4:56 p.m. central time to begin the thirteenth flight day of the mission. The crew's sleep shift is moving later to accommodate a morning landing on December 5.

Columbia is in a 223 by 212 statute mile orbit, leading the ORFEUS-SPAS satellite by 25 miles.

On Sunday, December 1, 1996, 6:00 p.m. CST, STS-80 MCC Status Report # 29 reports:

The STS-80 crew is waking up and getting started on its 13th day of the mission, a day that will include some rest time, an opportunity to talk with family members and a middeck test of a new tool to be used for future spacewalks.

Columbia's astronauts were awakened at 4:56 p.m. Central with the song "Shooting Star" peformed by Bad Company. Following the post-sleep period, the five Columbia astronauts will spend the first half of their day off-duty. Off-duty time is scheduled periodically during long duration shuttle missions to allow crew members to rest so that they can maintain their busy work schedule throughout the mission. During the off-duty time, several crew members will have the opportunity to talk to family members on Earth in private family conferences.

In the second half of the day, Mission Specialists Tammy Jernigan and Tom Jones will test one of the tools they were to have used during their spacewalks on the middeck of Columbia. The "pistol grip" power tool is a new tool designed for use during the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station. Jernigan and Jones will tighten and release bolts on the middeck floor, where the seats are secured for launch and entry, to evaluate the tool's operation in weightlessness.

Crew members also will fire Columbia's steering jets twice during the day to maintain the distance between the shuttle and the ORFEUS-SPAS astronomy satellite. ORFEUS-SPAS continues to perform well and managers will meet Monday to decide on a possible extension of the flight to allow for additional astronomical observations.

Columbia's systems continue to perform as expected as it circles Earth in a 223 by 212 statute mile orbit.

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