STS-90
Report # 08 
Tuesday, April 21, 1998 - 6 a.m. CDT 
 
A half day of science operations before enjoying some off duty time
will be the plan of the day when Commander Rick Searfoss and his
STS-90 crew are awakened later this morning to begin their fifth day
in space.

Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman along with Mission Specialists Rick
Linnehan, Kay Hire and Dave Williams and the two Payload Specialists
flying on Columbia -- Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk -- will receive a
wake up call from Mission Control at 6:59 a.m. Central.

Searfoss will begin his day with a check of the animal enclosure
facilities being carried on the flight along with some Shuttle system
housekeeping chores while Hire videotapes the aquarium unit being
carried in the Spacelab and tends to the cell growth culture
experiment known as the Bioreactor Demonstration System.

Altman, Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk will all perform
tests associated with the STS-90 Neurolab Vestibular Team's efforts
to gain insight into the balance organs in the ear and all the
connections that system has to the eyes, brain, and muscles in
adapting to the weightless condition in space and then readapts to the
gravity environment found on Earth.

The crew's afternoon period will be off duty time.  Half day off
periods are a normal part of long duration missions such as the two
week plus Neurolab mission and are designed to allow the crew to stay
well rested and operate at peak efficiency throughout the flight.
They will begin a planned eight hour sleep period at 10:39 p.m.

The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. CDT Tuesday.

###

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