STS-90,  Mission Control Center
Status Report # 20
Sunday, April 26, 1998 - 6:00 p.m. CDT

  Columbia's seven-member crew took a break from scientific activity
today to enjoy a relaxing afternoon with four hours of scheduled
off-duty time.

  Throughout the morning and early afternoon, the science crew Mission
Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists
Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk continued to support the Visual and
Vestibular Integration System (VVIS) investigation.  Investigators are
studying the correlation between eye movement and the inner ear as the
astronauts each took a turn in the rotating chair.  Researchers hope
to better understand how the balance organs in the ear, and all the
connections they make to the eyes, brain and muscles, adapt to the
microgravity environment.

  Mission Specialist Kay Hire also spent time with an investigation
that evaluates an astronauts eye-hand coordination during various
phases of the mission.  Wearing a special glove with light-emitting
diodes, Hire tracked a variety of targets projected on a screen.
Researchers can study the track created by the diodes to determine any
changes in performance and evaluate how the astronauts are adapting to
space.

  Shuttle Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman practiced
with the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a
laptop computer and joystick system that allows them to simulate
approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space Center to maintain their
piloting skills.

  Searfoss and Williams took time from their activities this morning
to talk with the British Broadcasting Systems Wales Network.  The
interview focused on the progress of the mission and Williams and
Searfoss Welsh ancestry.

  The crew will begin its scheduled sleep period at 9:09 p.m. central
time today, receiving a wake-up call from Mission Control about 5
a.m. Monday to begin Flight Day 11. Columbia remains in a 153 x 133
nautical mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes.

The next STS-90 status report will be issued at about 6 a.m. Monday or
as events warrant.

###

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