STS-92
Report # 18 
Friday, October 20, 2000 - 6 a.m. CDT 
 
  STS-92 Commander Brian Duffy and his crew were awakened at 5:18
a.m. CDT and will shortly move into final preparations for their
undocking from the International Space Station later this morning.
Discovery's crew delivered two critical components to the station -
the Z1 truss structure that will support large solar arrays arriving
on the next Shuttle mission and a second docking port that will be
used as a docking location for that late November Shuttle flight,
designated mission STS-97.

  Since the crew's activities inside the station yesterday ran longer
than expected, undocking has been moved one orbit later than
originally planned and will now take place at 10:09 a.m. CDT.  Large
springs in the Shuttle's docking mechanism will provide the initial
separation when Discovery moves away from the station.  Pilot Pam
Melroy will then use the Shuttle's maneuvering thrusters to gently
back the Shuttle away from the International Space Station.  Unlike
some previous flights, the STS-92 crew will not perform a fly around
of the station after undocking. Once the Shuttle has backed a few
hundred feet away from the station, a final separation burn will be
performed to send Discovery and her crew on their way.

  Following undocking and separation, Duffy, Melroy along with Mission
Specialists Leroy Chiao, Bill McArthur, Mike Lopez-Alegria, Jeff
Wisoff and Koichi Wakata will get a half day off to rest and relax
following a week of docked operations that saw four consecutive space
walks outside the station along with supply transfers and equipment
checkout activities inside the station.

  The STS-92 crew will be interviewed by three media organizations -
CNN, Spaceflightnow.Com and CBS radio - beginning at 11:42 a.m. CDT.
Duffy and Melroy will also take some time to do interviews with three
Rochester, New York television stations beginning at 1:12 p.m.

  The STS-92 crew will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 9:17
p.m. CDT before being awakened at 5:17 a.m. Saturday morning to begin
their final preparations for a return to Kennedy Space Center early
Sunday afternoon.

  The Discovery-International Space Station complex continue to orbit
the Earth in a 247 x 232 statute mile, orbit once every 90 minutes
with all systems performing well.

  The next Mission Control Center status report will be issued about 6
p.m., or as events warrant.

###

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