Conference 7.286::space

   Re: Crew list in base note

	>CDR:TBD
	>PLT:TBD
	>MS (PLC):MARK C. LEE
	>MS:N. JAN DAVIS
	>MS:MAE C. JEMISON
	>MS:TBD
	>PS:MAMORU MOHRI

   The final crew list was announced for this flight and returning after 
   being grounded is Robert "Hoot" Gibson to make his 4th flight. Rookie
   Curtis Brown as pilot and Jay Apt making his second flight round out the
   crew. Interesting that on this flight is the first married couple, that of
   Mark Lee and Jan Davis.

	- Commander: Robert Gibson 
	- Pilot: Curtis Brown
	- PLC/MS1: Mark Lee 
	- MS2: Jan Davis
	- MS3: Mae Jemison
	- MS4: Jay Apt 
	- PS1: Mamoru Mohri (NASDA Japan)

Susan

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 21, 1992  10 AM

 
                      STS-47 EXTERNAL TANK

     External  tank  No.   45  designated  for  mission   STS-47,
Endeavour's  second flight set to carry the Spacelab-J into orbit
later this year,  is scheduled to arrive by barge in the KSC turn
basin tomorrow. High seas forecast along the barge's travel route
could  delay  the arrival.  The tank will be offloaded and trans-
ferred to the VAB for storage and checkout.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, APR. 23 1992  11 AM

 
                      STS-47 EXTERNAL TANK

     External  tank  No.   45  designated  for  mission   STS-47,
Endeavour's  second flight set to carry the Spacelab-J into orbit
later this year,  arrived by barge in the KSC turn basin  yester-
day.  The  tank  was  offloaded  and  transferred  to the VAB for
storage and checkout.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Gaining access to the vehicle.
- Preparations to open the payload bay doors.
- Preparations to position the aerosurfaces.
- Preparations to remove the tailcone.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Endeavour arrived at KSC atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier  Aircraft
Saturday  at  10:50  a.m.  after  spending the night at Kelly Air
Force Base, San Antonio, Tex.
- Endeavour arrived at the OPF at 1:12 a.m. Sunday.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations for the frequency response test.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Removing ferry flight kit items.
- Preparations to position the aerosurfaces.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the tail cone.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Ball valve leak checks
*  KU antenna function tests
*  Cargo downloading
*  Chin panel removal
*  Helium tank venting
*  Reaction Control System pod thruster inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Auxiliary Power Unit catch bottle drain
*  Waste containment system removal
*  Payload bay doors cycled and checked

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 1992 -- 11:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Ball valve leak checks
*  KU antenna function tests
*  Waste containment system drain and flush
*  Main engine heat shield removal
*  Reaction Control System pod thruster inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Payload downloading
*  Auxiliary Power Unit catch bottle drain
*  Payload bay doors cycled and checked

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Remove Forward Reaction Control System



 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Ammonia boiler purge and drain
*  KU antenna functional tests
*  Main engine heat shield removal
*  Reaction Control System pod thruster inspections
*  SRB stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly Building

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Removal of Forward Reaction Control System
*  Waste containment system drain and flush
*  Orbiter power system validations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Transport Forward Reaction Control System to Hypergolic
   Maintenance Facility


 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Preparations for removal of main engines
*  SRB stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly Building
*  Crew arrival for spacelab equipment interface tests (CEIT)
*  Payload bay door radiator inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Transport Forward Reaction Control System to Hypergolic
   Maintenance Facility
*  S-band checks
*  Reaction Control System pod thruster inspections
*  Orbiter power system validations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main engine removal


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Preparations for removal of main engines
*  Main engine drying operations
*  SRB stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly Building
*  Payload bay door radiator inspections
*  KU band inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Spacelab equipment interface tests with the crew
*  Window inspections
*  Reaction Control System pod thruster inspections
*  Orbiter power system validations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main engine removal


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Preparations for main engine removal
*  Ku-band tests
*  Fuel cell voltage tests
*  Main engine drying operations
*  Payload bay door radiator inspections
*  SRB stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly Building

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Spacelab equipment interface tests with the crew
*  Window inspections
*  Reaction Control System pod thruster inspections
*  Orbiter power system validations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main engine removal


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Payload bay flood light inspections
*  Preparations for main engine removal
*  Payload bay door radiator deservicing and post flight
   inspections
*  SRB (right aft center segment) stacking operations in Vehicle
   Assembly Building

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine drying operations
*  Fuel cell voltage tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main engine removal next week


 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Preparations for main engine removal
*  Payload bay door radiator deservicing and post flight
   inspections
*  Water Spray Boiler leak and functional tests
*  solid rocket booster (right forward center segment) stacking
   operations in Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 3

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Payload bay flood light inspections
*  Main engine drying operations
*  Fuel cell voltage tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main engine removal next week
*  Removal of payload bay door radiator

 

     
    In note 6.9 the schedule launch date is the 1st of Sept. Can anyone
    tell me if this has changed?? Any ideas on the launch time frame??
    
    
    Dan

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1992  10 AM


 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removing the three main engines.
- Preparations for Ku-band antenna tests.
- Testing of the forward reaction control system  at  the  Hyper-
golic Maintenance Facility.
- Leak and functional tests of the water spray boilers.
- Deservicing of freon coolant loop No. 1.
-  Systems  tests  of the power reactant storage and distribution
system.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1992  11 AM


 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations for Ku-band antenna tests.
-  Testing  of  the forward reaction control system at the Hyper-
golic Maintenance Facility.
- Leak and functional tests of the water spray boilers.
- Deservicing of freon coolant loop No. 1.
- Systems tests of the power reactant  storage  and  distribution
system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the three main engines.

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main engine removal
*  Removal of payload bay door radiator
*  Orbital maneuvering system leak and functional checks
*  Solid rocket booster stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly
   Building high bay 3

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Freon coolant loop deservicing and inspections

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Hydraulic operations


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1992 -- 9:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Orbital Maneuvering System leak and functional checks
*  Payload bay keel installations
*  KU-band troubleshooting
*  Flight control checks
*  Orbital Maneuvering System functional operations
*  Solid rocket booster stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly
   Building high bay 3

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Freon coolant loop deservicing and inspections
*  Removal of payload bay door radiator

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Hydraulic operations
*  Payload bay door cycling and checks

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1992 -- 9:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Inspections of the payload bay door blankets
*  Payload bay door cycling and checks
*  Orbital Maneuvering System leak and functional checks
*  KU-band functional tests
*  Spacelab/orbiter pre-mate checks
*  Solid rocket booster stacking operations in Vehicle Assembly
   Building high bay 3 (Left forward segment being stacked today)

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Payload bay keel installations
*  Freon coolant loop deservicing and inspections
*  Removal of payload bay door radiator

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Installation of spacelab payload into orbiter next week

 

Mitch Varnes                                       July 2, 1992

KSC Release No. 87-92


     When the Spacelab-J module is  transported  to  the  Orbiter
Processing   Facility  and  carefully  placed  into  the  Shuttle
Endeavour's payload bay next week, it will mark the quickest such
turnaround ever of a Spacelab module.

     The Spacelab-J module last flew in January on  the  Interna-
tional Microgravity Laboratory-1 mission.   Following that highly
successful  flight,  the  module  was  transported  back  to  its
processing  bay  in  KSC's  Operations  and Checkout Building and
readied for the STS-47/Spacelab-J mission.   The  19-week  recon-
figuration  and  checkout  of  the  payload  easily  eclipses the
average Spacelab module processing  time of 24 weeks.

     This new benchmark in payload processing is due  largely  to
the  dedication  and experience of the KSC payload team.   By ex-
tending their hours and  occasionally  working  straight  through
operations that usually would have been conducted in stages,  the
technicians and engineers achieved a  feat  that  even  they  had
doubts about.

     "We  surprised  ourselves,"  commented Glenn Snyder,  STS-47
payload processing manager.   "We went into this  flow  wondering
whether or not it was possible to process a payload for flight on
such  a  tight  schedule.   But the team pitched in,  rose to the
challenge and did it."

     Snyder also credits the accomplishment to the smooth working
relationship between the  American  and  Japanese  engineers  who
readied  Spacelab-J.    "Everyone  pulled together as a team," he
said.   "There were never any turf battles or squabbles over any-
thing.    When  little  problems  popped  up,  everyone just came
together and fixed them," Snyder continued.   It's  been  a  real
pleasure working on this payload."

     Spacelab-J  is a joint mission between NASA and the National
Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan.   The Spacelab payload
consists  of  two dozen materials science experiments and 20 life
science experiments.

     The Spacelab payload and a  seven  member  astronaut  flight
crew are scheduled to fly aboard the orbiter Endeavour in Septem-
ber.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 6, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to install the Spacelab-J payload.
- Functional tests of the orbital maneuvering system pod.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Inspections of the payload bay doors.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of Spacelab-J into the orbiter on Thursday.


     ##     STS-47 - SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB HB 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Mating the left forward assembly/nose cone to the left booster.
- Routing cables for the right booster.
- Joint close outs.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Mating the external tank to the boosters next week.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JULY 7, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to install the Spacelab-J payload.
- Functional tests of the orbital maneuvering system pod.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Inspections of the payload bay doors.
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of Spacelab-J into the orbiter later this week.
- Installation of the forward reaction control system.

        ##  STS-47 - SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB HB 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Attaching a band of cork around the left forward assembly/nose
cone.
- Routing cables for the right booster.
- Joint close outs.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Connected the left  forward  assembly/nose  cone  to  the  left
booster.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Mating the external tank to the boosters next week.


 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1992  11 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Mating the forward reaction control system to the orbiter.
- Preparations to install the Spacelab-J payload.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Inspections of the payload bay doors with the doors closed.


WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of Spacelab-J into the orbiter this weekend.


      ###   STS-47 - SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB HB 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to mate the tank to the boosters.
- Joint close outs.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Mating the external tank to the boosters next week.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1992  11 AM


 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to install the Spacelab-J payload.
- Cycles of the payload bay doors.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the forward reaction control system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of Spacelab-J into the orbiter on Monday.


     ##     STS-47 - SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS - VAB HB 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to mate the tank to the boosters.
- Joint close outs.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Mating the external tank to the boosters on Monday.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 13, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Functional tests of the forward reaction control system.
- Connections of the radiators.
- Preparations to install the Spacelab-J payload.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Functional tests of the right orbital maneuvering system pod.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of Spacelab-J into the orbiter tomorrow.

   ##  STS-47 - SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/EXTERNAL TANK - VAB HB 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Mating the tank to the boosters.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of Spacelab-J.
- Servicing Spacelab-J cooling lines.
- Installation of two Tacan antennas.
- Functional tests of the forward reaction control system.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Connected the radiators.

   ##  STS-47 - SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/EXTERNAL TANK - VAB HB 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Routing cables between the boosters and tank.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the tank to the boosters last night.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrical connections of Spacelab-J.
- Servicing Spacelab-J cooling lines.
- Installation of Tacan No. 3 antenna.
- Functional tests of the forward reaction control system.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed Spacelab-J yesterday by 5:36 p.m.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1992  10 AM


 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Servicing Spacelab-J cooling lines.
- Preparations to service freon coolant loop No. 1.
- Testing of the Ku-band antenna.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Functional tests of the forward reaction control system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Interface verification test between Spacelab-J and the orbiter.
- Installation of the three main engines next week.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Servicing Spacelab-J cooling lines.
- Preparations to service freon coolant loop No. 1.
- Testing of the Ku-band antenna.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of the drag chute.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Interface verification test between Spacelab-J and the orbiter
this weekend.
- Installation of the three main engines next week.

    STS-52 - COLUMBIA/LAGEOS-2, USMP-1 - (OV 102) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to deservice residual hypergolic propellants.
- Inspections of the radiators.
- Post-flight inspections of the windows and main engines.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the United States Microgravity Laboratory-1  yesterday.
The  payload  arrived  at the Operations and Checkout Building at
1:45 a.m. today.
- Dumped the payload operations recorder.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 20, 1992  10 AM


 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installing the three main engines.
- Preparations for crew equipment interface test.
- Hookups of the waste containment system.
- Securing the right hand wheel to the landing gear.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Completed interface verification tests between  Spacelab-J  and
the orbiter.
- Installed the Spacelab tunnel adapter yesterday.
- Serviced freon coolant loop No. 1.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JULY 21, 1992  10 AM


 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installing engine 2022 in the number two position.
- Preparations for crew equipment interface test.
- Hookups of the waste containment system.
- Leak and functional testing of the auxiliary power units.
- Installing sleep stations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed engine 2026 in the number 1 position.
- Alignment of the Spacelab tunnel adapter.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1992  10 AM

 
       STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Connections of the three main engines.
- Preparations to install the Spacelab tunnel.
- Preparations for crew equipment interface test.
- Leak and functional testing of the auxiliary power units.
- Installing sleep stations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the three main engines.

 

Article: 1547
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/24/92 (Forwarded)
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 01:10:37 GMT
 
              KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1992  10 AM
 
                 STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Connections of the three main engines.
          - Installation of the Spacelab tunnel.
          - Preparations for crew equipment interface test.
          - Tests of the Ku-band and Tacan antennas.
          - Installing sleep stations.
 

Article: 1569
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/27/92 (Forwarded)
Date: 29 Jul 92 19:13:55 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
              KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 27, 1992  10 AM
 
                 STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Leak checks of the main engines and main propulsion system.
          - Leak tests of the Spacelab tunnel.
          - Inspections of the radiators.
          - Installing sleep stations.
 
          WORK COMPLETED:
          - Completed the Crew Equipment Interface Test on Saturday.
          - Installed the Spacelab tunnel.
 
 
Article: 1572
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/29/92 (Forwarded)
Date: 29 Jul 92 19:14:29 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
             KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 1992  10 AM
 
                 STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) - OPF BAY 3
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Flushing of the ammonia system.
          - Retest the mission elapsed timer.
          - Leak checks of the main engines and main propulsion system.
          - Functional tests of the radiators.
          - Installing sleep stations.
 
          WORK COMPLETED:
          - Completed the radiator functional test.
          -  Completed interface testing between the main propulsion system
          and the main engines. 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, AUG. 3 1992  10 AM
 
 
 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Pressure decay check between the Spaclab and orbiter.
- Minor repairs of the radiators.
- Installation of sleep stations.
- Preparations to service the ammonia system.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Installation of heat shields around the main engines.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
for mate to the external tank and boosters.
 
 
 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, AUG. 4 1992  10 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Troubleshooting  of  a  minute  water  leak  of the orbiter to
Spacelab water loops.
- Pressure decay checks between the orbiter and Spacelab.
- Minor repairs of the radiators.
- Installation of sleep stations.
- Preparations to service the ammonia system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the closed circuit televisions.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
for mate to the external tank and boosters.


 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, AUG. 6 1992  10 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Functional tests of the main landing gear door.
- Positioning of the aerosurfaces.
- Stowing items in the Spacelab.
- Continued troubleshooting of a minute water leak of the orbiter
  to Spacelab water system.
- Pressure decay checks between the orbiter and Spacelab.
- Minor repairs of the radiators.
- Installation of sleep stations.
- Preparations to service the ammonia system.
- Close outs of the vehicle.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Closure of the payload bay doors this weekend.
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
  for mate to the external tank and boosters.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, AUG. 10 1992  10 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Final inspections of the payload bay.
- Closing the payload bay doors.
- Installation of sleep stations.
- Close outs of the vehicle.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Interface verification system tests of the Spacelab.
- Close outs of the orbiter water cooling lines for the Spacelab.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Structural leak checks of the orbiter this week.
- Weight and center of gravity determinations.
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
for mate to the external tank and boosters.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, AUG. 11, 1992  10 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Stowing the Ku-band antenna.
- Final inspections of the payload bay.
- Closing the payload bay doors.
- Installation of sleep stations.
- Close outs of the vehicle.
- Preparations to install the doors on the aft compartment.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Structural leak checks of the orbiter this week.
- Weight and center of gravity determinations.
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
for mate to the external tank and boosters.

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, AUG. 12, 1992  10 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Structural leak checks of the vehicle.
- Fitting the external tank door thermal barriers.
- Installation of sleep stations.
- Close outs of the vehicle.
- Preparations to install the doors on the aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closed the payload bay doors.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Weight and center of gravity determinations.
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
for mate to the external tank and boosters.

 

The "early bird" edition of the STS-47 press kit is available (no graphics,
some editing still left).

pragma::public:[nasa]sts-47.ps


15 pages

- dave

          KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1992 -- 9:30 A.M.
           --------------------------------------------------------------

 
                STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF Bay 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Payload bay positive pressure checks
*  Vehicle aft closeouts

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Closed payload bay doors
*  Installed sleep stations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Structural leak checks
*  Weight and center of gravity determinations
*  Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, AUG. 14, 1992  11:30 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- A final cycle of the payload bay doors.
- Installing a seal for the airlock hatch.
- Structural leak checks of the wings.
- Close outs of the vehicle.
- Preparations to install the doors on the aft compartment.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Weight and center of gravity determinations planned on Sunday.
- Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building targeted for Aug.  17
for  mate to the external tank and boosters pending resolution of
the crane in the VAB.

 

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.          August 13, 1992


Jane Hutchison
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.



RELEASE:  92-130


     How will frog eggs develop in the weightlessness of space flight?  Can
astronauts learn to control the symptoms of space motion sickness?

     Scientists from NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., will
seek answers to these and other questions during the next Space Shuttle flight
in early September. Their experiments are part of the Spacelab-J mission, a
7-day joint space venture of the United States and Japan.

Tadpole Development in Space

     Kenneth A. Souza, Principal Investigator for the frog embryology
experiment, said fertilized amphibian eggs -- unlike those of most organisms --
show an obvious response to gravity.  His experiment should answer a basic
biological question: whether gravity is essential for the normal fertilization
of frog eggs and the early development of frogs.

     The frog egg is a small, 1-2 millimeter (.04 to .08 inch) spherical cell,
clearly divided into a darkly pigmented hemisphere and a lightly colored
hemisphere rich in yolk.  On Earth, fertilized frog eggs always orient
themselves when fertilized so the heavy, lightly pigmented hemisphere is at the
"bottom" of the egg, Souza said.

     Although frog eggs were studied previously in space, "This is the first
time we can fertilize them in space and watch their development through
hatching," Souza said. "The stage most sensitive to gravity changes and the
stage at which the symmetry -- left, right and head-tail location -- of the
frog is established occurs shortly after fertilization.  This critical stage
was missed by previous spaceflight studies."


     Four female South African clawed frogs will be carried into space in a
special "frog box." Early in the mission, a crew member will inject the frogs
with a hormone which stimulates them to shed their eggs.  A sperm solution will
be added later to fertilize the eggs.

     Some of the eggs will develop under the microgravity of space flight.
Others will develop on an onboard centrifuge that creates a gravity force equal
to Earth's. A video camera in the Shuttle will allow Souza and his
collaborators to observe the eggs as they develop from eggs to tadpoles.

     The scientists will study the embryos and tadpoles after the flight to
compare them with others developed on Earth. Dr. Muriel Ross, a neurobiologist
at Ames, will study the development of balance organs in the inner ear.  Dr.
Richard Wassersug of Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, will observe
the swimming pattern and behavior of the tadpoles.  Dr. Steven Black of Reed
College, Portland, Ore., will compare the development of embryos grown under
weightless conditions to those given simulated gravity on the on-board
centrifuge.

Easing Space Motion Sickness

     Spacelab-J will offer another opportunity to look at alleviating the
symptoms of space motion sickness.  Ames scientist Dr. Patricia Cowings and her
colleagues will test the effectiveness of autogenic feedback training (AFT) in
easing the symptons of motion sickness.  Cowings developed AFT -- a combination
of biofeedback and autogenic therapy (a learned, self-regulation technique) --
at Ames.

     Cowings, who first successfully tested the technique on two astronauts
during a Space Shuttle flight in 1985, said AFT has several advantages over
using medication to treat motion sickness symptoms.

     "AFT produces relief with as little as 6 hours of training and it reduces
the behavioral and physiological reactions to even the most provocative motion
sickness stimuli," she said. "In addition, there are no side-effects such as
sleepiness, reduced short-term memory or blurred vision, as there may be with
drugs." Cowings added that AFT is effective in a wide range of individuals and
people remember the training a long time.

     Over the past 19 years, Cowings has trained more than 200 individuals,
including military pilots, in autogenic feedback.  She observed significant
improvement in motion tolerance in 85 percent of them.

     During the Spacelab-J mission, two crew members will wear special
instruments to record their physiological responses as they move about the
Spacelab and carry out normal mission tasks.  A portable, battery-powered
monitoring system worn on the belt will record such physiological measurements
as skin temperature, respiration rate and the heart's electrical currents.  One
crew member is AFT-trained. Another, non-AFT-trained, crew member serves as a
control.

     "If we're to have a permanent presence in space, we must know how gravity
affects the development of life at the cellular level," said Sally Schofield,
Ames' payload scientist. "We also must understand how people adapt to
microgravity and find ways to ease this process.  Ames' experiments address
these issues."

     Greg Schmidt, Ames' payload manager, said his team is anxious to get the
mission under way. "Thirty people at Ames have worked for over 8 years getting
ready for this mission," he said. "We are very excited about our role in this
international mission.  We're ready to go."

     Souza, Chief of Ames' Space Life Sciences Payloads Office, said the
Spacelab-J mission will be his office's third major life science mission in
about a year.

STS-47
1 00047U          92255.65952351  .00092000  00000-0  29200-3 0    44
2 00047  57.0019 106.3148 0009301 264.7374  95.2615 15.90241453    28

Satellite: STS-47
Catalog number: 00047
Epoch time:      92255.65952351 =====> (11 SEP 92   15:49:42.83 UTC)
Element set:     JSC-004
Inclination:       57.0019 deg
RA of node:       106.3148 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-47
Eccentricity:     .0009301           Pre-launch SGP4 Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:   264.7374 eg        Launch:  11 SEP 92  14:23:00 UTC
Mean anomaly:      95.2615 deg
Mean motion:   15.90241453 rev/day                 W5RRR
Decay rate:     9.2000e-04 rev/day^2      NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev:               2

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, AUG. 17, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - VAB TRANSFER AISLE

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbiter is parked in the  Vehicle  Assembly  Building  transfer
aisle.

WORK COMPLETED:
-  Transferred the vehicle from the OPF to the VAB transfer aisle
this morning.  Endeavour was towed atop the  orbiter  transporter
beginning at 1:35 a.m. and was in the transfer aisle at 2:09 a.m.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Lift of the orbiter for mate to the external tank and boosters
is pending resolution of the crane in the VAB.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for this weekend.

 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, AUG. 18, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - VAB TRANSFER AISLE

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbiter is parked in the  Vehicle  Assembly  Building  transfer
aisle.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Lift of the orbiter for mate to the external tank and boosters
is on hold pending resolution of the crane.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for this weekend.

 

        KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, AUG. 19, 1992  10 AM

 
          STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - VAB TRANSFER AISLE

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbiter is parked in the  Vehicle  Assembly  Building  transfer
aisle.
-  Preparations  to  build-up  the sling and test the cranes that
will be used to lift the orbiter.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Lift of the orbiter for mate to the external tank and  boosters
is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.  tonight. The investigation board
cleared the No. 2 and 3 cranes in the VAB for the lift and mating
operation of Endeavour.  The board is still conducting their  in-
vestigations of the No. 1 crane incident last week.
-  Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for midnight Monday,  Aug.
24.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test tentatively  planned  for
Aug. 27-28.
- Launch targeted for the second week of September.

 

          KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, AUG. 21, 1992  8 AM

 
           STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - VAB HIGH BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Making electrical connections between the vehicle elements.
- Connecting the T zero umbilicals to the vehicle.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Orbiter was hardmated to the external tank at 5:30 a.m.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Shuttle  Interface  Test  to  verify  connections  between  the
vehicle  elements  and  the launch platform set to begin Saturday
night.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for midnight  Monday,  Aug.
24.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test targeted for Aug. 27-28.
- Launch targeted for the second week of September.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, AUG. 24, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - VAB HIGH BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to roll the vehicle out to the launch pad.
- Pre-rollout inspections.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Shuttle Interface Test verified connections between the vehicle
elements and the launch platform.
- Electrical connections between the vehicle elements.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Retraction of the VAB platforms later tonight.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted to begin at 4  a.m.  tomor-
row.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test targeted for Aug. 27-28.
- Launch targeted for the second week of September.

 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26, 1992  10 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Making connections between the launch pad  facilities  and  the
vehicle elements.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Endeavour was hard down on the launch pad at 10:15 a.m. yester-
day.
-  At  1300  hours yesterday,  the rotating service structure was
moved into position around the vehicle.
- Endeavour was powered up last night.
- STS-47 flight crew members arrived at KSC last night  ahead  of
schedule to avoid adverse weather from Hurricane Andrew.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test begins at 8 a.m. Thursday
and ends with the simulated T zero at 11 a.m. Friday.
-  Main  engine  flight  readiness test and helium signature leak
tests this weekend.
- Launch targeted for the second week of September.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, AUG. 27, 1992  10 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test began at 0800 today.
- Circulating the hydraulic fluid.
- Preparations to load hypergolic propellants into the  orbiter's
onboard storage tanks.

STS-47 FLIGHT CREW ACTIVITIES:
-  Commander Hoot Gibson and Pilot Curt Brown practiced flying in
the Shuttle Training Aircraft this morning while the rest of  the
crew visited principal investigators for Spacelab J at  Hangar L.
This  morning,  KSC  shuttle and payload team members will update
the crew on the status of the vehicle and payloads.  Later today,
the  crew  will  receive routine emergency escape training proce-
dures at the launch pad.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Made connections between the vehicle and pad elements.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test ends with the simulated T
zero at 11 a.m. tomorrow.
- Main engine flight readiness test  and  helium  signature  leak
tests this weekend.
- Flight Readiness Review scheduled for Sept. 1.
- Launch targeted for September 12.

 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, AUG. 28, 1992  11 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test successfully concluded at
11 a.m. today with a planned and simulated main engine cutoff.
- Preparations for the main engine flight  readiness  test  which
cycles engine valves many times and verifies the response.
-  Preparations to load hypergolic propellants into the orbiter's
onboard storage tanks.

STS-47 FLIGHT CREW ACTIVITIES:
- Crew practiced launch day activities as part of the TCDT.  STS-
47 crew members will return to Houston at 2 p.m.  today for final
flight preparations.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Main engine flight readiness test  and  helium  signature  leak
tests this weekend.
-  Loading  hypergolic  propellant  into  the  orbiter's  onboard
storage tanks next week.  The propellant is used by the orbiter's
on-orbit thrusters and engines.
- Flight Readiness Review scheduled for Sept. 1.
- Launch targeted for September 12.

 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 1992 -- 12:30 P.M.
 --------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Pad cleared for the loading of hypergolic fuels on board the
   orbiter (pad will remain closed through midnight Tuesday
   night)

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine flight readiness test
*  Helium signature test
*  Inertial Measurement Unit calibrations
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT)

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Hypergolic fuel pressurization
*  Flight Readiness Review (Tuesday)

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, SEPT. 1, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
 --------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Pad cleared for the loading of hypergolic fuels on board the
   orbiter (pad will remain closed through tomorrow afternoon)
*  Flight Readiness Review
*  Launch countdown preparations

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine flight readiness test
*  Helium signature test
*  Inertial Measurement Unit calibrations
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT)

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Hypergolic fuel pressurization
*  Orbiter aft closeouts
*  Further troubleshooting of the 2-inch gaseous oxygen line
   quick disconnect valve near the main propulsion system's 17-
   inch liquid oxygen umbilical


 

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                September 1, 1992

Mitch Varnes
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

NASA TO LAUNCH JOINT U.S./JAPANESE FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 12

        NASA has targeted the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a joint
U.S./Japanese mission on Sept. 12, 1992, pending resolution of a technical
problem in connection with an oxygen line in the orbiter's main propulsion
system.  If the problem is not resolved by the end of the week, managers will
reassess the launch date.

        Endeavour's 7-member crew will be launched from the Kennedy Space
Center, Fla., during a window that extends from 10:23 a.m. to 2:17 p.m.  EDT.
The 6-day, 20-hour and 36-minute mission will end with a landing on Sept.19 at
the Kennedy Space Center.

        STS-47, also called Spacelab J, will be the 50th launch of the Space
Shuttle and the second for Endeavour. Aboard the orbiting laboratory will be 43
experiments provided by Japan and the U.S. Astronaut Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson,
making his fourth flight, will be the Mission Commander. The Pilot is Curtis L.
Brown, Jr. Mission specialists are Mark Lee, Jay Apt, N. Jan Davis and Mae C.
Jemison. Japan's Mamoru Mohri will be the Payload Specialist.

        Spacelab J's primary objective is to use the space environment to study
important scientific and technical questions in materials science, life science
and technology.

      KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
        --------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Open pad for normal operations following hypergolic loading
   operations
*  Launch countdown preparations
*  Further troubleshooting of the 2-inch gaseous oxygen line
   quick disconnect valve near the main propulsion system's 17-
   inch liquid oxygen umbilical

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Flight Readiness Review (managers picked launch date Sept. 12
   contingent on troubleshooting efforts on 2-inch gaseous oxygen
   line quick disconnect valve)
*  Loading of hypergolic fuels on board the orbiter

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Auxiliary Power Unit leak checks
*  Orbiter aft closeouts

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
 --------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Launch countdown preparations
*  Continue troubleshooting of the 2-inch gaseous oxygen line
   quick disconnect valve near the main propulsion system's 17-
   inch liquid oxygen umbilical. Reassembly of line is in work.
   Leak checks set for tonight.
*  Orbiter aft closeouts
*  Installation of crew escape pole
*  Ordnance range safety checks

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Contingency Extravehicular Mobility Unit installation into
   orbiter and functional checkout

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Ordnance operations (Saturday morning)
*  Purge of the external tank (Tuesday)
*  Countdown scheduled to pick up at T-43 hour mark at 3:00 a.m.
   Wednesday, Sept. 9
*  STS-47 crew scheduled to arrive at KSC Wednesday morning

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, SEPT. 8, 1992  11 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to start the STS-47 launch countdown.
- Purges of the external tank.
- Pulling work platforms out of the aft  compartment.  The  doors
are scheduled to be installed for flight tonight.
- Stowing gear in the crew module.

STS-47 FLIGHT CREW ACTIVITIES:
-  Crew members are scheduled to arrive at 8:30 a.m.  tomorrow at
the Shuttle Landing Facility.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Begin launch countdown clock at 0300 tomorrow.
- Move rotating service structure away from the vehicle  at  1100
Friday.
-  Begin  loading cryogenic propellants into the external tank at
0203 Saturday.
- Launch at 10:23 a.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 12.

WEATHER FORECAST:
- Forecasters are predicting an 80 percent chance of  having  ac-
ceptable conditions at launch time on Saturday.


 

Includes mission logo, cargo bay layout, numerous text edits/fixes.

Same spot:  pragma::public:[nasa]sts-47.ps

16 pages


- dave

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
 --------------------------------------------------------------

 
      STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Launch countdown picked-up this morning at 3:00 a.m. at the
   T-43 hour mark.
*  Aft confidence test
*  Spacelab-J late stowage operations
*  Pad surface and flame trench washdown

WORK COMPLETED:
*  STS-47 crew arrived at KSC at 8:30 this morning
*  Orbiter aft closeouts
*  Purges of the external tank

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Close pad at midnight tonight for ordnance Pyrotechnic
   Initiator Controller tests. This operation will be followed by
   loading the onboard storage tanks with cryogenic fuels.
*  Countdown clock will enter an 8-hour planned built-in hold at
   the T-27 hour mark at 7:00 p.m. today.
*  Forecasters are predicting only a 20 percent chance of weather
   violations for the duration of the 2 1/2 hour window which
   opens at 10:23 a.m. Sept. 12.

 

STS-47
1 00047U          92256.65952624  .00092000  00000-0  29200-3 0    59
2 00047  57.0020 107.3007 0012178 278.2332  81.7337 15.89557971    29

Satellite: STS-47
Catalog number: 00047
Epoch time:      92256.65952624 =====> (12 SEP 92   15:49:43.06 UTC)
Element set:     JSC-005
Inclination:       57.0020 deg
RA of node:       107.3007 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-47
Eccentricity:     .0012178           Prelaunch SGP4 Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:   278.2332 deg         Launch:  12 SEP 92  14:23 UTC
Mean anomaly:      81.7337 deg
Mean motion:   15.89557971 rev/day              G. L. Carman
Decay rate:     9.2000e-04 rev/day~2      NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev:               2

G.L.CARMAN

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, SEPT. 10, 1992  10 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B
                      LAUNCH MINUS TWO DAYS

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to disconnect the orbiter midbody  umbilical  unit
used  to load cryogenic reactants into the orbiter's onboard fuel
cell storage tanks.
- Activate the orbiter's communications system.
-  Preparations  to  load  time  critical  experiments  into  the
Spacelab module including the frogs and fish.
- Countdown clock enters planned 4-hour built-in hold at the T-19
hour mark.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Loaded liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen reactants into the or-
biter for use by the fuel cells.

STS-47 FLIGHT CREW ACTIVITIES:
-  Commander Hoot Gibson and Pilot Curt Brown flew in the Shuttle
Training Aircraft this morning.  Crew members receive  a  medical
exam today, review flight data files and collect baseline data.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Move  rotating service structure away from the vehicle at 1100
Friday.
- Begin loading cryogenic propellants into the external  tank  at
0203 Saturday.
-  Crew  wake-up time on Saturday morning is at 0458 for the blue
team and at 0528 for the red team.
- Crew breakfast is at 0558 Saturday.
- Flight crew departs for the launch pad at 0708 Saturday.
- Launch at 1023 EDT Saturday, Sept. 12.

WEATHER FORECAST:
- Forecasters are predicting an 80 percent chance of  having  ac-
ceptable conditions at launch time on Saturday.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, SEPT. 11, 1992  10 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B
                      LAUNCH MINUS ONE DAY

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to move the rotating service structure  away  from
the vehicle at 1100. Weather conditions could postpone that move.
- Stowing equipment into the crew module.
- Pre-launch inspections of the pad area.
- Configuring switches in the cockpit for the flight.
- Filling the sound suppression system water tank.
- Activate the orbiter's power producing fuel cells tonight.
- Countdown clock will resume at 2003.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the late experiments inside the spacelab including
the frogs and fish.
- Activated the orbiter's communications system.
- Closed out the tail service masts for launch.
-  Powered  up  the  three  shuttle  main  engine controllers and
verified the flight software.
- Countdown entered planned 21 hour,  3 minute built-in  hold  at
2300 last night.

STS-47 FLIGHT CREW ACTIVITIES:
- All seven crew members will be briefed by the astronaut support
personnel  in  preparation  for tomorrow's activities.  A weather
briefing will be held for the crew today   Commander Hoot Gibson,
Pilot Curt Brown and Mission Specialist Mark Lee are scheduled to
fly in the T-38 jets this morning.
     The Blue team will sleep between 1000 and 1800  today.  They
will have the option of taking a nap before launch day procedures
begin  at  0458 tomorrow.  The red team will be going to sleep at
2130 tonight.

LAUNCH DAY TIMELINE:
- Countdown enters one-hour built-in hold at 0103 tomorrow.
- Begin loading cryogenic propellants into the external  tank  at
0203 Saturday.
-  Crew  wake-up time on Saturday morning is at 0458 for the blue
team and at 0528 for the red team.
- Crew breakfast is at 0558 Saturday.
- Flight crew departs for the launch pad at 0708 Saturday.
- Launch at 1023 EDT Saturday,  Sept.  12.  Launch window extends
for two and a half hours or until 1253 tomorrow.

WEATHER FORECAST:
-  With a possibility of having rainshowers in the area at launch
time,  forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance  of  having
acceptable conditions at launch time on Saturday.

 

If the SPACE conference moves next week (during the flight), I will be
offering the MCC status reports (plus any other important news) from the
archive located at:

    PRAGMA::PUBLIC:[NASA.STS-47]

The reports will be transcribed to the SPACE conference when it comes back
online and the files deleted from PRAGMA.

FYI,

- dave

STS-47 Launch 9/12/92

The Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off this morning at 9:23:00.068 am CDT to
begin the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission.

Status reports from Mission Control at the Johnson Center and the
Spacelab Mission Operations Center in Huntsville normally begin to be
issued about 6-12 hours after launch.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 MCC Status Report 1
September 12, 1992
10 a.m. Central

The three main engines of the Space Shuttle Endeavour roared to life at 9:23
a.m.  Central giving the first Japanese Spacelab mission an on-time start.

Endeavour breezed through a flawless countdown before carrying its seven-member
crew, and the 43 Spacelab-J experiments safely to a 160 n.m. orbit.

Later today, crew members will begin powering up the Spacelab module.  The 2
1/2- hour procedure activates the Spacelab module and the experiment hardware.
The Spacelab-J payload complement includes 24 materials sciences investigations
and 19 life sciences experiments.  Of those 43 experiments, 34 are provided by
Japanese investigators and 9 are provided by the United States.

For the STS-47 mission, the seven-member crew will be divided into two teams
for 24- hour experiment operations.  The Red Team consists of Pilot Curt Brown,
Payload Commander Mark Lee and Japan's first shuttle Payload Specialist Mamoru
Morhi. The Blue Team includes Mission Specialists Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae
Jemison. STS-47 Commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson is free to align his sleep
schedule as appropriate but plans to follow the Red Team.

The Blue Team will be the first to have a sleep period starting today at about
1 p.m.  Central, while the Red Team starts the payload operations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #2


Saturday, September 12, 1992, 4:30 p.m. CDT

  Endeavour lifted off at 9:23 a.m.  CDT this morning on the fiftieth flight of
the Space Shuttle Program.

After a near-perfect ascent phase, the seven-member crew split into two work
teams for seven days of around-the-clock science investigations.  The Blue Team
went to sleep about 12:30 p.m.  CDT, while the Red Team proceeded with their
work schedule.

The Red Team, headed by mission commander "Hoot" Gibson, pilot Curt Brown, the
payload commander Mark Lee and payload specialist Mamoru Mohri began their
first full day's work in space.  Lee and Mohri, assisted by Brown, completed
the Spacelab activation tasks smoothly, completing that task a few minutes
ahead of schedule.

Lee entered the on-orbit laboratory first, at about 12:26 p.m.  CDT, followed
by Mohri. Lee and Mohri continue setting up and turning on the 43 experiments
carried in the Spacelab module.

Soon after entering the lab, Lee reported seeing a small amount of water at the
Spacelab rack 10 bypass valve.  Lee cleaned up the water and later sent
camcorder video so that both Mission Control and Payload Operations Control
engineers could evaluate the leak.  Ground controllers here in Houston are
monitoring the Orbiter and Spacelab systems to assist the Marshall payload
controllers in troubleshooting currently under way at both Centers.

The Blue Team of mission specialists Jay Apt, Mae Jemison and Jan Davis will
awaken about 7:30 p.m.  CDT to prepare for their first full work day of mission
STS-47. The Blue Team will take over from the Red Team about 9:30 p.m.  CDT.

Endeavour's systems continue to perform normally, with no problems being
worked.  Endeavour circles the Earth every 90 minutes at 163 nautical miles
altitude.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #01
6:30 p.m. CDT, September 12, 1992
00/09:05 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


The 50th Space Shuttle flight lifted off today on a mission known
as Spacelab-J, a joint venture between the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) and the National Space Development
Agency of Japan (NASDA).  Once orbital altitude had been reached,
Payload Commander Mark Lee was given the "go ahead" to activate the
Spacelab module, located in the payload bay of Space Shuttle
Endeavour.  Here, crewmembers will spend the next seven days,
working around the clock in two 12-hour shifts, conducting 43
experiments in the areas of materials and life sciences.

Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese astronaut to
fly in space, began a life sciences experiment to evaluate the
effect of low gravity on the distribution of microfilaments in
monkey kidney cells.  These cells are contained in cell culture
kits, consisting of soft cases that contain culture vessels used to
observe cell growth, extract materials produced by these cells and
suspend the growth of these cells for inspection after the
mission.

Another life sciences investigation was initiated when Lee moved
the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)/Sperm kit from the orbiter
mid-deck to the Spacelab refrigerator.  HCG is a human hormone
which Lee will inject into four female frogs to induce ovulation.
Once eggs from these African clawed frogs have been harvested, they
will be fertilized, to provide information about the manner in
which they develop in space.  Half of the fertilized eggs will be
placed in an incubator, allowing them to develop in the near
weightless enviornment of space.  The other half of these eggs will
be placed in a centrifuge that spins to simulate normal gravity.
This experiment is designed to help scientists learn more about
what role gravity plays in the early development of an organism.
Principal investigator Dr. Kenneth Souza of NASA's Ames Research
Center will study the results of this investigation to see if new
generations of a species can be conceived and develop normally in a
microgravity environment.

Lee also activated the Materials Experiment Laboratory today.
During the activities associated with this activation, he noticed a
water leak at one of the valves in the fluid cooling system
associated with some of the experiments in Spacelab rack 10.
Scientists and engineers at the Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Center in Huntsville, Ala., decided to have Lee isolate the leak by
shutting off valves going to and from the experiments in rack 10.
This action prevented further loss of water until engineers can
determine how to troubleshoot the cooling system.  Until then,
materials science experiments which do not generate a great amount
of heat will continue in this NASDA facility.  However, the
investigations scheduled to use the high-temperature furnaces
located in rack 10 will not be activated until the cooling system
for this experiment rack is fully operational.

Also during this first 12-hour shift, Lee will begin an experiment
which will study the effect of microgravity on the metabolism of
calcium and bone formation.  Before humans can live and work for
long periods of time in space, we must first understand what causes
the loss of calcium from bones and the resultant loss of bone
density.  Then, scientists such as principal investigator Dr.
Tatsuo Suda of Showa University can work toward developing
countermeasures for this space-related problem.  In this Spacelab-J
experiment, 30 fertilized chicken eggs will be kept at a constant
temperature in a thermoelectric incubator.  After landing, some of
these eggs will be examined immediately to determine bone formation
and the rest of the eggs will be allowed to develope to maturity,
providing data on future development of eggs exposed to the
weightlessness of space.

Pilot Curtis Brown activated the Protein Crystal Growth (PCG)
experiment, located in the orbiter mid-deck, during this shift.
PCG is part of the Spacelab-J payload in an effort to produce
large, high-quality crystals of selected proteins under controlled
conditions in space.  The crystals will grow in special hollow
chambers, engineered to expose crystal droplets to saturated
precipitant vapor solutions.

During the next 12-hours, Mission Specialists Jan Davis and Science
Mission Specialists Mae Jemison, will continue the activities
associated with materials and life sciences.  Davis and Jemison
will perform echocardiographic scans as part of the Lower Body
Negative Pressure experiment to help scientists find
countermeasures for the effects of lower body fluid loss during
spaceflight.  Davis also will work with an experiment to fabricate
light-weight materials in space.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #3

Saturday, September 12, 1992, 11:30 p.m.  CDT

Endeavour's Blue Team began its first full work shift in orbit about 7:30 p.m.
CDT as Mission Specialists Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison continued to
activate the Spacelab-J experiments.

The orbiter continues to function well on this, the 50th flight of the Space
Shuttle Program, with only minor difficulties being reported on spacecraft
systems.

Apt reported that the Get Away Special canisters in the payload bay had been
activated.  Endeavour is carrying nine canisters that will perform experiments
ranging from an analysis of biochemistry structures in microgravity sponsored
by the University of Kansas Space Program to a study of the behavior of bread
yeast sponsored by Spar Aerospace Ltd of Canada.

Flight controllers in Mission Control continued to cooperate with Payload
Operations Control Center engineers in trying to track down a water leak in
Spacelab rack 10.  The leak was discovered shortly after Payload Commander Mark
Lee entered the Space lab module to begin activation.  Lee cleaned up the water
and sent camcorder video to help troubleshooters in Houston and at Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Endeavour is circling the Earth every 90 minutes at 164 nautical miles and an
inclination of 57 degrees from the equator.  The crew reported a good Earth
observations photography pass paralleling the western coast of the United
States, including clear shots of San Francisco Bay.

The Red Team, made up of Commander Hoot Gibson, Pilot Curt Brown, Mark Lee and
Japanese Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri, is scheduled to awaken about 4:15
a.m.  CDT. The Blue Team will begin its sleep shift about 9:30 a.m.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #4
Sunday, September 13, 1992, 6 a.m. CDT

  All systems aboard Endeavour continue to perform well, allowing payload crew
members to devote full attention to the science experiments in the Spacelab
module.

While Blue Team Mission Specialists Jan Davis and Mae Jemison worked in the
module, Jay Apt on the flight deck monitored all orbiter systems and took
photographs in support of the Earth observation program.

He reported good visibility of Mount Etna and Lake Djerid in Algeria. Apt said
he was not able to see any definition of Hurricane Iniki, which passed across
Hawaii Friday.

Apt also reported that the Shuttle Amateur Radio (SAREX) equipment appears to
be working well.  He checked the experiment after a pass over Japan and said
several transmissions were received in the computer database.

The Red Team made up of Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri
awoke just after 4 a.m. today to begin its second day on orbit.

The only problems aboard Endeavour were a lost thruster jet on the tail of the
orbiter and a sluggish cooling unit for one of the hydraulic units.  Neither
anomaly impacts the duration of the mission, which is planned to end Saturday
with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center.

A small leak in the Spacelab module water loop system was isolated to a fitting
behind one of the experiment racks.  A possible maintenance procedure is being
worked in Huntsville and in Houston to fix the problem.

The water loop is used to cool experiments and is required for operation of
four experiment furnaces.  The remaining experiments are not affected by the
leak.

Endeavour is circling the Earth every 90 minutes in an orbit 166 by 162
nautical miles.  The attitude of the orbiter, called gravity gradient,
minimizes the number of jet firings so as not to disturb the experiments
ongoing in the Spacelab module.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #02

6:00 a.m. CDT, September 13, 1992
00/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


NASA and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA),
have embarked on a joint mission of scientific discovery, called
Spacelab-J, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.  In addition to
gaining new knowledge through materials- and life-sciences studies,
Spacelab-J is a precursor to long-term microgravity research to be
conducted later this decade aboard Space Station Freedom, an
international project with the U.S., Japan, the European Space
Agency and Canada as partners.

The Blue Team, consisting of Mission Specialists Dr. Jay Apt and
Dr. Jan Davis, and Science Mission Specialist Dr. Mae Jemison,
began their first 12-hour shift. They modified experiment
procedures and rearranged their schedules to accommodate research
planned for later in the mission.  These experiments did not
require any of the furnaces affected by a leak in the rack 10
Materials Experiment Laboratory fluid loop.  The importance of
human presence in space is underscored as ground controllers are
planning to have a crew member troubleshoot the leak to restore
operation of the affected furnaces in rack 10.

The NASDA Materials Science Team at NASA's Spacelab Mission
Operations Control center in Huntsville, Ala., watched real-time
video images of the Gas Evaporation Facility experiment, conducted
by Jemison, in which metal filaments in glass bulbs were vaporized
by heating.  The resulting fine-powder coating the inside of the
bulbs will be studied upon return to Earth by principal
investigator Dr. Nobuhiko Wada of Nagoya University. Such powder is
used for coatings on magnetic and optical recording materials and
fluorescent screens.  Gravity affects the formation and
solidification of the particles; space-based processing may lead to
more uniformly distributed particle coatings that might improve
transmission properties.

Davis activated the Continuous Heating Furnace and initiated
several NASDA materials-science experiments designed to produce new
materials and develop new processing techniques.  One experiment
tried a method to make superior composite materials and another may
help scientists gain a better understanding of liquid-metal alloys.

Composite materials are stronger and lighter than conventional
materials such as wood.  When produced on Earth, processing
techniques designed to reduce gravity-induced settling may affect
their quality.  A clearer understanding of how component materials,
in this case aluminum and carbon fibers, arrange during the
formation of advanced composites, may lead to processing techniques
to produce materials suitable for space construction.

Dr. Takehiro Dan of the National Research Institute for Metals,
designed an experiment to learn more about how atoms in an alloy
composed of liquid metals, in this case silver and gold, distribute
when processed in low gravity.  Conducting such research in space
minimizes gravitational forces that lead to undesirable thermal
convection responsible for movement in liquid-metal alloys.
Davis processed these samples in the Continuous Heating Furnace.

Jemison made the first check of the Space Acceleration Measurement
System that collects data about the vibrations in Spacelab
throughout the mission.  This data helps scientists understand
experiment results in relation to when vibrations occur and gives
engineers information about how to build hardware and to plan
placement of sensitive experiments where they are least likely to
experience disturbances.

Life sciences research conducted by Davis and Jemison included
participation in an experiment to prevent or minimize space motion
sickness, which affects some space travelers.  The test subject
received biofeedback training, a method to gain conscious control
over supposedly involuntary bodily responses such as heart rate and
respiration.  The control subject did not receive biofeedback
training.  Both wear portable equipment during the first three days
of flight, except when sleeping, that records various physical data
for post-flight analysis at NASA's Ames Research Center.  This
research may help future space travelers adapt more quickly to
living and working in low gravity.

Jemison performed a portion of the Frog Embryology Experiment when
she injected four female frogs with a hormone to induce ovulation.
The frogs are expected to be producing eggs by Jemison's next
shift, at which time she will apply sperm and observe the
fertilization process under a microscope equipped with a video
camera.

Davis worked with fruit fly larvae in an experiment to learn more
about the effects of exposure to high-energy cosmic rays on living
organisms.  She also rotated fertilized chicken eggs that are kept
in the orbiter mid-deck.  The objective of this experiment is to
gain a better understanding of how bones develop and form during
spaceflight in preparation for longer missions.

During the next 12-hour shift, Mission Specialist Mark Lee and
Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri will continue bone cell research,
check the response of carp fish to low gravity, and perform physics
research in a phenomenon known as Marangoni convection.

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #5
3:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time
6 a.m. Tokyo (Monday, Sept. 14, 1992)
Sunday, September 13, 1992


Space Shuttle Endeavour is operating well with science investigations
progressing as planned in the orbiting laboratory.

The Red Team made up of Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri have
been working since about 7 a.m.  CDT. They are scheduled to hand over to the
Blue Team of Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison at 7:30 p.m.  CDT.

Endeavour is functioning almost without fault.  Only two problems occurred
early in the flight and are of no significance.  The first, a faulty steering
jet--one of 48 such jets on Endeavour--has been turned off and will not be
needed for the rest of the flight.  The second, a sluggish cooling unit on one
of three generators that power the hydraulics used by the shuttle during launch
and landing, is still being analyzed by engineers.  However, even at worst, it
would have no impact on the landing, which is planned for Saturday at Kennedy
Space Center.

A small leak in the Spacelab module water loop system was isolated to a fitting
behind one of the experiment racks.

About 4:20 p.m.  CDT today, Mark Lee and Curt Brown will go through a set of
leak repair procedures developed by ground control teams in Houston and
Huntsville. Engineers expect that tightening a loose fitting will stop the
leak and allow all the rack 10 experiments to be turned on.

The water loop is used to cool experiments and is required for operation of
four experiment furnaces.  The remaining experiments are not affected by the
leak.

Endeavour orbits the Earth every 90 minutes in a near-circular orbit of 165.6
by 164.3 nautical miles.  The attitude of the orbiter, called gravity
gradient, minimizes the number of jet firings so as not to disturb the
experiments sensitive to movement in the Spacelab module.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #03
8:00 p.m. CDT, September 13, 1992
01/10:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


The Red shift crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour spent their
second day in space conducting the life- and materials-science
research of Spacelab-J.  Downlinked video from the experiment
module gave scientists at the Spacelab Mission Operations Control
center in Huntsville, Ala., a "bird's eye" view of the activities
of Pilot Curtis Brown, Mission Specialist Mark Lee and Payload
Specialist Mamoru Mohri.

Lee monitored the health of two carp as they were subjected to
light coming alternately from the top and side of their containers,
called fish packs.  Within the confines of their "aquariums in
space," the carp were reported to be healthy and moving around in
response to the light stimulation.  One of the carp has had its
otolith, a gravity-sensing organ, removed to provide a comparison
of the extent of sensory conflicts in microgravity.  An electrode,
placed on the cerebellar surface of the carp, provides electronic
data to the science team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
concerning the condition and response of the fish during this
mission.  This experiment is a NASDA investigation to help
scientists better understand the differences between signals sent
to the brain from the eyes and inner ear.  Principal investigator
Dr. Shigeo Mori of Nagoya University will use the data gathered
from this experiment to identify causes of Space Adaptation
Syndrome, a condition experienced by many space travelers during
the first day or two in weightlessness.

Mohri was the subject of two other life science investigations to
evaluate the various contributing factors linked to Space
Adaptation Syndrome.  These experiments focused on the loss of
visual stability, caused by the lack of coordination between
movements of the eyes, head and body.  In the first study of
hand-eye coordination, Mohri tracked a light target while his eye
movements and neck motion were measured.  This was performed while
he was in three different orientations -- rightside up and two
45-degree positions.  The second evaluation functioned somewhat
like a video game.  Mohri used a joystick to control the
illumination of lights centered on the visual stimulator, a cross
made of two bars mounted with 255 lights.  Results from experiments
like these could be important for determining how the eye responds
to simple visual stimuli in microgravity conditions and the types
and amount of automated assistance required for controlling a
spacecraft.

Brown performed a seeding operation on two proteins in the Protein
Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment.  First, a hormone receptor
frequently associated with cancerous tumors was seeded, followed by
the seeding of a protein which delivers amino acids from cells to
assembled chains of proteins.  Brown placed seeds of these protein
crystals into protein droplets, then photographed the chambers
containing the samples.  These samples will be allowed to grow in
the PCG facility for several days to produce large, high quality
crystals, as well as to evaluate the role that fluid disturbances
play in the creation of defective crystals.

Twelve hours after the female frogs on board Spacelab-J were
injected with a hormone to induce ovulation, Lee checked for
evidence of egg production. He reported that one of the frogs had
shed enough eggs to use in the fertilization activity scheduled
during the next shift.  This experiment is designed to determine
the role that gravity plays in the fertilization and development of
amphibians.

Lee performed an inflight maintenance procedure to pinpoint the
exact location of a water leak in the cooling supply system for
NASDA's rack 10.  After deactivating the furnaces associated with
this equipment rack, Lee unstowed the necessary tools and went to
work, cutting away the insulation covering the water supply where
moisture was first observed.  Next, he slowly opened the water
supply valve, allowing liquid to flow into the Materials Experiment
Laboratory (MEL) facility.  Lee was able to isolate the point where
water was slowly leaking -- around the MEL valve.  After
retightening the valve nuts and making another inspection, no
further leakage was noted.  Next he inspected the MEL bypass valve
and no evidence of a leak was detected.  Lee got the go ahead to
reactivate the MEL facility, which contains high-temperature
furnaces in which materials processing experiments will be
conducted.  It is believed that this malfunction procedure was
completely successful and that all science planned for this
facility will be conducted.

During the next 12-hour shift, Science Mission Specialist Mae
Jemison will fertilize frog eggs harvested from the Frog Experiment
Unit.  Also Jemison and Mission Specialist Jan Davis will use the
echocardiogram to provide additional information concerning the
condition of their hearts as part of the Lower Body Negative
Pressure experiment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #6
6 a.m. Central Daylight Time
8 p.m. Tokyo
Monday, September 14, 1992

  The first reflight of Space Shuttle Endeavour sailed into its third day with
no systems problems being tracked by flight controllers in Mission Control.

  A healthy spacecraft allows the STS-47 crew members to devote full attention
to the experiments ongoing on the middeck of the orbiter and in the Spacelab
module.

  Mission Specialist Jay Apt took time out early this morning to send the first
video tape of a daytime pass over Japan. Tokyo was clearly visible in the
camcorder downlink.

  The Red Team, made up of Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri,
woke up about five this morning to begin its third day in space.  The Blue Team
is set to begin its next sleep period at 9 a.m.

  Circling the Earth each 90 minutes, Endeavour remains in a near- circular 165
by 163 nautical mile orbit in an attitude that minimizes the number of thruster
jet firings so as not to disturb sensitive experiments in the Spacelab module.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, SEPT. 14, 1992  11 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - ON-ORBIT

     For the first time since STS-61-B, a Shuttle was launched on
time Saturday  at  10:23:00.0680  a.m.  EDT.  Endeavour's  second
launch marked NASA's 50th Space Shuttle launch.

     The  STS-47  solid  rocket  boosters arrived at Hangar AF on
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1600 and 1830 yesterday. Both
boosters are secured in the work stands and  engineers  are  per-
forming  an  open  assessment  today.  A  preliminary look of the
boosters indicates they are in good condition.

     Launch pad 39-B sustained a minimal amount of  damage  as  a
result of Saturday's launch.  Mobile launcher platform No. 2 will
be moved from the pad to the refurbishment site tomorrow.

     Endeavour is scheduled to land on Saturday at Kennedy  Space
Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 6:59 a.m. EDT.

 

STS-47 MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #7
6 a.m. Central Daylight Time
8 p.m. Tokyo
Monday, September 14, 1992

  The first reflight of Space Shuttle Endeavour sailed into its third day with
no systems problems being tracked by flight controllers in Mission Control.

  A healthy spacecraft allows the STS-47 crew members to devote full attention
to the experiments ongoing on the middeck of the orbiter and in the Spacelab
module.

  Mission Specialist Jay Apt took time out early this morning to send the first
video tape of a daytime pass over Japan. Tokyo was clearly visible in the
camcorder downlink.

  The Red Team, made up of Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri,
woke up about five this morning to begin its third day in space.  The Blue Team
is set to begin its next sleep period at 9 a.m.

  Circling the Earth each 90 minutes, Endeavour remains in a near- circular 165
by 163 nautical mile orbit in an attitude that minimizes the number of thruster
jet firings so as not to disturb sensitive experiments in the Spacelab module.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #04
6:00 a.m. CDT, September 14, 1992
01/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Spacelab-J science activities aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour were
in full swing as Mission Specialist Dr. Jan Davis and Science
Mission Specialist Dr. Mae Jemison continued conducting
around-the-clock experiment operations during this joint mission
between NASA and the Japanese Space Agency NASDA.  In addition to
furthering life sciences and materials processing research, this
mission exemplifies international cooperation as the two nations
prepare for long-term science activities to be conducted aboard
Space Station Freedom, along with their partners the European Space
Agency and Canada.

Davis processed materials samples in the Continuous Heating
Furnace, which provides high temperatures to melt compound
materials and rapidly cools to solidify two sets of samples
simultaneously.  The samples processed during this 12-hour shift
were semiconductor and superconductor crystals that form an
integral part of modern electronics.  Gravity may affect crystal
formation on Earth, where convection and settling can produce flaws
in crystalline structures.  In space, more uniform crystals may be
produced.  The resulting crystals will be returned to Earth for
in-depth study of their structures and electronic properties.

Davis also initiated an experiment to study Marangoni convection.
On Earth, gravity-driven convection causes movement in ingredients
when heated.  In the Marangoni Convection Unit, paraffin was heated
and the path of aluminum tracer flakes videotaped.  Alternate
Payload Specialist Dr. Stanely Koszelak, stationed in the Payload
Operations Control Center at Marshall Center's Spacelab Mission
Operations Control, provided feedback as Davis adjusted cameras to
give a better view of real-time video of the experiment's progress
for principal investigator Dr. Shintaro Enya and his team from
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co.  The video data will be
studied to gain a better understanding of materials processing in
low gravity.

Jemison spent most of her shift working with the Frog Embryology
Experiment (FEE). She moved fertilized frog eggs into the General
Purpose Workstation, an enclosed compartment for specimen
manipulation, and then observed them under a microscope equipped
with a video camera.  Dr. Ken Souza of NASA's Ames Research Center
was voice-enabled from Marshall Center's Science Operations Area
(SOA), affirming that he and his team agreed with her selection of
the two best egg-donor frogs from among the four carried on board.

Half of the previously fertilized test eggs harvested from these
frogs were placed in a centrifuge that provides artificial gravity.
The remainder are developing in low gravity.  Later, when the
workstation door stuck, she spoke with FEE Payload Manager Greg
Schmidt, also in the SOA, who approved of a plan by Jemison and
Davis to free the door's movement, which was successful.
Researchers are interested in how amphibian embryos develop in low
gravity versus those fertilized and allowed to develop on Earth.

As part of the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) experiment,
Jemison and Davis each took echocardiograms (ultrasound
two-dimensional measurements), of their hearts.  Heart rate, blood
pressure and leg volume measurements also were recorded.  This is
one step in a procedure to help astronauts returning from space
missions that is being developed by Dr. John Charles of NASA's
Johnson Space Center.  On Earth, gravity assists the flow of body
fluids, such as blood.  In low gravity, fluids shift toward the
upper body. This can cause fainting or near-fainting upon returning
to Earth.  As the mission proceeds, each will perform additional
LBNP steps that include using a cylindrical fabric device which
seals around the waist; a pump system then pulls fluids from the
upper to the lower body, where they should remain for up to 24
hours.  Countermeasures such as these may help humans as they
readapt to life on Earth after stays in space.

During the next 12-hour shift, Japanese Payload Specialist Mamoru
Mohri and Mission Specialist Mark Lee will grow organic metal
crystals, look at the response of carp to light stimuli and conduct
an experiment to learn more about how cells grow in low gravity.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT
STS-47 Status Report #8

Monday, September 14, 1992, 3:30 P.M. CDT

  The Space Shuttle Endeavour's second mission is proceeding almost flawlessly
with no systems problems being tracked by flight controllers in Mission
Control.

The Red Team, made up of Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri, is
making good progress on tasks scheduled for their third working day in space.
Red Team members will hand over Spacelab and Orbiter operations to the Blue
Team about 6:30 p.m.  CDT today.

The Blue Team, Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison wakes up about 5 p.m.  CDT.

Flight controllers today accumulated enough surplus power and breathing air to
add one extra day to the STS-47 mission should the science team request
additional time on- orbit for experiments.  However, flight managers will not
make a final decision on a possible mission extension until Tuesday or
Wednesday.

Circling the Earth each 90 minutes, Endeavour remains in a near-circular 165 by
163 nautical mile orbit in an attitude that minimizes the number of thruster
jet firings so as not to disturb sensitive experiments in the Spacelab module.

- end -

Jeffrey Carr                     September 14, 1992
RELEASE NO. 92-050


Endeavour Astronaut Dr. Mae C. Jemison will speak, from orbit, with students
from Chicago area schools in a live television event with Chicago's Museum of
Science and Industry on Wednesday, September 16, 1992, just before 7 p.m.
central time.

The event has been developed through collaboration between NASA, the museum,
the Chicago Board of Education, and Chicago TV super station WGN, and will
feature grade school students from Jemison's home town who will question her on
various science topics related to space flight.

WGN will provide for the broadcast link with NASA's Johnson Space Center and
will provide pool feeds at the museum to news media interested in covering the
event in its entirety.

NASA Select Television will carry live video from Endeavour plus two-way audio
during the event.  NASA Select, carried on Satcom F2R transponder 13, is in the
public domain and is available for rebroadcast.

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Subject: Tadpole behavior 'abnormal' on space shuttle
Keywords: space, science, air force, military, air transport,
	transportation
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 14:45:18 PDT
Location: florida
ACategory: national
Slugword: shuttle
Priority: major
Format: regular
ANPA: Wc: 834; Id: z5969; Sel: flnss; Adate: 9-15-535ped; Ver: 7/5; V: ld
Approved: [email protected]
Codes: &nssrfl., &nmfrfl., &btarfl., taza....
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	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- Tadpoles hatched aboard the shuttle
Endeavour exhibited clearly abnormal behavior Tuesday, swimming in
circles and darting randomly about in an experiment to find out how
weightlessness might affect reproduction.
	Unlike a batch of African frog eggs fertilized by the astronauts
Sunday, the tadpoles studied Tuesday hatched from eggs that were
fertilized on Earth before Endeavour's takeoff Saturday from the Kennedy
Space Center.
	A half-dozen or so were dead. Principle investigator Kenneth Souza
said it was not immediately clear what role, if any, the absence of
gravity played in their demise.
	But scientists were clearly surprised by the behavior of the
survivors. Souza said by telephone from the Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Ala., that on Earth, such tadpoles swim in a head down
position, ``hovering'' in the water and ready to dive at any sign of
danger.
	``What we saw (aboard Endeavour) was very uncharacteristic,'' he
said. ``We saw all types of behavior. Some were doing backward flips and
they'd stop. Some were doing forward somersaults, then they might be
dormant for a while ... then they'd dart off.
	``There didn't seem to be any pattern, it was just very disjointed
behavior that we weren't expecting. Our knee jerk reaction is it looked
like just a bunch of disoriented, unpredictable behavior.''
	The eggs fertilized aboard the shuttle Sunday are expected to hatch
later this week and Souza said he was eager to find out whether they are
equally disturbed.
	Along with a full slate of medical and biological experiments,
Endeavour's five-man two-woman crew also is carrying out a battery of
materials science experiments using high-tech furnaces to grow ultra-
pure crystals useful in optical and electronic equipment.
	On board are commander Robert ``Hoot'' Gibson, 45, co-pilot Curtis
Brown, 36, flight engineer Jay Apt, 43, payload commander Mark Lee, 40,
and wife Jan Davis, 38, Mae Jemison, 35, and Japanese researcher Mamoru
Mohri, 44.
	With Endeavour's mission proceeding with only a few minor problems,
NASA managers are holding open the possibility of extending the planned
weeklong mission by one day, from Saturday to Sunday, to allow the crew
to gather bonus medical, biological and engineering data.
	``The crew is always ready to stay up a little bit longer and spend
another day doing this,'' Gibson told CNN. ``So we certainly would be
willing and more than ready to stay up and do that.''
	Added co-pilot Brown: ``You could probably break both legs and I'd
still stay up here. It's an awesome place.''
	All of the experiments are devoted to studying the benefits and
drawbacks of weightlessness.
	Early Tuesday, Davis and Jemison carried out ongoing biological
experiments, including one that uses slight differences in electrical
charge to obtain high concentrations of biological materials that are
difficult to obtain on Earth. Such research could result in new drugs.
	Jemison ran into problems with an experiment that uses sound waves to
suspend and manipulate drops of mineral oil. But she completed a three-
day experiment to find out if biofeedback techniques can combat the
symptoms of space sickness.
	The 50th shuttle mission features 43 experiments, 34 supplied by
Japan and nine by the United States. Japan paid $90 million to charter
Endeavour and the Spacelab research module mounted in the shuttle's
cargo bay. NASA chipped in $50 million.
	Joining the crew aboard Endeavour are two Japanese carp, 180 oriental
hornets, several thousand fruit flies and a variety of other biological
test subjects.
	The hornets are part of an Israeli experiment to find out how the
gravity-sensitive insects might build their nests in weightlessness. So
far, it appears the absence of gravity has disturbed the hornets as much
as the tadpoles.
	``There's no evidence of any kind of structures being built,''
radioed after peering into the cages and beaming down television views
to mission control. ``Actually, there's no evidence of any kind of
organized work at all.''
	``Yeah, Curt, we made the same observation here,'' replied astronaut
Sam Gemar from mission control in Houston. ``It seems like there's been
a lot of activity but it doesn't seem very organized.''
	``It's kind of like the Army, I reckon,'' Brown said to Gemar, a
lieutenant colonel in the Army.
	The goal of the frog research is to find out what affect gravity has
on the development of the resulting tadpoles. Throughout the rest of the
flight, selected eggs will be preserved, or ``fixed,'' at various stages
in their development while others will be allowed to mature into
tadpoles.
	By studying the development of the eggs, researchers hope to gain
insights into the possible dangers faced by humans and other animals
exposed to weightlessness for long periods in the future.

SL-J Mission Status Report #05
6:00 p.m. CDT, September 14, 1992
01/08:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


As the third day of the Spacelab-J mission got under way, Mission
Specialist Mark Lee and Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri entered the
23-foot-long Spacelab module to begin another day of life and
materials science research.

Mohri began his shift by activating the Image Furnace, which
supports experiments in crystal growth using the float-zone method
of heating.  Principal investigator Dr. Souhachi Iwai and
co-investigator Dr. Yasaburo Segawa of the Institute of Physical
and Chemical Research are hoping to produce a high-quality single
crystal which can be widely used in electronic applications
requiring infrared sensitivity.  After a sample of
lead-tin-tellurium was placed into the furnace, a melt zone was
established, with Mohri adjusting the power of the lamp inside.
Once the proper melt had been established, the furnace
automatically controlled the experiment procedures, moving two
mirrors and two halogen lamps slowly over the the sample.  Toward
the end of the sample processing, an error code, indicating some
resistance in the mechanism that moves the lamps and mirrors over
the sample, appeared on data being downlinked to the science team
on the ground.  Scientists and engineers at the Spacelab Mission
Operations Control center in Huntsville, Ala., decided to have
Mohri deactivate the Image Furnace and allow four hours for it to
cool down before removing the processed crystal and inserting
another sample.

Lee activated the small cell of the Organic Crystal Growth
Experiment Facility (OCF) and began the growth process of a single,
large metal crystal.  Organic metals are organic compounds that
have metal atoms or ions bound to them, allowing them to conduct
electricity.  A 35 mm camera, attached to a viewport in the OCF
cell, automatically took pictures of the growing crystal inside.
Upon deactivation of the small cell, Lee reported that the sample
did not appear to have reached the anticipated state of
crystallization.  The science team, gathered at the Spacelab
Mission Operations Control center will make a decision concerning
the option of processing a second sample of this metal crystal
later in the mission.  Principal investigator Dr. Hiroyuki Anzai of
the National Electrotechnical Laboratory is interested in this
experiment because it may discover new phenomena and will
contribute to the development of organic metals and crystal growth
in general.

Lee also conducted life science research today as he monitored the
activities of the carp while they were exposed to light
stimulations.  This experiment is a neurophysiological study to
determine the extent of the conflict between the signals being sent
to the brain from the eyes and inner ear.  Since many people suffer
from what is called Space Adaptation Syndrome for the first day or
two after launch, scientists such as principal investigator Dr.
Shigeo Mori of Nagoya University will analyze the data collected
during this mission to understand more about the causes of this
space-related condition.

Lee pulled out the General Purpose Workstation for his work with
the Frog Embryology Experiment.  His activities today involved
preserving fertilized frog eggs that have been developing for the
past 14 hours.  Two samples from eggs located in the centrifuge,
providing a gravity-type evironment, and two samples of eggs
developing in the weightlessness of space were preserved.  This
will provide principal investigator Dr. Kenneth Souza of NASA's
Ames Research Center with data showing the developmental stages of
amphibian eggs which have been harvested, fertilized and grown in
space.

To better understand the effects of microgravity on cell structure
and function, Mohri examined two types of cell cultures.  One type
of culture was hybridoma cells.  These cells are like cancer cells
in that they reproduce rapidly; however, hybridoma have a disease
fighting capability.  The second type of culture that Mohri worked
with was surface tissue from monkey kidney cells.  Bovine serum was
added to provide nutrients for the cells.  Dr. Atsushige Sato of
the Tokyo Medical and Dental University will use electron
microscopes and chemical analysis to observe the skeletal
structures, cell division and productivity of these cultures after
they are returned to Earth.

During the next 12-hour shift, Mission Specialist Jan Davis will
spend approximately five hours with an experiment to separate
animal cells, cellular organella and biogenic materials by a means
of electrophoresis.  Science Mission Specialist Mae Jemison will
examine the behavior of liquid drops in an acoustic field.  Jemison
also will preserve the stage of growth for some of the fertilized
frog eggs, as well as observe the behavior of tadpoles, hatched
prior to launch, as they swim in space.

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MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #9


Monday, September 14, 1992, 11:30 p.m. CDT

The Space Shuttle Endeavour continues to perform almost flawlessly with no
systems problems being tracked by flight controllers in the Mission Control
Center.

The Blue Team -- Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison -- continues to make
excellent progress on the materials processing, human physiology and cell
development experiments in the Spacelab-J module.

Shortly after Orbit 3 flight controllers took over, a power outage shut down
all displays in the control center.  Communications between Mission Control and
Endeavour were temporarily lost, but the Payload Operations Control Center at
the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., remained in contact with
the crew.  The outage lasted from 4:50 p.m.  CDT to 4:56 p.m.  CDT. While
flight controllers were in the dark, the Mission Operations Computer Center did
not lose power and there was no loss of data to the POCC. The cause of the
outage was traced to a faulty switch in the building that supplies power to the
MCC. The MCC had been using diesel generator power as a precaution while
thunderstorms were in the Houston area.  When technicians attempted to switch
back to commercial power, the faulty switch malfunctioned, causing the outage.
All MCC systems have been restored to normal and are using commercial power.

The Red Team -- Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri -- is in its
sleep shift, and is scheduled to awaken about 5 a.m.  CDT. Handover from the
Blue to Red Team will occur about 6:30 a.m.

Earlier in the day, Gibson and Brown installed a prefilter between the humidity
separators and the heat exchangers in the floor underneath the middeck as part
of a Development Test Objective. The prefilter is designed to keep clogs from
entering the humidty separators and causing leaks.  The water passing through
the filter appeared to be moving freely through a central tube, but was not
passing through an aluminum mesh material surrounding the tube as designed.
The Red Team closed the access to the prefilter before beginning its sleep
shift, and will reexamine the prefilter on its next work shift.

Flight controllers today accumulated enough surplus power and breathing air to
add one extra day to the STS-47 mission should the science team request more
time.  Flight managers will not make a final decision on a possible extension
until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Endeavour remains in a near-circular 165 by 163 nautical mile orbit in an
attitude that minimizes the number of thruster firings so as not to disturb
sensitive experiments in the Spacelab module.

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SL-J Mission Status Report #06
6:00 a.m. CDT, September 15, 1992
02/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


NASA and Japan's Space Agency NASDA continued their first joint
venture in low-gravity research, Spacelab-J, as Blue Team Mission
Specialist Dr. Jan Davis and Science Mission Specialist Dr. Mae
Jemison conducted science experiments in the pressurized Spacelab
module carried in Space Shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay.

As the Space Shuttle free-falls around Earth, a low-gravity, or
microgravity, environment is created.  Science performed in
Spacelab may reveal underlying physics phenomena and allow the
processing of materials free from the effects of gravity, such as
settling and thermal driven convection.  Full-time materials and
life sciences research are to be conducted later this decade
aboard Space Station Freedom by the U.S. and Japan, along with
their other international partners: Canada and the European Space
Agency.

Davis got an early start on her day as she talked with students on
the ground in Huntsville, Ala., part of the Shuttle Amateur Radio
Experiment, a project to permit radio contact between the Space
Shuttle crew and ham radio operators. Two of the youngsters are
licensed amateur radio operators. Blue Team crew member Dr. Jay
Apt reported that, so far, he has talked with 1,845 amateur
shortwave radio operators around the world.

Davis took step-by-step instructions from ground controllers at
Marshall Center's Spacelab Mission Operations Control as she
processed biological materials by electrophoresis.  Free-flow
electrophoresis is a method of separating mixtures of biological
materials with different charges into individual components, using
an electrical field.  Certain proteins and cellular components can
be difficult to separate on Earth due the effects of gravity,
because convection currents and sedimentation can remix
components.  Highly-purified products produced by electrophoresis
may contribute to the development of pharmaceuticals and
biomedical research.  Samples processed by Davis included
Salmonella bacteria and a variety of mixed proteins that will be
returned to Earth for futher study.

Jemison conducted an experiment to deploy a drop of mineral oil
and levitate it by sound waves in the Liquid Drop Facility, a box
with speakers positioned to focus sound waves strong enough to
position liquid drops.  The goal is to learn more about the
behavior of liquids in an acoustic field to aid in the development
of  "containerless" processing.  When materials are processed on
Earth, gravity can cause ingredients to settle and touch the

surface of containers, which may introduce impurities.  Processing
materials while levitated may lead to purer compounds.  Although
the experiments were not completely successful, co-investigator
Dr. Heihachiro Kamimura of Japan's National Aerospace Laboratory
thanked Jemison for her hard work and assured her that some
results were obtained that are not possible on Earth.

In the field of life science research, Jemison rotated chicken
eggs that are being flown to further knowledge of embryonic
development in space, especially on the bones and muscles.  This
experiment may provide insight into why bones become weaker and
lose calcium during stays in low gravity. The eggs are rotated
during each crew shift to simulate the action of hens on Earth.

Continuing her work with the Frog Embryology Experiment (FEE),
Jemison applied a formaldehyde mixture to stop the growth of
certain egg specimens fertilized earlier in the mission,
preserving them for post-flight study.  This process, called
fixation, will be performed at certain cell development stages
throughout the mission.  Additionally, Jemison gave the FEE
research team, stationed in the Science Operations Area of
Spacelab Mission Operations Control, a close look at tadpoles
hatched from eggs fertilized in the laboratory shortly before
launch.  These tadpoles are developing the otolith, an inner ear
balance system.  Scientists hope to learn more about the role that
gravity plays in the development of amphibian life and the
otolith's role in spatial orientation.

Davis and Jemison concluded data collection in an experiment
designed by Dr. Patricia Cowings of NASA's Ames Research Center
which examines the effectiveness of using biofeedback to
counteract the symptoms of Space Motion Sickness.  During space
flight, some crew members experience disorientation and
discomfort.  Dr. Cowings and her team are developing feedback
training procedures to teach astronauts to gain control over body
responses such as heart rate and respiration to enable them to
control such sickness without drugs.  After completing this third
day of diagnostic measurements, the monitoring equipment was
stowed.

Red Team members Mission Specialist Mark Lee and Payload
Specialist Mamoru Mohri will be monitoring the growth of crystals
in the Image Furnace and in the Organic Crystal Facility, as well
as checking on carp being flown to learn more about the inner
ear's relation to orientation.

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MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #10


Tuesday, September 15, 1992, 6:30 a.m. CDT
   Endeavour's crew sailed into its fourth day in space with no problems aboard
the Shuttle or the Spacelab module cradled in the payload bay.

Working 24 hours on two shifts called the Blue and Red Teams, the crew devoted
its full attention to experiment data gathering from instruments located on the
orbiter's middeck and in the Spacelab.

Mission Specialist Jay Apt took time out of his schedule to take part in a CBS
Radio interview answering questions ranging from international cooperation in
space to differences between Earth observations on his previous Shuttle mission
in April 1991 and this one.

Apt also showed some videotape of Earth views he shot as Endeavour flew high
above the African continent and reported receiving more than 1,800 contacts --
both voice and computer -- using the onboard ham radio equipment.

 The Red Team lead by Commander Hoot Gibson woke up about 5 a.m. and was
scheduled to take over for the Blue Team about 6:30 a.m..

 Endeavour remains in a near-circular 165 by 163 nautical mile orbit circling
the Earth every 90 minutes in an attitude that minimizes the number of thruster
firings so as not to disturb sensitive experiments in the Spacelab module.

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MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #11

Tuesday, September 15, 1992, 4:30 p.m. CDT

The Space Shuttle Endeavour today passed the mid-way point in its mission
carrying the Spacelab-J on-orbit laboratory.

The Red Team--Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri--will complete
their fourth working day in space with a hand over to the Blue Team--Jay Apt,
Jan Davis and Mae Jemison--about 6 p.m.  CDT. Blue Team members wake up about 5
p.m.  CDT.

Gibson and Brown have made scheduled observations and photography of the
mid-deck experiment called ISAIAH, the Israeli Space Agency Investigation About
Hornets. The ISAIAH experiment studies the effects of weightlessness on combs
built by oriental hornets.  From information gathered so far, investigators
report the hornets are in good health and moving around in the nest-building
material, but are not conducting their typical organized nest-building
activity.

Experimenters have noted some condensation building up in the lower hornet
compartment.  In an attempt to remove the excess moisture, at about 5 p.m.
CDT, Gibson and Brown will hook up a fan from one of the crew launch/entry
partial pressure suits to the air inlet at the front of the ISAIAH enclosure.
Engineers believe this procedure will increase the air volume going through the
hornet enclosure.  The oriental hornets are accustomed to a warm, dry
environment and excessive humidity can be harmful to their health.  If this
plan works as expected, Gibson and Brown may need to repeat the procedure at
two-day intervals for the remainder of the mission.

Endeavour remains in good health, with no significant problems being tracked by
the flight control team.  Inside Endeavour's crew cabin and laboratory, the
STS-47 crew circles Earth every 90 minutes in an orbit of 163 x 166 nautical
miles.

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SL-J Mission Status Report #07
6:00 p.m. CDT, September 15, 1992
03/08:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama

As Space Shuttle Endeavour continued its orbit of the Earth, crew members were
busy on their fourth day of the mission known as Spacelab-J. Forty-three
experiments make up the payload for this seven-day, joint venture between the
National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the National Space Development
Agency of Japan (NASDA), and several of these investigations were the focus of
today's research.

Dr. Mamoru Mohri completed the initial operation of the Acoustic Levitation
Furnace, one of several which make up Japan's Materials Experiment Laboratory
(MEL).  He successfully demonstrated that it is possible to heat a glass sample
while it is suspended to avoid contact with a container.  While the glass was
levitated by sound waves traveling between twin curved mirrors, it was heated
by the focused light of a pair of halogen lamps.  The glass was suspended for
an extended period, allowing it to melt and begin to cool, before a random
vibration moved it away from the center of its case and caused it to hit the
chamber wall.  Principal investigator Dr. Junji Hayakawa of the Government
Industrial Research Institute was very pleased with the first performance of
his experiment facility in space.  He asked that the crew avoid all contact
with the furnace panel to alleviate any possible vibrations duing the next
sample levitation session, scheduled for late Thursday afternoon.  This
experiment attempts to create a non-silicon-based glass with superior
transmission properties in the infrared wavelength region.

Mohri installed a sample containing an alloy of tungsten and nickel powder into
the Large Isothermal Furnace (LIF) to test a materials processing application
known as sintering.  Sintering is a process by which particles are joined
together to form a material using heat and pressure, without reaching the
melting point of one or both of the materials.  The sample of tungsten-nickel
mixture was installed in the LIF and heated at 2800 degrees Fahrenheit. Growth
of solid particles when one of the compounds is melted is of interest to
scientists, but cannot be studied effectively on Earth because gravity
segregates the solid particles.  The data gathered during this mission will
help scientists such as principal investigator Dr. Shiro Kohara of the Science
University of Tokyo better understand and possibly improve sintering processes
on Earth. It also raises the possibility of conducting such alloy manufacturing
in microgravity laboratories like Space Station Freedom.

In an effort to understand more about the factors that contribute to space
motion sickness, Mohri had his head in a stabilizing device while he tracked a
series of lights on a cross made of two bars.  The first part of this test
investigates how the eye responds to simple visual stimuli in microgravity
conditions.  The
                second use of this light-stimulation equipment tested hand-eye coo
rdination
under weightless conditions to gather data on human functioning and performance
during space travel.

One of Mission Specialist Mark Lee's many duties today included giving a report
on the health of the carp to scientists at the Spacelab Mission Operations
Control center in Huntsville, Ala. He mentioned that the fish looked the same
as they did on launch day and appeared to be in good health.  This verbal
report is in addition to the brain wave recordings made during the light
stimulation activities in their containers, which take place two times each
day.  By gathering data on the sensory conflict between eyes and inner ears
during Spacelab-J, scientists hope to better understand this difference and its
relationship to space motion sickness.

Lee worked with another experiment investigating the effects of space travel
when he exchanged the media (nutrient supply) in samples of rat bone-forming
cells, which have been growing in a thermoelectric incubator for several days.
Principal investigator Dr. Nicola Partridge of the St. Louis University School
of Medicine will analyze the data from this experiment to answer some of the
questions about the changes that take place when bone is subjected to
microgravity.  By understanding how spaceflight causes changes in bone cell
function, scientists can better understand why bones become weaker during
spaceflight.

Lee also inserted the second sample of the semiconductor material
lead-tin-tellurium into the Gradient Heating Furnace. Principal investigator
Dr. Tomoaki Yamada of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation hopes to
produce homogeneous single crystals, widely used in electronic applications.

During the next 12-hour shift, Science Mission Specialist Mae Jemison and
Mission Specialist Jan Davis will concentrate their efforts on providing
information about the effects of body fluid loss to the lower extremities
during space flight.  This investigation, known as the Lower Body Negative
Pressure Experiment, will help scientists develop countermeasures for the
effects of microgravity on the cardiovascular system for future space travel.
Jemison and Davis also will conduct other life and material sciences research
during their shift.

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STS-47 Status Report #12

MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Wednesday, September 16, 1992, 12:15 a.m. CDT

The Blue Team aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour is about half-way through its
Flight Day 5 shift, carrying out a busy schedule of experiments, Earth
observations photography and Shuttle Amateur Radio Contacts.

Mission Specialist Jay Apt, the flight engineer on this shift, continues to
take care of the housekeeping duties on an extremely "clean" orbiter.  Flight
controllers on the ground are working no serious problems with any orbiter
system.  Mission Specialists Mae Jemison and Jan Davis continue their work with
experiments in the Spacelab-J on-orbit laboratory.

Apt reported a successful SAREX contact with a group of students at McKinley
High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, the sixth such contact the Endeavour crew has
made with school groups so far.

Jemison and Davis had to cut short a planned Lower Body Negative Pressure
Devise ramp session when the surgeon monitoring Jemison's health during the
zero-gravity countermeasure experiment was unable to receive the expected data.

The Red Team--Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri--is scheduled
to awaken about 4 a.m. and begin its work shift about 5:30 a.m., when the Blue
Team begins its pre-sleep activities.

On the Red Team's last shift, Gibson and Brown carried out an in-flight
maintenance procedure designed to provide drier air for the Oriental hornets
that are the subject of the Israeli Space Agency Investigation About Hornets.
Experimenters have noted some condensation building up in the lower compartment
that could be detrimental to the hornets' health.  Brown and Gibson hooked up a
fan from one of the crew launch/entry partial pressure suits to the air inlet
at the front of the ISAIAH enclosure.  The effort reduced the humidity level
inside the middeck locker, but it rose again after the fan was disconnected
from the air inlet.  Apt is scheduled to begin setting up the fan again shortly
before the Red Team awakens.  The fan will be run during the handover period so
as not to disturb the sleep of the off-going team.

Endeavour continues to orbit the Earth every 90 minutes in an orbit of 163 x
166 nautical miles.

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MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #13


Wednesday, September 16, 6 a.m. CDT

Mission Control's overnight team assisted Endeavour's crew in troubleshooting a
laptop computer that temporarily malfunctioned and watched as Jay Apt attached
a makeshift air circulation device to reduce humidity levels in a middeck
locker experiment.

A screen problem on a payload general support computer briefly interrupted
insight into data systems in the Spacelab module, but the systems continued to
operate normally.  Rebooting the small computer recovered use of its screen.

 Just after the other crew members awoke, Apt activated a small air circulation
unit devised from one of the launch and entry suits to help reduce the humidity
level inside the Israel Space Agency Investigation About Hornets experiment on
Endeavour's middeck.

Commander Hoot Gibson performed this procedure yesterday and it proved
successful in reducing the condensation for the period of time the unit was
running.

The current plan is to perform this procedure every day when all seven crew
members are awake.

Three of the crew members are scheduled to conduct a "space classroom" this
morning with school children in Japan during a 30-minute program from space.

All systems aboard Endeavour continue to perform well during the second mission
of NASA's newest Space Shuttle.

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SL-J Mission Status Report #08
6:00 a.m. CDT, September 16, 1992
03/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Science activities aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour continued
around the clock during the Spacelab-J mission, a joint venture
between NASA and the National Space Development Agency of Japan
(NASDA).  Science Mission Specialist Dr. Mae Jemison and Mission
Specialist Dr. Jan Davis spent another busy 12-hour shift
performing a variety of life sciences and materials processing
experiments.

During space flight, fluids shift from the lower parts of the body
into the upper region.  Although this condition is not detrimental
in space, upon return to Earth space travelers may experience
problems caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, a condition
known as orthostatic intolerance.  Principal investigator Dr. John
Charles and his team from NASA's Johnson Space Center, are working
to overcome this problem with the Lower Body Negative Pressure
(LBNP) system. In this system, baseline physiological data is
taken, a saline solution is ingested, and negative pressure is
applied to the lower body.  First, Davis monitored Jemison in the
LBNP device, a cylindrical bag that seals around the waist and acts
as a pressure vessel to force fluids back into the lower
extremities.  During the first part of the procedure, the ramp
protocol, pressure to the lower body is gradually reduced, during
which time cardiovascular function is measured.  However, there was
a problem with Jemison's electrocardiogram tracing.  The problem
was remedied by reversing two of three electrode placement points.
Dr. Charles confirmed that the LBNP team was successfully receiving
the electrocardiogram measurements.  Jemison is scheduled for
another LBNP run during her next shift. Next, Jemison monitored
Davis as she participated in the soak protocol, an extended period
of decompression, which acts as a treatment for cardiovascular
deconditioning.  After obtaining baseline physiological data, Davis
took salt tablets and drank water during the first hour of
decompression treatment.  Jemison, a medical doctor, asked to
consult directly with Dr. Charles and concurred with a modification
to procedures based on the physiological data, which involved going
to a lower decompression level than planned.  Use of the LBNP in
previous missions showed that the effectiveness of the treatment
lasted for up to 24 hours.  Countermeasures such as this may help
keep space travelers more comfortable and alert during re-entry to
gravity.

Also in the field of life sciences, Jemison conducted a portion of
the Bone Cell Research (BCR) experiment, for which she is a
co-investigator. Jemison took pictures of two culture chambers of
rat bone cells, chosen for the study because they reproduce more
rapidly than human cells, using the NASDA-provided biological
microscope equipped with a 35mm camera.  She then performed a media
exchange, inserting fresh food into the cell cultures.  The control
group of cells received only nutrients in their media, while the
test group also was given parathyroid-related protein.
Parathyroids are endocrine glands in the thyroid that produce a
hormone associated with calcium metabolism.  Principal investigator
Dr. Nicola Partridge, of the St. Louis School of Medicine, is at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., monitoring a ground control
experiment to compare her results with those from space.
Procedures to stop bone de-mineralization must be developed for the
health and well-being of crews during long space missions.  Dr.
Peggy Whitson of the BCR team explained that this experiment may
also lead to a better understanding of the crippling bone disease
osteoporosis and ways to stop bone weakening in those confined to
long periods of bed rest.

In the field of materials science, Jemison deactivated the first
tungsten and nickel alloy samples, which had previously been heated
in the Large Isothermal Furnace (LIF), the hottest furnace in the
Materials Experiment Laboratory complement.  The objective is to
study sintering, a process in which particles are joined using heat
and pressure, but without reaching the melting point of one or both
ingredients.  Later, she began processing a second set of tungsten
and nickel samples. After the mission, these will be examined by
principal investigator Dr. Shiro Kohara of the Science University
of Tokyo, using a metallographic microscope, to determine if
space-based sintering might be used to produce stronger,
corrosion-resistant metal alloys.

During the next crew shift, Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri and
Mission Specialist Mark Lee will process silicon samples in the
Gradient Heating Furnace and glass samples in the Image Furnace ,
as well as activate the growth of an organic metal crystal.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 STATUS REPORT #14
MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Wednesday, September 16, 1992, 3 p.m. CDT

Capcom Sam Gemar announced to the Red Team crew members--Hoot Gibson, Curt
Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri--at 9:44 a.m.  CDT that the STS-47 Spacelab-J
mission will be extended one extra day for additional science work.

Flight controllers have been monitoring electrical power and breathing air
levels over the first four mission days and have accumulated enough surplus
consumables for about 25 hours additional time on-orbit over and above the
standard two extension days planned for weather delays or other unexpected
situations.

During their fifth work day in space, Gibson and Brown periodically ran a fan
hooked up to the air inlet at the front of the ISAIAH experiment container.
The fan came from one of the crew launch/entry partial pressure suits.
Increasing the air circulation through the hornets' enclosure did reduce the
humidity from about 96 percent to as low as 78 percent.  Brown monitors the
humidity reading on the enclosure's instruments every two hours .
Investigators expect the fan will have to be run periodically for the remainder
of the flight.

Gibson and Brown continue monitoring and videotaping the prefilter installed in
the line between the cabin heat exchanger and the humidity separator.  Detailed
test objective number 647 evaluates the performance of the filter to remove
debris from the air/water stream going from the heat exchanger to the humidity
separator.

The Blue Team--Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison--will wake up about 4 p.m.
CDT. The Red Team will hand over the Orbiter and Spacelab chores to the Blue
Team about 5 p.m.  CDT.

All systems aboard Endeavour continue nearly flawless performance.  Endeavour
is in a near-circular orbit of 16 by 162 nautical miles in an attitude that
minimizes the number of thruster firings so as not to disturb sensitive
experiments in the Spacelab module.

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16, 1992  11 AM

 
        STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - ON-ORBIT

     Hydrolasing activities are continuing on the boosters to remove exterior
cork and thermal protective foam.  Both boosters will be disassembled and
shipped back to the respective vendors for refurbishment.  Mobile launcher
platform No. 2 was moved from the pad to the refurbishment site yesterday.
Endeavour's mission has been extended one day pushing the landing to Sunday at
Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at shortly after 7 a.m.  EDT.
The exact landing time will be fine tuned later.

 

SL-J Mission Status Report #09
6:00 p.m. CDT, September 16, 1992
04/08:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri took time out to give a lesson on microgravity
to a group of school children in Japan. During the lesson, he told the children
what it is like to live and work in a microgravity environment.  After "class"
was over, Mohri and Mission Specialist Mark Lee began their fifth day in the
shirt-sleeve atmosphere of the Spacelab module, located in the payload bay of
Space Shuttle Endeavour. Today's announcement of an extra day in space will
give the crew members of Spacelab-J another 24 hours to conduct research in the
microgravity laboratory.

An in-flight maintenance procedure was performed by Mohri to lubricate the
motor drive shaft of the Image Furnace (IMF).  An earlier experiment run using
this heating facility prompted engineers to develop a maintenance procedure to
grease the motor drive shaft and allow the twin curved mirrors and two halogen
lamps to move freely over the sample being heated in the furnace.  Once this
activity was completed, he installed a cubic sample of oxide glass into the
center of the IMF. The actual temperature of the oxide sample was determined by
observing the melting point of gold pieces imbedded in the glass sample.
Principal investigator Dr. Naohiro Soga of Kyoto University watched video
downlink of this experiment to obtain data on the occurrence of flow in a
melting glass sphere in microgravity and to confirm information obtained on
Earth for volume-temperature relationships of glass.

Mohri installed two samples of silicon into the Crystal Growth Experiment
Facility. The silicon was melted and allowed to grow into single crystals, then
cooled.  One of the advantages of crystals grown in space is that crystal
growth can be achieved without the molten crystal touching the container, thus
eliminating some of the impurities associated with Earth-grown crystals.
Researchers will study these crystals to find out more about the growth and
non-uniform characteristics of oxidation of silicon material.

Mohri also conducted research in the area of life sciences today when he
examined cultures of hybridoma cells.  This experiment is to give scientists
such as Dr. Atsushige Sato of Tokyo Medical and Dental University a better
understanding of the effects of microgravity on cell structure and function.
The cells in this investigation are like cancer cells in that they reproduce
rapidly; however, hybridomes secrete monoclonal antibodies, which fight disease
in much the same way that white blood cells do.  Because of their rapid
reproduction and disease fighting capability, these hybridoma cells produce
valuable antibodies more rapidly than would white blood cells.


To check on the overall health and well-being of the female frogs, Lee pulled
the General Purpose Workstation from its stowed position in the Spacelab
module.  The advantages of having a confined area to handle these African
clawed frogs were evident as video downlink showed one of the frogs leaping
from Lee's gloved hands and levitating momentarily in the absence of gravity.
During this activity, Lee added Ringer's solution (synthetic pond water) to the
frogs' containers to keep them comfortable during their stay in space.

Lee also took the chicken eggs out of their "space nests" and turned them over,
simulating the actions taken by a mother hen during incubation.  This
experiment is being conducted on Spacelab-J to study the loss of calcium from
bones and the resultant loss of bone density during spaceflight.  The results
of this investigation could help astronauts as well as people subjected to
prolonged bedrest on Earth.

During the next 12-hour shift, Mission Specialist Jan Davis and Science Mission
Specialist Mae Jemison will once again provide information to help evaluate the
effectiveness of the combination of fluid consumption and negative pressure on
the lower body extremities during a medical investigation known as the Lower
Body Negative Pressure experiment.  Davis also will conduct research in
materials processing using paraffin with fine aluminum flakes as tracers in the
Marangoni Convection Experiment Unit.

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #15


Wednesday, September 16, 1992, 10:30 p.m. CDT

Spacelab-J's Blue Team is midway through its sixth day of what is now expected
to be an eight-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Mission Specialist Jay Apt worked with the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment
on the middeck and reported a good burn about 6:45 p.m.  CDT. He noted,
however, that the instrumented filter paper appeared to burn slightly unevenly.
Apt also continued t o take Earth observations photographs, and reported that
so far Endeavour has made contact with about 5,700 ham radio operators using
the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment.

Mission Specialists Jan Davis and Mae Jemison continued their work with
experiments in the Spacelab-J module.  Jemison participated in a live
television interview hosted by a Chicago television station and fielded
questions from students and former teachers in her hometown at the Chicago
Museum of Science and Industry.

Before he began his sleep shift, Pilot Curt Brown reported that the insects in
the Israeli Space Agency Investigation About Hornets appear to be working on
their comb and tending larvae.  Yesterday, the crew ran a fan hooked up to the
air inlet at the front of the ISAIAH experiment container to increase the air
flow and lower the humidity in the middeck locker.  Scientists asked for the
procedure because the hornets are used to a warm, dry climate.  After the
report of the comb-building activity, the crew was told it no longer needs to
continue checking the hornets every two hours.

The Red Team--Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri--will awaken
at 2:30 a.m.  CDT Thursday and take over for the Blue Team about 5 a.m.

The crew was informed at 9:44 a.m.  CDT Wednesday that the STS-47 Spacelab-J
will be extended one extra day for additional science work.  Endeavour and its
crew have accumulated enough surplus consumables for about 25 hours additional
time on-orbit over and above the standard two extension days planned for
weather delays or other unexpected situations.

All systems aboard Endeavour continue to perform nearly flawlessly.  Endeavour
is in a near-circular orbit of 164 by 163 nautical miles in an attitude that
minimizes the number of thruster firings so as not to disturb sensitive
experiments in the Spacelab module.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #16


Thursday, September 17, 1992, 5:30 am. CDT

Experiment data gathering is the norm aboard Endeavour as the spacecraft
continues to perform without any problems that would impact the Spacelab
science instruments.

Flight controllers spent a relatively quiet morning assisting Mission
Specialist Jay Apt in monitoring all orbiter systems and planning activities
for the Red Team of crew members.

Mission Specialist Mae Jemison discussed her activities thus far on the mission
with the Sheridan Broadcasting Network and was a guest on the CBS morning
program "Up to the Minute."

 All seven crew members participated in a press conference, answering questions
from reporters located at the Kennedy Space Center and the Marshall Space
Flight Center.

 Weather forecasters have begun taking a more detailed look at conditions for
Sunday's landing and are predicting improved conditions in Florida at time of
touchdown now scheduled for 6:19 a.m.  CDT.

The crew will perform the routine checkout of Endeavour's flight control
surfaces tomorrow as planned pre-flight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #10
6:00 a.m. CDT, September 17, 1992
04/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Blue Shift crew members Science Mission
Specialist Dr. Mae Jemison and Mission Specialist Dr. Jan Davis continued
conducting life sciences and materials processing research.  NASA and Japan's
space agency NASDA are sharing resources in this joint venture, Spacelab-J, a
mission that has been extended one day, offering a "large increase in the
science return," according to Mission Manager Mr. J. Aubray King.

During their 12-hour shift, they took a break from their busy schedule to talk
to folks back home.  Jemison, a medical doctor, spoke with students in Chicago,
Ill., where she grew up.  She characterized Spacelab-J as a "very successful
mission" and credited NASA training.  She also said that her teachers from
Morgan Park School were a great influence on her and her choice of a career.
Following that interview, Davis spoke with community leaders from her hometown,
Huntsville, Ala., the location of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. She said
that she likes the role of "ambassador in space" and is excited to be working
on a Marshall-managed mission, after spending eight years at Marshall as an
engineer.

The Spacelab science schedule is carefully planned before the mission and
constantly monitored by activities planners at Marshall Center's Spacelab
Mission Operations Control. When set-up for the Lower Body Negative Pressure
(LBNP) experiment took longer than expected, the ground crew quickly went to
work to reschedule one materials processing experiment that was to be performed
by Davis as she monitored Jemison's progress during a decompression portion of
the LBNP activity.  The LBNP apparatus includes a cylindrical fabric bag that
seals around the subject's waist and acts as a vacuum vessel.  This bag is
attached to the floor of the Spacelab module.  Davis thanked principal
investigator Dr. John Charles of Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, for letting
her shift the bag's position, allowing Jemison to look out the Spacelab aft-end
window while confined in the bag, since crew members rarely have a chance to
enjoy the view.  LBNP is a system being developed to counteract the effects of
space on the heart and to help astronauts keep comfortable and healthy,
especially on returning to gravity.

Earlier in her shift, Davis was the subject for the LBNP ramp protocol, a
30-minute decompression run.  After that, she switched from life sciences to
materials processing when she turned on the Gradient Heating Furnace. She
inserted graphite containers containing four indium-and-aluminum samples and
one copper-and-lead sample inside a corrosion-resistant cartridge equipped with
an ultrasonic vibrator.  The cartridge was initially heated to 1750 degrees
Fahrenheit to melt the samples.  The temperature was maintained for 56 minutes,
during which time the vibrator operated for 10 minutes to mix the molten
ingredients.  The temperature was then reduced to approximately 1200 degrees
Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, and finally cooled using a helium purge, solidifying
the ingredients into an alloy.  In space, materials may be processed that are
difficult to mix on Earth due to gravity-induced separation of ingredients.
This experiment explores the possibility of fabricating more homogeneous, or
uniform, alloys.  These samples will be returned to Earth for metallurgical
analysis by principal investigator Dr. Akihiko Kamio of the Tokyo Institute of
Technology.

Davis also terminated the growth in a small organic metal crystal cell.
Organic metals are organic compounds that have metal atoms or ions bound to
them, allowing them to conduct electricity.  On Earth, gravity-driven
convection and sedimentation may cause crystals to develop flaws that make it
hard to examine their properties.  Principal investigator Dr. Hiroyuki Anzai of
Japan's National Electrotechnical Laboratory wants to understand these
properties, as organic metals may make important contributions to electronics
in the future.  This small crystal had been growing in the Organic Crystal
Growth Experiment Facility for nearly eight hours, observed by a still camera.
A large crystal sample continues to grow in a second OCG chamber.  Because the
crystals are very fragile, the samples will be placed in a fluid for the return
to Earth.

Davis also removed a non-silicon-based glass sample that had previously been
processed in the Acoustic Levitation Furnace (ALF).  Micrograviity allows
containerless processing, which has important implications for improving the
transmission properties of glass used for things such as telescopes.  On Earth,
when glass is manufactured, the ingredients touch the sides of the containers
in which they are processed.  This may introduce impurities and degrade the
ability of glass to transmit light waves.  The ALF contains a speaker and two
mirrors that focus energy to levitate the glass-making ingredients.  Dr. Junji
Hayakawa of Japan's Government Industrial Research Institute will study the
glass bead samples and video documentation produced to investigate the
possibility of containerless processing for superior glass production.

During the Red Shift, Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri and Mission Specialist
Mark Lee will be performing the first run of the Bubble Behavior Unit, will
process materials samples in the Image Furnace, and continue monitoring the
carp experiment and another that studies the growth of bone cells in low
gravity.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 STATUS REPORT #17

MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Thursday, September 17, 1992, 3:30 p.m. CDT

The STS-47 mission of Spacelab-J continues on schedule with Shuttle Endeavour
providing a stable work platform for science investigations inside the Spacelab
module.

Hoot Gibson and Curt Brown, STS-47 commander and pilot, respectively, completed
a waste water dump, monitored the Orbiter's onboard systems, and reported on
observations and videotape of the Israeli Space Agency Investigation About
Hornets. The invstigation uses oreintal hornets which have the unique ability
to build combs in the direction of gravity.  Experimenters want to obtain
insight into the oriental hornet's ability to orient their combs when in
microgravity.

The ISAIAH experiment container is carried in a mid-deck locker on Endeavour.
Each of the 18 test chambers holds hornets of a different age.  Hornets in
chamber number two on the bottom level of the experiment container have the
most organized nest cell.  Some of the hornets appear disoriented by the
microgravity environment.

Red Team crew members--Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee and Mamoru Mohri--
completed their sixth working day in space at 4:30 p.m.  CDT when they will
hand over both Orbiter and Spacelab operations to the Blue Team--Jay Apt, Jan
Davis and Mae Jemison.

To protect for a landing on Saturday, the crew will perform the routine
checkout of Endeavour's flight control surfaces tomorrow as planned pre-flight.

Endeavour travels around the Earth every 90 minutes in an orbit of 166 x 162
nautical miles.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #11
6:00 p.m. CDT, September 17, 1992
05/08:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


The crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour held an in-flight press conference today.
Members of the Japanese and American press were allowed to asked questions of
Commander Robert Gibson, Pilot Major Curtis Brown, Mission Specialists Dr. Jay
Apt and Dr. Jan Davis, Payload Commander Lt. Colonel Mark Lee, Science Mission
Specialist Dr. Mae Jemison and Japanese Payload Specialist Dr. Mamoru Mohri. At
the conclusion of the interview, Lee and Mohri began their sixth day of
conducting research in the areas of life and materials science.

Mohri activated the last of the materials processing facilities today when he
used a syringe to create bubbles in the Bubble Behavior Unit. To create small
bubbles, Mohri injected two large bubbles into silicon oil, and shook the cell
vigorously.  This experiment was designed to help principal investigator Dr.
Hisao Azuma of the National Aerospace Laboratory gain a better understanding of
the velocity of bubbles migrating when they are subjected to heat and
acoustical variations.  This information will be used in developing and
refining microgravity materials processing techniques, as well as for
augmenting basic scientific knowledge.

Lee activated the Image Furnace and performed another experiment run to grow a
Samarskite crystal in microgravity.  Samarskite, an unusual mineral composed of
calcium, iron, yttrium, uranium, thorium, nobium, tantalum, oxygen and other
elements, is being crystallized during Spacelab-J by what is known as the
traveling solvent float-zone method.  A sample of Samarskite is placed in the
furnace and a melt zone created so that a single crystal can be grown.  Lee and
Mohri provided verbal reports of the crystal's progress every 15 minutes during
its growth.  By analyzing the video downlink and the Samarskite crystal after
it is returned to Earth, Dr. Shunji Takekawa, principal investigator from the
National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials, hopes to understand
more about how this unusual mineral was formed.

Two reports concerning the health and behavior of the carp aboard Spacelab-J
were given by Lee today.  During these monitoring sessions, Lee also subjected
the fish to pulses of light, alternating between the top and side of their
in-flight containers.  One of the carp had its otilith (gravity-sensing organ)
removed in preparation for this mission to compare its behavior to that of the
other fish, which has its otilith intact.  Principal investigator Dr. Shigeo
Mori of Nagoya University will compare data from each of the two carp to study
the way fish adapt to the conflicts between visual and vestibular information
caused by weightlessness.  The conflict of these signals may possibly be a
cause of space motion sickness.

Lee removed enzyme crystallization kits from the thermoelectric incubator where
they have been growing in a low temperature environment and photographed their
progress with a 35 mm camera.  This is an experiment for principal investigator
Dr. Yuhei Morita of Kyoto University to grow large crystals of a functional
protein mixed with four kinds of enzymes without the effects of Earth's
gravity.  As scientists understand more about proteins, the "building blocks of
life," it may become possible to produce proteins with new specific functions
and perhaps lead to improvements in nutrition and medicine.

During the next 12-hour shift, Jemison and Davis will continue gathering
information about the effects of gravity on the lower body as they perform the
Lower Body Negative Pressure experiment.  These investigations will be a
24-hour follow-up to evaluate the effectiveness of yesterday's four-hour
treatment.  Davis will activate the last of the life science experiments with
the Fluid Therapy System study dealing with on-board intravenous solutions and
means to administer these fluids.  Jemison will conduct a materials science
investigation by performing an experiment on paraffin containing fine aluminum
flakes as tracers and she is scheduled to remove the Samarskite crystal from
the Image Furnace when its cool-down phase is complete.

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #18


Thursday, September 17, 1992, 11:30 p.m. CDT

  All systems continue to perform well aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour as
the seven- person crew prepares to stretch the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission to an
eighth day.

The Blue Team -- Mission Specialists Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison -- is
keeping up with its planned timeline of Spacelab science investigations, Earth
observations photography and Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment contacts.

On this shift, Apt reported that the crew has used 96 percent of the film on
board for photographs of the Earth below as part of the continuing space
shuttle program to document the condition of the planet from orbit.

The Blue Team is scheduled to hand over to the Red Team -- Commander Hoot
Gibson, Pilot Curt Brown, Mission Specialist Mark Lee and Payload Specialist
Mamoru Mohri -- about 4 a.m.  CDT.

After handover, Apt -- the flight engineer -- will help Gibson and Brown with
the flight control system checkout in preparation for Sunday's landing at
Kennedy Space Center. The checkout will occur on the schedule worked out
pre-flight so that a landing would be possible Saturday should it become
necessary to cancel the planned extension day.

The Blue Team is scheduled to begin its sleep shift about 8 a.m.  CDT.

Endeavour is traveling around the Earth every 90 minutes in a 165 by 162
nautical mile orbit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #12
6:00 a.m. CDT, September 18, 1992
05/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Spacelab-J, a cooperative venture between NASA and the National
Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), wrapped up flight day
six as Blue Shift crew members Science Mission Specialist Dr. Mae
Jemison and Mission Specialist Dr. Jan Davis concluded another busy
12-hour shift.

Materials processing experiments conducted included the formation
of a nickel-based alloy in the Large Isothermal Furnace.  In the
Marangoni Convection Unit, paraffin containing aluminum tracer
flakes was studied.  However, most of the shift was spent
performing life sciences experiments.

As crews begin spending extended times in space, their health and
well-being will be of prime importance. Life sciences research
seeks to understand how the body changes when gravity's influence
is absent and to develop measures to deal with these effects.

The team of Jemison and Davis took turns as the operator and
subject in the Lower Body Negative Pressure ramp protocol, a
30-minute procedure using a cylindrical bag that acts as a pressure
vacuum to redistribute body fluids from the upper to the lower
body.  Last night, Jemison underwent the soak protocol, several
hours of lower body decompression, during which time she drank a
saline solution. Jemison's ramp protocol was a 24-hour follow-up to
check the effectiveness of yesterday's soak treatment.  Principal
investigator Dr. John Charles of NASA's Johnson Space Center and
his team are working on this system to help space travelers keep
their cardiovascular system strong and to help prevent side
effects, such as fainting or near-fainting, when they return to
Earth.

Jemison and Davis also conducted an in-flight demonstration of the
Fluid Therapy System, under the direction of principal investigator
Dr. Charles Lloyd of NASA's Johnson Space Center.  On Earth, when a
patient needs fluids, an intravenous (IV) drip system is used;
under the influence of gravity, fluids flow from an IV bag into the
body.  Procedures to store and administer medical fluids in space
must be developed to prepare for long-term missions. Davis used a
filter system to convert drinkable water into purified water,
reconstituted various solutions from powder -- which is easier to
store than a liquid -- and filled IV bags. Jemison used the
system's infusion pump to administer a saline solution into a
medical training mannequin arm equipped with simulated veins and a
solution reservoir.  She reported that the solution had air bubbles
in it, but was advised to go ahead with the fluid administration so
that the effects can be studied.  Jemison, a medical doctor,
switched to a manual mode of filling the bags and reported that the
incidence of air bubbles was reduced.  The same procedure was
performed simultaneously at Kennedy Space Center as a cross-check.
After the mission, sterile water and solution samples will be
analyzed to determine both quantity and quality of the IV
solutions.  Adjustments to this system will be made prior to use
aboard Space Station Freedom.

Davis rotated chicken eggs being flown to help scientists
understand how bone formation changes during space travel.  Jemison
ventilated the special containers housing fruit flies that will be
studied after the mission for any mutations resulting from the
effects of exposure to cosmic radition.

During the next shift, Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri and Mission
Specialist Mark Lee will continue working with carp fish and
perform an early deactivation of an experiment studying how fungi
adapt to unusual cycles of light and dark.  Additionally, a rare
samarskite crystal will be removed from the image furnace where it
was grown.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 Status Report #19

MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Friday, September 18, 1992, 6:30 a.m. CDT

The moveable surfaces on the wings and tail of Endeavour used when it reenters
the Earth's atmosphere were checked out this morning in preparation for
Sunday's landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Using the hydraulic system that had a suspect cooling unit, Commander Hoot
Gibson and Pilot Curt Brown conducted the checkout of the flight control
surfaces with no problems encountered.

The cooling unit, or water spray boiler, which was slow in turning on launch
day, worked normally today.

Later in the morning, Gibson and Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri took part in a
conversation with the Japanese prime minister and the president of the National
Space Development Agency of Japan.

Orbiter systems continue to perform well as Endeavour and its seven member crew
sail into their sixth day in space.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-47 Status Report #20

Friday, September 18, 1992, 3:30 p.m. CDT


Endeavour is making its 100th orbit of Earth on the Spacelab-J mission.

The Red Team ends its seventh work day in space at 5 p.m.  CDT today when the
Blue Team will begin its eighth day of science work.

About 2 p.m.  CDT today, mission commander Hoot Gibson asked ground controllers
to look at the port side of Endeavour's rudder.  Using payload bay cameras A
and D, engineers could see a small area of material protruding from the rear
edge of the rudder.

Gibson reported that, looking through binoculars, he could see the bottom edge
of the upper thermal protection blanket peeled up along the split in the
spacecraft's rudder.  The insulation protrudes about 2.5 inches at the hinge
line to about 3 inches at the trailing edge of the rudder.  Also, Gibson could
see some of the glue material that attaches the heat- shielding blankets to
Endeavour's external skin extending along the trailing edge of the rudder.  The
blanket material protects the Shuttle's external surfaces from the excessive
heat around the vehicle when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.

Mechanical systems flight controllers and engineers are evaluating the
downlinked video footage to determine if the loosened material is cause for
concern during Endeavour's scheduled landing on Sunday.

Orbiter systems continue to perform well as Endeavour and its seven-member crew
circle the Earth every 90 minutes in an orbit 166 by 162 nautical miles high.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #13
6:00 p.m. CDT, September 18, 1992
06/08:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Amid all the activities aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour today,
Commander Robert Gibson and Japanese Payload Specialist Mamoru
Mohri took out time for a phone call from the National Space
Development Agency of Japan's President Masato Yamano from the
Spacelab Mission Operations Control center in Huntsville, Ala., and
Japan's Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa from Tokyo.  After the
interview was over, Mohri spoke in his native language as scenes of
Japan, taken from the Shuttle's window, were shown.  Gibson, Pilot
Curtis Brown and Mission Specialist Mark Lee also spoke with NASA
Administrator Daniel Goldin today.  Mr. Goldin told Gibson, "It
looks like you're getting a lot done on 'Noah's Ark'."  At the
conclusion of their conversation, it was back to the business of
conducting life and materials science research for the crew as they
began their seventh day in orbit.

Lee installed a glass sample of calcium-oxide, gallium-oxide and
germanium-oxide into the Acoustic Levitation Furnace (ALF).  A
speaker was located in one of two curved mirrors of the ALF and a
microphone in the other mirror.  Krypton, an inert gas, transmitted
the sound waves during this experiment.  Two halogen lamps heated
the acoustically suspended sample to melt the glass without
touching the sides of the container, which has a tendency to
contaminate materials as they are processed.  This type of glass is
of interest to principal investigator Dr. Junji Hayakawa of the
Government Industrial Research Institute because it could have
superior transmission properties in the infrared wavelength region.

In preparation for another investigation in the Free Flow
Electrophoresis Unit (FFEU) later in the mission, Lee performed an
in-flight maintenance (IFM) procedure to adjust some of the gain
settings of the optical detection system, in an attempt to allow
the FFEU science team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to
better monitor the progress of this activity.  Although the IFM did
not produce the enhanced monitoring capability that was desired,
another run of this experiment is planned during the next shift, in
an adjusted mode.  The FFEU is used to separate cells according to
their molecular charges to obtain relatively pure samples of a
material, a process that is hampered by gravity on Earth.

Lee also removed a Samarskite crystal which was grown in the Image
Furnace yesterday.  Samarskite is an unusual mineral composed of
calcium, iron, yttrium, uranium, thorium, niobium, tantalum, oxygen
and other elements.  Alpha particles from the radioactive uranium
and thorium have destroyed the original structure of the Samarskite
without damaging the chemical composition and external form.
Principal investigator Dr. Shunji Takekawa of the National
Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials is interested in the
post-flight analysis of the crystals grown during this mission to
understand more about how the structure of this exotic mineral was
formed.

The health and behavior of the carp were monitored today as Lee
provided light stimulation to the fish.  This neurophysiological
study has been performed twice a day during this mission to
identify sensory conflicts caused by different signals being sent
to the brain from the eyes and inner ears of these carp.  Many
space-travelers suffer from a condition known as Space Adaptation
Syndrome for the first day or two in orbit and this investigation
may help scientists understand more about the possible causes of
this condition.

Mohri was the subject of a life sciences investigation today as he
sat with his head immobilized, tracking lights on a cross-bar
apparatus for two experiments to gather data on the effects of
microgravity on humans.  The first test evaluated the loss of
visual stability caused by a lack of cooperative movements between
the eyes, head and body.  The second use of this apparatus
collected information about how humans function and perform in
tracking control operations.  These two activities have been
performed several times during the course of this mission to
document any changes in the results of the tests as Mohri has
adapted to the weightlessness of space.

Mohri examined cultures of hybridoma cells which have been growing
in their cell culture chambers, stored in the high-temperature
thermoelectric incubator.  These hybridoma cells reproduce rapidly
and secrete monoclonal antibodies that fight disease the way that
white blood cells do.  Mohri used a biological microscope to
observe the condition of these hybridoma cell cultures as they grow
in orbit.  Principal investigator Dr. Atsushige Sato of the Tokyo
Medical and Dental University will use electron microscopes and
chemical analysis to observe the ultrastructure (microscopic
details of the cells) after they are returned to Earth.

During the next 12-hour shift, Mission Specialist Jan Davis and
Science Mission Specialist Mae Jemison will perform the Lower Body
Negative Pressure ramp protocol.  Jemison also will attend to the
osteoblastic (bone producing cells) which have been the focus of an
experiment called Bone Cell Research, and she will activate the
Free Flow Electrophoresis Unit to separate cells according to their
molecular charges.  Davis will observe the swimming behavior of
tadpoles and check on the health of the frogs aboard Spacelab-J.
She also will perform an experiment to melt and levitate a glass
sample in the Acoustic Levitation Furnace.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 Status Report #21
MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Friday, September 18, 1992, 11:30 p.m. CDT


Endeavour's Blue Team shared some home movies of the flight control system
checkout after it passed the 100-orbit mark on this flight, which is now
expected to be eight days long.

Mission Specialist Jay Apt narrated the videotape, which showed the movements
of the elevons, rudder and jets that are used during entry and landing.  The
tape also showed the flight crew -- Commander Hoot Gibson, Pilot Curt Brown and
Apt -- performing the checkout on the flight deck and some of the computer
displays that are used.

The rest of the Blue Team -- Mission Specialists Mae Jemison and Jan Davis --
continued their work in the Spacelab-J module.  The entire team is scheduled to
end its eighth work day about 5:30 a.m.  CDT.

The Red Team -- which also includes Japanese Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri
--is scheduled to awaken about 1 a.m. and begin its final full work day in
space, taking over for the Blue Team about 4 a.m.

Mechanical systems flight controllers and engineers continued to evaluate
videotape of some loose thermal protection material that was noticed on the
port side of Endeavour's rudder, but reported that it does not appear to pose
any danger during re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.  Apt used a camcorder
aimed through binoculars to take close-up pictures of the area that had been
noticed by Gibson ea rlier in the day.

Landing remains scheduled for 6:19 a.m.  CDT Sunday at Kennedy Space Center,
and the weather forecast seems to be cooperating with that plan.  All systems
aboard Endeavour continue to function well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #14
6:00 a.m. CDT, Sept. 19, 1992
06/20:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Mission Specialist Dr. Jan Davis and Science Mission Specialist Dr.
Mae Jemison, of the seven-member Spacelab-J team, wrapped up their
seventh day of this eight-day mission, sponsored jointly by NASA
and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA).

Conducting research in space offers a unique perspective on science
that often is impossible to obtain on Earth, because of the effects
of gravity.  As the Space Shuttle free-falls around the Earth, it
creates a low-gravity environment in the pressurized Spacelab
module, carried in the Space Shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay.  While
space trips offer unique research opportunities, they also present
many challenges.

In space, gravity does not pull body fluids down to the feet.
Astronauts returning to Earth may experience reduced blood flow to
the brain.  Jemison served as the subject in the final test of the
Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) system, a possible
countermeasure.  After changing the battery in the controller unit,
Davis monitored Jemison during the ramp protocol, a 30-minute
period of decompression which forces body fluids that have
collected in the upper body back into the lower extremeties. Davis
collected Jemison's physiological data and operated a pump that
lowers the pressure in the LBNP system.  This was a follow-up run
to determine the effectiveness of Jemison's soak protocol, which
was performed 48 hours ago.  After stowing the equipment for return
to Earth, Davis remarked that the LBNP "hardware worked great."

The Frog Embryology Experiment team watched intently as Davis used
a camcorder for a close-up view of the swimming behavior of the
first tadpoles fertilized and developed in space. One group of
tadpoles has been developing in a centrifuge that simulates Earth's
gravity, while a second group has been developing in microgravity.
Both groups exhibited similar swimming behavior.  However, a quick
look at tadpoles fertilized on Earth and developed in orbit showed
them doing loops, a behavior that principal investigator Dr. Ken
Souza, of NASA's Ames Research Center, and his team of scientists
will study in detail to learn more about how amphibians adapt to
low gravity.  When the tadpoles return to Earth, it is hoped that
they will metamorphose into adult frogs and bear offspring that
also will be the subject of scientific study.  Davis also reported
that the four egg-donor frogs are "all doing great."

While Davis worked with the frogs on board, Jemison perfomed the
final photography session and media exchange in the Bone Cell
Research Experiment, for which she is a co-investigator.  This
experiment looks at the effects of microgravity on bone growth and
mineralization.  Previous space flights have shown that bones can
be weakened by the absence of gravity.  This probably is due to
less new bone formation, rather than an increase in bone breakdown,
and other factors such as changes in bone shape, redistribution of
minerals and fluids, and weaker muscles.  Jemison used a microscope
equipped with a 35mm camera to photograph a group of control cells
and a group of test cells to which a parathyroid-related hormone
has been added.  Following this procedure, she used a syringe to
withdraw old media, the cell culture's food, and to inject new
media into the culture chambers.

Jemison also processed biogenic materials in the Free Flow
Electrophoresis Unit (FFEU).  Each element and chemical compound
has a specific electrical charge.  So, too, do different types of
cells, even cells that are very similar.  As the compound flows
through the FFEU via a buffer solution, electric current separates
the mixture into individual components.  While Earth-based
electrophoresis processing provides better separation than many
other processes, scientists hope to improve the purity of materials
when free from gravity-induced convection currents and
sedimentation.  Experiments such as this could have implications
for medical research.

Davis processed the final glass sample -- used in instruments such
as telescopes -- in the Acoustic Levitation Furnace (ALF).  The
glass sample was melted and mixed without using a conventional
container. The ALF consists of two mirrors that focus sound waves;
a speaker is located in one mirror and a microphone in the other,
for more precise control of sample levitation.  On Earth, when
glass is manufactured, it touches the surface of processing
containers and may pick up impurities.  Although the sample stuck
to the side of the cage in which it was levitated, scientists were
able to gather data about how to develop containerless processing
methods.  Davis again used the camcorder to give scientists a
close-up view of the sample before it was stowed.

Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri and Mission Specialist Mark Lee got
up early to perform experiments in the Bubble Behavior Unit and the
Liquid Drop Facility.  They also will grow a semiconductor crystal
in the Image Furnace and will deactivate the Materials Experiment
Laboratory equipment in preparation for landing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 Status Report #22
MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Saturday, September 19, 1992, 6:30 a.m.  CDT


Orbit 1 and Entry Team members shared the consoles in Mission Control this
morning updating plans for tomorrow's return home of Endeavour and its
seven-member crew.

Forecasters predict scattered clouds, light winds and a slight chance of rain
at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the two landing opportunities at the
primary landing site.

Should weather conditions keep Endeavour up an extra day, two landing
opportunities exist at KSC and at the Edwards Air Force Base facility in
California on Monday.

Some loose thermal protection material on the left side of Endeavour's tail
will not pose any problems during the reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Landing times tomorrow occur on orbits 126 and 127 at 6:19 and 7:53 a.m.
Central. The first would bring Endeavour out of a southwesterly track across
the Yucatan Peninsula, west of Cuba, crossing the coast of Florida near Fort
Myers. The second would bring the orbiter across northern Mexico and the Gulf
of Mexico crossing the Florida coast near Tampa.

All other orbiter systems are performing without problem as experiment data
gathering continues in the Spacelab module.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #23
4 p.m. Central Daylight Time
Saturday, September 19, 1992
6 a.m. Tokyo
Sunday, September 20, 1992

  At 3 p.m.  CDT today the Red Team--Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee, and Dr.
Mamoru Mohri--will wind up their final work day of mission STS-47 and begin
presleep activities for their last night on-orbit.  Gibson and Brown are
working on deactiviation procedures for the mid- deck protein crystal growth
experiment.

Blue team crewmembers--Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison--wake up at 4 p.m.
CDT and conduct their shift handover with the Red Team about 5:15 p.m.  CDT.
The Blue Team will complete their last science work on the Spacelab-J mission
and begin closing out and stowing experiment equipment during their ninth
working shift of the mission.

Forecasters predict scattered clouds, light winds and a slight chance of rain
at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the two landing opportunities at the
primary landing site.

Should weather conditions keep Endeavour up an extra day, two landing
opportunities exist at KSC and at the Edwards Air Force Base facility in
California on Monday.

Engineers determined early today that some loose thermal protection material on
the left side of Endeavour's tail will not pose any problems during the
re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Landing times tomorrow occur on orbits 126 and 127 at 6:19 and 7:53 a.m.
Central. The first would bring Endeavour out of a southwesterly track across
the Yucatan Peninsula, west of Cuba, crossing the coast of Florida near Fort
Myers. The second would bring the orbiter across northern Mexico and the Gulf
of Mexico crossing the Florida coast near Tampa.

All orbiter systems are performing well as experiment data gathering continues
in the Spacelab module.  Endeavour's 166 by 162 nautical mile orbit carries the
spacecraft around Earth every 90 minutes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SL-J Mission Status Report #15
6:00 p.m. CDT, September 19, 1992
07/08:40 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


The major activities of Spacelab-J, the 50th Space Shuttle mission,
came to an end today.  Mission Manager Aubry King of NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center summed up the last eight days in two
words -- "overwhelmingly successful."

"All pre-determined mission objectives have been met.  We gathered
science with the cooperation of one of our international partners
for Space Station Freedom," King said.  "This mission has continued
the tradition of very successful Spacelab missions.  The success of
Spacelab-J is evident when you consider that we had over 40
experiments scheduled and we've received data on each one."

Around-the-clock research in the areas of materials and life
sciences made good use of the experiment equipment located in the
23-foot-long Spacelab module, nestled in the cargo bay of the Space
Shuttle Endeavour.  After landing, the principal investigators for
Spacelab-J will spend months poring over the data collected.

Four samples, including tungsten and nickel powder, iron alloy
ingots and nickel based alloys were heated in the Large Isothermal
Furnace.  Three experiment runs in the Gradient Heating Furnace
involved indium-gallium-arsenide, aluminum alloys, as well as
lead-tin-tellurium.  Thirty samples of materials were placed in the
Continuous Heating Furnace.  They included materials such as carbon
fibers, aluminum and copper alloys, silver-based compounds,
silicon-arsenide-tellurium with nickel, along with silver and gold.

The Image Furnace was home to four experiments to understand more
about lead-tin-tellurium, Samarskite and indium-antimonide.  Also
glass which was laced with gold particles was observed in this
furnace.  Three experiment runs were scheduled and performed in the
Acoustic Levitation Furnace and drops of mineral oil were observed
in the Liquid Drop Experiment Facility.  Paraffin, laced with fine
aluminum tracer flakes, was heated two times in the Marangoni
Convection Unit.  The pre-flight schedule called for one run of
this experiment, but an additional investigation was performed.

Four opportunities were taken to observe the movement and
interaction of bubbles in the Bubble Behavior Unit.  This
experiment unit varied the temperature and acoustic waves to
understand bubble behavior without the effects of gravity.   In the
Crystal Growth Experiment Facility, two silicon samples were melted
and crystallized to help scientists understand more about this
material.  The Gas Evaporation Experiment Facility provided an
ideal environment to observe particle formation in a gas
atmosphere.

An organic metal is an organic compound that has metal atoms or
ions bound to it.  In the Organic Crystal Growth Experiment
Facility, two chambers of crystals of an organic metal were grown,
which may make important contributions to electronics in the near
future.

The Protein Crystal Growth Facility contained 60 crystal growth
chambers where eight different types of proteins were seeded and
cultivated during this mission.

There were a number of scientific firsts with the Frog Embryology
Experiment.  For the first time in space, eggs have been shed,
fertilized and developed in microgravity.  Approximately 600 total
eggs are expected to be returned to Earth.

The Lower Body Negative Pressure Experiment was performed to
provide scientists with more information concerning countermeasures
for the loss of body fluid to the lower extremities.  Four ramp
protocols and two soak protocols were conducted during this
mission, as well as three echocardiogram readings.

Additional investigations with the Free Flow Electrophoresis Unit
were conducted.  Two samples of biogenic materials and three
samples of bacteria cells were processed in this unit to separate
cells according to their molecular charges.

The Fluid Therapy System was tested during this mission to
demonstrate the capability of converting drinkable water, mixed
with solutions, into an intravenous (IV) fluid.  The process of
administering this solution was tested on a mannequin arm.

In other experiments during this mission, four enzyme protein
crystals were grown, various types of cells were cultured, chicken
eggs were exposed to microgravity, the circadian rhythm of fungi
was studied and carp were observed during light stimulation
procedures.

The final activities of today's Red and Blue shifts contributed to
these overall science totals.  Conducting last-minute research and
deactivating experiment facilities, the crew members aboard Space
Shuttle Endeavour prepared themselves and the cargo for the ride
home.

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #24
Saturday, September 19, 1992
11:30 p.m. Central

The seven-person Endeavour crew is making final preparations for a landing at
Kennedy Space Center on Sunday if weather cooperates.

The Blue Team -- Mission Specialists Jay Apt, Jan Davis and Mae Jemison--
completed deactivation of the Spacelab module at a Mission Elapsed Time of
7/14:30, or 11:45 p.m.  CDT about one day later than had been planned pre-
flight after the crew was granted an extension day to gather additional science
data.  The Red Team--Hoot Gibson, Curt Brown, Mark Lee, and Dr. Mamoru Mohri --
awakened about 11:30 p.m. and is set to begin work on deorbit preparations.

Although most of the equipment stowage is complete, the Spacelab crew will have
 two last experiment containers to close -- one containing chicken eggs and
 another containing flies, their larvae and eggs -- just 45 minutes before the
 deorbit burn.  The lockers were left open to allow as much air circulation as
 possible.

Forecasters predict scattered clouds, light winds and a chance of rain at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the two landing opportunities at the
primary landing site.  Should weather conditions keep Endeavour up an extra
day, two landing opportunities exist at KSC and at the Edwards Air Force Base
facility in California on Monday.

Engineers determined early today that some loose thermal protection material on
the left side of Endeavour's tail will not pose any problems during the reentry
into the Earth's atmosphere.

Sunday's landing times on orbits 126 and 127 are 6:19 and 7:52 a.m.  CDT,
 respectively.  The first would bring Endeavour out of a southwesterly track
 across the Yucatan Peninsula, west of Cuba, crossing the coast of Florida near
 Fort Myers. The second would bring the orbiter across northern Mexico and the
 Gulf of Mexico crossing the Florida coast near Tampa. Deorbit burn is at 5:19
 a.m.  CDT for the first opportunity at KSC, and 6:52 a.m. for the second
 opportunity.

All other orbiter systems are performing without problem.  Endeavour's 166 by
162 nautical mile orbit carries the spacecraft around Earth every 90 minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-47 Mission Control Status Report #25
Sunday, September 20, 1992
8:30 a.m. Central

Endeavour rolled to stop at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:54 a.m. this morning
drawing the 50th mission of the space shuttle program to a close.

Prior to landing, the seven-member crew worked through their deorbit prep
checklist without any problems.  Flight controllers, however, opted early to
delay the deorbit burn one orbit so daylight was available for the final
weather evaluation.  The forecasted rainshowers did not form allowing
controllers to give a "go" for the deorbit burn at 6:26 a.m.  Central. A
nominal burn took place shortly afterwards at 6:52 a.m.

After leaving the spacecraft, crew members will receive their post-flight
landing physicals and meet with family members before returning to Houston
today.  The traditional welcoming ceremonies will take place at about 6 p.m. at
Ellington Field.


SPACELINK NOTE:

Main Gear Touchdown             8:53:24
Nosewheel Touchdown             8:53:41
Wheel Stop                      8:54:11

All times Eastern Daylight.



Mission Elapsed Time         7:22:31:11

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, SEPT. 21, 1992  10 AM

 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

     Yesterday,  Endeavour's main gear touched down on Runway  33
at  Kennedy  Space  Center's  Shuttle Landing Facility at 8:53:24
a.m. EDT.  The drag chute was deployed before nose gear touchdown
and the total rollout distance was approximately 8,567 feet. This
landing marked the 12th Shuttle landing at KSC.

     Nose  gear  touchdown  came at 8:53:41 and wheels stopped at
8:54:11 a.m. The total mission elapsed time was 7 days, 22 hours,
31 minutes and 11 seconds.  Endeavour logged a total of 3,310,922
million  miles  in space during its second flight,  which was the
50th Space Shuttle launch.

     The Shuttle team safed the vehicle on  the  runway  and  En-
deavour was parked inside the OPF by 3:47 p.m.  yesterday.  Time-
critical experiments were removed  from  the  orbiter  overnight.
Post-flight  inspections and deservicing operations are underway.
Residual cryogenic propellants will be  offloaded  tonight.  Main
engine drying operations are scheduled to begin today.

     Preliminary inspections indicate the vehicle sustained minor
tile  damage.  Two  tiles  were  damaged  when the drag chute was
deployed and two tiles on the nose landing gear door may have  to
be replaced. Overall the vehicle appears to be in good shape.

     Access  is  being  established  to all areas of the vehicle.
Preparations are in work to open the payload bay doors  tomorrow.
Removal of the Spacelab-J payload is planned on Friday.


 

    Good job, 
    
    I guess this mneans that a shutlle doesn't blow up every 25th 
    flight after all.
    
    I like to see these successful Shuttle flights almost every month. 
    Makes me feel like it no longer takes  an almost miracle to put a 
    few people in Low Earth Orbit.
    
    Now if they could only do it twice as fast and at half the cost !!!
    
    Does anybody know if the current program to reduce Shuttle costs
    is working ? In fact have they started it ? I have heard a lot of 
    talk but so far no action...
    
    Gil

    re: -.1
        One successful mission doesn't "prove" the whole system. 
    Particularly a system that still has some subtle design flaws.  (See
    784.55.)  I believe that the current pace, attention to detail, and
    conservative mission planning is still the best course of action.
        Just one person's opinion.......

There's some work going on for "advanced" (ever notice that everything that is
not in production is "advanced") solid rocket motors.  I think the point of these
is more lift and more safety, not necessarily lower cost, though that might
happen too, I suppose.

I can't think of a lot of work going on explicitly to make a shuttle launch
cheaper, except just gaining experience, and they must be way beyond the knee
of that curve by now.

Burns

    Re .-1
    
    There was a lot of talk, some time ago, about an effort to greatly
    reduce the SHUTTLE workforce (and thus the Shuttle costs with it)
    
    A bit like what DEC is doing with its own workforce these days ;-)
    
    Gil

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23, 1992  10 AM


 
         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Preparations  to  open the payload bay doors and to remove the
Spacelab-J payload.
- Functional test of the payload bay doors.
- Post-flight inspections and tests.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Drained residual cryogenic propellants from the orbiter.

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: [email protected]
Subject: STS-47 "by the numbers"
Organization: NASA Johnson Space Center
Date: 28 Sep 92 16:08:33 -0600


Prior to STS-47, James Oberg, author of Red Star In Orbit and self-proclaimed
"space historian and trivialogist", wrote a good trivia memo that was       
distributed around JSC.  Although it is copyrighted, he said it could be 
referenced as long as he is recognized as the author.  It has such good facts
in it that I thought it worth sharing.  It's fairly long, so I'll retype it in
two installments.

This memo was done prior to STS-47, so the hours of that flight are not   
included in the hours of the memo.  I have left out a few parts, like those
relevant to us at JSC.


                   STS-47 "by the numbers"
                     by James Oberg

STS-47 is the world's 151st manned orbital mission.  It's the 49th orbital
mission of a US space shuttle, and the 50th manned STS launch (counting 51-L);
it is the 25th mission since Return-to Flight, and the 78th US manned orbital
flight overall; the USSR/CIS has made 73, plus two known launch aborts.  

With this Spacelab-J mission, 282 different humans had gone into orbit: 148
have flown once, 69 twice, 51 thrice, 12 four times, and 1 each five and six
times.  Of those 282, 176 (62%) have been US citizens, 74 (27%) were Soviets
or Russians, and 32 (11%) were "other", from 25 nations.  The "25" counts East
and West Germany as different nations, plus free Kazakhstan, as a sovereign
part of the USSR.  Pre-1992, "Soviets" were citizens of 3 now-sovereign 
republics:  Russia, Byelarus, and Ukraine, and so far, 4 men (2 rookies) have 
flown under Russia's flag ("Russia" does NOT count as a "new" nation different
form the USSR).  Thirteen people of ten nations have been guests aboard U. S.
shuttles; nineteen people from 18 nations have been guests on Soviet/Russian
missions.  Only Canada & Germany have had more than one individual aboard US
vehicles; only Bulgaria and France have had more than one individual on Soviet/
Russian vehicles;  France & Germany were the only countries to have had 
citizens aboard both US and Soviet/Russian spacecraft, and now Japan is third.

STS-47 is the 2nd flight of OV-105 Endeavour.  OV-103 Discovery has made 14,
and OV-102 Columbia and OV-104 Atlantis have both made twelve.  OV-099        
Challenger had nine orbital missions prior to the 51-L disaster (its 10th
flight).  This makes 152 different folks who have orbited on NASA shuttles:
120 were NASA astronauts, 31 were payload specialists, and one was an ESA MS.
They are 77 onces, 40 twices, 28 thrices, & 7 fourtimers.  They've used 269
"warm seats", or "tickets": 79 on Discovery, 67 on Atlantis, 56 on Columbia,
53 on Challenger, and 14 on Endeavour (there were seven more tickets on
Challenger for 51-L).

Counting each individual human-flight ("warm seat") as a single ticket, this
new flight will involve the 492nd to 598th "tickets to orbit".  The 338 
tickets on American orbital missions are held by 189 individuals, including 
17 women (one non-US); the 160 tickets on Soviet/Russian vehicles are held
by 93 individuals, including 3 women (one non-Soviet).

Mission commander Gibson is making his fourth flight, and all have been on
different orbiters (he needs to fly Discovery next to become the only man to
fly ALL orbiters).  He's the twelfth human (and eleventh American) to make
four flights.  Brown, Davis, and Jemison are the last three of their 
15-member class of 1987 to reach orbit (that's often the price of getting
attached to a delayable science mission).

The different US and USSR/CIS approaches to manned space activities is well
reflected in the record book.  Man-hour statistics show continuing Soviet/
CIS dominance:  almost eight percent of human experience in space is Sov/CIS
experience.  Population statistics reflect more frequent US missions:  The
US now has far more than twice as many orbital travellers as the USSR/CIS
(176 versus 74), and more than twice the tickets (338 vs. 160).

In 1991 the Soviets had three manned missions (only two launches) with 8
cosmonauts, for 778 man-days.  The USA had six missions with 35 astronauts,
for 265 man-days.  Grand totals to the end of 1991 are USSR 8166, USA 2406
man-days in space.  In the first half of 1992, two Russian crews (one launch)
with five people accumulated 388 man-days;  4 US launches (28 crewmembers)
accumulated 279 man-days.

The current Sozuz TM-15 (launched July 27) is their last manned mission of
the year.  The new Mir crew of Solovyov and Avdeyev will return to Earth
about next Jan. 20 (177 days) after being relieved by Manakov and
Polishchuk on Soyuz TM-16 (Jan. 12 launch); the third seat may not even be
occupied.  In contrast, after STS-46 and -47 there are another three planned
NASA shuttle missions:  STS-52, 53, and maybe even 54, each lasting a week 
or so.

It adds up to make the STS-47 (105-02) mission statistically highly
significant!


Copyright @1992, James E. Oberg.  This summary is prepared privately by
space historian and trivialogist Jim Oberg for the amusement of flight crew,
flight controllers, newsmen, and the general public.  Any published/broadcast
references to these factlets and statistics should have the common courtesy
to acknowledge their source.  The author has done his double damnedest to
verify authenticity & accuracy of all data but takes no responsibility for
the consequences of errors, except personal embarrassment and penitence.        

-- 

Stokes McMillan -  	Flight Evaluation Office (VF3)  NASA JSC
			[email protected]

re .83
    
>Man-hour statistics show continuing Soviet/CIS dominance:  almost eight
>percent of human experience in space is Sov/CIS experience.
    
    Presumably that's meant to be eighty percent.

Article: 2773
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.local.illinois,clari.tw.space,clari.local.chicago
Subject: First black female astronaut greets hometown crowd
Date: 15 Oct 92 16:54:22 GMT
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- The first black female astronaut, Dr. Mae Jemison,
greeted a homecoming celebration crowd with the news that her native
Chicago was the first landmark she spotted from the window of the space
shuttle Endeavour.

	``After traveling something like 3.3 million miles, it's nice to come
back home, someplace familiar,'' Jemison told a news conference and some
200 well-wishers gathered at O'Hare Airport Wednesday.

	The event marked the beginning of a series of appearances Jemison
will make in her hometown.

	The former Peace Corps physician who earned her medical degree from
Cornell University was chosen from among 2,000 applicants to participate
in NASA's astronaut program. After graduating from Morgan Park High
School, she went on to Stanford University in 1973, where she earned a
bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.

	As a space mission specialist aboard the Endeavour, Jemison studied
the development of tadpoles in weightlessness and tested biofeedback as
a way to prevent space motion sickness during the eight-day expedition.

	``About 90 minutes into the flight, someone called me to the window
and the very first thing I saw, clear as a bell, was Chicago,'' the 36-
year-old astronaut told city officials and representatives of the Museum
of Science and Industry and DuSable Museum of African American History.
``Right then, I realized just how strongly attached I was.''

	Jemison was given the city's Medal of Merit and received the
Distinguished Achievement Award from the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of
black military fliers.

	Jemison left a Los Angeles medical practice in 1987, 14 years after
leaving Chicago to attend Stanford.

	``In 1973, I was trying so hard to get away, to get out and explore,''
she said. ``But what my exploration has done is bring me back here at
some 17,000 miles per hour.

	``I hope I can give back at least a fraction of what you have given
me.''

	She is scheduled to appear at the Museum of Science and Industry at
10 a.m. Friday and Morgan Park High School at 2 p.m. The DuSable Museum
will hold a reception and birthday celebration for Jemison Saturday
beginning at 6 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m. she will be featured at the
museum in a panel discussion, entitled, ``Careers for African Americans
in the Sciences in the '90s.''

    	Mae Jemison will be making a brief guest appearance in an
    upcoming episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Check the ST
    Conference for details.
     

Article: 2166
From: David Mears <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.info
Subject: Mae Jemison quote
Date: 6 Jun 1994 07:00:49 GMT
Organization: Vulcan Science Academy, Tau Ceti Sector
 
Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, was at the convocation for
Cornell University on Saturday, 28 May 1994.  When asked about what
seems to impress people the most about her her, she said (as quoted in
the San Jose Mercury News):
 
	For all the things I've done and accomplished and think
	are important, the most `oohs' and `aaahs' I get is
	because I appeared for about 30 seconds on `Star Trek.'
 
David B. Mears
Hewlett-Packard
Cupertino CA
[email protected]
 
-- 
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