Shuttle astronauts repair, stock space station, and lift it higher

Cosmonaut Yury Usachev and astronaut Susan Helms remove one of the batteries in the Russian Zarya module of the space station

Crew monitors air quality at station

May 24, 2000
Web posted at: 3:00 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT)

In this story: More than 3,000 pounds of equipment Replacing fire extinguishers, smoke detectors Crew to close hatches Friday RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Correspondent Miles O'Brien

(CNN) -- The crew of space shuttle Atlantis is preparing to give the International Space Station another push.

On their second full day of work inside the space station, the crew on Tuesday replaced bad batteries, stocked the cupboards and lofted the station into a higher orbit.

Sitting on the flight deck of Atlantis, Commander Jim Halsell and pilot Scott Horowitz fired the shuttle's Reaction Control System jet thrusters 27 times during a 59-minute period near the beginning of their duty day. The thruster firings lifted the station about 50,000 feet (9.5 miles) higher in orbit.

	INTERACTIVE GUIDE
All about mission STS-101
3-D model of the space shuttle (Requires Cult 3-D plug-in)
	MESSAGE BOARDS
Space shuttle International Space Station
	ALSO
Downlinks: NASA's sinking feeling

Two more identical maneuvers are scheduled in as many days. NASA hopes the thruster firings will give the station a 28-mile boost, leaving it in the desired orbit for the critical automated rendezvous with the Russian- built crew quarters -- scheduled for launch in mid-July.

On board the fledgling station, astronaut Susan Helms and cosmonaut Yuri Usachev removed and replaced the the third of four dead batteries in the Russian built control and propulsion module called "Zarya" ("Sunrise").

The battery installation is the top priority of this 10-day mission. Russian ground controllers were not charging the batteries properly, reducing their lifespan. Zarya was launched into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in November of 1998.

After conducting a comprehensive 20-hour charging test of the first newly installed battery, ground controllers in Moscow declared it in excellent condition. Tests were under way on the second new battery.

The crew also continued transferring some of the 3,300 pounds of equipment and supplies they brought with them. So far, about 1,200 pounds is in place on the station.

On their first day inside the space station Monday, the astronauts stocked in 870 pounds of gear. During a 6 hour, 44 minute spacewalk the night before, a pair of astronauts left 326 pounds of gear attached to the outside of the station.

The astronauts install ducts to provide temporary ventilation throughout the space station

The crew plans to replace fire extinguishers and smoke detectors that have exceeded their shelf life.

The crew paid close attention to the air quality as they passed over the portals of the station. They carried small canisters to capture air samples to be analyzed on the ground and carbon dioxide detectors.

The last shuttle crew to visit the station -- this time last year -- complained of nausea and headaches after working in the close confines of Zarya's control room. NASA believes a lack of air circulation was the culprit. The current crew is carrying small portable fans to keep fresh air flowing better.

The Atlantis crew is scheduled to close the hatches on the station early Friday AT 12:26 AM EDT.

The 10-day mission is slated to end at the Kennedy Space Center early Memorial Day -- 2:18 AM, Monday, May 29.

Space station gets a shove to higher orbit
May 23, 2000
Astronauts complete spacewalk, prepare to enter station
May 22, 2000
Atlantis lifts off on fourth try
May 19, 2000
Shuttle Atlantis cleared for Monday launch
April 18, 2000
Shuttle crew eager for ISS trip, despite equipment, training woes
March 27, 2000
Atlantis set for rollout to launch pad this week
March 20, 2000

NASA Human Spaceflight
Shuttle Countdown Online
Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis (OV-104)
NASA Homepage

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.