good morning Atlantis good morning
Houston thanks very much for the wakeup
music were all dancing around the
mid-deck now we thought you could use a
little Tchaikovsky as you step into that
orbital dance you'll need to catch up
with mirror that's in the mood the man
is for tips
bad boy we send one last test message if
you could check that out for us ok I'm
looking at the most recent one it's
great skills but lighter fact the first
all the road earlier messages had almost
no tones of grave and all the features
on the picture the portrait were totally
blocked it was a much better portrait
that I'd say the lettering quality with
a little bit too light and appears to be
of this time as a discontinuity if they
suppose I targeted the up the lab only
its vertical so there's fondant right
through the center of the bullseye
there's a lil bit of vertical
discontinuity have ruts the whole length
of the memory
good morning commander Cameron and the
crew of Atlantis this is Lydia dotto in
Toronto good morning with Ian I'd like
to have Chris a few questions I could
describe exactly what you'll be doing
during the docking with mirror
especially the few critical minutes
immediately before and after the point
of contact for all five of us have
things that need to be done in those two
critical minutes cannot be flying the
vehicle sitting right over here bill and
I will be at this position right here
giving can all the exact information he
needs to know our rate of how fast we're
closing because we have to close within
three one-hundredths of a foot per
second so we're going to hit it very
exactly and getting the images up on the
screen and using the handheld lasers and
the payload Bay lasers and Jim and Jerry
up front running all the systems on the
vehicle making sure everything's running
properly and and getting things set up
also running the IMAX camera so
everyone's going to be really busy but
this will be the place that I'm working
looking out this window as can fly the
vehicle up in the mirror I stand that
it's more difficult than the previous
docking because you won't really be able
to see the mirror spacecraft because
you're going into a different location
that's true Lydia if they're docking
plane was right out the back window so
when it came close they could just look
straight out the window get a very clear
picture of what they're doing ours
because I'm installing the docking
module is 25 feet above our heads we
can't see where the two vehicles are
going to hit each other and the only
place we can see it is right here on
this monitor so it makes it a more
difficult test also ken is trying to fly
the vehicle around a point that's way up
in the air so you can imagine that it's
more difficult like balancing something
on the end of a stick as opposed to just
slime the vehicle about its center of
gravity so it makes it a more
complicated test with having to speak
much Russian while all this is going on
some can and I'll be split in Russian
duties in order to tell the crew onboard
man how far away we are and what speed
were coming in and our status once you
get on board near you're going to be
doing some measurements of the noise
levels and the sound levels in the space
station can you explain exactly what
you'll be doing and why you're
interested in getting this information
whole reason we're going to the Russian
space station is to learn about combined
operations where you take a shuttle to a
space station and how life on a space
station is going to be and this is part
of that part of the mitigation
experiments to find out what's involved
what I'm going to be doing is going
through all of the mirror working
alongside Sergei of devs who's the
flight engineer on board mere and
measuring the sound at various locations
throughout to get a feel for what type
of working environment you end up in
when you get all the pumps and fans and
ventilators and experiments all working
inside a closed in cam and make a space
station and so we're just looking to
gather baseline data at the only space
station in the world or off the world
that's been going for the last nine
years to maybe modify how the
International Space Station is going to
be built thanks very much Chris and I
hope you have a very successful mission
good what actually is back talking to
gamble gentlemen my bill nap I'm with
Canadian electronics magazine and I have
the question for Chris to start this
mission has been described as the most
complex shuttle missions ever flown can
you is that true and if so why I don't
think it's the most complex one ever
flown it's definitely as complex as any
flight we have a very short period of
time we're doing something no one's ever
tried to do before trying to build this
thing and install it and there's a lot
of interest in the flight because it's
very similar to what's going to be done
before the international space station
assembly so it it makes it a very
complex mission it's definitely a
challenge for the
of us we have a lot to do over the next
six or seven days Eddie choose me while
you're doing your assembly with the SVS
kernels Ross McCarthy will be preparing
to a contingency e VA can you describe
what kind of contingencies you have
foreseen that may occur during the
assembly be one of the gentlemen who
would get to do this Evie a potential
sees we plan for and we've studied
include installing the docking module by
hand if it turns out that our analysis
is not accurate at that the other
technique that the other techniques
don't work and in that case cheering I
would describe the payload Bay and
restrain the document with straps and
then Chris would extend the ring of the
docking system everything gauges that
way and then we have contingency ebas if
we needed some manual assistance that
are not premier right now the other
question is for all of the crew having
worked with the SVS how do you feel
about it as a system and would you like
to see it installed on all the shuttle
fleet
well one of the reasons we're flying the
vision system is to increase our
understanding of it and to increase the
ways that we can utilize it certainly a
way to use computers and cameras to take
measurements where we we cannot put the
human eye it gives us a great advantage
if we go to build a space station or to
do other robotic tasks and we're taking
advantage of cameras that exist in the
orbit already and computational power
that we can bring on board to make a
display that Chris and Bill can use to
put themselves in virtually the ideal
position to do the task and I think in
show missions that require that it will
certainly help thank you gentlemen good
luck with the rest of the mission hi
guys a warm ah hello from canada Chris
it's good to hear your voice it's Hana
Gartner oh that's great to talk to you
where are you where are you when you
look at the window where are you all
right over New Orleans you forgive me
this is kind of exciting for me I've
never interviewed anybody in space but
it's a it's a list of firsts for you to
where we take advantage of every chance
we can to take a picture here in on us
so Ken's going to get pictures of the
coast because it's a clear day over New
Orleans right now but yeah this is a
tremendous experience for me and I've
seen all the pictures but there's
nothing like being here you are the only
rookie on the flight what are you going
to remember about this first time Chris
probably not going to remember announce
think you remember the most i think is
is the people that you flew with that's
what everyone says and I sure can see
why that the crew makes all the
difference the people always make all
the difference but some of the images
even so far fleeting images of seeing
the Sahara in a minute and a half or
seeing some Mount Everest today and
seeing the whole planet as
as one globe in 90 minutes is is just an
amazing humbling thing to see and and
that probably strikes home as much as
anything you were planning to take a
shot of Canada with the Canada arm in
the picture that you did you manage to
get that shot we just it's afternoon for
us we just deployed the arm this
afternoon we haven't gone over Canada
during the daylight with the arm
deployed yet since we're going over New
Orleans now we're probably going to just
cut up the coast to Newfoundland so over
the next few hours will be flying over
Canada with the arm extended at some
time in the next six or seven days I'm
going to get that picture how far off
are you 460 miles up and now we're over
Atlanta how much can you see do you get
that shot well you can you consider all
south of the Appalachian Mountains and
Atlanta and large part of the United
States when do you actually meet up with
mere it's not as if you just drive up in
parallel park 65 orbit so that catches
us up Tamira Paszek moshe to get through
it the faster you have to orbit so we're
slowly catching up to mirrors orbit
right now and in about two days will be
docked with them will maneuver close and
then spend about the last four or five
hours doing all the fine maneuvers to
bring ourselves in close and then drive
with you back in his approach this is
something that I can't get in my mind
I've been reading about it I've heard
you describe it the the shuttle and mere
way a quarter of a million pounds I
can't imagine how you're going to do
this pretty amazing it'll be the the
heaviest assembly of vehicles ever put
together in in space before it'll be
over half a million pounds and Meers
been up there for nine years of this
shuttle on 15 times and would it happy
to be on board for this place can you
give me an idea the procedure what it
what it is you're going to do certainly
the first thing I'm going to do is take
out of the back of the payload Bay and
build a long tunnel that will stick out
the top of the shuttle
like this folio bigger around and then
can with help all of us will drive the
whole vehicle up and attach it to a worm
limb that sticks out of mere and then
when we leave we'll leave the whole
tunnel attached that that will provide a
permanent docking station for all
subsequent shuttles on board near that's
the purpose of our flight just to build
something on to the space station first
time the shuttles ever done that what if
it doesn't work do you get a second
chance of this yes we do a flying over
Washington now Hana we do have a second
chance but we always can stop for a
little while back on hold our position
and try and fix whatever obstacles come
up and once we're close to mere we
basically are in the same orbit so as
long as we have the various consumable
propellants and cryogenics and things on
board to keep everything running we can
stay and give it another try you know
Chris I have a this romantic vivid image
of what it takes to fly a shuttle that
you guys are just hanging around don't
you have to do anything well you should
have seen us a couple hours ago we were
we were busy man but right now would
taking advantage of the of the little
break and the flight schedule to take
these pictures anytime you get a clear
shot of Earth we do a lot of training of
Earth observation and taking pictures of
all the cameras we have on board and
that's what all these bodies are out
there doing when you hook up with mere
you are going to meet three guys who've
been up there for two months already
you're bringing some some R&R for them
we better chance to claim with those
guys for a month on the ground twice
over in Russia and once they came to
houston and trained so we are really are
just visiting them they're good friends
and we're looking forward to the reunion
we have brought some gifts along because
life can be fairly repetitive in orbit
for six months at a time and that's the
life that they're leading and so we're
bringing them
things from their family we're bringing
them gets suppressed food some chocolate
and we're also bringing them a guitar
for something to do because they get
evening that weekends off Chris I'm
fascinated about this this guitar I
thought this is very confined space and
you don't have room I know what a guitar
what kind of space it takes up probably
we were lucky enough to find a guitar
that is just perfect for our purposes
it's a collapsible practice classical
guitar and it's really just the size of
the bridge of the guitar and then
there's the shape of the guitar clicks
into place and then it has an electric
pick up but you can just play it with
headphones so in a noisy environment
like this one you can play quietly to
yourself and also it only takes up maybe
about a foot long weighs about three
pounds so it works out very well for
stowage and I'm not showing it on TV yet
because I want it to be a surprise for
the Russians how it looks okay well
let's try this I know this is a very
serious light you have a lot of serious
scientific operations to perform but the
rest of the super team know what a ham
you are that you do play well and you're
a really good singer I'm really looking
forward to have a chance to play a game
with one of the astronauts onboard
marrows thomas writer he's quite a good
classical guitarist I look forward to
playing with him inside near and also to
leaving him with his gift because I
think if I were up in space for six
months with a little bit of time on my
hands occasionally it sure would be
welcome to have a gift like that
you
okay we're getting bill up here so you
messed up we're doing sm checkpoint
initiates and error log resets copy all
Jerry and heads up the message 16 the OS
vs troubleshooting should be on board
it's about a 10 minute procedure and you
can perform it or any of you can perform
it at your discretion when you get a
moment