STS-84 Day 04 Highlights

On this fourth day of the STS-84 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen M. Collins, Payload Cmdr, Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA), Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Carlos I. Noriega, Elena V. Kondakova, Jerry M. Linenger (download), and C. Michael Foale (upload) spend their first full day of work together conducting science investigations and transferring equipment from one spacecraft to the other. The Spacehab double module at the rear of Atlantis' payload bay was the focus of activity today as crew members conducted science experiments in the Biorack facility and transferred items to and from the Mir Space Station. In an interview with CBS News, Precourt and Tsibliev praise the sixth joint docking mission between the U.S. and Russia, indicating it is serving as a worthwhile exercise to prepare for the assembly of the International Space Station. Precourt also said the Mir appears to be in good condition despite recent systems problems, and said Mir will be a perfectly safe home for Foale for his stay on orbit.