September 20, 2000 - Atlantis and its seven astronauts swooped to a predawn landing at the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday, wrapping up a mission to prepare the initial living quarters of the International Space Station for its first residents.

Commander Terry Wilcutt guided Atlantis to a landing at 3:56 a.m. EDT wrapping up a 4.9 million mile mission in which more than three tons of equipment were delivered to the international outpost.

September 19, 2000 - Winding down from the hectic pace of International Space Station outfitting, which saw the crew move more than 6,600 pounds of supplies into the station, the crew of five astronauts and two cosmonauts spent much of today tearing down their campsite. The packing and housekeeping chores high on the list of priorities included deactivating systems in the pressurized Spacehab module that served as a cargo hold for the equipment and supplies transferred to the station, and putting away other equipment used in the rendezvous, docking, space walk, undocking and fly around of the previous week.

They turned in for one last night in space about 11 this morning and received a wakeup call from Mission Control at 6:46 EDT p.m. to the song "Houston", performed by Dean Martin. Just before 11 p.m., the astronauts began their deorbit preparations.

With weather conditions favorable in Florida, and nearly perfect in California at the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, managers elected to aim for a landing in Florida only, Wednesday. Edwards would be considered for Thursday, however.

For a touchdown on the 3-mile-long Shuttle Landing Facility runway on the first opportunity tomorrow, Atlantis would fire its engines to begin a descent at 2:50 a.m. A second opportunity to land in Florida starts with a deorbit burn at 4:27 a.m. and ends with Atlantis touching down at 5:33 a.m. EDT.

September 18, 2000 - When Atlantis was at a safe distance from the station, about 450 feet, Pilot Scott Altman performed a 90-minute, double-loop fly around to enable the crew to document the station's exterior with still photography and video. He fired Atlantis' jets one final time to separate from the station at 1:35 a.m. EDT.

Atlantis' astronauts enjoyed six hours of off duty time just after 4 a.m. EDT before they turned in for an eight hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. The astronauts were awakened at 6:46 p.m. EDT to begin what should be their final full day in orbit. This evening's wake-up song was "Home in the Islands" by The Brothers Cazimero, played for Mission Specialists Ed Lu who considers Honolulu a hometown.

Atlantis' crew turned its attention to checking shuttle systems and packing up equipment for the return home. This evening they tested the flight control systems that maneuver the shuttle once it re-enters the atmosphere and begins to operate like an airplane. Just before 11 p.m., a test firing of all 44 thruster jets on Atlantis was performed to verify they were in good working order.

Atlantis remains in excellent operating condition, as does the International Space Station.

September 17, 2000 - The last hatch to the station was closed at about 8 this morning, ending 5 days, 9 hours, 21 minutes inside the station for Atlantis' crew. 6,600 pounds of supplies, water and equipment were moved to the station. Before going to sleep, the crew prepared rendezvous tools to be used during the undocking from the station. Also, the centerline camera was placed in the orbiter docking system window.

The STS-106 crew began their eight-hour sleep period at 11:46 a.m. and received their wake up call from Mission Control at 7:46 p.m. The wake up song, "YMCA" was played for Pilot Scott Altman at the request of his wife.

Atlantis' seven astronauts and cosmonauts successfully undocked from the International Space Station after accomplishing all mission objectives in outfitting the station for the first resident crew. Undocking occurred at 11:46 p.m. EDT over Russia near the northeastern portion of the Ukraine. The initial separation was performed by springs in the docking mechanism that gently pushed the shuttle away from the station. Both Atlantis and the station's steering jets were shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings during this initial separation.

September 16, 2000 - In the final hours of docked operations between Atlantis and the International Space Station the seven member crew continued transferring supplies and equipment, including an exercise treadmill, for use by the first resident crew later this year.

Inside the Unity module, Mission Specialists Dan Burbank and Rick Mastracchio completed the reinstallation of four Common Berthing Mechanism controllers in the port leading from Unity to the docking port currently occupied by Atlantis. The installation of the controllers sets the stage for the arrival of the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, early next year.

Cargo transfer continues to proceed ahead of schedule with 4,285 pounds of supplies, water and equipment being moved from Atlantis to the station and 762 pounds of material carried to Atlantis for the return trip home. Among the supplies transferred to station today were additional food, a food warmer, a ham radio and the last of the computer equipment for the first station residents. About six hours of transfer activity remains for the crew tomorrow when they will move some final water containers and food to the station.

The astronauts began an eight-hour sleep period mid-morning, with a wake-up call from Mission Control at 7:46 p.m. EDT to begin their final full day of docked operations with the International Space Station. The wake up call was the U.S. Coast Guard's "Semper Paratus" (Always Ready), played for Burbank, a Lieutenant Commander in the Coast Guard.

The Atlantis astronauts finished checking the three tons of supplies and equipment that have been transferred from the Shuttle and an unmanned Russian supply vehicle in preparation for the arrival of the first station crew in November. Then in a reversal of the procedures they followed last Monday when they entered the station, the crew closed and secured the hatches that connect each of the station components. The first hatch closure between the Progress vehicle and the Zvezda Service Module took place just after 11 p.m. EDT.

The fourth and final in a series of jet thruster firings to gently raise the station's altitude occurred while the hatch closing activity was taking place. Beginning about 11:30 p.m., the final series of shuttle thruster firings raised the station's orbit another 31Ž2 statute miles (5.6 km) to 241 by 233 statute miles (388 x 375 km). In all, the four maneuvers raised the average altitude of the ISS by statute14 miles (22.5 km).

September 15, 2000 - The International Space Station got another boost early this morning, as STS-106 Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman executed another hour-long series of thruster firings designed to raise the station's orbit by several more miles.

Thirty-six pulses of Atlantis' reaction control system thrusters boosted the station another 3 1Ž2 miles (5.6 km). The third reboost of the mission placed the ISS in a 237 by 229 statute mile orbit (381 x 368 km). One more reboost maneuver is scheduled Sunday before the shuttle undocks from the station.

Mission Specialists Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko spent much of their day installing power converters in the Zvezda module. These will allow current from U.S. solar arrays to be used in the Russian modules. The first set of these large arrays is scheduled to be installed on the station in early December.

Lu and Malenchenko also installed components of the Elektron system in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen and will be used to replenish the air in the station. The system will be activated after arrival of the first station crew.

Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov concentrated their efforts on transferring, organizing and stowing equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the station. The 1,300 pounds of gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft that is docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module already has been unloaded, and that vehicle is now being utilized as a trash container that eventually will be remotely undocked to burn up harmlessly in the Earth's atmosphere.

So far, 3,700 pounds of hardware and supplies has been moved into the ISS, including six, 100 pound bags of water, all the food for the first resident crew, office supplies, onboard environmental supplies, a vacuum cleaner and a computer and monitor.

Atlantis' astronauts went to bed mid-morning today and were awaken from Mission Control at 7:46 p.m. with the University of Connecticut Fight Song, performed by the University of Connecticut Band. The music was played for Rick Mastracchio, an alumnus of that school.

On the timeline for flight day nine was the setup of the ISS treadmill and its associated equipment. The device, known as the Treadmill with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (TVIS), allows station crews to maintain physical conditioning during their extended flights without shaking sensitive experiments.

Astronauts also will reinstall the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Controllers that had been removed by the STS-96 crew to facilitate logistics transfer during the ISS supply and setup missions. The CBM controllers are suitcase-size devices that control the latching of modules and ISS hardware to the Unity node. They were removed to avoid damage to the units and to ease the transfer of bulky items through the hatches. This reinstallation was a get-ahead task that the crew was able to work into its timeline.

September 14, 2000 - Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman used Atlantis' propulsion system to reboost the station's orbit to an altitude of 236 by 225 statute miles (380 x 362 km) firing the jets 36 times over the course of an hour. The maneuver raised the stations orbit about 4 1/2 miles (7 km). Two more altitude-raising burns are planned before the shuttle undocks Sunday.

Through it all, Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio oversaw the unpacking of Atlantis' cargo hold and the Progress supply ship, moving all manner of equipment and supplies on board the station for the first crew. The crew also unpacked Russian-made Orlan space suits that will be used to perform space walks outside the station.

Another important item for those first residents was installed earlier today when Malenchenko moved the hardware and hoses for the station's first toilet from the Progress to Zvezda. The unit's waste tank and hose were installed. The task of activating the bathroom will be left to the Expedition One crew. All of the 1,300 pounds of ISS gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module has been unloaded.

Prior to Atlantis' crew turning in today, approximately one third of the almost three tons of supplies and equipment have already been moved into the station. They were awakened shortly before 8 p.m. EDT to the song "Haze Has Melted Away" by Konstantin Nikolsky's Group and was requested for Malenchenko by his wife.

The Progress is beginning its second role, as a space garbage truck. It will be loaded with unneeded gear-packing material as an example-which will be incinerated with the vehicle during a fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

September 13, 2000 - In and around the battery work, the transfer of almost three tons of hardware continued. The crew members will have to work fast at the unloading and stowing, as they have just five days inside the complex. It would have been only four days, but NASA managers decided today to stretch the mission from 11 days to 12. The new landing date is Sept. 20.

The crew's bedtime was about 12:00 p.m. EDT with the Flight Day 7 wake-up call scheduled just before 8 p.m. EDT. This morning's wake up song from Mission Control was Kombaht by the group called Loobeh, played for Mission Specialist Boris Morukov of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

Included in today's "To Do" list was the installation of a battery charger in the Zvezda Service Module. The device was hooked into Zvezda's electrical power system to allow batteries in visiting Progress or Soyuz vehicles to be charged, using the station's power system.

September 12, 2000 - The crew continued the work of opening all the hatches and outfitting the interior of the ISS early this morning. The hatch to the Zarya Control Module was opened just after 1:00 a.m. Crewmembers first floated into the new Zvezda service module at 1:20 a.m. EDT, wearing breathing filters and eye goggles as a precaution against possible atmospheric contamination and debris inside the newest module of the station that will serve as the living quarters and command and control center for the complex.

Within minutes the crew reported that air quality and other conditions inside Zvezda were excellent, removed the precautionary equipment and went to work installing ventilation and removing restraint bolts put in place for Zvezda's ride to orbit two months ago today. The final hatch into a Russian cargo ship was opened at 2:22 a.m. EDT and the crew began transferring items from the Progress to the station.

Even before all the hatches were opened, the STS-106 crew began their transfer activities as items from Atlantis were moved into the Unity node. The crew began an eight hour sleep period at 11:46 a.m. and was awakened at 7:46 p.m. to the tune of "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. It was played for Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, at the request of his wife.

Electrical work was the hallmark of the day as three batteries were installed inside Zvezda and two batteries replace in Zarya. Because of weight, Zvezda was launched with five of its eight batteries in place.

September 11, 2000 - Astronaut Ed Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko took a 6 hour, 14 minute walk outside the shuttle this morning to complete final connections between the International Space Station's newest module, Zvezda and its first component, Zarya. They essentially served as construction workers and electricians while outside, attaching cabling that fully, and permanently, integrate Zvezda to the rest of the ISS. The space walk began at 12:47 a.m. this morning and ended at 7:01 a.m.

While outside they connected nine cables between Zvezda and Zarya, including four 27-foot long cables which will enable power to flow from the U.S. arrays to the Russian modules to augment the solar arrays on both Zarya and Zvezda since the U.S. arrays will shade portions of the Russian arrays once they are installed on the top of the Z-1 truss framework. Another four cables extending 16 feet were secured that will provide video and data transmissions throughout the ISS. A final fiber-optic telemetry cable was installed that will be used to provide Russian spacesuit data to be transferred to the ground during future space walks.

The final task was to construct and attach a 6-foot long magnetometer that serves as a backup navigation system for the station. The information provided by the magnetometer will minimize the amount of propellent Zvezdaćs thrusters use to maintain the position of the International Space Station. This task took the two tethered space walkers the furthest distance from the shuttle than ever before - 110 feet above the payload bay. That's twice as far as when astronauts work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Following the space walk, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman fired small thruster jets on Atlantis to slowly increase the station's overall altitude. Three separate one-hour reboost maneuvers are planned during the docked phase of the flight.

The STS-106 crew began a well-deserved eight-hour sleep period beginning at 11:46 a.m. EDT. They were awakened at 7:46 p.m. to begin their third day of docked operations. The wake up song, The Hukilau Song by Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack, was played for Mission Specialists Ed Lu at the request of his sister.

The crew of five astronauts and two cosmonauts opened the first hatch of the ISS located on Primary Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2) at 10:40 p.m. EDT and entered the Unity Node shortly before midnight. A total of 12 different hatches will be opened as Wilcutt and his crew travel through the different sections of the station.

September 10, 2000 - Commander Terry Wilcutt steered Space Shuttle Atlantis to a smooth link-up with the International Space Station at 1:51 a.m. EDT Sunday, setting the stage for six days of outfitting to make the orbiting outpost ready for its first residents later this year.

The approach and docking went almost exactly as planned with the only change being a brief tilt of the shuttle to sight the station with Atlantis' only working star tracker at a distance of 50 miles from the station. At the time of docking, the ISS and Atlantis was flying over Western Kazakhstan.

As soon as docking was complete, the crew activated hooks and latches to forge a hard bond between Atlantis and the station's Unity module. Soon after docking, the shuttle's cabin atmospheric pressure was lowered in preparation for tomorrow's early morning six and a half hour space walk, or Extravehicular Activity (EVA), by Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko. This significantly reduces the amount of time crewmembers must pre-breathe pure oxygen before exiting the airlock. This also purges the body of nitrogen bubbles and prevents symptoms called "the bends," well known by divers.

Lu who carries the designation EV 1, will be making his first space walk and will wear the space suit marked by red stripes. Malenchenko, who conducted two space walks totaling 12 hours during his 1994 flight aboard the Russian Mir Space Station, is designated EV 2 and will wear the pure white suit.

Near the end of their work day, Atlantis's crew had 4 hours of off duty time to relax before beginning a planned eight hour sleep period at about 11:46 a.m. They were awakened just before 8 p.m. EDT to the tune "All Star" by the band Smash Mouth. The song was played for the two space walkers at the request of the EVA training and flight control teams to celebrate what will be the sixth space walk in support of station assembly and the 50th space walk in Space Shuttle history.

September 09, 2000 - Their first full day in space was a busy one for the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Atlantis as they moved ever closer to an early Sunday morning linkup with the International Space Station. About three hours after the wake-up call, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman initiated the first burn of the orbiter's Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) to continue refining Atlantis' orbit for a precision rendezvous and docking. The docking will occur at about 1:52 a.m. Sunday at an altitude of about 220 statute miles over the Russia and Kazakhstan border north of the Caspian Sea.

Lu, Malenchenko and mission specialist Dan Burbank unpacked, assembled and tested spacesuits and checkouted the tools Lu and Malenchenko will use as they work on the station's exterior sometimes about 110 feet above the orbiter. The space walk to connect electrical, communications and fiberoptic cables and install a magnetometer to the station will last about 6 and a half hours.

Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio powered up the Shuttle's robot arm, verifying its operation and conducting a photographic survey of the payload bay. Cosmonaut Boris Morukov tended to experiments and photography and television-related activities.

The crew began a seven hour sleep period at 11:46 a.m. and were awakened at 6:46 p.m. EDT by the song " I Say a Little Prayer" which was played for Commander Terry Wilcutt. As of about 7:30 p.m. this evening, the Shuttle trailed the station by about 230 statute miles and was closing in by about 184 miles with each 90-minute orbit of Earth.

The final phase of rendezvous began when Atlantis reaches a point about eight nautical miles directly behind the station and fired its engines in a terminal phase initiation burn just before 11 p.m. EDT.

September 08, 2000 - Space Shuttle Atlantis rocketed into space at 8:46 EDT and began its 6600-statute-mile orbital chase to catch the International Space Station where the crew will undertake a full menu of outfitting tasks to prepare the station for its permanent crew. At the time of Atlantis' launch, the 67-ton station was flying above Hungary, southwest of Budapest.

Once on orbit, Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov began configuring the shuttle for 11 days of on-orbit operations before turning in at 1:46 p.m. for its first sleep period.

Overview - Atlantis returns to the International Space Station (ISS) for the second time in four months on NASA's third Shuttle flight of the year to complete outfitting of the first home in space for the first crew of the rapidly expanding facility.

Veteran Astronaut Terry Wilcutt (Col., USMC) leads the seven-man crew, commanding his second Shuttle flight and making his fourth trip into space. During the planned 11-day mission, Wilcutt and his crew mates will spend a week inside the ISS unloading supplies from both a double SPACEHAB cargo module in the rear of AtlantisÌ cargo bay and from a Russian Progress M-1 resupply craft docked to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module. Zvezda, which linked up to the ISS on July 26, will serve as the early living quarters for the station and is the cornerstone of the Russian contribution to the ISS.

The goal of the flight is to prepare Zvezda for the arrival of the first resident, or Expedition, crew later this fall and the start of a permanent human presence on the new outpost. That crew, Expedition Commander Bill Shepherd, Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, is due to launch in a Soyuz capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in late October for a four-month "shakedown" mission aboard the ISS.

When Wilcutt guides Atlantis in for its docking with the ISS on the third day of the mission, he will find the new station a much larger facility than the one left by the STS-101 crew during its flight in May. With the addition of the Zvezda and the Progress resupply ship, the ISS will measure 143 feet in length, roughly the height of a 13-story building, and will weigh 67 tons, twice the size of the ISS back in May. The joining of Zvezda to the ISS and the arrival of the Progress provides about 8,800 cubic feet of habitable volume for Station crew members, roughly the size of a comfortable apartment. By the time the U.S. Laboratory Destiny is installed on the ISS in January, the Station will have surpassed both Skylab and Mir in total livable space.