December 15, 1998 - Endeavour's astronauts awoke to the sounds of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" today, and are now preparing for a return trip to Earth. The wake-up call came at 12:36 p.m. EST, and was chosen by the flight control team to energize the six crew members in anticipation of tonight's landing in Florida, marking the 10th nighttime Shuttle landing in the program's history.

NASA's final Shuttle mission of 1998 came to an end this evening with the landing of Space Shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center. Following a 4.6 million mile journey, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana guided the orbiter down onto runway 15 with landing gear touchdown occurring at 10:54 p.m. EST.

Tonight's landing at KSC marked the 10th night landing in the history of the Shuttle program. It was also the 17th straight landing at Kennedy Space Center and the 24th in the last 25 Shuttle missions to land at the Florida spaceport.

While Endeavour is back on firm ground, 246 miles above, the new International Space Station continues to orbit with all systems functioning normally. The current orientation of the ISS has the Unity module facing the Earth and the Zarya module facing deep space. The station is also in a slow rotation at one revolution every 30 minutes to maintain the proper heating and cooling. The next shuttle assembly mission to the station is STS-96.

December 14, 1998 - Endeavour's crew awoke to the sounds of James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)," today, in honor of the good feelings evoked by this successful first International Space Station Assembly mission. That wake-up call from Mission Control at 12:36 p.m. EST, marks the start of the final full-day of operations for the six-member crew of STS-88. At the time of crew wake-up, Endeavour was about 222 statute miles ahead of the space station and pulling away from the station by about 12 statute miles per orbit.

Endeavour's astronauts wrapped up their mission objectives and packed up their ship, ready for a landing late tomorrow night at Kennedy Space Center and the end of the first mission to assemble the International Space Station. At 9:09 p.m. EST, the astronauts completed the final task of the flight, deploying a 700-pound Air Force technology satellite called MightySat as Endeavour sailed over Indonesia. MightySat will send back data on the effect of the space environment on composite materials and advanced solar power cells.

December 13, 1998 - For the first time ever, the new International Space Station Flight Control Room in Houston issued a wake-up call to orbiting astronauts. At 11:36 a.m. EST, space station communicator Astronaut Mike Fincke awoke Endeavour's crew with the song" Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" as they prepare to say "goodnight" to the space station.

Endeavour's astronauts bid farewell to the International Space Station this afternoon, undocking from the new complex which will fly unpiloted for the next five months until the next shuttle assembly flight in May 1999.

Pilot Rick Sturckow separated Endeavour from the station at 3:25 p.m. EST, firing the shuttle's jets to place the orbiter 450 feet above the outpost. Sturckow then initiated a nose-forward flyaround of the station as shuttle TV cameras captured spectacular views of the two station modules framed against the blue backdrop of the Earth.

International Space Station flight controllers at Mission Control, Houston and at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow, will now spend the next five months monitoring the station's systems and awaiting the launch of Discovery on the STS-96 mission. STS-96 will see a multinational crew of seven astronauts return to the station in a logistics resupply flight which will include at least one spacewalk to attach additional hardware to the new orbiting facility.

December 12, 1998 - Endeavour's astronauts awoke at 11:36 a.m. EST today, to the sounds of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," and began preparing for the third and final scheduled space walk of the mission.

The third and final space walk of the flight by astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman began at 3:33 p.m. EST. Working close to the timeline, Ross and Newman accomplished all of the tasks planned for the excursion. The astronauts stowed a tool bag on the U.S.-built Unity connecting module and disconnected umbilicals used to drive the docking mechanisms that mated it with the Russian-built Zarya control module last week. They also installed a handrail on Zarya for use by future space walkers, and a made a detailed photographic survey of the station for review by engineers over the next several months.

Standing at the end of the shuttle's robot arm, Ross duplicated the accomplishment of Newman last Wednesday, freeing a jammed backup rendezvous system antenna on Zarya with a grappling hook. Ross found the antenna to be a bit stubborn, but after tapping it and nudging it several times, the antenna finally rolled out from its spool to the fully deployed position.

With the first steps in the orbital construction of the International Space Station completed, Endeavour is planned to undock from the new outpost at 2:25 p.m. EST on Sunday, leaving the 7-story, 35-ton complex to fly on its own for the next five months. Station flight controllers will be able to monitor the health of the station through an S-band communications system installed in Unity by the astronauts.

December 11, 1998 - Endeavour's crew was awakened at 11:36 a.m. EST today to continue their work of preparing the International Space Station for future crews. "Trepak," a Russian dance from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet, was played as the wake-up music in honor of cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Sergei Krikalev.

Endeavour's astronauts wrapped up the first visit inside the International Space Station and prepared it for undocking, closing the hatches for the final time to the new complex before it is left unpiloted Sunday. Commander Bob Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev closed the hatch to Zarya at 5:41 p.m. EST. They closed a series of additional hatches as the crew made its way back to Endeavour, finally swinging the door to Unity shut at 7:26 p.m. This ended the first excursion by astronauts into the international outpost, an excursion that lasted 28 hours and 32 minutes.

Left behind were tools, supplies and clothing for the crew that will visit the station during the next shuttle assembly flight in May, and for the first crew members who will establish a permanent occupancy of the station in January 2000.

Back inside Endeavour, the astronauts completed preparations for a third and final space walk Saturday by Jerry Ross and Jim Newman to tidy up cable configurations. Near the end of Saturday's space walk, Ross plans to use a grappling hook to try to free the second of two jammed antennas that are part of Zarya's backup rendezvous system. The space walk is scheduled to begin about 4:06 p.m. EST Saturday, but could get under way earlier if Ross and Newman are ahead of schedule in their space walk preparations.

December 10, 1998 - Endeavour's six astronauts awoke at 11:41 a.m. EST today and are preparing for a historic day - entry into the International Space Station for the first time. The crew was awakened to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," played for Mission Specialist-2, Nancy Currie at the request of her husband, David.

Reflecting the international cooperation involved in building the largest space complex in history, Commander Bob Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev opened the hatch to the U.S.-built Unity connecting module at 2:54 p.m. EST and floated into the new station together.

The rest of the crew followed and began turning on lights and unstowing gear in the roomy hub to which other modules will be connected in the future. Each passageway within Unity was marked by a sign leading the way into tunnels to which new modules will be connected.

About an hour later, at 4:12 p.m., Cabana and Krikalev opened the hatch to the Russian-built Zarya control module, which will be the nerve center for the station in its embryonic stage. Joined by Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Nancy Currie, Cabana and Krikalev hailed the historic entrance into the International Space Station and said the hatch opening signified the start of a new era in space exploration.

Krikalev and Currie replaced a faulty unit in Zarya which controlled the discharging of stored energy from one of the module's six batteries. The battery had not been working properly in its automatic configuration, but the new unit was functioning normally shortly after it was installed.

The hatches to Zarya and Unity will be closed before Endeavour undocks from the new station Sunday, leaving the new complex to orbit the Earth unpiloted.

December 9, 1998 - After enjoying a half day of rest yesterday, Endeavour's crew was awakened at 11:36 a.m. EST to begin preparations for a second spacewalk. The crew awoke to the tune "Floating in the Bathtub," selected for Mission Specialist Jim Newman by his wife, Mary Lee.

Jerry Ross and Jim Newman began the second of three planned space walks for the STS-88 mission at 3:33 p.m. EST, and immediately set out to install two boxy antennas on the side of the Unity module that will enable U.S. flight controllers to monitor that component's systems and provide basic videoconferencing for the first permanent occupants of the station in January 2000. The two space walkers also installed a sunshade over Unity's two data relay boxes to ensure that they will be protected against harsh sunlight as the station circles the Earth.

Near the end of the space walk, Newman was hoisted to the Zarya control module on the end of Endeavour's robot arm so that he could use a grappling hook to free a backup rendezvous system antenna. After nudging the antenna with the grappling device, the pole popped out to its fully extended position as the shuttle passed over the northeast coast of Australia. The astronauts will attempt to free a duplicate antenna that is jammed on the other side of Zarya during their final space walk Saturday.

Ross and Newman returned to Endeavour's external airlock and began to repressurize it at 10:35 p.m., completing a 7 hour, 2 minute excursion. So far, they have worked outside Endeavour a total of 14 hours and 23 minutes. This was the third space walk for Newman and the sixth for Ross, who now has spent 37 hours, 10 minutes in the void of space -- a U.S. record.

December 8, 1998 - At the request of Commander Bob Cabana, Mission Control delayed Endeavour's wake-up call by one-half hour today, waking the crew at 1:06 p.m. EST, after the astronauts remained up past their scheduled sleep time to enjoy the view and relax following a very busy and successful day yesterday. The crew was awakened by Dwight Yokum's "Streets of Bakersfield," requested by the wife of Pilot Rick Sturckow, a California native. Following yesterday's 7-hour, 21-minute spacewalk, Mission Specialists Jim Newman and Jerry Ross will relax today beginning preparations for tomorrow's spacewalk, the second of three planned during this mission.

Flight controllers will conduct command checks between Mission Control, Houston, and Mission Control, Moscow, to verify the ability to command Zarya from Houston via the Moscow control center. In preparation for the crew's entry into the International Space Station on Thursday, the mating adapter between Unity and Zarya, Pressurized Mating Adapter 1 (PMA 1) will be pressurized via remote commands from Moscow and checked for leaks. Flight controllers in Houston also will power on filters and fans and monitor temperatures inside Unity as heaters warm up the module prior to Thursday's entry.

December 7, 1998 - Following a wake-up call from Mission Control at 12:41 p.m. EST today, Endeavour's six astronauts began preparing for the first of three scheduled space walks. The wake-up song, "Jerry the Rigger," was in honor of Mission Specialist Jerry Ross, who with fellow Mission Specialist Jim Newman, will conduct more than 18 hours of space walks during this flight.

The first U.S. segment of the International Space Station came to life Monday night as the Unity module was activated for the first time. Activation followed the connection of electrical and data cables by Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman during a 7-hour, 21-minute space walk.

Working smoothly and ahead of schedule, Ross and Newman mated 40 cables and connectors running 76 feet from the Zarya control module to Unity as the 35-ton station towered over the cargo bay of the shuttle Endeavour.

The two veteran space walkers began their excursion at 5:10 p.m. EST, quickly pressing ahead with the connection of crucial data and power cables between Zarya and Unity.

Endeavour and the International Space Station are orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 240 statute miles with all systems in excellent shape.

December 6, 1998 - Endeavour's crew awoke at 11:36 a.m. EST today to begin the orbital assembly of the International Space Station, uniting the first two station modules, Zarya and Unity. The astronauts were awakened to the sounds of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," requested by Commander Bob Cabana's daughter, Sarah.

Endeavour's crew will begin the final stages of a rendezvous with the Zarya module with an engine firing planned at about 2:30 p.m. EST, when Endeavour is at a point about 55 statute miles behind Zarya. When the edge of Endeavour's payload bay is within 10 feet of Zarya, Currie will use the robotic arm to capture the module, about 6:46 p.m. EST. She then will maneuver it into a position precisely aligned above Unity's docking mechanism. The 21-ton Zarya will be the most massive object ever moved with the robotic arm, more than three tons heavier than the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory that was released using the arm on Space Shuttle mission STS-37.

Once the Zarya and Unity docking mechanisms are aligned and positioned only inches apart, Currie will put the arm into a "limp" mode while Cabana fires Endeavour's thrusters to force the mechanisms together, about 8:36 p.m. EST.

December 5, 1998 - Endeavour's astronauts were awakened at 2:36 p.m. EST today to begin in earnest preparations for on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station.

At about 4:50 p.m. EST, Mission Specialist Nancy Currie will power up the shuttle's 50-foot-long robotic arm and use it to grapple the Unity connecting module, a procedure scheduled to begin at 5:06 p.m. Currie then will hoist the 12.8-ton Unity module out of Endeavour's cargo bay and carefully place it in position perpendicular to the shuttle. One of the mating adapters on Unity, called pressurized mating adapter 1 (PMA-1), will be latched to Endeavour's docking system using a mechanism identical to that used during Shuttle/Mir dockings. Preparations for tomorrow's capture of Zarya will continue as the crew equalizes the air pressure between Endeavour and Unity's mating adapter.

This evening, astronauts Jerry Ross and Jim Newman will check out the various tools they will use during the three scheduled spacewalks to be conducted later in the flight, and begin an early set-up of the Shuttle airlock in preparation for that first spacewalk on Monday.

December 4, 1998 - Despite a brief isolated shower near Launch Complex 39A, Endeavour launched this morning at 3:35:34 a.m. EST on its second launch attempt. The Shuttle's ascent to orbit was flawless. This mission begins the largest cooperative space construction project in history -- assembly of the International Space Station.

After reaching orbit, Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim Newman and Sergei Krikalev began preparing for the first of several engine firings that will bring Endeavour within robot arm's reach of Zarya. Along the way, the crew will use the same 50-foot-long arm Dec. 5 to remove the Unity module from the payload bay and connect it to the shuttle's docking hatch. Crew members will use the robot arm to grapple Zarya about 6:48 p.m. EST Dec. 6 and dock it to one of Unity's two Pressurized Mating Adapters.

Newman and Ross are scheduled to conduct the first of the mission's three space walks Dec. 7. The space walks will connect electrical and communications lines between Unity and Zarya, and prepare Unity's systems for activation.

December 3, 1998 - The first International Space Station assembly mission was postponed for 24 hours when time ran out on today's launch window -- just as flight controllers had cleared the Space Shuttle Endeavour for liftoff.

With the countdown clock at T-minus 4 minutes, STS-88 Commander Bob Cabana reported that a master alarm had sounded inside Endeavour's crew cabin, forcing the countdown to be placed on hold.

Launch support teams safed all of Endeavour's systems and began preparing to recycle the shuttle for another launch attempt on Dec. 4. The tentative launch time is 3:36 a.m. EST.

Overview - The seven-day mission will be highlighted by the mating of the U.S.-built Node 1 station element to the Functional Energy Block (FGB) which will already be in orbit, and three spacewalks to connect power and data transmission cables between the Node and the FGB. The FGB, built by Boeing and the Russian Space Agency, is scheduled for launch on a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan in November 1998. Node 1 was originally scheduled for Launch December 4, 1997 but was rescheduled for launch in July of 1998 and will finally be launched on December 4, 1998.

Node 1 will be the first Space Station hardware delivered by the Space Shuttle. It has two Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMA), one attached to either end. One PMA is permanently mated to the FGB and the other used for orbiter dockings and crew access to the station. Node 1 also will contain an International Standard Payload Rack used to support on-orbit activities once activated after the fifth Shuttle/Station assembly flight.

To begin the assembly sequence, the crew will conduct a series of rendezvous maneuvers similar to those conducted on other Shuttle missions to reach the orbiting FGB. On the way, Currie will use the Shuttle's robot arm to place Node 1 atop the Orbiter Docking System. Cabana will complete the rendezvous by flying Endeavour to within 35 feet of the FGB, allowing Currie to capture the FGB with the robot arm and place it on the Node's Pressurized Mating Adapter.

Once the two elements are docked, Ross and Newman will conduct three scheduled spacewalks to connect power and data cables between the Node, PMAs and the FGB. The day following the spacewalks, Endeavour will undock from the two components, completing the first Space Station assembly mission.