07.14.11

12:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, July 14, 2011
Mission Control Center, Houston, TexasSTATUS REPORT: STS-135-12

STS-135 MCC STATUS REPORT #12

HOUSTON – Flight day 7 of the STS-135 mission started out with a
serenade for the crew of space shuttle Atlantis.

In a special message recorded before launch from Venice, Italy,
Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M., sang an A capella version of
the band’s song “Man on the Moon,” then followed it with a greeting
to the astronauts.

“Good morning, Atlantis,” he said. “This is Michael Stipe from R.E.M.
We wish you much success on your mission, and thank all the women and
men at NASA who have worked on shuttle for three decades. From Earth,
a very good morning to you.”

More unpacking of the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module is on
tap today for Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission
Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. But they’ll also take some
time out for a few special events.

At 5:59 a.m., Ferguson and Magnus will be speaking with reporters from
Fox News Radio and KTVI-TV and KSDK-TV in St. Louis. Then, at 8:19
a.m., the entire crew will be interviewed by WBBM-TV in Chicago,
KTVU-TV in Oakland, Calif., and WTXF-TV in Philadelphia.

In addition, both the shuttle and station crews will have the
opportunity to enjoy an “All-American Meal” of barbecue brisket or
grilled chicken and baked beans, southwestern corn and apple pie, and
the public is invited to share in it, virtually. Visit
http://go.nasa.gov/AllAmericanMeal for recipes, or “formulations” as
they’re called by NASA food scientists, as well as more information,
video and imagery.

The shuttle and station crews’ midday meals are scheduled to begin at
7:19 a.m.

The next status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s day or
earlier if warranted. The crew is scheduled to go to sleep just
before 3:30 p.m.