STS-107 MCC Status Report #10 <br />Friday, January 24, 2003 -- 5 p.m. <br />Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas <br /><br />Research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the seven<br />astronauts aboard continued to work in shifts, coordinating work with<br />investigators on the ground. <br /><br />Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel<br />Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Red Team began their<br />workday about 5 a.m. CST, focusing again on work with the SOFBALL<br />(Structures of Flame Balls) experiment and the ARMS (Advanced Respiratory<br />Monitoring System) human physiology experiment. Husband maneuvered<br />Columbia into the proper positions for the various experiments. <br /><br />The two teams have completed seven SOFBALL runs so far, including the<br />first of several using methane as a fuel, which is visible to the naked<br />eye as a faint blue flame. This evening, the Blue Team will attempt the<br />longest planned test, lasting 2 hours, 47 minutes, while the shuttle is<br />placed in a “free drift” configuration to eliminate thruster firings that<br />could affect the test. <br /><br />Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Dave Brown and Michael<br />Anderson of the Blue Team were awakened about 2:30 p.m. to the sounds of<br />“Hotel California” performed by members of McCool’s family. Their duty<br />shift was scheduled to begin about 5 p.m. after a pre-bedtime handover<br />from the Red Team. <br /><br />The Blue Team also will resume work with the Mechanics of Granular<br />Materials experiment, looking at how sandy soil full of water behaves<br />under pressure. Three compressions are planned over the next two days,<br />with a final run set for later in the mission. <br /><br />The study of spiral moss growth in space completed a set of time-critical<br />fixations on several sets of moss plants, so that their growth rates can<br />be established after the flight. Four more fixations are planned. The<br />Astroculture experiment harvested the last of its six samples of<br />essential oils from rose and rice flowers, which could eventually result<br />in new perfume fragrances. Checks of all of the insects, spiders and<br />animals aboard Columbia showed that all are healthy in their enclosures. <br /><br />Flight controllers and the crew continue to manage temperatures in the<br />Spacehab Research Double Module by periodically adjusting cooling loop<br />settings. Columbia is in good shape, orbiting at an altitude of 180<br />statute miles. <br /><br />The next STS-107 status report will be issued Saturday afternoon, or<br />earlier, if events warrant.