STS-49 Mission Control Center Status 7 

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                            Status Report #7

STS-49, Saturday, May 9, 1992, 11:30 p.m. CDT

The Intelsat VI satellite reached its rendezvous target right on
schedule today at 4:45 p.m.  CDT setting the stage for tomorrow's
rendezvous and repair.  Intelsat's rate of rotation has been
slowed to 2.33 rpm and satellite nutation (or wobbling) has been
reduced from 2 degrees to .3 degrees - an extremely stable state.

Endeavour's crew performed three adjustment maneuvers today to
fine- tune their closing rate on the stranded satellite.
Circling Earth in a nearly identical but lower orbit than that of
the Intelsat, Endeavour is gradually closing the gap by about 80
nautical miles each orbit.

The objective of all remaining maneuvers will be to assure that
the terminal phase maneuver, set for about 2:33 pm central time
tomorrow, will occur at orbital apogee and coincident with
orbital noon.  This will be critical in providing Endeavour
commander Dan Brandenstein with the proper lighting conditions
for manually flying his ship into position below the satellite.

Flight controllers in Houston are continually refining their
calculations for the remaining burns, and the start of terminal
phase tomorrow may be slightly adjusted based on those
refinements.  But at this point, the burn is set for 2:33, and
changes should not be substantial.

Just before 9 pm central time tonight, the crew spoke with
Congressman Jim Bacchus and five of the original 7 Mercury
astronauts.  Sen. John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper,
Deke Slayton, and Alan Shepard all spoke with the crew from the
Peabody Hotel in Orlando during the annual "Give Kids the World"
gala.

Major activities will begin Sunday morning at 8 am with the final
Intelsat spindown from 2.33 rpm to .65 rpm.  At 8:40, the crew
will be awakened.  After a couple of small adjustment maneuvers,
and Intelsat systems safing, the final phase will get underway.
Spacewalkers Pierre Thuot and Rick Hieb will emerge from
Endeavour's airlock at about 3:33 pm and, if all goes well,
Intelsat should be in the grasp of the robot arm by 5:00.