STS-49 Mission Control Status Report #10 



                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                           Status Report #10

STS-49, Sunday, May 10, 1992, 11:30 p.m.  CDT

After a perfect high-speed rendezvous in orbit and a valiant but
unsuccessful attempt to grab the Intelsat VI satellite, the crew of
Endeavour will retire for the night with high hopes for a second
chance tomorrow.

The crew of Endeavour narrated some video they recorded of today's
capture attempts during a conference with the ground to discuss
factors which contributed to the unsuccessful attempt to lock a
capture bar to the base of the satellite.  Prime contributors included
poor visibility on the dark side of the Earth, inadequate positioning
on the end of the robot arm, and the unexpected susceptability of the
Intelsat to tipoffs.  Several attempts to attach the capture bar sent
the satellite tumbling, making further efforts impossible.

Since then, Endeavour and crew have begun a 5-mile per orbit drift
away from the satellite to reach the right distance to retry the
rendezvous tomorrow, while Intelsat controllers have been successful
in their early efforts to re-stabilize their spacecraft.

Flight engineers here in Houston will be working throughout the night
to develop detailed plans for tomorrow's attempt.  Unless there are
new developments overnight, the final approach should begin around 3
pm central time tomorrow.  Rick Hieb and Pierre Thuot should make
their exit from Endeavour's airlock at about 4.

The crew will head for bed tonight at 12:40 am central time and will
start their day Monday morning at 8:40.