STS-49 Mission Control Status #15

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                           Status Report #15

Tuesday, May 12, 1992, 11:30 p.m.  CDT

The Endeavour astronauts enjoyed a break from the intense pace of
their previous two days in space, while flight controllers on the
ground worked in training and evaluation facilities here to develop a
plan for the third and final attempt to capture the elusive Intelsat
VI satellite, tomorrow.

Rick Hieb, Pierre Thuot, and Tom Akers will make an historic spacewalk
tomorrow just after 2:30 pm central time to take one more try at
nabbing the satellite.  It will be the first three-person spacewalk
ever attempted.  After building a bridge structure across the payload
bay using ASEM struts, the astronauts will position themselves - one on
the end of the robot arm, one on the edge of the payload bay, and one
on the bridge structure - to reach out and snare the Intelsat with
their hands.

Crew commander Dan Brandenstein will be called upon to maneuver his
ship into position - perpendicular to and below the satellite - and
then carefully close in for the grab.

Once the satellite is in hand and stabilized, the crew will attach the
capture bar and then procede with the preflight plan to grapple the
bar with the robot arm and maneuver the satellite into position over
its boost motor.

The terminal phase of rendezvous will begin at 2:25 pm central time.
For the next 90 minutes, the spacewalkers will prepare the assembly
and foot restraints in Endeavour's payload bay.  Just after orbital
sunrise on orbit 94, the attempt will be made - just after 5 pm
central time.  Assuming all goes well with the motor installation, the
deployment of the Intelsat could occur around 9:30.

The crew will head for bed tonight at 12:40 am and will be awakened in
the morning at 8:40 to begin preparations.