Atlantis

HOUSTON -- As Atlantis' astronauts sailed past the halfway point of their visit to Russia's space station yesterday, ground control teams considered a request from Mir's cosmonauts to dispose of potentially contaminated water and other refuse that have accumulated aboard the 11-year-old outpost.The surprise request was perhaps one of the least glamorous examples of how the Russians, with their orbital space station, and the United States, with its space shuttle, are learning to work together.

You say you stumbled out of bed early this morning, shuffled out into the cold and dark in your bunny slippers hoping to spot the space shuttle Atlantis flying by, caught your death of a cold and never saw a thing?Well, blame the government. But don't bother calling. It's closed. A NASA spokeswoman Monday supplied The Sun with the times for spotting the shuttle and the Russian space station Mir from Baltimore. She insisted the times were all Central Standard. So the newspaper added an hour to convert to Eastern time, and published them Wednesday.

American Astronaut Norman Thagard began his first day of work yesterday aboard the Russian space station Mir but found out he may be staying longer than planned.The Russians are running two weeks behind in their plans to send up a new module, or room, to connect with Mir in May. And NASA doesn't want to launch the space shuttle Atlantis, which will dock with Mir and bring Mr. Thagard home, until a month after the launch of the new module, called Spektr.So Atlantis' launch date, originally scheduled for May 24, is slipping until at least June and maybe later, NASA officials said.

If pre-dawn skies are clear, Marylanders will get five chances this week and next to see the shuttle Atlantis as it flies over the state on its docking mission with the Russian space station Mir.Here are the best times to watch from the Baltimore area.* Friday: Atlantis should appear at 6:29 a.m., 15 degrees above the southern horizon. (The horizon is zero degrees; straight up is 90.) Still docked with Mir, according to NASA's schedule, it will be visible for two minutes.* Saturday: At 7:09 a.m., Atlantis and Mir should be flying in close formation just hours after undocking.

This is hard to believe -- an Oscar telecast with nothing to really complain about.If Billy Crystal had the flu last night, maybe he should get sick more often. Crystal was funny, smart and smooth as host of the show. Following a pointless opening montage of Hollywood Past that bode ill for the evening, Crystal came on stage and turned it around in minutes with a clever parody of the traditional opening musical number.The telecast itself was flexible enough to allow for some of the genuine flakiness of Hollywood -- such as Jack Palance's getting down on the stage and doing one-arm push-ups in the middle of his acceptance speech for the Best Supporting Actor award he received for his role in "City Slickers."

This is hard to believe -- an Oscar telecast with nothing to really complain about during its prime-time portion. What are people going to talk about this morning?If Billy Crystal had the flu last night, maybe he should get sick jTC more often. Crystal was funny, smart and smooth as host of the show. Following a pointless opening montage of Hollywood Past that bode ill for the evening, Crystal came on stage and turned it around in minutes with a clever parody of the traditional opening musical number.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A faulty valve switch and threatening thunderclouds forced NASA yesterday to postpone the liftoff of the shuttle Atlantis again, this time for 24 hours.More equipment trouble struck last night. The latest problem hit electronics gear in the crew cabin.Launch is now set for 11:02 this morning, although controllers can send Atlantis on its way as late as 3:06 p.m., or about five hours after the astronauts board the shuttle, whichever comes first.The electrical problem could further delay the launch, they said.

Thursday is "power working day" for Denise Ellis, owner of Fine Line Services Inc. in Laurel. For hours, she cranks out business letters, accounting statements, bills and bidding proposals.And all the while, she's wearing pajamas and house slippers.Mrs. Ellis is among the millions of Americans who have given up the daily grind of commuting to work, sitting through boring meetings and dealing with office politics to start a business from home.Corporate layoffs triggered by the lingering recession have boosted an already growing trend toward home-based business.

While Jim Maguire puts in a normal business day as a computer software consultant, a silent partner takes care of his home-based business: Atlantis On-Line Information System.Resting discreetly on the floor of a spare bedroom in his Columbia home, a Compaq 286 computer is host to phone calls from computer users who want to see what's happening on the Atlantis bulletin board."Welcome to Atlantis, 'The Wave of the Future,' " the Compaq's script says. After answering a few questions, callers are led to the main menu, which includes a Marketplace column with categories such as Computer Bits and a Features column, which includes a Post Office and forums for those interested in small businesses, personal finance, politics and entertainment.

Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis two weeks ago worked under a hectic schedule, but then, don't we all? Theirs was certainly a more exotic office, but one appliance was familiar: a portable computer.An Apple Macintosh Portable, making its second flight into space and liberally patched with hook-and-loop fasteners to keep it from drifting away, was used in tests that will eventually result in new computer designs for future space missions. But it had more immediate duties, too.All Earth-observation photography scheduling on the nine-day Atlantis mission was handled by a Macintosh program called Smart Alarms.

Astronomers around the world got their first close-up look at the Hubble Space Telescope in seven years Wednesday as astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis closed in and captured the orbiting observatory for its final round of repairs and upgrades. "When we first had images of the Hubble Space Telescope, there were audible gasps of elation. This was truly a wonderful sight after seven years," said Jon Morse, NASA's director of astrophysics. Mission specialist Megan McArthur grabbed the 12-ton telescope with the shuttle's robot arm at 1:14 p.m. while orbiting 350 miles above western Australia.

The picture on Adam Riess' computer monitor arrived fresh from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. It was the fading light from an exploding star, potentially a key piece of evidence in his yearslong investigation of one of the greatest of all cosmological mysteries - dark energy. But as the Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist waited for the next image to arrive, an e-mail message popped onto his screen. In an instant, he tumbled into what he describes as one of those "uh-oh" moments when everything changes.

Space cadets! The forecast tonight is promising for a fine view of the International Space Station, the shuttle Atlantis and a combined crew of 10 as they fly from high over Lake Michigan to the Outer Banks. The new Columbus module and Atlantis should make it brighter than ever. The space station rises like a bright star in the northwest at 6:37 p.m., climbing high in the southwestern sky by 6:40 p.m. It grazes bright star Rigel at Orion's foot and disappears in the southeast at 6:42 p.m.

Bidding farewell to a legend At Franklin High School, Jill Myers has been there so long it seems she's part of the building itself. But after 39 years as a teacher, coach and athletic director, she is retiring. Sports baltimoresun.com/kent Just blame Ehrlich Laura Vozzella looks at the back-and-forth with Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Republicans over the prospect of higher fees by the MVA. Metro baltimoresun.com/vozzella OTHER VOICES Jean Marbella on Mitchell's planMaryland Rick Maese on the LPGA tournamentSports Chris Kaltenbach on filmsMovies Today Ray Frager on O's media numbersSports 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY LakeFest -- The kickoff event of the 20th Columbia Festival of the Arts takes place today through Sunday at the Columbia lakefront.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will spend the next month considering a possible service call to the Hubble Space Telescope after shuttle Atlantis safely glided home yesterday through starry pre-dawn skies. The shuttle's six astronauts ended a four-year hiatus in the construction of the International Space Station by installing a new set of solar arrays that eventually will double the outpost's power supply. But Atlantis' flight could have an equally important impact on future shuttle operations beginning with the next scheduled launch to the station in December.

How many astronauts does it take to unscrew a bolt? "Apparently, it takes three. Two outside and one inside," Pam Melroy, of mission control at Johnson Space Center in Houston, said yesterday. Melroy's jest was at the expense of astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis, who were trying without much success to continue installing a new set of solar arrays during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. After grunting and groaning in their bulky spacesuits, Steve MacLean and Dan Burbank, with astronaut Joe Tanner advising from inside the space station, had to return to a toolbox for a new wrench to pry loose the recalcitrant bolt.

HOUSTON -- Two of the shuttle Atlantis' astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station this morning to begin activating a $372 million set of power-producing solar arrays. The critical spacewalk is the first of two planned to install the arrays, the primary goal of the shuttle's 11-day flight. The solar panels are part of a 35,000-pound truss that eventually will double the station's power supply. Astronauts Joe Tanner and Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper are scheduled to exit the outpost's airlock at 5:15 a.m. and work outside the space station for about 6 1/2 hours.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will get one more chance this morning to launch space shuttle Atlantis before the mission is delayed for at least three weeks. The latest in a series of launch scrubs happened yesterday because of a faulty sensor in the shuttle's external fuel tank. The problem occurred as the tank was being fueled. NASA will make another launch attempt at 11:14 a.m. today using guidelines developed when the same issue cropped up during a 2005 launch. The decision to scrub came after a lengthy debate among mission managers.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA could finally get good weather this week for the planned launch of space shuttle Atlantis. Meteorologists are predicting an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for Wednesday's 12:28 p.m. scheduled liftoff. The primary concerns are storm clouds and isolated showers. "A dryer atmosphere and the launch time should provide decent conditions," said a forecast issued yesterday by Patrick Air Force Base's 45th Weather Squadron. If the launch is delayed until Thursday or Friday, meteorologists are predicting a 70 percent chance of good weather for those opportunities.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- For the second time in 10 days, shuttle Atlantis' six astronauts flew into the Kennedy Space Center yesterday to prepare for a scheduled launch this week. The countdown toward Wednesday's planned 12:28 p.m. liftoff is set to begin at 8 a.m. this morning. Forecasters are predicting typical summer weather at Cape Canaveral on launch day: high temperatures in the upper 80s with partly cloudy skies and a 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms. Nature has been uncooperative with NASA's attempts to launch the shuttle on an important 11-day construction mission to the International Space Station.