STS-76 Mission Control Center
Status Report # 1

Friday, March 22, 1996, 7 a.m. CST

Atlantis was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on time at 2:13 a.m.
CST today to begin Shuttle mission STS-76, the third shuttle mission to
dock with the Russian Mir space station.

Currently in a 157 by 123 nautical mile orbit, Atlantis is now trailing Mir
by 13,100 nautical miles and closing in on the Russian station at 694
nautical miles with each hour and a half -long orbit of Earth. Docking with
the station remains targeted for about 8:34 p.m. CST Saturday.

Atlantis’ crew -- Commander Kevin Chilton, Pilot Rick Searfoss, Payload
Commander Ron Sega, and Mission Specialists Rich Clifford, Linda Godwin and
Shannon Lucid, who will join two cosmonauts as a member of the Mir-21 crew
after docking -- is now setting up the shuttle for an extended stay in
orbit. All of Atlantis’ systems are currently functioning well.

Flight controllers did notice an apparent small leak of hydraulic fluid
from one of three hydraulic systems aboard the shuttle shortly after
liftoff. The hydraulic systems are only used during launch and landing, and
the leak from the backup system was observed only while that system was in
operation during the climb to orbit. When all three hydraulic systems were
shut down after reaching orbit, as is normal, no further indications of a
leak were observed.

Only two hydraulic systems are actually needed for the shuttle to land
safely, although flight controllers prefer to have all three operating to
ensure a backup system is available in the event of a problem. Shuttle
managers believe it is unlikely that the leak in the backup system will
cause any change to the planned mission, although they are continuing to
evaluate the situation.

The leaking hydraulic system, which is powered by Auxiliary Power Unit 3
aboard Atlantis, still has sufficient hydraulic fluid to be used during
landing operations, the next time it would normally be powered up. None of
the hydraulic systems are needed for Atlantis’ operations in orbit, and
flight controllers have ample time to analyze the leaking system and assess
any impact it could have on the flight.

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                         STS-75 MCC Status Reports

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                          Curator: Terry McDonald
                 Responsible NASA Official: Kelly Humphries
                           Updated: 7 March 1996