AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 341.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, DECEMBER 09, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-341.02

Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off this past week on the final space
shuttle mission of 2001, and, after a flawless climb to orbit, its crew
is now well into their mission to deliver a fresh crew to ISS.

Endeavour is commanded by Dom Gorie with Mark Kelly serving as
pilot. Mission Specialists are Linda Godwin and Dan Tani. Also aboard
Endeavour are station Expedition-4 crewmembers Commander Yury
Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch. Endeavour
will bring home the Expedition-3 station crew, Commander Frank
Culbertson, Pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and Flight Engineer Mikhail
Tyurin, who have been aboard the station since mid-August.

Shuttle Commander Dom Gorie brought Endeavour to a gentle linkup
with the ISS as the two craft sailed over England. Within minutes, Pilot
Mark Kelly and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Dan Tani began
to conduct post-docking checks of the mechanical interface between
Endeavour and ISS. The hatches were then opened, enabling the ten
crewmembers to greet one another.

The crews now begin a busy week of handing over station
responsibilities and unloading tons of supplies brought to the complex
by Endeavour, including several thousand U.S. flags (to honor those
killed in the September 11th terror attacks) and Starshine-2, the third in a
programmed series of student built mirror-covered satellites.