MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-63 Status Report #6


Sunday, February 5, 1995, 5 p.m. CST

As the six astronauts on board Discovery sleep, the shuttle continues to
close in on Mir in anticipation of a rendezvous and flyaround of the space
station. 

Flight control teams both in Houston and Kaliningrad, Russia, are working
together to refine tomorrow's rendezvous plan. The teams are looking at
plans that would bring Discovery within either 33 or 400 feet. A final
decision on how close Discovery will approach Mir will be made early
Monday morning. 

Concerns over a leaking right aft maneuvering jet continue to be addressed
by both teams of flight controllers. Earlier today, Commander Jim
Wetherbee and Pilot Eileen Collins closed and reopened the jet manifold
several times in an attempt to stop the leak, but those attempts were not
successful. Shortly before the crew went to sleep, the manifold was
closed. 

The crew will receive a wake-up call at 11:21 p.m. CST to begin Flight Day
4 on the first mission for an American shuttle to rendezvous with Russia's
space station. 

Discovery is in a 208 by 197 nautical mile orbit, less than 1,000 nautical
miles behind Mir and closing that distance by about 78 miles with each
orbit.