alexpgp | L-2

It was off to the KSC Industrial Area this morning. Departure was scheduled in such a way as to preclude an early morning dip. I got my revenge, though; upon our return I managed to shoehorn in a short swim in the course of my lunch hour. (Now that should be the way things work every day!)

The Russian gentleman I am working for this morning - he is Deputy Program Manger for Safety - was on site to ask questions about a particular experiment that will be carried on board the ISS. I got the short course on how crystals are grown under microgravity conditions, and we're scheduled to go back tomorrow morning to clear up some final items.

I'm off in a few minutes to attend the preflight Mission Management Team meeting, where all of the major players, whomever they represent, basically will give their final approval for STS-106, which is scheduled to launch around 8:45 am EDT on Friday. The crew won't be at this meeting for a number of reasons, two of which are: (a) they are in a kind of quarantine, to prevent them from being exposed to sick people, and (b) they are living in a sleep-shifted environment (roughly equivalent to Moscow time), so they'll be asleep during the meeting.

After today's MMT, there are a few other activities on the program, culminating in a Space Flight Awareness reception. The SFA program is something that NASA does to recognize above-and-beyond performance by individuals in support of the space program. The Russians are invited, so me and my crew will be there as well.

All is going well.

Cheers...