The Space Shuttle STS 77/Endeavour's Inflatable Antenna Experiment is being pressurised to its full 14m diameter on three 28m-long struts from a Spartan free-flyer during the ten-day mission (Flight International, 5-11 June). The next mission, the STS78/Columbia is poised for a lift-off on 20 June carrying the Life and Microgravity Spacelab and a crew of seven, including payload specialists from Canada and France. The mission, to study the effects of long-duration flight on human physiology, could last 16 days 22h, is the longest so far in the Shuttle programme.
Source: Flight International