STS-107 
Report #15 
Wednesday, January 29, 2003 -- 5 p.m. CST 
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas 

Columbia�s seven astronauts took a break from their around-the-clock scientific 
research today to answer reporters� questions in the traditional on-orbit crew 
news conference. 

Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, 
Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson and Laurel Clark, and Israel Space Agency Payload 
Specialist Ilan Ramon fielded questions about how their shuttle was performing as 
a research laboratory, their work in support of the STS-107 mission�s 80 different 
experiments and preparations for Saturday�s planned landing. 

"The science we're doing here is great and it's fantastic,� said Anderson, the 
payload commander, "it's leading edge. But I think once we get a seven-member 
crew on board the space station you're really going to see some outstanding science 
in space. A lot of experiments that we have are really just being demonstrated 
and developed. Once they're fully developed they'll reside on board the space 
station and the scientists � will have years to conduct the experiments that we're 
trying to do here in a relatively short period of time." 

Ramon reported that dust storms off the east coast of Africa were scarce for the 
first week of the flight, but that a giant dust storm kicked up over the Atlantic 
and lasted three days, providing ample observations for the Mediterranean Israeli 
Dust Experiment. He voiced wishes for peace in his area of the world from 180 miles 
above. 

"The world looks marvelous from up here, so peaceful, so wonderful and so fragile," 
Ramon said. "The atmosphere is so thin and fragile, and I think all of us have to 
keep it clean and good. It saves our life and gives our life." 

After a 2:39 p.m. CST Blue Team wake-up to the sounds of John Lennon singing 
"Imagine,� McCool and Ramon said their observations from orbit reveal no borders 
on the Earth below and reiterated in both English and Hebrew their hopes for peace 
in the world. 

Initial tests in the Combustion Module Facility with the newly revitalized Water 
Mist Fire Suppression Experiment took center stage today, with 14 sample runs 
completed after Chawla fixed a balky seal in the combustion module yesterday. 
Another 20 runs are planned before the end of the mission on tests designed to 
learn exactly how the water interacts with flames as it is extinguishing them.