Posted: Wed, Dec 12, 2001, 11:09 AM ET (1609 GMT)
Shuttle managers decided Tuesday to extend the mission of the space shuttle Endeavour by one day to give the crew of STS-108 more time to complete work at the station. The extra day will allow the crew to perform some additional tasks at the station, including repairing an exercise treadmill. The crew is continuing to unload a cargo module temporarily docked to the station, and preparing to load it with equipment and garbage to return to Earth. The shuttle and station crews also took time Tuesday to remember the September 11 terrorist attacks; the memorial, the second of the mission, took place three months to the minute after the first hijacked aircraft crashed into the World Trade Center. Astronauts also expressed mixed feelings Tuesday about reports that space tourist Mark Shuttleworth would be visiting the station next year: while members of the new Expedition Four crew said they would welcome his visit next April, Expedition Three commander Frank Culbertson said that the station is a "work place" and that visits by tourists like Shuttleworth put "an additional burden" on station crews.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  SPACE.com article
•  CNN article