Posted: Sat, Aug 18, 2001, 1:37 PM ET (1737 GMT)
Astronaut Frank Culbertson officially took command of the International Space Station on Friday during a change-of-command ceremony on the station. Expedition Two commander Yuri Usachev handed over command of the station to Culbertson during Friday's ceremony, although Culbertson had been de facto commander since Monday, when he and Expedition Three crewmates Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin installed their custom-fitted seat liners in the Soyuz spacecraft that serves as the lifeboat for the ISS crew. Saturday morning shuttle astronauts Pat Forrester and Dan Berry started the second of two spacewalks planned for the STS-105 mission. The two spacewalkers will install heater cables for a truss structure that will be added to the station next year. The shuttle is scheduled to remain at ISS until Monday morning, when it undocks in preparation for a midday Wednesday landing in Florida.

Related Links:

•  STS-105 mission status report #16
•  Spaceflight Now mission status center
•  SPACE.com article