Shuttle Crew Asks More Time to Set Endurance Record

Columbia’s astronauts on Wednesday lobbied for more time aloft, even “offering” Mission Control $1 million, as they skimmed the clouds at the lowest orbit ever flown by a shuttle.

For the second time this week, Commander John Casper steered Columbia closer to Earth for the benefit of atmospheric scientists who have monitors on the shuttle. Columbia will remain in the lower orbit until the mission ends.

Columbia, which began its mission March 4, is supposed to land at the space center Friday morning. If it lands on time, it will be completing the second-longest flight in shuttle history--13 days, 23 hours and eight minutes.

But if the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse and forces Columbia to take an extra 1 1/2-hour lap around the world, the crew will set an endurance record. The record, set by Columbia’s last crew, is 14 days and 13 minutes.

Several times Wednesday, the five astronauts beamed down a picture of a $1-million check made out to flight director Wayne Hale and drawn from the First Intergalactic Bank. The picture popped up periodically, and always briefly, in video scenes of shuttle activities and Earth.