Space station crew conduct fire drill

NASA says International Space Station crew members conducted a fire drill this week as part of their ongoing emergency preparedness training.

The Expedition 14 crew conducted the Monday fire drill with the support of the U.S. mission control center in Houston, as well as scientists at the Russian mission control center.

NASA said flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter this week are also practicing rendezvous pitch maneuver photography using digital still cameras.

The astronauts will use the cameras to document the condition of Discovery's heat shield during the shuttle's final docking approach on flight day three of the STS-116 mission next month.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International