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Are the astronauts always in contact with Mission Control?
No. There are short periods during each orbit when Mission Control can neither communicate with the astronauts, nor receive any data from the shuttle.  There are 2 main means of radio communication between the shuttle and the ground, one via "S-band", and one via "Ku-band".  (S-band and Ku-band are just parts of the radio frequency band, and refer to the type of antenna the shuttle uses to receive them).  KidSat uses the Ku-band to send commands to the camera and to send the images back down to earth.

How do the astronauts end their day, and what happens when they're asleep?
At the end of their work day, the astronauts have a few hours to relax, eat dinner, look out the window at Earth, and get ready to go to sleep.  Mission Control doesn't bother them during this time.

On most flights (including STS-81) all the astronauts sleep at the same time.  While the astronauts are asleep, the shuttle continues orbiting the Earth, and Mission Control continues its watch to make sure that nothing goes wrong.

07/10/96
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