QUESTION:
What is the orbiter doing now?

ANSWER from Todd Barber on February 16, 1996:
Thank you for your question!  The orbiter is doing quite a bit right
now.  We are playing back the Jupiter atmospheric entry probe data
from the tape recorder.  We have had a number of challenging situations 
to face during the Galileo mission.  We are also in the process of 
determining the safest, most reliable way to use the tape recorder 
(which has had some quirky behavior) during the tour.  This most 
likely will involve sending commands to Galileo to slew, or change 
the position, of the tape in the tape recorder.

Also, the orbiter is preparing for a critical propulsion maneuver on
March 14, 1996, which will fire the main engine for about 24 minutes.
This firing is necessary to raise the low point of the orbit so that
the orbiter won't fly too close to Jupiter this June.  Without this
engine burn, the orbiter would sustain heavy (perhaps lethal)
radiation damage during its next close pass to Jupiter.

Of course, the orbiter continues executing routine activities as well,
such as turns to re-point the spacecraft towards the Earth (for
communication purposes) and periodic thruster "flushings," which expel
contamination products that build up due to oxidizer (nitrogen
tetroxide) attacking stainless steel components corrosively in the
propulsion system.  Even the routine activities on Galileo seem
exciting, don't they?  In summary, the orbiter remains busy, preparing
for a tremendously exciting two-year, ten-orbit or greater tour of
Jupiter, its varied moons, and its colossal magnetic field.