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Space Shuttle
Flight Details 8
STS-73 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: In one of the longest space shuttle missions to date, the crew of STS-73 conducted a host of experiments aboard the U.S. Microgravity Lab housed in Columbia's payload bay. Experiments in such areas as crystal growth, the behavior of fluids, medical research, and remote Earth monitoring were designed by a combined team of government, university, and industry scientists. The xperiments would continue studies performed on the first USML mission, STS-50 in 1992. After a successful mission, Columbia landed at Kennedy Space Center.
STS-74 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: Like the first docking less than 5 months earlier, this second shuttle/Mir docking was a grand success. In addition to delivering to Mir the Russian-built docking module that will be used for all future shuttle/Mir missions, the crew of Atlantis performed medical and environmental experiments with the Mir 20 crew aboard the Russian space station. The shuttle also delivered to Mir two solar arrays that will be installed by later Mir crews, water and other consumables, and other equipment. Atlantis also returned to Earth experiment samples from Miržs ongoing long-duration experiments. Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center.
STS-72 (Endeavour)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The primary objectives of this flight included the retrieval of the Japanese Space Flyer Unit (SFU) scientific satellite that was launched by a Japanese rocket 10 months earlier, and deployment and later retrieval of the OAST-Flyer, a NASA science satellite. First, astronauts Chiao and Barry and then Chiao and Scott conducted spacewalks to test tools and refine techniques to be used in assembly of the internation space station. Other experiments conducted during the mission involved a shuttle laser altimeter and growth of commercial protein crystals. Endeavour landed at KSC.
STS-75 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The highlight of the mission was the deployment of the Tethered Satellite to test the ability of such systems to produce electricity. On the fourth day of the flight, the TSS was deployed to a distance of almost 12 miles from the shuttle, but shortly after, the thether broke, sending the satellite speeding away from Columbia. Later ground analysis showed that a break in the tether's insulation caused electrical arcing that burned through the cable. Despite the loss of the satellite, the experiment showed that a tethered satellite system could, in fact, produce significant amounts of electricity (over 3,500 volts on this attempt) as the cable passed through the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. The flight's secondary objective was a variety of microgravity experiments in the shuttle's lower deck. Columbia landed at KSC.
STS-76 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: On the third Shuttle/Mir docking mission, Atlantis brought to the Mir station astronaut Shannon Lucid, who remained on board for 188 days as part of the Mir 21 crew, and over 1,900 pounds of equipment and supplies. While the shuttle was docked to the docking port installed on the Kristall module during STS-74, astronauts Godwin and Clifford conducted a spacewalk to attach four experiment packages to the Mir to study the station's effects on its nearby space environment. Meanwhile, scientific experiments were conducted by the shuttle and Mir crews on both the Russian space station and in the Spacehab module housed in the shuttle's payload bay. Because of weather problems at KSC, Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-77 (Endeavour)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This mission had as its primary objective a variety of commercial microgravity experiments in the Spacehab module in Endeavour's payload bay. These included experiments in biotechnology, electronic materials processing, polymers, and agriculture. The astronauts also deployed the Spartan free-flying satellite, which in turn deploy the Inflatable Antenna Experiment, a balloon-like structure with a collapsible dish antenna. Experiment packages in the shuttle's payload bay involved tests of global positioning satellite navigation, spacecraft refueling, and aerodynamic stabilization. In this experiment, a small payload was deployed by the shuttle, which tracked its movements and stability from a nearby station-keeping position. Endeavour landed at KSC.
STS-78 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: During the almost 17-day flight, the astronaut crew worked closely with scientists -- from the United States, ESA, Canada, France, and Italy -- at six remote locations. They performed work on 13 different experiments on human physiology to study the body's adaptability to the space environment. Experiments in the shuttle's middeck also involved animal and plant growth experiments. The astronauts also conducted 6 experiments in a variety of microgravity fields, including the growth of semiconducter materials, protein crystalization, fluid dynamics, and microgravity acceleration and vibration dynamics. Columbia landed at the Kennedy Space Center after a record-setting flight.
STS-79 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The highlight of this mission ws the replacement of Shannon Lucid (STS-76/Mir 21) aboard the Mir space station with John Blaha. Lucid's stay aboard Mir was extended by almost two months because of delays in getting Atlantis off the launch pad, first because of solid booster problems with the previous (STS-78) flight and then because of two tropical hurricanes that threatened Cape Canaveral. Lucid's stay aboard Mir was a new american and all-time female astronaut record. In addition to a variety of joint experiments with the Mir 22 crew, the shuttle astronauts delivered experiments and supplies to Mir. Astronaut John Blaha remained aboard Mir for 118 days in addition to his 10 days as part of the shuttle crew.
STS-80 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The space shuttle Columbia was launched on 11/19/96 on the 80th space shuttle mission. Within hours of arriving on orbit, the astronauts accomplished the first major objective of the mission by deploying the SPAS-ORFEUS satellite. SPAS-ORFEUS flew about 50 miles from the shuttle, conducting a variety of astronomy experiments, guided by scientists on the ground. The satellite was retrieved by the STS-80 astronauts before returning to Earth. The crew also deployed the Wake Shield Facility satellite to conduct materials processing experiements from orbit near the shuttle. The simultaneous free-flight of the SPAS-ORFEUS and WSF-2 spacecraft was a new experience for the shuttle program, requiring careful tracking and coordination of the experiments aboard the two craft. Two planned space walks by astronauts Jernigan and Jones to rehearse space station construction techniques had to be cancelled when Columbia's airlock hatch refused to open. The STS-80 mission, which remained in orbit a records almost-18 days, will probably be the last for veteran astronaut Story Musgrave, who (in his 60s) is the oldest astronaut to fly in space.
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