|
|||||
Space Shuttle
Flight Details 12
STS-111 (Endeavour)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: After delays caused by bad weather and the need to make a minor repair to shuttle systems, Endeavour launched on 06/05/2002 on a mission to bring a new crew up to the International Space Station and to continue outfitting of the station. A major task was to continue assembly operation to allow the station's Canadarm mechanical arm to ride along a railroad-like track the full length of the stations still-to-be-assembled backbone truss. Astronauts Chang-Diaz and Perrin conducted 3 spacewalks to install a Mobile Base System that will allow the Canadarm to move along the stations full length and also repaired the Canadarm's wrist joint. The joint shuttle ISS crews also moved equipment and supplies from the Leonardo multipurpose logistical module to the space station for the ISS-5 station crew. By mission end, the returning ISS-4 crew had been in space about 196 days, representing (for astronauts Walsh and Bursch) a new U.S. single-mission endurance record. Endeavour's return to Earth was delayed three days by rainy weather in Florida, and eventually landed at Edwards AFB, California.
STS-112 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: Sporting a new down-looking camera on its external tank, Atlantis launched flawlessly into the afternoon sky on 10/07/2002 for a mission to add the starboard truss assembly to the International Space Station. After a perfect rendezvous and docking with the space station, the Atlantis astronauts went to the main task of attaching the 45-foot S1 Truss segment to the station using the station's robot arm. Then astronauts Wolf and Sellers performed a series of three spacewalks to complete the attachment of the S1 truss. During the space walks, they connected electrical and hydaulic cables from the station to the new truss, activated radiators and a mobile hand-cart, and attached an S-band antenna and camera on the S1 truss. The space walks were originated from the station's Quest airlock. The Atlantis and space station crews also transferred supplies from the space shuttle to the station. After a very successful mission, Atlantis returned to the Kennedy Space Center on 10/18/2002.
STS-113 (Endeavour)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: Besides rotating the ISS-5 and ISS-6 crews, the main purpose of the flight was to install the P1 (Port One) truss to continue construction of the station's power-generating backbone. This was be accomplished during three spacewalks by astronauts Lopez-Alegria and Herrington. They also installed the second of two human-powered Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) carts that will eventually allow astronauts to travel the full length of the truss backbone. Also installed during the spacewalks were two antennas for wireless transmission of video signals from cameras that will be used during future spacewalks to provide close-up pictures of the EVA activities. After a very successful mission and three landing delays because of weather, Endeavour finally returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
STS-107 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: The STS-107 crew was split into two teams working 12-hour shifts in the Spacehab/Freestar module to conduct some 80 experiments related to astronaut health and safety, advanced technology development, and earth and space science. Launch of Columbia was accompanied by extra security measures because the crew included the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon. After an extraordinarily successful 16-day mission that accomplished all science goals, Columbia's crew fired the shuttle's engines in the early morning of February 1, 2003 to begin their return to Earth. About 16 minutes before scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, however, something went terribly wrong, resulting in the complete break-up of Columbia and loss of the 7-person crew. NASA immediately convened both internal and external review boards to thoroughly investigate the cause of the tragic accident. By May 2003, the investigative team was almost certain that during launch insulating foam that broke off from the external fuel tank had struck and damaged one of the carbon-fiber panels on the leading edge of Columbia's left wing and that, during the fiery re-entry, this area of the wing failed under the almost-3,000 degree heat.
STS-114 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: The main mission of STS-114 -- the first since the Columbia accident -- was to test equipment and procedures to allow astronauts to inspect the underside of the space shuttle while in orbit and make repairs to any damage that might be observed in the thermal protection tiles or wing leading edge surfaces. After an initial launch scrub two weeks earlier due to a fuel sensor malfunction, Discovery launched successfully on July 26 to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station. However, a few hours after the launch, NASA discovered that a piece of foam again broke off of the external tank. After careful inspection of Discovery, it was determined that it had not been damaged like the doomed Columbia. However, NASA took the cautionary step of grounding the shuttle fleet until more work could be done to address the continuing problem of foam breakage from the external tank. During the flight, astronauts Robinson and Noguchi conducted three spacewalks to (1) test shuttle repair procedures and fix the power supply of the one of the Space Station's gyros, (2) replace another gyro that had malfunctioned, and (3) remove 'gap filler' material that was protruding between tiles on the bottom of Discovery and install a storage platform and an experiment package to the outside of the Space Station. The Discovery astronauts also moved 13,000 pounds of supplies and equipment from the Raffaelo module to the Space Station and brought back 7,000 pounds of no longer needed material from the Station. The Discovery and Space Station crews also took some time to remember and honor fallen comrades from Apollo 1, Soyuz 1 and 11, Challenger, and Columbia. Because of bad weather at the Kennedy Space Center, Discovery landed at Edward Air Force Base in California on August 9, 2005.
STS-121 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: Discovery blasted off on the 4th of July (first time ever for a space shuttle mission) on a mission to resupply the International Space Station. Among Discovery's crew was Thomas Reiter, an ESA astronaut from Germany, who will remain aboard the ISS for 6 months as part of the ISS 13 crew. The Italian-built Leonardo module carried 7,400 pounds of supplies and equipment for the Space Station and was used to transport back to Earth more than 4,600 pounds of completed experiment packages, no-longer-needed equipment and supplies, and waste products. During the Discovery mission, shuttle astronauts Fossum and Sellers performed three space walks, each of about 7 hours, to (1) remove cables for the Space Station's mobile transporter and inspect the exterior of the space shuttle while attached to a 50-foot extension for Discovery's robot arm, (2) make other repairs to the mobile transporter and deliver a spare pump for the Station's cooling system, and (3) test shuttle repair materials and procedures in the event of a future emergency. Discovery make a picture-perfect landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 17 after spending almost 13 days in space. European astronaut Thomas Reiter returned to Earth in December 2006 with the STS-116 mission after spending a total of 172 days in space and aboard the Space Station.
STS-115 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: With the flight of STS-115, NASA resumed construction of the International Space Station, which was halted after the Columbia accident on February 1, 2003. During three spacewalks of more than 6 hours each, astronauts Tanner and Stefanyshyn-Piper (EVAs 1 and 3) and astronauts Burbank and MacLean (EVA 2) attached the P3/P4 truss to the space station. This component, which was the size of a bus and weighed over 17 tons, contained two sets of 240-foot long solar arrays to add to the two that were installed several years earlier. Although the spacewalking astronauts met some minor problems during the installation process, they accomplished all planned tasks and even had time to prepare the station for the next assembly mission, scheduled for December 2006. During the time that Atlantis was docked to the space station, the shuttle astronauts delivered 800 pounds of equipment and supplies and over 1,000 pounds of water to the station and packed up almost 1,100 pounds of items to be returned to Earth from the station. After a 1-day delay to check out the space shuttle's thermal protection tiles after an unidentied object was seen floating out of the cargo bay, Atlantis made a perfect landing in the pre-dawn hours at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 21, 2006.
STS-116 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: The mission of STS-116 successfully continued construction of the International Space Station. Discovery launched at 8:47p in the first night launch since prior to the Columbia disaster. Among the crew was Sunita Williams, who would replace European astronaut Thomas Reiter on the ISS 14 crew. Reiter returned to Earth with the Discovery crew at the end of this mission. In addition to the major tasks of adding the P5 truss to the station and rewiring the station's electrical system by connecting the P3/P4 truss solar array brought up on the prior shuttle flight, Discovery brought more than 4,200 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station and returned 3,700 pounds of no longer needed items. In four space walks, astronaut Curbeam, along with European astronaut Fuglesng (EVAs 1, 2, and 4) and ISS crew member Sunita Williams (EVA 3), installed the P5 truss, successfully rewired the station's electrical systems, and folded the P6 solar array to make room for the newer P4 array to rotate a full 360 degrees. Discovery's landing was delayed and the landing site was in doubt because of expected bad weather at the Kennedy Space Center and Edwards Air Force Base, making a landing at the White Sands Test Range in New Mexico a possibility. But eventually the Florida weather cleared enough for Discovery to make a sunset landing at the Kennedy Space Center to conclude another successful station construction mission.
STS-117 (Atlantis)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: The STS-117 mission was originally scheduled for March 2007. However, a freak hale storm at the Kennedy Space Center in February damaged the shuttle's external fuel tank, requiring NASA to return the shuttle to the Vehicle Assembly Building to make repairs. Atlantis finally took off on June 8 in a spectacular early evening launch. In addition to accomplishing a Space Station crew rotation (astronaut Clayton Anderson replacing Sunita Williams, who set a new record for the longest spaceflight by a female astronaut - more than 188 days), the Atlantis crew will install the 17-ton S3/S4 truss segments, which include a new array of 240-foot solar panels. The truss segments was installed and activated during a series of four spacewalks. During the first, astronauts Reilly and Olivas, with help from Sunita Williams aboard the space station, used the station's robotic arm to move the truss into position and attach it. During the second, astronauts Forrester and Swanson, completed hooking up the electrical connections for the solar arrays that are part of the S3/S4 truss, and began the process of stowing the solar array on the P6 truss (which has been powering the station since 2000). On the third, astronauts Reilly and Olivas made repairs to the thermal blanket on the back of the space shuttle, which has become slightly dislodged during launch. Using a surgical stapler, they pushed the thermal covering back into place and stapled it into position. With this repair done, Atlantis was given an okay for return to Earth after completion of the mission. A fourth, 6 1/2-hour, spacewalk was performed on Father's Day (June 17) by astronauts Forrester and Swanson to complete stowing the P6 solar array and activating the new S3/S4 solar arrays. On a future shuttle mission, the P6 truss and solar array will be moved to their permanent location of the port (left) side of the space station. Landing of space shuttle Atlantis took place on June 22 at Edwards AFB in California because of the threat of thunderstorms at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Returning to Earth with the Atlantis crew, astronaut Sunita Williams had a record 195 days in space as a member of the ISS 15 crew on the International Space Station.
STS-118 (Endeavour)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: Although the inclusion of former Teacher in Space candidate Barbara Morgan (now a full astronaut) on the crew garnered most of media attention, the main purpose of this mission was to continue assembly of the International Space Station, with the addition of the S5 Truss. This unit will provide spacing for an additional array of solar panels that will be brought to the station on a future mission. Four spacewalks were successfully completed during the flight. (1) Astronauts Mastracchio and Williams performed a 6-hour spacewalk to attach the S5 truss to the station's backbone and a heat radiator on the P6 radiator. (2) During a 6.5-hour spacewalk, Mastracchio and Williams replaced one of the station's four 600-pound gyroscopes, which had failed in October 2006. (3) Astronauts Mastracchio and Anderson completed all major tasks during a 5.5-hour spacewalk that was cut short because a cut was found on Mastracchio's spacesuit glove. Because only two of five layers on the glove were cut, there was no oxygen leak. Despite the shorter than planned spacewalk, the astronauts successfully relocated an antenna from the P6 to P1 truss, installed a transponder on the P1 truss, and retrieved a transponder from the P6 truss. (4) Lastly, Astronauts Williams and Anderson conducted a 5-hour spacewalk to install a wireless antenna, install a stand for the station's robotic arm, and retrieve two experiment packages. NASA considered a fifth spacewalk to inspect and repair a gough on Endeavour's heat-shield tiles that was caused by a piece of insulation from the external tank that hit the shuttle during launch. However, tests showed that the hole in the tile would not pose a risk to the shuttle or its crew. Therefore, the spacewalk was not performed. During the mission, Astronaut Morgan took some time from her duties related to the spacewalk activities to perform some educational activities in line with what original Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe had planned to do during the ill-fated Challenger (STS-51L) mission. Endeavour returned to the Kennedy Space Center one day earlier than planned when Hurricane Dean threatened to disrupt operations at Mission Control in Houston. The re-entry and landing at Kennedy went without a hitch.
STS-120 (Discovery)Mission Statistics:
Astronaut Crew:
EVA's:
Payloads:
Mission Highlights: In addition to rotating space station crew members Clayton Anderson (down from ISS-15) and Daniel Tani (up to ISS-16), the main purpose of this Discovery mission was to deliver to the space station and attached the Node 2 (also known as Harmony) module. This module will become the attachment point for the European and Japanese laboratory modules that are to be brought to the space station in future shuttle missions. The Discovery astronauts performed a total of 4 spacewalks to attach Harmony and to move the P6 Truss from its temporary position to its permanent position on the left side of the space station. The P6 Truss includes one of the station's four sets of solar arrays. During the first spacewalk on October 26, astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock removed and stowed an S-band antenna that will be returned to Earth aboard Discovery and prepared Harmony for movement to a temporary docking position. The actual move was performed by astronauts Wilson and Anderson and ISS-16 crew member Tani using the station's robotic arm. During a second spacewalk on October 28, astronauts Parazynski and Tani disconnected cables from the P6 Truss so that the station's robotic arm could be used to move it to its permanent location on the left side of the station. Tani also visually inspected the movement joint of the starboard (right side) solar array because it had been experiencing some friction. He found metal shavings, which were sampled for return to Earth for further study. During the third spacewalk on October 30, astronauts Parazynski and Wheelock completed the installation of the P6 Truss in its permanent location and took another look at the starboard solar array rotation joint. However, as the spacewalk was being completed and the P6 solar array was being extended, a tear in one of the solar panels was discovered, which could have jeopardized the life of the solar array. Therefore, mission control decided to shift the tasks for the next spacewalk to concentrate on repairing the solar panel. On November 3, Parazynski and Wheelock moved out to the end of the P6 truss, where Parazynski attached himself to an extension of the station's robot arm, which took him 90 feet above the truss to repair the solar panel. Despite the extreme danger from possible electric shock from the active solar array, Parazynski successfully completed the repairs. Discovery made a flawless landing at the Kennedy Space Center on November 7, bringing its crew home safely. Among the returning astronauts was former ISS-15 crewmember Clayton Anderson, who completed 152 days in space.
|
|||||
|
| Home | Intro | Ventures | Sea | Air | Space | SciFi | Racing | Movies | Art | Travel | Exit | | Intro
| X-15
| Mercury
| Gemini
| Apollo
| Skylab
| Apollo-Soyuz
| Shuttle
| Space Station
| Copyright ©
1996-2010 Arnold E.
van Beverhoudt, Jr.
|
