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===June 22 (Flight day 15)===
===June 22 (Flight day 15)===
Atlantis again closed its payload bay doors and made preparations for landing. Atlantis had five opportunities to land (two at Kennedy Space Center, three at Edwards Air Force Base, California).<ref name=MCCSR29> {{cite web | url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/news/STS-117-29.html | title = STS-117 MCC Status Report #29 | publisher = NASA}}</ref> The landing attempts at Kennedy Space Center were scrubbed due to weather. Atlantis successfully landed on Runway 22 at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] at 3:49 pm EDT. <ref> {{cite web | url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html | title = NASA - Space Shuttle | publisher = NASA | accessdate = 6/22/2007}} </ref>
Atlantis again closed its payload bay doors and made preparations for landing. Atlantis had five opportunities to land (two at Kennedy Space Center, three at Edwards Air Force Base, California).<ref name=MCCSR29> {{cite web | url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/news/STS-117-29.html | title = STS-117 MCC Status Report #29 | publisher = NASA}}</ref> The landing attempts at Kennedy Space Center were scrubbed due to weather. Atlantis successfully landed on Runway 22 at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] at 3:49 pm EDT. <ref> {{cite web | url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html | title = NASA - Space Shuttle | publisher = NASA | accessdate = 6/22/2007}} </ref>
It made 219 orbits and covered 5,7 million miles during the flight.


==Contingency planning==
==Contingency planning==

Revision as of 20:10, 22 June 2007

STS-117
COSPAR ID2007-024A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.31600Edit this on Wikidata
Crew
Members7
End of mission

STS-117 was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, which launched from pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June 8, 2007. Template:Catcite Template:Catcite Damage from a hail storm on February 26, 2007 had caused the launch to be postponed from a previously-planned launch date on March 15, 2007.

The mission delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) the second starboard truss segment (the S3/S4 Truss) and its associated energy systems, including a set of solar arrays. During the course of the mission the crew installed the new truss segment, retracted one set of solar arrays, and unfolded the new set on the starboard side of the station. STS-117 also brought Expedition 15 crewmember Clayton Anderson to the station, and will return with ISS crewmember Sunita Williams.

This mission is the 118th Space Shuttle flight, the 28th flight for Atlantis and the 21st U.S. flight to the ISS.[1] The launch of STS-117 marks the 250th orbital human spaceflight. [2] The completion of the mission will leave thirteen flights remaining in the Space Shuttle program until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights.

On June 11, NASA mission managers announced a two-day extension of the mission, adding a fourth EVA. These two days will be inserted into the mission timeline after flight day 8. This possibility had been discussed prior to launch. Because of launch day and thus rendezvous day uncertainty the decision to extend was deferred until after launch. The repair of the gap in the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thermal blanket (heat shielding) was conducted during EVA 3.[3][4]

Because of the cancellation of landing opportunities on June 21st because of weather, STS-117 is the longest mission for Atlantis, landing at Edwards Air Force Base on June 22nd.

Crew

Partaking in this mission are the following crew members (note that the numbers in parentheses indicate the number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission):

Launching ISS Expedition 15 crew

Landing ISS Expedition 15 crew

Astronaut Mark Polansky was originally slated to pilot this mission, but was moved to STS-116, which he commanded. Also assigned to the flight were Joan Higginbotham and Richard Mastracchio, who were moved to missions STS-116 and STS-118 respectively.

Mission parameters

Mission highlights

The International Space Station after completion of STS-117. Photo taken from Shuttle Atlantis shortly after undocking from the station. (Credit: NASA)

The STS-117 mission delivered the second starboard truss segment and energy systems to the International Space Station, the S3/S4 Truss and set of solar arrays. The S3/S4 truss is the heaviest station payload the shuttle has carried.[6]

The crew also folded up the other side of the solar arrays in the P6 truss segment.

Mission background

Atlantis is mated to the rest of the STS-117 stack, consisting of External tank (ET)-124 and the two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs).

STS-117 was originally planned to launch on March 16, but the launch date was later moved forward in order to extend the launch window and increase the chances of a successful launch within that time frame. In preparation for this earlier launch date, Atlantis was transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building on February 7. First motion was at 6:19 a.m. EST.[7]

Following the arrival of the Orbiter in the assembly facility, she was fitted with two bridge cranes that lifted her vertically, to position her for mating to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, already in place atop the mobile launcher platform. The mating of the Orbiter to the stack occurred on February 12. The rest of the pre-launch preparations also continue to proceed according to plan, with the payload canister, containing the S3/S4 Truss and a set of solar arrays, arriving at the launch pad at 2:54 am EST on Monday, February 12. The canister lift began at 5:40 am EST the same morning, ready for transfer of the ISS truss segments and other cargo into the Payload Changeout Room on the newly-refurbished rotating service structure of pad 39A.[8]

Atlantis was originally scheduled to begin her rollover to launch pad 39A (the first Shuttle launch at 39A in four years) on February 14, but due to erratic chamber pressure readings on one of the Operational Pressure Transducers (OPTs) on the forward skirt area of the right-hand SRB, the rollout was delayed to 7:00am EST on the morning of Thursday, February 15.[9] Various problems, including a generator transfer issue to the mobile launcher platform, meant that first movement of the stack was delayed from the scheduled rollout time and did not occur until 8:19am EST. The 3.4 mile, six-hour journey to the launchpad concluded that afternoon, with Atlantis arriving at the launch pad at 3:09pm EST. It was decided that the issue with the OPT would be solved on the launch pad, a task which may require all six transducers on the STS-117 stack being removed and replaced.[10]

Atlantis is rolled back to the VAB for repairs on March 4, following damage caused by the February 26 hailstorm.

The mission astronauts travelled from Houston to the Kennedy Space Center on February 21 to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The astronauts were at the center from February 21-23, during which time they practiced launch activities, carried out safety exercises, inspected the payload and concluded the test with a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. [11] They then returned to Houston via T-38 jets, planning to return to Kennedy Space Center a few days before launch. The next milestone in the launch preparations was the Flight Readiness Review from February 27-28, during which time managers, engineers and contractors examined the readiness of the Space Shuttle, flight crew and payloads to determine whether everything was set to proceed for launch.

Hail damage

File:170472main 07pd0549-m.jpg
External tank (ET)-124 attached to Space Shuttle Atlantis shows damage from a hailstorm that passed through Kennedy Space Center about 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 26.

Following a hailstorm at the center on February 26, inspections of the stack found damage to the orbiter and the external tank. Hailstones as large as golf balls had created around 1,000–2,000 divots in the tank's foam insulation, damaged at least one Ice Frost Ramp on the tank, and caused minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on Atlantis's left wing.

On May 8 1999, hail had damaged the external tank of a prior Shuttle mission, STS-96, while it was on the launch pad. The orbiter for that mission, Discovery, was returned to the VAB, and inspections revealed more than 650 divots in the tank's outer foam. After repairs, launch of that mission proceeded smoothly.[12]

Space Shuttle Atlantis arrives at launchpad 39A for the second time in preparation for STS-117, following the completion of repairs to her hail-damaged external tank.

On March 4, 2007 the STS-117 stack was similarly rolled back into the VAB. Following additional inspections, repairs to the orbiter and tank were carried out to return Atlantis to flight readiness. After completion of the repairs, Atlantis (along with her distinctly speckled external tank) was rolled out to pad 39A for the second time during the morning of May 15. Atlantis was successfully launched from pad 39A on June 8, following a second Flight Readiness Review on May 30 and 31.[13]

The hail damage to Atlantis caused a major change to the shuttle launch manifest, pushing STS-123 back into February 2008, STS-118 (which cannot fly until the installation of the S3/S4 truss segment carried by Atlantis is complete, as its S5 truss payload is mounted to the S4 segment) estimated to launch on August 9, STS-120 launching on October 20, and Atlantis's return on STS-122 pencilled in for a December 6 launch date.[14][15]

Aging problem

Main article: Space Shuttle Atlantis § Aging

NASA has announced that it was possible, albeit unlikely, that one of 24 Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels onboard Atlantis could have burst before launch, damaged the orbiter and wounded or even killed ground personnel. A burst of a vessel during launch could have resulted in the loss of the orbiter and crew. NASA changed its launch procedure of Atlantis to counter this problem and reduce any risk to personnel and orbiter. [16]

Mission timeline

June 8 (Launch & flight day 1)

Space Shuttle Atlantis launches at the start of STS-117.

Launch occurred on schedule at 7:38:04 pm EDT (23:38:04 UTC) [17]. All pre-launch processing proceeded normally, and the crew started to board Atlantis at 4:17 pm EDT (20:17 UTC). Crew boarding was completed at 4:58 pm EDT (20:58 UTC), and the hatch was closed at around 5:40 pm EDT (21:40 UTC). Weather was 80% go to support a launch. There were concerns due to weather at the Shuttle's TAL abort landing sites, but Istres in France changed to go in time for launch. The conditions at the other available site, Zaragoza, were observed to be improving. The third TAL site, Morón AFB, will be closed for runway maintenance until June 15.

Like all of the remaining non-exigent Space Shuttle missions, launch was from pad 39A. (Pad 39B may be used for Launch-On-Need missions to rescue normal shuttle missions, particularly STS-125, which will not visit the ISS.) STS-117 was the first launch from 39A since the fateful STS-107 launch of Columbia in 2003.

June 9 (Flight day 2)

After a picture perfect launch, the shuttle astronauts discovered a four inch tear in a thermal blanket on the left side of the shuttle. There is little concern as it is in a location that is not subject to extreme heat on re-entry.[18][19]

June 10 (Flight day 3)

After a successful approach and rendezvous pitch maneuver, Atlantis docked to the ISS at 19:36 UTC, and the hatch between them was opened at 21:20 UTC.[6] The hand-off of the S3/S4 truss segment used the Canadian 'handshake', with the ISS Canadarm2 grappling the truss segment from the shuttle Canadarm.

June 11 (Flight day 4, EVA 1)

Archambault, Forrester and Kotov used the SSRMS to mate the S3/S4 truss to the outboard end of the S1 truss. In a 6 hour, 15 minute spacewalk, Reilly and Olivas made final attachment of bolts, cables and connectors, and began preparations for deployment of the solar arrays. The start of the spacewalk was delayed for about an hour after the station temporarily lost attitude control when the station’s control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) went offline.[20]

June 12 (Flight day 5)

The successful deployment of the S4 solar arrays was the highlight of the day, adding significantly to the ISS power generation capabilties. There were continuing problems with the station's CMGs, the preferred, non-propulsive, method for controlling the station attitude. The orbiter was used for periods to control the attitude of the combined stack, and the issues appeared to have been resolved by the end of the day.[21]

June 13 (Flight day 6, EVA 2)

Forrester and Swanson completed EVA 2 with mixed results. It was discovered during the EVA that the S3/S4 SARJ motor control circuits were wired in reverse, so some launch restraints were left in place to prevent the possibility of undesired rotation. All other primary objectives were achieved, including partial retraction of the starboard P6 solar array.[22]

June 14 (Flight day 7)

A computer malfunction on the Russian segments of the ISS occurred at 06:30 UTC and left the station without orientation control. A successful restart of the computers resulted in a false fire alarm which awakened the crew at 11:43 UTC. The P6 array was furled to a little more than half its original length. The crew enjoyed an off-duty period and Reilly and Olivas slept in Quest Airlock for spacewalk pre-breathe campout protocol.[23]

June 15 (Flight day 8, EVA 3)

Astronauts Reilly and Olivas began the mission's third EVA, which included the repair of the thermal blankets on the OMS pod. While Olivas was repairing the OMS pod, Reilly installed an external hydrogen vent for the oxygen generating system inside Destiny. The spacewalkers also assisted with the final retraction of the starboard P6 truss element. All tasks were completed successfully on this 7-hour, 58-minute EVA. The primary Russian computers were brought back online by bypassing a circuit. Secondary systems were left offline pending further work.[24]

June 16 (Flight day 9)

The crew of Atlantis had light duties today including preparations for EVA 4 and a joint news conference with the ISS crew. Computer problems on ISS resolved further, with all 6 processors available (4 online and 2 standby).[25]

June 17 (Flight day 10, EVA 4)

The fourth spacewalk of the mission began at 16:25 UTC on June 17.[26] During the six and a half hour space walk, Forrester and Swanson activated a rotating joint on the new truss segment, installed a new camera stanchion and computer network cable, and secured a debris shield.[27]

June 18 (Flight day 11)

Atlantis and ISS astronauts hauled the last bits of cargo between their two vehicles while flight controllers on Earth tested the outpost’s resuscitated Russian control and navigation computers after they crashed last week. Attitude control was switched to and from Russian command successfully, and Atlantis was given a green light for undocking on flight day 12. Expedition 15 and Atlantis's crew said goodbyes and sealed the hatches between their respective vehicles.

June 19 (Flight day 12)

Atlantis undocked from ISS at 14:42 UTC, then performed a flyaround of the ISS and a late inspection of Atlantis' thermal heat shield.

June 20 (Flight day 13)

Atlantis did various hardware tests to prepare for a landing on June 21 and the crew had an interview with several large TV networks.

June 21 (Flight day 14)

Atlantis closed its payload bay doors and made various preparations for landing, but stayed in orbit after both landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center were scrubbed due to weather.[28]

June 22 (Flight day 15)

Atlantis again closed its payload bay doors and made preparations for landing. Atlantis had five opportunities to land (two at Kennedy Space Center, three at Edwards Air Force Base, California).[29] The landing attempts at Kennedy Space Center were scrubbed due to weather. Atlantis successfully landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base at 3:49 pm EDT. [30] It made 219 orbits and covered 5,7 million miles during the flight.

Contingency planning

Main article: STS-3xx

STS-317

STS-317 was the designation given to the Contingency Shuttle Crew Support mission which would have been launched in the event Space Shuttle Discovery became disabled during STS-116. It would have been a modified version of the STS-117 mission, which would have involved the launch date being brought forward. If needed, it would have launched no earlier than February 21, 2007. The crew for this mission would have been a 4 person subset of the full STS-117 crew.

Wake-up calls

In what has become a tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of Gemini, the crew of STS-117 is played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen and often has a particular meaning to an individual member of the crew, or it is somehow applicable to their situation.[31]

EVAs

See also: Extra-vehicular activity
Mission Spacewalkers Start End Duration Mission
79. STS-117
EVA 1 		James F. Reilly
John D. Olivas 		June 11, 20:02 UTC June 12, 02:17 UTC 6 hours 15 minutes Install S3/S4 truss
80. STS-117
EVA 2 		Patrick G. Forrester
Steven Swanson 		June 13, 18:28 UTC June 14, 01:44 UTC 7 hours 16 minutes Complete S3/S4 truss installation
81. STS-117
EVA 3 		James F. Reilly
John D. Olivas 		June 15, 17:24 UTC June 16, 01:22 UTC 7 hours 58 minutes OMS pod thermal insulation repair, P6 array retraction
82. STS-117
EVA 4 		Patrick G. Forrester
Steven Swanson 		June 17, 16:25 UTC June 17, 22:54 UTC 6 hours 29 minutes Install rotary joint for solar panels, install camera stanchion and computer network cable, secure debris shield

Incorrect press reports of accident

On June 9, 2007, the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Atlantis had exploded shortly after take-off. [33] [34] The information circulated on their wire for a number of minutes, and appeared on a number of websites including Libération and Romandie News. [35] It was later reported that AFP had prepared this sort of bulletin for every shuttle launch since the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and accidentally published it. [34] This is equivalent to accidental automated press releases in the past, such as the infamous case of NBC erroneously reporting Joe DiMaggio's death in 1999, about six weeks before his actual death.

Media

Template:Multi-video start Template:Multi-video item Template:Multi-video end

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to STS-117.

References

  1. ^ "NASA Starts Space Shuttle Atlantis Countdown June 5". NASA.
  2. ^ "STS-117 marks 250th orbital crewed flight". collectSPACE.
  3. ^ "Repair to lengthen Atlantis' flight". Houston Chronicle.
  4. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #14". NASA.
  5. ^ a b "NASA to Rotate Station Astronauts on Next Shuttle Mission". NASA.
  6. ^ a b "STS-117 MCC Status Report #05". NASA.
  7. ^ "NASA's Shuttle Atlantis Set for Move to Vehicle Assembly Building". NASA.
  8. ^ "Atlantis issue delays rollout - STS-120 moving up". NASAspaceflight.com.
  9. ^ "Atlantis' booster requires troubleshooting". nasaspaceflight.com.
  10. ^ "STS-117 Rollout - NASA to solve Atlantis SRB problem at the Pad". nasaspaceflight.com.
  11. ^ "Atlantis Crew in Florida for Countdown Test". NASA.
  12. ^ "STS-96 Launch Highlights". NASA.
  13. ^ "Atlantis arrives at Pad 39A - Endeavour readied for rollover". nasaspaceflight.com.
  14. ^ "Atlantis launch date slips to end of April due to damage". nasaspaceflight.com.
  15. ^ "ET repairs may push STS-117 to May 11". nasaspaceflight.com.
  16. ^ "Orbiters Feel Pains of Aging". Space.com.
  17. ^ "NASA Lauds 'Beautiful' Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis". Space.com.
  18. ^ "Shuttle crew inspects tear in heat shield". CBC.ca.
  19. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #03". NASA.
  20. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #07". NASA.
  21. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #09". NASA.
  22. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #11". NASA.
  23. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #12". NASA.
  24. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #15". NASA.
  25. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #17". NASA.
  26. ^ "NASA - Space Shuttle: Atlantis Astronauts to Go Spacewalking for Fourth Time". 2007-06-17. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  27. ^ "Space station computers to get final test". 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
  28. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #27". NASA.
  29. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #29". NASA.
  30. ^ "NASA - Space Shuttle". NASA. Retrieved 6/22/2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  31. ^ Fries, Colin. "Chronology of Wakeup calls" (PDF). NASA. p. 62.
  32. ^ "STS-117 MCC Status Report #04". NASA.
  33. ^ Staff writers. "L.AFP explodes in flight" (in French). 20Minutes.fr. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ a b "Space Shuttle Explodes - Oops, wrong button". Frogsmoke. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ Staff writers. "AFP pirated" (in French). Zataz. Retrieved 2007-06-13.

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