STS-106
Report
# 25
Wednesday,
Sept. 20, 2000 – 3 a.m. CDT
Atlantis
and its seven astronauts swooped to a predawn landing at the
Kennedy Space Center Wednesday, wrapping up a mission to prepare
the initial living quarters of the International Space Station
for its first residents.
Commander
Terry Wilcutt guided Atlantis to a landing at 2:56 a.m. Central
time, wrapping up a 4.9 million mile mission in which more than
three tons of equipment were delivered to the international
outpost. Wilcutt and his crewmates, Pilot Scott Altman and
Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri
Malenchenko and Boris Morukov completed the 23rd consecutive
landing of a shuttle at the Florida spaceport, and the 30th
landing of a shuttle at the Cape in the last 31 flights.
During
their 12-day flight, the astronauts spent a week docked to the
International Space Station during which they worked as movers,
cleaners, plumbers, electricians and cable installers. In all,
they spent 7 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes docked to the
International Space Station, outfitting the new Zvezda module for
the arrival of the Expedition One crew later this fall.
Atlantis’
landing came just two weeks before the launch of Discovery on the
next assembly flight to the station, the STS-92 mission,
scheduled for liftoff around October 5. Seven astronauts will
install a large truss structure to the Unity node of the Station,
housing motion control gear and communications equipment. The so-called
Z1 truss will also serve as the mounting platform for the large U.S.
solar arrays for the station which will be delivered late this
year.
The
STS-106 crew is scheduled to return to Houston and a welcome home
at Ellington Field about 2 p.m. Thursday.
STS-106
Friday,
Sept. 8, 2000 - 8:00 a.m. CDT
Space
Shuttle Atlantis rocketed into space at 7:45 this morning and is
on course to rendezvous and dock with the International Space
Station shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday. At the time of
Atlantis’ launch, the 67-ton station was flying above
Hungary, southwest of Budapest.
The STS-106
launch countdown proceeded smoothly throughout the morning and
the five astronaut, two cosmonaut crew was loaded into the crew
compartment by 5 a.m. to await the final two and a half hours of
the count.
Once on
orbit, Commander Terry Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission
Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri
Malenchenko and Boris Morukov began configuring the shuttle for
11 days of on-orbit operations.
Their
mission to the 143-foot-long International Space Station will
focus on unloading nearly three tons of cargo from the orbiter
and a Progress supply craft already docked to the opposite end of
the station’s Zvezda module. The equipment and
provisions basically complete the onboard stowage of supplies
that will be used by the first resident crew – Expedition
One – scheduled for launch aboard a Soyuz rocket in late
October to begin permanent human presence on the station.
The
crew begins its first sleep period just five hours after liftoff,
at 12:45 this afternoon and will receive a wakeup call from
Mission Control at 8:45 tonight.
After
wakeup, Wilcutt and Altman will perform the first of a series of
maneuvers designed to put the shuttle on a precise course to the
International Space Station.
The
next STS-106 status report will be issued at about 7:00 p.m.
today unless developments warrant.
NASA
Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information
are available
STS-106 Report # 02
Friday,
September 8, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. CDT
After a flawless launch
at 7:46 this morning, the Space Shuttle Atlantis began it’s
6600 statute mile orbital chase to catch the International Space
Station where the crew will undertake a full menu of outfitting
tasks to prepare the station for its permanent crew. Following
the climb to orbit and initial on-orbit activities, the Mission
Control Center has settled into working normal operations without
any significant issues.
Once in orbit, the crew
quickly packed up their ascent suits and unpacked equipment to
ready the orbiter for the 11-day mission before turning in at 12:46
p.m. for their first sleep period. The crew will wake up at
8:46 p.m. this evening.
During their first full
day in space the crew will prepare for Sunday’s rendezvous
and docking with the station and Monday’s early morning
spacewalk by astronaut Ed Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.
About three hours after
the wake-up call, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman
will initiate the first burn of the orbiter’s Orbiter
Maneuvering System (OMS) to continue refining Atlantis' orbit for
a precision rendezvous and docking. The docking will occur
at about 12:53 a.m. Sunday at an altitude of about 220 statute
miles over the Russia and Kazakhstan border north of the Caspian
Sea.
Lu, Malenchenko, and
mission specialist Dan Burbank will unpack, assemble, and test
spacesuits and checkout the tools Lu and Malenchenko will use as
they work on the station’s exterior sometimes about 110 feet
above the orbiter. The space walk to connect electrical,
communications, and fiberoptic cables and install a magnetometer
to the station will last about 6 1/2 hours.
Tonight, mission
specialist Rick Mastracchio will check out the remote manipulator
system, and then he and cosmonaut Boris Morukov will prepare to
transfer station equipment and supplies from the orbiter and the
Russian Progress vehicle.
STS-106
Report # 03
Saturday,
Sept. 9, 2000 - 8:00 a.m. CDT
Their
first full day in space was a busy one for the astronauts and
cosmonauts aboard Atlantis as they moved ever closer to an early
Sunday morning linkup with the International Space Station.
Docking is scheduled to occur at 12:52 a.m. central time Sunday
as the two spacecraft soar high above Kazakhstan.
In preparation
for that linkup, the crew spent today readying a variety of tools
and equipment needed to support the rendezvous and docking, as
well as equipment that will be used during Monday morning's
scheduled space walk.
With the
assistance of crew mate Dan Burbank, spacewalkers Ed Lu and Yuri
Malenchenko checked out the suits they will wear during their
planned 6 ½ hour long space walk Monday. Burbank will act as the
in-cabin choreographer for that space walk. Also today, Commander
Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman verified the operation of
navigational aids that will be used during the final phases of
Sunday's rendezvous and docking.
Mission
Specialist Rick Mastracchio powered up the Shuttle's robot arm,
verifying its operation and conducting a photographic survey of
the payload bay. Cosmonaut Boris Morukov tended to experiments
and photography and television-related activities.
Atlantis is
scheduled to begin the final phase of rendezvous about 10 p.m.
tonight, closing in toward the early Sunday docking. At present,
Atlantis is approximately 1600 miles behind and slightly below
the ISS, closing the distance between them by approximately 172
miles with each orbit of the Earth.
Today, flight
controllers reported that one of Atlantis' two onboard star
trackers is not operating properly and has been powered off. The
star trackers can be used as one method of updating navigation
information aboard Atlantis. The failure of the star tracker, a
device located on the left side of Atlantis' nose that looks
upward, will have no significant impact on the planned rendezvous
and docking. The remaining star tracker can be used to perform
the needed functions.
Once docked the
astronauts and cosmonauts will briefly open the hatch between
Atlantis and the mating adapter on ISS to gather an air sample.
The hatch will then be closed in preparation for Monday morning's
space walk.
Monday evening,
the crew will open 12 hatches throughout the length of the 143-foot
long station and the attached Progress supply vehicle to begin
transferring equipment and hardware.
The crew will
begin a seven hour sleep period at 10:46 a.m. today. They will be
awakened at 5:46 p.m. to begin the final rendezvous and docking.
The next STS-106 status report will be issued about 7 p.m.
Saturday or as events warrant.
STS-106
Sunday,
September 10, 2000 7 a.m. CDT
Commander
Terry Wilcutt steered Space Shuttle Atlantis to a smooth link-up
with the International Space Station at 12:51 a.m. CDT Sunday,
setting the stage for six days of outfitting to make the orbiting
outpost ready for its first residents in early November.
The
approach and docking went almost exactly as planned, with Pilot
Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan
Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov, helping Wilcutt
close the final gap between the two spacecraft as they sped
around the Earth at 17,500 miles an hour over Kazakhstan. The
only change to the plan was a brief tilt of the shuttle to sight
the station with Atlantis’ only working star tracker at a
distance of 50 miles from the station.
As
soon as docking was complete, the crew activated hooks and
latches to forge a hard bond between Atlantis and the station’s
Unity module. Soon after docking, the shuttle’s cabin
atmospheric pressure was lowered in preparation for tonight’s
six and a half hour space walk, or Extravehicular Activity (EVA),
by Lu and Malenchenko. This significantly reduces the
amount of time crewmembers must pre-breathe pure oxygen before
exiting the airlock. This purges the body of nitrogen
bubbles and prevents symptoms called “the bends,” well
known by divers. The space walk is scheduled to begin about
midnight and conclude at 6:30 a.m. Monday.
The
two space walkers will integrate the recently docked Russian
Zvezda module with the rest of the International Space Station,
routing and connecting nine power, data and communications cables
between Zvezda and the other Russian-built module, Zarya. They’ll
also assemble a magnetometer boom on the outside of Zvezda. All
the while, the robot arm will be used to help move equipment from
the payload bay to the station.
Atlantis’s
STS-106 crew will turn in for the day at about 10:45 this morning
and will be awakened for space walk preparations at 6:46 this
evening.The astronauts and cosmonauts will enter the station
Monday night, by opening 12 hatches in preparation for delivering
supplies for use by the first resident crew – Expedition One.
STS-106
Monday,
Sept. 11, 2000 -- 8 a.m. CDT
Astronaut
Ed Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko took a 6 hour, 14 minute
walk outside the shuttle this morning to complete final
connections between the International Space Station's newest
module, Zvezda and its first component, Zarya.
The
space walk was the sixth in support of ISS assembly and the 50th
in Shuttle Program history. It began at 11:47 last night
and ended at 6:01 this morning.
The two
crewmembers essentially served as construction workers and
electricians while outside, attaching cabling that fully, and
permanently, integrate Zvezda to the rest of the ISS.
During
the extravehicular activity (EVA), or space walk, Mission
Specialists Lu and Malenchenko stayed ahead of the timeline with
choreography from inside by their crewmate, Dan Burbank. By
his side on the flight deck was Rick Mastracchio, who deftly
maneuvered them around the station using the robot arm.
They
connected nine cables between Zvezda and Zarya, including four 27-foot
long cables to permit power usage from future solar arrays
provided by the U.S. This will eventually allow the sharing
of electrical power as the station grows in size. Another
four cables extending 16 feet were secured that will provide
video and data transmissions throughout the ISS. A final
fiber-optic telemetry cable was installed that will be used to
provide Russian spacesuit data to be transferred to the ground
during future space walks.
The
final task was to construct and attach a magnetometer that serves
as a backup navigation system for the station. This task
took the two tethered space walkers the furthest distance from
the shuttle than ever before - 110 feet above the payload bay.
That's twice as far as when astronauts work on the Hubble Space
Telescope.
Following
the space walk, Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman
fired small thruster jets on Atlantis to slowly increase the
station's overall altitude. Three separate one-hour reboost
maneuvers are planned during the docked phase of the flight.
The STS-106
crew will be awakened at 6:46 p.m. today and open the 12 hatches
required in preparation for the transfer of almost 3 tons of
hardware and supplies from the shuttle and a Progress vehicle to
the ISS.
STS-106
Friday,
Sept. 15, 2000 - 7 a.m. CDT
The
International Space Station got another boost overnight, as STS-106
Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman executed another
hour-long series of thruster firings designed to raise the
station’s orbit by several more miles.
Thirty-six
pulses of Atlantis’ reaction control system thrusters
boosted the station another 3 ½ miles (5.6 km). The third
reboost of the mission placed the ISS in a 237 by 229 statute
mile orbit (381 x 368 km). One more reboost maneuver is scheduled
Sunday before the shuttle undocks from the station.
Mission
Specialists Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko spent much of their day
installing power converters in the Zvezda module. These will
allow current from U.S. solar arrays to be used in the Russian
modules. The first set of these large arrays is scheduled
to be installed on the station in early December.
The
crew took a closer look at the connections on one of Zvezda’s
eight batteries that is not working properly. Mission
managers have elected to disconnect cables from the battery and
do no further work since seven of the eight batteries are working
fine. As few as five can supply enough electrical
capability when a crew is stationed on the ISS.
Lu
and Malenchenko also installed components of the Elektron system
in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the
Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen and will be
used to replenish the air in the station. The system will be
activated after arrival of the first station crew.
Mission
Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank and Boris Morukov
concentrated their efforts on transferring, organizing and
stowing equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the station.
The 1,300 pounds of gear aboard the Progress cargo spacecraft
that is docked to the aft end of the Zvezda module already has
been unloaded, and that vehicle is now being utilized as a trash
container that eventually will be remotely undocked to burn up
harmlessly in the Earth’s atmosphere.
So
far, 3,700 pounds of hardware and supplies has been moved into
the ISS, including six, 100 pound bags of water, all the food for
the first resident crew, office supplies, onboard environmental
supplies, a vacuum cleaner and a computer and monitor.
Atlantis’
astronauts will go to bed mid-morning today and will be awakened
from Mission Control at 6:46 this evening. Their next
workday will focus on the assembly of the station’s
treadmill exercise equipment.
STS-106
Saturday,
Sept. 16, 2000 – 7 a.m. CDT
In the final hours of docked operations
between Atlantis and the International Space Station the seven
member crew continued transferring supplies and equipment,
including an exercise treadmill, for use by the first resident
crew later this year.
In
an activity that occupied much of their work day, Pilot Scott
Altman and Mission Specialists Ed Lu, Dan Burbank and Boris
Morukov completed installing the treadmill in the Zvezda module
of the station this morning. The treadmill includes a
sophisticated vibration isolation system that prevents exercise-induced
vibrations from being transmitted into the hull of the Space
Station and disturbing sensitive experiments that will be
conducted on board by resident crews.
Inside
the Unity module, Burbank and Rick Mastracchio reinstalled four
Common Berthing Mechanism controllers in the port leading from
Unity to the docking port currently occupied by Atlantis.
The CBM controllers were removed by the STS-96 crew to provide
greater clearance during the transfer of supplies from the
Shuttle to the Space Station. The installation of the
controllers sets the stage for the arrival of the U.S. laboratory
module, Destiny, early next year.
Cargo
transfer continues to proceed ahead of schedule with 4,285 pounds
of supplies, water and equipment being moved from Atlantis to the
station and 762 pounds of material carried to Atlantis for the
return trip home. Among the supplies transferred to station
today were additional food, a food warmer, a ham radio and the
last of the computer equipment for the first station residents.
About six hours of transfer activity remains for the crew
tomorrow when they will move some final water containers and food
to the station. The crew also has completed unloading supplies
from the Progress cargo craft and reloading that craft with trash.
The cargo craft will be undocked from the station remotely before
the first resident crew arrives later this year.
The
astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period later this
morning, with a wake-up call from Mission Control scheduled for 6:46
p.m. CDT. After almost one week working on board the
station, the astronauts and cosmonauts will begin turning off
lights and closing the doors of their home in space in
preparation for Atlantis’ departure from the station on
Sunday night. The crew will back out of the station module-by-module,
closing a series of 12 hatches beginning at the Progress cargo
ship shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday and ending with closing
hatches between Unity and Atlantis shortly after 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
Atlantis
is in a 206 x 199 nautical mile orbit with all systems
functioning normally. The next STS-106 status report will
be issued about 8 a.m. Sunday or sooner if events warrant.
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last updated - Wednesday, September 20, 2000 09:05
Jim Wilmerding, M.Ed.,EMT-I
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Andrew Wilmerding, BS