STS-117

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STS-117
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	STS-117
Space shuttle	Atlantis
Crew size	7
Launch pad	LC-39A
Launch date	June 8, 2007 7:38:04 p.m. EDT (23:38:04 UTC)
Landing	June 22, 2007 3:49:38 p.m. EDT (19:49:38 UTC)
Mission duration	13 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes, 44 seconds
Number of orbits	219 orbits
Orbital altitude	122 nautical miles (226 km)
Orbital inclination	51.6 degrees
Distance traveled	5,800,000 miles[1] (9,334,000 km)
Crew photo
(left to right) Anderson, Reilly, Swanson, Sturckow, Archambault, Forrester and Olivas.
Related missions
Previous mission Next mission STS-116 STS-118

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

The mission, also referred to as ISS-13A by the ISS program, 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 returned with ISS crewmember Sunita Williams.

This mission was the 118th Space Shuttle flight, the 28th flight for Atlantis and the 21st U.S. flight to the ISS.^[2] The launch of STS-117 marks the 250th orbital human spaceflight.^[3] The completion of the mission leaves 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 extra-vehicular activity (EVA). These two days were 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.^[4][5]

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.

Contents 1 Crew 1.1 Launching ISS Expedition 15 crew 1.2 Landing ISS Expedition 15 crew 1.3 Crew Notes 2 Mission parameters 3 Mission payloads 4 Mission background 4.1 Hail damage 4.2 Aging problem 5 Mission timeline 5.1 June 8 (Flight day 1, Launch) 5.2 June 9 (Flight day 2) 5.3 June 10 (Flight day 3, Docking) 5.4 June 11 (Flight day 4, EVA 1) 5.5 June 12 (Flight day 5) 5.6 June 13 (Flight day 6, EVA 2) 5.7 June 14 (Flight day 7) 5.8 June 15 (Flight day 8, EVA 3) 5.9 June 16 (Flight day 9) 5.10 June 17 (Flight day 10, EVA 4) 5.11 June 18 (Flight day 11) 5.12 June 19 (Flight day 12, Undocking) 5.13 June 20 (Flight day 13) 5.14 June 21 (Flight day 14, Scrubbed landing) 5.15 June 22 (Flight day 15, Landing) 6 Contingency planning 6.1 STS-317 7 Wake-up calls 8 EVAs 9 Incorrect press reports of accident 10 Media 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

[edit] Crew

• Frederick W. Sturckow (3*) - Commander
• Lee Archambault (1) - Pilot
• Patrick G. Forrester (2) - Mission Specialist 1
• Steven Swanson (1) - Mission Specialist 2/
• John D. Olivas (1) - Mission Specialist 3
• James F. Reilly (3) - Mission Specialist 4

*Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to, and including this mission.

[edit] Launching ISS Expedition 15 crew

• Clayton Anderson^[6] (1) - Mission Specialist 5

[edit] Landing ISS Expedition 15 crew

• Sunita "Suni" Williams^[6] (1) - Mission Specialist 5

[edit] Crew Notes

The initial crew manifest before the Columbia accident was:

• Rick Sturckow - (3) - Mission Commander
• Mark Polansky (2)- Pilot
• Patrick G. Forrester (2) - Mission Specialist 1
• Richard Mastracchio (2) - Mission Specialist 2
• Joan Higginbotham (1) - Mission Specialist 3
• James F. Reilly (3) - Mission Specialist 4

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.

[edit] Mission parameters

• Mass: TBD
• Perigee: TBD
• Apogee: TBD
• Inclination: 51.6°
• Period: 91.6 minutes

[edit] Mission payloads

The STS-117 mission delivered the second starboard truss segment and energy systems to the International Space Station, the S3/S4 Truss and a set of solar arrays. The S3/S4 truss is the heaviest station payload the shuttle has carried.^[7]

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

Location	Cargo	Mass
Bay 1-2	Orbiter Docking System EMU 1-2	1800 kg? 240 kg?
Bay 3P?	APCU (Assembly Power Converter Unit) (28VDC-to-124VDC) with SPDU (Station Power Distribution Unit)	2 x 35kg 20kg
Bay 4-12	Truss segment S3/S4	16183 kg
Sill	OBSS 201	450 kg?
Sill	RMS 301	390 kg
		Total 19083 kg

[edit] Mission background

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.^[8]

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 a.m. EST on Monday, February 12. The canister lift began at 5:40 a.m. 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.^[9]

Atlantis was originally scheduled to begin her rollout 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.

[edit] Hail damage

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

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 scheduled for its December 6 launch date.^[15][16]

[edit] Aging problem

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.^[17]

[edit] Mission timeline

[edit] June 8 (Flight day 1, Launch)

Launch occurred on schedule at 7:38:04 p.m. EDT (23:38:04 UTC).^[18] All pre-launch processing proceeded normally, and the crew started to board Atlantis at 4:17 p.m. EDT (20:17 UTC). Crew boarding was completed at 4:58 p.m. EDT (20:58 UTC), and the hatch was closed at around 5:40 p.m. 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, was 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.

[edit] 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.^[19][20]

[edit] June 10 (Flight day 3, Docking)

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.^[7] 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.

[edit] 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.^[21]

[edit] 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 capabilities. 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.^[22]

[edit] 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.^[23]

[edit] 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.^[24]

[edit] 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.^[25][26]

[edit] 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).^[27]

[edit] June 17 (Flight day 10, EVA 4)

The fourth spacewalk of the mission began at 16:25 UTC on June 17.^[28] 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.^[29]

[edit] 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.

[edit] June 19 (Flight day 12, Undocking)

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] June 21 (Flight day 14, Scrubbed landing)

Atlantis closed its payload bay doors and made various preparations for landing, but had to stay in orbit after both landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center were scrubbed due to bad weather conditions.^[30]

[edit] June 22 (Flight day 15, Landing)

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).^[31] 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 p.m. EDT.^[32] It made 219 orbits and covered 5.8 million miles during the flight.

[edit] Contingency planning

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.^[33]

• Day 2: "Big Boy Toys" by Aaron Tippin played for Commander Rick Sturckow. WAV MP3
• Day 3: "Riding the Sky" by David Kelldorf and Brad Loveall (both employed at Johnson Space Center) played for Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson.^[34] WAV MP3
• Day 4: "It Probably Always Will" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils played for Mission Specialist Steven Swanson. WAV MP3
• Day 5: "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong played for Mission Specialist John "Danny" Olivas WAV MP3
• Day 6: "Questions 67 and 68" by Chicago played for Pilot Lee Archambault. WAV MP3
• Day 7: "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin played for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester. WAV MP3
• Day 8: "Radar Love" by Golden Earring played for Mission Specialist Steven Swanson. WAV MP3
• Day 9: "University of Texas El Paso Fight Song" by the UTEP Pep Band played for Mission Specialist John "Danny" Olivas WAV MP3
• Day 10: Theme song from "Band of Brothers" played for Mission Specialist Jim Reilly. WAV MP3
• Day 11: "Redeemer" by Nicole C. Mullen for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester. WAV MP3
• Day 12: "Feelin’ Stronger Every Day" by Chicago for Pilot Lee Archambault. WAV MP3
• Day 13: "If I Had a Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies for Sunita Williams. WAV MP3
• Day 14: "Makin' Good Time Coming Home" by John Arthur Martinez played for Commander Rick Sturckow and Mission Specialist Jim Reilly. WAV MP3
• Day 15: "The Marines' Hymn" played for Commander Rick Sturckow, USMC. WAV MP3

[edit] EVAs

	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

[edit] 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.^[35][36] The information circulated on their wire for a number of minutes, and appeared on a number of websites including Libération and Romandie News.^[37] 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.^[36] 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.

[edit] Media

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: STS-117

[edit] See also

• Space Shuttles
• 2007 in spaceflight
• List of ISS spacewalks
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of spacewalks and moonwalks
• List of human spaceflights chronologically

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikinews has related news: Space Shuttle Atlantis lands in California

• NASA STS-117 mission overview
• STS-117 Multimedia
• NASA STS-117 mission summary
• Official launch videos (NASA)
• STS-117 news at Spaceflightnow.com
• NASAspaceflight.com STS 117 forum
• STS-117 Mission News

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