STS-110

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mission emblem
Mission emblem STS-110
Mission dates
Mission: STS-110
COSPAR-ID : 2002-018A
Crew: 7th
Begin: April 8, 2002, 20:44:19  UTC
Starting place: Kennedy Space Center , LC-39B
Space station: ISS
Coupling: April 10, 2002, 16:05:00 UTC
Decoupling: April 17, 2002, 18:31:00 UTC
Duration on the ISS: 7d 2h 26min 0s
Number of EVA : 4th
Landing: April 19, 2002, 16:26:58 UTC
Landing place: Kennedy Space Center, Lane 33
Flight duration: 10d 19h 42min 39s
Earth orbits: 171
Track height: Max. 225 km
Covered track: 7.2 million km
Payload: S0 grid structure , Mobile Base System
Team photo
v. l. No. front: Stephen Frick, Ellen Ochoa, Michael Bloomfield; back: Steven Smith, Rex Walheim, Jerry Ross, Lee Morin
v. l. No. front: Stephen Frick, Ellen Ochoa, Michael Bloomfield;
back: Steven Smith, Rex Walheim, Jerry Ross, Lee Morin
◄ Before / After ►
STS-109 STS-111

STS-110 (short for English S pace T ransportation S ystem 110) is the mission designation for a flight of the US Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) of NASA . The launch took place on April 8, 2002. It was the 109th space shuttle mission, the 25th flight of the space shuttle Atlantis and the 13th flight of a shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS).

team

Ross was the first astronaut to complete seven space flights.

Mission overview

The Atlantis delivered the first segment of the central lattice structure of the International Space Station (ISS). The S0 element with a mass of twelve tons is 13.4 meters long and 4.6 meters wide. In addition, the rail car was brought to the ISS. The carriage, known as the Mobile Transporter, uses the rail system laid on the grid elements.

A total of four exits were made while the Atlantis was connected to the space station.

Mission history

After the start was delayed by 4 days because of a leak in a fuel line and a small computer breakdown, the flight to the International Space Station went according to plan. After several orbit corrections, the Atlantis docked at the Destiny research module on April 10 at around 6:05 p.m.

The following day, the 13.5 t heavy lattice structure element S0 (Starboard Zero) was lifted out of the loading bay of the shuttle and transported to the station. Here it was first attached to two assembly struts. Smith and Walheim worked outboard for a total of 7 hours and 48 minutes to install a large number of cables between S0 and the Destiny laboratory module after the mechanical installation. The cables supply the individual components of the grid structure with energy and data. In addition, coolant lines were drawn. Finally, a supply system for the mobile transporter was connected. The mobile transporter is an electrically powered slide that can operate on rails along the entire lattice structure. During the outboard work, Ellen Ochoa, assisted by Daniel Bursch, controlled the station's manipulator arm. Frick and Morin provided additional video images with a camera on the manipulator of the shuttle, while Ross from the Atlantis and Walz on board the station coordinated and monitored the entire work. The platform systems were activated shortly after the two external crews got back on board. In addition to energy and cooling systems, this also includes navigation equipment and sensors (measurement of changes in position).

Structural element S0 on the Canadarm2 robot arm

Starboard Zero Truss (S 0) is the central segment of the 100 meter long lattice structure of the International Space Station. It is a rigid light metal construction with a trapezoidal cross-section with additional cross struts, which is connected to the Destiny laboratory module via extendable telescopic supports. The grid element S0 is 13.20 meters long, 4.57 meters wide, has a mass of 12.6 tons and consists of 5 individual bays. It also has a system for automatic connection to supply lines (energy, data, coolant), a 6.40 meter long radiator for radiating excess heat (especially from the energy systems), a portable work platform, 4 GPS antennas for determining the position of the station , an independent system of two measurement complexes with 3 ring laser gyroscopes each, which determine the accelerations in all three axes and calculate the position of the station via computer, a detector for charged particles, four energy switching units, two circuit breakers, three halogen headlights, two independent control systems for remote control of the most important functions, a large number of supply cables with automatic connection devices and the mobile transporter (MT).

This is an aluminum construction, 2.74 meters long, 2.62 meters wide and 97 centimeters high. It has a mass of 885 kg and runs on rails along the lattice structure. Complex software takes over the control of the 20 motors for driving, locking and connecting the energy couplings. The mobile transporter now has 10 docking points on the individual grid segments. When locked, there is a contact pressure of around 30 kilonewtons between the rail and the transporter. The maximum payload is 20.9 tons. A special segment-to-segment attachment system is used to connect the individual segments of the lattice structure. For each connection there is a remote-controlled catch bolt that initially loosely connects the two elements, but is then tightened. In addition, four motor-driven bolts that are additionally secured then engage.

On April 12th and on the following days, equipment, experiments and supplies (approx. 1000 kg) as well as water (approx. 730 kg) and breathing gases (approx. 100 kg) were transported to the station. The results of some experiments took the opposite route. Several press conferences were also held. In three stages, the orbit of the orbital complex with the engines of the Atlantis was raised by about 10 km. The outboard work continued to play the main role.

On April 13th, astronauts Morin and Ross left the station for 7 hours and 30 minutes. They attached two more struts between S0 and the Destiny laboratory module. They then dismantled protective panels and clamps that were used to stabilize the grid structure during take-off and installed a second supply line for the mobile transporter. A jammed bolt in a cable separator for emergencies could not be loosened during the subsequent exits.

During the third spacecraft mission by Smith and Walheim on April 14th (duration: 6:17 h), a retaining claw was dismantled, power, data and video cables were laid, brackets and thermal covers were removed from the mobile transporter, and cable connections on the station's manipulator arm were reconfigured. This is intended to facilitate docking at the breakpoints of the mobile system.

The mobile transporter was tested the following day. It moved back and forth between the two supply points of S0 at a speed of about 2 centimeters per second. The anchoring of the flat sled and the docking of the cables at the supply points were triggered manually by individual commands, as the automatic system failed. Apparently the magnetic sensors did not recognize the markings on the rail. This problem was later solved by modifying the software.

Finally, on April 16, Morin and Ross worked again for 6 hours and 37 minutes in space. They installed a roughly 4.5 meter long ladder between the Quest exit module and the grille element S0 and installed several halogen spotlights on Unity and Destiny, which illuminate the future working area better than the previous lamps. They then attached a work platform, installed shock absorbers on both ends of the mobile transporter, and mounted several brackets on S0. The tasks completed also included testing electrical converters, removing a cover on one of the four GPS antennas on S0 and documenting the work in photographs. The test of a gas analyzer remained unfinished.

After the decoupling on April 17th (16:31 UTC), the Atlantis flew around the station. This was done to document the progress photographically. After a well-deserved rest, the landing of the space transporter was prepared. The space shuttle Atlantis finally landed on April 19 on a concrete runway in Florida.

See also

Web links

Commons : STS-110  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files