STS-113

Mission emblem

Mission dates

Mission:

STS-113

COSPAR-ID :

2002-052A

Crew:

7th

Begin:

November 24, 2002, 12:49:47 AM UTC

Starting place:

Kennedy Space Center , LC-39A

Space station:

ISS

Coupling:

November 25, 2002, 21:59:00 UTC

Decoupling:

December 2, 2002, 20:50:00 UTC

Duration on the ISS:

6d 22h 51min 0s

Number of EVA :

3

Landing:

December 7, 2002, 19:37:12 UTC

Landing place:

Kennedy Space Center, Lane 33

Flight duration:

13d 18h 47min 25s

Earth orbits:

215

Track height:

Max. 397 km

Covered track:

9.24 million km

Payload:

Lattice structure P1 , CETA B

Team photo

v. l. No. Front: Paul Lockhart, James Wetherbee
Back: Michael López-Alegría, John Herrington

◄ Before / After ►

STS-112

STS-107

STS-113 ( english S pace T ransportation S ystem) is the mission designation for a flight of the US Space Shuttle Endeavor (OV-105) of NASA . The launch took place on November 24, 2002. It was the 112th space shuttle mission, the 19th flight of the space shuttle Endeavor and the 16th flight of a shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS).

team

Shuttle crew

James Wetherbee (6th spaceflight), commander
Paul Lockhart (2nd space flight), pilot
Michael López-Alegría (3rd space flight), mission specialist
John Herrington (1st spaceflight), mission specialist

Originally, Christopher Loria was the intended pilot. However, he was injured in an accident at home so that he could not continue the training.

ISS crew outward flight

ISS expedition 6 :

Kenneth Bowersox (5th space flight), commander
Nikolai Budarin ( Roskosmos / Russia ) (3rd space flight), flight engineerRussia

Donald Pettit (1st spaceflight), flight engineer

replacement

Salischan Scharipow ( Roskosmos / Russia ) for BowersoxRussia

Edward Fincke for Budarin

Originally Donald Thomas provided as an American flight engineer for this mission. For medical reasons he was replaced by the reservist Pettit.

ISS crew return flight

ISS expedition 5 :

Valery Korsun ( Roskosmos / Russia ) (2nd space flight), commanderRussia

Peggy Whitson (1st spaceflight), flight engineer

Sergei Treschtschow ( Roskosmos / Russia ) (1st space flight), flight engineerRussia

(Returned to Earth after a flight time of 184 days, 22 hours and 14 minutes; one-way flight on STS-111 )

Mission overview

In addition to food, equipment and new experiments, the Endeavor delivered the third grid element to the International Space Station (ISS). The P1 aluminum structure equipped with radiators is 13.7 meters long, 4.0 meters high and 4.6 meters wide. Their mass is 12.5 tons. P1 was mounted on the central segment S0 supplied by STS-110 and is almost identical to the S1 structural element that was brought to the station with STS-112 . A total of three spacecraft activities were carried out while the Endeavor was connected to the ISS and another crew change was carried out on the ISS. The 5th permanent crew of the ISS returned to Earth after a six-month flight.

Mission history

Structure element P1 in the Endeavor loading bay

The launch was followed by preparations for the rendezvous with the International Space Station. This includes engine tests and the extension of the coupling ring, as well as the installation of a camera in the center of the coupling unit, with which the commander and pilot can better assess the position and distance to the space station in the final phase of the rendezvous using certain target markings. A laser rangefinder is one of the tools used. The pairing took place on November 25th, 21:59 UTC.

After opening the hatches and a short safety briefing, the Soyuz bucket seats and spacesuits and with them the regular ISS crews were replaced. After that, the transportation of food, water, equipment and experiments to the station began. This also included new experiments to investigate magnetically controllable fluids (magnetorheological fluids), the interaction of small and large particles in mixtures of substances, and the resilience and muscle activity in the lower area of the human body (pelvis and lower extremities). Samples with protein and zeolite crystals (Protein Crystal Growth / Zeolite Crystal Growth) were exchanged. Plant samples (Arabidopsis thaliana), protein crystals (PCG-STES 07), microcapsules with drug inclusions (MEPS), semiconductor crystals (SUBSA), a defective freezer (Arctic 2) and an equally defective energy distributor and converter from a glove box (Microgravity Science Glovebox). This could not be used until the spare parts arrived.

Astronauts install the structural element P1

On November 27th, the grid segment P1 was lifted out of the loading bay with the help of the manipulator of the shuttle and left that way for about 10 hours to adjust the temperature. Then Bowersox and Whitson took over the payload at the control of the station manipulator and skillfully maneuvered it to the intended position, where the coupling with the already installed central part S0 was made. Then Lopez-Allegria and Herrington climbed out of the station for the first time during this mission (6:45 h) and connected important energy, data and coolant lines between S0 and P1. In addition, 24 starting safety devices were loosened on the CETA 2 (Crew and Equipment Translation Aid) handcart, several safety devices (SPD - Spool Positioning Devices) were attached to connectors, a video transceiver system was installed on Unity and handrails were dismantled and secured. The latter supported the fastening rods to which P1 was connected in the Endeavor's cargo bay. The wireless video transceiver system (WETA - Wireless video system External Transceiver Assembly) transmits images from the helmet cameras of astronauts during their spacecraft work in the station. Finally, the SPDs encompass the connectors and hold the supply lines in a position in which the quick-release fastener of the hose connections can most likely be opened without problems. This is important because in the coming months the configuration of the cooling system had to be changed frequently due to the multiple expansion of the grid structure.

Portside One Truss (P1) is a segment of the lattice structure of the International Space Station attached to the port side of the flight. This is a rigid light metal structure with a trapezoidal cross-section with additional cross struts, which is coupled directly to the central grid segment S0. The grid element is about 13.7 meters long, 4.57 meters wide and has a mass of 12.5 tons. It also has a system for automatic connection to supply lines (energy, data, coolant), a coolant tank, a nitrogen tank, three radiators (approx. 22 m) for radiating excess heat (mainly from the energy systems), along with the associated rotary mechanism and control electronics (all parts of the active temperature control system), power converters and distributors, a UHF communication system including antenna, two video connection stations, passive (2) and active (1) segment connection systems and a transport cart (Crew and Equipment Translation Aid 2).

CETA is a small mobile platform that can be moved on the rails of the lattice structure. It consists of an aluminum plate with fasteners for payloads attached, with guide wheels, locking devices, shock absorbers and various containers. It has a mass of 283 kg, is 2.50 m long, 2.36 m wide and 0.89 m high with the straps unfolded.

During the second exit on November 29th (6:10 am) Lopez-Allegria and Herrington installed safety devices as well as switches for the coolant lines, dismantled the keel fastenings of P1, with which the grid element was anchored in the shuttle's loading bay, and attached them to a strut from P1, installed a second wireless transceiver system (directly on P1), tested the segment connection devices at the end of P1 and the second transport trolley CETA 2.The latter then transported the latter to S1 so that the port side of the rail system was free for the mobile transporter .

On December 1st, the mobile transporter should drive from workstation 4 on S0 to workstation 7 on P1. However, a supply cable got caught in the UHF antenna, which was not yet extended . This was therefore installed on the same day at the third exit (7:00 a.m.), which initially fixed the problem. However, it was decided not to move the station manipulator to the mobile transporter, but to leave it on an anchor point of the Destiny laboratory module . The further outboard work concerned the installation of further coupling fuses (SPD), the reconfiguration of 4 electrical cables in an energy distribution node from S0 and the connection of the coolant and nitrogen tank on P1 to the station-wide heat exchange system. Safeguards have also been added here. All three exits were made from the Quest module . In preparation, the two spacemen breathed pure oxygen under reduced pressure for about 2 hours. In the first few minutes of this procedure, they each trained for about 10 minutes on the bicycle ergometer in the shuttle. This approach significantly shortened the preparation time for an exit.

In the course of the mission, the nitrogen and oxygen tanks of the Quest exit module were refilled and the orbit of the station with the shuttle's engines was raised by around 10 kilometers in three cycles. In addition, more than 1000 kg of material was transported into the station and around 350 kg into the shuttle. After several attempts, it was also possible to repair the carbon dioxide absorber in the Destiny laboratory module. To do this, two valves had to be changed, contamination removed and a leaky line repaired.

Peggy Whitson observes the ISS after undocking.

After completing the most important tasks, the Endeavor detached itself from the station on December 2, 20:05 UTC, and partially flew around it. Recordings were made of the current configuration. A few hours later, two small satellites were launched. PICOSAT consists of two boxes that are connected by a cable. The small satellites each weighed only about 1 kg and were 10 × 10 × 13 cm in size. They had their own power supply and communication systems. The aim of this third mission of the system was to show the possibility of taking off from the shuttle and to investigate the feasibility of experiments in the field of microelectromechanics and nanotechnology.

This time, the routine experiments on board the Endeavor also included the testing of promethazine as a drug against the well-known space traveler's disease. This is caused by unusual irritations in the balance organ of the inner ear. On earth, the drug has already proven itself against the similar seasickness. However, drugs often work differently in weightlessness. With the experiment (DSO 490B) the aim was to test efficiency, side effects, favorable dose and suitable drug intake.

Due to poor weather conditions, the Endeavor landed at the intended landing site three days later than originally planned, on December 7, 19:37 UTC at Cape Canaveral in Florida.