STS-127

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Mission emblem
Mission emblem
Mission dates
Mission: STS-127
COSPAR-ID : 2009-038A
Begin: July 15, 2009, 22:03:00 UTC
Starting place: Kennedy Space Center , LC-39A
Space station: ISS
Coupling: July 17, 2009, 17:47:11 UTC
Decoupling: July 28, 2009, 17:26 UTC
Duration on the ISS: 10d 23h 39min
Number of EVA : 5
Landing: July 31, 2009, 14:48 UTC
Landing place: Kennedy Space Center
Flight duration: 15d 16h 44min 9s
Earth orbits: 248
Rotation time : 94 min
Track height: 360 km
Covered track: 10.5 million km
Payload: Kibō :
- Exposed Facility (EF),
- Experiment Logistics Module, External Section (ELM-ES)
Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC-VLD)
Team photo
v. l. No. David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Douglas Hurley, Julie Payette, Mark Polansky, Thomas Marshburn, Timothy Kopra
v. l. No. David Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Douglas Hurley, Julie Payette, Mark Polansky, Thomas Marshburn, Timothy Kopra
◄ Before / After ►
STS-125 STS-128

STS-127 ( english S pace T ransportation S ystem) is a mission designation for a flight of the US Space Shuttle Endeavor (OV-105) of NASA . It was the 127th space shuttle mission and the 23rd flight of the space shuttle Endeavor.

The launch took place on July 15, 2009 after the launch was aborted on June 13th and 17th and on July 11th, 12th and 13th 2009 due to problems with a valve and bad weather.

The STS-127 mission brought an experiment and a logistics platform (Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEM EF) and Japanese Experiment Logistics Module - Exposed Section (ELM-ES)) of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station , completing the Japanese one Part of the station. In addition, a cargo carrier ( ICC-VLD ) was on board, on which spare parts for the ISS were attached. After the station visit, the satellite experiments DRAGONSat and ANDE-2 were suspended.

team

ISS crew one way

ISS expedition 20

ISS crew return flight

ISS expedition 19

preparation

Delivery of the Kibō modules with an An-124 to the KSC

On September 24, 2008, the relevant components of the Kibō segment were delivered to the Kennedy Space Center and then stored there. The assembly of the solid fuel rocket began at the beginning of February and the external tank was attached between them a little later . The Endeavor was transferred to the VAB on April 10th and attached to the external tank over the Easter weekend. On April 17, she was then rolled to Launch Facility 39B in preparation for a possible STS-400 mission . It stayed there until the STS-125 landed. On May 31st, it carried out the last rollaround in the history of the shuttle, which ended all shuttle activities on launch facility B. During the Flight Readiness Review on June 3rd, June 13th was confirmed as the first launch date. At the same time, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test took place, during which the crew dealt with the ground equipment for evacuation. She then flew back to Houston and returned to the Cape on the night of June 8th to 9th (local time) . The countdown started a day later.

Start delays

The start, originally planned for June 13, had to be aborted during the refueling process because a leak had occurred in the degassing line of the external hydrogen tank, which caused the concentration of hydrogen to rise above the maximum tolerable value of 4% due to the risk of fire. Since this problem had occurred only a few months ago when the STS-119 tried to start it for the first time, it was assumed that the problems would be resolved quickly and that another attempt would be made on June 17th.

In the following days, the same method was used as with STS-119 and the connecting plate was replaced. However, during the refueling on June 16, it turned out that this time had not solved the problem as the leak reappeared. The start was suspended again and could take place on July 11th at the earliest, as the ISS is in a "beta cutout" from July 6th to 10th . It is permanently exposed to the sun, which would overheat the shuttle.

A valve installed at an angle in the outer tank turned out to be the cause of the leak, so that on July 1, 2009 a tank test with the modified seal was successfully carried out. Then the preparations for the launch began. The crew arrived back at the launch site on July 7th, and the countdown started the following day.

Lightning strikes the launch pad.

On July 10, a severe storm, typical for this time of the year in Florida, fell over Cape Canaveral. During the storm, the lightning rod on the launch pad next to the space shuttle was hit, but there was no apparent damage, and the countdown continued normally. A total of eleven impacts occurred within a radius of around 600 meters. Seven of these impacts hit buildings on the launch site. On the same day the working platform for the payload bay was moved away. Shortly before refueling began, however, the start attempt was canceled in order to have more time to look through the data on the storm. No reasons were found during these investigations that required a renewed postponement of the start, so that a start attempt was made on July 12. However, bad weather led to another shift of 24 hours. The next attempt should be made on July 13 at 22:51 UTC . With this attempt, however, an additional weather rule should be necessary, which prohibits a start in the rain on the starting system. This was necessary because one of the maneuvering nozzle covers had partially come off. If water had got into it, it could have frozen and made the nozzle unable to work. Although it did not rain on the facility, other weather rules stood in the way of a start again. As the weather conditions on the following day were not going to be better and they wanted to replace the cover of the nozzle, it was decided to postpone it for 48 hours.

Mission history

Start, rendezvous and pairing

The Endeavor takes off.

On Wednesday evening, July 15, the space shuttle successfully took off on the sixth attempt at 10:03 UTC. Two minutes after take-off, the boosters were thrown off, after another six minutes the engines were deactivated and the tank was disconnected. In addition to a few engine ignitions, the robot arm was also activated during the day and prepared for the inspections the following day.

On the second day of the flight, the inspection of the sensitive parts of the heat shield was due. Using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System , the “nose” and the leading edge of the space shuttle were examined for damage. The video evaluation of the start showed possible small damage to some heat protection tiles from falling pieces of foam from the tank insulation. In addition, the spacesuits were prepared for the five exits and devices for the coupling maneuver began to be activated. On the third day of the flight, the station was approached and the rendezvous began. Before the actual coupling, the Endeavor carried out the rendezvous pitch maneuver , during which the ISS crew took photos of the lower heat shield so that it could also be examined for damage. The coupling took place at 17:47 UTC; approx. Two hours later, after the hatches had been opened, 13 people were on the ISS at the same time for the first time. As one of the first tasks, the specially adapted soy seat from Kōichi Wakata was exchanged for that of Timothy Kopra . At 21:22 UTC, the change was officially completed, so that Wakata now belonged to STS-127 and Kopra to ISS Expedition 20. In addition, the preparations for the first exit began when David Wolf and Tim Kopra went to the campout in the Quest airlock .

Working on the ISS

Tim Kopra in the Endeavor's cargo bay

On the fourth day of the flight (July 18), work began on installing the outdoor facilities for the Kibō module. With the station's Canadarm2 , controlled by Doug Hurley and Kōichi Wakata, the outside platform (JEM EF) was moved out of the Endeavor's loading bay and transferred to the shuttle's robot arm , which was operated by Mark Polansky and Julie Payette . After the robot arm of the station had moved into the assembly position, it took over the platform from the shuttle tower and then finally attached it to the laboratory module (PM). Wolf and Kopra started the first EVA at 16:19 UTC when they switched the spacesuits to internal supply. They prepared the coupling mechanisms of the laboratory module and the external platform for docking. They also managed to open the coupling point for external payloads (UCCAS) on the P3 lattice structure with a special tool . This got stuck during STS-119 . Despite the radiotelephone problems, all primary tasks were completed after 5 hours and 32 minutes and the spacecraft activities ended at 21:51 UTC. Early on the day of the mission, the mission management informed the crew that the Endeavor's heat shield was in good condition, so that no in-depth inspection was necessary.

On the fifth mission day (July 19), there was no extraboard activity. Since no further inspection of the shuttle heat shield was required, the crew could spend additional time reloading supplies and equipment from the shuttle to the station. Furthermore, with the help of the robotic arms of the Endeavor (controlled by Mark Polansky and Doug Hurley) and the ISS (Julie Payette and Tim Kopra), the integrated cargo carrier (ICC-VLD) was brought from the shuttle cargo hold to the mobile base system of the station arm, where it was temporarily attached. This allowed Dave Wolf and Tom Marshburn to transfer the spare parts attached to the ICC-VLD to the storage platform ESP-3 on the station boom P3 during the next EVA . Wolf and Marshburn spent the rest of their day preparing the special tools, checking the work steps, and starting the campout in the Quest airlock. Meanwhile, the toilet in the Destiny module, the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC), failed. Mike Barratt and Frank De Winne then started replacing dirty parts. However, the failure of the WHC has no consequences for the mission because a similar system is available on the Endeavor and the facilities in the Russian Zvezda module are available.

Dave Wolf rides the ISS robotic arm.

The sixth mission day (July 20th) marked the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing of Apollo 11 . For the second space exit, Dave Wolf and Tom Marshburn left the Quest airlock at 15:27 UTC. Wolf removed a Ku-band space-ground antenna, a pump module and a linear drive from the ICC-VLD and rode on the station arm, controlled by Julie Payette and Doug Hurley, each with a component in hand to ESP-3 on the station boom P3. There both astronauts attached the spare parts for a longer storage period. Marshburn also attached a handle to an ammonia tank so that it could be moved on the STS-128 mission . He also attached two insulating sleeves to the external connectors of the station-to-shuttle power transfer system . The installation of a Kibō video camera was postponed. The EVA ended after 6 hours and 53 minutes at 22:20 UTC. In the meantime, ISS commander Padalka and Frank De Winne were able to repair the defective toilet .

Flight day seven (July 21) was used to install the Japanese logistics module (ELM-ES) on Kibō's "Veranda" (JEM EF). Mark Polansky and Julie Payette used the shuttle robotic arm to hand the pallet to Kōichi Wakata and Doug Hurley, who operated the ISS robotic arm. The installation of the logistics pallet was completed at 14:30 UTC. The experiments from this pallet were then removed on July 23 with the help of Kibo's robotic arm and attached to Kibo's porch. Astronauts Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy prepared their spacesuits for their deployment the next day. The two of them spent the night in the airlock at the campout to adapt to the upcoming outdoor use. Meanwhile, Polansky, Hurley, Payette, and Wolf had time to answer questions asked by visitors on YouTube and Twitter .

The two spacewalkers at P6

The third exit with Dave Wolf and Chris Cassidy began on the eighth day (July 22nd) at 14:32 UTC. First, insulating blankets were removed from the Kibo module and the Kibo logistics module was prepared for unloading the next day. The cargo carrier (ICC-VLD) with the six spare batteries was brought to the work place at the solar power plant P6 by Doug Hurley and Julie Payette with the help of the robot arm . The two astronauts were supposed to replace the first four batteries there. After two newly installed batteries, however, the EVA had to be canceled because the carbon dioxide content increased in an impermissible manner due to a defective CO 2 absorber in Cassidy's suit. Chris Cassidy was not in imminent danger, but as a precaution the EVA was terminated at 20:31 UTC after 5 hours and 59 minutes. The installation of the first two batteries could however be completely completed, the installation of the remaining four is now planned for the next EVA on July 24th.

On the ninth day of the mission (July 23) the first use of Kibō's robot arm was due. Members of both crews took turns transferring the equipment from the logistics module (ELM-ES) to the experiment platform (EF) and attaching it to the side. The work dragged on a bit, as the robot arm was moving faster than expected and was therefore switched to a slower manual mode. The three experiments are: Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) , monitoring of the entire sky in the X-ray spectrum, Inter-orbit Communication System (ICS) , an independent connection between Kibō and the Tsukuba Space Center in Japan, and Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload (SEDA-AP) , a sensor in an attached payload for the acquisition of data on the space environment of the ISS. The crew also prepared the spacesuits and tools and went through the changed workflows for the fourth field mission. Cassidy and Marshburn spent the night again in the airlock to the campout to adjust to the conditions of the next field assignment.

Cassidy and Marshburn changing batteries

On flight day ten (July 24), the replacement of the batteries at P6 of Cassidy and Marshburn was completed at EVA four. These had been in use since 2000 and had lost capacity. The field work lasted a total of seven hours and twelve minutes. Meanwhile, Kōichi Wakata and Julie Payette moved the freight pallet (ICC-VLD) with the six used batteries to the shuttle with the help of the station arm (Canadarm2). There Doug Hurley and Mark Polansky attached the pallet to the Endeavor's loading bay using the shuttle's own robotic arm.

After the eleventh day off duty, on the twelfth day (July 26), Kibō's empty logistics pallet (ELM-ES) was uncoupled and loaded into the shuttle. This brought the robotic work of the mission to an end. In addition, equipment and cargo were reloaded from the shuttle to the station. Meanwhile, Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn were preparing their spacesuits and tools for the next EVA and going through the planned work steps. In the following press conference, representatives of the press from the participating nations of the united crew from STS-127 and ISS-Expedition 20 were able to ask their questions.

Marshburn at Kibō's experimental platform

Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy made the fifth and final exit on Mission Day 13 (July 27) after spending the night at the campout again. While Marshburn reinforced a multi-layer insulation around Dextre , Cassidy divided the circuits of two of the four gyroscopes of the station on a patch panel on grid element Z1 . The two then mounted video equipment at the front and rear of Kibō's outside platform (EF), which u. a. also enables the coupling of the Japanese HTV space freighter. Since the planned deployment of the payload fastening system (PAS) on station boom S3 would have taken too long, the two were instructed to do other tasks that were planned for later field work. This included fastening cables and attaching hand guides and a mobile ankle bracket to support later exits. The EVA ended in 4 hours and 54 minutes and completed the work of this mission on the outside of the Kibo laboratory.

The ISS after the Endeavor undocked

The 14th flight day (July 28th) was marked by the Endeavor's departure from the space station. After the final transfers of frozen scientific samples to the shuttle and a small farewell ceremony, the hatches between the spacecraft were closed. At 17:26 UTC, the Endeavor undocked and removed from the ISS after a total of 10 days, 23 hours and 39 minutes. Then pilot Doug Hurley flew the shuttle around the station at a distance of approx. 120 meters so that the crew could photograph the progress of construction. After this maneuver, the space shuttle finally departed from the ISS at 19:09 UTC. Meanwhile, the station's crew were preparing for the arrival of the Progress -34 space transporter.

Satellite launch and return

The crew of the space shuttle spent day 15 (July 29) with the late inspection of the heat shield with the help of the OBSS and with the first preparations for the return to Earth. Unused and loose items were stowed away. A special reclining seat was set up for Kōichi Wakata in order to reduce the burden of braking when re-entering after his five-month stay in weightlessness . After testing the control nozzles and the wing hydraulics, two pairs of satellites were launched on the 16th day of flight (July 30th):

  • DRAGONSat (Dual RF Astrodynamic GPS Orbital Navigator Satellite), a pair of demonstration satellites for autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers with GPS support, a joint project of Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin .
  • ANDE-2 (Castor and Pollux, Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment), two outwardly identical spherical satellites with a diameter of 0.5 m and different mass (50 or 25 kg) for investigating the density and composition of the earth's atmosphere below 335 km altitude. On August 18 and March 29, 2010, the two satellites, from which the active Castor could also be received by radio amateurs , burned up in the earth's atmosphere.
Landing of the Endeavor at the Kennedy Space Center

Due to the favorable weather forecast for the first landing facility on July 31 at 14:48 UTC at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the cargo bay doors were closed at 11:00 UTC. In preparation for gravity , the astronauts took several liters of fluid (fluid loading). At 13:27 UTC the crew received clearance for Deorbit Burn . The brake ignition began at 13:41 UTC and slowed the shuttle down by around 350 km / h, so that after almost half a revolution it entered the denser layers of the earth's atmosphere . The landing took place at 14:48 UTC after 15 days, 16 hours and 44 minutes on runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility . Shortly afterwards, a special convoy secured the space shuttle and helped the crew to disembark after they had switched off all systems on the space shuttle. A few hours after touchdown, the Endeavor was towed to its hangar , where it was being prepared for its next mission, STS-130 .

See also

Web links

Commons : STS-127  - collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Katherine Trinidad, Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters: NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering. NASA, November 21, 2008, accessed November 21, 2008 .
  2. ↑ NASA scrubs Saturday launch of space shuttle Endeavor. CNN, June 13, 2009, archived from the original on April 14, 2015 ; accessed on June 13, 2009 .
  3. ↑ No leaks found during Endeavor fueling test. Spaceflight Now, July 1, 2009, accessed August 4, 2009 .
  4. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 01. NASA, July 15, 2009, accessed July 16, 2009 .
  5. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 03. NASA, July 16, 2009, accessed July 19, 2009 .
  6. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 05. NASA, July 17, 2009, accessed July 19, 2009 .
  7. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 07. NASA, July 18, 2009, accessed July 19, 2009 .
  8. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 09. NASA, July 19, 2009, accessed July 20, 2009 .
  9. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 11. NASA, July 20, 2009, accessed July 21, 2009 .
  10. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 13. NASA, July 21, 2009, accessed July 22, 2009 .
  11. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 15. NASA, July 22, 2009, accessed July 23, 2009 .
  12. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 17. NASA, July 23, 2009, accessed July 24, 2009 .
  13. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 19. NASA, July 24, 2009, accessed July 25, 2009 .
  14. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 23. NASA, July 26, 2009, accessed July 27, 2009 .
  15. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 25. NASA, July 27, 2009, accessed July 28, 2009 .
  16. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 27. NASA, July 28, 2009, accessed July 30, 2009 .
  17. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 31. NASA, July 30, 2009, accessed July 31, 2009 .
  18. ↑ Fact Sheet DRAGONSat. NASA May 6, 2009; archived from the original on June 12, 2009 ; accessed on July 25, 2009 (English).
  19. ↑ Fact Sheet ANDE-2. NASA May 15, 2009; archived from the original on July 19, 2009 ; accessed on July 25, 2009 (English).
  20. ↑ ANDE. NASA, accessed July 25, 2009 .
  21. ^ CASTOR - ANDE-2 Project
  22. ↑ STS-127 MCC Status Report # 32. NASA, July 31, 2009, accessed July 31, 2009 .
  23. ^ Mission Status Center. Spaceflight Now, July 31, 2009, accessed August 2, 2009 .