STS-128

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Mission emblem
Mission emblem STS-128
Mission dates
Mission: STS-128
COSPAR-ID : 2009-045A
Crew: 7th
Begin: August 29, 2009, 03:59:37 UTC
Starting place: Kennedy Space Center , LC-39A
Space station: ISS
Coupling: August 31, 2009, 00:54 UTC
Decoupling: September 8, 2009, 19:26 UTC
Duration on the ISS: 8 d , 18 h , 32 min
Number of EVA : 3
Landing: September 12, 2009 at 00:53 UTC
Landing place: Edwards Air Force Base
Flight duration: 13 d, 20 h, 54 min, 55 s
Earth orbits: 219
Track height: 348 km
Covered track: 9.2 million km
Payload: MPLM Leonardo
LMC with ammonia tank
Team photo
v. l. No. José Hernández, Kevin Ford, John Olivas, Nicole Stott, Christer Fuglesang, Frederick Sturckow, Patrick Forrester
v. l. No. José Hernández, Kevin Ford, John Olivas, Nicole Stott, Christer Fuglesang, Frederick Sturckow, Patrick Forrester
◄ Before / After ►
STS-127 STS-129

STS-128 ( english S pace T ransportation S ystem) is a mission designation for a flight of the US Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) of NASA . The launch took place on August 29, 2009 at 03:59 UTC . It was the 128th space shuttle mission and the 37th flight of the Discovery.

During this mission, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo was used to bring supplies and materials to the International Space Station . It was u. a. also the new training device for astronauts COLBERT, a homage to the American comedian Stephen Colbert , see also the naming of the ISS module Tranquility . Furthermore, with the help of a special freight carrier (LMC), an ammonia tank was brought to the ISS for replacement and installed.

Three space exits were made: the first by Olivas and Stott, the following two by Olivas and Fuglesang.

team

The crew was announced by NASA on July 15, 2008:

ISS crew outward flight

ISS expedition 20

ISS crew return flight

ISS expedition 20

Preparations

The Discovery upon arrival at the launch complex

After its final mission, STS-119 , the Discovery was pulled into its Orbiter Processing Facility , where routine inspections and repairs took place. Stacking of the solid fuel booster began at the end of May 2009, followed by the external tank about a month later. After a few repairs, the Discovery was transferred to the Vehicle Assembly Building on July 26th and mounted on the external tank in the following days. On August 4th, the Discovery was rolled to launch facility 39A . One day later, the spacemen flew to the launch site to take part in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test . They learned how to use the rescue equipment at the launch site and simulated a countdown . Some tests were carried out on the outer tank due to the starting problems with the foam insulation that had occurred during the previous mission. In tensile tests, the necessary strength values ​​were achieved, so that the take-off was confirmed on August 25 at the following flight readiness review. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on the evening of August 19 (local time), and the countdown began two days later.

Start delays

The weather forecast for August 25th looked quite positive with 80%, but the situation changed during the day and the probability dropped to 40%. Since several weather rules were violated at the time of the start, a 24-hour postponement was ordered. However, this new attempt had to be aborted at the end of the tank phase, as there was no confirmation of the correct closing of the inlet and outlet valves for liquid hydrogen. It was planned to try again on August 28th. After the hydrogen tank was completely emptied, the valve was successfully opened and closed five times in a row, so that functionality could be confirmed. However, the mission management decided to postpone another 24 hours to have plans worked out should the problem with the valve recur.

Mission history

Start, rendezvous and pairing

The night launch of Discovery on August 29, 2009

Since neither the valve nor the weather caused any problems, the Discovery was finally able to take off on August 29 at 03:59:37 UTC. The burned-out solid fuel rockets were dropped after two minutes, the OMS engines were activated for almost two minutes after three minutes and the main engines were switched off after eight and a half minutes . Ten seconds later, the outer tank was disconnected. The astronauts then began to prepare the Discovery for work in orbit. This included activating the ventilation in the Leonardo module and activating the robot arm . The second day of flight (August 29 and 30) was used to inspect the heat shield with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System . In addition, the spacesuits were tested and preparations for the rendezvous were made.

The rendezvous between the two spacecraft took place on the third day of flight (August 30 and 31). For the navigation during the rendezvous pitch maneuver and the subsequent coupling, the new TriDAR sensor was used for the first time , which provided precise position data by means of a camera and LIDAR , so that the Ku-band antenna , which is otherwise occupied by the radar , is instead used for the transmission of live Images could be used. Due to a leak, the front fine control nozzles were not available during the docking process with the ISS, so that for the first time a docking maneuver of a shuttle to the ISS had to be flown with the 36-fold more thrust main jets of the reaction control system . The maneuver required 265 kg of fuel, 34 kg were planned. The pairing took place at 00:54 UTC. The hatches were opened about 1 hour and 40 minutes later. After the welcome and a briefing by the station crew was Sojussitz of Timothy Kopra against by Nicole Stott replaced, making it officially changed the crew belonging. Nicole Stott became flight engineer on ISS Expedition 20 , while Tim Kopra switched to STS-128.

Working on the ISS

The fourth day of the flight (August 31st and September 1st) served the transfer of the Leonardo module to the Earth-facing coupling point of the Harmony module. Kevin Ford and Mike Barrat used the station's robotic arm and grabbed Leonardo. The pairing took place at 21:56 UTC. A few hours later the hatch was opened. Meanwhile, the crew brought cargo from the shuttle to the station, in particular the spacesuits and tools for the upcoming EVA . Then Nicole Stott and Danny Olivas went to the Quest airlock to breathe pure oxygen overnight under reduced air pressure. This so-called campout reduces the level of nitrogen dissolved in the body tissue and thus prevents decompression sickness .

Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott during the first EVA

On the fifth day of the flight (September 1st and 2nd) the first exit took place, which was carried out by Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott. The two first dismantled an almost exhausted ammonia tank on the station boom P1 . The tank belonging to the station's cooling system was then grabbed by the station's robot arm and temporarily attached. The tank remained in this position until final assembly in the shuttle's hold during the next EVA with Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang . Nicole Stott rode on the station arm to the Columbus module on a foot bracket that was then installed . There, she and Olivas  dismantled the EuTEF and MISSE 6 experiments and attached them to the Discovery's hold for return. During the exit, which took 6 hours and 35 minutes, all planned work could be completed. Meanwhile, the first transfers between Leonardo and the ISS have started. An air freshening system, a crew sleeping cabin and the COLBERT treadmill were brought into the station.

The sixth mission day (September 2nd and 3rd) was used for the further equipment of the International Space Station. Important research funds such as the fluid and materials research racks FIR (Fluids Integrated Rack) and MSRR-1 (Materials Science Research Rack) as well as the special freezer MELFI-2 (Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS) were transferred from Leonardo to the Destiny room laboratory . The next two space travelers Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang prepared their spacesuits and tools and spent the night at the campout in the airlock in preparation for the next EVA. For September 4, 15:07 UTC, there was a danger of a dangerous approach between the space station and a disused Sylda-5 double  launch adapter ( COSPAR designation 2006-033C) on an Ariane flight. An evasive maneuver under consideration could be canceled shortly before the second EVA on the seventh day of the flight (September 3 and 4), as the distance of 1.3 km was considered safe enough due to sufficiently accurate orbit data.

Christer Fuglesang with both ammonia tanks

During the 6 hour and 39 minute exit, Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang installed the ammonia tank they had brought with them and stowed the empty tank in the shuttle's loading bay. To do this, the two of them removed the full tank from the lightweight freight carrier (LMC) in the shuttle's loading bay. Fuglesang then rode on a foot mount on the station robot arm with the tank in hand to the installation site on the lattice structure P1. The full tank with a mass of 833 kg (1836  lbs ) is the most massive object that has been moved by hand by astronauts to date. Since the tank is weightless in orbit , but still has a high degree of inertia , it was necessary to proceed very carefully. So the maneuver lasted 30 minutes. The new tank was then installed by both astronauts and the connecting lines connected. Olivas then secured himself to the station with a mobile ankle clamp and handed the empty tank, which has now been detached from the head of the station arm, to Fuglesang by hand. This now floated with the empty tank in hand on the station arm to the loading bay of the Discovery in order to fasten it together with Olivas on the lightweight cargo structure (LMC). The empty tank was refilled on earth and brought back to the station with STS-131 .

The first half of the eighth day of flight (September 4th and 5th) was free for the crew until the start of the traditional press conference. The combined crew from STS-128 and ISS Expedition 20 answered questions from journalists from the USA, Canada and Europe. Afterwards, the loading of freight for the return to earth into the now empty logistics module began. Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang spent the night at the campout in the Quest airlock.

Danny Olivas during the third EVA

The third and final EVA took place on the ninth mission day (September 5th and 6th). Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang began their second joint exit at 20:39 UTC. First they deployed the payload attachment system PAS (Payload Attachment System) on the grid structure S3 , which was required for the next mission STS-129 . The two then exchanged a defective position control unit (rate gyro assembly) and a disconnector (remote power control module) on structure S0 and installed two GPS antennas. At the Unity module an old guide line was removed for space-goers. In preparation for the arrival of the new Tranquility connection node , two 18-meter-long data lines had to be laid on the outside of the station. In one cable set, the connectors did not fit, so they were secured with insulating sleeves and the completion of this task had to be postponed to a later mission. The external work ended after seven hours and one minute at 03:40 UTC.

On the tenth day (September 6th and 7th), the transfer work between Leonardo and the station was completed. After that, the shuttle crew used the free time to give television interviews with broadcasters from their home country. On the eleventh day of the flight (September 7th and 8th), the MPLM with the station arm was returned to the loading bay of the shuttle and secured. Leonardo transported around 1,100 kg of equipment to earth, and an additional 390 kg were stowed in the middle deck of the shuttle. After a small farewell ceremony, the hatches between the shuttle and the station were closed at 03:41 UTC.

return

The ISS after the breakup

The Discovery separated from the International Space Station on the twelfth day of flight (September 8th and 9th) after 8 days, 18 hours and 32 minutes at 19:26 UTC. The shuttle circled the station at a distance of about 120 meters to survey the ISS and take photos. At 21:09 UTC, the space shuttle finally departed from the space station. A little later, the late inspection of the heat shield began with the help of the OBSS . The Discovery brought home a total of 2.5 tons of samples, used equipment, and rubbish. On the following 13th day of flight (September 9th and 10th) the landing systems were tested and equipment that was no longer required was stowed away. The crew set up a special reclining seat for Tim Kopra to make it easier for him to adapt to gravity after more than 50 days in weightlessness.

The 14th day of flight (September 10th and 11th) offered two landing opportunities. The mission leadership had committed to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two occasions at 23:04 UTC and 00:40 UTC had to be canceled due to bad weather in the Cape Canaverals area.

The next landing opportunities on the 15th flight day (September 11th and 12th) were also in Florida. Both had to be canceled again due to thunderstorms and unstable weather conditions. In addition, this time Edwards Air Force Base in California was activated. The first opportunity in California in the following orbit at 00:53 UTC was then used for landing. At 20:30 UTC the cargo bay doors were closed and the crew began the procedures for re-entry. In addition to putting on their rescue suits and buckling up in their seats, the crew members consumed large amounts of fluids and salt tablets to enable their circulatory systems to better adapt to gravity. The brake ignition was initiated at 23:47 UTC, so that the Discovery plunged into the denser layers of the atmosphere after half a orbit around the earth . The flight control program performed a series of lateral maneuvers to help slow the orbiter.

The successful landing in California

During the re-entry into the earth's atmosphere , the boundary layer experiment was carried out to investigate the flow at hypersonic speed . The protective boundary layer was locally disturbed by an obstacle on the otherwise smooth surface of the heat shield and the resulting temperature increases were examined. A small flow obstacle and several temperature sensors were installed under a wing of the Discovery. An overall picture of the temperature distribution was also taken with an infrared camera from a P3 Orion aircraft flying about 50 km below the shuttle . The experiment served to develop the heat protection for the new Orion spacecraft.

The Discovery and its crew of seven landed on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base on September 12 at 00:53 UTC after 13 days, 20 hours and 54 minutes in space. A convoy then secured the ferry and helped the crew disembark. After a medical check-up, the crew, with the exception of Tim Kopra, conducted their traditional tour around the orbiter. The next day the crew flew to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Transfer to Florida

The Discovery and NASA 911 in Florida

The return of the Discovery to Florida with the shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 911 took place a week after landing. In preparation, the shuttle was lifted onto the aircraft with a special lifting device (Mate-Demate Device) and provided with an aerodynamic engine cover to reduce air resistance. The 4600 km flight was divided into four stages with refueling stops at Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo / Texas , Carswell Field Airport near Fort Worth / Texas and Barksdale AFB near Shreveport / Louisiana. The airport in Amarillo is named after the commander Rick Husband of the space shuttle Columbia that crashed in 2003 .

After taking off from Edwards AFB shortly before sunrise on September 20 at 13:22 UTC, the transport reached Barksdale AFB on Sunday afternoon at 22:39 UTC after a total flight time of 4 hours and 40 minutes to spend the night there. The next day, after the last two and a half hour leg, the team landed at the Kennedy Space Center at 16:06 UTC. The maximum altitude of 4575 meters (15,000  ft ) ensured that the deactivated systems in the space shuttle were not exposed to excessively low temperatures. A Douglas DC-9-30 flew 15 minutes ahead of the transport aircraft as a guide aircraft in order to be able to safely fly around rain areas that were harmful to the space shuttle's heat shield. The cost of about $ 1.8 million was mainly caused by the fuel .

After landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier aircraft was separated from the space shuttle with an identical lifting device as in California. The Discovery was then towed to its hangar , where it was unloaded and prepared for its next mission, STS-131 .

See also

Web links

Commons : STS-128  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ STS-128 - Atlantis' 2009 mission baselined by PRCB. NASAspaceflight, August 25, 2008, accessed December 7, 2008 .
  2. ^ NASA Assigns Crew for Equipment Delivery Mission to Space Station. NASA, July 16, 2008, accessed December 7, 2008 .
  3. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-01. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, August 29, 2009, accessed August 31, 2009 .
  4. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-03. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, August 30, 2009, accessed August 31, 2009 .
  5. ↑ About Neptec's TriDAR. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009 ; accessed on August 31, 2009 .
  6. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Difficult maneuver . August 31, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009 (The wrong date is displayed on the SZ website for this article.)
  7. ↑ Raumfahrer.net: Discovery docks successfully on the ISS . August 31, 2009, accessed August 31, 2009 .
  8. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-05. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, August 31, 2009, accessed August 31, 2009 .
  9. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-07. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 1, 2009, accessed September 2, 2009 .
  10. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-09. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 2, 2009, accessed September 2, 2009 .
  11. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-11. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 3, 2009, accessed September 7, 2009 .
  12. ^ William Harwood: Spacewalkers to install new coolant tank into station. Spaceflight Now, September 3, 2009, accessed September 4, 2009 .
  13. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-13. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 4, 2009, accessed September 6, 2009 .
  14. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-15. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 4, 2009, accessed September 7, 2009 .
  15. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-17. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 6, 2009, accessed September 7, 2009 .
  16. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-19. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 6, 2009, accessed September 8, 2009 .
  17. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-21. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 7, 2009, accessed September 8, 2009 .
  18. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-23. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 8, 2009, accessed September 9, 2009 .
  19. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-25. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 9, 2009, accessed September 10, 2009 .
  20. ↑ STS-128 Boundary Layer Transition-HYTHIRM Briefing Materials. NASA, September 9, 2009, accessed September 14, 2009 .
  21. ↑ STATUS REPORT: STS-128-29. In: STS-128 MCC Status Report. NASA, September 11, 2009, accessed September 12, 2009 .