STS-67

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Mission emblem
Mission emblem STS-67
Mission dates
Mission: STS-67
COSPAR-ID : 1995-007A
Crew: 7th
Begin: March 2, 1995, 06:38:13  UTC
Starting place: Kennedy Space Center , LC-39A
Landing: March 18, 1995, 21:46:59 UTC
Landing place: Edwards Air Force Base , Runway 22
Flight duration: 16d 15h 08min 46s
Earth orbits: 262
Rotation time : 91.7 min
Orbit inclination : 28.5 °
Apogee : 363 km
Perigee : 349 km
Covered track: 11.1 million km
Payload: ASTRO-2
Team photo
v. l. No. Ronald Parise, Stephen Oswald, Wendy Lawrence, Tamara Jernigan, John Grunsfeld, William Gregory, Samuel Durrance
v. l. No. Ronald Parise, Stephen Oswald, Wendy Lawrence, Tamara Jernigan, John Grunsfeld, William Gregory, Samuel Durrance
◄ Before / After ►
STS-63 STS-71

STS-67 ( English S pace T ransportation S ystem) is a mission name for the US space shuttle Endeavor (OV-105) of NASA . The launch took place on March 2, 1995. It was the 68th space shuttle mission and the eighth flight of the space shuttle Endeavor.

team

replacement

Mission overview

The mission was called ASTRO 2 and was a continuation of the astronomical research of STS-35. With further developed instruments, which were accommodated on two Spacelab pallets, the ultraviolet radiation of different celestial objects was measured. For this purpose, three apparatuses were located on a platform equipped with a precise alignment system in the loading bay of the Endeavor ( Instrument Pointing System ). The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) has a 90-centimeter mirror with a downstream spectrograph that splits the received light into individual wavelengths. The received frequency spectrum enables statements to be made about the material composition of the luminous or illuminated gases, their density, temperature and speed. The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope can be used to take photographs of UV radiation sources. This enables precise statements to be made about their spatial expansion and the interactions between celestial bodies that are close together. With the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment , individual polarization directions can be filtered out from the incoming rays. In this way, one can examine clouds of gas or dust near stars in more detail. All three devices were always aimed together at a selected target. A total of around 100 objects could be examined more closely. The flood of data was so great that in the end even the film material for the imaging telescope ran out.

The observation objects were selected according to certain criteria. The first group comprised Seyfert galaxies of different types (e.g. NGC 4151, NGC 1068, Markarian 279, Fairall 9), as well as spiral, spherical, elliptical and irregular or diffuse galaxies or star clusters (e.g. M81 Andromeda, NGC 6752 , NGC 205, NGC 4449, NGC 3532). Seyfert galaxies are particularly bright and compact and emit rapid streams of gas. With NGC 4151, strong fluctuations in brightness were found. In addition, their radiation had decreased by 80% compared to 1990. The first measured value comes from the ASTRO-1 mission STS 35. Since the UV radiation barely reaches the ground, one has to rely on space-based telescopes for its measurement. The second target group were particularly young (HD 50138) and particularly old (yellow stars in NGC 2403) as well as very cold (HZ 43) and very hot stars (Psi Persei). Double stars in which different types are very close together are ideal for the investigations (V 1329 Cygni, EG Andromedae, AX Persei). Also very interesting are extraordinary stars such as pulsars (Vela X1), lavish Wolf-Rayet stars (HD 191765), which burn up all their energy within a few million years and inside which the elements carbon, oxygen and nitrogen are created en masse. In addition, fast stars (from NGC 2903), fast rotating stars (Phi and Psi Persei), planetary nebulae (KPD 0005), supernova remnants (SN 1912, SN 1957A, Cygnus Loop) became a dark object (HS 1700 + 64) and Quasars (Q 1700 + 64, Q 1542 + 54) put under the microscope. Their light was also used to study dark (helium) gas clouds. This creates absorption spectra that are just as meaningful as line spectra of even luminous objects. The last group of objects examined were planets and asteroids in our solar system. The surfaces of the moon, Mars and various asteroids were examined. The atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter were also analyzed. In the case of the gas giant Jupiter, northern lights in particular were observed and possible changes in the ionization rate due to a volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io were explored.

Further experiments concerned the active vibration damping of a 1.5 meter long flexible beam with sensitive measuring devices attached to the ends (MACE), the measurement of the distribution of hot gases in the Magellanic Clouds with an apparatus developed in Australia, contacts with radio amateurs worldwide ( SAREX ) , the cultivation of ideal protein crystals for medicine (PCG), the production of dispersions with substances that cannot be mixed on earth (CMIX) and the testing of methods for tracing ballistic missiles (MSX). Due to a defect in the heating of the CMIX, only three of the 4 planned dispersions could be produced and frozen. In addition, the crew's bicycle training was postponed during times when measurements could not be carried out with the three ASTRO telescopes, as the movements prevented the instruments from being precisely aligned. The compensation system could not compensate for the constant minimal changes in position. Endeavor landed in Edwards after a successful flight.

See also

Web links

Commons : STS-67  - album with pictures, videos and audio files