STS-87

Mission emblem

Mission dates

Mission:

STS-87

COSPAR-ID :

1997-073A

Crew:

6th

Begin:

November 19, 1997, 19:46:00 UTC

Starting place:

Kennedy Space Center , LC-39B

Number of EVA :

2

Landing:

December 5, 1997, 12:20:05 UTC

Landing place:

Kennedy Space Center, Lane 33

Flight duration:

15d 16h 34min 4s

Earth orbits:

252

Rotation time :

90.2 min

Orbit inclination :

28.4 °

Apogee :

286 km

Perigee :

280 km

Covered track:

10.4 million km

Team photo

v. l. No. Front: Steven Lindsey, Kevin Kregel;
Middle: Kalpana Chawla, Leonid Kadenjuk;
Back: Winston Scott, Takao Doi

◄ Before / After ►

STS-86

STS-89

STS-87 ( english S pace T ransportation S ystem) is the mission designation for a flight of the US Space Shuttle Columbia ( OV -102) of NASA . The launch took place on November 19, 1997. It was the 88th space shuttle mission and the 24th flight of the Columbia space shuttle.

team

Main team

Kevin Kregel (3rd space flight), commander
Steven Lindsey (1st spaceflight), pilot
Winston Scott (2nd spaceflight), mission specialist
Kalpana Chawla (1st space flight), mission specialist
Takao Doi (1st space flight), Mission Specialist ( NASDA / Japan )Japan

Leonid Kadenjuk (1st space flight), Payload Specialist ( NSAU / Ukraine )Ukraine

replacement

Jaroslaw Pustowui Ukraine for KadenjukUkraine

Mission description

Most of the apparatus of the fourth US mission to research effects under microgravity ( US Microgravity Payload 4 ) were housed on Spacelab pallets and in Get Away Specials . The experiments concerned the areas of materials research, atmospheric research, technology and biology . The Spartan 201-04 astrophysical research platform was also to be suspended for several days during the mission . It was supposed to investigate the heat transport in the corona and the acceleration of the solar wind with the help of optical instruments. Shortly after the launch, however, a malfunction occurred that caused the satellite to spin. During an exit maneuver on November 25th (7:43 hours) Scott and Doi were able to catch the one and a half ton research platform and transport it back into the hold with the help of the manipulator arm.

Material science research concerned, on the one hand, the production of crystals from bismuth and zinc in a special melting furnace with several temperature zones. This allows very large crystals to grow in one direction. The objects of investigation were the solidification temperature and speed and the shape of the solidification front. In addition, the wetting of solid bodies with immiscible liquids was investigated in a glove box, the characteristics of enclosed flames were investigated and the behavior of insoluble ceramic particles in liquid metal alloys was observed.

Technical tests concerned a sodium-sulfur battery , which delivers up to 40 ampere hours of electricity at 350 ° C (liquid electrodes made of sodium or sulfur with ceramic electrolyte ) and a heat transfer unit ( Loop Heat Pipe LHP ), in which without pumps, through alone Capillary effects Ammonia vapor can transport heat in flexible plastic tubing over several meters. Furthermore, a free-flying camera platform was used for the first time, which was remotely controlled from the shuttle. Your drive worked with compressed gas. In order to be protected against impacts, the camera platform was wrapped in shock-absorbing material. During a second exit on December 3 (5:00 hours), the astronauts Scott and Doi tested five new devices ( Extravehicular Mobility Unit EMU ). They make work easier outside of spacecraft. This involves a special bracket, two transport systems and two devices for temperature regulation.

Atmospheric research was carried out with the Solse experiment ( Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment ). The height distribution and the behavior of the atmospheric ozone were investigated. Further ozone measurements were made automatically in a GAS ( Get Away Special ) container . The ultraviolet radiation in the range of 200 to 400 nanometers was recorded using a spectrometer and a camera . The ozone concentration can be determined very precisely from these values .

In a further Get Away Special, fundamental investigations into the behavior of gas flames in weightlessness were carried out. The uniformity of the flames was interrupted by a disturbance mechanism with frequencies of 2.5 Hz, 5.0 Hz and 7.5 Hz.

A guest experiment from Ukraine dealt with the growth of plant roots in a special autonomous unit. This can automatically supply plants for up to 30 days. It is equipped with a control system, air regulation, nutrient supply and a fluorescent lamp. Beet plants (Brassica rapa) were grown in the Plant Growth Facility (PGF).

In order to be able to determine the influence of small forces on the individual experiments, accelerometers were used. In the OARE complex, the braking forces were measured by the residual atmosphere at an altitude of 250 kilometers. SAMS, on the other hand, detects the short-term accelerations caused by the movements of the astronauts and various devices. SAMS has three sensor heads , each of which can be moved in one direction. After a brief deflection, the sensors are moved back to their zero position via small magnetic coils. The current required for this is a measure of the acceleration forces that occur. During the sixteen-day mission, the energy supply was also ensured by an EDO pallet. It stored 390 kg of liquid hydrogen and 1,717 kg of liquid oxygen. In fuel cells , the two substances combine to give off energy to form water.

After a successful flight, the Columbia landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.