Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • Publishers
Posted

On May 27, 1999, the second space station assembly and logistics mission began. The main goals of STS-96, designated as the 2A.1 mission in the overall assembly sequence, included resupplying and repairing the fledgling orbital facility, consisting of the Zarya and Node 1 modules assembled during STS-88 in December 1998. The multinational seven-member crew transferred nearly two tons of supplies from the shuttle’s Spacehab double module and water to the crew-tended space station. Two of the astronauts conducted a spacewalk to install equipment on the outside of the facility. The astronauts also conducted repairs inside the station. After six days of docked operations in low Earth orbit, the crew departed the repaired and resupplied space station, making a rare night landing.

sts-96-1-crew-photo-sts096-s-002.jpg sts-96-2-crew-patch-sts096-s-001.jpg

Left: The STS-96 crew of Daniel T. Barry, left, Kent V. Rominger, Julie Payette of the Canadian Space Agency, Ellen Ochoa, Valeri I. Tokarev of Roscosmos, Rick D. Husband, and Tammy E. Jernigan. Right: The STS-96 crew patch.

Launch of Discovery on Shuttle mission STS-96. View of the International Space Station from Discovery during the rendezvous maneuver. The Node 1’s Pressurized Mating Adapter appears in on Discover’s overhead windows just before docking.

Left: Launch of Discovery on Shuttle mission STS-96. Middle: View of the International Space Station from Discovery during the rendezvous maneuver. Right: The Node 1’s Pressurized Mating Adapter appears in on Discover’s overhead windows just before docking. 

The second space shuttle assembly and resupply mission to the space station lifted off just after sunrise on May 27, 1999, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Its multinational seven-person crew included Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick D. Husband, and Mission Specialists Tamara “Tammy” E. Jernigan, Ellen Ochoa, Daniel T. Barry, Julie Payette of the Canadian Space Agency, and Valeri I. Tokarev representing Roscosmos. The flight marked the first time a space crew included three women since STS-40 in 1991. Less than two days after launch, Rominger guided Discovery to the first docking with the two-module space station at the Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2), attached to Node 1. In preparation for the next day’s spacewalk, the astronauts reduced the pressure in the shuttle’s cabin from the usual 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi to reduce the time needed for spacewalkers Jernigan and Barry to breathe pure oxygen to purge their bodies of nitrogen to prevent decompression sickness, also called the bends.

The Orbital Replacement Unit Transfer Device installed on the Pressurized Mating Adapter during the STS-96 spacewalk. Tamara E. Jernigan carries the Strela boom to the Zarya module. Daniel T. Barry mounts a stowage bag on Node 1.

Left: The Orbital Replacement Unit Transfer Device installed on the Pressurized Mating Adapter during the STS-96 spacewalk. Middle: Tamara E. Jernigan carries the Strela boom to the Zarya module. Right: Daniel T. Barry mounts a stowage bag on Node 1. 

The day after docking, Jernigan and Barry exited the Shuttle’s airlock to begin one of the flight’s major objectives. From inside the Shuttle, Payette coordinated the spacewalk activities and Ochoa operated the robotic arm to position Jernigan. Jernigan and Barry first installed the American crane, also known as the Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) Transfer Device onto its socket on PMA-1, the tunnel joining Node 1 and Zarya. Then they moved the Russian Strela boom and installed it on PMA-2. Next, they installed a pair of foot restraints onto PMA-1 and then installed three large tool bags onto Node 1. Jernigan and Barry completed the spacewalk in 7 hours and 55 minutes.

Ellen Ochoa inside the double Spacehab module. Stowage bags transferred into Zarya.

Left: Ellen Ochoa inside the double Spacehab module. Right: Stowage bags transferred into Zarya. 

The day after the spacewalk, having repressurized the shuttle cabin to 14.7 psi, the astronauts opened the hatches between the shuttle and the station, first into the PMA-2, then into Node 1, and finally into Zarya. Jernigan and Tokarev entered the station first, and the rest of the crew followed shortly after. Over the course of flight days 5 and 6, Payette and Tokarev replaced all 18 charge/discharge units of Zarya’s six batteries, located under the floor of the module, to improve the batteries’ performance. Husband and Barry repaired the Node 1 S-band radio, part of the station’s early communications system. The entire crew spent the next few days transferring 3,567 pounds of supplies, clothing, sleeping bags, spare parts, medical equipment, and other hardware from the Spacehab double module into the station. They also transferred 84 gallons of water produced by the shuttle’s fuel cells for later use by the station’s first resident crew, then planned for arrival in early 2000. They returned about 200 pounds of items from the station to Discovery. They spent nearly 80 hours inside the station before closing the hatches on June 2, the eighth flight day of the mission. Rominger and Husband pulsed Discovery’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters 17 times to raise the station’s orbit by six miles to 246 by 241 miles.

Battery charge-discharge units in Zarya after replacement. Inflight photo of the STS-96 crew in Node 1. A resupplied and refurbished space station as seen from Discovery during its departure.

Left: Battery charge-discharge units in Zarya after replacement. Middle: Inflight photo of the STS-96 crew in Node 1. Right: A resupplied and refurbished space station as seen from Discovery during its departure. 

On June 3, with Husband at the controls, Discovery undocked from the space station and completed a 2.5-revolution fly around of the refurbished facility, with the crew taking photographs to document its condition. After departing from the station, Rominger and Husband practiced shuttle landings using a laptop-based simulator in preparation for the actual landing two days later. In addition, the astronauts added to their trove of Earth observation photos.  

On flight day 10, the astronauts’ last full day in space, they deployed the Student-Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Equipment (STARSHINE) satellite from Discovery’s payload bay. STARSHINE consisted of an 87-pound hollow aluminum sphere 19 inches in diameter covered with 878 mirrors. Thousands of students in 18 countries polished the mirrors. The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. built the sphere and attached the mirrors. The students monitored sightings of the satellite as it orbited the Earth, the Sun reflecting off its multiple mirrors. The astronauts tested Discovery’s RCS thrusters, Auxiliary Power Units, and Flight Control Surfaces in preparation for the next day’s re-entry and landing. 

The Manicougan impact feature in Québec, Canada. The Straits of Gibraltar. Sunlit clouds over the Indian Ocean.

Earth observation photographs from STS-96. Left: The Manicougan impact feature in Québec, Canada. Middle: The Straits of Gibraltar. Right: Sunlit clouds over the Indian Ocean.

Deployment of the STARSHINE student satellite. Discovery makes a smooth night landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Left: Deployment of the STARSHINE student satellite. Right: Discovery makes a smooth night landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

On June 6, the astronauts closed Discovery’s payload bay doors, put on their launch and entry suits, strapped into their seats, and fired the Shuttle’s engines for the trip back to Earth. Rominger guided Discovery to a smooth night landing on the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC, ending a highly successful mission to prepare the space station for future occupants. The flight lasted 9 days 19 hours 13 minutes. 

Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-96 mission. 

View the full article

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By NASA
      4 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      Aaron Yazzie’s dream of being part of humanity’s exploration of space took him on a journey from his childhood home on the Navajo Nation to working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. His journey reflects not only his personal ambition, but also a commitment to elevating Indigenous representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
      “Getting an internship at NASA was the culmination of a lot of work done by myself, and many of the Indigenous trailblazers that came before me, to make a path and a space for Indigenous peoples at places where there might not have been any Indigenous Peoples in any rooms,” said Yazzie.
      Born in Tuba City, Arizona, Yazzie is of the Salt Clan and born for the Bitter Water Clan, which reflect his maternal and paternal lineage, respectively. The Navajo clan system communicates family heritage and where their families come from.
      Yazzie’s path to NASA began with a passion for engineering, which he pursued at Stanford University in Stanford, California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2008. NASA is a dream job for many, from artists to engineers, and Yazzie was no exception. Securing an internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2008 marked a significant milestone for him, particularly as an Indigenous person in STEM where Indigenous people are underrepresented. Throughout his academic and professional journey, he frequently found himself as the only Indigenous voice in the room with Indigenous people representing less than 0.6% of the American STEM workforce.
      Yazzie’s work at NASA is deeply intertwined with his cultural identity. In the Navajo culture, traditional stories tell how the Diné (the people) came to exist in Dinétah (Navajo homelands).
      Yazzie’s contributions to missions exploring Mars, including testing the Curiosity Rover’s sample acquisition system and developing drill bits for the Perseverance Rover, resonate with the Navajo creation story, which emphasizes nurturing life on a developing Earth—paralleling his efforts to support the possibility of life on Mars.  He approaches his role with a sense of purpose, reflecting on the importance of understanding origins–both of the Earth and of life itself.
      “By studying Mars, we learn about how rocky, terrestrial planets, like Mars and Earth, formed over billions of years,” said Yazzie, “And by searching for ancient microbial life on Mars, we might learn how life on Earth originated. I am proud to be doing what my ancestors have been doing before me.”
      Emphasizing a commitment to lifelong learning, Yazzie advises future interns to “embrace the opportunities of growth and learning that come with working at NASA.” His advice: learn how to be a good learner. Yazzie’s diverse responsibilities, from test engineer to systems engineer, keep him engaged and continuously evolving.
      “I think I am most proud of the outreach work I have been able to do, especially to Indigenous communities,” said Yazzie, “I want to help Indigenous students understand that they can exist and thrive at places like NASA.”
      Yazzie’s work has been recognized with awards from NASA JPL, Stanford University, and his own tribe, reinforcing his role as a trailblazer for generations. As he continues to contribute to humanity’s understanding of Mars and its potential for past life, he honors his ancestors by paving the way for a more inclusive future in space exploration. Through his work, Yazzie inspires a new generation of Diné scientists and engineers, proving their voices have an essential place in the story of the cosmos.
      Like Yazzie, NASA is devoted to mentoring the next generation of Indigenous doers, thinkers, and innovators. Anyone interested in following his footsteps may consider applying for a NASA Internship. Outside of internships NASA offers numerous routes to help Indigenous students get involved with STEM. Additionally, through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), the agency provides financial assistance via competitive awards to Minority Serving Institutions. The MUREP American Indian and Alaska Native STEM Engagement (MAIANSE) program offers funding dedicated to supporting Indigenous students launch their careers at NASA.
      Want to learn more about interns at NASA? Read More View the full article
    • By NASA
      The Thanksgiving holiday typically brings families and friends together in a celebration of common gratitude for all the good things that have happened during the previous year. People celebrate the holiday in various ways, with parades, football marathons, and attending services, but food remains the over-arching theme. For astronauts embarked on long-duration space missions, separation from family and friends is inevitable and they rely on fellow crew members to share in the tradition and enjoy the culinary traditions as much as possible. 

      Over the past decades, astronauts have celebrated the holiday during their time in space in a variety of unique ways. Enjoy the stories and photographs from orbital Thanksgiving celebrations over the years. 
      Skylab 4 astronauts Edward G. Gibson, left, William R. Pogue, and Gerald P. Carr demonstrate eating aboard Skylab during Thanksgiving in 1973. NASA Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue hold the distinction as the first crew to celebrate Thanksgiving in space on Nov. 22, 1973. On that day, their seventh of an 84-day mission, Gibson and Pogue completed a 6-hour and 33-minute spacewalk, while Carr remained in the Multiple Docking Adapter, with no access to food. All three made up for missing lunch by consuming two meals at dinner time, although neither included special items for Thanksgiving.

      Twelve years passed before the next orbital Thanksgiving celebration. On Nov. 28, 1985, the seven-member crew of STS-61B, NASA astronauts Brewster H. Shaw, Bryan D. O’Connor, Jerry L. Ross, Mary L. Cleave, and Sherwood C. “Woody” Spring, and payload specialists Charles D. Walker from the United States and Rodolfo Neri Vela from Mexico, feasted on shrimp cocktail, irradiated turkey, and cranberry sauce aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.
      STS-80 astronauts Tamara E. Jernigan, left, Kent V. Rominger, and Thomas D. Jones enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in Columbia’s middeck in 1996.NASA Neri Vela introduced tortillas to space menus, and they have remained favorites among astronauts ever since. Unlike regular bread, tortillas do not create crumbs, a potential hazard in weightlessness, and have multiple uses for any meal of the day. The crew of STS-33, NASA astronauts Frederick D. Gregory, John E. Blaha, Manley L. “Sonny” Carter, F. Story Musgrave, and Kathryn C. Thornton, celebrated Thanksgiving aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1989. Gregory and Musgrave celebrated their second Thanksgiving in space two years later, joined by fellow STS-44 NASA astronauts Terrence T. “Tom” Henricks, James S. Voss, Mario Runco, and Thomas J. Hennen aboard space shuttle Atlantis.

      In 1996, Blaha celebrated his second Thanksgiving in space with Russian cosmonauts Valeri G. Korzun and Aleksandr Y. Kaleri aboard the space station Mir. Blaha watched the beautiful Earth through the Mir windows rather than his usual viewing fare of football. The STS-80 crew of NASA astronauts Kenneth D. Cockrell, Kent V. Rominger, Tamara E. Jernigan, Thomas D. Jones, and Musgrave, now on his third turkey day holiday in orbit, celebrated Thanksgiving aboard space shuttle Columbia. Although the eight crew members worked in different spacecraft in different orbits, they exchanged holiday greetings via space-to-space radio. This marked the largest number of people in space on Thanksgiving Day up to that time.

      One year later, NASA astronaut David A. Wolf celebrated Thanksgiving with his Russian crewmates Anatoli Y. Solovev, who translated the holiday into Russian as den blagodarenia, and Pavel V. Vinogradov aboard Mir. They enjoyed smoked turkey, freeze-dried mashed potatoes, peas, and milk. Also in orbit at the time was the crew of STS-87, NASA astronauts Kevin R. Kregel, Steven W. Lindsey, Kalpana Chawla, and Winston E. Scott, Takao Doi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Leonid K. Kadenyuk of Ukraine, aboard Columbia. The nine crew members aboard the two spacecraft broke the one-year-old record for the largest number of people in space at one time for Thanksgiving, also setting the record for the most nations represented, four.
      NASA astronaut Frank L. Culbertson, left, and Vladimir N. Dezhurov of Roscosmos enjoy Thanksgiving dinner aboard the International Space Station in 2001.NASA The Expedition 1 crew of NASA astronaut William M. Shepherd, and Yuri P. Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev of Roscosmos celebrated the first Thanksgiving aboard the International Space Station on Nov. 23, 2000, three weeks after their arrival aboard the facility. The crew took time out of their busy schedule to enjoy ham and smoked turkey and send words of thanks to people on the ground who provided excellent support to their flight. Crews have celebrated Thanksgiving in space every November since then.

      In 2001, Expedition 3 crew members NASA astronaut Frank L. Culbertson, and Vladimir N. Dezhurov and Mikhail V. Tyurin of Roscosmos enjoyed the first real Thanksgiving aboard the space station, complete with a cardboard turkey as decoration. The following year’s orbital Thanksgiving celebration included the largest number of people to that time, the combined 10 crewmembers of Expedition 5, STS-113, and Expedition 6. After a busy day that included the first Thanksgiving Day spacewalk from the space station, the crews settled down to a dinner of smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans with mushrooms. Blueberry-cherry cobbler rounded out the meal.
      The crews of Expeditions 18 and STS-126 share a Thanksgiving meal in the space shuttle middeck in 2008. NASA Expedition 18 crew members NASA astronauts E. Michael Fincke and Gregory E. Chamitoff and Yuri V. Lonchakov representing Roscosmos, welcomed the STS-126 crew of NASA astronauts Christopher J. Ferguson, Eric A. Boe, Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, Donald R. Pettit, Stephen G. Bowen, R. Shane Kimbrough, and Sandra H. Magnus during Thanksgiving in 2008. They dined in the space shuttle Endeavour’s middeck on smoked turkey, candied yams, green beans and mushrooms, cornbread dressing and a cranapple dessert. 

      The following year saw the largest and an internationally diverse group celebrating Thanksgiving in space. The six Expedition 21 crew members, NASA astronauts Jeffrey N. Williams and Nicole P. Stott, Roman Y. Romanenko and Maksim V. Suraev of Roscosmos, Frank L. DeWinne of the European Space Agency, and Robert B. Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency hosted the six members of the STS-129 crew, NASA astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, Barry E. Wilmore, Michael J. Foreman, Robert L. Satcher, Randolph J. Bresnik, and Leland D. Melvin. The twelve assembled crew members represented the United States, Russia, Belgium, and Canada. The celebration took place two days early, since the shuttle undocked from the space station on Thanksgiving Day.

      We hope you enjoyed these stories and photographs from Thanksgivings celebrated in space. We would like to wish everyone here on the ground and the seven-member crew of Expedition 72 aboard the space station a very Happy Thanksgiving! For NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” E. Wilmore and Donald R. Pettit, this will mark the third time they celebrate the holiday in space.
      Expedition 42 crew members enjoy Thanksgiving dinner aboard the space station in 2014.NASA Expedition 45 crew members gather at the Thanksgiving dinner table aboard the orbital outpost in 2015. NASA Expedition 50 crew members at the Thanksgiving dinner table aboard the orbiting laboratory in 2016. NASA The Expedition 53 crew awaits the start of Thanksgiving dinner aboard the space station in 2017.NASA Expedition 66 crew members enjoy a Thanksgiving feast in 2021.NASA Expedition 70 crew members Andreas E. Mogensen, of the European Space Agency, front left, NASA astronauts Loral A. O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency beam down their Thanksgiving message to everyone on the ground in 2023. The astronauts presented their favorite Thanksgiving space food items.NASA View the full article
    • By European Space Agency
      The SubOrbital Express-4 sounding rocket was successfully launched from the Esrange Space Center outside Kiruna, in the north of Sweden, at 06:00 CET yesterday morning. 
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory of Laurel, Maryland, to build the Suprathermal Ion Sensors for the Lagrange 1 Series project, part of NOAA’s Space Weather Next Program.
      This cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is valued at approximately $20.5 million and includes the development of two Suprathermal Ion Sensor instruments. The anticipated period of performance for this contract will run through Jan. 31, 2034. The work will take place at the awardee’s facility in Maryland, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
      The contract scope includes design, analysis, development, fabrication, integration, test, verification, and evaluation of the Suprathermal Ion Sensor instruments, launch support, supply and maintenance of ground support equipment, and support of post-launch mission operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility.
      The Suprathermal Ion Sensors will provide critical data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts, warnings and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts, including electric power outages and interruption to communications and navigation systems.
      The instruments will measure suprathermal ions and electrons across a broad range of energies, and will provide real-time, continuous observations to ensure early warning of various space weather impacts. They also will monitor ions to characterize solar ejections including coronal mass ejections, co-rotating interaction regions, and interplanetary shocks. Analysis of these spectra aids in estimating the arrival time and strength of solar wind shocks.
      NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the L1 Series project. NOAA is the program owner that provides funds and manages the program, operations, and data products and dissemination to users. NASA and commercial partners develop, build, and launch the instruments and spacecraft on behalf of NOAA.
      For information about NASA and agency programs, please visit:
      https://www.nasa.gov
      -end-
      Jeremy Eggers
      Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
      757-824-2958
      jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Nov 26, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactJeremy EggersLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
      NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division View the full article
    • By NASA
      Space Station Astronauts Deliver a Thanksgiving Message for 2024
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...