STS-72
Encyclopedia
STS-72 was a Space Shuttle
Endeavour
mission to capture and return to Earth a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit
(SFU). The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center
, Florida on 11 January 1996.
(SFU). The 3577 kilograms (7,885.9 lb) SFU was launched by Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) from Tanegashima Space Center
in Japan on 18 March 1995 aboard a Japanese H-II rocket (HII-3), and spent ten months in orbit conducting automated research in materials science, biology, engineering, and astronomy. Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata operated the orbiter's remote manipulator system arm on flight day three to pluck SFU from orbit. Both of the satellites's solar arrays had to be jettisoned prior to retrieval when sensors indicated improper latching following their retraction. This jettison procedure had been incorporated in preflight training as a contingency in the event of such an occurrence. The cannisters housing the arrays were jettisoned 12 minutes apart as Endeavour and the SFU traveled across Africa on the thirtieth orbit of the mission. The contingency procedure delayed the capture of the satellite by about an hour and half. Once in Endeavour's payload bay, the satellite's internal batteries were bypassed following connection of a remotely operated electrical cable to the side of the satellite.
Attitude Determination and Control Experiment (GADACS) to demonstrate GPS technology in space; Solar Exposure to Laser Ordnance Device (SELODE) to test laser ordnance devices; Spartan Packet Radio Experiment
(SPRE) and the Amateur Radio Association at the University of Maryland
(W3EAX) amateur radio communications experiment. On flight day four, Wakata again operated Endeavour's robot arm to deploy the Spartan, sending the experiment-laden platform on its way to a 50-hour free-flight at a distance of approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the orbiter. OAST-Flyer was retrieved on flight day six, with Wakata again operating the remote manipulator system arm to retrieve the platform.
starting in late 1998. EVA-1 on flight day five consisted of Crewmembers Leroy Chiao (EV1) and Dan Barry (EV2). After taking a few minutes to acclimate themselves in the payload bay, first-time spacewalkers Chiao and Barry attached a portable work platform to the end of the robot arm, operated by Pilot Brent Jett and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata. Jett used the arm to grapple various pieces of hardware designed to hold large modular components, mimicking the way equipment boxes and avionics gear will be moved back and forth in assembling the Space Station. Chiao and Barry unfolded a cable tray diagonally across the forward portion of the cargo bay housing simulated electrical and fluid lines similar to those which would later connect modules and nodes of the Space Station. The rigid umbilical, as it is known, was tested for its ease of handling and the ability of the astronauts to hook up the lines to connectors on the side of Endeavour's bay. While Chiao unraveled various lengths of cable from a caddy device, Barry spent time practicing the hookup of the various cables in the rigid umbilical to connectors in the bay, testing his ability to manipulate tiny bolts and screws in weightlessness. He reported that most tasks could be accomplished with little difficulty. Barry and Chiao then traded places, as Barry mounted the portable work platform to evaluate its worth. The first EVA lasted 6 hours, 9 minutes. EVA-2 on Flight Day 7 consisted of Leroy Chiao (EV1) and Winston Scott (EV2), lasting 6 hours, 53 minutes. Chiao and Scott worked with utility boxes, slidewires and a portable work stanchion affixed to Endeavour's robot arm to gather additional data on methods and procedures which would be incorporated in the techniques used to assemble the International Space Station. Late in the spacewalk, Scott climbed into foot restraints on the OAST-Flyer satellite platform for a thermal evaluation exercise. Endeavour was maneuvered to the coldest position possible, with its payload bay facing out toward deep space and allowing temperatures to dip to about 104 degrees below zero at the point where Scott was positioned to test the ability of his spacesuit to repel the bitter cold temperature of space.
, STS-41
, STS-43
, STS-45
, STS-56
, STS-62
and STS-66
), EDFT-03, Shuttle Laser Altimeter Payload (SLA-01/GAS(5)), VDA-2, National Institutes of Health
NIH-R3 Experiment, Space Tissue Loss Experiment (STL/NIH-C), Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) (hardware previously flown on STS-47
, STS-57
and STS-60
) and the Thermal Energy Storage (TES-2) experiment (previously flown on STS-69
).
Get Away Special payloads included the United States Air Force Academy
G-342 Flexible Beam Experiment (FLEXBEAM-2), Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies' G-459 – Protein Crystal Growth Experiment and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
GAS Ballast Can with Sample Return Experiment.
titled 'Astronauts' which first aired on PBS on 17 July 1997 and was later released on VHS home video.
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
mission to capture and return to Earth a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit
Space Flyer Unit
The was a spacecraft which was launched by Japan on Mar. 18, 1995.- Technical data :The Space Flyer Unit was launched from Tanegashima Space Center from a H-2 vehicle. It was carrying testing materials and research data that held value to NASA. They retrieved the data from the Space Flyer Unit by...
(SFU). The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
, Florida on 11 January 1996.
Crew
Mission parameters
- MassMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
:- Orbiter liftoff: 112182 kilograms (247,319 lb)
- Orbiter landing: 98549 kilograms (217,263.4 lb)
- Payload: 6510 kilograms (14,352.1 lb)
- PerigeePerigeePerigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
: 185 kilometres (115 mi) - Apogee: 470 kilometres (292 mi)
- InclinationInclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
: 28.4° - PeriodOrbital periodThe orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
: 91.1 min
Space walks
- Chiao and Barry – EVA 1
- EVA 1 Start: 15 January 1996 – 05:35 UTC
- EVA 1 End: 15 – 11 January:44 UTC
- Duration: 6 hours, 09 minutes
- Chiao and Scott – EVA 2
- EVA 2 Start: 17 January 1996 – 05:40 UTC
- EVA 2 End: 17 – 12 January:34 UTC
- Duration: 6 hours, 54 minutes
Mission highlights
STS-72, the 74th flight of the Space Shuttle program and the 10th of the orbiter Endeavour was launched at 3:41AM EST January 11th, 1996 after a brief delay due to communication issues. The nighttime launch window was in support of the mission's primary objective, the capture and return to Earth of a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as Space Flyer UnitSpace Flyer Unit
The was a spacecraft which was launched by Japan on Mar. 18, 1995.- Technical data :The Space Flyer Unit was launched from Tanegashima Space Center from a H-2 vehicle. It was carrying testing materials and research data that held value to NASA. They retrieved the data from the Space Flyer Unit by...
(SFU). The 3577 kilograms (7,885.9 lb) SFU was launched by Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) from Tanegashima Space Center
Tanegashima Space Center
The is one of Japan's space development facilities. It is located on Tanegashima, an island located 115 km south of Kyūshū. It was established in 1969 when the National Space Development Agency of Japan was formed...
in Japan on 18 March 1995 aboard a Japanese H-II rocket (HII-3), and spent ten months in orbit conducting automated research in materials science, biology, engineering, and astronomy. Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata operated the orbiter's remote manipulator system arm on flight day three to pluck SFU from orbit. Both of the satellites's solar arrays had to be jettisoned prior to retrieval when sensors indicated improper latching following their retraction. This jettison procedure had been incorporated in preflight training as a contingency in the event of such an occurrence. The cannisters housing the arrays were jettisoned 12 minutes apart as Endeavour and the SFU traveled across Africa on the thirtieth orbit of the mission. The contingency procedure delayed the capture of the satellite by about an hour and half. Once in Endeavour's payload bay, the satellite's internal batteries were bypassed following connection of a remotely operated electrical cable to the side of the satellite.
OAST-Flyer
The STS-72 mission also flew with the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology Flyer (OAST-Flyer) spacecraft. OAST-Flyer was the seventh in a series of missions aboard the reuseable free-flying Spartan carrier spacecraft series. It consisted of four experiments: Return Flux Experiment (REFLEX) to test accuracy of computer models predicting spacecraft exposure to contamination; Global Positioning SystemGlobal Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
Attitude Determination and Control Experiment (GADACS) to demonstrate GPS technology in space; Solar Exposure to Laser Ordnance Device (SELODE) to test laser ordnance devices; Spartan Packet Radio Experiment
Spartan Packet Radio Experiment
The Spartan Packet Radio Experiment was an Amateur Radio communications experiment that flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor's STS-72 mission as part of NASA's Spartan/OAST-Flyer spacecraft in January 1996...
(SPRE) and the Amateur Radio Association at the University of Maryland
Amateur Radio Association at the University of Maryland
The Amateur Radio Association at the University of Maryland , formerly the University of Maryland Amateur Radio Association , was formed between 1932 and 1933...
(W3EAX) amateur radio communications experiment. On flight day four, Wakata again operated Endeavour's robot arm to deploy the Spartan, sending the experiment-laden platform on its way to a 50-hour free-flight at a distance of approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the orbiter. OAST-Flyer was retrieved on flight day six, with Wakata again operating the remote manipulator system arm to retrieve the platform.
Spacewalks
Two 6.5 hour spacewalks were conducted by three astronauts to test hardware and tools to be used in the assembly of the International Space StationInternational Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
starting in late 1998. EVA-1 on flight day five consisted of Crewmembers Leroy Chiao (EV1) and Dan Barry (EV2). After taking a few minutes to acclimate themselves in the payload bay, first-time spacewalkers Chiao and Barry attached a portable work platform to the end of the robot arm, operated by Pilot Brent Jett and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata. Jett used the arm to grapple various pieces of hardware designed to hold large modular components, mimicking the way equipment boxes and avionics gear will be moved back and forth in assembling the Space Station. Chiao and Barry unfolded a cable tray diagonally across the forward portion of the cargo bay housing simulated electrical and fluid lines similar to those which would later connect modules and nodes of the Space Station. The rigid umbilical, as it is known, was tested for its ease of handling and the ability of the astronauts to hook up the lines to connectors on the side of Endeavour's bay. While Chiao unraveled various lengths of cable from a caddy device, Barry spent time practicing the hookup of the various cables in the rigid umbilical to connectors in the bay, testing his ability to manipulate tiny bolts and screws in weightlessness. He reported that most tasks could be accomplished with little difficulty. Barry and Chiao then traded places, as Barry mounted the portable work platform to evaluate its worth. The first EVA lasted 6 hours, 9 minutes. EVA-2 on Flight Day 7 consisted of Leroy Chiao (EV1) and Winston Scott (EV2), lasting 6 hours, 53 minutes. Chiao and Scott worked with utility boxes, slidewires and a portable work stanchion affixed to Endeavour's robot arm to gather additional data on methods and procedures which would be incorporated in the techniques used to assemble the International Space Station. Late in the spacewalk, Scott climbed into foot restraints on the OAST-Flyer satellite platform for a thermal evaluation exercise. Endeavour was maneuvered to the coldest position possible, with its payload bay facing out toward deep space and allowing temperatures to dip to about 104 degrees below zero at the point where Scott was positioned to test the ability of his spacesuit to repel the bitter cold temperature of space.
Additional payloads
Other experiments onboard STS-72 included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Experiment (SSBUV-8) (previously flown on STS-34STS-34
STS-34 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the 31st shuttle mission overall, and the 5th flight for Atlantis. During the mission, the Jupiter-bound Galileo probe was deployed into space...
, STS-41
STS-41
STS-41 was the eleventh mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The four-day mission with a primary objective to launch the Ulysses probe as part of the "International Solar Polar Mission".-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:...
, STS-43
STS-43
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Preparations and Launch:The launch took place on 2 August 1991, 11:01:59 am EDT...
, STS-45
STS-45
STS-45 was a 1992 spaceflight using Space Shuttle Atlantis.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 57.0°*Period: 90.3 min...
, STS-56
STS-56
STS-56 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform special experiments. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 8 April 1993.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload:...
, STS-62
STS-62
STS-62 was a Space Shuttle program mission flown aboard . The primary payloads were the USMP-02 microgravity experiments package and the OAST-2 engineering and technology payload, both in the orbiter's cargo bay. The two-week mission also featured a number of biomedical experiments focusing on the...
and STS-66
STS-66
STS-66 was a Space Shuttle program mission that was flown by the Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-66 launched on 3 November 1994 at 11:59:43.060 am EDT from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center...
), EDFT-03, Shuttle Laser Altimeter Payload (SLA-01/GAS(5)), VDA-2, National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
NIH-R3 Experiment, Space Tissue Loss Experiment (STL/NIH-C), Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) (hardware previously flown on STS-47
STS-47
STS-47 was the 50th Space Shuttle mission of the program, as well as the second mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission mainly involved conducting experiments in life and material sciences.-Crew:-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:* Mass:...
, STS-57
STS-57
STS-57 was a Shuttle-Spacehab mission of that launched 21 June 1993 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.-Crew:-Mission parameters:**Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee:...
and STS-60
STS-60
STS-60 was the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried Sergei K. Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from Launch Pad 39A on 3 February 1994 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
) and the Thermal Energy Storage (TES-2) experiment (previously flown on STS-69
STS-69
STS-69 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, and the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility . The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 7 September 1995.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: payload*Perigee:...
).
Get Away Special payloads included the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
G-342 Flexible Beam Experiment (FLEXBEAM-2), Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies' G-459 – Protein Crystal Growth Experiment and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
GAS Ballast Can with Sample Return Experiment.
Documentary
The crew of STS-72 and their families were followed by a camera crew from PBS from the day they were assigned to the flight and then through their training and, finally, the mission itself. The result was a 90 minute documentary narrated by Bill NyeBill Nye
William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, mechanical engineer, and scientist...
titled 'Astronauts' which first aired on PBS on 17 July 1997 and was later released on VHS home video.
See also
- Spartan Packet Radio ExperimentSpartan Packet Radio ExperimentThe Spartan Packet Radio Experiment was an Amateur Radio communications experiment that flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor's STS-72 mission as part of NASA's Spartan/OAST-Flyer spacecraft in January 1996...
- Space scienceSpace scienceThe term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
- Space shuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of human spaceflights chronologically