STS-117
STS-117 was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, launched from pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June 8, 2007. Atlantis lifted off from the launch pad at 19:38 EDT. Damage from a hail storm on February 26, 2007, had previously caused the launch to be postponed from an originally-planned launch date of March 15, 2007. The launch of STS-117 marked the 250th orbital human spaceflight. It was also the heaviest flight of the Space Shuttle.
Atlantis delivered to the International Space Station the second starboard truss segment and its associated energy systems, including a set of solar arrays. During the course of the mission the crew installed the new truss segment, retracted one set of solar arrays, and unfolded the new set on the starboard side of the station. STS-117 also brought Expedition 15 crewmember Clayton Anderson to the station, and returned with ISS crewmember Sunita Williams.
On June 11, 2007, NASA mission managers announced a two-day extension of the mission, adding a fourth extra-vehicular activity. These two days were inserted into the mission timeline after flight day 8. This possibility had been discussed prior to launch. Because of launch day and thus rendezvous day uncertainty the decision to extend was deferred until after launch. The repair of the gap in the Orbital Maneuvering System thermal blanket was conducted during EVA 3.
STS-117 remains the longest mission for Atlantis because of the cancellation of landing opportunities on June 21, 2007, due to bad weather. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base on June 22, 2007.
Crew
Mission payload
S3/S4 truss segments
The STS-117 mission delivered the second starboard truss segment and associated energy systems to the International Space Station. Manufactured by the Boeing Company at the Michoud Assembly Facility, S3/S4 is the heaviest station payload the shuttle has ever carried. The main functions of the S3/S4 truss segments are to provide electrical power and data interfaces for station's electronics and convert sunlight to electricity. They also provide active thermal protection to electrical components throughout the space station and allow the connection of platforms to store spare parts. S3/S4 segments were the second starboard addition to the ISS truss structure after the S1 truss was attached during Atlantis STS-112 mission.Both S3/S4 were handed off to NASA in September 2002. S3/S3 measures long by wide by high and weighs 35,678 lbs. It is made from stainless steel.
During flight day 4 activities, the S3/S4 truss segment was removed from the payload bay of Atlantis using the shuttle's robotic arm and handed off to the station's Canadarm2, where it was maneuvered and mated to the outboard end of the S1 truss.
Starboard 3
The S3 primary structure is made of a hexagonal-shaped stainless steel structure and includes four bulkheads and six longerons, beams that connect the bulkheads. The secondary structure includes brackets, fittings, attach platforms, EVA activity equipment and miscellaneous mechanisms. S3 was delivered to the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 2000.The major S3 subsystems include the Solar Array Rotary Joint – which contains large bearings, Segment-to-Segment Attach System and Payload Attach System. The SARJ continuously rotates to keep the Solar Array Wings on S4 and S6 oriented toward the sun as the ISS orbits the Earth. The S3 also provides a passive attachment point to the S1 segment via the SSAS. The PAS allows platforms to be attached to S3 for the storage of additional science payloads or spare Orbital Replacement units.
Starboard 4
Major subsystems of the S4 truss are the port inboard Photovoltaic Module, the Photovoltaic Radiator, the Alpha Joint Interface Structure and the Modified Rocketdyne Truss Attachment System. The primary functions of the PVMs are to collect, convert, store and distribute electrical power to loads within the segment and to other station segments. There are two SAWs on the S4 each deployed in the opposite direction from each other. Each SAW is made up of two solar blankets mounted to a common mast and measures. In addition to the SARJ, the SAWs also are oriented by the Beta Gimbal Assembly, which can change the pitch of the wings by spinning the solar array. The PVR is deployable on orbit and is capable of dissipating up to 14 kW of heat into space. The PVR weighs 1,633 pounds and when deployed measures 44 by 12 by. The AJIS provides the structural transition between S3 and S4 structures. S4 contains the passive side of the MRTAS which provides the structural attachment for S5 on S4.S4 was delivered to the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on January 15, 2001.
Hydrogen Vent Valve
Atlantis carried a Hydrogen Vent Valve in its mid-deck to the space station. The valve used to vent Hydrogen overboard is part of the oxygen generating system. The OGS helps to produce oxygen for the crew to replace oxygen lost due to experiment use, airlock depressurization and venting.Other items
Other items carried on the mid-deck included a contingency water container for transferring water to the ISS, a tool "modified torque multiplier" for removing S3 launch restraints and audio interface hardware to troubleshoot shuttle-to-station communication difficulties experienced during STS-115 and STS-116. The payload weight for the mid-deck during STS-117 was less than 1,000 pounds.Among numerous cargo, Atlantis carried into space an almost 400-year-old artifact etched with the name of its destination "Yames Towne" from historic Jamestown along with four commemorative coins to honor early American explorers. A 17th-century metal worker had prepared a tag to mark cargo heading for the New World. The tag was unearthed in 2006 at Jamestown, the location of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas in 1607.
A comprehensive list of STS-132 items that will be carried aboard Atlantis and their descriptions can be found in the Official Flight Kit.
Crew seat assignments
Mission background
The mission marks:- 149th crewed US space flight
- 118th shuttle mission since STS-1
- 28th flight of Atlantis
- 21st shuttle mission to the ISS
- 1st shuttle flight in 2007
- 93rd post-Challenger mission
- 5th post-Columbia mission
Shuttle processing
Following the arrival of the shuttle in the assembly facility, Atlantis was fitted with two bridge cranes that lifted her vertically, to position her for mating to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, already in place atop the mobile launcher platform. The mating of the Orbiter to the stack occurred on February 12, 2007. The rest of the pre-launch preparations also continued to proceed according to plans, with the payload canister, containing the S3/S4 Truss and a set of solar arrays, arriving at the launch pad at 02:54 EST on February 12, 2007. The canister lift began at 05:40 EST the same morning, ready for transfer of the ISS truss segments and other cargo into the Payload Changeout Room on the newly refurbished rotating service structure of pad 39A.
Atlantis was originally scheduled to begin her rollout to launch pad 39A on February 14, 2007, however due to erratic chamber pressure readings on one of the Operational Pressure Transducers on the forward skirt area of the right-hand SRB, the rollout was delayed to 07:00 EST on the morning of February 15, 2007.
Various problems, including a generator transfer issue to the mobile launcher platform, meant that first movement of the stack was delayed from the scheduled rollout time and did not occur until 08:19 EST. The, six-hour journey to the launchpad concluded that afternoon, with Atlantis arriving at the launch pad at 15:09 EST. It was decided that the issue with the OPT would be solved on the launch pad, a task which may require all six transducers on the STS-117 stack being removed and replaced.
On February 21, 2007, the STS-117 crew traveled from Houston to the Kennedy Space Center to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The astronauts were at KSC from February 21 to 23, 2007, during which time they practiced launch activities, carried out safety exercises, inspected the payload and concluded the test with a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. They then returned to Houston via T-38 jets, planning to return to KSC a few days before launch. The next milestone in the launch preparations was the Flight Readiness Review from February 27 to 28, 2007, during which time managers, engineers and contractors examined the readiness of the Space Shuttle, flight crew and payloads to determine whether everything was set to proceed for launch.
Hail damage
Following a hailstorm at KSC on February 26, 2007, inspections of the stack found damage to the shuttle and the external tank. Hailstones as large as golf balls had created around 1,000–2,000 divots in the tank's foam insulation, damaged at least one Ice Frost Ramp on the tank, and caused minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on Atlantis's left wing.On March 4, 2007, the STS-117 stack was similarly rolled back into the VAB. Following additional inspections, repairs to the orbiter and tank were carried out to return Atlantis to flight readiness. After completion of the repairs, Atlantis was rolled out to pad 39A for the second time during the morning of May 15, 2007. A second Flight Readiness Review took place on May 30–31, 2007.
The hail damage to Atlantis caused major changes to the shuttle launch manifest at that time, pushing STS-118 back to August 8, 2007, STS-120 back to October 23, 2007, and Atlantis's return on STS-122 back to a targeted launch date on December 6, 2007. Atlantis on STS-122 eventually lifted off on February 7, 2008.