STS-132


STS-132 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on May 16, 2010. STS-132 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on May 14, 2010. The primary payload was the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module, along with an Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable. Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center on May 26, 2010.
STS-132 was initially scheduled to be the final flight of Atlantis, provided that the STS-335/STS-135 Launch On Need rescue mission would not be needed. However, in February 2011, NASA declared that the final mission of Atlantis and of the Space Shuttle program, STS-135, would be flown regardless of the funding situation.

Crew

Crew seat assignments

Mission payload

Mini-Research Module 1 (MRM 1)

STS-132 carried the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module 1 to the International Space Station. Rassvet means "dawn" in Russian. The module was built by Russian aerospace company Energia. Rassvet arrived at the Kennedy Space Center aboard an Antonov 124 cargo plane on December 17, 2009, at about 13:00 EST. After it was unloaded from the Antonov, the module was transported to an Astrotech processing bay in Cape Canaveral to undergo preparations for launch.
An airlock and radiation heat exchanger to be used for outfitting the Russian Nauka Module, a spare elbow part of the European Robotic Arm and a portable work platform for science hardware for performing experiments in outer space were externally mounted on Rassvet in its launch configuration. Russian and US cargo to be delivered were also accommodated inside the module. The volume for cargo and science inside MRM1 is 5 cubic meters. Rassvet was outfitted with ISS standard grapple fixtures that allowed the module to be unloaded from the payload bay of Atlantis using the station's robotic arm.

Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable (ICC-VLD2)

Also on board Atlantis was the Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable pallet, holding a Ku-band Space to Ground Antenna, the SGANT boom assembly, an Enhanced Orbital replacement Unit Temporary Platform for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension, Video and Power Grapple fixtures and six new battery ORUs. The six new batteries replaced older ones on the P6 truss of the ISS. The old batteries were placed on the ICC-VLD pallet for return to Earth. The EOTP was built by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, for NASA.
The ICC pallet is constructed of aluminum. It is approximately long, wide and 10 inches thick. The empty weight of the pallet is 2,645 pounds. The total weight of ICC–VLD and the ORUs is approximately 8,330 pounds. ICC-VLD return mass is.
The ICC-VLD was berthed in the center of the shuttle's payload bay for both launch and reentry.

Other items

In addition to the standard Official Flight Kit flown inside a locker on the mid-deck, two Light Weight Tool Stowage Assemblies were modified to fly memorabilia and then were stowed to the left and right of Atlantis' airlock in the shuttle's payload bay.
A compact disk containing the digital copies of all entries submitted to NASA's Space Shuttle Program Commemorative Patch Contest was also flown aboard Atlantis. The contest was organized by the Space Shuttle Program to mark the end of the shuttle era. The winning patch was designed by Blake Dumesnil of Hamilton Sundstrand, Johnson Space Center. A panel of NASA judges, including shuttle program manager John Shannon, LeRoy Cain, and three other shuttle program managers including former astronaut John Casper, selected the winning patch from a pool of 85 entries by NASA employees and contractors.
Seventeen handcrafted beads made by nine different artists across North America were also on board Atlantis during the STS-132 mission. NASA teamed up with Beads of Courage, Inc., an approved public charity to bring hope and inspiration to children coping with serious illnesses through the Beads in Space project. The 17 beads weigh eight ounces and were selected after a contest organized by Beads of Courage that attracted 54 beads.
Also on board Atlantis was a 4-inch long wood sample of Sir Isaac Newton's apple tree. The piece from the original tree that supposedly inspired Newton's theory of gravity, along with a picture of Newton, were taken into orbit by astronaut Piers Sellers. The wood is part of the collection of the Royal Society archives in London, and was returned there following the flight.
Additionally, a flag from Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, flew on board shuttle Atlantis. It was there in honor of STS-132 lead shuttle flight director, Michael L. Sarafin, who is an alumnus of the Clarkson University.
A comprehensive list of STS-132 items that were carried aboard Atlantis and their descriptions can be found in the Official Flight Kit.

Mission background and milestones

The mission marked:
  • 163rd NASA crewed space flight
  • 132nd shuttle mission since STS-1
  • 32nd flight of Atlantis
  • 34th shuttle mission to the ISS
  • 11th flight of Atlantis to the ISS
  • 3rd shuttle flight in 2010
  • 107th post-Challenger mission
  • 19th post-Columbia mission
NASA arranged a Tweetup to cover the launch of the STS-132 mission. 150 people attended the event from more than 30 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The Tweetup participants met with shuttle technicians, managers, engineers and astronauts, took a tour of the Kennedy Space Center and viewed the launch of Atlantis.

Mission experiments

Atlantis crew worked with several short-term experiments during their mission. The shuttle transported new long-term experiments to the ISS. At the end of the mission, Atlantis returned some of the completed experiments from the ISS.
Short-term experiments included:
  • Micro-2: Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sent microorganisms to investigate new ways of preventing the formation and spread of clusters of bacteria, that could pose a threat to the health of astronauts. After the shuttle landed, the resulting biofilms were examined to see how their growth and development were impacted by microgravity.
  • Hypersole: Hypersole is a Canadian research project that plans to investigate sudden changes in skin sensitivity experienced by some astronauts in space. The researchers hope to understand more about how the skin sensitivity of the soles of the feet affect the human balance. Three STS-132 crew members participated in identical trials before the launch and immediately upon landing. The trials were also repeated on five astronauts scheduled to fly on the STS-133 and STS-134 missions. Project findings are expected to add significant knowledge to existing studies of aging and to be beneficial for the elderly and people who suffer from balance problems.
  • Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust Experiments – STS-132 crew performed the SIMPLEX burn on Flight Day 12. The experiment investigates plasma turbulence driven by shuttle exhaust in the ionosphere using ground-based radars. The processes by which chemical releases can produce plasma turbulence are quantified with the SIMPLEX measurements. Plasma turbulence can affect military navigation and communications using radio systems.

    Shuttle processing

The mission's external tank, ET-136, began its, six-day journey across the Gulf of Mexico from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 24, 2010. ET-136 measured long and in diameter. The solid rocket booster retrieval ship Liberty Star towed the ET in the enclosed barge Pegasus. After docking in the turn basin at the Kennedy Space Center, the tank was offloaded and driven to the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 1, 2010.
On March 29, 2010, workers attached ET-136 to its solid rocket boosters. A crane lifted the ET into high bay No. 1 inside the VAB. The day-long process was completed around 18:00 EDT, as the tank was bolted to Atlantis's twin solid rocket boosters.
Atlantis rolled out of its processing bay around 07:00 EDT on April 13, 2010. The shuttle entered the VAB around 11:00 EDT for attachment to its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Given that this was at the time believed to be Atlantis' final rollover for a mission, the shuttle stopped for several hours en route to the VAB, allowing engineers and technicians to pose for photographs with the orbiter. The rollover occurred exactly 25 years after Atlantis first arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, after a cross-country trip from the shuttle factory in Palmdale, California. The path to the rollover was without any incidents of major concern, with only 22 Interim Problem Reports noted during Atlantis flow since its return from the STS-129 mission in November 2009.
The transport canister containing the STS-132 payload arrived at Pad 39A on April 15, 2010, ahead of Atlantis rollover to the launch pad. The canister was shaped like the shuttle's -long payload bay. Packed inside it were the MRM-1 module and the cargo-carrying pallet ICC-VLD.
Space Shuttle Atlantis began its rollout to launch pad 39A at 23:31 EDT on April 21, 2010. The complete shuttle stack and mobile launch platform were secured to the launch pad's structure at 6:03 EDT on April 22, 2010. The 3.4 mi trek took 6 hours and 32 minutes to complete. The rollout was originally planned for the evening of April 19, 2010, but wet weather and thunderstorms on the Space Coast caused several delays.
STS-132's payload was installed in the shuttle's cargo bay on April 25, 2010.
Pad engineers preparing Atlantis had noticed paint peeling from shuttle's main payload, the MRM-1 module. Although the problem was declared to have no impact on the operation of MRM-1, it holds a potential threat of releasing debris on orbit. Engineers also noted MRM-1 cycled its Fire and Smoke detector self test several times. Similar events occurred during Atlantis' STS-129 mission in November 2009 when Shuttle and Station crew were awakened consecutive nights by false depressurization and fire alarms that originated from the MRM-2 module.
An agency-wide Flight Readiness Review was held at KSC in Florida on May 5, 2010, to discuss Atlantis launch preparations. At the end of the review, top NASA managers made the decision to officially set the launch for May 14, 2010, at 14:20 EDT. NASA held a post news conference to brief about the results of the FRR. The briefing was broadcast on NASA TV and was attended by NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Operations, William Gerstenmaier, Space Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon and Space Shuttle Launch Director, Michael Leinbach. Shannon mentioned that, firstly, ceramic inserts around Atlantis' windows and forward rocket pod were tested after an insert loosened during Discovery's re-entry on STS-131, posing a potential impact threat. The inserts had been re-installed on to Atlantis using a thicker braided cord to reduce the chances of a backing out. Secondly, it was mentioned that engineers had reviewed work to confirm that all systems on Atlantis' Ku band antenna were in place. The testing had been provoked after the failure of that communication system during STS-131. Mr. Leinbach also acknowledged the skills and experience of the engineering teams and thanked the engineers who had successfully resolved hypergolic loading issues. Hypergolics are chemicals that ignite when they come in contact with each other. The propellants are used in the reaction control system that steers the shuttle in space.
A booster rocket segment that had first flown 25 years before on Atlantis' maiden flight was used to help fly STS-132. The aft dome on the left solid rocket booster that lifted off to support Atlantis' STS-132 mission first launched STS-51-J on October 3, 1985. Including STS-132, 18 of Atlantis' 32 flights were represented by the boosters' segments.