Space Shuttle Atlantis

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Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Atlantis before the launch of STS-115, August 29, 2006.
OV Designation OV-104
Country United States
Contract award 29 January 1979
Named after R/V Atlantis
First flight STS-51-J
3 October 1985 - 7 October 1985
Last flight STS-117
8 June 2007 - 22 June 2007
Number of missions 28
Crews 174
Time spent in space  245.575 days[1]
Number of orbits 3,873
Distance travelled 152,534,078 km
Satellites deployed 14
Mir dockings 7
ISS dockings 8
Status Active

Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is one of the three currently operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States.[2] (The other two are Discovery and Endeavour.) Atlantis was the fourth operational shuttle built. In early 2007, NASA officials reversed an earlier decision to keep Atlantis flying until 2010, the projected end of the Shuttle program. This has been switched back and forth over the past recent months. Atlantis is scheduled to remain operational until 2010, but is not currently scheduled for any missions beyond 2008.[3][4]

Contents

Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares for mission STS-122.
Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares for mission STS-122.

Atlantis is at launch pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, in preparation for launch on STS-122. That mission will deliver the Columbus laboratory module to the International Space Station. The Terminal countdown demonstration test (TCDT) was completed on November 20.[5] Following the final Flight Readiness Review on November 30, NASA managers confirmed the launch date of December 6, 2007.[6]

During the initial launch attempt, 16 minutes into the loading of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the external tank, two of the four liquid hydrogen Engine Cutoff (ECO) sensors failed to respond correctly, resulting in Launch Director Doug Lyons deciding to postpone the launch.[7] On Saturday, December 8, the Mission Management Team met to finalize plans for a second launch attempt on Sunday, December 9.[8][9] During Sunday's fueling, at 6:52 a.m. EST, the third ECO sensor failed wet, violating the modified Launch Commit Criteria that required all four sensors to function properly. The launch was officially scrubbed at 7:25 a.m. EST (12:25 UTC). Troubleshooting the problem would rule out a December launch, and NASA has given a launch date of no earlier than January 2, 2008.[10][11]

During the post-scrub news conference, Launch Director Doug Lyons said that a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building was not a situation managers were considering currently, and explained that the pad offers extensive access to the systems for troubleshooting and investigation.[12] "We can do extensive troubleshooting out there before we would entertain rolling back. There's not many things we can't do out at the launch pad that we could do in the VAB."[12] Managers have convened a short-term troubleshooting team to design a plan to identify, and hopefully predict, or prevent the ECO anomaly.[12]

Atlantis made its first flight in October 1985, conducting classified military activities, one of five such flights. In 1989, Atlantis deployed two planetary probes, Magellan and Galileo, and in 1991, it deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

Beginning in 1995, Atlantis made seven straight flights to the Russian space station Mir. On the second Mir flight, it delivered a docking module, and on the subsequent flights, it conducted astronaut exchanges.

From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent refitting operations, with about 165 modifications made to the shuttle, including the installation of the Multifunction Electronic Display System, or glass cockpit. It has made six flights since then, all involving assembly activities at the International Space Station.

In October 2002, Atlantis and the six-person crew completed an 11-day mission to the International Space Station that involved three space walks.

NASA scheduled the 27th launch for Atlantis for September 2005, during the window of September 9 - 24. It was ruled unsafe to fly the mission and the launch window was missed, due to the complications during Discovery's launch of mission STS-114 and NASA's subsequent suspension of all future shuttle launches. Atlantis was the designated STS-300 rescue orbiter for the STS-114 mission. Atlantis was scheduled to fly the STS-121 mission, but it was decided that Discovery would fly the mission instead.

After a four-year-halt she went back into orbit along with six astronauts on STS-115, carrying the P3/P4 truss segments and solar arrays.

Atlantis launched on her longest mission STS-117, almost 14 days, on June 8, 2007. Because Atlantis is not equipped to take advantage of the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System,[13] missions cannot be extended by making use of power provided by ISS.

Atlantis docked with Mir
Atlantis docked with Mir
Space Shuttle Atlantis at the launch of STS-115
Space Shuttle Atlantis at the launch of STS-115

Atlantis has completed 28 flights, spent 220.40-days in space, completed 3,468 orbits, and flown 89,908,732 nautical miles (166,510,972 km) in total, as of September 2006. Among the five Space Shuttles flown in space, Atlantis has conducted a subsequent mission in the shortest time after the previous mission when it launched in November, 1985, only 50 days after its previous mission.

# Date Designation Notes
1 1985 October 3 STS-51-J First Atlantis mission; mission dedicated to Department of Defense.
2 1985 November 26 STS-61-B 3 communications satellites deployed: MORELOS-B, AUSSAT-2 and SATCOM KU-2.
3 1988 December 2 STS-27 Mission dedicated to Department of Defense.
4 1989 May 4 STS-30 Deployed Magellan probe.
5 1989 October 18 STS-34 Deployed Galileo probe.
6 1990 February 28 STS-36 Mission dedicated to Department of Defense.
7 1990 November 15 STS-38 Mission dedicated to Department of Defense.
8 1991 April 5 STS-37 Deployed Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
9 1991 August 2 STS-43 Deployed TDRS-5.
10 1991 November 24 STS-44 Mission dedicated to Department of Defense.
11 1992 March 24 STS-45 Carried Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) mission 1.
12 1992 July 31 STS-46 Deployed ESA European Retrievable Carrier and NASA Tethered Satellite System.
13 1994 November 3 STS-66 Carried ATLAS mission 3.
14 1995 June 29 STS-71 First shuttle docking with space station Mir.
15 1995 November 12 STS-74 Carried docking module to Mir.
16 1996 March 22 STS-76 Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Shannon Lucid.
17 1996 September 16 STS-79 Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Shannon Lucid and John Blaha.
18 1997 January 12 STS-81 Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of John Blaha and Jerry Linenger.
19 1997 May 15 STS-84 Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Jerry Linenger and Michael Foale.
20 1997 September 25 STS-86 Rendezvous with Mir, including crew transfer of Michael Foale and David A. Wolf.
21 2000 May 19 STS-101 International Space Station assembly mission (re-supply ISS).
22 2000 September 8 STS-106 International Space Station assembly mission (re-supply ISS).
23 2001 February 7 STS-98 International Space Station assembly mission (carried and assembled the Destiny Laboratory Module).
24 2001 July 12 STS-104 International Space Station assembly mission (carried and assembled the Quest Joint Airlock).
25 2002 April 8 STS-110 International Space Station assembly mission (carried and assembled the S0 truss segment).
26 2002 October 7 STS-112 International Space Station assembly mission (carried and assembled the S1 truss segment).
27 2006 September 9 STS-115 International Space Station resupply and construction (P3 and P4 truss segments).
28 2007 June 8 STS-117 International Space Station resupply and construction (S3 and S4 truss segments).[14]
29 NET 2008 January 2 STS-122 Planned International Space Station construction (Columbus laboratory).

The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis landing in 1997, at the end of STS-86.
The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis landing in 1997, at the end of STS-86.
Atlantis on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in 1998.
Atlantis on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in 1998.

NASA announced that 24 helium and nitrogen gas tanks, named Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels, in Atlantis are older than their designed lifetime (designed for 10 years, later cleared for another 10 years but in service now for 22 years). NASA said it cannot guarantee any longer that the vessels on Atlantis will not burst or explode under full pressure. Therefore, the vessels will only be at 80 percent pressure as close to the launch countdown as possible, and the launch pad will be cleared of all but essential personnel when pressure is increased to 100 percent. A launch pad explosion could damage parts of the shuttle and even wound or kill ground personnel. An in-flight failure to the vessels could even result in the loss of the orbiter and its crew. Because the original vendor is no longer available, the vessels cannot be rebuilt before 2010, when the shuttles are scheduled to be retired. NASA analyses originally assumed that the vessels would leak before they burst, but new tests showed that they would burst before they leak. The new launch procedure, of clearing the launch pad of all but the essential personnel and pressurizing the tanks to 100 percent as late as possible, will now be conducted at all following Atlantis launches if no other resolution is found. Atlantis will have to launch two more times in this setting. It is unclear, but possible, that Discovery, which will launch another five or six times, has the same problems and if the same launch procedure needs to be conducted with Discovery. Since Endeavour, which will launch another six or seven times, was built much later, around 1990, it is possible that Endeavour does not have the same problem.[15]

  1. ^ William Harwood for CBS News (2007). Quick-Look Mission Facts and Figures. Spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2007.
  2. ^ NASA (2007). Space Shuttle Overview: Discovery (OV-103). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved on November 6, 2007.
  3. ^ Chris Bergin (2007). Atlantis stay of execution reversed in new manifest (English). NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved on October 11, 2007.
  4. ^ Chris Bergin (2007). Manifest acceleration: Saving Atlantis to aid Ares timeline. NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved on November 6, 2007.
  5. ^ NASA (2007). NASA's Space Shuttle Processing Status Report. NASA. Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  6. ^ Chris Bergin (2007). FRR approves December 6 launch date for STS-122. NASA Spaceflight.com. Retrieved on November 30, 2007.
  7. ^ NASA (2007). NASA Postpones Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch; Aims for Friday. NASA. Retrieved on December 6, 2007.
  8. ^ Marcia Dunn for the Associated Press (2007). NASA Decides to Try for Sunday Launch. The Washington Post. Retrieved on December 8, 2007.
  9. ^ William Harwood for CBS News (2007). Shuttle Atlantis counting down to Sunday launch try. Spaceflight Now. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  10. ^ NASA (2007). NASA Targets Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch on Jan. 2. NASA. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  11. ^ Chris Bergin (2007). ECO sensor issues strike again - STS-122 moves to January. NASA Spaceflight.com. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  12. ^ a b c William Harwood for CBS News (2007). Atlantis launch delayed to January. Spaceflight Now. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  13. ^ NASA (2007-11-19). Preflight Interview: Stan Love, Mission Specialist. NASA.
  14. ^ William Harwood for CBS News (2007). STS-117 Mission Coverage. Spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2007.
  15. ^ Todd Halvorson and John Kelly - Florida Today (2007). Orbiters Feel Pains of Aging. Space.com. Retrieved on November 6, 2007.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104)
Completed Flights: STS-51-J · STS-61-B · STS-27 · STS-30 · STS-34 · STS-36 · STS-38 · STS-37 · STS-43 · STS-44 · STS-45 · STS-46 · STS-66 · STS-71 · STS-74 · STS-76 · STS-79 · STS-81 · STS-84 · STS-86 · STS-101 · STS-106 · STS-98 · STS-104 · STS-110 · STS-112 · STS-115  · STS-117
Upcoming Flights: STS-122 · STS-125
Status: Operational
v • d • e
Space Shuttle program
Main articles Space Shuttle · Space Shuttle program Space Shuttle insignia
Components Orbiter · Solid Rocket Booster · External Tank · Main Engines · Orbital Maneuvering System
Orbiters Enterprise · Columbia · Challenger · Discovery · Atlantis · Endeavour
Launch sites Kennedy Space Center LC-39 · Vandenberg Air Force Base · SLC-6
Developments Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle · Shuttle-C · Ares I · Ares V
Testing Pathfinder · MPTA · MPTA-ET
Other articles Missions (cancelled) · Decision to build · Crews · Abort modes · Space shuttles in fiction · Crawler-transporter · Shuttle Carrier Aircraft · Space Shuttle America (motion simulator ride) · Space Shuttle Explorer (shuttle replica)
v • d • e
Space Shuttles
American US Space Shuttle program   Soviet Soviet Buran program
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis"
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