STS-86
STS -86 (English Space Transportation System) is the designation for a flight mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis ( OV -104 ) from NASA. The launch took place on 26 September 1997. It was the 87th Space Shuttle mission, the 20th flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the ninth flight as part of the Shuttle -Mir Program and the seventh coupling of a U.S. space shuttle to the space station me.
Team
- James Wetherbee (4th space flight), Commander
- Michael Bloomfield ( first space flight), Pilot
- Vladimir Titov ( fifth space flight), Mission Specialist ( Roscosmos / Russia)
- Scott Parazynski ( second space flight), Mission Specialist
- Jean- Loup Chrétien ( third space flight), Mission Specialist ( CNES / France)
- Wendy Lawrence ( second space flight ), Mission Specialist
Mir Crew Departure
- David Wolf ( second space flight )
Mir Crew Return
- Michael Foale (4th space flight )
(after a flight time of 144 days, returned to Earth 13 hours and 48 minutes; way with STS -84)
Mission Description
In the seventh Shuttle -Mir docking mission, besides supplies and laboratory material, a crew member was replaced. Michael Foale returned to a good four months back to earth and was replaced by David Wolf. Originally Wendy Lawrence was planned as Mir astronaut in size but there is no space suit of Russian origin. It was also discussed by the collision of the transport spaceship Progress M - 34 with the Spektr module of the station a long time about whether NASA would ever send another astronaut to the station. Finally, they decided to gather in the field of crisis management in space stations experiences.
After preparation and review of the coupling mechanism and installation of the camera target the Atlantis docked with the Mir space station on 27 September. For six days, more than four tons of material were transported in both directions: water, spare parts and experiment equipment and samples into the station, industrial water disused technology and research results from it. Among the latter were located mainly media and biological samples, such a plant experiment and beetles whose biorhythms had been studied for a long time.
While the shared flight, the vibrations of the individual station modules were measured under different loads (Experiment MEEP ), on the one hand when firing the maneuvering thrusters of the Space Shuttle, on the other hand during athletic workouts the spaceman. These data will be incorporated yet in the construction of the International Space Station. Because the position control is largely taken from the Atlantis, a new control computer could be installed in the station. He regulated both the orientation of the station in the room as well as the orientation of the solar panels. Without this control is not the maximum possible energy would be available in the station.
On October 1, Vladimir Titov and Scott Parazynski got out for five hours and one minute from the Space Shuttle. They dismantled some experiments on the outer wall of the shuttle Andockmoduls, which for 19 months, the environmental conditions were measured in the vicinity of the station. In addition, they took a special cover from the cargo hold of Atlantis, and put them on the outside skin of the Mir space station. It should be mounted on the mounting of the damaged solar array on Spektr module and there suspected leak seal.
After the decoupling of the space shuttle from the station the damaged module has been activated twice briefly under pressure. The escaping gas condensed and formed bubbles. The escape of the bubbles could be both observed and photographed. The hope is to be able to locate small leaks. The Atlantis flew around the station after dropping.
Among the routine experiments in the Spacehab (double module in the cargo bay of Atlantis ) and the middle deck of the shuttle belonged to the collection of all cosmic radiation components inside the spacecraft ( Radiation Monitoring Experiment RME).
With a pre- mounted special seat for the long-term airmen Foale Atlantis landed a day later than planned in Florida. Cause of the shift of the return was bad weather.