Crew notes
Canadian Space Agency astronaut MacLean became the first Canadian to operate Canadarm2 and its Mobile Base in space as he was handed a new set of solar arrays from Ferguson and Burbank controlling the original Canadian robotic arm, the Canadarm. MacLean performed a spacewalk, becoming only the second Canadian, after Chris Hadfield to do so.
The mission patch worn on the clothing used by the astronauts of STS-115 was designed by Graham Huber, Peter Hui, and Gigi Lui, three students at York University in Toronto, Ontario, the same university that Steve MacLean attended. The students also designed Steve MacLean's personal patch for this mission.
Mission payloads
The primary payload was the second left-side ITS P3/P4 Truss segment, a pair of solar arrays, and associated batteries.
Mission objectives
- Delivery and installation of two truss segments (P3 and P4)
- Delivery and deployment of two new solar arrays (4A and 2A)
- Perform three spacewalks to connect truss segments, remove restraints on solar arrays, and prepare the station for the next assembly mission by STS-116
Crew seat assignments
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Seat
! Launch
! Landing
|rowspan=8| 150px<br />Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.<br />Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
|-
! 1
|colspan=2| Jett
|-
! 2
|colspan=2| Ferguson
|-
! 3
|MacLean
|Stefanyshyn-Piper
|-
! 4
|colspan=2| Burbank
|-
! 5
|colspan=2| Tanner
|-
! 6
|Stefanyshyn-Piper
|MacLean
|-
! 7
|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| Unused
|}
Mission background
NASA managers decided to move the STS-115 launch date forward to August 27 to obtain better lighting conditions to photograph the external tank. This occurred before with STS-31 and STS-82. The launch window was co-ordinated with the Soyuz TMA-9 launch in mid-September, which delivered a new ISS crew and fresh supplies to the station. The Soyuz spacecraft operationally did not dock to the station while the Space Shuttle was there.
The mission marks:
- 147th NASA crewed space flight.
- 116th space shuttle flight since STS-1.
- 27th flight of Atlantis.
- 91st post-Challenger mission.
- 3rd post-Columbia mission.
- 1st post-Columbia mission of Atlantis.
Mission timeline
Launch preparations
thumb|left|Atlantis is rolled over from the OPF
thumb|right|Atlantis, shown in the VAB, ready to be mated to the external tank
Atlantis was rolled out from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on July 24, 2006. It was lowered onto the mobile launcher platform on July 26 and rolled out to Pad 39B in the early morning hours of August 2. The rollout was scheduled for July 31, but a storm in the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Center resulted in a delay of two days from fears of the orbiter being hit by lightning, which could cause immeasurable damage.
On the weekend of August 5 to 6, 2006, engineers completed a "flight readiness" check of the shuttle's main engines, which were deemed ready for launch. The crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center August 7, 2006, for four days of launch rehearsals, including a practice countdown August 10.
Top NASA managers held a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) meeting August 15–16, 2006 to finalize the launch date. Foam loss from the external tank was a key issue at this meeting because on August 13, 2006, NASA announced there was an average amount of loss from the external tank of STS-121, the previous mission. Columbias demise was due to a piece of foam, shed from its external tank, striking the shuttle's left wing during launch and causing a hole that was breached during re-entry.
thumb|Atlantis on Launch Pad 39B on 2006-08-02.
The meeting also discussed problems with the bolts securing the shuttle's K<sub>u</sub>-band antenna, which might not have been threaded correctly. The installation had been in place for several flights and hadn't experienced any problems. At the end of the two-day meeting, NASA managers had decided to proceed with the launch on August 27, 2006. However, on August 18, 2006, NASA decided to replace the antenna bolts with Atlantis still on the launch pad. NASA had no procedure to replace these on the pad, but the work was nonetheless completed by August 20, without affecting the planned launch date.
thumb|left|Image of lightning strike
On August 25, 2006, a direct lightning strike, the most powerful recorded at Kennedy Space Center, hit the lightning rod atop the launch pad. As a result, on August 26 the Mission Management Team ordered the mission postponed for at least 24 hours to assess damage. On August 27, the decision was made to postpone the launch for another 24 hours, making the earliest possible launch date August 29, 2006, still unassured that there was no damage from the lightning strike and taking into account the possible threat from Hurricane Ernesto.
right|thumb|Atlantis heads back to Launch Pad 39B to ride out Ernesto
On August 28, 2006, it was decided to postpone the launch and rollback Atlantis to the VAB after updated forecasts projected Hurricane Ernesto would regain its strength and pass closer to Kennedy Space Center than previously anticipated. NASA began rolling back the shuttle on August 29, 2006, in the late morning, but by early afternoon the decision was made to move Atlantis back to the launch pad (something that has never been done before) to weather out Tropical Storm Ernesto instead. The change came after weather forecasters determined that the storm wouldn't hit Kennedy Space Center as forcefully as they once thought. Its peak winds were expected to be less than 79 mph (126 kilometers per hour), NASA's limit for keeping the shuttle outdoors.
By the early morning of August 31, 2006, the storm had passed and inspection teams began a survey for damage to the launch facilities. Only three problems were discovered, all of which were simple repairs. A target date for launch was set for September 6 with the option to launch for another two days after NASA and Russian space managers agreed to extend the launch window by one day.
On the morning of September 3, 2006, the official countdown began at the T minus 43-hour mark, with about 30 hours of scheduled holds. In the early morning of September 6, 2006, engineers observed an apparent internal short when one of the three electricity producing fuel cells was powered up. When engineers couldn't figure out the problem in time, the launch was scrubbed for the day to further analyze the fuel cell problem. Late Wednesday evening NASA managers decided that they would not attempt a launch on Thursday, and scheduled the next launch attempt for September 8, 2006. Originally they had ruled out September 9 as a potential launch date due to a conflict with the planned Russian Soyuz mission Soyuz TMA-9, which was scheduled to, and did, launch on September 18, 2006. This caused some news agencies to report that Friday as the last chance for a launch until October.
September 8 (Launch attempt 1)
On the morning of September 8, 2006, it was reported that one of the engine cut-off (ECO) sensors in the external tank had failed. About half an hour before the scheduled launch time, NASA announced it had decided to delay the launch for another 24 hours while the fuel was drained out of the external tank and the problem assessed. The sensor in question, ECO sensor No. 3, was proved to be faulty when it indicated that there was still liquid hydrogen in the external tank despite all of it being drained out. The other three ECO sensors correctly indicated a dry tank; and as long as they didn't start to malfunction, NASA could allow a launch with three out of the four ECO sensors operational.
September 9 (Flight day 1, Launch)
thumb|Space Shuttle Atlantis launches mission STS-115.
On September 9, 2006, all the engine cut-off sensors were working properly, and following a flawless countdown, at 15:15 UTC (11:15 EDT), Atlantis lifted off the launch pad to the International Space Station. As Atlantis launched, the International Space Station was above the northern Atlantic Ocean, between Greenland and Iceland.
The crew worked ahead of schedule for most of the day readying the ship for docking and preparing for the mission's three planned extra-vehicular activities (EVA). Mission specialists Joe Tanner and Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper checked out the spacesuits and tools that they, Burbank and MacLean used during spacewalks set for Days 4, 5, and 7. The spacewalks installed the girder-like P3/P4 truss, deploy new solar arrays, and prepare them for operation.
At about 10:46 UTC Atlantis docked with the International Space Station, and almost two hours later the hatch between them was opened, and the crew was welcomed aboard the station at 12:35 UTC.
Following the completion of the EVA, the station's crew began preparing for Day 5's spacewalk, with astronauts Burbank and MacLean entering the Quest Airlock for their "camp out" at 18:40 UTC, ready for the scheduled 09:15 UTC EVA.
September 13 (Flight day 5)
:<div class="noprint">Day 5: Activation of SARJ animation</div>
thumb|right|The new [[ISS Truss|P3/P4 truss during EVA 2. Also, the new undeployed solar arrays can be seen on the bottom right]]
On Day 5, the second spacewalk of the mission was conducted, this time by first-time spacewalkers Burbank and MacLean. They devoted the day to the final tasks required for activation of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). The SARJ is an automobile-sized joint that will allow the station's solar arrays to turn and point toward the sun. Burbank and MacLean released locks that had held the joint secure during its launch to orbit aboard Atlantis. As they worked, the spacewalkers overcame several minor problems, including a malfunctioning helmet camera, a broken socket tool, a stubborn bolt, and a bolt that came loose from the mechanism designed to hold it captive. The stubborn bolt required the force of both spacewalkers to finally remove it.
Burbank and MacLean spent 7 hours and 11 minutes outside the station, beginning their spacewalk at 09:05 UTC and completing it at 16:16 UTC. In addition to the SARJ work, they completed several "get-ahead" tasks during their time outside.
September 14 (Flight day 6)
:<div class="noprint">Day 6: Solar array deployment animation</div>
thumb|A solar array on the [[Integrated Truss Structure|P4 truss fully deployed on Day 6]]
Day 6 continued the installation of the solar array. The unfurling of the solar panels themselves began a little behind schedule due to the problem encountered on Day 5 with SARJ. This problem was determined to be in the software, and a workaround was developed. The unfurling of the panels continued throughout the morning in stages to prevent the panels sticking, as they did during STS-97. It was noted by the crew that some panels were still sticking together, but this didn't cause any problems. Although the installation has been completed, the solar arrays will not provide power to the station until the next shuttle mission, STS-116, scheduled for December 2006, when the station will undergo a major electrical system rewiring.
Other activities of Day 6 included a "double walk off" of the station's Canadarm2 from its current location at the Mobile Base System to the Destiny Laboratory Module Joe Tanner and Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper began their spacewalk at 10:00 UTC after a 45-minute delay
During the 6-hour and 42-minute spacewalk, the astronauts carried out numerous maintenance and repair tasks including removal of hardware used to secure the P3/P4 radiator during launch. Ground Flight Controllers subsequently unfurled the radiator, increasing the ability of the station to dissipate heat into space. Also, completed during this spacewalk was the retrieval of a materials exposure experiment from the outside of the ISS, maintenance on the P6 truss, installation of a wireless TV aerial and the replacement of the S1 truss' S-band antenna assembly.
A number of "get-ahead" tasks previously scheduled for future missions were also performed during this spacewalk. Near the end of the spacewalk, the astronauts carried out a test to evaluate using infrared video of the leading edge of Atlantis wing to detect debris damage.
The crews of Expedition 13 and STS-115 also took part in the traditional joint-crew news conference, with mission Commander Brent Jett commenting on the success of the mission and on the construction missions to follow:
"All of the rest of the assembly missions are going to be challenging. We have similar payloads flying in the future. We are off to a good start on assembly. I think we can pass along a lot of the lessons to the future crews."
September 17 (Flight day 9)
thumb|New configuration of the [[International Space Station|ISS, taken on Day 9 after undocking]]
Flight day 9 saw the end of STS-115's tasks at the ISS as Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 12:50 UTC.
Following the traditional farewell ceremonies between Expedition 13 and STS-115, the hatch between Atlantis and the ISS was closed and locked at 10:27 UTC. Then, after a series of checks for leaks, Atlantis left the dock to begin its 360-degree flyaround of the expanded ISS to document the new configuration.
September 18 (Flight day 10)
The crew of STS-115 spent the morning of Flight Day 10 carrying out final inspections of Atlantis heat shield in preparation for re-entry on flight day 12.
Orbiting around behind the ISS, the crew used the Orbiter's robotic arm and boom sensor system to make sure that no damage had been done to Atlantis nose and wing leading edges by micrometeoroids and other space junk. The crew spent the rest of this light duty day stowing equipment in preparation for re-entry and landing.
September 19 (Flight day 11)
thumb|right|Image of the unknown flying object in its co-orbital path with Atlantis
thumb|right|High-resolution image of a second unknown flying object
During the morning of day 11, astronauts Jett and Ferguson tested Atlantis reaction control thrusters and practiced for landing using on-board computers. The thrusters will be used to position the shuttle during re-entry.
The crew also took some time for interviews, with Ferguson telling the media that everyone on board was looking forward to landing. "I think we all, thus far, feel pretty good about the job that we did," Ferguson said. "We are looking forward to a successful re-entry and landing sometime tomorrow."
Following the interviews, the crew continued their preparations for re-entry by stowing unnecessary equipment and other tasks prior to landing. However, the crew informed the Mission Control Center later in the day that, following the test of the reaction control system, an object was seen moving in a co-orbital path with the Orbiter. The astronauts spotted the object using an on-board TV camera, but unfortunately the resolution of the images was not high enough to identify the object.
The images were sent down to the MCC for further analysis by flight controllers, who were concerned about the possibility that the object may have come off Atlantis, and as such wished to identify the object. The most likely scenario was that the object was benign, such as ice or a piece of shimstock (observed earlier in the flight protruding from the heat shield) that may have shaken loose. However, the possibility remained that the object may be of critical importance, such as a tile from the Orbiter's thermal protection system, and the Mission Control Center asked Atlantis crew to power up the shuttle's robotic arm ready to reinspect the orbiter, and drew up plans for a series of tests which took place on flight day 12 to determine whether the shuttle was safe for re-entry. This extra inspection, added to poor weather forecasts predicted for the Shuttle Landing Facility for Wednesday, and the de-orbit burn and landing were delayed by a day.
September 20 (Flight day 12)
Following the discovery of a co-orbiting object on flight day 11, Flight Controllers spent the early hours of the morning using the Orbiter's robotic arm to inspect the upper surface of Atlantis, with the astronauts on board the Orbiter spending the rest of the morning scanning the underside of the shuttle for any areas of concern. Following these scans, the crew received word from the Mission Control Center in Houston to use the orbiter boom sensor system to conduct more inspections of Atlantis heat shield.
Following the review of these scans, together with an overnight analysis of the payload bay by Ground Flight Controllers, it was determined that there remained no safety issue with Atlantis, and Mission Controllers cleared the Orbiter for re-entry. This clean bill of health, added to a favorable weather forecast for the Shuttle Landing Facility for Thursday morning, permitted Atlantis to be cleared for a landing the next day.
The crew spent the remainder of the day in preparation for landing, packing up gear and stowing the Ku band antenna used for TV broadcasts. During the inspection, the crew was notified that the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft was docked with the ISS above, which carried the first half of the Expedition 14 crew.
September 21 (Flight day 13 and landing)
thumb|Concluding mission STS-115, Atlantis and her crew return to Kennedy Space Center and approach a landing before sunrise on Runway 33.
thumb|The drag chute glows in the lights illuminating Atlantis as it touches down on Runway 33.
thumb|Damage caused by micrometeoroid impact. (NASA)
Flight day 13 was the last day of the mission, with the final re-entry procedures and landing taking place during the morning, and numerous debriefs and conferences in the afternoon. The landing process began hours before the actual landing at Kennedy Space Center. The process began with the APU prestart at 04:37 EDT, followed by the closing of the payload bay doors and sealing of the Orbiter at 04:45 EDT. Atlantis crew received the final "Go" for the prime re-entry window from Mission Control in Houston at 04:52 EDT. The crew then started the deorbit reorientation of the shuttle so that its engines faced in its direction of travel, meaning that by firing the engines for the deorbit burn Atlantis would slow down and begin its descent out of orbit.
The de-orbit burn was initiated at 05:15 EDT, lasting 2 minutes 40 seconds with two engines burning well throughout. The astronauts aboard the Orbiter were informed at 05:17 EDT that their burn was perfect, with no alterations required as Atlantis began her drop through the atmosphere above the Indian Ocean.
Following the deorbit burn, the crew of Atlantis began dumping excess propellant overboard, a process lasting 3 minutes, concluding at 05:26 EDT, with the Orbiter 55 minutes away from landing. Twenty-five minutes later, at 05:51 EDT, Atlantis began feeling the effects of the atmosphere at an altitude of approximately , and soon after began its "roll reversal banking" in order to bleed off most of the she was traveling at, ready for landing at less than . The ISS was positioned in such a way as to be above the reentry path taken by Atlantis, so the astronauts were able to observe the entire maneuver from above.
At 06:08 EDT, the downlink from the Shuttle was acquired by the MILA tracking station on Merritt Island, Florida, with GPS data beginning to be accepted by the Orbiter three minutes later. Ten minutes following the first detection of Atlantis, two sonic booms were heard at Kennedy Space Center as the Orbiter dropped below the sound barrier three minutes prior to touchdown. Commander Jett took control of Atlantis a minute later, and, with Kennedy Space Center Runway 33 in sight, began bringing his ship in for a landing.
Atlantis main gear touched down at 06:21:30 EDT on Runway 33 at the Space Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, with the nose gear following 6 seconds later at 06:21:36 EDT, and, after launch, the Orbiter's wheels came to a stop at 06:22:16 EDT, bringing mission STS-115 to an end.
The morning's landing was considered a night landing as it took place about 48 minutes before sunrise, and as such was the 21st night landing for the Space Shuttle Program. It was the 63rd landing at Kennedy Space Center, as well as the 27th mission for Atlantis.
Post flight
thumb|STS-115 MET 48 seconds Launch Debris Event
While working on the Atlantis orbiter, NASA technicians discovered that one of the spacecraft's radiator panels showed evidence of micrometeorite damage. A hole was observed which was reported to be about 2.7 mm (0.108 in) in diameter.
Debris analysis
NASA's Mission Management Team conducted a detailed analysis of data from many sources including ground imagery, radar, shuttle inspections using the Canadarm and from the space station. By Day 2 they pinpointed a handful of launch debris events, and drew a preliminary conclusion that the effect was minimal. Later that day, NASA agency engineers decided that additional heat shield inspections were not required. The preceding only relates to debris shed immediately during or after launch, and not the debris observed on September 19, 2006.
Not mentioned was a large debris event during launch at 48 seconds near max Q. Because it happened on the ET side opposite the Orbiter, it was never a danger to the Shuttle. By the origin from near the top of the ET, it presents a new source of debris and is therefore of concern for further missions.
Wake-up calls
A tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of Gemini, mission crews are played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen, often by their family, and usually has special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Flight Day
! Song
! Artist
! Played for
! Links
|-
| Day 2<br />
| "Moon River"
| Audrey Hepburn
| Brent Jett
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 3<br />
| "cello & double bass"
| Daniel Burbank's children
| Daniel Burbank
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 4<br />
| "My Friendly Epistle"
| Taras Shevchenko
| Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 5<br />
| "Takin' Care of Business"
| Bachman–Turner Overdrive
| Steve MacLean
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 6<br />
| "Wipe Out"
| The Surfaris
| Chris Ferguson
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 7<br />
| "Hotel California"
| The Eagles
| Joseph Tanner
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 8<br />
| "Twelve Volt Man"
| Jimmy Buffett
| Daniel Burbank
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 9<br />
| "Danger Zone"
| Kenny Loggins
| Chris Ferguson
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 10<br />
| "Rocky Mountain High"
| John Denver
| Joseph Tanner
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 11<br />
| "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi"
| Celine Dion
| Steve MacLean
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 12<br />
| "Beautiful Day"
| U2
| Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|-
| Day 13<br />
| "WWOZ"
| Better Than Ezra
| Brent Jett
| wav mp3 <br /> Transcript
|}
Contingency mission
STS-300 was the designation given to the Contingency Shuttle Crew Support mission which would have launched in the event Space Shuttle Discovery became disabled during STS-114 or STS-121. This rescue mission would have been a modified version of the STS-115 mission with the launch date being brought forward and the crew reduced.<br />
STS-300 would have launched no earlier than August 17, 2006, and the crew for STS-300 would have been a four-person subset of the full STS-115 crew:
- Brent Jett, commander
- Christopher Ferguson, pilot and backup Remote Manipulator System (RMS) operator
- Joseph Tanner, mission specialist 1, Extravehicular 1 and prime RMS operator
- Daniel Burbank, mission specialist 2 and Extravehicular 2
Media
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" perrow="3">
File:ISS P3-P4 Truss unfolding.ogg|The components and the unfolding of the P3/P4 Truss in Detail (Animation).
File:STS-115-Launch-September-9-2006.ogv|Space Shuttle Atlantis launches from launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center as part of the STS-115 mission.
</gallery>
See also
- Outline of space science
- 2006 in spaceflight
- List of International Space Station spacewalks
- List of Space Shuttle missions
- Lists of spacewalks and moonwalks
- List of human spaceflights
References
External links
- STS-115 Official NASA Page
- STS-115 Multimedia Gallery – Images and videos.
- NASA's Space Shuttle site with frequent news updates.
- SpaceFlightNow blog
- Space-Astronautics.com
- Canadian Space Agency: Missions overview, updates, timeline, and gallery
- SpaceflightWeb Mission Profile
- Spacefacts.de
Videos
- Mission Timeline – Canadian Space Agency: with animations of key parts of the mission
- STS-115 Video Highlights