STS-70 was the 21st flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and the last of 7 shuttle missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). This was the first shuttle mission controlled from the new mission control center room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

STS-70 was also the first flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine, designed to improve both engine performance and safety. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 13, 1995, only six days after the landing of sister ship Atlantis, marking the fastest turnaround between flights in the history of the program.

Crew

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| Henricks

|-

! 2

|colspan=2| Kregel

|-

! 3

|Thomas

|Weber

|-

! 4

|colspan=2|Currie

|-

! 5

|Weber

|Thomas

|-

! 6

|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| Unused

|-

! 7

|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| Unused

|}

Preparations and launch

thumb|right|240px|Liftoff of the 70th Space Shuttle mission.

STS-70 had originally moved ahead of STS-71 because of a delay in the launch of the Russian Spektr laboratory module to the Russian space station Mir. However, on May 31, 1995, shuttle managers assessed damage to the External Tank of STS-70 caused by nesting flicker woodpeckers. The damage consisted of about 71 holes (ranging in size from 4&nbsp;inches in diameter to 1/2&nbsp;inch in diameter) in the ETs thermal protection foam insulation. Technicians installed safeguards against additional damage. On June 2, NASA managers decided to delay the launch of Discovery in order to make repairs to the insulation, and STS-71 was moved ahead of STS-70. Discovery was rolled back to the VAB on June 8, and was returned to the pad on June 15.

Launch occurred on July 13, 1995, at 9:41:55.078 a.m. EDT. The launch window was 2 hours 30 min. The hatch was closed at 8:13am EDT and the count proceeded smoothly until T−31 sec. The count was held for 55 seconds at T−31 sec by the Booster Range Safety Engineer (CBRS) Tod Gracom at the LCC C-5 Console due to fluctuations seen on the external tank automatic gain control (AGC) ET range safety system receiver. Launch Commit Criteria contingency procedures were worked and the count then proceeded on schedule. STS-70 marked the maiden flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine. Engine number 2036 featured the new high-pressure liquid oxygen turbopump, a two-duct powerhead, baffleless main injector, single-coil heat exchanger and start sequence modifications. The Block I engine flew in the number one position on Discovery. The other two engines were of the existing Phase II design.

Mission highlights

thumb|right|240px|TDRS-G in Discovery's Payload Bay.

The primary mission was the launch and deployment of the 7th Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-G) by means of the two-stage Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) solid rocket. It was built by TRW and weighs about . The satellite was ejected from Discovery's cargo bay exactly on time at 2:55&nbsp;p.m. CDT, approximately six hours into the flight. The release of the satellite was overseen by Mission Specialists Donald Thomas and Mary Ellen Weber.

About 15 minutes later, Discovery's Commander Tom Henricks fired the shuttle's engines to raise the orbit and move away from the vicinity of the satellite and the IUS.

A club membership patch from the world famous Coney Island Polar Bear Club was carried on this mission.

Landing

thumb|right|240px|Discovery touches down at KSC

Landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:54&nbsp;am EDT and 9:31&nbsp;am July 21, 1995, were waved off due to a buildup of ground fog over the Shuttle Landing Facility. Flight Director Rich Jackson directed the five STS-70 astronauts to remain aloft for another day after poor visibility prevented Discoverys homecoming on the two consecutive landing opportunities. Discovery's astronauts were informed that their landing had been waved off for the day at 7:10am CDT after astronaut Steve Oswald, flying weather reconnaissance in a Shuttle Training Aircraft over the landing strip, reported that he could not see the three-mile-long runway from his vantage point.

STS-70 landed at the Kennedy Space Center on July 22, 1995, at 8:02&nbsp;a.m. EDT on Runway 33. Nose gear touchdown occurred at 8:02:11&nbsp;am EDT (Mission Elapsed Time of 8 days 22 hours 20 minutes and 16 seconds) with wheels stop at 8:02:57&nbsp;am (MET of 8 d 22 h 21 min 2 s). An earlier KSC landing opportunity at 6:26&nbsp;am EDT was waved off due to marginal yet improving weather conditions at KSC.

<gallery>

Image:TDRS-G at KSC.jpg|TDRS-G satellite.

Image:STS-70 Mating - GPN-2000-000976.jpg|Discovery being lowered into position to be mated with its External Fuel tank.

Image:STS-70 Rollout - GPN-2000-000974.jpg|STS-70 Rollout on its Crawler Transporter with Mobile Launcher Platform to Launch Pad 39B

Image:Space Shuttle STS-70 Launch DSC00001.jpg|Space Shuttle Discovery STS-70 Launch. Taken with one of the first digital cameras: a Nikon E2.

Image:STS070-701-070 Moonrise.jpg|Moonrise viewed from the orbiter.

Image:STS070-386-027 Thruster.jpg|Thruster firing photographed in support of WINDEX experiment.

Image:STS070-705-094.jpg|Dune fields in Algeria.

Image:S070 TDRSG3.jpg|TDRS moving away following deployment.

Image:STS070-372-004 Crest.jpg|Toothbrush and tube of toothpaste floating in microgravity.

</gallery>

See also

  • List of human spaceflights
  • List of Space Shuttle missions
  • Outline of space science
  • Space Shuttle

Notes

  • NASA mission summary
  • STS-70 Video Highlights