Period : Final Space Shuttle flight, denoting the end of the space age. Primary payload was the Raffaello MultiPurpose Logistics Module delivering consumables and spare parts to the station sufficient to support the six crew members through the end of should delays occur in NASA's commercial robotic resupply program. Main crew task while docked with the station was to unload Rafaello and return of the station's failed coolant Pump Module for analysis. Atlantis undocked on 19 July at GMT.
Crew : Fossum , Garan. EVA Duration : 0. Final EVA from a shuttle. The astronauts moved a failed pump module to the shuttle bay, and deployed several experiments on the outside of the ISS.. Credit: NASA photo.
Civil astronauts Missions Soyuz. Jorge L. Abstract: Bridgewater-Raritan School District students investigated a possible solution to bone loss in space. The experiment consists of using human growth hormone to help grow mouse osteoblasts in DMEM, a type of agar solution. Students collaborated with scientists from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ and found that upon return to earth several bone cells could be resuscitated with oxygen and fresh nutrients.
These results are consistent with previous experiments conducted by NASA. Additional modifications had to be made to accommodate the Pump Module Assembly PMA which included removing the aft winch, the wireless video antenna, and all handrails in the aft bulkhead of the space shuttle cargo bay. This will be first time that a pump module has been carried on an LMC. NASA 's Robotic Refueling Mission RRM is an external International Space Station experiment designed to demonstrate and test the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel and repair satellites in space, especially satellites that were not designed to be serviced.
It is expected to reduce risks and lay the foundation for future robotic servicing missions. RRM also marks the first use of Dextre beyond the planned maintenance of the space station for technology research and development. The ELC will provide command, telemetry and power support for the experiment. Hubert, Quebec.
Once the RRM module is securely mounted to the space station's ELC -4 platform, mission controllers will direct the Dextre robot, the space station's Canadian, twin-armed "handyman", to retrieve RRM tools from the module and perform a full set of refueling tasks. Dextre will use the RRM tools to cut and manipulate protective blankets and wires, unscrew caps and access valves, transfer fluid, and leave a new fuel cap in place.
At one stage of the mission, Dextre will use RRM tools to open up a fuel valve, similar to those commonly used on satellites today, and transfer liquid ethanol across a robotically mated interface via a sophisticated robotic fueling hose.
Each task will be performed using the components and activity boards contained within and covering the exterior of the RRM module. The experiment will also demonstrate general space robotic repair and servicing operations. Completing the demonstration will validate the tool designs complemented with cameras , the fuel pumping system, and robotic task planning, all of which will be used during the design of a potential future refueling spacecraft. The station has two independent cooling loops.
The external loops use an ammonia-based coolant and the internal loops use a water-based coolant. At the heart of the ATCS is the Pump Module, which provides circulation, loop pressurization, and temperature control of the ammonia.
The PM pumps the ammonia through the external system to provide cooling. Heat is generated by the electronic boxes throughout the station and eventually rejected into space via the radiators. The accumulator within the PM works in concert with the Ammonia Tank Assembly ATA accumulators to compensate for expansion and contraction of ammonia caused by the temperature changes and keeps the ammonia in the liquid phase via a fixed charge of pressurized nitrogen gas on the backside of its bellows.
On this mission, the PM is being returned for further analysis and investigation of the failure that occurred on July 31, A new PM was installed on August 16, , and has been performing well. The failed PM will undergo extensive testing and evaluation in Houston. The current theory for the cause of the failure is an electrical issue within the PCVP unit. After the root cause is determined to be either systemic to the PM or specific to this unit, NASA will determine the follow-on actions, if any.
The space station has three spare pump modules in orbit. Only four astronauts were assigned to this mission, versus the normal six or seven, because there were no other shuttles available for a rescue following the retirement of Discovery and Endeavour.
If the shuttle was seriously damaged in orbit, the crew would have moved into the International Space Station and returned in Russian Soyuz capsules, one at a time, over the course of a year.
All STS crew members were custom-fitted for a Russian Sokol space suit and molded Soyuz seat liner for this possibility. The reduced crew size also allowed the mission to maximize the payload carried to the ISS. It was the only time that a Shuttle crew of four flew to the ISS.
The last shuttle mission to fly with just four crew members occurred 28 years earlier: STS-6 on April 04, aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. At T seconds, just before Atlantis's computers were supposed to take control of the flight, the launch countdown clock stopped. This was because of a lack of an indication that the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm had retracted and properly latched, a problem that had never occurred during previous launches in the program's history.
Soon the launch team was able to verify the Vent Arm's position with the help of a closed-circuit camera, and the countdown clock resumed. The main objective of the flight day 2 was to inspect Atlantis's thermal protection system, using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System OBSS to look for any signs of launch damage.
After raising out the arm-boom assembly, the crew activated the camera and laser sensor package on the boom to first scan the starboard wing. The nose cap was surveyed next followed by the port wing. The gathered visual and electronic data were downlinked during numerous Ku band communication opportunities to the ground. With imagery on their hand, experts began to review the data. The heat shield survey started around UTC , was wrapped about five hours later.
He worked to prepare items carried into orbit there for transfer to the space station.
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