STS-96

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-96
insignia = Sts-96-patch.svg
shuttle = Discovery
launch_pad = 39-B
launch = May 27, 1999 6:49 a.m. EDT
landing = June 6, 1999 2:02:43 a.m. EDT, KSC, Runway 15
duration = 9 days, 19 hours, 13 minutes, 57 seconds
altitude = 173 nautical miles (320 km)
inclination = 51.6 degrees
distance = 6 million km
crew_photo = STS-96_crew.jpg
crew_caption =
previous = STS-88
next = STS-93

STS-96 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle " Discovery", and the first shuttle flight to dock with the International Space Station. The shuttle carried the Spacehab module in the payload, filled with cargo for station outfitting. STS-96 launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, May 27, 1999.

Crew

*Kent V. Rominger (4), Commander
*Rick D. Husband (1), Pilot
*Ellen Ochoa (3), Mission Specialist 2
*Tamara E. Jernigan (5), Mission Specialist 1
*Daniel T. Barry (2), Mission Specialist 3
*Julie Payette (1), Mission Specialist 4 - flag|Canada CSA
*Valery I. Tokarev (1), Mission Specialist 5 - flag|Russia

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter Liftoff:" 118,859 kg
**"Orbiter Landing:" 220,980 kg
**"Payload:" 9,097 kg
*Perigee: 326 km
*Apogee: 340 km
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 91.2 min

Docking with ISS

*Docked: May 29, 1999, 04:23:55 UTC
*Undocked: June 3, 1999, 22:39:00 UTC
*Time Docked: 5 days, 18 h, 15 min, 5 s

pace walk

*" Jernigan and Barry " - EVA 1
*EVA 1 Start: May 30, 1999 - 02:56 UTC
*EVA 1 End: May 30, - 10:51 UTC
*Duration: 7 hours, 55 minutes

Mission highlights

STS-96 was a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station.

The Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) carried the Russian cargo crane, known as STRELA, which was mounted to the exterior of the Russian station segment, the SPACEHAB Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS) and a U.S. built crane called the ORU Transfer Device (OTD).

Other payloads on STS-96 were the Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Equipment (STARSHINE), the Shuttle Vibration Forces Experiment (SVF) and the Orbiter Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring - HEDS Technology Demonstration (IVHM HTD).

The STARSHINE satellite consists of an inert, 19 inch (483 mm) hollow sphere covered by 1,000 evenly-distributed, flat, polished mirrors, each 1 inch in diameter. The payload consists of the STARSHINE satellite, integrated with the Pallet Ejection System (PES), then mounted inside a lidless carrier. The HH equipment consists of one HH Lightweight Avionics Plate (LAP), then mounted inside a lidless carrier. Additional HH equipment consists of one Hitchhiker Ejection System Electronics (HESE), one 5.0 cubic-foot (142 L) HH canister, and one Adapter Beam Assembly (ABA). The purpose of the mission was to train international student volunteer observers to visually track this optically reflective spacecraft during morning and evening twilight intervals for several months, calculate its orbit from shared observations, and derive atmospheric density from drag-induced changes in its orbit over time.The Shuttle Vibration Forces (SVF) Experiment provided flight measurements of the vibratory forces acting between an aerospace payload and its mounting structure. The force transducers were incorporated into four custom brackets which replaced the existing brackets used to attach the 5 ft (1.5 m) standard canister to the side wall GAS adapter beam. The payload was activated automatically by the Orbiter Lift-off vibration and operated for approximately 100 seconds. STS-96 was the second flight of the SVF experiment.

The purpose of the Orbiter Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring- HEDS Technology Demonstration (IVHM HTD) was to demonstrate competing modern, off-the-shelf sensing technologies in an operational environment to make informed design decisions for the eventual Orbiter upgrade IVHM. The objective of IVHM was to reduce planned ground processing, streamline problem troubleshooting (unplanned ground processing), enhance visibility into systems operation and improve overall vehicle safety.

Daniel T. Barry, who enjoys playing the popular computer game StarCraft, brought along a copy of the game during the mission. The game now resides at Blizzard’s home office after having orbited the Earth 153 times and travelling 3.5 million nautical miles. [http://www.blizzard.com/starcraft/sis/]

ee also

*Space science
*Space shuttle
*List of space shuttle missions
*List of human spaceflights chronologically
*List of ISS spacewalks
*List of spacewalks

External links

* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-96/mission-sts-96.html NASA mission summary]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle94.htm STS-96 Video Highlights]