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72-565: STS-119 ( ISS assembly flight 15A) was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery during March 2009. It was Discovery's 36th flight. It delivered and assembled the fourth starboard Integrated Truss Segment (S6) , and the fourth set of solar arrays and batteries to the station. The launch took place on March 15, 2009, at 19:43 EDT. Discovery successfully landed on March 28, 2009, at 15:13 pm EDT. This mission

144-779: A band transponders. NSS 6 , launched in December 2002 and positioned at 95° East, contains only K u -band transponders with a footprint on Indonesia ( Sumatra , Java , Borneo , Celebes , Bali , Nusa Tenggara , Moluccas ). NSS 6 is intended to be replaced by SES-12 at the same location, which launched in June 2018 and carries 54 K u -band transponders. The IPSTAR 1 satellite, launched in 2004 also uses K u band footprints. Other satellites that provides K u band covers Indonesia are MEASAT-3b , JCSAT-4B , AsiaSat 5 , ST-2 , Chinasat 11, Koreasat 8/ABS-2 , SES-8 , Telkom-3S , and Nusantara Satu . Other ITU allocations have been made within

216-753: A television network's studio for editing and broadcasting . The band is split by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) into multiple segments that vary by geographical region. NBC was the first television network to uplink a majority of its affiliate feeds via K u band in 1983. Some frequencies in this radio band are employed in radar guns used by law enforcement to detect vehicles speeding, especially in Europe. Segments in most of North and South America are represented by ITU Region 2 from 11.7 to 12.2 GHz ( Local Oscillator Frequency (LOF) 10.75 to 11.25 GHz), allocated to

288-411: A 'go' to proceed with the second opportunity. Following the deorbit burn, the orbiter landed successfully at 15:13 EDT. Three spacewalks were scheduled and completed during STS-119. The cumulative time in extra-vehicular activity during the mission was 19 hours and 4 minutes. A tradition for NASA human spaceflights since the days of Gemini , is that mission crews are played a special musical track at

360-412: A cold environment, and in the event weather delayed the landing, the team evaluated the best way to preserve the samples. The team approved a revised flight plan that allows Discovery to delay hatch closure and undocking slightly, to allow the samples to be kept inside the station's freezer longer, while still protecting the landing date of March 28. Instead of closing the hatch the night before undocking,

432-613: A crew of seven. Building the complete station required more than 40 assembly flights. As of 2020, 36 Space Shuttle flights delivered ISS elements. Other assembly flights consisted of modules lifted by the Falcon 9 , Russian Proton rocket or, in the case of Pirs and Poisk , the Soyuz-U rocket. Some of the larger modules include: The space station is located in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of approximately 410 km (250 mi),

504-625: A decade. The Nauka module finally launched in July 2021 and docked to the nadir port of Zvezda module after several days of free flight followed by the Prichal which launched on 24 November 2021. There are plans to add 2 or 3 more modules that would attach to Prichal during the mid-2020s. Adding more Russian modules will help the Zvezda module greatly because Zvezda's originally installed central command computers no longer work (three ThinkPad laptops are now

576-565: A half years, until in July 2000 the Russian module Zvezda was launched by a Proton rocket, allowing a maximum crew of three astronauts or cosmonauts to be on the ISS permanently. The ISS has a pressurized volume of approximately 1,000 cubic metres (35,000 cu ft), a mass of approximately 410,000 kilograms (900,000 lb), approximately 100 kilowatts of power output, a truss 108.4 metres (356 ft) long, modules 74 metres (243 ft) long, and

648-523: A heavy rain area usually gives poor results. This problem can be solved by using an appropriate link budget when designing the wireless communication link. Higher power can overcome the loss to rain fade . Measurements of rain attenuation in Indonesia have been done for satellite communication links in Padang, Cibinong, Surabaya and Bandung. The DAH Model for rain attenuation prediction is valid for Indonesia, as

720-584: A higher powered signal from the satellite to compensate. Therefore, the K u band satellites typically require considerably more power to transmit than the C-band satellites. Another weather-caused degradation called "snow fade" is not specific to the K u band. It is due to snow or ice accumulation on a dish significantly altering its focal point. The satellite operator's Earth station antenna requires more accurate position control when operating at K u band due to its much narrower beam focus compared to C band for

792-404: A keel pin, removed and jettisoned four thermal covers, and deployed the blanket boxes that hold the solar arrays in place during launch. The spacewalk ended at 21:11 UTC, for a total time of 6 hours, 7 minutes. Initially scheduled for flight day 8, managers on the ground decided to move up the deployment of the solar arrays, following the decision that a focused inspection would not be required. It

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864-465: A similar payload attachment system on the starboard side. The port UCCAS was deployed successfully during STS-127 by releasing the stuck pin with a custom made tool. The spacewalk lasted six hours, 27 minutes. It began at 15:37 UTC and concluded at 22:04 UTC. At 17:05 UTC, all crew members aboard Discovery and the space station gathered in the station's Harmony module and spoke to the President of

936-851: A sufficient supply line of experimental equipment. As of November 2020, the crew capacity has increased to seven due to the launch of Crew Dragon by SpaceX , which can carry 4 astronauts to the ISS. Later additions included the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) in 2016, and numerous Russian components are planned as part of the in-orbit construction of OPSEK . The ISS is made up of 16 pressurized modules: six Russian modules ( Zarya , Zvezda , Poisk , Rassvet , Nauka , and Prichal ), eight US modules ( BEAM , Leonardo , Harmony , Quest , Tranquility , Unity , Cupola , and Destiny ), one Japanese module ( Kibō ) and one European module ( Columbus ). At least one Russian pressurized module ( Pirs )

1008-585: A type of orbit usually termed low Earth orbit (the actual height varies over time by several kilometers due to atmospheric drag and reboosts ). It orbits Earth in a period of about 90 minutes; by August 2007 it had completed more than 50,000 orbits since launch of Zarya on 20 November 1998. A total of 14 main pressurized modules were scheduled to be part of the ISS by its completion date in 2010. A number of smaller pressurized sections will be adjunct to them ( Soyuz spacecraft (permanently 2 as lifeboats – 6 months rotations), Progress transporters (2 or more),

1080-449: Is also less vulnerable to rain fade than the K a band frequency spectrum. There are, however, some disadvantages of the K u band system. Around 10 GHz is the absorption peak due to orientation relaxation of molecules in liquid water. Above 10 GHz, Mie scattering takes over. The effect is a noticeable degradation, commonly known as rain fade , during heavy rain (100 mm/h). This problem can be mitigated by transmitting

1152-409: Is deorbited till now. Although not permanently docked with the ISS, Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs) formed part of the ISS during some Shuttle missions. An MPLM was attached to Harmony (initially to Unity ) and was used for resupply and logistics flights. Spacecraft attached to the ISS also extend the pressurized volume. At least one Soyuz spacecraft is always docked as a 'lifeboat' and

1224-432: Is now part of the ISS's configuration. During the shuttle stand-down, construction of the ISS was halted and the science conducted aboard was limited due to the crew size of two, adding to earlier delays due to Shuttle problems and the Russian space agency's budget constraints. In March 2006, a meeting of the heads of the five participating space agencies accepted the new ISS construction schedule that planned to complete

1296-412: Is replaced every six months by a new Soyuz as part of crew rotation. Table below shows the sequence in which these components were added to the ISS. Decommissioned and deorbited Modules are shown in gray. (24 ft) (14 ft) (23 ft) (15 ft) (22 ft) The following module was built, but has not been used in future plans for the ISS as of January 2021. The ISS is credited as

1368-447: Is the ITU model. The DAH model has become an ITU recommendation since 2001 (Recommendation No. ITU-R P.618-7). This model can create a 99.7% available link so that K u -band can be applied in Indonesia. Use of the K u -band for satellite communications in tropical regions like Indonesia is becoming more frequent. Several satellites above Indonesia have K u -band transponders , and even K

1440-734: The Quest and Pirs airlocks, as well as periodically the H-II Transfer Vehicle ). The US Orbital Segment was completed in 2011 after the installation of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer during the STS-134 mission. The Russian Orbital Segment assembly has been on an indefinite hiatus since the installation of the Rassvet module in 2010 during the STS-132 mission. The Rassvet module on

1512-724: The Astra satellites. The 11.7 to 12.5 GHz segment is allocated to the BSS ( broadcasting satellite service ). Australia is part of ITU Region 3 and the Australian regulatory environment provides a class license that covers downlinking from 11.70 GHz to 12.75 GHz and uplinking from 14.0 GHz to 14.5 GHz. The ITU has categorized Indonesia as Region P, countries with very high rain precipitation. This statement has made many people unsure about using K u -band (11 – 18 GHz) in Indonesia. Using frequencies higher than 10 GHz in

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1584-402: The International Space Station (ISS) has been under way since the 1990s. Zarya , the first ISS module, was launched by a Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. The STS-88 Space Shuttle mission followed two weeks after Zarya was launched, bringing Unity , the first of three node modules, and connecting it to Zarya . This bare 2-module core of the ISS remained uncrewed for the next one and

1656-544: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . During the Mission Status briefing, Alibaruho expressed how pleased the teams on the ground were with the successful deployment of the arrays, and commended the crew on the deployment activities. Mission Management Team Chairman LeRoy Cain noted that the team was working on a revised timetable to allow critical experiment samples to return to Earth safely. The samples need to be kept in

1728-549: The Quest airlock at 16:22 UTC to begin the installation of the S6 truss segment. Once Swanson and Arnold were in position, Phillips and Wakata remotely controlled the station's robotic arm, maneuvering the truss into its final position. Swanson and Arnold then bolted the truss into place, and connected power and data cables, which allowed the ground team to begin remote activation of the segment. The two spacewalkers also removed launch locks, stowed

1800-579: The Rayleigh criterion , the diameter of a parabolic dish required to create a radiation pattern with a given angular beamwidth ( gain ) is proportional to the wavelength , and thus inversely proportional to the frequency. At 12 GHz a 1-meter dish is capable of focusing on one satellite while sufficiently rejecting the signal from another satellite only 2 degrees away. This is important because satellites in FSS (Fixed Satellite Service) service (11.7-12.2 GHz in

1872-518: The STS-114 mission of Discovery . This mission to the ISS was intended both to test new safety measures implemented since the Columbia disaster and deliver supplies to the station. Although the mission succeeded safely, it was not without risk; foam was shed by the external tank , leading NASA to announce future missions would be grounded until this issue was resolved. Between the Columbia disaster and

1944-401: The STS-114 shuttle flight took care of this problem. Many changes were made to the originally planned ISS, even before the Columbia disaster. Modules and other structures were cancelled or replaced, and the number of Shuttle flights to the ISS was reduced from previously planned numbers. However, more than 80% of the hardware intended to be part of the ISS in the late 1990s was orbited and

2016-605: The Vehicle Assembly Building on January 7, 2009. The payload of the S6 truss segment, solar arrays and batteries were delivered to Launch pad 39A on January 11. Discovery moved to the launch pad 39A on January 14, 2009. The move began at 05:17 EST, and was completed at 12:16 EST. The STS-119 crew was at Kennedy Space Center from January 19–22, 2009 for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test . On January 21–22, 2009, mission managers met for

2088-474: The Zvezda was made apparent when in October 2020 the toilet, oven, and Elektron all malfunctioned at the same time and the cosmonauts onboard had to make emergency repairs. The ISS, when completed, will consist of a set of communicating pressurized modules connected to a truss , on which four large pairs of photovoltaic modules (solar panels) are attached. The pressurized modules and the truss are perpendicular:

2160-515: The Zvezda's central command computers) and its Elektron oxygen generators are not replaceable and failed again for a short time in 2020 after multiple malfunctions throughout their history. In Russian modules all the hardware is launched with the equipment permanently installed. It is impossible to replace hardware like in the US Orbital Segment with its very wide 51 inch (105 cm) hatch openings between modules. This potential problem with

2232-622: The Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, and lubricated snares on the space station's robotic arm. They were unable to deploy the Port 3 unpressurized cargo carrier attachment system (UCCAS). They secured the UCCAS in place until engineers can evaluate the problem. Mission Control cancelled the installation of

STS-119 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-563: The FSS ( fixed satellite service ), uplink from 14.0 to 14.5 GHz. There are more than 22 FSS K u band satellites orbiting over North America, each carrying 12 to 48 transponders , 20 to 120 watts per transponder, and requiring a 0.8-m to 1.5-m antenna for clear reception. The 12.2 to 12.7 GHz (LOF 11.25 to 11.75 GHz) segment is allocated to the BSS ( broadcasting satellite service ). BSS (DBS direct broadcast satellites ) normally carry 16 to 32 transponders of 27  MHz bandwidth running at 100 to 240 watts of power, allowing

2376-481: The GUCP (Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate) which was set right leading to a successful flight. Space Shuttle Discovery launched on time at 19:43 EDT without any issues. Upon initial review of early ascent imagery, mission managers did not see anything out of the ordinary with debris at launch. "We didn't see anything at all in the first quick look," noted Bill Gerstenmaier , Associate Administrator for Space Operations, during

2448-466: The ISS by 2010. As of May 2009, a crew of six has been established following 12 Shuttle construction flights after the second "Return to Flight" mission STS-121 . Requirements for stepping up the crew size included enhanced environmental support on the ISS, a second Soyuz permanently docked on the station to function as a second 'lifeboat', more frequent Progress flights to provide double the amount of consumables, more fuel for orbit raising maneuvers, and

2520-414: The ISS right now was originally supposed to be the on-ground dynamic testing mock-up of the now-cancelled Science Power Platform . The Nauka science laboratory module contains new crew quarters, life support equipment that can produce oxygen and water, and a new galley. The Nauka was originally supposed to be delivered to the ISS in 2007 but cost overruns and quality control problems delayed it for over

2592-919: The ISS: the SpaceX Dragon , the Russian Progress, the European ATV and the Japanese HTV , and space station downmass will be carried back to Earth facilities on the Dragon. After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003, there was some uncertainty over the future of the ISS. The subsequent two and a half-year suspension of the U.S. Space Shuttle program , followed by problems with resuming flight operations in 2005, were major obstacles. The Space Shuttle program resumed flight on 26 July 2005, with

2664-466: The K u band to the fixed service (microwave towers), radio astronomy service, space research service, mobile service, mobile satellite service, radiolocation service (radar), amateur radio service , and radionavigation. However, not all of these services are actually operating in this band and others are only minor users. Compared with C-band , K u band is not similarly restricted in power to avoid interference with terrestrial microwave systems, and

2736-462: The Kennedy Space Center on March 8, 2009, to prepare for launch. The March 11, 2009, launch was scrubbed due to a leak in a liquid hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank. On March 15, 2009, the shuttle successfully lifted off from pad 39A. The leak problem manifested itself again during STS-127 which led to a thorough test. The root cause was found to be a misalignment in

2808-553: The Mission Management Team briefing, Lead ISS Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho noted that the imagery specialists with the Damage Assessment Team had completed the initial review of the launch and flight day 2 photography, and a focused inspection of the orbiter would not be required. The two crews set to work following their wake up call, preparing for the first spacewalk of the mission. Swanson and Arnold exited

2880-456: The Port 1 and Starboard 1 trusses and reconfigured connectors at a patch panel on the Zenith 1 truss that power Control Moment Gyroscopes . After struggling with a pin that kept an Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attachment System (UCCAS) from fully deploying, they tied UCCAS safely in place. The spacewalk ended at 23:21 UTC, for a time of six hours and thirty minutes. At 20:31 UTC, Discovery rotated

2952-517: The U.S.) are only 2 degrees apart. At 4 GHz (C-band) a 3-meter dish is required to achieve this narrow angular resolution. Note the inverse linear correlation between dish size and frequency. For K u satellites in DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) service (12.2-12.7 GHz in the U.S.) dishes much smaller than 1-meter can be used because those satellites are spaced 9 degrees apart. As power levels on both C and K u band satellites have increased over

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3024-663: The United States, members of the United States Congress , and students during a joint news conference. Crew members from space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station closed their respective hatches at 17:59 UTC. The Space Shuttle undocked from the International Space Station at 19:53 UTC. Antonelli used the shuttle's robotic arm to grapple the Orbiter Boom Sensor System enabling

3096-496: The antenna's actual receiving element, mounted in front of the dish (and pointed back towards its face); if the waves are more intense, fewer of them need to be collected to achieve the same intensity at the receiving element. A major attraction of the band over lower frequency microwave bands is that the shorter wavelengths allow sufficient angular resolution to separate the signals of different communication satellites to be achieved with smaller terrestrial parabolic antennas . From

3168-409: The arrays were fully deployed at 17:17 UTC. The addition of the final set of solar panels brings the station's power output to 120 kilowatts , and doubles the scientific power to 30 kilowatts. The station's surface area of the arrays is just under one acre, or 38,400 square feet. Later in the day, Fincke, Lonchakov, Wakata and Magnus participated in a media event with Reuters , Voice of America , and

3240-451: The arrays, which allowed them to warm up and prevent what the mission team calls 'stiction', or a sticky friction that happens after the arrays have been in storage for an extended period of time. The unfurling of the arrays started at 15:06 UTC, beginning with the channel 1B array. Commanding the unit from the station, Philips paused at the halfway point, and allowed the array to rest in the sun for approximately 45 minutes, and then completed

3312-404: The cameras and laser sensors to scan Discovery for signs of damage from orbital debris. The crew stowed items in the crew cabin and completed a check out the orbiter's flight control surfaces. Following the wake up call, the crew on board Discovery got to work preparing for entry. After the first landing opportunity was waved off due to high wind concerns, the team on the ground gave the crew

3384-443: The crew performed the five-hour inspection, and the images and video from the survey would be reviewed by the image analysis team on the ground. In preparation for docking with the space station on flight day three, the crew performed a checkout of the spacesuits that would be used during the mission, as well as extending the ring of the orbital docking system , and installing the docking system's centerline camera. Initial review of

3456-463: The exchange of Magnus' Soyuz seat liner for Wakata's. The swap of the seat liners marked Wakata officially joining the Expedition 18 crew as flight engineer, and Magnus became a mission specialist for STS-119. During the Mission Status briefing, Lead Flight Director Paul Dye commended Archambault on a picture perfect docking. Dye said that no major issues or anomalies were being tracked, but noted that

3528-422: The extension. After successfully extending the 1B array, the astronauts started the 3B array extension at 16:35 UTC. The 3B array was expected to be more difficult to extend, as it had been packed in the blanket box for eight years. As with the first, a pause at halfway was performed to allow the arrays to heat up in the sun. While some stiction was seen, once the final extension began all the slats flattened out, and

3600-505: The external tank as the shuttle lifted off. It was probably shaken off and incinerated by the rocket exhaust. A bat doctor, analyzing pictures, believed the bat had a broken wing which made it unable to fly off. Following the crew's wakeup call, the members of STS-119 set to work on the day's task of inspecting Discovery's thermal protection system . Using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS),

3672-460: The flight ascent imagery indicated no major problems with foam loss or debris strikes to the orbiter. During the day's Mission Management Team briefing, chairman LeRoy Cain noted that the launch was "picture perfect" and the orbiter was in excellent condition. Cain also noted that after an initial review of the telemetry from the launch, the hydrogen flow control valves performed as expected, with no issues seen. The crew of Discovery got to work in

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3744-459: The flow of gaseous hydrogen between the external fuel tank and the main engines , creating an even flow. Following the testing of the valves, mission managers decided to postpone the launch, and engineers were asked to replace the suspect flow valves with valves that had less flight time. Following the replacement of the valves, the Mission Management Team gave the approval for launch, and scheduled it for March 11, 2009. The astronauts arrived at

3816-420: The hatch would be closed on the same day, flight day eleven. It was a truly fantastic day in space. The International Space Station team and its partnerships are on cloud nine with the completion of the integrated truss assembly, as well as the finalization of our electrical power grid on the space station. It took years to get here. We had some struggles along the way, but it's a major accomplishment for NASA and

3888-465: The image analysis team was still working on ascent imagery, and would be reviewing the RPM imagery before making a decision as to whether Discovery would require a focused inspection. Following the crew's post-sleep activities, the two crews set to work preparing for the next day's spacewalk, by moving the S6 truss out of Discovery 's payload bay. Due to clearance restrictions, the station's robotic arm

3960-399: The imagery taken of the external tank separation. During the countdown a bat was seen to be resting on the external tank. What was originally believed to be a fruit bat was revealed to have been a free-tailed bat that clung onto the fuel tank during the launch. NASA observers had believed the bat would fly off once the shuttle started to launch, but it did not, and continued to remain on

4032-468: The installation point. The shuttle's robotic arm then handed the truss back to the station's arm, where it remained overnight. The crews took part in a media event with Channel One News, and performed a review of the procedures for the first EVA. Mission Specialists Swanson and Arnold spent the night in the Quest airlock camping out in a reduced-nitrogen atmosphere, a standard procedure designed for spacewalkers to prevent decompression symptoms. During

4104-466: The morning preparing for rendezvous and docking with the space station. After performing the rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM) to allow the Expedition 18 crew to photograph the underside of the orbiter, Discovery successfully docked with the station at 21:20 UTC. Following hatch leak checks, the hatches were opened at 23:09 UTC. After greeting each other, the crews had a mandatory station safety briefing, and then set to work with initial transfers, including

4176-635: The most expensive item ever built, costing around $ 150 billion (USD), making it more expensive than Skylab (costing US$ 2.2 billion) and Mir (US$ 4.2 billion). Ku band K u band is primarily used for satellite communications , most notably the downlink used by direct broadcast satellites to broadcast satellite television , and for specific applications such as NASA 's Tracking Data Relay Satellite used for International Space Station (ISS) communications and SpaceX Starlink satellites. K u band satellites are also used for backhauls and particularly for satellite from remote locations back to

4248-517: The partnership team. Swanson and Acaba began the second spacewalk at 16:51 UTC. They loosened bolts, installed foot restraints and prepared tools so that the STS-127 spacewalkers could more easily change out the Port 6 truss batteries later this year. On the Japanese Kibo laboratory they installed a second Global Positioning Satellite antenna. They photographed areas of radiator panels extended from

4320-521: The post-launch news conference. "I've seen a lot of launches," commented Launch Director Michael D. Leinbach during the conference, "and this was the most visibly beautiful launch I've ever seen." After reaching orbit, the STS-119 crew got to work on their orbit operations, opening the payload bay doors, deploying the Ku band antenna, and activating and checking out the shuttle's robotic arm . The crew also downlinked

4392-412: The power of its uplinks and downlinks can be increased. This higher power also translates into smaller receiving dishes and points out a generalization between a satellite's transmission and a dish's size. As the power increases, the size of an antenna's dish will decrease. This is because the purpose of the dish element of the antenna is to collect the incident waves over an area and focus them all onto

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4464-490: The program level Flight Readiness Review (FRR). Following the FRR, mission managers recommended evaluating the hydrogen flow control valves on Discovery , and set a new target launch date of February 19, 2009. Due to the breakage of one of three flow control valves on the previous flight, STS-126 , the flow valves of all orbiters were subjected to tests to determine if Discovery was safe to fly. These valves are used to synchronize

4536-506: The resumption of Shuttle launches, crew exchanges were carried out solely using the Russian Soyuz spacecraft . Starting with Expedition 7 , two-astronaut caretaker crews were launched in contrast to the previously launched crews of three. Because the ISS had not been visited by a shuttle for an extended period, a larger than planned amount of waste accumulated, temporarily hindering station operations in 2004. However Progress transports and

4608-560: The shuttle-station complex 180 degrees, to avoid a piece of orbital debris. At 23:23, Discovery began rotating the station back to normal attitude, with the shuttle in 'back'. Fincke continued to work on the Urine Processor Assembly, while Acaba and Arnold entered the Quest Airlock to prepare for the mission's third spacewalk. Acaba and Arnold completed the mission's third spacewalk. They helped robotic arm operators relocate

4680-581: The start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen, often by their family, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Assembly of the International Space Station The process of assembling

4752-544: The truss spanning from starboard to port and the habitable zone extending on the aft -forward axis. Although during the construction the station attitude may vary, when all four photovoltaic modules are in their definitive position the aft-forward axis will be parallel to the velocity vector. In addition to the assembly and utilization flights, approximately 30 Progress spacecraft flights are required to provide logistics until 2010. Experimental equipment, fuel and consumables are and will be delivered by all vehicles visiting

4824-454: The use of receiver antennas as small as 18 inches (450 mm). Segments in those regions are represented by ITU Region 1, and they are the 11.45 to 11.7 and 12.5 to 12.75 GHz bands are allocated to the FSS ( fixed satellite service , uplink 14.0 to 14.5 GHz). In Europe K u band is used from 10.7 to 12.75 GHz (LOF Low 9.75 GHz, LOF High 10.6 GHz) for direct broadcast satellite services such as those carried by

4896-403: The years, dish beam-width has become much more critical than gain. The K u band also offers a user more flexibility. A smaller dish size and a K u band system's freedom from terrestrial operations simplifies finding a suitable dish site. For the end users K u band is generally cheaper and enables smaller antennas (both because of the higher frequency and a more focused beam). K u band

4968-500: Was also used for the "Boundary Layer Transition Detailed Test Objective" experiment. One tile of the thermal protection system was raised 0.25 inches (6.4 mm) above the others so that, at about Mach 15 during reentry, a boundary layer transition would be initiated. This experiment was repeated during STS-128 with the tile raised to 0.35 inches (8.9 mm), tripping at Mach 18 to produce more heat. Space Shuttle Discovery moved from its Orbiter Processing Facility to

5040-436: Was decided that the deployment of the arrays would be performed on flight day 6, prior to the mission's second spacewalk, in case any issues arose that required a spacewalk to resolve. As part of the re-planning for the mission, the crews set to work in the morning deploying the solar wings on the S6 truss. To prepare for the extension of the arrays, the station was maneuvered into a position that allowed constant sunlight to hit

5112-407: Was not able to perform the move by itself, so a series of 'handoffs' were performed to prepare the truss for installation. Phillips and Magnus controlled the station's arm, grappled the truss and moved it into a position where the shuttle's robotic arm , operated by Antonelli, could take possession. The station arm was then moved along the mobile base to a work site on the far right side, closer to

5184-718: Was originally scheduled to bring the Expedition 9 crew to the ISS. This crew would have consisted of: STS-119 delivered the S6 solar arrays to the space station , completing the construction of the Integrated Truss Structure . STS-119 also carried several experiments, including the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local EXhaust (SIMPLEX), Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments (SEITE), and Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric Injections (MAUI). STS-119

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