143-600: STS-128 ( ISS assembly flight 17A ) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that launched on August 28, 2009. Space Shuttle Discovery carried the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo as its primary payload. It was Discovery's 37th flight. Leonardo contained a collection of experiments for studying the physics and chemistry of microgravity . Three spacewalks were carried out during
286-494: A Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) with Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA). The new ammonia tank replaced an empty tank during an EVA. The shuttle flew the first test flight of the TriDAR , a 3D dual-sensing laser camera, intended for potential use as an autonomous rendezvous and docking sensor. The TriDAR successfully tracked the ISS position and orientation from
429-613: 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),
572-419: A debris event was recorded on the orbiter's wing leading edge sensors, but it was far below the force that would indicate a problem, and would not impact the mission. The late inspection that is routinely performed prior to re-entry would give any additional information, but Cain stated "We're not concerned that it's done any kind of damage that would be any concern to us, certainly not critical damage." During
715-625: 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
858-479: A decision outside the transparency process against the wishes of the science community, and stated she would work to reverse the decision. In response to the criticism, O'Keefe said that he would review his decision to cancel the servicing mission. In March 2004, Representative Mark Udall introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that requested an independent panel of experts review O'Keefe's decision to cancel
1001-682: A fly around of the ISS. The Space Shuttle then performed two separation burns using its thrusters. After the separation burns, astronauts Kevin Ford , José M. Hernández , and Christer Fuglesang used the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to inspect the shuttle's Thermal Protection System (TPS). When they completed that task, the OBSS was berthed on the starboard sill of the payload bay and the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS)
1144-519: 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
1287-538: A shuttle to repair Hubble. As an engineer, Griffin had previously worked on Hubble's construction, and respected the discoveries the telescope brought to the science community. He agreed with the National Academy of Sciences that a robotic mission was not feasible, and said that in light of the "Return to Flight" changes made following the Columbia accident, a shuttle mission to repair Hubble should be reassessed. After
1430-444: A soft-capture mechanism that would aid in the safe de-orbiting of the telescope by a robotic spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan. The mission also carried an IMAX camera with which the crew documented the progress of the mission for the 2010 IMAX film Hubble . The crew of STS-125 included three astronauts who had previous experience servicing Hubble. Scott Altman visited Hubble in 2002 as commander of STS-109 ,
1573-483: A spacecraft to be sent to the telescope to assist in its safe de-orbit at the end of its life. It is a circular mechanism containing structures and targets to aid docking. The infrastructure of the telescope was upgraded by replacing a "Fine Guidance Sensor" that controls the telescope's directional system, installing a set of six new gyroscopes , replacing batteries, and installing a new outer blanket layer to provide improved insulation. The payload bay elements were
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#17328580645411716-423: A stripped bolt on the bottom, preventing it from being released. After trying multiple options without success, managers on the ground advised Massimino to use brute force to remove the handrail, so he could proceed with the removal of the cover plate. The procedure was tested at Goddard Space Flight Center prior to approving it, showing that the stripped bolt could be broken off safely using force. Working inside
1859-851: 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 )
2002-637: A two part flexible seal. Discovery later rolled out from the VAB to Launch Complex 39A on August 4, 2009, in a slow drive on the top of the Crawler-transporter . The 3.4-mile (5.5 km) rollout began at 02:07 EDT, and ended with the launch platform secured in place at about 13:50 EDT. The move took longer than expected due to adverse weather conditions, which included lightning warnings. The crawler also had to pause occasionally so mud could be removed from its treads and bearings. Technicians then quickly prepared
2145-585: 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),
2288-596: A wide variety of data. The mission marked: Discovery rolled out from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building after the external tank was cleared for use and was mated with it. The foam insulation on the tank underwent stringent pull tests after the foam liberated and hit the orbiter during STS-127. The STS-128's tank initially exhibited no concerns while the STS-127 case
2431-409: 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
2574-432: 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
2717-412: 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
2860-583: The Columbia Accident Investigation Board . During the announcement, O'Keefe stated that it was his decision alone, and not a recommendation from any other departments. The decision was widely criticized by the media, the science community, and those in NASA. Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski , a member of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NASA's budget, publicly accused O'Keefe of making
3003-734: 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
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#17328580645413146-470: The Fine Guidance Sensor number three, and worked so efficiently that they were over an hour ahead of the timeline, giving them time to remove degraded insulation panels from three bays of the telescope, and install three New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBLs). Beginning the spacewalk at 12:20 UTC, the pair first worked on removing an aging battery module, and replaced it with a new pack, which combined with
3289-591: The Gemini program , which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15 . Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, 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 . ISS assembly sequence The process of assembling
3432-402: 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
3575-668: The Kennedy Space Center for the Crew Equipment Interface Test in early July 2008. This allowed the STS-125 crew to get familiar with the orbiter and the hardware they would be using during the flight. On August 22, 2008, after a delay following Tropical Storm Fay , Atlantis was rolled from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building , where it was mated to the external fuel tank and solid rocket booster stack. Problems were encountered during
3718-482: The Light Microscopy Module (LMM) will examine how an ideal heat pipe works without the distortions of gravity. The STS-128 mission (as did STS-125 and STS-127 ) took part in crew seat vibration tests designed to help engineers on the ground understand how astronauts experience launch. They will use the information to help design the crew seats that will be used in future NASA spacecraft. STS-128 repeated
3861-401: The Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), the crew went through a detailed inspection of the orbiter's thermal protection system (TPS) tile and Reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) surfaces. During the inspection, engineers on the ground noticed a small area of tile on the forward area of the shuttle's right wing that appeared to have suffered some damage during ascent. Mission managers called up to
4004-468: 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
4147-401: 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
4290-635: The Starboard 3 (S3) Payload Attach System (PAS), a new Rate Gyro Assembly (RGA) 2, and routing of Node 3 Avionics cables. The joint crew also completed more transfer, mostly transfer for return to Earth in the MPLM and Space Shuttle mid-deck. The ISS crew also replaced a bolt on the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) so that the MPLM won't get stuck, and also to ensure correct capture of the HTV . Flight day 10 saw
4433-474: 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:
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4576-515: 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
4719-529: The loss of Columbia in 2003, in which the orbiter disintegrated on re-entry into the atmosphere, had negative effects on the Hubble program as well as other NASA missions. On January 16, then-NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe canceled the mission, as well as any future missions to Hubble, citing them as too risky, that all future shuttle missions would dock with International Space Station if an in-flight problem were to develop, as well as safety constraints imposed by
4862-463: The record book of spacewalking time. During the previous day's mission status briefing, Dave Leckrone, Hubble Space Telescope Senior Project Scientist, made a prediction, joking that since the first two spacewalks, which were considered to be straightforward, had run into issues, the most difficult EVA – to repair the ACS, would be the smoothest one of the mission. "I have a prediction, We've always said EVA 3
5005-463: The ATA was installed, the tank was integrated into the cooling loop. While Olivas and Fuglesang were outside, the rest of the crew continued on transferring items to and from both the shuttle mid-deck and MPLM . The first part of the crew day was spent off duty. The crews enjoyed a meal, took a crew photo and took part in a PAO event. More transfer was completed by both crews. The space station crew calibrated
5148-498: The Boundary Layer Transition (BLT) Detailed Test Objective (DTO) experiment that was done by the same shuttle during STS-119 . In this experiment, one of the thermal protection systems was raised to create a boundary layer transition in which the air flow becomes turbulent beyond a certain speed. During STS-119 the tile was raised 0.25 inches (6.4 mm) above the others, tripping the flow at Mach 15 during reentry. In
5291-542: The EVA with some help from Tim Kopra. Later, during the night, when the crews were asleep, the team of ground controllers vented the Port 1 (P1) Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA) Nitrogen Vent lines in preparation for the ATA to be removed during EVA 1. EVA 1 was performed, and saw the removal of the empty Ammonia Tank Assembly, and the removal and stowage of the EuTef and MISSE 6 experiments. While
5434-573: The Earth's shadow and its solar arrays are not exposed to the sun. The spacewalk officially ended at 20:45 UTC, for a time of seven hours, fifty-six minutes. It was the twentieth spacewalk to service Hubble, bringing the total time in EVA servicing the telescope to one hundred forty-four hours and twenty-six minutes. During the mission status briefing, Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, the Lead EVA Officer, and Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch both explained that
5577-476: The Hubble Space Telescope failed. Because of its importance to the telescope, NASA postponed the launch of STS-125 on September 29 until 2009 so the failed unit could be replaced as well. Atlantis was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building on October 20. On October 30, 2008, NASA announced that Atlantis would be removed from its solid rocket boosters and external tank stack and sent back to
5720-466: 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
5863-414: 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
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6006-919: 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
6149-532: The Mission Status briefing, Lead Flight Director Tony Ceccacci noted that during the camera survey of the equipment in the payload bay, the team noticed some fine particulate matter around the box containing the Wide Field Camera 3 and asked the crew to take additional images using a higher resolution camera for the ground teams to assess. Cain later confirmed that the dust was not present prior to launch, and
6292-623: The Orbiter Processing Facility to await a targeted launch time at 1:11 pm EDT on May 12, 2009. The stack was turned over to be used on the STS-119 mission instead. On March 23, Atlantis was mated to its new stack in the Vehicle Assembly Building, and rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on March 31. On April 24, 2009, NASA managers issued a request to move the STS-125 launch up one day to May 11 at 2:01 pm EDT. The change
6435-694: The Oxygen Generation System (OGS) H2 sensor. Timothy Kopra and Nicole Stott continued their hand over activities, helping Stott who is taking over from Kopra. Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang got their space suits ready for the third and final space walk. The pair spent the night in the Quest Joint Airlock , at a lower pressure of 10.2 psi instead of 14.7 psi. During flight day 9, Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang performed EVA 3. The pair completed all tasks that were to be done, including installing two GPS antennas and deploying
6578-516: The Space Telescope Operations Control Center at Goddard Space Flight Center sent commands to the camera to perform an aliveness test, which passed, indicating the camera was installed correctly. The next task was to remove and replace the telescope's Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit, or SIC&DH, a computer that sends commands to Hubble's science instruments, and formats science data for transmission to
6721-857: The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier (SLIC) which held the Wide Field Camera 3, new batteries, and a radiator; the ORU Carrier which stored the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and FGS-3R instruments; the Flight Support Structure (FSS) which held onto the Hubble during repairs; the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment Carrier (MULE) which held support equipment and the Relative Navigation Sensor (RNS) Experiment. Along with
6864-455: The University of Chicago. Michael Massimino flew a 1964 reprint of Galileo 's Sidereus Nuncius from the library of his alma mater, MIT . At the end of September 2007, Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX Corporation announced that in cooperation with NASA, an IMAX 3D camera would travel to the Hubble telescope in the payload bay of Atlantis for production of a new film that will chronicle
7007-408: The adventure of a lifetime has begun!". The mission marked: STS-125 was first assigned to Discovery with a launch date no earlier than May 2008. This originally moved the mission ahead of STS-119 , ISS Assembly flight 15. Delays to several shuttle missions resulted in a change in mission ordering, and the orbiter was changed to Atlantis on January 8, 2007. The crew of Atlantis went to
7150-580: The air lock at a lower pressure to help get ready for EVA 2 on flight day 7. On flight day 7, Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang performed the second spacewalk of the STS-128 mission. Olivas and Fuglesang installed and connected the new Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA), and also performed two get aheads. The get ahead tasks included installing protective lens covers on the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) End B cameras . Once
7293-510: The assistance of their EVA counterparts, Massimino and Good, and the spacewalk officially began when the two switched their suits to battery power at 12:52 UTC. At the start of the spacewalk, Feustel provided managers on the ground with a visual inspection report on the particulate matter seen earlier around the WFC3 box, reporting to the ground team that "I don't really see any of those particles...It's almost imperceivable. I can see some few particles on
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#17328580645417436-456: The battery in one of his power tools failed. Massimino was instructed to return to the orbiter's airlock to retrieve a spare tool and to recharge his suit's oxygen reserves, to allow for completion of the STIS repair. The rest of the STIS repair work was completed without any problems, but the spacewalkers were nearly two hours behind the scheduled timeline, so managers on the ground decided to postpone
7579-473: The battery replacement performed during the second spacewalk, gave the telescope all new nickel-hydrogen batteries. They then moved on to the removal and replacement of the Fine Guidance Sensor unit number three, improving Hubble's focus and stability when imaging. NASA engineers liken the new FGS to being able to keep a laser beam focused on a U.S. dime coin that is 320 km (199 mi) away. Both
7722-411: The bolts from the old camera, which after over fifteen years in space required more torque to remove than expected. After multiple attempts, managers on the ground decided to have Grunsfeld get a contingency torque limiter from the airlock, which would allow Feustel to apply more force without exceeding a specific point, but the bolt would still not release. The concern was that the bolt would shear, and
7865-409: The camera would be unable to be removed should that happen. Finally, managers approved Feustel to remove the limiter, and apply as much force as he safely thought it would take to release the bolt, which was successful. The new camera has allowed Hubble to take large-scale, extremely clear and detailed photos over a wider range of colors than the old camera did. After the installation, controllers at
8008-417: The cancellation of the mission. A veteran astronaut of four shuttle missions, including two Hubble servicing missions, Grunsfeld had devoted years to Hubble, and was very disappointed when O'Keefe canceled the mission. He briefly considered retiring from NASA, but realized if he stayed, he could continue to advance physics in other ways. Instead, Grunsfeld dedicated himself to finding alternate ways to service
8151-645: The collectible items that are flown on shuttle missions, such as mission patches, flags, and other personal items for the crew, were an official Harlem Globetrotters basketball and a basketball that Edwin Hubble used in 1909 when he played for the University of Chicago . After being returned to Earth, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball would be placed in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , and Hubble's ball would be returned to
8294-415: The crew that would fly the mission, which included Grunsfeld. Senator Mikulski expressed her delight at the news, stating "The Hubble telescope has been the greatest telescope since Galileo invented the first one. It has gone to look at places in the universe that we didn't know existed before." New Yorker and dedicated New York Mets fan, Mike Massimino, brought the home plate from Shea Stadium along on
8437-427: The crew to alert them of the find, advising Altman ("Scooter") that one of the orbiter's wing leading edge sensors recorded a debris event during ascent, around 104 – 106 seconds following liftoff, which may have been the cause of the damage seen in that area. CAPCOM Dan Burbank advised the crew that the damage did not initially appear to be serious, but assured the crew that the image analysis team would be reviewing
8580-590: The crew used the SRMS to grapple the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) and survey the wing leading edges, nose and other parts of the Thermal Protection System (TPS), as well as the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) Pods. During this time some of the crew were preparing the space suits that will be used during the 3 Extra-vehicular activities (EVA) and setting up the tools that will be used during
8723-457: The day two inspection. Following the analysis of the survey, the managers cleared all of the TPS systems until the pre-landing inspection. The mission's second spacewalk officially began at 12:49 UTC, and the pair set to work removing and replacing the telescope's three gyroscope rate sensing units (RSUs). Each unit contains two gyroscopes that allow the telescope to point itself. The first unit, RSU 2,
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#17328580645418866-747: The docking. This includes installing the Centerline Camera and extending the Orbiter Docking system Ring Extension. Discovery docked with the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) 2 on the front of the Harmony connecting module. Before the shuttle docked, Commander Rick Sturckow performed what is known as the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver while Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt took photos of
9009-604: The doors were opened the crew deployed the Ku-band antenna and activated the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS). Once the Ku-band antenna was deployed and activated, the crew then down-linked photos from the External Tank Umbilical Well Camera system, so controllers on the ground could see how the tank performed and how much if any foam was shed during ascent. During Discovery ' s first full day on orbit,
9152-594: The enhancements recommended by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board , making it impossible for them to produce two tanks for the STS-125 mission–one for Atlantis , and one for Endeavour for an emergency rescue mission , if necessary–in time for the original August launch date. The first rollout to Launch Pad 39A occurred on September 4, 2008. On September 27, the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SIC&DH) Unit on
9295-571: The final EVA was also the last planned spacewalk from a shuttle airlock. In what was likely his last EVA, Grunsfeld's has accumulated fifty-eight hours and thirty minutes spacewalking, just two minutes less than Jerry L. Ross , who is third on the list of spacewalking time. The completion of all the major objectives, as well as some that were not considered vital, upgraded the telescope to its most technologically advanced state since its launch nineteen years ago, and made it more powerful than ever. The upgrades will also help Hubble to see deeper into
9438-405: The fix was designed to "back power" the high-resolution channel through the paths connected to the wide-field channel, and while feasible, it was a possibility that the short circuit damage was in an area not corrected with the planned repair. Even if the high-resolution channel is unable to be restored, it was considered to be less important, since the bulk of the ACS science output is undertaken by
9581-399: The fourth Hubble servicing mission. John Grunsfeld , an astronomer , has serviced Hubble twice, performing a total of five spacewalks on STS-103 in 1999 and STS-109 . Michael Massimino served with both Altman and Grunsfeld on STS-109, and performed two spacewalks to service the telescope. NASA managers and engineers declared the mission a complete success. The completion of all
9724-403: The front of the W-SIPE, little, whitish, grey looking, real small. It's low density, too." After getting their tools and equipment for the EVA set up, Grunsfeld and Feustel removed the old Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 , which was installed in 1993 during the telescope's first servicing mission, and replaced it with the new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Feustel initially had trouble removing
9867-411: The future to dock with the telescope, and to safely de-orbit the telescope at the end of its life. Feustel also installed two of four Latch Over Center Kits, or LOCKs, that make opening and closing Hubble's large access doors easier for the remaining spacewalks. The spacewalk officially ended at 20:12 UTC, for a time of seven hours and twenty minutes. It was the nineteenth spacewalk devoted to servicing
10010-429: The ground evaluated the consumables for the two spacesuits , and decided that if Massimino recharged his suit's oxygen in the airlock, the pair could safely continue with the battery installation. After moving to the battery unit site, Good and Massimino removed one of the original battery modules from Bay 2 of the telescope, and replaced it with a new unit. The batteries provide power to the telescope when it passes into
10153-477: The ground. This was the item that failed in September 2008, delaying STS-125 while engineers prepared a replacement part for the mission, and the crew trained for the new task. While the failure of the SIC&DH did not disable the telescope, replacing the unit restores the redundancies. The final major task was to install the Soft-Capture Mechanism (SCM), which includes the 72-inch-wide (1,800 mm) Low Impact Docking System (LIDS) that will allow spacecraft in
10296-407: The hatches between the shuttle and ISS. Once the hatches were closed, the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 was depressurized, in advance of undocking. The shuttle crew setup and checked out the rendezvous tools before going to bed. On flight day 12, Space Shuttle Discovery successfully undocked from the International Space Station at 19:26 UTC . After undocking, the shuttle backed out and performed
10439-668: The highest priority items scheduled. The tasks were to remove the obsolete Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR), originally installed during STS-61 to correct the spherical aberration of Hubble's mirror, and install the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), and to repair the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The ACS failed in June 2006 due to an electrical issue, and after being restored partially, failed again in 2007 due to an electrical short. The ACS
10582-531: The imagery further, and engineers on the ground would be analyzing it to determine if a focused inspection would be required. As part of the Flight Day 2 Execute Package, ground engineers also provided further information on the circuit breaker failure seen at launch. The breaker (Channel 1 Aerosurfaces, ASA 1) is part of the shuttle's Flight Control Systems (FCS), a subsystem of the guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems. The failure would have no impact to
10725-489: The impossible. And on this mission, we tried some things that many people said were impossible – fixing STIS, repairing ACS, achieving all the content that we have in this mission. But we've achieved that and we wish Hubble the very best. It's really a sign of the great country that we live in that we're able to do things like this on a marvelous spaceship like the space shuttle Atlantis . And I'm convinced that if we can solve problems like repairing Hubble, getting to space, doing
10868-400: The joint crews transfer samples from the space station to the shuttle freezer known as Glacier. The samples will be returned to Earth for examination by scientists who will develop ways to prevent bone and muscle loss in space as well as cures for other illnesses on Earth. The crews also completed some close outs of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo . The last portion of the crew day
11011-418: The launch of STS-124 , severe damage was seen at the pad where bricks were blasted from the walls, but NASA officials stated the damage from the STS-125 launch was not nearly as severe and should not impact the launch of STS-127 in June. Following the morning wake up call, the crew began work on the day's tasks, which were centered on inspection of the orbiter's heat shield. Using the shuttle robotic arm and
11154-437: The left Solid rocket booster on the pad. The modifications involved replacement of a check valve filter assembly in the booster which was found to have broken. In a potentially delaying factor, in depth testing of the external tank with X-ray revealed voids in the foam which might have formed during the injection molding of the foam. This has also been decided as a suspect factor in the foam shedding during STS-127. The air in
11297-414: The length of the spacewalk, and the resulting slip in the timeline, the crew's sleep shift would have to be moved an hour later, to allow them to get the proper amount of rest, and the rest of the docked timeline would also be shifted forward an hour. After awakening, the crew set to work preparing for the mission's third spacewalk, one that was considered the most challenging and uncertain, yet had some of
11440-417: The major challenges was to remove a cover plate held tight with over 100 screws using a specially designed tool called a fastener-capture plate, designed to trap the screws and washers and prevent them from floating into space when removed. While preparing the fastener-capture plate, Massimino encountered issues with a handrail that had to be removed to accommodate the fastener-capture plate. The handrail had
11583-460: The major objectives, as well as some that were not considered vital, upgraded the Hubble telescope to its most technologically advanced state since its launch nineteen years before and made it more powerful. The upgrades helped Hubble to see deeper into the universe and farther into the past, closer to the time of the Big Bang . STS-125 was the only visit to the Hubble Space Telescope for Atlantis ;
11726-637: The major transfer items, the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR), Materials Science Research Rack, and the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer ISS 2 (MELFI-2), were transferred from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo. Astronauts Danny Olivas and José M. Hernández answered some questions submitted on YouTube and Twitter . Olivas and Christer Fuglesang also prepared for the second EVA and "camped out" in
11869-413: The mating process, and poor weather due to Hurricane Hanna caused a delay in the rollout of Atlantis to the launch pad, which is normally done seven days after rollover. STS-125 was further pushed back to October 2008 due to manufacturing delays on external tanks for future space shuttle missions. Lockheed Martin experienced delays during the production changes to make new external tanks with all
12012-551: The mission lasting a total of just under 13 days. Space Shuttle Atlantis carried two new instruments to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3 . The mission also replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor , six gyroscopes , and two battery unit modules to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2014. The crew also installed new thermal blanket insulating panels to provide improved thermal protection, and
12155-484: The mission status briefing, Jennifer Wiseman , Chief of Exoplanet and Stellar Astrophysics for Goddard Space Flight Center, noted that the repair of STIS was a major victory for both the mission and the science community, as that part of the telescope performed unique functions, helping scientists understand the materials planets are composed of, and looking at things like the motion of stars around black holes . After initial aliveness testing that showed no issues, STIS
12298-575: The mission was cleared for launch which involved a flight rule waiver for cycling the valve and a discussion to analyze the test failure of an Ares-1 booster that was similar to the SRBs used for the mission. NASA feared another delay when storms formed near the Kennedy Space Center on August 28, 2009, but the weather cleared in time for a successful launch of Discovery at 23:59 EDT. After launch at 23:59 EDT, Discovery opened her payload bay doors. Once
12441-485: The mission, due to redundant systems. In addition to the survey of the orbiter's heat shield, the crew gathered and inspected the EVA tools and spacesuits that would be used for the mission's spacewalks and prepared the Flight Support System (FSS) for berthing with Hubble on flight day three. Following the crew's post-sleep activities, they went to work performing the rendezvous operations that included burning
12584-420: The mission, which removed and replaced a materials processing experiment outside ESA's Columbus module, and returned an empty ammonia tank assembly. The mission's first launch attempt was delayed due to weather concerns, including multiple weather violations in NASA's launch rules, beginning over two hours before the scheduled launch. The second launch attempt, scheduled for August 26, 2009, at 01:10:22 EDT,
12727-494: The mission. He was forced to slightly alter the plate to allow it to fit into the locker designated for memorabilia. Massimino presented the plate back to the Mets management upon return and threw out the first pitch there. The plate is now on display at Citi Field . The mission added two new instruments to Hubble. The first instrument, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph , became the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever installed on
12870-539: The modification being done, the tile has been raised 0.35 inches (8.9 mm) to trip at Mach 18 producing more heat. Discovery undertook the testing of a catalytic coating which was meant to be used by the Orion spacecraft . Two TPS tiles located in the protuberance downstream from the BLT tile had been fully coated with the catalytic material in order to understand the entry heating performance. The tiles were instrumented to collect
13013-621: 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). STS-125 STS-125 , or HST-SM4 ( Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 ), was the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis occurred on May 11, 2009, at 2:01 pm EDT. Landing occurred on May 24 at 11:39 am EDT, with
13156-529: The new batteries, and the FGS passed both aliveness and functional testing. The mission's final EVA concluded at 19:22 UTC, after seven hours and two minutes. The total time spent during the mission in extra-vehicular activity was thirty-six hours, fifty-six minutes. The twenty-third and final spacewalk to service Hubble brought the total time spent in EVA working on the telescope to one hundred and sixty-six hours, six minutes. Lead Flight Director Tony Ceccacci noted that
13299-560: The next day's spacewalk, gathering tools and checking out the suits and equipment that would be used during the EVA. At the Mission Management Team (MMT) briefing, MMT Chairman LeRoy Cain reported that the damage assessment team had cleared all of the orbiter's TPS tiles and blankets, and were expected to clear the RCC portion of the orbiter by flight day four. He stated that no focused inspection would be required. Cain also noted that
13442-463: The orbiter's engines to refine the approach to the Hubble telescope. Following some delays due to communications issues, Altman and Johnson ("Ray-J") guided the orbiter within fifty feet of the telescope. McArthur successfully grappled Hubble at 17:14 UTC, and at 18:12 the telescope was safely berthed in the payload bay of Atlantis . Later in the day, Grunsfeld and Feustel (Drew), along with Good ("Bueno") and Massimino ("Mass") worked on preparing for
13585-448: The orbiter's payload bay, they installed COS, and then moved on to the ACS repair. Using specially designed tools, they removed an access panel, replaced the camera's four circuit boards, and installed a new power supply. The spacewalk was completed in six hours and thirty-six minutes, and the ACS passed the initial aliveness tests. It was the twenty-first Hubble servicing spacewalk, and Grunsfeld's seventh EVA, moving him up to fourth in
13728-417: The orbiter, Feustel walked Massimino through the procedure slowly, advising him to tape the handrail with Kapton tape to prevent any parts from breaking off or flying loose, to be aware of the reaction the force would have, as well as to watch for sharp edges on the handrail after removal. Once the handrail was removed, Massimino went to work attaching the capture plate, but ran into additional problems when
13871-464: The payload bay doors, deployed the Ku band antenna, and moved into the robotic activities portion of the day, which included a survey of the payload bay and crew cabin survey with the orbiter's robotic arm . During the post-launch inspection of Launch Pad 39A, a twenty-five foot area on the north side of the flame deflector was found to have damage where some of the heat resistant coating came off. Following
14014-497: The previous day were waved off. Discovery touched down safely at 20:53 EDT (17:53 PDT/00:53 UTC). The landing marked the final time a Space Shuttle mission concluded at Edwards Air Force Base, as well as the last time a ferry flight would be needed for an operational orbiter. Discovery returned to KSC on Monday, September 21, 2009, after refueling stops at Amarillo International Airport, Fort Worth Naval Station, and Barksdale Air Force Base on September 20. The last seven missions of
14157-506: 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
14300-445: The scheduled launch. During the second attempt on Wednesday morning, a problem with a LH2 fill-and-drain fuel valve inside Discovery ' s aft compartment led to another scrubbing. The problem arose when sensors did not detect the closure of the valve when commanded to do so. The issue was thought to be with the sensors rather than the valve itself. After inerting the orbiter's tank, which involved draining it, tests were conducted on
14443-473: The second spacewalk of the mission, with Massimino and Good suiting up with assistance from Grunsfeld and Feustel. As they were preparing for the EVA, the team on the ground informed the crew that the WFC3 had passed all the overnight functional tests, indicating it was in good working order. While the spacewalk preparations were underway, Altman and McArthur completed a robotic survey of a small row of heat shield tiles that had not been sufficiently imaged during
14586-537: The servicing mission. Also in March 2004, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Director Stephen Beckwith released the results of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field survey to the entire science community, which helped show the public how important Hubble was to science. The data showed the deepest images ever taken by a telescope and revealed approximately 10,000 galaxies, some of which most likely dated back to when
14729-402: The servicing we do traveling 17,500 miles an hour around the Earth, that we can achieve other great things, like solving our energy problems and our climate problems, all things that are in the middle of NASA's prime and core values. — John L. Grunsfeld Completing the fifth of the five planned spacewalks, Grunsfeld and Feustel successfully installed the second battery, removed and replaced
14872-402: The shuttle all touched down at Kennedy Space Center. Each spacewalk was planned to last approximately 6.5 hours. With this spacewalk, ESA astronaut Fuglesang became the first person, who is not from either an American or Russian space program, to have participated in four or more spacewalks. :Robotic Arm Operators: Ford and Stott NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during
15015-640: The shuttle during docking operations. It also contained three racks dedicated to science, FIR (Fluids Integrated Rack) and the first Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR-1) to be placed in Destiny and MELFI-2 (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS) to be placed in Kibo. The FIR enabled detailed study of how liquids behave in microgravity, a crucial detail for many chemical reactions. One experiment, for instance, examined how mixtures known as colloids behave without being stirred by sedimentation and convection. Another using
15158-487: The shuttle to host the crew's countdown dress rehearsal known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). Discovery ' s seven astronauts flew to Kennedy on August 5, 2009, for the training activity which concludes later in the week with a complete practice countdown, minus liftoff, involving the crew and the launch team. Meanwhile, in an unprecedented operation, modifications were made to
15301-521: The shuttle's belly. The photos were down-linked to mission control for review. After docking, Nicole Stott and Tim Kopra switched Soyuz seat liners, making Stott an Expedition 20 Flight Engineer and Tim Kopra an STS-128 Mission Specialist. The joint crews also performed some transfers from the shuttle mid-deck and checked on the pressure in the MPLM Leonardo. During flight day 4, the MPLM Leonardo
15444-565: The spacewalk was going on crew members inside were transferring the Crew Quarters, C.O.L.B.E.R.T treadmill and the Node 3 Air Revitalization System rack (ARS). The treadmill and ARS were temporarily stowed, while the crew Quarters was installed in the Kibo Module where setup and activation was begun. During flight day 6, the joint crews continued the activation of the new crew quarters. The last of
15587-461: The spare RSU would not impact the life of the telescope, as it had been fully refurbished on the ground with two of the three improvements incorporated in newer models. "I would say the difference in the projected longevity of the observatory in the out years is very small. We don't see this is a significant detriment at all to the observatory. This was a tremendous accomplishment for us." Burch noted. Lead Flight Director Tony Ceccacci noted that due to
15730-554: The story of the Hubble telescope. An IMAX camera was also stationed at the LC-39 Press Site for the launch. IMAX has made a number of movies centered around space, including Destiny in Space , The Dream Is Alive , Mission to Mir , Blue Planet , Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D , and Space Station 3D , made in 2001 on the first trip of IMAX to the ISS. The movie
15873-481: The successes of the Return to Flight STS-114 and STS-121 missions, and the lessons learned and improvements made following those missions, managers and engineers worked to formulate a plan that would allow the shuttle to service Hubble, while still adhering to the post- Columbia safety requirements. On October 31, 2006, Griffin announced that the Hubble servicing mission was reinstated, scheduled for 2008, and announced
16016-480: The task of installing a New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBLs) onto the telescope's outer shell. The spacewalk, originally scheduled to last six hours and thirty minutes, ended at 21:47 UTC, for a time of eight hours and two minutes. At the time, it became the sixth longest spacewalk in history. It was the twenty-second spacewalk devoted to servicing the Hubble telescope, and Massimino's fourth spacewalk, bringing his total EVA time to thirty hours, forty-four minutes. During
16159-409: The telescope had been previously serviced twice by Discovery and once each by Columbia and Endeavour . The mission was the 30th flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis and also the first by Atlantis in over 14 years not to visit a space station, the last one being STS-66 . The fifth servicing mission to Hubble, HST-SM4, was originally scheduled to launch in late 2005 or early 2006. However,
16302-484: The telescope, and brought the total time in servicing Hubble to one hundred thirty-six hours, thirty minutes. Due to the length of the spacewalk, and the delay in beginning, the crew was over an hour behind their scheduled timeline for the day, but worked through the post-EVA activities and evening activities without problems, and got to sleep only slightly behind their scheduled time. During the mission status briefing, David Leckrone, Hubble Project Senior Scientist, noted he
16445-582: The telescope, possibly by sending a robot into orbit to do the job. When O'Keefe announced his resignation as Administrator in December 2004, five days after a National Academy of Sciences committee opposed O'Keefe's position regarding servicing Hubble, the media and science community saw hope for the telescope's servicing mission to be reinstated. O'Keefe's replacement, Michael D. Griffin , took just two months after his appointment to announce that he disagreed with O'Keefe's decision, and would consider sending
16588-494: The telescope. Its far-UV channel is 30 times more sensitive than previous instruments and the near-UV is twice as sensitive. The second instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3 , is a panchromatic wide-field camera that can record a wide range of wavelengths, including infrared , visible , and ultraviolet light . Atlantis also carried the Soft-Capture Mechanism, which was installed onto the telescope. This will enable
16731-474: The three photo channels, the wide-field channel, and that the issues with the high-resolution channel may not be resolved by the designed fix. During the functional testing, the wide-field channel passed, but issues were seen with the high-resolution channel, indicating that the power issue may be farther upstream in the electronic circuits than the spacewalk repair addressed. Additional testing would be performed, but Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch noted that
16874-544: 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
17017-459: The unit again would not seat properly, and they were unable to install it. Instead, it was decided that an additional unit carried as a spare would be placed into the final bay. The spare unit was one that was removed during the STS-103 mission, and had been refurbished on the ground. The installation of all three gyro units was a critical objective of the servicing mission, as three had failed, one
17160-408: The universe was just five hundred million years old. With Beckwith when he released the data to the scientific community was Mikulski, who said of the results, "I think it's just amazing... this is why I will continue to stand up for Hubble." Joining Mikulski as an advocate for servicing Hubble was NASA's Chief Scientist, physicist John Grunsfeld, who was present at the meeting when O'Keefe announced
17303-465: The universe, and farther into the past, closer to the time of the Big Bang . Hubble's importance to science is not just seen in the dramatic images it provides, but also in the volume of work it has generated – an average of fourteen scientific articles are published each week based on data gathered from the telescope. Officially, the upgrades should extend Hubble's life through 2014, but Hubble Space Telescope Senior Scientist David Leckrone noted prior to
17446-417: The valves. Despite the valves working normally, another delay was called for to have more confidence in the system, and to give the console operators who performed the test some rest. The launch team evaluated the issue, passing on a possible launch window on August 27, 2009, at 01:10 EDT. The launch was delayed until 23:59 EDT, August 28, 2009, to allow the engineers to be fully satisfied with the vehicle. Later
17589-453: The voids could have expanded due to the high temperatures generated during ascent thus breaking the foam. The reviews considered a rollback as an option since the defect could not be set right in the pad. Later, the tank was cleared for launch as is without any additional inspections. The first launch attempt was delayed by 24 hours due to weather concerns, including multiple weather violations in NASA's launch rules beginning over 2 hours before
17732-520: The wide-field channel. The third channel, the solar-blind channel, passed overnight functional testing without issues. Beginning the mission's fourth spacewalk at 13:45 UTC, Massimino and Good went to work repairing the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). The spectrograph failed in 2004 due to a blown power supply. As with the ACS, the STIS was not designed with the intention of servicing it while in space, and one of
17875-575: Was berthed to the Nadir (the Earth-facing port on Harmony) using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). Once it was berthed, the crews activated it and opened the hatch for ingress. Some more items were transferred from the shuttle mid-deck, including the MDS experiment and the space suits Danny Olivas and Nicole Stott would use during EVA 1. The pair also prepared all the tools that would be used during
18018-459: Was called off the previous evening due to an anomaly in one of the orbiter's fuel valves. The launch finally took place on August 28, 2009, at 23:59 EDT. Discovery landed on September 11, 2009, at Edwards Air Force Base , which was the last landing of a shuttle to occur at the California site. Nicole Stott was originally scheduled to return aboard Soyuz TMA-15 , but a change in the flight plan
18161-488: Was determined to be a one-off case due to surface contamination prior to foam application. The main change from previous missions is the change of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) vent housing. The quick release vents exhibited leaks during STS-119 and STS-127, which were determined to be due to a misalignment in the vent. This led to the one part rigid seal in the external tank being replaced with
18304-400: Was going to be the most difficult and the most challenging, and I predict it's going to go more smoothly than any other EVA on this mission. I just think that's some version of Murphy's Law that's going to lead us in that direction." After the initial aliveness testing, the ACS was put through its functional tests. Managers and engineers had noted that the repairs were designed for only one of
18447-399: Was immediately advised to disregard the resultant alarms and continue to orbit. During the post-launch news conference, NASA managers said the initial early review of the launch video showed no obvious debris events, but a thorough analysis would be performed to ensure the orbiter sustained no significant damage during ascent. After working through their post launch checklists, the crew opened
18590-436: Was made due to the possible flight delays in future shuttle missions, which could have extended Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk 's mission beyond the six-month duration preferred for station crew members. STS-128 was the final Space Shuttle flight used for ISS crew rotation, with Nicole Stott replacing Tim Kopra . Stott returned on STS-129 , but that flight did not bring her replacement. The mission of Christer Fuglesang
18733-400: Was made official at the flight readiness review on April 30. The reason cited for the change was to add one more day to the launch window, from two to three days. Following a smooth countdown, Atlantis launched on time at 2:01 pm EDT. Almost immediately after launch and during the ascent, flight systems reported problems with a hydrogen tank transducer and a circuit breaker; the crew
18876-449: Was most likely particulate shaken loose from the thick insulation blankets inside the payload bay during launch. The team advised the crew to avoid the particulate as much as possible during the spacewalks, and use caution when working around the container to avoid the debris, but it was not a significant concern. Following the crew's wake up, they set to work preparing for the mission's first spacewalk. Grunsfeld and Feustel suited up with
19019-664: Was named Alissé by the European Space Agency . The name was proposed by Jürgen Modlich from Baierbrunn , Germany. The name refers to the 15th-century explorers who used the trade winds to follow Christopher Columbus across the oceans to the New World. STS-128 also marked the first time two Hispanic Americans were on the same crew. John "Danny" Olivas of El Paso, Texas , made his second trip into space, and José M. Hernández of Stockton, California , made his first. Both are of Mexican heritage. The primary payload of STS-128
19162-512: Was not designed to be serviced or repaired in space, so the task was considered one of the most challenging of the mission. After running into various snags in the first two spacewalks, managers on the ground were prepared to see unexpected issues arise during the complicated repair work. The spacewalk began at 13:35 UTC, and Grunsfeld and Feustel had no problems. The pair worked through their timeline so efficiently that they were over an hour ahead at one point. After removing COSTAR and stowing it in
19305-493: Was offline due to electrical issues, and the other two had also been experiencing issues with performance. Ground controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center confirmed that all six gyroscopes and the new battery passed preliminary tests. The problems with seating the second RSU set the spacewalkers back in the timeline by approximately two hours, but after Altman asked Massimino and Good how they felt, they replied they were doing well and felt fine to continue. Flight controllers on
19448-666: Was powered down. On flight day 13, the Space Shuttle crew began stowing items for landing. During the course of the day, commander Frederick W. Sturckow and pilot Kevin A. Ford performed standard checks of the Flight Control Systems (FCS), Reaction Control System (RCS) jets, and communications with the ground. The crew also deactivated the Wing Leading Edge System (WLES), stowed the Ku-band antenna, and reviewed landing procedures. On flight day 14, Discovery
19591-409: Was released in March 2010, with the name IMAX: Hubble 3D . Astronaut Michael J. Massimino used Twitter to document the training and preparations for the mission. He mentioned that he would like to try sending Twitter updates from space during his off-duty time. Massimino's first update read, "From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views,
19734-449: Was replaced without problems, but when they attempted to replace the second unit, RSU 3, the unit would not align onto the guide pins, and they could not seat it into the equipment bay. Managers decided to put the unit originally intended for the RSU 1 bay into the RSU 3 bay, and it was installed without problems. The pair then attempted to install the second unit into the third and final bay, but
19877-409: Was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center at 19:04 EDT (23:04 UTC ). The landing was postponed due to weather conditions, and the second opportunity at 20:40 EDT (00:40 UTC) was also postponed due to weather conditions. On flight day 15, at 19:47 EDT (23:47 UTC ), Discovery started the de-orbit burn for landing at Edwards Air Force Base after its two landing attempts at Kennedy Space Center
20020-427: Was spent off duty. On flight day 11, the joint ISS/shuttle crews completed transfers and closed the hatches with the MPLM. Once the hatches were closed, the MPLM was deactivated, demated and berthed back in the payload bay of the space shuttle. During this process, José M. Hernández and Nicole Stott took part in a PAO event. The end of the crews work days saw the two crews say goodbye in a farewell ceremony and close
20163-420: Was taken into functional testing, and issues were seen when the telescope put itself into safe mode due to a low thermal limit sensor. Ground controllers at Goddard would restart the testing once the thermal limit sensor was back in normal sensor range, but it is believed the component is in good shape. As Arthur C. Clarke says, the only way of finding the limits on the possible, is by going beyond them into
20306-589: Was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo to assist with establishing a six-man crew capacity by bringing extra supplies and equipment to the station. The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module contained three racks for life support, a crew quarter to be installed in Kibo , a new treadmill (COLBERT) that will temporarily be placed in Node 2 and later in Node 3 , and an Air Revitalization System (ARS) that will temporarily be placed in Kibo and later in Node 3. The shuttle carried
20449-470: Was very relieved that the camera was replaced successfully, and noted that the problems with the bolt caused some concern, "I don't normally reveal my age and I'm not going to here, but I can tell you I'm five years older now than I was when I came to work this morning, we can sleep pretty well tonight, knowing that's been accomplished." Following their wake up, the Atlantis crew set right to work preparing for
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