Suzanne Kosmas (née McDonald ; born February 25, 1944) is the former U.S. Representative for Florida's 24th congressional district , serving one term from 2009 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party . She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives .
91-623: STS-135 ( ISS assembly flight ULF7 ) was the 135th and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program . It used the orbiter Atlantis and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, and landed on July 21, 2011, following a one-day mission extension. The four-person crew was the smallest of any shuttle mission since STS-6 in April 1983. The mission's primary cargo
182-514: A June 28, 2011, launch. On September 29, 2010, the House of Representatives approved the Senate-passed bill on a 304–118 vote. The bill, approved by the U.S. Congress , went to President Barack Obama for his signature. On October 11, 2010, Obama signed the legislation into law, allowing NASA to move forward with STS-135, though without specific funding. Generally, the average cost of a shuttle mission
273-478: A Senate committee passed the 2010 NASA reauthorization bill, authored by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), to direct NASA to fly an extra Space Shuttle mission (STS-135) pending a review of safety concerns. The bill still needed the approval of the full Senate. A draft NASA reauthorization bill considered by the House Science & Technology Committee did not provide for an extra shuttle mission. On July 22, 2010, during
364-562: A big fundraising lead over Denys and drew on her popularity in the district. Denys attacked Kosmas for opposing the right to fly the American flag, opposing classrooms displaying the Constitution, and supporting providing drivers licenses to foreign nationals. She argued that the attacks were inaccurate and misstated her record. Ultimately, despite the changes to the district and Governor Jeb Bush's landslide re-election , Kosmas won re-election by
455-467: A chapter of a journey that will never end. The crew of Atlantis is ready to launch". At T−31 seconds, just before Atlantis ' s computers were supposed to take control of the flight, the launch countdown clock stopped. This was because of a lack of an indication that the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm had retracted and properly latched, a problem that had never occurred during previous launches in
546-468: A laser-based 3D sensor and a thermal imager. Geometric information contained in successive 3D images is matched against the known shape of the target object to calculate its position and orientation in real-time. The sensor was emplaced on the exterior airlock truss next to a Trajectory Control System (TCS) sensor. The TriDAR hardware was installed in Atlantis' s payload bay on April 6, 2011. On STS-135, TriDAR
637-488: 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 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
728-567: A meeting of the House Science Committee, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) successfully amended the House version of the bill to add an additional shuttle mission to the manifest. On August 5, 2010, the Senate passed its version of the NASA reauthorization bill, just before lawmakers left for the traditional August recess. On August 20, 2010, NASA managers approved STS-135 mission planning targeting
819-536: A minor problem when Atlantis' s General Purpose Computer (GPC3) failed. However, this held no impacts for the rendezvous and docking operations as two GPCs proved sufficient. ISS assembly sequence The process of assembling 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
910-579: 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 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
1001-444: 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: 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
SECTION 10
#17328451813311092-484: A waiver for return to launch site (RTLS) weather. Later at the post-launch news conference, Moses explained that his decision was based on the fact although a few showers that were popping up within the 20-nautical-mile (37 km) radius from the Shuttle Landing Facility at RTLS landing were a launch constraint, the showers would have been cleared by the time of a RTLS landing (if it did) 35 minutes later. At
1183-651: A wide margin, receiving 55% of the vote to Denys's 42% and Libertarian nominee Mary Morelly's 3%. When Kosmas was term-limited in 2004, she was succeeded by Republican Dorothy Hukill . In 2009, Kosmas joined with the Democratic majority to vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 , the American Clean Energy and Security Act , and
1274-409: 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
1365-412: 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
1456-469: The Canadian Space Agency . TriDAR had previously flown on STS-128 and STS-131 , aboard Space Shuttle Discovery . TriDAR provides guidance information that can be used for rendezvous and docking operations in orbit, planetary landings and vehicle inspection/navigation of robotic rovers. It does not rely on any reference markers, such as reflectors, positioned on the target spacecraft, instead using
1547-503: The Florida House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction , targeted the 28th District. Kosmas focused her campaign on economic development, education, juvenile crime, and healthcare. On education, Kosmas emphasized her support for reducing class sizes, accountability for local school districts, and on creating alternative learning environments for disruptive children to develop home-grown solutions could help address
1638-692: The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act . She originally voted along with 38 other Democrats against the Affordable Health Care for America Act . However, she switched to a "Yes" vote for the Senate version of the bill. Kosmas was one of the top recruits for the Democrats in the 2008 cycle. Despite the wide perception that Feeney had drawn the 24th for himself while still serving as state house speaker (the district included most of his state house district),
1729-635: The MPLM . The shuttle also brought back material, including experiments, in its middeck lockers. Since STS-135 only had four crew members, astronauts did not occupy the middeck. Resultingly, compared to previous shuttle missions to the Space Station, additional storage space was available. An iPhone was used by astronauts to log experiments, and was left on the ISS for future use. Two Nexus S smartphones were also installed inside Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) to allow
1820-614: 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 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
1911-626: The Sentinel endorsed Kosmas, with the Sentinel praising her for her knowledge and "deep concern for her community," while the News-Journal praised "her record and her promise for greater service to come." Kosmas improved on her margin of victory, defeating Gardner 53–47%, winning by around 2,000 votes. In 2000, Kosmas ran for re-election against former Volusia County School Board Member Deborah Denys, who focused her campaign on her support for charter schools and school vouchers. Kosmas argued that she
SECTION 20
#17328451813312002-409: The 27th District instead. Accordingly, she won the primary unopposed and, while a contentious Republican primary developed between businessman Fred Cooper and former Daytona Beach Mayor Paul Carpenella, Kosmas was able to raise campaign contributions for the general election. In the general election, Kosmas ended up facing Cooper, and a close election ensued. Republicans, hoping to win a majority in
2093-505: The 3.4-mile (5.5 km) journey, the shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 03:29 EDT on June 1, 2011. Large crowds, including the families of NASA's workforce, were present during the rollout. The STS-135 crew was also at the Kennedy Space Center to witness the last-ever rollout of a Space Shuttle. The crew participated in an informal Question & Answer session with news media, which was aired live on NASA TV . While Atlantis
2184-522: The 64 seconds OMS-2 burn which pushed Atlantis into a 230 x 158 km orbit and the NC-1 engine firing for 94 seconds to adjust the shuttle's orbital path to match with the Space Station. The NC-1 firing altered the shuttle's velocity by about 144.7 ft/s (44.1 m/s). NASA held a post-launch news conference at 12:10 CDT with Bill Gerstenmaier, Robert Cabana (director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center), Mike Moses and Mike Leinbach. After opening
2275-586: 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 the STS-114 mission of Discovery . This mission to
2366-596: 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), 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
2457-511: 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 the ISS by 2010. As of May 2009, a crew of six has been established following 12 Shuttle construction flights after
2548-494: 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 the resumption of Shuttle launches, crew exchanges were carried out solely using
2639-524: The ISS, the Expedition 28 crew completed the pressurization of Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-2), located at the forward docking port of the Harmony module, ahead of the shuttle's docking. Crew members Fossum, Volkov and Furukawa also held a meeting with the ground imagery experts to discuss the planned photography shoot during Atlantis' s rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM). During the mission status briefing from
2730-564: The ISS. It was the only time that a Shuttle crew of four flew to the ISS. The last shuttle mission to fly with just four crew members occurred 28 years earlier: STS-6 on April 4, 1983, aboard Space Shuttle Challenger . With support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate , the fate of STS-135 ultimately depended on whether lawmakers could agree to fund converting the mission from launch-on-need to an actual flight. On July 15, 2010,
2821-471: The Johnson Space Flight Center (JSC), shuttle flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho said that Atlantis was off to one of the smoothest starts of any mission in the 30-year history of NASA's shuttle program. He told reporters, "I think this is certainly one of the better starts that we have seen". The STS-135 crew began their day at 07:29 UTC and prepared to dock with the ISS. The crew encountered
STS-135 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-408: The Kennedy Space Center. During the test, technicians detected a hydrogen fuel valve leak in Atlantis 's main engine No. 3, as it recorded temperatures below normal levels. The leaking hydrogen valve was replaced on June 21. On June 18, engineers also commenced X-ray inspections to verify the performance of the radius block doublers that were installed over the top of the stringers. The stringers form
3003-455: The OBSS at 6:58 a.m. EDT. After raising out the arm-boom assembly, the crew activated the camera and laser sensor package on the boom to first scan the starboard wing. The nose cap was surveyed next followed by the port wing. The gathered visual and electronic data were downlinked during numerous Ku band communication opportunities to the ground. With imagery on their hand, experts began to review
3094-548: The Orbiter Transport System overnight, as opposed to heading over to High Bay 1 on the same day. Inside the VAB transfer aisle, lifting operations to rotate Atlantis vertically commenced on May 18, 2011. The crane that hoisted the shuttle placed it into the adjacent high bay. Atlantis was next lowered to meet up with the external tank and the two solid rocket boosters. The mating operations were completed on May 19, 2011. On
3185-510: 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 the STS-114 shuttle flight took care of this problem. Many changes were made to
3276-492: The STS-335 mission that would likely never fly. However, once it was decided to fly Atlantis on a full STS-135 mission, the tank assignments were swapped so that in the event STS-134 ( Endeavour ) were to suffer damage from ET-122, Atlantis with the newer and less risky ET-138 would be poised to rescue Endeavour ' s crew. In early December 2010, ground technicians installed the main engines on Atlantis . The Shuttle received
3367-643: The Satellite Servicing Capabilities project at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It planned to demonstrate the technology and tools to refuel satellites in orbit by robotic means. After the proof of concept, the long-term goal of NASA is to transfer the technology to the commercial sector. RRM included four tools, each with electronics and two cameras and lights. Additionally, it had pumps and controllers and electrical systems such as electrical valves and sensors. The RRM payload
3458-553: The Shuttle's Robotic Arm and checked its functions ahead of next day's planned thermal protection survey. A crowd at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center greeted the crew with a unique "good morning" call. "Good morning Atlantis, the Marshall Space Flight Center hopes you enjoyed your ride to orbit." We wish you a successful mission and a safe return home," the workers said in a recorded video message. The main objective of
3549-433: The VAB, lifted the left-aft segment from the handling crate and carefully maneuvered into High Bay No. 1 and finally onto the mobile launch platform. The booster stacking was completed in mid April. The completed boosters had a mixture of refurbished and unflown elements (11 sections on each booster). For example, the forward dome for the right-hand booster is new, while the upper cylinder on the left booster flew with STS-1 –
3640-742: 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 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
3731-496: The agency needed to fly STS-135 to the station in 2011 due to possible delays in the development of commercial rockets and spacecraft designed to transport cargo to the ISS. "We are hoping to fly a third shuttle mission (in addition to STS-133 and STS-134 ) in June 2011, what everybody calls the launch-on-need mission... and that's really needed to [buy down] the risk for the development time for commercial cargo", Bolden said. The mission
STS-135 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-442: The astronauts to escape the area. They also boarded Atlantis for a full countdown simulation on June 23. The launch day was threatened by unfavorable weather leaving only a 30% chance of a launch occurring; this changed an hour before launch to 60% chance of launch. Launch director Mike Leinbach conducted the final series of GO/NO GO polls to verify the launch readiness. Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Michael P. Moses also issued
3913-497: The backbone of ET-138's central "intertank" compartment that separates the upper liquid oxygen tank from the larger liquid hydrogen tank below. The installation of the doublers on ET-138 was ordered after engineers found stringer cracks in the tank used for Discovery 's STS-133 mission. Technicians finished all X-ray scans of the stringers on June 24, well ahead of schedule. After analyzing the results, they found no issues. The STS-135 payload canister's move to Launch Pad 39A began in
4004-685: 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), 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
4095-466: The center engine on December 7, 2010, followed by the lower-right engine and the lower-left on December 8 and 9, 2010 respectively inside Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1). The event marked the last set of main engines to be installed on a Space Shuttle. Stacking operations of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) for the mission commenced in the evening hours of March 29, 2011. Technicians inside
4186-401: The center-line camera in the window of the shuttle's hatch for a view that would help them align Atlantis with the space station. The NC2 and NC3 course correction burns were also performed during Flight Day 2 to change the flight path of Atlantis en route to the ISS. The NC3 maneuver lasted seven seconds and changed the shuttle's velocity by about 1.5 feet per second (0.46 m/s). Aboard
4277-417: The countdown dress rehearsal and emergency training drills. After the arrival, the four astronauts spoke to reporters at the runway and acknowledged the historic nature of the final shuttle mission. "We're incredibly proud to represent the final flight," noted the commander, Chris Ferguson. During the training, the crew spent time learning pad 39A evacuation procedures and test-drove an armored tank available for
4368-777: 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 )
4459-660: The crew to pilot them aboard the ISS. External Tank 138 (ET-138) was produced at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans and arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on the Pegasus barge. After offloading, the tank was transported into a checkout cell inside the VAB on July 14, 2010. NASA initially planned for STS-134 ( Endeavour ) to fly with the newer ET-138 and for the LON STS-335 ( Atlantis ) mission to utilize
4550-496: The data. The heat shield survey started around 11:00 UTC , was wrapped about five hours later. In his NASA TV commentary, NASA Public Affairs Officer, Rob Navias, said that most of the time, the crew worked ahead of schedule opting to take meals while working. The crew received high praise for their efficient work from the Mission Control Houston including CAPCOM astronaut Stephen Robinson who communicated with them during
4641-492: The day was to inspect Atlantis' s thermal protection system, using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to look for any signs of launch damage. To do so, Commander Ferguson, Pilot Hurley and Mission Specialist Magnus used the shuttle's robotic arm and the OBSS to get a close up look at reinforced carbon–carbon wing leading edges and the nose cap of the shuttle. The robotic arm grappled
SECTION 50
#17328451813314732-445: The district is actually a fairly marginal district on paper, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+4. It includes most of Democratic-leaning Volusia County , where Kosmas lives. In 2008, Kosmas campaigned on issues such as fiscal conservatism , support for veterans, and values like integrity and transparency. Independent expenditure ads attacked Feeney for his ties to Jack Abramoff , and Feeney's own ad released six weeks prior to
4823-459: The election exacerbated the negative public perception. In the November election, Kosmas won, taking 57% of the vote to Feeney's 41% — the largest margin of defeat for a Republican incumbent in the 2008 cycle. Kosmas defeated former Winter Springs Mayor Paul Partyka in the Democratic primary. Kosmas was defeated for re-election by former State Representative Sandy Adams on Nov. 2, 2010 by
4914-437: The end of the poll Leinbach told the crew "Good luck to you and your crew on the final flight of this true American icon. Good luck, godspeed and have a little fun up there" to which commander Chris Ferguson replied "Thanks to you and your team Mike, until the very end you all made it look easy. The Shuttle will always be reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commit to follow through. We're completing
5005-606: The flight manifest. This allowed for training and other mission specific preparations. On February 13, 2011, program managers told their workforce that STS-135 would fly regardless of the funding situation via a continuing resolution. Until this point, there had been no official references to the STS-135 mission in NASA documentation for the general public. During an address at the Marshall Space Flight Center on November 16, 2010, NASA administrator Charles Bolden said that
5096-614: 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 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
5187-679: The historic maiden flight of Space Shuttle Columbia . (For detailed information on the STS-135 boosters, see) After completing the assembly process, the ET-138 was mated to the SRBs on April 25. President Barack Obama , his wife Michelle Obama , and their daughters, Malia and Sasha , viewed Atlantis at the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1) on their visit to the Kennedy Space Center on April 29, 2011. The president's family missed
5278-426: The issue. She noted her concern that, while violent crime was decreasing, juvenile crime was increasing, and argued that reducing truancy, using the educational system to identify at-risk children, and working with community leaders to develop home-grown solutions could help address the issue. Chiles repeatedly visited the district to campaign for Kosmas, arguing that Ascherl left large shoes to fill and that she had
5369-503: The launch of Endeavour on the STS-134 mission, as the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to problems with two heaters on one of Endeavour ' s auxiliary power units (APUs). During their tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility, the president's family was accompanied by United Space Alliance tile technician Terry White and astronaut Janet Kavandi . Standing under the wings of Space Shuttle Atlantis , White gave
5460-553: The leadership credentials to replace him. Kosmas was also endorsed by the Orlando Sentinel , which argued that she had "a much sharper understanding of issues" than Cooper and that her "extensive hands-on community-service experience" was better-suited than his, and by the Daytona Beach News-Journal , which concluded that she was "extraordinarily well-versed on key issues" and was "much more in touch than Cooper with
5551-693: The majority of the payload. This was Raffaello 's fourth trip to the International Space Station since 2001 and the 12th use of an MPLM. Unlike previous MPLM missions that delivered large compartments and devices to outfit the space station laboratories, STS-135 delivered only bags and supply containers. The MPLM was filled with 16 resupply racks, which is the maximum that it could handle. Eight Resupply Stowage Platforms (RSPs), two Integrated Stowage Platforms (ISPs), six Resupply Stowage Racks (RSRs) and one Zero-G Stowage Rack (ZSR), which sits above another rack during transport. On flight day 4, Raffaello
SECTION 60
#17328451813315642-414: 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 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
5733-545: 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). Suzanne Kosmas Kosmas has lived in New Smyrna Beach since 1973. She has owned Prestige Properties of New Smyrna Beach, a real estate company, since 1979. Kosmas attended The Pennsylvania State University and George Mason University , later graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stetson University in 1998. She
5824-478: The needs of the community." The News-Journal also criticized the attack ads that Cooper ran against Kosmas—which called her "Volusia County's Biggest Fraud" and accused her of being a "tax cheat" and a "business fraud"—as "the nastiest and most deceptive ads" in that year's elections. Ultimately, Kosmas ended up narrowly defeating Cooper, winning her first term in the legislature 52–48%, by a little more than 2,000 votes. When Kosmas ran for re-election in 1998, she
5915-649: The night of June 16. The canister's lifting up of the pad structure to place it into the cleanroom happened on the next day. Technicians at the launch pad closed the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) back around Atlantis to gain access to the orbiter's payload bay. The payload bay doors were opened on the night of June 18 and the cargo was installed into the shuttle's payload bay on June 20. The STS-135 crew then traveled to Kennedy Space Center, arriving in T-38 training jets just after 17:30 EDT on June 20 to take part in
6006-406: 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 is now part of the ISS's configuration. During the shuttle stand-down, construction of
6097-432: The president and his family an informal tutorial. On the early morning of May 17, 2011, Space Shuttle Atlantis departed OPF-1 and headed to the VAB for mating operations with ET-138. The short trip took longer than normal and allowed the shuttle workers to pose for a photo opportunity with the shuttle. The four STS-135 astronauts were also present to greet the workers and representatives of the media. Atlantis remained on
6188-516: The program's history. Soon the launch team was able to verify the Vent Arm's position with the help of a closed circuit camera, and the countdown clock resumed after approximately 2 minutes, 18 seconds. The final flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 8 at 11:29:03.9 EDT with launch commentator George Diller saying, "All three engines up and burning, two, one, zero and liftoff! The final liftoff of Atlantis – on
6279-492: The refurbished ET-122 only in the event that a rescue of Endeavour ' s crew were required. During Hurricane Katrina , ET-122 was damaged at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans and while the tank was certified as completely flight-worthy after its repairs were completed, NASA management ruled that ET-122 posed a slightly higher risk of losing foam from the repaired areas and therefore assigned it to
6370-489: The same day, NASA officially announced July 8, 2011, as the intended launch date of the STS-135 mission. Atlantis was rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on June 1. The first motion of Atlantis out of the Vehicle Assembly Building began at 20:42 EDT on May 31, 2011. Due to a minor hydraulic leak on a corner valve for the jacking and elevation system on the crawler-transporter, the move was delayed by 40 minutes. After
6461-421: 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 a sufficient supply line of experimental equipment. As of November 2020,
6552-526: The shoulders of the space shuttle, America will continue the dream". The launch was cheered by a crowd of nearly one million inside the Kennedy Space Center and in the surrounding area. Powered flight conformed to the standard timeline, with the two boosters separating from the ET after two minutes and five seconds, and the main engine cutoff (MECO) occurring at 15:37:28 GMT at a Mission Elapsed Time (MET) of 8 minutes and 24 seconds. The external tank, ET-138, separated from
6643-478: The shuttle and space station programs. According to NASA, the budget running through September 30, 2011, ended all concerns about funding the STS-135 mission. NASA announced the STS-335/135 crew on September 14, 2010. Only four astronauts were assigned to this mission, versus the normal six or seven, because there were no other shuttles available for a rescue following the retirement of Discovery and Endeavour. If
6734-559: The shuttle at 15:37:49 GMT. A modification made in the ET-138 camera allowed it to beam back video of the tank's disintegration in the atmosphere. A further boost from the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines (the OMS-1 burn) was not required due to the nominal MECO, and Atlantis settled into an initial 225 x 58 km roughly 51.6 degree orbit. The crew performed several course correction actions on Flight Day 1. These included
6825-455: The shuttle was seriously damaged in orbit, the crew would have moved into the International Space Station and returned in Russian Soyuz capsules, one at a time, over the course of a year. All STS-135 crew members were custom-fitted for a Russian Sokol space suit and molded Soyuz seat liner for this possibility. The reduced crew size also allowed the mission to maximize the payload carried to
6916-507: The shuttle's payload bay doors at 17:03:20 GMT, the crew began configuring Atlantis for on-orbit operations. The K u -band antenna was deployed and the self-test was completed with satisfactory results. CAPCOM astronaut Barry Wilmore radioed the crew from mission control in Houston, reporting that a preliminary analysis found no signs of any significant debris or impact damage during the ascent. Commander Ferguson and Pilot Hurley also powered up
7007-495: The station is resupplied by the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program which took over resupply missions from the Shuttle. A shuttle extension beyond STS-135 wasn't seriously considered, and an ISS extension was never intended to be a guaranteed shuttle program extension, and the Shuttle program officially ended after STS-135. The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello made up
7098-460: The survey. While the TPS survey was under way, Mission Specialist Walheim spent much of his afternoon on the shuttle's middeck. He worked to prepare items carried into orbit there for transfer to the space station. Later in the day, Walheim worked with Hurley to check out the rendezvous tools that would be used during Atlantis' s docking with the ISS on Flight Day 3. Meanwhile, Ferguson and Magnus installed
7189-470: Was about $ 450 million. On January 20, 2011, STS-135's designation was officially changed from STS-335. On February 14, 2011, NASA managers announced that STS-135 would fly regardless of the funding situation in Congress. STS-135 delivered supplies and equipment to provision the space station through 2012, following the end of NASA's Space Shuttle program . Since the ISS program was extended to 2024 (now 2030),
7280-635: Was also carried on STS-135. The External Thermal Cooling System (ETCS) Pump Module (PM) stored on ESP-2 , which failed and was replaced on orbit in August 2010, rode home on the LMC so that a failure analysis can be performed on the ground. The Robotic Refueling Mission rode up to the station on the underside of the LMC and was placed onto the ELC-4. Atlantis carried the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) developed by
7371-768: Was an independent legislator and that Denys would vote as "a rubber stamp for the leadership that's already there. She focused on her support for public schools and campaigned against Denys's proposal to provide public funds for private school vouchers, and noted her opposition to abortion regulations. Ultimately, despite the perceived closeness of the race, along with the closeness of the presidential race in Florida , Kosmas vastly improved on her margin of victory over Denys, winning her third term 57–43%. Due to term limits, Kosmas ran for her fourth and final term in 2002, and she faced Denys once again. Even though her district became more Republican-leaning after redistricting, Kosmas staked out
7462-462: Was included in NASA's 2011 authorization, which was signed into law on October 11, 2010, but funding remained dependent on a subsequent appropriations bill. United Space Alliance signed a contract extension for the mission, along with STS-134; the contract contained six one-month options with NASA in order to support continuing operations. The federal budget approved in April 2011 called for US$ 5.5 billion for NASA's space operations division, including
7553-451: 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 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),
7644-553: Was lifted out of Atlantis' s payload bay using the station's Canadarm2. It was berthed to nadir port of the Harmony node. After completing the cargo transfers to the ISS, Raffaello was loaded with almost 5,700 pounds (2,600 kg) of unneeded equipment and station waste to be brought back to Earth. On flight day 11, the MPLM was detached from Harmony and was secured in the cargo bay of the shuttle. The Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC)
7735-451: Was married to Robert Paul Kosmas Sr. In 1996, when incumbent State Representative Jack Ascherl opted against seeking re-election, Kosmas ran to succeed him in the 28th District, which included eastern Volusia County . She was initially scheduled to face Ted Doran, a Port Orange attorney in the Democratic primary, but at the last minute, Governor Lawton Chiles persuaded Doran to run in
7826-457: Was opposed by Republican nominee Jerry Gardner, a staffer who had worked at the local state attorney's office and for the State Senate 's criminal justice committee. Kosmas emphasized her experience in the legislature, legislative accomplishments, and moderate views, while Gardner argued that she was ideologically out-of-step with the more conservative district. Once again, the News-Journal and
7917-431: Was rolled out to the launch pad, Endeavour was landing a few miles away at the Shuttle Landing Facility, touching down on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 at 02:34 EDT after completing its final mission, STS-134 . Atlantis 's external tank for the STS-135 mission was put through a tanking test on June 15, 2011, to check the health of the tank's stringers. It was slightly delayed due to a lightning storm which passed over
8008-470: Was successfully deployed from the shuttle's cargo bay on flight day 13, becoming the 180th and last Space Shuttle payload to be placed into orbit. The mission was the third flight of the TriDAR sensor package designated DTO-701A (Detailed Test Objective), a 3D dual-sensing laser camera, intended for use as an autonomous rendezvous and docking sensor. It was developed by Neptec Design Group and funded by NASA and
8099-589: Was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC), which were delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight of Raffaello marked the only time that Atlantis carried an MPLM. Although the mission was authorized, it initially had no appropriation in the NASA budget, raising questions about whether the mission would fly. On January 20, 2011, program managers changed STS-335 to STS-135 on
8190-505: Was transported to the Kennedy Space Center in early March 2011, where the GSFC team performed the final preparations for space flight. Once up on the International Space Station, RRM will be installed into the ELC-4. The Dextre robot was planned to be used in 2012 and 2013 during the refueling demonstration experiments. Space Shuttle Atlantis carried a miniaturised satellite known as PSSC-2, or Picosatellite Solar Cell Testbed 2 into orbit. PSSC-2
8281-461: Was used to demonstrate technology for autonomous rendezvous and docking in orbit. STS-135 returned to Earth carrying several items of downmass payload. The failed ammonia Pump Module that was replaced in August 2010 was returned inside Atlantis' s payload bay, on the upper side of the LMC. Also, a problematic Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Heat Exchanger (HX) was expected to be returned inside
#330669