Main Sts132 Press Kit

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION
STS-132
Finishing Touches
PRESS KIT/May 2010
www.nasa.gov

CONTENTS
Section Page
STS-132/ULF4 MISSION OVERVIEW ...................................................................................... 1
STS-132 TIMELINE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 13
MISSION PROFILE ................................................................................................................... 17
MISSION OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................ 19
MISSION PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................. 23
STS-132 CREW ....................................................................................................................... 25
PAYLOAD OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 33

I N T E GRA T ED C A RG O CA RRI E R V ER TI C AL L IG HT D EPLO Y ( I C C -VL D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
M I NI - RE S E AR CH MOD UL E- 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 36
RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING ....................................................................................................... 39

U N D O CK I NG , S E PA RA TI O N A N D D EPA RTU R E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
SPACEWALKS ......................................................................................................................... 43
EXPERIMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 51
S H OR T- D UR AT I O N EXP ER IM E NT S T O B E P E R FO RM E D O N S T S -1 3 2 /U L F 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
S AM PL ES / EXP E RIM E N T S TO B E R ET UR NE D O N S T S-1 32 / UL F 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
D E TA IL E D S UP PL EM E NTA RY O B J E CT I V ES A ND D ETA IL E D T E S T O BJ E C T I V E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
HISTORY OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS ................................................................................ 59
SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA .................................................................................................... 63
LAUNCH AND LANDING ........................................................................................................... 81

L A U N CH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
A B OR T- T O- OR B IT ( AT O ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 81
T RA N SA TLA NT I C A B OR T L A N D I NG ( TAL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
R E T UR N -T O -L A U N CH - SI T E ( R TL S ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 81
A B OR T O N C E A RO U N D (A OA ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 81
L A N D I NG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
MAY 2010 CONTENTS i

Section Page
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... 83
MEDIA ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................... 99
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS .................................................................................................. 101
ii CONTENTS MAY 2010

STS-132/ULF4 MISSION OVERVIEW
The space shuttle Atlantis’ crew cabin and forward cargo bay are featured in this image
photographed by an STS-129 crew member during the mission’s first session of
extravehicular activity.
The final planned mission of space shuttle After launch on its 32nd mission, Atlantis will
Atlantis is scheduled for 12 days and begins follow the standard two-day rendezvous profile
at 2:20 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 14, with leading to docking Sunday morning, May 16.
launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Its On the way, the six-member crew will power
prime payloads destined for the International up the Russian module and devote time
Space Station are the second of two Russian inspecting the shuttle’s Thermal Protection
Mini-Research Modules and additional spare System for any damage that may have occurred
parts, including a set of batteries for the during launch; check out spacesuits that will be
station’s truss and a high-powered dish used during three spacewalks; and test
antenna assembly. hardware used to assist with the rendezvous
and docking.
MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 1

International Space Station Mass Numbers: Miscellaneous changes accounts for cargo
transfer and water added to station: 1,413 lbm
Before STS-132 docking, the International Space (641 kg)
Station weighs 795,370 lbm (360,774 kg)
After STS-132 undocks, the station will weigh
Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Lightweight 815,519 lbm (369,914 kg)
Deployable (ICC-VLD) launch mass is
7,532 lbm (3,417 kg)
Mission “Quick Look”
ICC-VLD return mass is 6,466 lbm (2,933 kg)
• Launch: 2:20 p.m. EDT Friday, May 14
Space-to-Ground Antenna (SGAnt) and boom
• OV-104 Atlantis (final flight of vehicle)
will be added to station; mass is 645 lbm
(293 kg) • Mission Duration: 12+0+2
Enhanced Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) • 7 full docked days
Temporary Platform (EOTP) is added to Special
Purpose Dexterous Manipulator; mass is • Crew sleep shifts 4 hours earlier to support
421 lbm (191 kg) end of mission landing
Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1) launch mass • 3 spacewalks based out of the Quest Airlock
is 17,670 lbm (8,015 kg)
• 30 hours budgeted for shuttle middeck
transfer
2 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

Leading the crew for STS-132 is Commander Hubble Space Telescope one final time. He
Ken Ham (Captain, U.S. Navy) flying for the conducted two spacewalks. Reisman spent
second time following his first mission in 95 days in space – 90 aboard the space station as
May/June 2008 as pilot on the STS-124 flight of an Expedition 16/17 flight engineer. During his
Discovery. He is joined by an all-veteran crew tour on the station, Reisman conducted one
that includes Pilot Dominic “Tony” Antonelli spacewalk. He launched with Endeavour’s
(Captain, USN), Flight Engineer Michael Good STS-123 crew in March 2008 and returned
(Colonel, USAF, Retired), Garrett Reisman, aboard Discovery in June 2008 at the conclusion
Steve Bowen (Captain, USN), and Piers Sellers. of the STS-124 mission. Bowen flew aboard
Endeavour on the STS-126 mission in
Antonelli flew as pilot of Discovery’s STS-119 November 2008 during which he conducted
mission in March 2009, which delivered the three spacewalks. Sellers flew previously on
S6 Truss and solar array pair to the space STS-112 aboard Atlantis in October 2002 and
station. Good flew last a year ago (May 2009) STS-121 on Discovery in July 2006. He, too, has
on the STS-125 flight of Atlantis to service the performed three spacewalks.
While seated at the commander’s station, astronaut Ken Ham, STS-132 commander, participates
in a post insertion/de-orbit training session in the Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT-2) in the
Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Ham is wearing a training
version of his shuttle launch and entry suit.

Aboard Atlantis in the payload bay is the The day after launch, Antonelli and Sellers will
Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1 share the duty of gathering sensor data and
(MRM-1) named “Rassvet,” the Russian word imagery using the shuttle’s robotic arm and the
for dawn or sunrise (pronounced Ross-vyet), Orbiter Boom Sensor System to transmit data to
along with a cargo carrier holding a spare set of the ground for review to ensure the sensitive
batteries, a spare Ku Band antenna and Thermal Protection System – particularly the
components that will complement the wing leading edge panels and nose cap – was
Canadian-built Special Purpose Dextrous not damaged during launch. The same type of
Manipulator – “Dextre.” inspection will occur late in the mission after
Atlantis departs the station to ensure no critical
While docked to the station, three crew damage was incurred from micrometeoroid
members will share the spacewalking duties on debris while in space.
the fourth, sixth and eighth mission days.
NASA astronaut Tony Antonelli, STS-132 pilot, attired in a training version of his shuttle
launch and entry suit, discusses training activities with United Space Alliance suit technician
Andre Denard in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

While the inspection takes place, Reisman, robotic arm (Canadarm2) to relocate the
Bowen and Good will prepare the spacesuits, or Integrated Cargo Carrier from Atlantis’ payload
Extravehicular Mobility Units, they will wear bay to the station’s Mobile Base System ahead
for their spacewalks to be conducted out of the of the next day’s first spacewalk of the mission.
station’s Quest airlock. This will preposition the components in close
proximity to the worksite.
Day three marks the arrival at the space station
with rendezvous and docking. With Ham and Flight day three ends with Reisman and Bowen
Antonelli at the controls of Atlantis, the orbiter sleeping in the Quest airlock as part of
will close in for the final approach and docking the overnight “campout” protocol that helps
to the station’s forward docking port on the purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams,
Tranquility module. After a series of jet firings preventing decompression sickness that could
to fine tune Atlantis’ path to the station, the occur otherwise. The campout is a standard
shuttle will arrive at a point about 600 feet procedure that will be repeated the night before
directly below the station about an hour before each spacewalk.
docking. At that time, Ham will execute the
Early on day four spacewalk preparations
R-Bar Pitch Maneuver (or RPM), a one-degree-
resume as Reisman (EV1) and Bowen (EV2)
per-second rotational “backflip” to enable
conduct the first of three outside excursions.
station crew members to snap hundreds of
EVA-1 tasks include installation of the spare
detailed photos of the shuttle’s heat shield and
Space-to-Ground Antenna and the Enhanced
other areas of potential interest – another data
Orbital Replacement Unit Temporary Platform
point for imagery analysts to pore over in
(EOTP) designed for stowage of spare parts.
determining the health of the shuttle’s Thermal
The two also will prepare new batteries for the
Protection System.
other two planned spacewalks to shift brand
Once the rotation is completed, Ham will new batteries from Atlantis to an outermost
maneuver Atlantis to a point 310 feet in front of worksite on the P6 Truss. Reisman will wear an
the station before slowly closing in for docking. all-white spacesuit and Bowen will wear a suit
Less than two hours later, hatches will be with red stripes on the pant leg and upper
opened between the two spacecraft and a backpack. Each spacewalk is budgeted to last
combined crew of 12 will begin six days of approximately 6.5 hours.
work. Atlantis’ crew will be working with
extravehicular activity
Expedition 23 commander, Russian cosmonaut
Oleg Kotov, and flight engineers T.J. Creamer, • EVA 1 on Flight Day 4 (6.5 hrs) –
and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, both of NASA; Garrett Reisman (EV1) and Steve Bowen
Soichi Noguchi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration (EV2)
Agency astronaut; and cosmonauts Alexander • EVA 2 on Flight Day 6 (6.5 hrs) –
Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko. Steve Bowen (EV1) and Michael Good (EV2)
After docking, hatch opening and a safety • EVA 3 on Flight Day 8 (6.5 hrs) –
briefing by the station crew for its newly Michael Good (EV1) and Garrett Reisman
arriving shuttle astronauts, robotics takes center (EV2)
stage as Sellers and Dyson operate the station’s

The Russian Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1) The 11,000-pound module is approximately
installation on the station’s Zarya module 19 feet long and 8 feet in diameter and will
earth-facing docking port dominates day five of increase the capabilities of the Russian segment
Atlantis’ mission as robotics work takes center of the space station by providing workstations
stage. The mission’s primary objective involves for payloads and the conduct of experiments.
using the station’s robotic arm under control of MRM-1 will increase the technical and
Reisman and Sellers to remove the module operational capabilities as well by providing
from Atlantis and carefully install it on the accommodation for arriving and departing
Russian segment. Once capture is confirmed, transport vehicles like the Soyuz and Progress
an automatic docking sequence is initiated spacecraft.
by the crew via a Russian segment laptop
computer. Power from the station robotic arm
to the module would then be terminated.
NASA astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-132 mission specialist, participates in an Extravehicular

Mobility Unit spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article in the
Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Astronaut Garrett Reisman, mission specialist, assists Bowen.

Stored inside the module for delivery to Russian Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1)
the station is one and a half tons of food,
clothing and supplies. On its exterior are • Mini-Research Module-1 (Rassvet)
temporarily stowed items that will be relocated
• Length 19.7 feet (6.0 meters)
during future station spacewalks. An airlock
on Rassvet will be attached to the Russian • Diameter 7.7 ft (2.35 m)
Multi-purpose Laboratory Module (MLM) after
its launch atop a Russian Proton rocket in 2012. • Mass (empty) 11,188 pounds
A European robot arm elbow joint also is (5,075 kilograms)
attached to the outside and a Portable Work
• Mass (loaded) 17,760 lbs (8,015 kg)
Post (PWP) to assist with the arm’s activation,
checkout and operation. • ISS supplies 3,069 lbs (1,392 kg)
After the MRM-1 is installed, time is budgeted 1. Crew provisioning and support items
for focused inspection of Atlantis’ heat shield if
mission managers determine it is necessary. 2. Office supplies
Reisman and Sellers would conduct the survey.
If not required, the time allotted for focused 3. Food
inspection would free Ham, Antonelli and 4. Crew Health Care System (CheCS)
Good to help with middeck transfer activities. equipment
The final robotic task for flight day five is using
5. Computers and accessories
the station’s robot arm Canadarm2 to grapple
and hand off the shuttle’s Orbiter Boom Sensor 6. Equipment for cold storage and National
System to the shuttle arm. Canadarm2 will be Lab Pathfinder (NLP) experiment
prepositioned to assist with viewing for the
next day’s spacewalk. • External items 2,889 lbs (1,310 kg)
Day six will see the second of the three planned 1. Spare elbow joint for ESA robot arm
spacewalks conducted by Bowen (EV1) and (ERA)
Good (EV2). Bowen again will be wearing the
suit with red stripes and Good will wear a suit 2. Portable Work Post (PWP) for ERA
with broken barber pole stripes. activation, checkout and ops
The focus of EVA-2 will be the removal and 3. Radiator and airlock for future Russian
replacement of three of six batteries on the Multi-purpose Lab Module (MLM)
outermost truss segment on the port side of the
• Pressurized volume 614 cubic feet
station. These P6 truss batteries are the oldest
(17.4 cubic meters)
of the station’s exterior battery complement
designed to store solar energy for use by station • Habitable volume 207 cubic feet
systems. The worksite will be prepared first – a (5.8 cubic meters)
task deferred from the previous mission of
Discovery in April.

spacewalkers to use as a platform and
repository. Once the spacewalk is completed,
the robotic arm will be maneuvered clear of the
Solar Alpha Rotary Joint so that it can be
commanded to rotate again.
Each battery measures 40 x 36 x 18 inches and

weighs 375 pounds. The battery set to be
replaced was launched as part of the P6 Truss
segment delivered to the space station in
November/December 2000.
P6 Battery
• 40" x 36" x 18"
• 375 pounds (170 kilograms)
• 38 lightweight Nickel Hydrogen cells
• Provides 8 kilowatts of electrical power

(two batteries connected in series)
• 6.5 year average design life
• Can exceed 38,000 charge/discharge cycles at

35 percent depth of discharge
NASA astronaut Michael Good, STS-132
mission specialist, uses virtual reality Flight day seven focuses on hatch opening and
hardware in the Space Vehicle Mock-up entry into the MRM-1 following leak checks.
Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to After the atmosphere is scrubbed, the docking
rehearse some of his duties on the upcoming mechanism will be removed and hatch left
mission to the International Space Station. slightly ajar. Actual ingress into the module
This type of virtual reality training allows the will wait until after Atlantis departs and the
astronauts to wear a helmet and special gloves station crew is back on its own. This day also
while looking at computer displays includes some crew off duty time ahead of day
simulating actual movements around the eight’s third spacewalk.
various locations on the station hardware
The third and final planned spacewalk of the
with which they will be working.
mission will be conducted on flight day eight
David Homan assists Good.
by Good (EV1) and Reisman (EV2). Good will
The station robotic arm, under shared control of wear a suit with the barber pole red stripes and
Reisman and Sellers, will maneuver the Reisman once again will be wearing a suit with
Integrated Cargo Carrier to the worksite for the no markings.

Their focus will be on removal and replacement With the outside work complete, day nine
of the final three batteries on the P6 truss and focuses on cleanup by relocating the Integrated
returning the full set of old batteries to the Cargo Carrier from its temporary location on
Integrated Cargo Carrier for eventual return to the station’s Mobile Base System to the shuttle’s
Atlantis’ payload bay and return home. payload bay for return home.
Time permitting, the spacewalkers will retrieve If required, the station’s orbit will be raised
a new grapple fixture for the station’s robot arm slightly using subtle thruster firings on Atlantis
from the sidewall of Atlantis and install it on followed by some off duty time for the crews.
the station. The Power Data Grapple Fixture A placeholder in the timeline is budgeted for
(PDGF) will provide an additional active Ham and Antonelli should the station program
location from which the robot arm can operate. elect to exercise the reboost option.
Attired in a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit, astronaut Piers Sellers, STS-132
mission specialist, participates in a training session on the middeck of the crew compartment trainer
(CCT-2) in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The crews of Atlantis and the station will bid After Atlantis Departs
farewell to one another early on flight day 10
after six full days of joint operations (not • 21 Soyuz undocks and lands June 2 ending
including docking and undocking days). Expedition 23
Shortly after undocking Antonelli will be at the
• Oleg Kotov, Soichi Noguchi and
controls of the shuttle for the traditional one lap
T.J. Creamer return after 163 days in
fly around to document the new configuration
space leaving Alexander Skvortsov,
of the station before departing the area.
Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail
Left behind will be the International Space Kornienko behind to begin Expedition 24
Station with its newest module and a mass
• 23 Soyuz launches June 16 and docks 18
in space of more than 815,000 pounds
(370,000 kilograms). • Fyodor Yurchikhin, Doug Wheelock and
Shannon Walker join Expedition 24
After Atlantis departs, the station crew will
turn its attention to preparations for the next • 23 Soyuz Relocate June 22
crew arrival on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft
and spacewalks to outfit the MRM-1 and • The moves Soyuz from SM Aft to MRM-1 in
installation of a PDGF on the Zarya module. preparation for 38P docking.
On flight day 11 Ham, Antonelli, Reisman and • Russian Progress 38 Supply Craft launches
Sellers will again use the OBSS to inspect the June 30 and docks July 2
wing leading edges and nose cap for any
• STS-134/ISS ULF6 Preparations
evidence of damage due to micrometeoroid
debris before return home. The data gathered • U.S. Spacewalk July 8
will be shipped to the ground for review by
imagery experts in Mission Control – the same • The primary task is to install a Power and
group that pores over imagery after launch. Data Grapple Fixture (brought inside during
STS-132 for outfitting) on the Zarya module
The day before landing is set aside for the (Dyson and Wheelock)
traditional tests of hydraulics, flight control
systems and thruster jets ahead of landing. • Russian Spacewalk July 23
With cabin stowage activities ongoing in
• The primary tasks will focus on MRM-1
parallel, Ham, Antonelli and Good will
activation. (Kornienko and Yurchikhin)
pressurize the hydraulic system to test the
movable surfaces on the wings and tail and fire
steering jets setting the stage for Atlantis’
return home.

Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, the STS-132 crew members take a
brief break for a portrait in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
NASA astronaut Ken Ham, commander, holds the STS-132 mission logo. Also pictured (from the
left) are NASA astronauts Piers Sellers, Garrett Reisman, both mission specialists; Tony Antonelli,
pilot; Michael Good and Steve Bowen, both mission specialists.
The STS-132 mission ends with landing on 132nd space shuttle mission; the 34th shuttle
flight day 12 back at the Kennedy Space flight devoted to space station assembly and
Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Landing operation and the 32nd and final planned flight
currently is planned for the early morning of of Atlantis.
May 26 after 12 days in space. STS-132 is the

This page intentionally blank

STS-132 TIMELINE OVERVIEW
Flight Day 1 • Hatch Opening and Welcoming
• Launch • Canadarm2 grapple of Integrated Cargo

Carrier, unberthing from Atlantis’ payload
• Payload Bay Door Opening bay and temporary park on the Mobile Base
• Ku-band Antenna Deployment System’s payload attachment device
• Shuttle Robotic Arm Activation and payload • Spacewalk 1 preparations by Reisman

bay survey and Bowen
• Umbilical Well and Handheld External Tank • Spacewalk 1 procedure review

Photo and TV Downlink • Spacewalk 1 campout by Reisman and
Flight Day 2 Bowen in the Quest airlock
• Atlantis’ Thermal Protection System Survey Flight Day 4

with Shuttle Robotic Arm/Orbiter Boom • Spacewalk 1 by Reisman and Bowen
Sensor System (OBSS) (Installation of the backup Space-to-Ground
• Extravehicular Mobility Unit Checkout Antenna on the Z1 truss and installation of a
new tool platform on the Dextre robot)
• Centerline Camera Installation
Flight Day 5
• Orbiter Docking System Ring Extension
• Unberth of the Russian Rassvet module from
• Orbital Maneuvering System Pod Survey
Atlantis’ payload bay and installation on the
• Rendezvous tools checkout Earth-facing port of the Zarya module
Flight Day 3 • Canadarm unberth of the Orbiter Boom

Sensor System and handoff to the shuttle’s
• Rendezvous with the International Space robotic arm
Station
• Focused inspection of Atlantis’ thermal
• Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver Photography protection heat shield, if required
of Atlantis’ Thermal Protection System by
Expedition 23 crew members Creamer and • Spacewalk 2 preparations by Bowen and
Kotov Good
• Docking to Harmony/Pressurized Mating • Spacewalk 2 procedure review

Adapter-2 • Spacewalk 2 campout by Bowen and Good
in the Quest airlock
MAY 2010 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 13

Flight Day 6 Flight Day 9
• Canadarm 2 removal of the Integrated Cargo • Canadarm 2 berths the Integrated Cargo
Carrier from the Mobile Base System Carrier in Atlantis’ cargo bay
attachment device and relocation at the
• Middeck cargo transfer from Atlantis to
Spacewalk 2 worksite
the station
• Spacewalk 2 by Bowen and Good (remove
• Crew off duty time
and replace three of the six batteries in the
P6 truss) Flight Day 10
Flight Day 7 • Final middeck cargo transfer from Atlantis
to the station
• Middeck cargo transfer from Atlantis to
the space station • Rendezvous Tool Checkout
• Rassvet/Zarya leak checks and Rassvet hatch • Joint Crew News Conference
opening for air duct installation (complete
• Farewells and Hatch Closure
outfitting of Rassvet will be delayed until
after Atlantis departs) • Centerline Camera installation
• Crew off duty period • Atlantis undocking from station and
flyaround
• Spacewalk 3 preparations by Reisman
and Good • Final separation from the station
• Spacewalk 3 procedure review Flight Day 11
• Spacewalk 3 campout by Reisman and • OBSS late inspection of Atlantis’ thermal
Good in the Quest airlock heat shield
Flight Day 8 • OBSS berth
• Spacewalk 3 by Reisman and Good (remove Flight Day 12
and replace the last three batteries on the P6
truss and, if time permits, retrieve a spare • Cabin stowage
Power and Data Grapple Fixture from the • Flight Control System checkout
sidewall of Atlantis’ payload bay to be
brought inside the station) • Reaction Control System hot-fire test
• Canadarm 2 returns the Integrated Cargo • Deorbit Preparation Briefing

Carrier to the Mobile Base System • Ku-band antenna stowage
attachment device
14 TIMELINE OVERVIEW MAY 2010

Flight Day 13
• Deorbit preparations
• Payload Bay Door closing
• Deorbit burn
• KSC Landing
MAY 2010 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 15

16 TIMELINE OVERVIEW MAY 2010

MISSION PROFILE
CREW Space Shuttle Main Engines:
Commander: Ken Ham SSME 1: 2052

Pilot: Tony Antonelli SSME 2: 2051
Mission Specialist 1: Garrett Reisman SSME 3: 2047
Mission Specialist 2: Michael Good External Tank: ET-136
Mission Specialist 3: Steve Bowen SRB Set: BI-143
Mission Specialist 4: Piers Sellers RSRM Set: 111
LAUNCH SHUTTLE ABORTS

Orbiter: Atlantis (OV-104) Abort Landing Sites
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center
RTLS: Kennedy Space Center Shuttle
Launch Pad 39A
Landing Facility
Launch Date: May 14, 2010
TAL: Primary – Zaragoza, Spain.
Launch Time: 2:20 p.m. EDT (Preferred
Alternates – Moron, Spain and
In-Plane launch time for
Istres, France
5/14)
AOA: Primary – Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 10 Minutes
Shuttle Landing Facility
Altitude: 22 Nautical Miles (140 Miles)
Alternate – White Sands Space
Orbital Insertion; 190 NM
Harbor
(218 Miles) Rendezvous
Inclination: 51.6 Degrees
LANDING
Duration: 11 Days 18 Hours 23 Minutes
Landing Date: May 26, 2010
VEHICLE DATA Landing Time: 08:44 a.m. EDT
Shuttle Liftoff Weight: 4,519,769 Primary landing Site: Kennedy Space Center
Shuttle Landing Facility
pounds
Orbiter/Payload Liftoff Weight: 263,100
PAYLOADS
pounds
Orbiter/Payload Landing Weight: 209,491 Mini-Research Module-1
pounds Integrated Cargo Carrier
Software Version: OI-34
MAY 2010 MISSION PROFILE 17

18 MISSION PROFILE MAY 2010

MISSION OBJECTIVES
MAJOR OBJECTIVES 9. Install the Enhanced ORU Temporary
Platform (EOTP) on the Special Purpose
1. Rendezvous and dock space shuttle Atlantis Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM)
to the station’s Pressurized Mating Adapter
(PMA)-2 and perform mandatory safety 10. Replace the six P6 channel 4B batteries
briefing for all crew members currently in orbit with new batteries from
the ICC-VLD-2 and return the old batteries
2. Activate and check out Mini-Research on ICC-VLD-2
Module-1 (MRM-1) in the shuttle payload
bay 11. Return the ICC-VLD2 with old batteries to
the shuttle payload bay
3. Support dual docked operations for
23S docking (if required) 12. Transfer mission success items per the
Flight ULF4 TPL
4. Perform robotic installation of the MRM-1
to the Zarya nadir port 13. Remove the Payload Data Grapple
Fixture (PDGF) from the shuttle sidewall
− Closure of a minimum of one set of carrier and transfer to the space station
hooks in the MRM-1/Zarya nadir
interface 14. Perform Intravehicular Activity (IVA) tasks
to allow for return of in-orbit hardware
− Confirmation of electrical connectivity
through the MRM-1/Zarya Interface 15. Perform daily station payload status checks,
as required
5. Transfer mandatory quantities of water
from the shuttle to the space station per 16. Perform nonrecoverable station
Flight Utilization Logistics Flight (ULF) 4 utilization/science activities (not listed in
Transfer Priority List (TPL) priority order):
6. Transfer critical items per Flight ULF4 TPL − Bisphosphonates
7. Deploy Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical − Double Coldbag (DCB) packing

Lightweight Deployable-2 (ICC-VLD-2)
with Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) − Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis
from the payload bay and stow on Mobile Roots at Different g-levels (WAICO) bag
Transporter (MT) Payload ORU packing
Accommodation (POA)
− General Laboratory Active Cryogenic
8. Install the Space-to-Ground Antenna ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER)
(SGAnt) and SGAnt boom on Z1 truss − Microbiology-2 (Micro-2)
MAY 2010 MISSION OBJECTIVES 19

− Mycological Evaluation of Crew 24. Transfer oxygen from the shuttle to the
Exposure to ISS Ambient Air (Myco) station’s airlock HGPTs as consumables
allow
− National Lab Pathfinder (NLP)
vaccine-9 25. Perform imagery survey of the station’s
exterior during fly-around after undock
− SPINAL long (station U.S. Operating
Segment (USOS) crew) and SPINAL 26. Perform reboost of the station with the
short (shuttle crew) shuttle if mission resources allow and are
consistent with station trajectory analysis
− Fish Scales
and planning
17. Transfer additional quantities of water from
the shuttle to station per ULF4 TPL 27. Perform program-approved EVA get-ahead
tasks. The following EVA get-ahead tasks
18. Transfer remaining cargo items per Flight do not fit in the existing EVA timelines;
ULF4 TPL however, the EVA team will be trained and
ready to perform them, should the
19. The following spacewalk tasks are deemed opportunity arise:
to fit within the existing extravehicular
activity (EVA) timelines; however, they may − Port 3 Crew and Equipment
be deferred if the EVA is behind schedule. Transfer/Translation Aid (CETA) light
The EVA will not be extended to complete
− Port 4/Port 5 NH3 jumper
these tasks:
28. Perform program-approved IVA get-ahead
− Install EOTP input drive mechanism
tasks. The following IVA get-ahead tasks
and two fuse ORUs
do not fit in the existing IVA timelines;
20. Perform daily middeck status checks to however, the IVA team will be trained and
support payloads ready to perform should the opportunity
arise:
21. Perform remaining station payload research
operations tasks − Ingress MRM-1
− SDBI 1634 SLEEP/WAKE actigraphy 29. Perform Station Development Test

and light exposure during spaceflight Objective (SDTO) 13005-U, ISS Structural
(“Sleep-Short”) Life Validation and Extension, during
MRM-1 installation
22. Perform Russian resupply
30. Perform SDTO 13005-U, ISS Structural Life
23. Transfer nitrogen from the shuttle to the Validation and Extension, during shuttle-
station’s airlock High Pressure Gas Tanks mated reboost
(HGPTs)
20 MISSION OBJECTIVES MAY 2010

31. Perform SDTO 13005-U, ISS Structural Life 33. Perform payload of opportunity operations
Validation and Extension, during ULF4 to support Maui Analysis of Upper
docking Atmospheric Injections (MAUI), Shuttle
Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiment
32. Perform SDTO 13005-U, ISS Structural Life (SEITE), Shuttle Ionospheric Modification
Validation and Extension, during ULF4 with Pulsed Local Exhaust (SIMPLEX) and
undocking, if crew time available Ram Burn Observations (RAMBO-2)
MAY 2009 MISSION OBJECTIVES 21

22 MISSION PRIORITIES NOVEMBER 2009

MISSION PERSONNEL
KEY CONSOLE POSITIONS FOR STS-132
Flt. Director CAPCOM PAO
Ascent Richard Jones Charlie Hobaugh Kyle Herring
TBD (Wx)
Orbit 1 (Lead) Mike Sarafin Chris Cassidy Kyle Herring
Orbit 2 Chris Edelen Stan Love Josh Byerly
Planning Ginger Kerrick Shannon Lucid Nicole Cloutier-

Lemasters
Entry Tony Ceccacci Charlie Hobaugh Josh Byerly

TBD (Wx)
Shuttle Team 4 TBD N/A N/A
ISS Orbit 1 Holly Ridings Zach Jones N/A
ISS Orbit 2 (Lead) Emily Nelson Steve Swanson N/A
ISS Orbit 3 Dina Contella Rob Hayhurst N/A
Station Team 4 Royce Renfrew
JSC PAO Representative at KSC for Launch – Kelly Humphries
KSC Launch Commentator – George Diller
KSC Launch Director – Mike Leinbach
NASA Launch Test Director – Jeremy Graeber
MAY 2010 MISSION PERSONNEL 23

24 MISSION PERSONNEL MAY 2010

STS-132 CREW
The STS-132 mission will be the 32nd flight of of a new day as it rises for the first time on a
the space shuttle Atlantis. The primary STS-132 new station module, the MRM-1, named
mission objective is to deliver the Russian-made “Rassvet,” the Russian word for dawn.
MRM-1 (Mini-Research Module) to the
International Space Station. Atlantis also will Short biographical sketches of the crew appear
deliver a new communications antenna and a in this package.
new set of batteries for one of the station’s solar More detailed biographies are available at:
arrays. The STS-132 mission patch features http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/bios/
Atlantis flying off into the sunset as the end of
the Space Shuttle Program approaches.
However, the sun is also heralding the promise
MAY 2010 CREW 25

The STS-132 crew members, shown clockwise, are NASA astronauts Ken Ham (bottom),
commander; Garrett Reisman and Michael Good, mission specialists; Tony Antonelli, pilot;
and Piers Sellers and Steve Bowen, mission specialists.
26 CREW APRIL 2010

STS-132 CREW BIOGRAPHIES
Ken Ham
Ken Ham, a captain in the U.S. Navy, zero-g office at Ellington Field in Houston
will command STS-132 and its crew. As where he flew as a crew member on the NASA
commander, he will have overall responsibility zero-g research aircraft.
for the safety and execution of the mission and
will oversee the crew and ensure mission In 2008, Ham served as pilot of STS-124, which
objectives are met. He will fly Atlantis during delivered the Kibo pressurized science
its rendezvous and docking to the space station laboratory to the space station. He has spent
and landing back on Earth. more than 13 days in space and has logged
more than 5,000 flight hours in more than
Before being selected by NASA in 1998, Ham 40 different types of aircraft.
was temporarily assigned to the NASA-JSC
MAY 2010 CREW 27

Tony Antonelli
A commander in the U.S. Navy, Tony Antonelli flight time in more than 41 different kinds of
will pilot STS-132. He will assist Ham with aircraft.
rendezvous and landing, and will fly the orbiter
during undocking and the flyaround. He served as pilot of STS-119 in 2009, which
delivered the S6 Integrated Truss Segment and
This will be Antonelli’s second trip to space. the final pair of power-generating solar array
Selected as a pilot by NASA in 2000, Antonelli wings to the space station.
has accumulated more than 3,600 hours of
28 CREW MAY 2010

Garrett Reisman
Garrett Reisman, who holds a Ph.D. in the bottom of the sea in the Aquarius habitat for
mechanical engineering, will serve as mission two weeks.
specialist 1 on STS-132. Following Astronaut
Candidate Training in 1998, he completed work In 2008, Reisman completed his first
in the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch, spaceflight, spending more than three months
primarily working on the space station robotic in space and accruing more than seven hours of
arm, and then later served in the Astronaut extravehicular activity, or EVA, time. He
Office Advanced Vehicles Branch, working on launched to space with the STS-123 crew and
the displays and checklists to be used in the returned home on STS-124. He served with the
next-generation space shuttle cockpit. In 2003, Expedition 16 and Expedition 17 crews as a
he was a crew member on NEEMO V, living on flight engineer.
MAY 2010 CREW 29

Michael Good
A retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced
Michael Good will be making his second trip to Vehicles Branch and the Space Shuttle Branch.
space on STS-132, serving as mission In 2009, he served on the crew of STS-125, the
specialist 2. final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space
Telescope, spending nearly 13 days in space
After being selected by NASA as a mission and logging almost 16 hours of EVA time
specialist in 2000, Good was assigned technical during two spacewalks.
30 CREW MAY 2010

Steve Bowen
The first-ever submarine officer selected by technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station
NASA, Steve Bowen, a captain in the U.S. Operations Branch. He completed his first
Navy, is assigned to serve as mission spaceflight aboard STS-126 in 2008 where he
specialist 3 on STS-132. spent more than 15 days in space and logged
more than 19 hours of EVA time in three
Upon completion of Astronaut Candidate spacewalks.
Training, Bowen was initially assigned
MAY 2010 CREW 31

Piers Sellers
Veteran astronaut Piers Sellers will serve as Office Space Station Branch during which he
mission specialist 4 on STS-132. His two worked part time in Moscow as a technical
previous spaceflights include STS-112 in 2002 liaison on station computer software.
and STS-121 in 2006.
He has logged more than 559 hours in space,
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in including nearly 41 EVA hours in six
1996, Sellers was initially assigned technical spacewalks.
duties in the Astronaut Office Computer
Support Branch, then moved to the Astronaut
32 CREW MAY 2010

PAYLOAD OVERVIEW
INTEGRATED CARGO CARRIER The ICC configuration flown on STS-132 is

VERTICAL LIGHT DEPLOY (ICC-VLD) called the ICC – VLD and provides heater
power and electrical connections for the ORUs.
Astronauts use the Integrated Cargo Carrier The empty weight of the ICC – VLD is
(ICC) to help transfer unpressurized cargo such 2,645 pounds. The total weight of the ORUs
as Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) from the and ICC – VLD is approximately 8,330 pounds.
space shuttle to the International Space Station The STS-132 assembly mission ICC – VLD will
and from the station to worksites on the truss carry replacement components and spare parts
assemblies. The carrier also is used to return for the space station.
items for refurbishment.
The ICC is grabbed by the space shuttle and the
The Astrium ICC, formerly provided by space station robotic arms during its move from
SPACEHAB Inc., is an unpressurized flatbed the payload bay. It is attached to the station’s
pallet and keel yoke assembly housed in mobile transporter and can be held at the
the shuttle’s payload bay. Constructed of various worksites by the station’s robotic arm
aluminum, it is approximately 8 feet long while the ORUs are transferred.
(105 inches), 13 feet wide (165 inches) and
10 inches thick, and carries cargo on both the The ICC – VLD will carry six battery ORUs
top and bottom faces of the pallet. Using for the Port 6 (P6) Integrated Equipment
modular elements, several pallet configurations Assembly (IEA). The P6 containing the initial
are available, accommodating various mass station high-power components was launched
capabilities and cargo envelopes. on Nov. 30, 2000. The IEA contains 12 Battery
Subassembly ORUs (six batteries) that are
charged from the solar arrays during sunlit
MAY 2010 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 33

periods and provide station power during diameter, and 6 feet (72 inches) high, including
eclipse and maintenance periods. Previously, gimbals, and weighs 194 pounds.
six of the original P6 battery ORUs were
changed out during the STS-127 (2J/A) mission. The SGANT Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU),
Thirty-eight Individual Pressure Vessel (IPV) the SGANT Flight Support Equipment (FSE)
Nickel Hydrogen (Ni-H2) battery cells are Installation Kit, and the Small Adapter Plate
connected in series and packaged in a battery Assembly (SAPA) comprise the Integrated
ORU. Two ORUs are connected in series, Assembly, SGANT FSE Installation Kit
utilizing a total of 76 cells to form one battery. (hereafter referred to as the Integrated
Each battery is designed to deliver more than Assembly). The installation kit is composed
25 amps in a low-demand orbit to as high as of hardware that provides a mechanical,
75 amps to meet short peaking load structural and electrical bonding interface
requirements at a battery operating voltage between the SGANT ORU and the SAPA. The
range of 76 to 123 V dc. The batteries will be SGANT FSE Installation Kit provides
replaced during two spacewalks and the old thermal conditioning of the SGANT ORU. The
ones will be returned. The six batteries weigh hardware is extravehicular activity (EVA)
2,204 pounds and have a design life of compatible. The FSE Installation Kit is used
approximately six and a half years. to support transportation of SGANT ORUs
from Earth to orbit, cargo transfer to the
In addition to the batteries, the ICC – VLD will in-orbit position on the International Space
have one Space-to-Ground Antenna (SGANT), Station, and return from orbit to Earth. When
one SGANT boom, and one Enhanced Orbital used with the proper carrier or storage
Replacement Unit Temporary Platform (EOTP). platform, the SGANT FSE Installation Kit can
These components will be stored on External be used to support storage of the SGANT ORU
Stowage Platform 3 (ESP-3) on the Port 3 truss. at in-orbit station external payload sites. It can
When the ICC – VLD with the old batteries is be separated from the Passive Flight Releasable
returned to Earth aboard the space shuttle, it Attachment Mechanism (PFRAM) Interface
will weigh 6,017 pounds. Plate (IP) Assembly mounted to the launch
carrier, or the station stowage platform.
The SGANT provides Ku band communication
between the space station and the Tracking The SGANT Boom Assembly provides power,
Data and Relay (TDRS) satellites for payload data, and structural support to the redundant
data, video to the ground and the crew SGANT and the Space-to-Ground Transmit
Orbiter Communications Adapter (OCA). The Receive Controller (SGTRC) units. The
OCA allows for telephone calls, emails and SGANT Boom Assembly will attach to the
other two-way communications services. The Integrated Truss Structure (ITS) Z1 berthing
SGANT currently is mounted on top of the face at the original SGANT launch location for
Zenith one (Z1) truss. Eventually, a second transmission of mechanical loads and
Z1 boom will be mounted with an additional vibrations. It will position and align the
SGANT in a standby backup mode. If ever redundant SGANT to be ready for use should
needed, it could be brought on line quickly. the primary SGANT fail in orbit. The Boom
The SGANT dish measures 6 feet (72 inches) in Attached Cables (BAC) provide an electrical
34 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MAY 2010

interface to the SGANT and SGTRC units for the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator
power, 1553 command and control data, (SPDM). It is built by MDA and provided as
and Radio Frequency (RF) signals and NASA Government Furnished Equipment.
Intermediate Frequency (IF) signals carrying Return of the EOTP is not planned for this
International Space Station space-to-ground mission. The EOTP has a Passive FRAM
communications. The waveguide is also interface, which is used to transfer launch
attached to the Boom Assembly and provides a loads. The interface structure between EOTP
conduit for Radio Frequency (RF) signals and the ICC-VLD is Flight Support Equipment
between the SGTRC and SGANT. (FSE) developed and owned by Astrium-ST.
It interfaces with the PFRAM of the EOTP. The
The Enhanced ORU Temporary Platform EOTP does not require power or data interfaces
(EOTP) is hardware supporting the operation of while on the ICC.
ICC-VLD Launch Configuration
ICC-VLD Return Configuration

MINI-RESEARCH MODULE-1 Once MRM-1 is installed on its Zarya port, its
614 cubic feet (17 cubic meters) of pressurized
The Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1) is a new volume, will increase the space station’s total
Russian module that will be delivered to the pressurized volume to 29,561 cubic feet
International Space Station by space shuttle (837 cubic meters), and its 207 cubic feet
Atlantis on the STS-132 mission. (5.8 cubic meters) will increase the total
habitable volume to 12,705 cubic feet
MRM-1, which has been named Rassvet, a
(360 cubic meters). After installation and
Russian word meaning dawn, will be used
Atlantis’ departure, the station’s total mass will
primarily for cargo storage and some payload
be 815,519 pounds (369,914 kilograms).
operations. The module will be berthed to the
Earth-facing port of the Zarya module using the MRM-1 (Rassvet) Basic Specifications:
station robotic arm on Flight Day 5.
Module launch 11,188 pounds
Developed at Korolev Rocket and Space Corp. mass: (5,075 kilograms)
Energia (RSC Energia), MRM-1 also will
provide a fourth docking port on the Russian Total launch 17,760 pounds
operation segment of the station for the docking mass: (8,015 kilograms), including
of Soyuz and Progress vehicles. cargo (European Robotic
Arm for Columbus, airlock
MRM-1 is 19.7 feet long (6 meters), has for Multipurpose
a maximum exterior diameter of 7.7 feet Laboratory Module and a
(2.35 meters) and weighs 11,188 pounds portable workplace)
(5,075 kilograms). For its flight to the station,
the MRM-1 will carry a total of 6,482 pounds Maximum hull 7.7 feet (2.35 meters)
(2,940 kilograms) of cargo on its internal and diameter:
exterior stowage locations while in Atlantis’
payload bay. Hull length 19.7 feet (6.0 meters)
between
On its shell, Rassvet will carry a spare elbow docking
joint for the European Robotic Arm (ERA) assembly
and outfitting equipment for the Russian planes:
Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module (MLM),
which is scheduled to launch on a Russian Pressurized 614 cubic feet
rocket in 2012. The outfitting equipment will volume: (17.4 cubic meters)
include a radiator, an airlock for payloads,
Habitable 207 cubic feet
and a Portable Work Post (PWP) that will
volume: (5.85 cubic meters)
provide a spacewalk worksite for ERA
activation, checkout, and operations.

•MLM Airlock
•MLM Radiator
•PVGF
•PDA
•Portable
Work Platform
•ERA Elbow Spare
MRM-1 Overview • MLM outfitting hardware is mounted

externally on MRM-1
• Mini-Research Module-1 (MRM-1) was
manufactured from the residual Dynamic • 3,086 pounds of NASA cargo launches
Test Article of the Science Power inside (211 cubic feet of usable on-orbit
Platform (SPP) stowage volume)

RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING
This is a high-angle view of the crew cabin of the space shuttle Atlantis during the second
spacewalk of Atlantis’ visit to the International Space Station.
Atlantis’ launch for the STS-132 mission is As Atlantis moves closer to the station, its
precisely timed to lead to a linkup with the rendezvous radar system and trajectory control
International Space Station about 220 miles sensor will provide the crew with range and
above Earth. A series of engine firings during closing-rate data. Several small correction
the first two days of the mission will bring the burns will place the shuttle about 1,000 feet
shuttle to a point about 50,000 feet behind the below the station.
station. Once there, Atlantis will start its final
approach. About 2.5 hours before docking, the Commander Ken Ham, with help from Pilot
shuttle’s jets will be fired during what is called Tony Antonelli and other crew members, will
the terminal initiation burn. The shuttle will manually fly the shuttle for the remainder of
cover the final miles to the station during the the approach and docking.
next orbit.
MAY 2010 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING 39

Ham will stop Atlantis about 600 feet below the Using a video camera mounted in the center of
station. Timing the next steps to occur with the Orbiter Docking System, Ham will line up
proper lighting, he will maneuver the shuttle the docking ports of the two spacecraft. If
through an approximate eight-minute back flip necessary, he will pause the shuttle 30 feet from
called the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver, also the station to ensure proper alignment of the
known as the R-bar Pitch Maneuver since docking mechanisms. He will maintain the
Atlantis is in line with an imaginary vertical shuttle’s speed relative to the station at about
R-bar directly below the station. During this one-tenth of a foot per second, while both
maneuver, station crew members Oleg Kotov Atlantis and the station are moving at about
and Timothy (T.J.) Creamer will photograph 17,500 mph. Ham will keep the docking
Atlantis’ upper and lower surfaces through mechanisms aligned to a tolerance of three
windows of the Zvezda Service Module. They inches.
will use digital cameras equipped with an
800mm lens to provide up to one-inch When Atlantis makes contact with the station,
resolution and a 400mm lens providing preliminary latches will automatically link the
three-inch resolution. two spacecraft. The shuttle’s steering jets will
be deactivated to reduce the forces acting at the
The photography is one of several techniques docking interface. Shock absorber springs in
used to inspect the shuttle’s Thermal Protection the docking mechanism will dampen any
System for possible damage. Areas of special relative motion between the shuttle and station.
interest include the thermal protection tiles, the
reinforced carbon-carbon panels along the wing Once motion between the shuttle and the
leading edges and the nose cap, landing gear station has been stopped, the docking ring will
doors and the elevon cove. The photos will be be retracted to close a final set of latches
downlinked through the station’s Ku-band between the two vehicles.
communications system for analysis by
UNDOCKING, SEPARATION AND
imagery experts in Mission Control.
DEPARTURE
When Atlantis completes its back flip, it will be
back where it started with its payload bay At undocking time, the hooks and latches will
facing the station. Ham then will fly the shuttle be opened and springs will push the shuttle
through a quarter circle to a position about away from the station. Atlantis’ steering jets
400 feet directly in front of the station. From will be shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings
that point he will begin the final approach to during the initial separation.
docking to the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 at Once the shuttle is about two feet from the
the forward end of the Harmony node. station and the docking devices are clear of one
The shuttle crew members will operate laptop another, Antonelli will turn the steering jets
computers that process the navigational data, back on and will manually control Atlantis
the laser range systems and Atlantis’ docking within a tight corridor as the shuttle separates
mechanism. from the station.
40 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING MAY 2010

Atlantis will move to a distance of about increase its distance behind the station with
450 feet, where Antonelli will begin to fly each trip around Earth while ground teams
around the station. Atlantis will circle the analyze data from the late inspection of the
shuttle around the station at a distance of shuttle’s heat shield. However, the distance
600-700 feet. will be close enough to allow the shuttle to
return to the station in the unlikely event that
Once the shuttle completes 1.5 revolutions of the heat shield is damaged, preventing the
the complex, Antonelli will fire Atlantis’ jets to shuttle’s safe re-entry.
leave the area. The shuttle will begin to
MAY 2010 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING 41

42 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING MAY 2010

SPACEWALKS
Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Expedition 16 flight engineer, participates in the STS-123 mission’s
first scheduled session of extravehicular activity as construction and maintenance
continue on the International Space Station.
Over the course of the three spacewalks of the in that role on a different spacewalk. Bowen,
STS-132 mission, the International Space Station who performed three spacewalks totaling
will gain spare and replacement parts that will 19 hours and 56 minutes during the STS-126
help it continue functioning well into the mission in 2008, will wear a spacesuit marked
future. with a red stripe. He’ll act as lead on the
second spacewalk. Good, who spent 15 hours
Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, and 58 minutes working on the Hubble Space
Michael Good and Steve Bowen will spend a Telescope during STS-125 in 2009, will wear a
total of 19.5 hours outside the station on flight suit with a band of red and white barber pole
days 4, 6 and 8. As all three crew members are stripes and take the lead position on the third
experienced spacewalkers, they have elected spacewalk. And Reisman, who took part in one
not to designate one person as lead spacewalker spacewalk during the STS-123 mission in 2008,
for the mission; instead they’ll each take a turn
MAY 2010 SPACEWALKS 43

will sport an all-white spacesuit. He’ll lead the used to purge nitrogen from the spacewalkers’
first spacewalk. systems and prevent decompression sickness,
also known as “the bends.”
When a spacewalk – also called extravehicular
activity, or EVA for short – is going on During the campout, the two astronauts
outside, one crew member inside the performing the spacewalk will isolate
International Space Station is assigned the job themselves inside the airlock while the air
of intravehicular officer, or spacewalk pressure is lowered to 10.2 pounds per square
choreographer. In this case, that crew member inch, or psi. The station is kept at the near-sea-
will be Pilot Tony Antonelli. The spacewalks level pressure of 14.7 psi. The morning of the
will also require astronauts inside the station to spacewalk, the astronauts will wear oxygen
be at the controls of the station’s 58-foot-long masks while the airlock's pressure is raised
robotic arm to maneuver ammonia tank back to 14.7 psi for an hour and the hatch
assembly and other pieces of hardware. between the airlock and the rest of the station is
Mission Specialist Piers Sellers will be at opened. That allows the spacewalkers to
the arm’s controls for those operations, along perform their morning routines before
with whichever spacewalker isn’t outside the returning to the airlock, where the air pressure
station on a given day and, in the case of the is lowered again. Approximately 50 minutes
first and third spacewalks, station Flight after the spacewalkers don their spacesuits, the
Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson. pre-breathe protocol will be complete.
Preparations will start the night before each The procedure enables spacewalks to begin
spacewalk, when the astronauts spend time in earlier in the crew’s day than was possible
the station’s Quest Airlock. This practice is before the protocol was adopted.
called the campout pre-breathe protocol and is
44 SPACEWALKS MAY 2010

EVA-1 The first spacewalk of the mission will be the
only spacewalk not devoted to battery
Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes replacement – though there will be some prep
EVA Crew: Reisman (lead) and Bowen work for that task before the spacewalkers
IV CREW: Antonelli finish for the day.
Robotic Arm Operators: Sellers, Good and
Dyson Once they’ve made their way out of the Quest
airlock, Reisman and Bowen will move to a
EVA Operations: pallet of equipment brought up inside the
shuttle’s cargo bay and moved to the robotic
• Install spare space-to-ground antenna
arm’s mobile base during flight day 3. On it
• Install spare parts platform on the Special are six new batteries for the P6 solar array, a
Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (Dextre) spare space-to-ground antenna and a new piece
of equipment for the Special Purpose Dexterous
• Loosen P6 battery bolts Manipulator, or Dextre.

At the pallet, Bowen will prepare the space-to- permits, Bowen will install a heat shield on the
ground antenna dish for removal, then he and antenna’s group interface tube and remove
Reisman will each release four of the eight bolts locks that prevent the antenna dish from
holding the boom of the antenna onto the rotating.
pallet. Reisman will then climb onto the end of
the space station’s robotic arm, so that he can Reisman will then travel back to the spare parts
carry the boom via the robotic arm to the pallet to pick up Dextre’s new storage platform,
Z1 segment of the station’s truss system. And after removing the four bolts holding it in place.
once Reisman is on his way, Bowen will He’ll meet Bowen back at Dextre on top of the
prepare for removal a new storage platform Destiny laboratory, where they’ll install four
brought up for Dextre. bolts to secure the platform to the robot and, if
time permits, connect two electrical fuses and
When the spacewalkers meet back up at the install a maintenance tether.
Z1 segment of the truss, Bowen will install the
antenna boom by driving two mounting bolts, While Reisman is getting off the robotic arm,
and then begin connecting six power and data Bowen will wrap up the planned work for the
cables to the antenna while Reisman rides the spacewalk by moving out to the end of the port
robotic arm back to the pallet to retrieve the side of the station’s truss to the batteries of the
antenna dish, a task that will require removing P6 solar arrays, which will be swapped out over
two more bolts. Bowen should also have time the course of the following two spacewalks.
to remove some insulation from the boom He’ll get the six batteries ready for removal by
before Reisman returns. loosening the two bolts holding each one in
place, and then make his way back to the
Installing the antenna dish will require the airlock.
spacewalkers to secure four bolts, then Reisman
will connect two final cables, and, if time

EVA-2 The new batteries will be designated by letters
A through F, and the old batteries numbered
Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes one through six. Good will remove an old
EVA Crew: Bowen (lead) and Good battery from the solar array’s integrated
IV CREW: Antonelli electrical assembly using two “scoops” that will
Robotic Arm Operators: Sellers and Reisman been installed by Bowen to make it possible to
maneuver the batteries. After removing two
EVA Operations:
bolts, Good will hand battery 1 off, get out of
• P6 battery swap, part 1 the foot restraint he was working in, move
closer to Bowen and take hold of the battery
Bowen and Good will replace three of the six again. Bowen will then release the battery,
batteries on the B side of the P6 solar array move slightly further down the truss and
during this spacewalk – each of the two wings position himself to take hold of the battery.
of the four solar arrays at the space station are Good will hand the battery to Bowen and then
designated either A or B. The six batteries on move himself closer to once again take hold and
the A side of the P6 were replaced on STS-127. control the battery. The process is called

“shepherding,” and might appear as though the pallet to be installed in slot A, and remove
spacewalkers are “inch-worming” along the battery B to be installed in slot 2.
truss, except that one person is always holding
a 367-pound battery. The process will continue until three batteries
have been installed, then the first battery will be
To install the battery in a temporary storage removed from its temporary storage location
location on the integrated electrical assembly, and installed in the vacant spot on the pallet.
Good will use one of the scoops to attach it The order will be:
to a multi-use tether , or ball-stack. The
spacewalkers will then remove battery A from Battery 1 to temporary storage
the pallet it launched to the station on (the Battery A to Slot 1
space station robotic arm will be holding the Battery 2 to Slot A
pallet nearby for the spacewalkers’ access) and Battery B to Slot 2
shepherd it back to the integrated electrical Battery 3 to Slot B
assembly for installation in slot 1. The next step Battery C to Slot 3
will be to remove battery 2, shepherd it to the Battery 1 to Slot C

EVA-3 Good and Reisman will spend the third and
final spacewalk finishing up the battery swap
Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes work that Good and Bowen started. They’ll use
EVA Crew: Good (lead) and Reisman the same procedure and perform the work in
IV CREW: Antonelli the following order:
Robotic Arm Operators: Sellers, Bowen and
Dyson Battery 4 to temporary storage
Battery D to Slot 4
EVA Operations: Battery 5 to Slot D
Battery E to Slot 5
• P6 battery swap, part 2
Battery 6 to Slot E
Battery F to Slot 6
Battery 1 to Slow F


EXPERIMENTS
The STS-132/ULF-4 mission will deliver to date of human physiologic changes during
Mini-Research Module-1, a Russian storage long-duration spaceflight.
module that also will include a Russian
payloads airlock destined for use on the Included in multiple experiments returning on
Russian Multi-Purpose Laboratory Module STS-132 will be NASA’s Integrated Immune
(MLM) once it is launched, and continues the study samples, which will allow researchers to
transition from International Space Station assess and address the adverse effects of
assembly to continuous scientific research spaceflight on the human immune system.
though the end of the decade. JAXA’s NeuroRad, which has studied the
effects of space radiation on nerve cell tumors,
In addition to the module, Atlantis will deliver and ESA’s DOSIS-DOBIES, addressing the
inside MRM, also known as Rassvet, Crew distribution and measurement of radiation
Health Care System medical support inside the space station and crew, are returning
equipment, and equipment for cold storage and as well.
National Laboratory Pathfinder equipments.
Also, three major additions to the research
Nearly 150 operating experiments in biological facilities aboard the station – the Minus Eighty-
and biotechnology; human research; physical Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI), a
and materials sciences; technology multi-purpose freezer for storing samples, the
development; Earth and space science, and Window Observational Research Facility
educational activities will be conducted aboard (WORF), a facility for Earth science remote
the station, including several pathfinder sensing instruments, and Express Rack 7, a
investigations under the auspices of the multi-purpose payload rack for experiments –
station’s new role as a U.S. National were delivered by Discovery’s crew on the
Laboratory. recent STS-131 shuttle mission. Those facilities
have been installed and checked out inside the
In the past, assembly and maintenance station and will be used by the Expedition 23
activities have dominated the available time for and Expedition 24 crews to expand the station’s
crew work. But as completion of the orbiting research potential.
laboratory nears, additional facilities and the
crew members to operate them is expanding SHORT-DURATION EXPERIMENTS TO
the time devoted to research as a national and BE PERFORMED ON STS-132/ULF4
multinational laboratory.
Research activities on the shuttle and station are
On STS-132, research continues into how the integrated to maximize return during station
human body is affected by long-duration stays assembly. The shuttle serves as a platform for
in microgravity. Among the experiments being completing short-duration research, while
delivered to the space station, of note, is the providing supplies and sample return for
Nutritional Status Assessment, the most ongoing research on station.
comprehensive in-flight study done by NASA
MAY 2010 EXPERIMENTS 51

Biology and Biotechnology balance while moving are located. Principal
investigator for Hypersole: Dr. Leah R. Bent of
Microbiology – 2 (Micro-2) is a fundamental the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario,
biology experiment that expands our Canada. (CSA)
understanding of the fundamental basis of how
spaceflight affects the biological and molecular Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure
functions of the cell and the molecular During Spaceflight – Short (Sleep-Short) will
mechanisms, by which cells and tissues examine the effects of spaceflight on the sleep
respond to spaceflight conditions. (NASA) of the astronauts during space shuttle missions.
Advancing state-of-the-art technology for
National Lab Pathfinder – Cells – 4 monitoring, diagnosing and assessing
(NLP-Cells-4) is a commercial payload serving treatment of sleep patterns is vital to treating
as a pathfinder for the use of the space station insomnia on Earth and in space. Principal
as a National Laboratory after station assembly investigator: Charles A. Czeisler, Brigham and
is complete. It contains several different Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School,
experiments that examine cellular replication Boston, Mass. (NASA)
and differentiation of cells. This research is
investigating the use of spaceflight to enhance Technology
or improve cellular growth processes utilized in
ground-based research. Principal investigator: Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric
Timothy Hammond, Durham Veterans Affairs Injections (MAUI), a Department of Defense
Medical Center, Durham, N.C. (NASA) experiment, observes the space shuttle engine
exhaust plumes from the Maui Space
National Lab Pathfinder – Vaccine – 9 Surveillance Site in Hawaii when the space
(NLP-Vaccine-9) is a commercial payload shuttle fires its engines at night or twilight. A
serving as a pathfinder for the use of the space telescope and all-sky imagers will take images
station as a National Laboratory. It contains and data while the space shuttle flies over
several different pathogenic (disease causing) the Maui site. The images are analyzed to
organisms. This research is investigating the better understand the interaction between
use of spaceflight to develop potential vaccines the spacecraft plume and the upper atmosphere
for the prevention of different infections caused of Earth. Principal investigator: Rainer A.
by these pathogens on Earth and in Dressler, Hanscom Air Force Base, Lexington,
microgravity. Principal investigator: Timothy Mass. (NASA)
Hammond, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Durham, N.C. (NASA) Ram Burn Observations (RAMBO) an
experiment uses a satellite to observe space
Human Research shuttle orbital maneuvering system engine
burns. Its purpose is to improve plume models,
Hypersole will determine how balance control which predict the direction the plume, or
is affected by changes in skin sensitivity rising column of exhaust, will move as the
pre- and post-spaceflight, specifically changes shuttle maneuvers in orbit. Understanding the
in skin sensitivity of the sole of the foot where direction in which the spacecraft engine plume
receptors related to balance and maintaining or exhaust flows could be significant to the safe
52 EXPERIMENTS MAY 2010

arrival and departure of spacecraft on current Kazuyuki Wakabayashi, Osaka City University,
and future exploration missions. Principal Osaka, Japan. (JAXA)
investigator: William L. Dimpfl, Aerospace
Corporation, Los Angeles. (NASA) Investigation of the Osteoclastic and
Osteoblastic Responses to Microgravity Using
Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments Goldfish Scales (Fish Scales) will examine
(SEITE), a Department of Defense experiment, regenerating scales collected from anesthetized
uses space-based sensors to detect the goldfish in microgravity using the Cell
ionospheric turbulence inferred from the radar Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF); the results
observations from previous Space Shuttle will be compared with ground controls.
Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) burn Principal investigator: Nobuo Suzuki,
experiments using ground-based radar. Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa,
Principal investigator: Paul A. Bernhardt, Japan. (JAXA)
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington D.C.
(NASA) Hydrotropism and Auxin-Inducible Gene
Expression in Roots Grown Under
Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Microgravity Conditions (HydroTropi)
Localized Exhaust Experiments (SIMPLEX), determines whether hydrotropic response can
a Department of Defense experiment, be used for the control of cucumber (Cucumis
investigates plasma turbulence driven by sativus) root growth orientation in microgravity.
rocket exhaust in the ionosphere using Principal investigator: Hideyuki Takahashi,
ground-based radars. Principal investigator: Ph.D., Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Paul A. Bernhardt, Naval Research Lab, (JAXA)
Washington D.C. (NASA)
Microbial Dynamics in International Space
EXPERIMENTS TO BE DELIVERED TO THE Station (Microbe-I) experiment monitors
STATION ON STS-132/ULF4 microbes on board the space station that may
affect the health of crew members. Principal
Biology and Biotechnology investigator: Koichi Makimura, Teikyo
Gravity Related Genes in Arabidopsis – A University, Otsuka, Hachioji, Japan. (JAXA)
(Genara-A) seeks to provide an understanding
Educational Activities
of microgravity-induced, altered-molecular
activities that will help to find plant systems Cube Lab is a low-cost 1 kilogram platform for
that compensate the negative impact on plant educational projects on the space station.
growth in space. Principal investigator: (NASA)
Eugenie Carnero-Diaz, Ph.D., Universite Pierre
et Marie Curie, Paris, France. (ESA). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency –
Education Payload Observation (JAXA-EPO)
Regulation by Gravity of Ferulate Formation activities demonstrate educational events and
in Cell Walls of Rice Seedlings (Ferulate) tests artistic activities on board the space station to
the hypothesis that microgravity modifies enlighten the general public about microgravity
ferulic acid, thereby decreasing the mechanical research and human spaceflight. Principal
strength of cell walls. Principal investigator:

investigator: Naoko Matsuo, Japan Aerospace astronauts. Pro K proposes that a flight diet
Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan. (JAXA) with a decreased ratio of animal protein to
potassium will lead to decreased loss of bone
Human Research mineral. Pro K will have an impact on the
Bisphosphonates as a Countermeasure to definition of nutritional requirements and
Spaceflight Induced Bone Loss development of food systems for future
(Bisphosphonates) examines whether exploration missions, and could yield a method
antiresorptive agents, which help reduce bone of counteracting bone loss that would have
loss, in conjunction with the routine in-flight virtually no risk of side effects. Principal
exercise program, will protect station crew investigator: Scott M. Smith, Johnson Space
members from the regional decreases in bone Center, Houston. (NASA)
mineral density documented on previous space National Aeronautics and Space
station missions. Principal investigators: Administration Biological Specimen
Adrian LeBlanc, Division of Space Life Sciences, Repository (Repository) is a storage bank that
Universities Space Research Association, is used to maintain biological specimens over
Houston; Toshio Matsumoto, University of extended periods of time and under well-
Tokushima, Kuramoto, Japan. (NASA) controlled conditions. Biological samples from
Nutritional Status Assessment (Nutrition) is the space station, including blood and urine,
the most comprehensive in-flight study done by are collected, processed and archived during
NASA to date of human physiologic changes the preflight, in-flight and post-flight phases of
during long-duration spaceflight. This study space station missions. This investigation has
includes measures of bone metabolism, been developed to archive biosamples for
oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and use as a resource for future spaceflight-related
hormonal changes. This study will affect research. Principal investigator: Kathleen A.
both the definition of nutritional requirements McMonigal, Johnson Space Center, Houston.
and development of food systems for (NASA)
future space exploration missions. This Physical and Materials Science
experiment will also help to understand the
impact of countermeasures (exercise and Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument –
pharmaceuticals) on nutritional status and Aggregation of Colloidal Suspensions
nutrient requirements for astronauts. Principal (SODI-Colloid) studies the aggregation (mass)
investigator: Scott M. Smith, Johnson Space phenomena of colloids (tiny solid particles
Center, Houston. (NASA) suspended in a liquid) in the microgravity
environment on board the space station.
Dietary Intake Can Predict and Protect Principal investigator: Gerard Wegdam, Van
Against Changes in Bone Metabolism During der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of
Spaceflight and Recovery (Pro K) investigation Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
is NASA’s first evaluation of a dietary (ESA)
countermeasure to lessen bone loss of

Technology Molecular Mechanism of Microgravity-
Induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy –
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency – Physiological Relevance of Cbl-b Ubiquitin
Commercial Payload Program Ligase (MyoLab) studies a rat muscle gene
(JAXA-Commercial Payload Program) consists modified cell line to determine the effects of
of commercial items sponsored by JAXA sent to microgravity. Principal investigator: Takeshi
the space station to experience the microgravity Nikawa, The University of Tokushima,
environment. (JAXA) Tokoshima, Japan. (JAXA)
SAMPLES/EXPERIMENTS TO BE Biological Effects of Space Radiation and

RETURNED ON STS-132/ULF4 Microgravity on Mammalian Cells
(NeuroRad) studies the effects of space
Biology and Biotechnology radiation on the human neuroblastoma (nerve
APEX-CSA2 is one of a pair of investigations cell containing a tumor) cell line in
that use the Advanced Biological Research microgravity. Principal investigator:
System (ABRS). APEX-CSA2 will compare the Hideyuki Majima, Kagoshima University,
genes and tissue of the white spruce (Picea Kagoshima, Japan. (JAXA)
glauca) grown in space with those grown on
Comprehensive Characterization of Micro-
Earth to help researchers understand the
organisms and Allergens in Spacecraft
influence of gravity on plant physiology,
(SWAB) uses advanced molecular techniques to
growth and wood formation. APEX-CSA2 is
comprehensively evaluate microbes on board
led by Dr. Jean Beaulieu of Natural Resources
the space station, including pathogens
Canada’s Canadian Wood Fibre Centre in
(organisms that may cause disease). It also
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada with the close
will track changes in the microbial community
collaboration of the Canadian Space Agency
as spacecraft visit the station and new station
(CSA) and NASA.
modules are added. This study allows an
Mycological Evaluation of Crew Exposure to assessment of the risk of microbes to the crew
Space Station Ambient Air (Myco) evaluates and the spacecraft. Principal investigator:
the risk of microorganisms via inhalation and Duane L. Pierson, Johnson Space Center,
adhesion to the skin to determine which fungi Houston. (NASA)
act as allergens on the space station. Principal
Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at
investigator: Chiaki Mukai, Japan Aerospace
Different g-levels (WAICO) studies the
Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan. (JAXA)
interaction of circumnutation (the successive
Biomedical Analyses of Human Hair Exposed bowing or bending in different directions of
to a Long-term Spaceflight (Hair) examines the growing tip of the stems and roots) and
the effect of long-duration spaceflight on gravitropism (a tendency to grow toward or
gene expression and trace element metabolism away from gravity) in microgravity and 1-g
in the human body. Principal investigator: of Arabidopsis thaliana. Principal investigator:
Chiaki Mukai, Japan Aerospace Exploration Guenther Scherer, Leibniz Universitat
Agency, Tsukuba, Japan. (JAXA) Hannover, Hannover, Germany. (ESA)

Human Research long-duration exploration missions. Hardware
project scientist: John McQuillen, Glenn
Mental Representation of Spatial Cues Research Center, Cleveland. (NASA)
During Spaceflight (3D-Space) experiment
investigates the effects of exposure to Changes in Nutrient Contents in Space Food
microgravity on the mental representation of After Long-term Spaceflight (Space Food
spatial cues by astronauts during and after Nutrient) assesses the changes in nutrient
spaceflight. The absence of the gravitational contents in Japanese space foods after exposure
frame of reference during spaceflight could be to the space station environment for long-
responsible for disturbances in the mental duration spaceflight. Principal investigator:
representation of spatial cues, such as the Akiko Matsumoto, Japan Aerospace
perception of horizontal and vertical lines, the Exploration Agency, Tsukuba, Japan. (JAXA)
perception of an object’s depth, and the
perception of a target’s distance. Principal Physical and Materials Science
investigator: Gilles Clement, Centre National Materials Science Laboratory – Columnar-to-
de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse, France. Equiaxed Transition in Solidification
(ESA) Processing and Microstructure Formation in
Validation of Procedures for Monitoring Casting of Technical Alloys Under Diffusive
Crew Member Immune Function (Integrated and Magnetically Controlled Convective
Immune) will assess the clinical risks resulting Conditions (MSL-CETSOL and MICAST) are
from the adverse effects of spaceflight on the two investigations that support research into
human immune system and will validate a metallurgical solidification, semiconductor
flight-compatible immune monitoring strategy. crystal growth (Bridgman and zone melting),
Researchers will collect and analyze blood, and measurement of thermophysical properties
urine and saliva samples from crew members of materials. This is a cooperative investigation
before, during and after spaceflight to monitor with the European Space Agency (ESA)
changes in the immune system. Changes in the and National Aeronautics and Space
immune system will be monitored by collecting Administration (NASA) for accommodation
and analyzing blood and saliva samples from and operation aboard the space station.
crew members during flight and blood, urine, Principal investigators: Charles-Andre Gandin,
and saliva samples before and after spaceflight. Ecole de Mines de Paris, ARMINES-CEMEF;
Principal investigator: Clarence Sams, Johnson Sophia Antipolis, France (CETSOL); Lorenz
Space Center, Houston. (NASA) Ratke, German Aerospace Center, Cologne,
Germany (MICAST). (NASA)
IntraVenous Fluid GENeration for
Exploration Missions (IVGEN) demonstrates Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic
the capability to purify water to the standards Matrix System (SpaceDRUMS) comprises
required for intravenous administration, then a suite of hardware that enables containerless
mix the water with salt crystals to produce processing (samples of experimental materials
normal saline. This hardware is a prototype can be processed without ever touching a
that will allow flight surgeons more options to container wall). Using a collection of
treat ill or injured crew members during future 20 acoustic beam emitters, SpaceDRUMS can

completely suspend a baseball-sized solid or DETAILED SUPPLEMENTARY
liquid sample during combustion or heat-based OBJECTIVES AND DETAILED TEST
synthesis. Because the samples never contact
OBJECTIVES
the container walls, materials can be produced
in microgravity with an unparalleled quality of DSO-641
shape and composition. The ultimate goal of
the SpaceDRUMS hardware is to assist with the Risk of Orthostatic Intolerance During
development of advanced materials of a Re-exposure to Gravity. One of the most
commercial quantity and quality, using the important physiological changes that may
space-based experiments to guide development negatively impact crew safety is post-flight
of manufacturing processes on Earth. Principal orthostatic intolerance. Astronauts who have
investigator: Jacques Guigne, Guigne Space orthostatic intolerance are unable to maintain a
Systems Inc., Paradise, Newfoundland, Canada. normal systolic blood pressure during head-up
(NASA) tilt have elevated heart rates and may
experience presyncope or syncope with upright
Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument – posture. This problem affects about 30 percent
Diffusion and Soret Coefficient (SODI-DSC) of astronauts who fly short-duration missions
studies the diffusion in six different liquids (4–18 days) and 83 percent of astronauts who
over time in the absence of convection induced fly long-duration missions. This condition
by the gravity field. (ESA) creates a potential hazard for crew members
during re-entry and after landing, especially for
Earth and Space Sciences
emergency egress contingencies.
Dose Distribution Inside ISS – Dosimetry
Two countermeasures are currently employed
for Biological Experiments in Space
to ameliorate post-flight orthostatic intolerance:
(DOSIS-DOBIES) provides documentation of
fluid loading and an antigravity suit.
the actual nature and distribution of the
Unfortunately, neither of these are completely
radiation field inside the space station and
effective for all phases of landing and egress;
develops a standard method to measure the
thus, continued countermeasure development
absorbed doses in biological samples on board
is important. Preliminary evidence has shown
the station. Principal investigator: Guenther
that commercial compression hose that include
Reitz, German Aerospace Center, Cologne,
abdominal compression can significantly
Germany. (ESA)
improve orthostatic tolerance. These data are
For more information on the science performed similar to clinical studies using inflatable
on the International Space Station, visit: compression garments.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/ Custom-fitted, commercial compression

science/ garments will be evaluated as countermeasures
to immediate and longer-term post-flight
orthostatic intolerance. These garments will
provide a continuous, graded compression
from the foot to the hip, and a static

compression over the lower abdomen. These from five flights designated to acquire pressure
garments should provide superior fit and oscillation data have provided a better
comfort as well as being easier to don. Tilt understanding of solid rocket motor dynamics.
testing will be used as an orthostatic challenge The collection of these additional data points
before and after spaceflight. will provide greater statistical significance of
the data for use in dynamic analyses of the four
DTO 805 Crosswind Landing Perfor- segment motors. These analyses and computer
mance (If opportunity) models will be used for future propulsion
The purpose of this DTO is to demonstrate the system designs.
capability to perform a manually controlled The pressure oscillation that is observed in
landing in the presence of a crosswind. The solid rocket motors is similar to the hum made
testing is done in two steps. when blowing into a bottle. At 1.5 psi, or
1. Pre-launch: Ensure planning will allow pounds per square inch, a pressure wave will
selection of a runway with Microwave move up and down the motor from the front to
Scanning Beam Landing System support, the rear, generating acoustic noise as well as
which is a set of dual transmitters located physical loads in the structure. These data are
beside the runway providing precision necessary to help propulsion engineers confirm
navigation vertically, horizontally and modeling techniques of pressure oscillations
longitudinally with respect to the runway. and the loads they create. As NASA engineers
This precision navigation subsystem helps develop alternate propulsion designs for use in
provide a higher probability of a more NASA, they will take advantage of current
precise landing with a crosswind of 10 to designs from which they can learn and
15 knots as late in the flight as possible. measure.
In an effort to obtain data to correlate pressure

2. Entry: This test requires that the crew
oscillation with the loads it can generate, the
perform a manually controlled landing in
Space Shuttle Program is continuing to use the
the presence of a 90-degree crosswind
Enhanced Data Acquisition System to gather
component of 10 to 15 knots steady state.
detailed information.
During a crosswind landing, the drag chute will
The Enhanced Data Acquisition System, or
be deployed after nose gear touchdown when
EDAS, is a data acquisition system that will
the vehicle is stable and tracking the runway
record pressure data from one of the Reusable
centerline.
Solid Rocket Booster Operational Pressure
DTO 900 Solid Rocket Booster Thrust Transducers, or OPT, and from accelerometers
Oscillation and strain gages placed on the forward skirt
walls. These data will provide engineers with
The Space Shuttle Program is continuing to time synchronized data that will allow them to
gather data on pressure oscillation, or periodic determine the accelerations and loads that are
variation, a phenomenon that regularly occurs transferred through the structure due to the
within solid rocket motors through the pressure oscillation forces.
remaining shuttle flights. The data obtained

HISTORY OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS
Space shuttle Atlantis’ spaceflight career began Space shuttle Atlantis has carried on the spirit
on Oct. 3, 1985, with launch on its maiden of the sailing vessel with voyages of its own,
voyage to begin STS-51J – a dedicated including missions to the Russian Space Station
Department of Defense mission. It was the Mir, deployment of the Galileo planetary
fourth orbital vehicle manufactured following spacecraft in 1989 and the deployment of
Columbia, Challenger and Discovery. the Arthur Holley Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory in 1991.
Construction of Atlantis, referenced internally
by its airframe number OV-104, began in March UPGRADES AND FEATURES
1980 at the Palmdale, Calif., manufacturing
plant. It was transported to Kennedy Space Atlantis benefited from lessons learned in
Center in April 1985 ahead of its maiden the construction and testing of Enterprise,
voyage. Columbia, Challenger and Discovery. At
rollout, its weight was 6,974 pounds less than
BACKGROUND Columbia.
Atlantis was named after the primary research The experience gained during its assembly also
vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic enabled Atlantis to be completed with a
Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. 49 percent reduction in man hours (compared
The two-masted, 460-ton ketch was the first to Columbia). Much of this time savings was
U.S. vessel to be used for oceanographic attributed to the greater use of thermal
research. Such research was considered to be protection blankets on the upper orbiter body
one of the last bastions of the sailing vessel as instead of tiles.
steam-and-diesel-powered vessels dominated
the waterways. During the construction of Discovery and
Atlantis, NASA opted to have the various
The steel-hulled ocean research ship was contractors manufacture a set of “structural
approximately 140 feet long and 29 feet wide to spares” to facilitate the repair of an orbiter
add to her stability. She featured a crew of 17 should one be damaged. This contract was
and room for five scientists. The research valued at $389 million and consisted of a spare
personnel worked in two onboard laboratories, aft-fuselage, mid-fuselage, forward fuselage
examining water samples and marine life halves, vertical tail and rudder, wings, elevons
brought to the surface by two large winches and a body flap.
from thousands of feet below the surface. The
water samples taken at different depths varied These spares were used later in the assembly of
in temperature, providing clues to the flow of Endeavour.
ocean currents. The crew also used the first
electronic sounding devices to map the ocean
floor.
MAY 2010 HISTORY OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS 59

After the loss of Challenger, Atlantis was June 13, 1983
shipped to California for upgrades and Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman
modifications, including
Dec. 2, 1983
• A drag chute Start of Final Assembly
• New plumbing to allow for extended April 10, 1984

duration missions Complete final assembly
• More than 800 new heat protection tiles and March 6, 1985
blankets Rollout from Palmdale
• New insulation for the main landing gear April 3, 1985

doors Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards
Air Force Base, Calif.
• Structural modifications to its airframe
April 12-13, 1985
Altogether, 165 modifications were made to Ferry Flight from Edwards to Kennedy Space
Atlantis over the 20 months it spent in the Center (overnight 4/12 at Ellington)
Palmdale, Calif., manufacturing facility.
Sept. 5, 1985
CONSTRUCTION MILESTONES Flight Readiness Firing
Jan. 29, 1979 Oct. 3, 1985

Contract Award First Flight (STS-51J)
March 3, 1980 May 14, 2010

Start structural assembly of Crew Module Final Scheduled Flight (STS-132)
Nov. 23, 1981

Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage
60 HISTORY OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS MAY 2010

FLIGHT MILESTONES
1. STS-51J (Oct. 3-7, 1985) 1,682,641 miles
2. STS-61B (Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 1985) 2,466,956 miles
3. STS-27 (Dec. 2-6, 1988) 1,812,075 miles
4. STS-30 (May 4-8, 1989) 1,477,500 miles

5. STS-34 (Oct. 18-23, 1989) 1,800,000 miles
6. STS-36 (Feb. 28-March 4, 1990) 1,837,962 miles

7. STS-38 (Nov. 15-20, 1990) 2,045,056 miles
8. STS-37 (April 5-11, 1991) 2,487,075 miles

9. STS-43 (Aug. 2-11, 1991) 3,700,400 miles
10. STS-44 (Nov. 24-Dec. 1, 1991) 2,890,067 miles
11. STS-45 (March, 24-April 2, 1992) 3,274,946 miles

12. STS-46 (July 31-Aug. 8, 1992) 3,321,007 miles
13. STS-66 (Nov. 3-14, 1994) 4,554,791 miles
14. STS-71 (June 27-July 7, 1995) 4,100,000 miles

15. STS-74 (Nov. 12-20, 1995) 3,400,000 miles
16. STS-76 (March 22-31, 1996) 3,800,000 miles

17. STS-79 (Sept. 16-26, 1996) 3,900,000 miles
18. STS-81 (Jan. 12-22, 1997) 3,900,000 miles

19. STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997) 3,600,000 miles
20. STS-86 (Sept. 25-Oct. 6, 1997) 4,225,000 miles
21. STS-101 (May 19-29, 2000) 5,076,281 miles

22. STS-106 (Sept. 8-20, 2000) 4,919,243 miles
23. STS-98 (Feb. 7-20, 2001) 5,369,576 miles

24. STS-104 (July 12-24, 2001) 5,309,429 miles
25. STS-110 (April 8-19, 2002) 4,525,299 miles

26. STS-112 (Oct. 7-18, 2002) 4,513,015 miles
27. STS-115 (Sept. 9-21, 2006) 4,910,288 miles
28. STS-117 (June 8-22, 2007) 5,809,363 miles
29. STS-122 (Feb. 7-20,2008) 5,296,842 miles
30. STS-125 (May 11-24, 2009) 5,276,000 miles

31. STS-129 (Nov. 16-27, 2009) 4,490,138 miles
32. STS-132 (May 14-26, 2010) Approx. 4.4 million
Total Atlantis Miles 115,770,929 (through STS-129)
MAY 2010 HISTORY OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS 61

ATLANTIS BY THE NUMBERS
Total Atlantis miles traveled 115,770,929 (through STS-129)
Total number of days in orbit 282
Total number of orbits 4,462
Total number of flights 31
Total number of crew members 185
Mir dockings 7
International Space Station dockings 10
62 EDUCATION ACTIVITIES MAY 2010

SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA
SHUTTLE ABORT MODES launch site, KSC, approximately 25 minutes
after liftoff.
Redundant Sequence Launch Sequencer
(RSLS) Aborts The RTLS profile is designed to accommodate
the loss of thrust from one space shuttle main
These occur when the on-board shuttle
engine between liftoff and approximately
computers detect a problem and command a
four minutes 20 seconds, after which not
halt in the launch sequence after taking over
enough main propulsion system propellant
from the ground launch sequencer and before
remains to return to the launch site. An RTLS
solid rocket booster ignition.
can be considered to consist of three stages – a
Ascent Aborts powered stage, during which the space shuttle
main engines are still thrusting; an external
Selection of an ascent abort mode may become tank separation phase; and the glide phase,
necessary if there is a failure that affects vehicle during which the orbiter glides to a landing at
performance, such as the failure of a space the KSC. The powered RTLS phase begins with
shuttle main engine or an orbital maneuvering the crew selection of the RTLS abort, after solid
system engine. Other failures requiring early rocket booster separation. The crew selects the
termination of a flight, such as a cabin leak, abort mode by positioning the abort rotary
might also require the selection of an abort switch to RTLS and depressing the abort push
mode. There are two basic types of ascent abort button. The time at which the RTLS is selected
modes for space shuttle missions: intact aborts depends on the reason for the abort. For
and contingency aborts. Intact aborts are example, a three-engine RTLS is selected at the
designed to provide a safe return of the orbiter last moment, about 3 minutes, 34 seconds into
to a planned landing site. Contingency aborts the mission; whereas an RTLS chosen due to an
are designed to permit flight crew survival engine out at liftoff is selected at the earliest
following more severe failures when an intact time, about 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the
abort is not possible. A contingency abort mission (after solid rocket booster separation).
would generally result in a ditch operation.
After RTLS is selected, the vehicle continues
Intact Aborts downrange to dissipate excess main propulsion
There are four types of intact aborts: abort to system propellant. The goal is to leave only
orbit (ATO), abort once around (AOA), enough main propulsion system propellant to
transoceanic abort landing (TAL) and return to be able to turn the vehicle around, fly back
launch site (RTLS). toward the KSC and achieve the proper main
engine cutoff conditions so the vehicle can glide
Return to Launch Site to the KSC after external tank separation.
The RTLS abort mode is designed to allow the During the downrange phase, a pitch-around
return of the orbiter, crew, and payload to the maneuver is initiated (the time depends in part
on the time of a space shuttle main engine
MAY 2010 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 63

failure) to orient the orbiter/external tank pressure leak or cooling system failure, occurs
configuration to a heads-up attitude, pointing after the last RTLS opportunity, making it
toward the launch site. At this time, the vehicle imperative to land as quickly as possible.
is still moving away from the launch site, but
the space shuttle main engines are now In a TAL abort, the vehicle continues on a
thrusting to null the downrange velocity. In ballistic trajectory across the Atlantic Ocean to
addition, excess orbital maneuvering system land at a predetermined runway. Landing
and reaction control system propellants are occurs about 45 minutes after launch. The
dumped by continuous orbital maneuvering landing site is selected near the normal ascent
system and reaction control system engine ground track of the orbiter to make the most
thrustings to improve the orbiter weight and efficient use of space shuttle main engine
center of gravity for the glide phase and propellant. The landing site also must have the
landing. necessary runway length, weather conditions
and U.S. State Department approval. The three
The vehicle will reach the desired main engine landing sites that have been identified for a
cutoff point with less than 2 percent excess launch are Zaragoza, Spain; Moron, Spain; and
propellant remaining in the external tank. At Istres, France.
main engine cutoff minus 20 seconds, a pitch
down maneuver (called powered pitch-down) To select the TAL abort mode, the crew must
takes the mated vehicle to the required external place the abort rotary switch in the TAL/AOA
tank separation attitude and pitch rate. After position and depress the abort push button
main engine cutoff has been commanded, the before main engine cutoff (depressing it after
external tank separation sequence begins, main engine cutoff selects the AOA abort
including a reaction control system maneuver mode). The TAL abort mode begins sending
that ensures that the orbiter does not recontact commands to steer the vehicle toward the plane
the external tank and that the orbiter has of the landing site. It also rolls the vehicle
achieved the necessary pitch attitude to begin heads up before main engine cutoff and sends
the glide phase of the RTLS. commands to begin an orbital maneuvering
system propellant dump (by burning the
After the reaction control system maneuver has propellants through the orbital maneuvering
been completed, the glide phase of the RTLS system engines and the reaction control system
begins. From then on, the RTLS is handled engines). This dump is necessary to increase
similarly to a normal entry. vehicle performance (by decreasing weight) to
place the center of gravity in the proper place
Transoceanic Abort Landing for vehicle control and to decrease the vehicle’s
The TAL abort mode was developed to landing weight. TAL is handled like a normal
improve the options available when a space entry.
shuttle main engine fails after the last RTLS Abort to Orbit
opportunity but before the first time that an
AOA can be accomplished with only two space An ATO is an abort mode used to boost the
shuttle main engines or when a major orbiter orbiter to a safe orbital altitude when
system failure, for example, a large cabin performance has been lost and it is impossible
64 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MAY 2010

to reach the planned orbital altitude. If a space necessitate a contingency abort. Such an abort
shuttle main engine fails in a region that results would maintain orbiter integrity for in-flight
in a main engine cutoff under speed, the MCC crew escape if a landing cannot be achieved at a
will determine that an abort mode is necessary suitable landing field.
and will inform the crew. The orbital
maneuvering system engines would be used to Contingency aborts due to system failures other
place the orbiter in a circular orbit. than those involving the main engines would
normally result in an intact recovery of vehicle
Abort Once Around and crew. Loss of more than one main engine
may, depending on engine failure times, result
The AOA abort mode is used in cases in which
in a safe runway landing. However, in most
vehicle performance has been lost to such an
three-engine-out cases during ascent, the
extent that either it is impossible to achieve a
orbiter would have to be ditched. The inflight
viable orbit or not enough orbital maneuvering
crew escape system would be used before
system propellant is available to accomplish the
ditching the orbiter.
orbital maneuvering system thrusting
maneuver to place the orbiter on orbit and the Abort Decisions
deorbit thrusting maneuver. In addition, an
AOA is used in cases in which a major systems There is a definite order of preference for the
problem (cabin leak, loss of cooling) makes it various abort modes. The type of failure and the
necessary to land quickly. In the AOA abort time of the failure determine which type of abort
mode, one orbital maneuvering system is selected. In cases where performance loss is
thrusting sequence is made to adjust the the only factor, the preferred modes are ATO,
post-main engine cutoff orbit so a second AOA, TAL and RTLS, in that order. The mode
orbital maneuvering system thrusting sequence chosen is the highest one that can be completed
will result in the vehicle deorbiting and landing with the remaining vehicle performance.
at the AOA landing site (White Sands, N.M.; In the case of some support system failures,
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; or the Kennedy such as cabin leaks or vehicle cooling problems,
Space Center, Fla). Thus, an AOA results in the the preferred mode might be the one that will
orbiter circling the Earth once and landing end the mission most quickly. In these cases,
about 90 minutes after liftoff. TAL or RTLS might be preferable to AOA or
After the deorbit thrusting sequence has been ATO. A contingency abort is never chosen if
executed, the flight crew flies to a landing at the another abort option exists.
planned site much as it would for a nominal Mission Control Houston is prime for calling
entry. these aborts because it has a more precise
Contingency Aborts knowledge of the orbiter’s position than the
crew can obtain from on-board systems. Before
Contingency aborts are caused by loss of more main engine cutoff, Mission Control makes
than one main engine or failures in other periodic calls to the crew to identify which
systems. Loss of one main engine while abort mode is (or is not) available. If ground
another is stuck at a low thrust setting also may communications are lost, the flight crew has

onboard methods, such as cue cards, dedicated (STS-55) March 22, 1993
displays and display information, to determine
The countdown for Columbia’s launch was
the abort region. Which abort mode is selected
halted by onboard computers at T-3 seconds
depends on the cause and timing of the failure
following a problem with purge pressure
causing the abort and which mode is safest or
readings in the oxidizer preburner on main
improves mission success. If the problem is a
engine No. 2. Columbia’s three main engines
space shuttle main engine failure, the flight
were replaced on the launch pad, and the flight
crew and Mission Control Center select the best
was rescheduled behind Discovery’s launch
option available at the time a main engine fails.
on STS-56. Columbia finally launched on
If the problem is a system failure that April 26, 1993.
jeopardizes the vehicle, the fastest abort mode
(STS-51) Aug. 12, 1993
that results in the earliest vehicle landing is
chosen. RTLS and TAL are the quickest options The countdown for Discovery’s third launch
(35 minutes), whereas an AOA requires about attempt ended at the T-3 second mark when
90 minutes. Which of these is selected depends onboard computers detected the failure of one
on the time of the failure with three good space of four sensors in main engine No. 2 which
shuttle main engines. monitor the flow of hydrogen fuel to the
engine. All of Discovery’s main engines were
The flight crew selects the abort mode by ordered replaced on the launch pad, delaying
positioning an abort mode switch and the shuttle’s fourth launch attempt until
depressing an abort push button. Sept. 12, 1993.
SHUTTLE ABORT HISTORY (STS-68) Aug. 18, 1994
RSLS Abort History The countdown for Endeavour’s first launch

attempt ended 1.9 seconds before liftoff when
(STS-41 D) June 26, 1984 onboard computers detected higher than
acceptable readings in one channel of a sensor
The countdown for the second launch attempt
monitoring the discharge temperature of the
for Discovery’s maiden flight ended at T-4
high pressure oxidizer turbopump in main
seconds when the orbiter’s computers detected
engine No. 3. A test firing of the engine at the
a sluggish valve in main engine No. 3. The
Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on
main engine was replaced and Discovery was
September 2nd confirmed that a slight drift in a
finally launched on Aug. 30, 1984.
fuel flow meter in the engine caused a slight
(STS-51 F) July 12, 1985 increase in the turbopump’s temperature. The
test firing also confirmed a slightly slower start
The countdown for Challenger’s launch was
for main engine No. 3 during the pad abort,
halted at T-3 seconds when onboard computers
which could have contributed to the higher
detected a problem with a coolant valve on
temperatures. After Endeavour was brought
main engine No. 2. The valve was replaced and
back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be
Challenger was launched on July 29, 1985.
outfitted with three replacement engines,

NASA managers set Oct. 2 as the date for shuttle. The engines shut down just before the
Endeavour’s second launch attempt. shuttle, traveling at about 17,000 miles per
hour, reaches orbit.
Abort to Orbit History
The main engine operates at greater
(STS-51 F) July 29, 1985 temperature extremes than any mechanical
After an RSLS abort on July 12, 1985, system in common use today. The fuel,
Challenger was launched on July 29, 1985. liquefied hydrogen at -423 degrees Fahrenheit,
Five minutes and 45 seconds after launch, a is the second coldest liquid on Earth. When it
sensor problem resulted in the shutdown of and the liquid oxygen are combusted, the
center engine No. 1, resulting in a safe “abort to temperature in the main combustion chamber is
orbit” and successful completion of the mission. 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the
boiling point of iron.
SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINES
The main engines use a staged combustion
Developed in the 1970s by NASA’s Marshall cycle so that all propellants entering the engines
Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Ala., the are used to produce thrust, or power, more
space shuttle main engine is the most advanced efficiently than any previous rocket engine. In
liquid-fueled rocket engine ever built. Every a staged combustion cycle, propellants are first
space shuttle main engine is tested and proven burned partially at high pressure and relatively
flight worthy at NASA’s Stennis Space Center low temperature, and then burned completely
in south Mississippi, before installation on at high temperature and pressure in the main
an orbiter. Its main features include variable combustion chamber. The rapid mixing of the
thrust, high performance reusability, high propellants under these conditions is so
redundancy and a fully integrated engine complete that 99 percent of the fuel is burned.
controller.
At normal operating level, each engine
The shuttle’s three main engines are mounted generates 490,847 pounds of thrust, measured
on the orbiter aft fuselage in a triangular in a vacuum. Full power is 512,900 pounds of
pattern. Spaced so that they are movable thrust; minimum power is 316,100 pounds of
during launch, the engines are used, in thrust.
conjunction with the solid rocket boosters, to
The engine can be throttled by varying the
steer the shuttle vehicle.
output of the preburners, thus varying the
Each of these powerful main engines is 14 feet speed of the high-pressure turbopumps and,
long, weighs about 7,000 pounds and is 7.5 feet therefore, the flow of the propellant.
in diameter at the end of its nozzle.
At about 26 seconds into ascent, the main
The engines operate for about 8.5 minutes engines are throttled down to 316,000 pounds
during liftoff and ascent, burning more than of thrust to keep the dynamic pressure on the
500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen vehicle below a specified level, about
and liquid oxygen propellants stored in the 580 pounds per square foot, known as max q.
external tank attached to the underside of the Then, the engines are throttled back up to

normal operating level at about 60 seconds. incorporates a large-throat main combustion
This reduces stress on the vehicle. The main chamber that improves the engine’s reliability
engines are throttled down again at about by reducing pressure and temperature in the
seven minutes, 40 seconds into the mission to chamber.
maintain three g’s, three times the Earth’s
gravitational pull, reducing stress on the crew The most recent engine enhancement is the
and the vehicle. This acceleration level is about Advanced Health Management System, or
one-third the acceleration experienced on AHMS, which made its first flight in 2007.
previous crewed space vehicles. AHMS is a controller upgrade that provides
new monitoring and insight into the health of
About 10 seconds before main engine cutoff, or the two most complex components of the space
MECO, the cutoff sequence begins. About shuttle main engine – the high pressure fuel
three seconds later the main engines are turbopump and the high pressure oxidizer
commanded to begin throttling at 10 percent turbopump. New advanced digital signal
thrust per second until they achieve 65 percent processors monitor engine vibration and have
thrust. This is held for about 6.7 seconds, and the ability to shut down an engine if vibration
the engines are shut down. exceeds safe limits. AHMS was developed by
engineers at Marshall.
The engine performance has the highest thrust
for its weight of any engine yet developed. In After the orbiter lands, the engines are removed
fact, one space shuttle main engine generates and returned to a processing facility at NASA’s
sufficient thrust to maintain the flight of two Kennedy Space Center, Fla., where they are
and one-half Boeing 747 airplanes. rechecked and readied for the next flight. Some
components are returned to the main engine’s
The space shuttle main engine also is the first prime contractor, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne,
rocket engine to use a built-in electronic digital West Palm Beach, Fla., for regular maintenance.
controller, or computer. The controller accepts The main engines are designed to operate for
commands from the orbiter for engine start, 7.5 accumulated hours.
change in throttle, shutdown and monitoring of
engine operation. SPACE SHUTTLE SOLID ROCKET
NASA continues to increase the reliability and BOOSTERS (SRB)
safety of shuttle flights through a series of The two solid rocket boosters required for a
enhancements to the space shuttle main space shuttle launch and first two minutes
engines. The engines were modified in 1988, of powered flight boast the largest
1995, 1998, 2001 and 2007. Modifications solid-propellant motors ever flown. They are
include new high-pressure fuel and oxidizer the first large rockets designed for reuse and
turbopumps that reduce maintenance and are the only solid rocket motors rated for
operating costs of the engine, a two-duct human flight. The SRBs have the capacity to
powerhead that reduces pressure and carry the entire weight of the external fuel tank,
turbulence in the engine, and a single-coil heat or ET, and orbiter, and to transmit the weight
exchanger that lowers the number of post flight load through their structure to the mobile
inspections required. Another modification launcher platform, or MLP.

The SRBs provide 71.4 percent of the thrust They are attached to the ET at the SRB aft attach
required to lift the space shuttle off the launch ring by an upper and lower attach strut and a
pad and during first-stage ascent to an altitude diagonal attach strut. The forward end of each
of about 150,000 feet, or 28 miles. At launch, SRB is affixed to the ET by one attach bolt and
each booster has a sea level thrust of ET ball fitting on the forward skirt. While
approximately 3.3 million pounds and is positioned on the launch pad, the space shuttle
ignited after the ignition and verification of the is attached to the MLP by four bolts and
three space shuttle main engines, or SSMEs. explosive nuts equally spaced around each SRB.
After ignition of the solid rocket motors, the
SRB apogee occurs at an altitude of about nuts are severed by small explosives that allow
230,000 feet, or 43 miles, 75 seconds after the space shuttle vehicle to perform lift off.
separation from the main vehicle. At booster
separation, the space shuttle orbiter has reached United Space Alliance (USA)
an altitude of 24 miles and is traveling at a
speed in excess of 3,000 miles per hour. USA, at Kennedy facilities, is responsible for all
SRB operations except the motor and nozzle
The primary elements of each booster are nose portions. In conjunction with maintaining
cap, housing the pilot and drogue parachute; sole responsibility for manufacturing and
frustum, housing the three main parachutes in processing of the non-motor hardware and
a cluster; forward skirt, housing the booster vehicle integration, USA provides the service
flight avionics, altitude sensing, recovery of retrieval, post flight inspection and
avionics, parachute cameras and range safety analysis, disassembly and refurbishment of the
destruct system; four motor segments, hardware. USA also exclusively retains
containing the solid propellant; motor nozzle; comprehensive responsibility for the orbiter.
and aft skirt, housing the nozzle and thrust
vector control systems required for guidance. The reusable solid rocket motor segments are
Each SRB possesses its own redundant shipped from ATK Launch Systems in Utah to
auxiliary power units and hydraulic pumps. Kennedy, where they are mated by USA
personnel to the other structural components –
SRB impact occurs in the ocean approximately the forward assembly, aft skirt, frustum and
140 miles downrange. SRB retrieval is nose cap – in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
provided after each flight by specifically Work involves the complete disassembly and
designed and built ships. The frustums, refurbishment of the major SRB structures – the
drogue and main parachutes are loaded onto aft skirts, frustums, forward skirts and all
the ships along with the boosters and towed ancillary hardware – required to complete an
back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where SRB stack and mate to the ET. Work then
they are disassembled and refurbished for proceeds to ET/SRB mate, mate with the orbiter
reuse. Before retirement, each booster can be and finally, space shuttle close out operations.
used as many as 20 times. After hardware restoration concerning flight
configuration is complete, automated checkout
Each booster is just over 149 feet long and and hot fire are performed early in hardware
12.17 feet in diameter. Both boosters have a flow to ensure that the refurbished components
combined weight of 1,303,314 pounds at lift-off. satisfy all flight performance requirements.

ATK Launch Systems (ATK) dropping down several feet. The SRB bolt is
28 inches long, 3.5 inches in diameter and
ATK Launch Systems of Brigham City, Utah, weighs approximately 90 pounds. The
manufactures space shuttle reusable solid frangible nut is captured in a blast container on
rocket motors, or RSRMs, at their Utah facility. the aft skirt specifically designed to absorb the
Each RSRM – just over 126 feet long and 12 feet impact and prevent pieces of the nut from
in diameter – consists of four rocket motor liberating and becoming debris that could
segments and an aft exit cone assembly is. damage the space shuttle.
From ignition to end of burn, each RSRM
generates an average thrust of 2.6 million Integrated Electronic Assembly (IEA)
pounds and burns for approximately
The aft IEA, mounted in the ET/SRB attach ring,
123 seconds. Of the motor’s total weight of
provides the electrical interface between the
1.25 million pounds, propellant accounts for
SRB systems and the obiter. The aft IEA
1.1 million pounds. The four motor segments
receives data, commands, and electrical power
are matched by loading each from the same
from the orbiter and distributes these inputs
batches of propellant ingredients to minimize
throughout each SRB. Components located in
any thrust imbalance. The segmented casing
the forward assemblies of each SRB are
design assures maximum flexibility in
powered by the aft IEA through the forward
fabrication and ease of transportation and
IEA, except for those utilizing the recovery and
handling. Each segment is shipped to KSC on a
range safety batteries located in the forward
heavy-duty rail car with a specialty built cover.
assemblies. The forward IEA communicates
SRB Hardware Design Summary with and receives power from the orbiter
through the aft IEA, but has no direct electrical
Hold-Down Posts connection to the orbiter.
Each SRB has four hold-down posts that fit into Electrical Power Distribution
corresponding support posts on the MLP.
Hold-down bolts secure the SRB and MLP posts Electrical power distribution in each SRB
together. Each bolt has a nut at each end, but consists of orbiter-supplied main dc bus power
the top nut is frangible, or breakable. The top to each SRB via SRB buses A, B and C. Orbiter
nut contains two NASA Standard detonators, main dc buses A, B and C supply main dc bus
or NSDs, that, when ignited at solid rocket power to corresponding SRB buses A, B and C.
motor ignition command, split the upper nut in In addition, orbiter main dc, bus C supplies
half. backup power to SRB buses A and B, and
orbiter bus B supplies backup power to SRB
Splitting the upper nuts allow the hold-down bus C. This electrical power distribution
bolts to be released and travel downward arrangement allows all SRB buses to remain
because of NSD gas pressure, gravity and the powered in the event one orbiter main bus fails.
release of tension in the bolt, which is
pretensioned before launch. The bolt is The nominal dc voltage is 28 V dc, with an
stopped by the stud deceleration stand which upper limit of 32 V dc and a lower limit of
contains sand to absorb the shock of the bolt 24 V dc.

Hydraulic Power Units (HPUs) is greater than the bypass line’s, at which point
all the fuel is supplied to the fuel pump.
There are two self-contained, independent
HPUs on each SRB. Each HPU consists of an The APU turbine assembly provides
auxiliary power unit, or APU; Fuel Supply mechanical power to the APU gearbox, which
Module, or FSM; hydraulic pump; hydraulic drives the APU fuel pump, hydraulic pump
reservoir; and hydraulic fluid manifold and lube oil pump. The APU lube oil pump
assembly. The APUs are fueled by hydrazine lubricates the gearbox. The turbine exhaust of
and generate mechanical shaft power to a each APU flows over the exterior of the gas
hydraulic pump that produces hydraulic generator, cooling it and directing it overboard
pressure for the SRB hydraulic system. The through an exhaust duct.
APU controller electronics are located in the
SRB aft integrated electronic assemblies on the When the APU speed reaches 100 percent, the
aft ET attach rings. The two separate HPUs APU primary control valve closes and the
and two hydraulic systems are located inside APU speed is controlled by the APU controller
the aft skirt of each SRB between the SRB electronics. If the primary control valve logic
nozzle and skirt. The HPU components are fails to the open state, the secondary control
mounted on the aft skirt between the rock and valve assumes control of the APU at
tilt actuators. The two systems operate from 112 percent speed. Each HPU on an SRB is
T minus 28 seconds until SRB separation from connected to both servoactuators. One HPU
the orbiter and ET. The two independent serves as the primary hydraulic source for the
hydraulic systems are connected to the rock servoactuator and the other HPU serves as the
and tilt servoactuators. secondary hydraulics for the servoactuator.
Each servoactuator has a switching valve that
The HPUs and their fuel systems are isolated allows the secondary hydraulics to power the
from each other. Each fuel supply module, or actuator if the primary hydraulic pressure
tank, contains 22 pounds of hydrazine. The drops below 2,050 psi. A switch contact on the
fuel tank is pressurized with gaseous nitrogen switching valve will close when the valve is in
at 400 psi to provide the force to expel via the secondary position. When the valve is
positive expulsion the fuel from the tank to the closed, a signal is sent to the APU controller
fuel distribution line. A positive fuel supply to that inhibits the 100 percent APU speed control
the APU throughout its operation is logic and enables the 112 percent APU speed
maintained. control logic. The 100 percent APU speed
enables one APU/HPU to supply sufficient
The fuel isolation valve is opened at APU
operating hydraulic pressure to both
startup to allow fuel to flow to the APU fuel
servoactuators of that SRB.
pump and control valves and then to the gas
generator. The gas generator’s catalytic action The APU 100 percent speed corresponds to
decomposes the fuel and creates a hot gas. It 72,000 rpm, 110 percent to 79,200 rpm and
feeds the hot gas exhaust product to the APU 112 percent to 80,640 rpm.
two-stage gas turbine. Fuel flows primarily
through the startup bypass line until the APU The hydraulic pump speed is 3,600 rpm and
speed is such that the fuel pump outlet pressure supplies hydraulic pressure of 3,050, plus or

minus 50 psi. A high-pressure relief valve position the power spool. With four identical
provides overpressure protection to the commands to the four servovalves, the actuator
hydraulic system and relieves at 3,750 psi. force-sum action prevents a single erroneous
command from affecting power ram motion. If
The APUs/HPUs and hydraulic systems are the erroneous command persists for more than
reusable for 20 missions. a predetermined time, differential pressure
Thrust Vector Control (TVC) sensing activates a selector valve to isolate and
remove the defective servovalve hydraulic
Each SRB has two hydraulic gimbal pressure. This permits the remaining channels
servoactuators: one for rock and one for tilt. and servovalves to control the actuator ram
The servoactuators provide the force and spool.
control to gimbal the nozzle for TVC. The
all-axis gimbaling capability is 8 degrees. Each Failure monitors are provided for each channel
nozzle has a carbon cloth liner that erodes to indicate which channel has been bypassed.
and chars during firing. The nozzle is a An isolation valve on each channel provides the
convergent-divergent, movable design in which capability of resetting a failed or bypassed
an aft pivot-point flexible bearing is the channel.
gimbal mechanism.
Each actuator ram is equipped with transducers
The space shuttle ascent TVC portion of the for position feedback to the thrust vector
flight control system directs the thrust of the control system. Within each servoactuator ram
three SSMEs and the two SRB nozzles to control is a splashdown load relief assembly to cushion
shuttle attitude and trajectory during liftoff and the nozzle at water splashdown and prevent
ascent. Commands from the guidance system damage to the nozzle flexible bearing.
are transmitted to the ascent TVC, or ATVC,
SRB Rate Gyro Assemblies (RGAs)
drivers, which transmit signals proportional to
the commands to each servoactuator of the Each SRB contains two RGAs mounted in the
main engines and SRBs. Four independent forward skirt watertight compartment. Each
flight control system channels and four ATVC RGA contains two orthogonally mounted
channels control six main engine and four gyroscopes – pitch and yaw axes. In
SRB ATVC drivers, with each driver controlling conjunction with the orbiter roll rate gyros, they
one hydraulic port on each main and SRB provide angular rate information that describes
servoactuator. the inertial motion of the vehicle cluster to the
orbiter computers and the guidance, navigation
Each SRB servoactuator consists of four and control system during first stage ascent
independent, two-stage servovalves that to SRB separation. At SRB separation, all
receive signals from the drivers. Each guidance control data is handed off from the
servovalve controls one power spool in each SRB RGAs to the orbiter RGAs. The RGAs are
actuator, which positions an actuator ram and designed and qualified for 20 missions.
the nozzle to control the direction of thrust.
The four servovalves in each actuator provide a

force-summed majority voting arrangement to

Propellant the pyro firing output. These signals – arm, fire
1 and fire 2 – originate in the orbiter
The propellant mixture in each SRB motor
general-purpose computers and are transmitted
consists of ammonium perchlorate, an oxidizer,
to the MECs. The MECs reformat them to
69.6 percent by weight; aluminum, a fuel,
28 V dc signals for the PICs. The arm signal
16 percent by weight; iron oxide, a catalyst,
charges the PIC capacitor to 40 V dc, minimum
0.4 percent by weight; polymer, a binder that
20 V dc.
holds the mixture together, 12.04 percent by
weight; and epoxy curing agent, 1.96 percent by The fire 2 commands cause the redundant
weight. The propellant is an 11-point NSDs to fire through a thin barrier seal down a
star-shaped perforation in the forward motor flame tunnel. This ignites a pyro booster
segment and a double truncated cone charge, which is retained in the safe and arm
perforation in each of the aft segments and aft device behind a perforated plate. The booster
closure. This configuration provides high charge ignites the propellant in the igniter
thrust at ignition and then reduces the thrust by initiator; and combustion products of this
about one-third 50 seconds after liftoff to propellant ignite the solid rocket motor igniter,
prevent overstressing the vehicle during which fires down the length of the solid rocket
maximum dynamic pressure. motor igniting the solid rocket motor
propellant.
SRB Ignition
The general purpose computer, or GPC, launch
SRB ignition can occur only when a manual
sequence also controls certain critical main
lock pin from each SRB safe and arm device has
propulsion system valves and monitors the
been removed by the ground crew during
engine-ready indications from the SSMEs. The
prelaunch activities. At T minus 5 minutes, the
main propulsion system, or MPS, start
SRB safe and arm device is rotated to the arm
commands are issued by the on-board
position. The solid rocket motor ignition
computers at T minus 6.6 seconds. There is a
commands are issued when the three SSMEs
staggered start – engine three, engine two,
are at or above 90 percent rated thrust; no
engine one – within 0.25 of a second, and the
SSME fail and/or SRB ignition pyrotechnic
sequence monitors the thrust buildup of
initiator controller, or PIC low voltage is
each engine. All three SSMEs must reach the
indicated; and there are no holds from the
required 90 percent thrust within three seconds;
launch processing system, or LPS.
otherwise, an orderly shutdown is commanded
The solid rocket motor ignition commands are and safing functions are initiated.
sent by the orbiter computers through the
Normal thrust buildup to the required
master events controllers, or MECs, to the
90 percent thrust level will result in the SSMEs
NSDs installed in the safe and arm device in
being commanded to the liftoff position at
each SRB. A pyrotechnic initiation controller,
T minus 3 seconds as well as the fire 1
or PIC, is a single-channel capacitor discharge
command being issued to arm the SRBs. At
device that controls the firing of each
T minus 3 seconds, the vehicle base bending
pyrotechnic device. Three signals must be
load modes are allowed to initialize.
present simultaneously for the PIC to generate

At T minus 0, the two SRBs are ignited by the The aft attachment points consist of three
four orbiter on-board computers; commands separate struts: upper, diagonal, and lower.
are sent to release the SRBs; the two T-0 Each strut contains one bolt with an NSD
umbilicals, one on each side of the spacecraft, pressure cartridge at each end. The upper strut
are retracted; the on-board master timing unit, also carries the umbilical interface between its
event timer and mission event timers are SRB and the external tank and on to the orbiter.
started; the three SSMEs are at 100 percent; and
the ground launch sequence is terminated. Redesigned Booster Separation Motors (RBSM)
Eight Booster Separation Motors, or BSMs, are

SRB Separation
located on each booster – four on the forward
The SRB/ET separation subsystem provides for section and four on the aft skirt. BSMs provide
separation of the SRBs from the orbiter/ET the force required to push the SRBs away from
without damage to or recontact of the elements the orbiter/ET at separation. Each BSM weighs
– SRBs, orbiter/ET – during or after separation approximately 165 pounds and is 31.1 inches
for nominal modes. SRB separation is initiated long and 12.8 inches in diameter. Once the
when the three solid rocket motor chamber SRBs have completed their flight, the BSMs are
pressure transducers are processed in the fired to jettison the SRBs away from the orbiter
redundancy management middle value select and external tank, allowing the boosters to
and the head end chamber pressure of both parachute to Earth and be reused. The BSMs in
SRBs is less than or equal to 50 psi. A backup each cluster of four are ignited by firing
cue is the time elapsed from booster ignition. redundant NSD pressure cartridges into
redundant confined detonating fuse manifolds.
The separation sequence is initiated,
The separation commands issued from the
commanding the thrust vector control actuators
orbiter by the SRB separation sequence initiate
to the null position and putting the main
the redundant NSD pressure cartridge in each
propulsion system into a second-stage
bolt and ignite the BSMs to effect a clean
configuration 0.8 second from sequence
separation.
initialization, which ensures the thrust of each
SRB is less than 100,000 pounds. Orbiter yaw Redesigned BSMs flew for the first time in both
attitude is held for four seconds and SRB thrust forward and aft locations on STS-125. As a
drops to less than 60,000 pounds. The SRBs result of vendor viability and manifest support
separate from the ET within 30 milliseconds of issues, space shuttle BSMs are now being
the ordnance firing command. manufactured by ATK. The igniter has been
redesigned and other changes include material
The forward attachment point consists of a ball
upgrades driven by obsolescence issues and
on the SRB and socket on the ET, held together
improvements to process and inspection
by one bolt. The bolt contains one NSD
techniques.
pressure cartridge at each end. The forward
attachment point also carries the range safety SRB Cameras
system cross-strap wiring connecting each SRB
range safety system, or RSS, and the ET RSS Each SRB flies with a complement of four
with each other. cameras, three mounted for exterior views

during launch, separation and descent; and one The camera videos are available for engineering
mounted internal to the forward dome for main review approximately 24 hours following the
parachute performance assessment during arrival of the boosters at KSC.
descent.
Range Safety Systems (RSS)
The ET observation camera is mounted on the
The RSS consists of two antenna couplers;
SRB forward skirt and provides a wide-angle
command receivers/decoders; a dual
view of the ET intertank area. The camera is
distributor; a safe and arm device with two
activated at lift off by a G-switch and records
NSDs; two confined detonating fuse manifolds;
for 350 seconds, after which the recorder is
seven confined detonator fuse, or CDF
switched to a similar camera in the forward
assemblies; and one linear-shaped charge.
skirt dome to view the deployment and
performance of the main parachutes to splash The RSS provides for destruction of a rocket or
down. These cameras share a digital tape part of it with on-board explosives by remote
recorder located within the data acquisition command if the rocket is out of control, to
system. limit danger to people on the ground from
crashing pieces, explosions, fire, and poisonous
The ET ring camera is mounted on the ET
substances.
attach ring and provides a view up the stacked
vehicle on the orbiter underside and the bipod The space shuttle has two RSSs, one in each
strut attach point. SRB. Both are capable of receiving two
command messages – arm and fire – which are
The forward skirt camera is mounted on the
transmitted from the ground station. The RSS
external surface of the SRB forward skirt and
is only used when the space shuttle violates a
provides a view aft down the stacked vehicle of
launch trajectory red line.
the orbiter underside and the wing leading
edge reinforced carbon-carbon, or RCC, panels. The antenna couplers provide the proper
impedance for radio frequency and ground
The ET attach ring camera and forward skirt
support equipment commands. The command
camera are activated by a global positioning
receivers are tuned to RSS command
system command at approximately T minus
frequencies and provide the input signal to the
1 minute 56 seconds to begin recording at
distributors when an RSS command is sent.
approximately T minus 50 seconds. The camera
The command decoders use a code plug to
images are recorded through splash down.
prevent any command signal other than the
These cameras each have a dedicated recorder
proper command signal from getting into the
and are recorded in a digital format. The
distributors. The distributors contain the logic
cameras were designed, qualified, and
to supply valid destruct commands to the RSS
implemented by USA after Columbia to
pyrotechnics.
provide enhanced imagery capabilities to
capture potential debris liberation beginning The NSDs provide the spark to ignite the CDF
with main engine start and continuing through that in turn ignites the linear-shaped charge for
SRB separation. space shuttle destruction. The safe and arm
device provides mechanical isolation between

the NSDs and the CDF before launch and Two 176-foot recovery ships, Freedom Star and
during the SRB separation sequence. Liberty Star, are on station at the splashdown
zone to retrieve the frustums with drogue
The first message, called arm, allows the parachutes attached, the main parachutes and
onboard logic to enable a destruct and the SRBs. The SRB nose caps and solid rocket
illuminates a light on the flight deck display motor nozzle extensions are not recovered. The
and control panel at the commander and pilot SRBs are dewatered using an enhanced diver
station. The second message transmitted is the operating plug to facilitate tow back. These
fire command. The SRB distributors in the plugs are inserted into the motor nozzle and
SRBs are cross-strapped together. Thus, if one air is pumped into the booster, causing it to
SRB received an arm or destruct signal, the lay flat in the water to allow it to be easily
signal would also be sent to the other SRB. towed. The boosters are then towed back to
Electrical power from the RSS battery in each the refurbishment facilities. Each booster is
SRB is routed to RSS system A. The recovery removed from the water and components are
battery in each SRB is used to power RSS disassembled and washed with fresh and
system B as well as the recovery system in the deionized water to limit saltwater corrosion.
SRB. The SRB RSS is powered down during the The motor segments, igniter and nozzle are
separation sequence, and the SRB recovery shipped back to ATK in Utah for
system is powered up. refurbishment. The nonmotor components and
structures are disassembled by USA and are
Descent and Recovery refurbished to like-new condition at both KSC
and equipment manufacturers across the
After separation and at specified altitudes, the
country.
SRB forward avionics system initiates the
release of the nose cap, which houses a pilot SPACE SHUTTLE SUPER LIGHT WEIGHT
parachute and drogue parachute; and the
TANK (SLWT)
frustum, which houses the three main
parachutes. Jettison of the nose cap at The super lightweight external tank (SLWT)
15,700 feet deploys a small pilot parachute and made its first shuttle flight June 2, 1998, on
begins to slow the SRB decent. At an altitude mission STS-91. The SLWT is 7,500 pounds
of 15,200 feet the pilot parachute pulls the lighter than the standard external tank. The
drogue parachute from the frustum. The lighter weight tank allows the shuttle to deliver
drogue parachute fully inflates in stages, and at International Space Station elements (such as
5,500 feet pulls the frustum away from the SRB, the service module) into the proper orbit.
which initiates the deployment of the three
main parachutes. The parachutes also inflate in The SLWT is the same size as the previous
stages and further slow the decent of the SRBs design. But the liquid hydrogen tank and the
to their final velocity at splashdown. The liquid oxygen tank are made of aluminum
parachutes slow each SRB from 368 mph at first lithium, a lighter, stronger material than the
deployment to 52 mph at splashdown, allowing metal alloy used for the shuttle’s current tank.
for the recovery and reuse of the boosters. The tank’s structural design has also been

improved, making it 30 percent stronger and in a preplanned trajectory. Most of the tank
5 percent less dense. disintegrates in the atmosphere, and the
remainder falls into the ocean.
The SLWT, like the standard tank, is
manufactured at NASA’s Michoud Assembly The external tank is manufactured at NASA’s
Facility, near New Orleans, by Lockheed Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans by
Martin. Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
The 154-foot-long external tank is the largest Foam Facts

single component of the space shuttle. It stands
taller than a 15-story building and has a The external tank is covered with spray-on
diameter of about 27 feet. The external tank foam insulation that insulates the tank before
holds over 530,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and during launch. More than 90 percent of the
and liquid oxygen in two separate tanks. The tank’s foam is applied using an automated
hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer) system, leaving less than 10 percent to be
are used as propellants for the shuttle’s three applied manually.
main engines. There are two types of foam on the external
tank, known as the Thermal Protection System,
EXTERNAL TANK
or TPS. One is low-density, closed-cell foam on
The 154-foot-long external tank is the largest the tank acreage and is known as Spray-On-
single component of the space shuttle. It stands Foam-Insulation, often referred to by its
taller than a 15-story building and has a acronym, SOFI. Most of the tank is covered by
diameter of about 27 feet. The external tank either an automated or manually applied SOFI.
holds more than 530,000 gallons of liquid Most areas around protuberances, such as
hydrogen and liquid oxygen in two separate brackets and structural elements, are applied by
tanks, the forward liquid oxygen tank and the pouring foam ingredients into part-specific
aft liquid hydrogen tank. An unpressurized molds. The other is a denser composite
intertank unites the two propellant tanks. material made of silicone resins and cork and
called ablator. An ablator is a material that
Liquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen dissipates heat by eroding. It is used on areas
(oxidizer) are used as propellants for the of the external tank subjected to extreme heat,
shuttle’s three main engines. The external tank such as the aft dome near the engine exhaust,
weighs 58,500 pounds empty and and remaining protuberances, such as the cable
1,668,500 pounds when filled with propellants. trays. These areas are exposed to extreme
aerodynamic heating.
The external tank is the “backbone” of the
shuttle during launch, providing structural Closed-cell foam used on the tank was
support for attachment with the solid rocket developed to keep the propellants that fuel the
boosters and orbiter. It is the only component shuttle’s three main engines at optimum
of the shuttle that is not reused. Approximately temperature. It keeps the shuttle’s liquid
8.5 minutes after reaching orbit, with its hydrogen fuel at -423 degrees Fahrenheit
propellant used, the tank is jettisoned and falls and the liquid oxygen tank at near

-297 degrees Fahrenheit, even as the tank sits Most of the foam is applied at NASA’s
under the hot Florida sun. At the same time, Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans
the foam prevents a buildup of ice on the when the tank is manufactured, including most
outside of the tank. of the “closeout” areas, or final areas applied.
These closeouts are done either by hand
The foam insulation must be durable enough to pouring or manual spraying. Additional
endure a 180-day stay at the launch pad, closeouts are completed once the tank reaches
withstand temperatures up to 115 degrees NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Fahrenheit, humidity as high as 100 percent,
and resist sand, salt, fog, rain, solar radiation The super lightweight external tank, or SLWT,
and even fungus. Then, during launch, the made its first shuttle flight in June 1998 on
foam must tolerate temperatures as high as mission STS-91. The SLWT is 7,500 pounds
2,200 degrees Fahrenheit generated by lighter than previously flown tanks. The SLWT
aerodynamic friction and radiant heating from is the same size as the previous design, but the
the 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit main engine liquid hydrogen tank and the liquid oxygen
plumes. Finally, when the external tank begins tank are made of aluminum lithium, a lighter,
reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere about stronger material than the metal alloy used
30 minutes after launch, the foam maintains the previously.
tank’s structural temperatures and allows it to
safely disintegrate over a remote ocean location. Beginning with the first Return to Flight
mission, STS-114 in June 2005, several
Though the foam insulation on the majority of improvements were made to improve safety
the tank is only 1-inch thick, it adds and flight reliability.
4,823 pounds to the tank’s weight. In the areas
of the tank subjected to the highest heating, Forward Bipod
insulation is somewhat thicker, between 1.5 to The external tank’s forward shuttle attach
3 inches thick. Though the foam’s density fitting, called the bipod, was redesigned to
varies with the type, an average density is eliminate the large insulating foam ramps as a
about 2.4 pounds per cubic foot. source of debris. Each external tank has two
Application of the foam, whether automated by bipod fittings that connect the tank to the
computer or hand-sprayed, is designed to meet orbiter through the shuttle’s two forward
NASA’s requirements for finish, thickness, attachment struts. Four rod heaters were
roughness, density, strength and adhesion. As placed below each forward bipod, replacing the
in most assembly production situations, the large insulated foam Protuberance Airload, or
foam is applied in specially designed, PAL, ramps.
environmentally controlled spray cells and Liquid Hydrogen Tank & Liquid Oxygen
applied in several phases, often over a period of Intertank Flange Closeouts
several weeks. Before spraying, the foam’s raw
material and mechanical properties are tested The liquid hydrogen tank flange located at the
to ensure they meet NASA specifications. bottom of the intertank and the liquid oxygen
Multiple visual inspections of all foam surfaces tank flange located at the top of the intertank
are performed after the spraying is complete. provide joining mechanisms with the intertank.

After each of these three component tanks, ramps consistent with other locations on
liquid oxygen, intertank and liquid hydrogen, the tank and thereby provide consistent
are joined mechanically, the flanges at both aerodynamic flow. Nine extensions were
ends are insulated with foam. An enhanced added, six on the liquid hydrogen tank and
closeout, or finishing, procedure was added to three on the liquid oxygen tank.
improve foam application to the stringer, or
intertank ribbing, and to the upper and lower Engine Cutoff (ECO) Sensor Modification
area of both the liquid hydrogen and liquid Beginning with STS-122, ET-125, which
oxygen intertank flanges. launched on Feb. 7, 2008, the ECO sensor
Liquid Oxygen Feedline Bellows system feed-through connector on the liquid
hydrogen tank was modified by soldering the
The liquid oxygen feedline bellows were connector’s pins and sockets to address false
reshaped to include a “drip lip” that allows readings in the system. All subsequent tanks
condensate moisture to run off and prevent after ET-125 have the same modification.
freezing. A strip heater was added to the
forward bellow to further reduce the potential Liquid Hydrogen Tank Ice Frost Ramps
of high density ice or frost formation. Joints on ET-128, which flew on the STS-124 shuttle
the liquid oxygen feedline assembly allow the mission, May 31, 2008, was the first tank to fly
feedline to move during installation and during with redesigned liquid hydrogen tank ice frost
liquid hydrogen tank fill. Because it must flex, ramps. Design changes were incorporated at
it cannot be insulated with foam like the all 17 ice frost ramp locations on the liquid
remainder of the tank. hydrogen tank, stations 1151 through 2057, to
Other tank improvements include: reduce foam loss. Although the redesigned
ramps appear identical to the previous design,
Liquid Oxygen & Liquid Hydrogen several changes were made. PDL* and NCFI
Protuberance Airload (PAL) Ramps foam have been replaced with BX* manual
spray foam in the ramp’s base cutout to reduce
External tank ET-119, which flew on the second debonding and cracking; Pressline and cable
Return to Flight mission, STS-121, in July 2006, tray bracket feet corners have been rounded to
was the first tank to fly without PAL ramps reduce stresses; shear pin holes have been
along portions of the liquid oxygen and sealed to reduce leak paths; isolators were
liquid hydrogen tanks. These PAL ramps were primed to promote adhesion; isolator corners
extensively studied and determined to not be were rounded to help reduce thermal
necessary for their original purpose, which was protection system foam stresses; BX manual
to protect cable trays from aeroelastic instability spray was applied in bracket pockets to reduce
during ascent. Extensive tests were conducted geometric voids.
to verify the shuttle could fly safely without
these particular PAL ramps. Extensions were *BX is a type of foam used on the tank’s
added to the ice frost ramps for the pressline “loseout,” or final finished areas; it is applied
and cable tray brackets, where these PAL ramps manually or hand-sprayed. PDL is an acronym
were removed to make the geometry of the for Product Development Laboratory, the first

supplier of the foam during the early days of brackets at four locations, XT 1129, XT 1377,
the external tank’s development. PDL is Xt 1624 and Xt 1871. This change minimizes ice
applied by pouring foam ingredients into a formation in under-insulated areas, and
mold. NCFI foam is used on the aft dome, or reduces the amount of foam required to cover
bottom, of the liquid hydrogen tank. the brackets and the propensity for ice
development. Zero-gap/slip plane Teflon
Liquid Oxygen Feedline Brackets material was added to the upper outboard
ET-128 also was the first tank to fly with monoball attachment to eliminate ice adhesion.
redesigned liquid oxygen feedline brackets. Additional foam has been added to the liquid
Titanium brackets, much less thermally oxygen feedline to further minimize ice
conductive than aluminum, replaced aluminum formation along the length of the feedline.

LAUNCH AND LANDING
LAUNCH RETURN-TO-LAUNCH-SITE (RTLS)
As with all previous space shuttle launches, If one or more engines shut down early and
Atlantis has several options to abort its ascent if there is not enough energy to reach Zaragoza,
needed after engine failures or other systems the shuttle would pitch around toward
problems. Shuttle launch abort philosophy is Kennedy until within gliding distance of the
intended to facilitate safe recovery of the flight Shuttle Landing Facility. For launch to
crew and intact recovery of the orbiter and its proceed, weather conditions must be forecast to
payload. be acceptable for a possible RTLS landing at
KSC about 20 minutes after liftoff.
Abort modes include:
ABORT ONCE AROUND (AOA)
ABORT-TO-ORBIT (ATO)
An AOA is selected if the vehicle cannot
This mode is used if there is a partial loss of achieve a viable orbit or will not have enough
main engine thrust late enough to permit propellant to perform a deorbit burn, but has
reaching a minimal 105 by 85 nautical mile orbit enough energy to circle the Earth once and land
with the orbital maneuvering system engines. about 90 minutes after liftoff.
The engines boost the shuttle to a safe orbital
altitude when it is impossible to reach the LANDING
planned orbital altitude.
The primary landing site for Atlantis on
TRANSATLANTIC ABORT LANDING STS‐132 is the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle
(TAL) Landing Facility. Alternate landing sites that
could be used if needed because of weather
The loss of one or more main engines midway conditions or systems failures are at Edwards
through powered flight would force a landing Air Force Base, Calif., and White Sands Space
at either Zaragoza, Spain; Moron, Spain; or Harbor, N.M.
Istres, France. For launch to proceed, weather
conditions must be acceptable at one of these
TAL sites.
MAY 2010 LAUNCH & LANDING 81

82 LAUNCH & LANDING MAY 2010

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
2D-Nano Template Two Dimensional Nano Template
3D-Space Mental Representation of Spatial Cues during Spaceflight
A/G Alignment Guides

A/L Airlock
AAA Avionics Air Assembly
ABC Audio Bus Controller
ABRS Advanced Biological Research System
ACBM Active Common Berthing Mechanism
ACDU Airlock Control and Display Unit
ACO Assembly Checkout Officer
ACS Atmosphere Control and Supply
ACU Arm Control Unit
ADS Audio Distribution System
AE Approach Ellipsoid
AEP Airlock Electronics Package
AI Approach Initiation
AIS Automatic Identification System
AJIS Alpha Joint Interface Structure
ALI Alice-Like Insert
ALTEA-Shield Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts Central Nervous System-Shield
AM Atmosphere Monitoring
AMOS Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site
AOH Assembly Operations Handbook
APAS Androgynous Peripheral Attachment
APCU Assembly Power Converter Unit
APE Antenna Pointing Electronics
Audio Pointing Equipment
APFR Articulating Portable Foot Restraint
APM Antenna Pointing Mechanism
APS Automated Payload Switch
APV Automated Procedure Viewer
AR Atmosphere Revitalization
ARCU American-to-Russian Converter Unit
ARS Atmosphere Revitalization System
ASW Application Software
ATA Ammonia Tank Assembly
ATCS Active Thermal Control System
ATU Audio Terminal Unit
MAY 2010 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 83

BAC Boom Attached Cables
BAD Broadcast Ancillary Data
BC Bus Controller
BCDU Battery Charge/Discharge Unit
Berthing Mechanism Control and Display Unit
BEP Berthing Mechanism Electronics Package
BGA Beta Gimbal Assembly
BIC Bus Interface Controller
BIT Built-In Test
BLT Boundary Layer Transition
BM Berthing Mechanism
BOS BIC Operations Software
BRIC Biological Research in Canisters
BSS Basic Software
BSTS Basic Standard Support Software
C&C Command and Control

C&DH Command and Data Handling
C&T Communication and Tracking
C&W Caution and Warning
C/L Crew Lock
C/O Checkout
CAM Collision Avoidance Maneuver
CAPE Canister for All Payload Ejections
CAPPS Checkout, Assembly and Payload Process Services
CAS Common Attach System
CB Control Bus
CBCS Centerline Berthing Camera System
CBM Common Berthing Mechanism
CCA Circuit Card Assembly
CCAA Common Cabin Air Assembly
CCF Capillary Chanel Flow
CCIS Cardiovascular and Cerebrovacular on Return from Space Station
CCM Cell Culture Module
CCP Camera Control Panel
CCT Communication Configuration Table
CCTV Closed-Circuit Television
CDR Space Shuttle Commander
CDRA Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly
CETA Crew Equipment Transfer Aid
Crew Equipment Translation Aid
CFE-2 Capillary Flow Experiment-2
84 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MAY 2010

CHeCS Crew Health Care System
CHX Cabin Heat Exchanger
CISC Complicated Instruction Set Computer
CLA Camera Light Assembly
CLPA Camera Light Pan Tilt Assembly
CLSM-2 Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures
CMG Control Moment Gyro
COTS Commercial Off the Shelf
CPA Control Panel Assembly
CPB Camera Power Box
CQ Crew Quarters
CR Change Request
CRT Cathode-Ray Tube
CSA Canadian Space Agency
CSA-CP Compound Specific Analyzer
CTC Cargo Transport Container
CVB Constrained Vapor Bubble
CVIU Common Video Interface Unit
CVT Current Value Table
CZ Communication Zone
DB Data Book
DC Docking Compartment
DCB Double Coldbag
DCSU Direct Current Switching Unit
DDCU DC-to-DC Converter Unit
DECLIC-HTI DEvice for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystalization-High
Temperature Insert
DEM Demodulator
DFL Decommutation Format Load
DIU Data Interface Unit
DMS Data Management System
DMS-R Data Management System-Russian
DOSIS-DOBIES Dose Distribution Inside ISS – Dosimetry for Biological Experiments in Space
DPG Differential Pressure Gauge
DPU Baseband Data Processing Unit
DRTS Japanese Data Relay Satellite
DSO Detailed Supplementary Objective
DTO Detailed Test Objective
DYF Display Frame

E/L Equipment Lock
EATCS External Active Thermal Control System
EBCS External Berthing Camera System
ECC Error Correction Code
ECLSS Environmental Control and Life Support System
ECS Environmental Control System
ECU Electronic Control Unit
EDAS Enhanced Data Acquisition System
EDSU External Data Storage Unit
EDU EEU Driver Unit
EE End Effector
EETCS Early External Thermal Control System
EEU Experiment Exchange Unit
EF Exposed Facility
EFBM Exposed Facility Berthing Mechanism
EFHX Exposed Facility Heat Exchanger
EFU Exposed Facility Unit
EGIL Electrical, General Instrumentation, and Lighting
EIU Ethernet Interface Unit
ELC ExPRESS Logistics Carrier
ELM-ES Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section
ELM-PS Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section
ELPS Emergency Lighting Power Supply
EMGF Electric Mechanical Grapple Fixture
EMI Electro-Magnetic Imaging
EMU Extravehicular Mobility Unit
EOTP Enhanced Orbital Replaceable Unit (ORU) Temporary Platform
EP Exposed Pallet
EPO Education Payload Operations
EPO-Robo Education Payload Operations – Robotics
EPS Electrical Power System
ES Exposed Section
ESA European Space Agency
ESC JEF System Controller
ESP-3 External Stowage Platform 3
ESW Extended Support Software
ET External Tank
ETCS External Thermal Control System
ETI Elapsed Time Indicator
ETRS EVA Temporary Rail Stop
ETVCG External Television Camera Group
EV Extravehicular

EVA Extravehicular Activity
EXP-D Experiment-D
EXPRESS EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station
EXT External
FA Fluid Accumulator
FAS Flight Application Software
FCT Flight Control Team
FD Flight Day
FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDIR Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery
FDS Fire Detection System
FE Flight Engineer
FET-SW Field Effect Transistor Switch
FGB Functional Cargo Block
FOR Frame of Reference
FPMU Floating Potential Measurement Unit
FPP Fluid Pump Package
FR Flight Rule
FRD Flight Requirements Document
FRGF Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture
FRM Functional Redundancy Mode
FSE Flight Support Equipment
FSEGF Flight Support Equipment Grapple Fixture
FSW Flight Software
GAS Get-Away Special

GATOR Grappling Adaptor to On-orbit Railing
GCA Ground Control Assist
GLA General Lighting Assemblies
General Luminaire Assembly
GLACIER General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator
GLONASS Global Navigational Satellite System
GNC Guidance, Navigation, and Control
GPC General Purpose Computer
GPS Global Positioning System
GPSR Global Positioning System Receiver
GUI Graphical User Interface
H&S Health and Status

HCE Heater Control Equipment
HCTL Heater Controller
HEPA High Efficiency Particulate Acquisition

HPA High Power Amplifier
HPGT High Pressure Gas Tank
HPP Hard Point Plates
HRDR High Rate Data Recorder
HREL Hold/Release Electronics
HRF Human Research Facility
HRFM High Rate Frame Multiplexer
HRM Hold Release Mechanism
HRMS High Rate Multiplexer and Switcher
HTV H-II Transfer Vehicle
HTVCC HTV Control Center
HTV Prox HTV Proximity
HX Heat Exchanger
I/F Interface
IAA Intravehicular Antenna Assembly
IAC Internal Audio Controller
IBM International Business Machines
ICB Inner Capture Box
ICC Integrated Cargo Carrier
ICC-VLD Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical Lightweight Deployable
ICS Interorbit Communication System
ICS-EF Interorbit Communication System – Exposed Facility
IDRD Increment Definition and Requirements Document
IEA Integrated Equipment Assembly
IELK Individual Equipment Liner Kit
IF Intermediate Frequency
IFHX Interface Heat Exchanger
IMCS Integrated Mission Control System
IMCU Image Compressor Unit
IMV Intermodule Ventilation
INCO Instrumentation and Communication Officer
IP Interface Plate
International Partner
IP-PCDU ICS-PM Power Control and Distribution Unit
IP-PDB Payload Power Distribution Box
IPV Individual Pressure Vessel
ISP International Standard Payload
ISPR International Standard Payload Rack
ISS International Space Station
ISSSH International Space Station Systems Handbook
ITCS Internal Thermal Control System

ITS Integrated Truss Segment
IVA Intravehicular Activity
IVGEN IntraVenous Fluid GENeration for Exploration Missions
IVSU Internal Video Switch Unit
JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JCP JEM Control Processor
JEF JEM Exposed Facility
JEM Japanese Experiment Module
JEM-EF Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility
JEM-PM Japanese Experiment Module – Pressurized Module
JEMAL JEM Airlock
JEMRMS Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System
JEUS Joint Expedited Undocking and Separation
JFCT Japanese Flight Control Team
JLE Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section
JLP Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section
JLP-EDU JLP-EFU Driver Unit
JLP-EFU JLP Exposed Facility Unit
JPM Japanese Pressurized Module
JPM WS JEM Pressurized Module Workstation
JSC Johnson Space Center
JTVE JEM Television Equipment
Kbps Kilobit per second

KOS Keep Out Sphere
LB Local Bus
LCA LAB Cradle Assembly
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LCS Laser Camera System
LED Light Emitting Diode
LEE Latching End Effector
LEO Low Earth Orbit
LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging
LMC Lightweight Multipurpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier
LMM Light Microscopy Module
LSW Light Switch
LTA Launch-to-Activation
LTAB Launch-to-Activation Box
LTL Low Temperature Loop

MA Main Arm
MARES Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System
MAUI Main Analysis of Upper-Atmospheric Injections
Mb Megabit
Mbps Megabit per second
MBS Mobile Base System
MBSU Main Bus Switching Unit
MCA Major Constituent Analyzer
MCC Mission Control Center
MCC-H Mission Control Center – Houston
MCC-M Mission Control Center – Moscow
MCDS Multifunction Cathode-Ray Tube Display System
MCS Mission Control System
MDA MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
MDM Multiplexer/Demultiplexer
MDP Management Data Processor
MELFI Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS
MERLIN Microgravity Experiment Research Locker Incubator II
MGB Middle Grapple Box
Micro-2 Microbiology-2
Microbe-1 Microbial Dynamics in International Space Station
MIP Mission Integration Plan
MISSE Materials International Space Station Experiment
MKAM Minimum Keep Alive Monitor
MLE Middeck Locker Equivalent
MLI Multi-layer Insulation
MLM Multipurpose Laboratory Module
MMOD Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris
MOD Modulator
MON Television Monitor
MPC Main Processing Controller
MPESS Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure
MPEV Manual Pressure Equalization Valve
MPL Manipulator Retention Latch
MPLM Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
MPM Manipulator Positioning Mechanism
MPV Manual Procedure Viewer
MRM-1 Mini-Research Module-1
MSD Mass Storage Device
MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center
MSL-CETSOL Material Science Laboratory – Columnar-to-Equiaxcol Transition in Solidification
MSP Maintenance Switch Panel

MSS Mobile Servicing System
MT Mobile Tracker
Mobile Transporter
MTL Moderate Temperature Loop
MUX Data Multiplexer
Myco-2 Mycological Evaluation of Crew Exposure to Space Station Ambient Air-2
MyoLab Molecular Mechanism of Micrograivty-Induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy
n.mi. nautical mile

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCS Node Control Software
NET No Earlier Than
NeuroRad Biological Effects of Space Radiation and Microgravity on Mammalian Cells
Ni-H2 Nickel Hydrogen
NLP National Lab Pathfinder
NLP-Cells-4 National Lab Pathfinder-Cells-4
NLP-Vaccine-9 National Lab Pathfinder-Vaccine-9
NLT No Less Than
NPGS Naval post Graduate School
NPRV Negative Pressure Relief Valve
NSV Network Service
NTA Nitrogen Tank Assembly
NTSC National Television Standard Committee
NUTRITION Nutritional Status Assessment
OBSS Orbiter Boom Sensor System

OCA Orbital Communications Adapter
OCAD Operational Control Agreement Document
OCAS Operator Commanded Automatic Sequence
ODF Operations Data File
ODS Orbiter Docking System
OI Orbiter Interface
OIU Orbiter Interface Unit
OMS Orbital Maneuvering System
OODT Onboard Operation Data Table
OPT Operational Pressure Tranducers
ORCA Oxygen Recharge Compressor Assembly
ORU Orbital Replacement Unit
OS Operating System
OSA Orbiter-based Station Avionics
OSE Orbital Support Equipment

OTCM ORU and Tool Changeout Mechanism
OTP ORU and Tool Platform
P3R Plants, Protocals, Procedures and Requirements

P/L Payload
PACE Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment
PADLES Passive Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space
PAL Planning and Authorization Letter
PAM Payload Attach Mechanism
PAO Public Affairs Office
PAS Payload Adapter System
PBA Portable Breathing Apparatus
PCA Pressure Control Assembly
PCBM Passive Common Berthing Mechanism
PCN Page Change Notice
PCS Portable Computer System
PCU Plasma Contactor Unit
Power Control Unit
PDA Payload Disconnect Assembly
PDB Power Distribution Box
PDGF Power and Data Grapple Fixture
PDH Payload Data Handling unit
PDRS Payload Deployment Retrieval System
PDU Power Distribution Unit
PEC Passive Experiment Container
PEHG Payload Ethernet Hub Gateway
PEMS II Percutaneous Electrical Muscle Stimulator
PFE Portable Fire Extinguisher
PFRAM Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism
PGSC Payload General Support Computer
PIB Power Interface Box
PIU Payload Interface Unit
PLB Payload Bay
PLBD Payload Bay Door
PLC Pressurized Logistics Carrier
PLT Payload Laptop Terminal
Space Shuttle Pilot
PM Pressurized Module
Pump Module
PMA Pressurized Mating Adapter
PMCU Power Management Control Unit
PMU Pressurized Mating Adapter

POA Payload ORU Accommodation
POR Point of Resolution
PPRV Positive Pressure Relief Valve
PRCS Primary Reaction Control System
PREX Procedure Executor
PRLA Payload Retention Latch Assembly
PRO Payload Rack Officer
PROX Proximity Communications Center
psia Pounds per Square Inch Absolute
PSP Payload Signal Processor
PSRR Pressurized Section Resupply Rack
PTCS Passive Thermal Control System
PTR Port Thermal Radiator
PTU Pan/Tilt Unit
PVCU Photovoltaic Controller Unit
PVM Photovoltaic Module
PVR Photovoltaic Radiator
PVTCS Photovoltaic Thermal Control System
PWP Power Work Post
QD Quick Disconnect
R&MA Restraint and Mobility Aid

RACU Russian-to-American Converter Unit
RAM Read Access Memory
RAMBO Ram Burn Observations
RBVM Radiator Beam Valve Module
RCC Range Control Center
RCT Rack Configuration Table
Repository National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Specimen Repository
RF Radio Frequency
RGA Rate Gyro Assemblies
RHC Rotational Hand Controller
RIC Rack Interface Controller
RIGEX Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away Special Experiment
RIP Remote Interface Panel
RLF Robotic Language File
RLT Robotic Laptop Terminal
RMS Remote Manipulator System
ROEU Remotely Operated Electrical Umbilical
ROM Read Only Memory
R-ORU Robotics Compatible Orbital Replacement Unit

ROS Russian Orbital Segment
RPC Remote Power Controller
RPCM Remote Power Controller Module
RPDA Remote Power Distribution Assembly
RPM Roll Pitch Maneuver
RS Russian Segment
RSP Resupply Stowage Platform
Return Stowage Platform
RSR Resupply Stowage Rack
RT Remote Terminal
RTAS Rocketdyne Truss Attachment System
RVFS Rendezvous Flight Software
RWS Robotics Workstation
SAFER Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue

SAM SFA Airlock Attachment Mechanism
SAPA Small Adapter Plate Assembly
SARJ Solar Alpha Rotary Joint
SASA S-Band Antenna Sub-Assembly
SCU Sync and Control Unit
SD Smoke Detector
SDS Sample Distribution System
SDTO Station Development Test Objective
SEDA Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment
SEDA-AP Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment – Attached Payload
SEITE Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments
SELS SpaceOps Electronic Library System
SEU Single Event Upset
SFA Small Fine Arm
SFAE SFA Electronics
SGANT Space to Ground Antenna
SGAnt Space to Ground Antenna
SGTRC Space-to-Ground Transmit Receive Control
SI Smoke Indicator
SIMPLEX Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust Experiments
Sleep-Short Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure During Spaceflight-Short
SLM Structural Latch Mechanism
SLP-D Spacelab Pallet – D
SLP-D1 Spacelab Pallet – Deployable
SLP-D2 Spacelab Pallet – D2
SLT Station Laptop Terminal
System Laptop Terminal

SM Service Module
SMDP Service Module Debris Panel
SOC System Operation Control
SODF Space Operations Data File
SODI-Colloid Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument – Aggregation of Colloidal
Suspensions
SODI-DSC Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument – Diffusion and Soret Coefficient
SPA Small Payload Attachment
SpaceDRUMS Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System
SPB Survival Power Distribution Box
SPDA Secondary Power Distribution Assembly
SPDM Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator
SPEC Specialist
SRAM Static RAM
SRB Solid Rocket Booster
SRMS Shuttle Remote Manipulator System
SSAS Segment-to-Segment Attach System
SSC Station Support Computer
SSCB Space Station Control Board
SSE Small Fine Arm Storage Equipment
SSIPC Space Station Integration and Promotion Center
SSME Space Shuttle Main Engine
SSOR Space-to-Space Orbiter Radio
SSP Standard Switch Panel
SSPTS Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System
SSRMS Space Station Remote Manipulator System
STC Small Fire Arm Transportation Container
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
STL Space Tissue Lost
STORRM Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation
STR Starboard Thermal Radiator
STS Space Transfer System
STVC SFA Television Camera
SVS Space Vision System
SWAB Surface, Water, and Air Biocharacterization
TA Thruster Assist
TAC TCS Assembly Controller
TAC-M TCS Assembly Controller – M
TCA Thermal Control System Assembly
TCB Total Capture Box
TCCS Trace Contaminant Control System

TCCV Temperature Control and Check Valve
TCS Trajectory Control Sensor
Thermal Control System
TCV Temperature Control Valve
TDK Transportation Device Kit
TDRS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
THA Tool Holder Assembly
THC Temperature and Humidity Control
Translational Hand Controller
THCU Temperature and Humidity Control Unit
TIU Thermal Interface Unit
TKSC Tsukuba Space Center (Japan)
TLM Telemetry
TMA Russian vehicle designation
TMR Triple Modular Redundancy
TPL Transfer Priority List
TRRJ Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint
TUS Trailing Umbilical System
TVC Television Camera
UCCAS Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attach System

UCM Umbilical Connect Mechanism
UCM-E UCM – Exposed Section Half
UCM-P UCM – Payload Half
UHF Ultrahigh Frequency
UIL User Interface Language
ULC Unpressurized Logistics Carrier
ULF Utilization Logistics Flight
UMA Umbilical Mating Adapter
UOP Utility Outlet Panel
UPC Up Converter
USA United Space Alliance
US LAB United States Laboratory
USOS United States On-Orbit Segment
UTA Utility Transfer Assembly
VAJ Vacuum Access Jumper

VBSP Video Baseband Signal Processor
VCAM Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor
VCU Video Control Unit
VDS Video Distribution System
VLU Video Light Unit

V02maX Evaluation of Maximal Oxygen Uptake and Submaximal Estimates of V02max
Before, During, and After Long Duration International Space Station Missions
VNS Vision Navigation Sensor
VPU Vegetable Production Unit
VRA Vent Relief Assembly
VRCS Vernier Reaction Control System
VRCV Vent Relief Control Valve
VRIV Vent Relief Isolation Valve
VSU Video Switcher Unit
VSW Video Switcher
WAICO Waiving and Coiling

WCL Water Cooling Loop
WETA Wireless Video System External Transceiver Assembly
WIF Work Interface
WORF Window Observational Research Facility
WRM Water Recovery and Management
WRS Water Recovery System
WS Water Separator
Work Site
Work Station
WVA Water Vent Assembly
Z1 Zenith One
ZSR Zero-g Stowage Rack


MEDIA ASSISTANCE
NASA TELEVISION TRANSMISSION Status Reports
NASA Television is carried on an MPEG‐2 Status reports on launch countdown and
digital signal accessed via satellite AMC‐6, at mission progress, in‐orbit activities and landing
72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, operations will be posted at:
4040 MHz, vertical polarization. For those in
Alaska or Hawaii, NASA Television will be http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
seen on AMC‐7, at 137 degrees west longitude, This site also contains information on the crew
transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal and will be updated regularly with photos and
polarization. In both instances, a Digital Video video clips throughout the flight.
Broadcast, or DVB‐compliant Integrated
Receiver Decoder, or IRD, with modulation of More Internet Information
QPSK/DBV, data rate of 36.86 and FEC 3/4 will Information on the ISS is available at:
be needed for reception. The NASA Television
schedule and links to streaming video are http://www.nasa.gov/station
available at:
Information on safety enhancements made
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv since the Columbia accident is available at:
NASA TV’s digital conversion will require http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/
members of the broadcast media to upgrade system/index.html
with an “addressable” Integrated Receiver
De‐coder, or IRD, to participate in live news Information on other current NASA activities is
events and interviews, media briefings and available at:
receive NASA’s Video File news feeds on a
http://www.nasa.gov
dedicated Media Services channel. NASA
mission coverage will air on a digital NASA Resources for educators can be found at the
Public Services “Free to Air” channel, for which following address:
only a basic IRD will be needed.
http://education.nasa.gov
Television Schedule
A schedule of key in‐orbit events and media

briefings during the mission will be detailed in
a NASA TV schedule posted at the link above.
The schedule will be updated as necessary and
will also be available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
mission_schedule.html
MAY 2010 MEDIA ASSISTANCE 99

100 MEDIA ASSISTANCE MAY 2010

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS
NASA HEADQUARTERS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
WASHINGTON, DC HOUSTON, TEXAS
John Yembrick James Hartsfield
International Partners & Shuttle, News Chief
Space Station Policy 281-483-5111
202-358-1100 [email protected]
[email protected]
Kyle Herring
Michael Curie Public Affairs Specialist
Shuttle, Space Station Policy Space Shuttle Program Office
202-358-1100 281-483-5111
[email protected] [email protected]
Stephanie Schierholz Rob Navias

Shuttle, Space Station Policy Program and Mission Operations Lead
202-358-1100 281-483-5111
Joshua Buck Kelly Humphries

Shuttle, Space Station Policy Public Affairs Specialist
202-358-1100 International Space Station and Mission
[email protected] Operations Directorate
281-483-5111
Michael Braukus [email protected]
Research in Space
202-358-1979 Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters
[email protected] Public Affairs Specialist
Astronauts
Ashley Edwards 281-483-5111
Research in Space [email protected]
202-358-1756
[email protected]
MAY 2010 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 101

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER STENNIS SPACE CENTER
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA BAY ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI
Allard Beutel Rebecca Strecker
News Chief News Chief
321-867-2468 228-688-3249
Candrea Thomas Paul Foerman

Public Affairs Specialist Public Affairs Officer
Space Shuttle 228-688-1880
321-867-2468 [email protected]
[email protected]
AMES RESEARCH CENTER
Tracy Young MOFFETT FIELD, CALIFORNIA
Public Affairs Specialist
International Space Station Mike Mewhinney
321-867-2468 News Chief
[email protected] 650-604-3937
[email protected]
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA Rachel Prucey
Public Affairs Officer
Dom Amatore 650-604-0643
Public Affairs Manager [email protected]
256-544-0034
[email protected] Ruth Marlaire
June Malone 650-604-4709
News Chief/Media Manager [email protected]
256-544-0034
[email protected] Cathy Weselby
Steve Roy 650-604-2791
Public Affairs Specialist [email protected]
Space Shuttle Propulsion
256-544-0034 Karen Hanner
[email protected] Public Affairs Officer
650-604-4034
[email protected]
102 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS MAY 2010

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER
EDWARDS, CALIFORNIA HAMPTON, VIRGINIA
Kevin Rohrer Marny Skora
Director, Public Affairs Head, Office of Communications
661-276-3595 757-864-6121
Alan Brown Keith Henry

News Chief News Chief
661-276-2665 757-864-6120
Leslie Williams Kathy Barnstorff

Public Affairs Specialist Public Affairs Officer
661-276-3893 757-864-9886
GLENN RESEARCH CENTER Amy Johnson

CLEVELAND, OHIO Public Affairs Officer
757-864-7022
Lori Rachul [email protected]
News Chief
216-433-8806 UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE
[email protected]
Jessica Pieczonka
Sally Harrington Houston Operations
Public Affairs Specialist 281-212-6252
216-433-2037 832-205-0480
Katherine Martin Tracy Yates

Public Affairs Specialist Florida Operations
216-433-2406 321-861-3956
[email protected] (c) 321-750-1739
[email protected]
MAY 2010 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 103

BOEING CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY (CSA)
Edmund G. Memi Jean-Pierre Arseneault
Manager, Communications Manager, Media Relations & Information
The Boeing Co. Services
Space Exploration Division Canadian Space Agency
281-226-4029 514-824-0560 (cell)
Adam Morgan Media Relations Office

Boeing Canadian Space Agency
International Space Station 450-926-4370
281-226-4030
[email protected]
JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION

AGENCY (JAXA)
Kumiko Sagara
JAXA Public Affairs Representative
Houston
281-792-7468
[email protected]
JAXA Public Affairs Office

Tokyo, Japan
011-81-50-3362-4374
[email protected]
104 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS MAY 2010

Main Sts132 Press Kit

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Main Sts132 Press Kit

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Main Sts132 Press Kit

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION

STS-132/ULF4 MISSION OVERVIEW ...................................................................................... 1

STS-132 TIMELINE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 13

MISSION PROFILE ................................................................................................................... 17

MISSION OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................ 19

MISSION PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................. 23

STS-132 CREW ....................................................................................................................... 25

PAYLOAD OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 33

RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING ....................................................................................................... 39

HISTORY OF SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS ................................................................................ 59

SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA .................................................................................................... 63

LAUNCH AND LANDING ........................................................................................................... 81

MAY 2010 CONTENTS i

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... 83

MEDIA ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................... 99

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS .................................................................................................. 101

ii CONTENTS MAY 2010

MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 1

2 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 3

4 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 5

NASA astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-132 mission specialist, participates in an Extravehicular

6 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 7

Each battery measures 40 x 36 x 18 inches and

• 40" x 36" x 18"

• 375 pounds (170 kilograms)

• 38 lightweight Nickel Hydrogen cells

• Provides 8 kilowatts of electrical power

• 6.5 year average design life

• Can exceed 38,000 charge/discharge cycles at

8 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 9

10 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

MAY 2010 MISSION OVERVIEW 11

12 MISSION OVERVIEW MAY 2010

• Launch • Canadarm2 grapple of Integrated Cargo

• Shuttle Robotic Arm Activation and payload • Spacewalk 1 preparations by Reisman

• Umbilical Well and Handheld External Tank • Spacewalk 1 procedure review

• Atlantis’ Thermal Protection System Survey Flight Day 4

Flight Day 3 • Canadarm unberth of the Orbiter Boom

• Docking to Harmony/Pressurized Mating • Spacewalk 2 procedure review

MAY 2010 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 13

• Canadarm 2 returns the Integrated Cargo • Deorbit Preparation Briefing

14 TIMELINE OVERVIEW MAY 2010

• Payload Bay Door closing

MAY 2010 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 15

16 TIMELINE OVERVIEW MAY 2010

Commander: Ken Ham SSME 1: 2052

LAUNCH SHUTTLE ABORTS

MAY 2010 MISSION PROFILE 17

18 MISSION PROFILE MAY 2010

6. Transfer critical items per Flight ULF4 TPL − Bisphosphonates

7. Deploy Integrated Cargo Carrier – Vertical − Double Coldbag (DCB) packing

MAY 2010 MISSION OBJECTIVES 19

− SDBI 1634 SLEEP/WAKE actigraphy 29. Perform Station Development Test