STS-96

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STS-96
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	STS-96
Space shuttle	Discovery
Launch pad	39-B
Launch date	May 27, 1999 6:49 a.m. EDT
Landing	June 6, 1999 2:02:43 a.m. EDT, KSC, Runway 15
Mission duration	9 days, 19 hours, 13 minutes, 57 seconds
Orbital altitude	173 nautical miles (320 km)
Orbital inclination	51.6 degrees
Distance traveled	6 million km
Crew photo
Related missions
Previous mission Next mission STS-88 STS-93

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

Crew

Mission parameters

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

Docking with ISS

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

Space walk

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

Mission highlights

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

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

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

The STARSHINE satellite consists of an inert, 19 inch (483 mm) hollow sphere covered by 1,000 evenly-distributed, flat, polished mirrors, each 1 inch in diameter. The payload consists of the STARSHINE satellite, integrated with the Pallet Ejection System (PES), then mounted inside a lidless carrier. The HH equipment consists of one HH Lightweight Avionics Plate (LAP), then mounted inside a lidless carrier. Additional HH equipment consists of one Hitchhiker Ejection System Electronics (HESE), one 5.0 cubic-foot (142 L) HH canister, and one Adapter Beam Assembly (ABA). The purpose of the mission was to train international student volunteer observers to visually track this optically reflective spacecraft during morning and evening twilight intervals for several months, calculate its orbit from shared observations, and derive atmospheric density from drag-induced changes in its orbit over time.

Illustration of the International Space Station during STS-96

The Shuttle Vibration Forces (SVF) Experiment provided flight measurements of the vibratory forces acting between an aerospace payload and its mounting structure. The force transducers were incorporated into four custom brackets which replaced the existing brackets used to attach the 5 ft (1.5 m) standard canister to the side wall GAS adapter beam. The payload was activated automatically by the Orbiter Lift-off vibration and operated for approximately 100 seconds. STS-96 was the second flight of the SVF experiment.

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

A copy of Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft real-time strategy game was also flown aboard STS-96 ^[1]. It resides at Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, CA.

Wake-up calls

A tradition for NASA human spaceflights since the days of Gemini, mission crews are played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. ^[2] Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.^[2][3]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: STS-96

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

References

External links

• NASA mission summary
• STS-96 Video Highlights

v • d • e Human spaceflights to the International Space Station Completed STS-88 · STS-96 · STS-101 · STS-106 · STS-92 · Soyuz TM-31 · STS-97 · STS-98 · STS-102 · STS-100 · Soyuz TM-32 · STS-104 · STS-105 · Soyuz TM-33 · STS-108 · STS-110 · Soyuz TM-34 · STS-111 · STS-112 · Soyuz TMA-1 · STS-113 · Soyuz TMA-2 · Soyuz TMA-3 · Soyuz TMA-4 · Soyuz TMA-5 · Soyuz TMA-6 · STS-114 · Soyuz TMA-7 · Soyuz TMA-8 · STS-121 · STS-115 · Soyuz TMA-9 · STS-116 · Soyuz TMA-10 · STS-117 · STS-118 · Soyuz TMA-11 · STS-120 · STS-122 · STS-123 · Soyuz TMA-12 · STS-124 · Soyuz TMA-13 · STS-126 · STS-119 · Soyuz TMA-14 · STS-127 · STS-128 Current Soyuz TMA-15 · Soyuz TMA-16 · STS-129 Planned Soyuz TMA-17 · STS-130 · STS-131 · Soyuz TMA-18 · STS-132 · Soyuz TMA-19 · STS-134 · STS-133 · Soyuz TMA-01M · Soyuz TMA-20 · Soyuz TMA-21 · Soyuz TMA-02M · Soyuz TMA-22 · Soyuz TMA-03M · Soyuz TMA-04M · Soyuz TMA-05M · List of Constellation missions