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STS-100
Credit - NASA

19 April 2001 18:40 GMT. Landing Date: 2001-05-01 16:10:00 PM. Flight Time: 11.90 days. Other Name: ISS-6A. Flight Up: STS-100. Flight Back: STS-100. Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Ashby, Guidoni, Hadfield, Lonchakov, Parazynski, Phillips, Rominger. Program: ISS. Space Shuttle OV-105 Endeavour was launched on mission STS-100 to carry out International Space Station Flight 6A continued the outfitting of the Station. The crew of four Americans, one Russian, one Canadian and one Italian were to install an 18 meter, 1,700 kg Canadian robotic arm named Canadarm-2 on the ISS, and to transport an Italian cargo container, Raffaello, which delivered 4,500 kg of supplies and equipment to the station. Total payload of 13,744 kg consisted of:

  • Bay 1-2: Orbiter Docking System, External Airlock, 3 EMU spacesuits - 2160 kg including 360 kg for the 3 suits
  • Bay 3 Starboard: Adapter Beam with DCSU switching unit - 180kg
  • Bay 5: Spacelab Pallet with Canadarm-2 SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System, 1800 kg mass), LDA, and 56 kg UHF antenna - 3256 kg
  • Bay 6 Port: Adapter Beam with IMAX Camera - 238 kg
  • Bay 8-12: Rafaello Module (MPLM-2) with MPLM racks and 3400 kg cargo - 7500 kg
  • Sill: Canadarm RMS 303 - 410 kg
Endeavour reached an 80 x 317 km orbit at 1849 GMT; at 1924 GMT the OMS engines fired to raise perigee. After a series of rendezvous burns, the spaceship docked with the PMA-2 port on the ISS at 1359 GMT on April 21.
STS-100
Credit- www.spacefacts.de

On 23 April the SSRMS station manipulator was unberthed from the SLP Spacelab pallet at 1114 GMT and latched on to the PDGF fixture on the Destiny ISS module at 1416 GMT. This was followed at 1458 GMT with the MPLM-2 Raffaello module being moved from Endeavour's payload bay by the Shuttle's RMS and berthed to the nadir port on the ISS Unity module at 1600 GMT. Over the next few days, the cargo racks on the MPLM were transferred to Destiny. Raffaello was then unberthed from Unity at 2003 GMT on April 27 and reberthed in the rear of Endeavour's bay for return to earth at 2059 GMT.

Undocking of Endeavour was delayed by a series of computer problems at the Station. Failures in the Station's command and control computers left only one of the three computers operating.

They were all restarted by April 29, and the Shuttle RMS grappled the Spacelab pallet at 2044 GMT . The station's Canadarm-2 released it at 2106 GMT, and the RMS berthed the pallet back in the Shuttle cargo bay. Endeavour undocked from the Station at 1734 GMT on April 29. The weather in Florida was bad at the planned May 1 landing time, so Endeavour landed in California. The deorbit burn was at 1502 GMT on May 1, with landing at 1610:42 GMT on runway 22 at Edwards. Endeavour returned to the Kennedy Space Center atop a Boeing 747 SCA aircraft on May 9.


STS-100 Chronology

  • 2001 Apr 19 - STS-100  Crew: Rominger, Ashby, Hadfield, Phillips, Parazynski, Guidoni, Lonchakov. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Payload: Endeavour F16 / Raffaello, Canadarm-2. Mass: 103,506 kg (228,191 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. Duration: 11.90 days. Perigee: 377 km (234 mi). Apogee: 394 km (244 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg.

    Space Shuttle OV-105 Endeavour was launched on mission STS-100 to carry out International Space Station Flight 6A continued the outfitting of the Station. The crew of four Americans, one Russian, one Canadian and one Italian were to install an 18 meter, 1,700 kg Canadian robotic arm named Canadarm-2 on the ISS, and to transport an Italian cargo container, Raffaello, which delivered 4,500 kg of supplies and equipment to the station. Total payload of 13,744 kg consisted of:

    • Bay 1-2: Orbiter Docking System, External Airlock, 3 EMU spacesuits - 2160 kg including 360 kg for the 3 suits
    • Bay 3 Starboard: Adapter Beam with DCSU switching unit - 180kg
    • Bay 5: Spacelab Pallet with Canadarm-2 SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System, 1800 kg mass), LDA, and 56 kg UHF antenna - 3256 kg
    • Bay 6 Port: Adapter Beam with IMAX Camera - 238 kg
    • Bay 8-12: Rafaello Module (MPLM-2) with MPLM racks and 3400 kg cargo - 7500 kg
    • Sill: Canadarm RMS 303 - 410 kg
    Endeavour reached an 80 x 317 km orbit at 1849 GMT; at 1924 GMT the OMS engines fired to raise perigee. After a series of rendezvous burns, the spaceship docked with the PMA-2 port on the ISS at 1359 GMT on April 21.

    On 23 April the SSRMS station manipulator was unberthed from the SLP Spacelab pallet at 1114 GMT and latched on to the PDGF fixture on the Destiny ISS module at 1416 GMT. This was followed at 1458 GMT with the MPLM-2 Raffaello module being moved from Endeavour's payload bay by the Shuttle's RMS and berthed to the nadir port on the ISS Unity module at 1600 GMT. Over the next few days, the cargo racks on the MPLM were transferred to Destiny. Raffaello was then unberthed from Unity at 2003 GMT on April 27 and reberthed in the rear of Endeavour's bay for return to earth at 2059 GMT.

    Undocking of Endeavour was delayed by a series of computer problems at the Station. Failures in the Station's command and control computers left only one of the three computers operating.

    They were all restarted by April 29, and the Shuttle RMS grappled the Spacelab pallet at 2044 GMT . The station's Canadarm-2 released it at 2106 GMT, and the RMS berthed the pallet back in the Shuttle cargo bay. Endeavour undocked from the Station at 1734 GMT on April 29. The weather in Florida was bad at the planned May 1 landing time, so Endeavour landed in California. The deorbit burn was at 1502 GMT on May 1, with landing at 1610:42 GMT on runway 22 at Edwards. Endeavour returned to the Kennedy Space Center atop a Boeing 747 SCA aircraft on May 9.

  • 2001 Apr 19 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #01 

    The Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center this afternoon, carrying a multi-national crew and a complex Canadian-built robotic arm to the International Space Station (ISS).

    Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos blasted off on time from Launch Pad 39-A at 1:41 p.m. Central time as the ISS sailed over the Indian Ocean south of India. Aboard the station, Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms were told of Endeavour's launch as it lifted off from the pad. Approximately 20 minutes later, the three crew members took a few minutes out from routine maintenance work and preparations for Endeavour's arrival to watch a video feed of the launch uplinked to them by ISS flight controllers in Houston through the station's KU-band communications system.

    Less than nine minutes after launch, Endeavour had reached its preliminary orbit and began its pursuit of the station for a docking Saturday morning. The seven astronauts began to configure systems for on-orbit operations and opened the shuttle's cargo bay doors before the start of an eight-hour sleep period tonight at 6:41 p.m. Central time.

    Aboard the ISS, all systems continue to function normally as Usachev, Voss and Helms ready the complex for their first visitors since beginning their expedition one month ago. On Monday, a Russian Progress resupply vehicle was jettisoned from the aft docking port of the Zvezda module, enabling the station crew to undock its Soyuz return capsule from the nadir port of the Zarya module yesterday and fly it to a redocking with Zvezda in a 21-minute maneuver. That cleared the Zarya docking port for the arrival of the Soyuz rotation "taxi" crew at the ISS later this month. The taxi crew will deliver a fresh Soyuz capsule for the Expedition crew members' use as an emergency return vehicle. The Soyuz vehicles need to be rotated approximately every six months.

    Hadfield and Parazynski are scheduled to venture outside Endeavour Sunday for the first of two scheduled space walks to unfold the huge booms of the 57-foot-long Canadarm2 and to route power to the device, which will be mounted on the Destiny Laboratory for future station assembly work. Canadarm2 is scheduled to "walk off" its pallet and attach itself to a grapple fixture on Destiny Monday, where it will receive power, data and commanding from the Expedition crew operating at robotic workstations inside Destiny.

    Housed in Endeavour's cargo bay is the Italian Space Agency-provided Raffaello cargo module, which is carrying several tons of equipment for the Expedition Two crew and racks of hardware for installation in Destiny which will be used for scientific research in the future. Raffaello, which is the second of three such logistics modules, will be berthed to the ISS Monday so its contents can be transferred to the station throughout the course of docked operations.

    Endeavour is circling the Earth in excellent shape as it flies in an orbit inclined 51.6 degrees to either side of the Equator.

  • 2001 Apr 20 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #02 

    The crew of the shuttle Endeavour worked this morning to prepare for its Saturday docking with the International Space Station and for the two planned spacewalks while there. The chase to catch up with the waiting station and its Expedition Two crew continues with another in the series of rendezvous maneuvers scheduled for about 5:30 this morning.

    Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 8:36 Saturday morning to deliver the Canadian built high tech robotic arm, called Canadarm2 and the Raffaello Multipurpose Logistics Module supplied to the program by the Italian Space Agency. Raffaello contains equipment and supplies for the station and its crew of Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms. It also brings two new experiment racks for the station's U.S. laboratory Destiny.

    The Endeavour crew, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos were awakened at 2:41 a.m. Friday by "Then the Morning Comes" by the musical group Smashmouth. It was chosen for Phillips, making his first spaceflight.

    Today the shuttle crew will checkout three spacesuits and the orbiter's robotic arm while rendezvous preparations include installation of the centerline camera and extension of Endeavour's Orbital Docking System ring. Another rendezvous engine burn is scheduled shortly before the crew finishes today's activities.

    Space station crewmembers also will get ready for the rendezvous. Later today they will prepare equipment for transfer to the shuttle shortly after docking.

    Endeavour will bring the first visitors to the Expedition Two crew since Discovery's departure last month. Shortly after Endeavour's scheduled undocking and departure from the station on April 28, a taxi crew is to arrive with a new Soyuz spacecraft. It will replace the Soyuz, which launched the first crew toward the station on Oct. 31, 2000. The Soyuz capsule has an on-orbit life of about six months.

    Hadfield and Parazynski will conduct two spacewalks on Sunday and Tuesday. The first will focus on installation of the 2-ton, 57-foot-long Canadarm2. The second is devoted to checkout of the arm that will be instrumental in future space station assembly.

    Major systems aboard Endeavour and the International Space Station continue to function well.

  • 2001 Apr 20 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #03 

    The day on orbit was one of preparations as Endeavour's seven astronauts got ready for tomorrow morning's scheduled arrival at the International Space Station, and Sunday's planned space walk by Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski.

    Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the station at 8:32 a.m. Saturday although the crews will not greet each other until early Monday. In preparation for tomorrow's rendezvous and docking, Hadfield and Parazynski checked out the tools and hardware that will be used during Endeavour's approach to the station, and Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Jeff Ashby installed a center-line camera in the orbiter docking system.

    Rominger, Ashby and Flight Engineer John Phillips performed another in a series of engine firings to refine Endeavour's approach to the Station. As of 5 p.m., Endeavour was approximately 1,400 miles behind and below the station, and closing that distance at the rate of about 171 miles every orbit of the Earth. Hadfield and Parazynski also verified the operation of the spacesuits they will wear on two scheduled space walks to install and activate the new Canadarm2 robotic arm.

    European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni began preparations for the transfer of hardware and material from Endeavour to the station and worked with Ashby in checking out the shuttle's robotic arm to verify its operation. Yuri Lonchakov of Rosaviakosmos worked on the middeck and filled two large water containers for later transfer to the station.

    Endeavour's astronauts will go to sleep at 5:41 p.m. today, awakening at 1:41 a.m. Saturday. They will quickly begin the final stages of their chase of the International Space Station. The final intercept burn is scheduled for 6:13 a.m., with docking at 8:32 a.m., as the two spacecraft fly overhead the Southeast coast of China, northeast of Victoria, Hong Kong.

    Meanwhile, on the space station, Expedition 2 Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss continued packing return items and making sure their orbiting home is ready for the crew's first visitors. Flight controllers report that the Russian segment's carbon dioxide removal system is not working at its highest rate, probably due to a clogged filter screen. The situation poses no problems for the upcoming shuttle visit, but could lead to increased use of backup lithium hydroxide removal systems after the shuttle undocks and additional crew members arrive on a Soyuz taxi flight. The station crew may be asked do some repairs on the unit on Saturday.

    Otherwise, all major systems aboard Endeavour and the International Space Station continue to function well.

  • 2001 Apr 21 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #04 

    Space Shuttle Endeavour and its seven crewmembers began rendezvous preparations shortly after 3 a.m. today, which should culminate in an 8:32 a.m. docking to the International Space Station, which will be northeast of Hong Kong at an altitude of 240 miles. The shuttle is bringing an advanced robotic arm, experiments and supplies to the ever-growing science outpost.

    Before the undocking a week later, two space walks will have been conducted and Raffaello, the second Multipurpose Logistics Module provided by the Italian Space Agency, will have been unloaded and reloaded after berthing to the station. The pressurized cargo carrier - an orbital moving van - is bringing food, equipment and other supplies, as well as two scientific experiment racks for the U.S. laboratory Destiny.

    Endeavour will approach the station from behind and below. Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Jeff Ashby, assisted by the rest of the crew, will fly the shuttle to a point about 600 feet directly below the station. With the cargo bay pointed toward the station, they will fly a quarter circle to a point about 300 feet ahead of the station. From there they will begin a slow approach to the docking port at the forward end of Destiny. Stationkeeping will begin at a distance of about 30 feet to ensure a good alignment with the station's docking target before Rominger resumes the approach at a speed of about one foot every 10 seconds until docking.

    Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" awakened Endeavour's crew - Rominger, Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni and Yuri Lonchakov - early this morning. The song from the Top Gun soundtrack was played for Rominger.

    The space station's crew was awakened shortly after 2 a.m. to make final preparations for the shuttle's arrival. The Expedition Two crew of Russian Commander Yury Usachev and astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms has been aboard the station for more than a month since assuming duty from the Expedition One crew on March 18.

    Though joined together, the two crews will not meet face-to-face until early Monday, after the first space walk by Hadfield and Parazynski. Endeavour's cabin pressure was lowered to 10.2 pounds per square inch Friday afternoon in preparation for that space walk, while the atmosphere inside the station remains a normal 14.7 psi.

    The first space walk, scheduled to begin about 6:20 a.m. Sunday, will focus on installation of the station's robotic arm, called Canadarm2. The space walkers also will install a UHF antenna on the station's exterior. Their second space walk Tuesday, features routing power and checking out the stations arm, which at 57.7 feet long, is longer, more flexible and more powerful than the robotic arm used by the shuttle fleet. If necessary, a third space walk could take place Thursday.

    All systems are in good shape aboard both vehicles.

  • 2001 Apr 21 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #05 

    With Commander Kent Rominger at the controls, Endeavour gently docked with the International Space Station this morning as the two spacecraft flew 243 miles over the southern Pacific Ocean, just southeast of New Zealand. Docking occurred at 8:59 a.m. central time.

    Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists John Phillips, Chris Hadfield, Umberto Guidoni, Scott Parazynski and Yuri Lonchakov, briefly opened a hatch leading from the Shuttle into Pressurized Mating Adapter-2, and retrieved a battery-powered drill for use on Sunday's space walk. They also left behind some supplies that were later retrieved by the station crew. From the station side of the hatch leading to PMA-2, flight engineer Jim Voss used a video camera to film the smiling Shuttle crew members as they transferred four water containers, computer equipment, some fresh food and film for the IMAX camera.

    Though securely linked together, the two crews are not scheduled to greet one another in person until early Monday, following the first space walk to be conducted Sunday by Hadfield and Parazynski. Late in their day, Hadfield and Parazynski were joined by space walk coordinator Phillips in conducting some final checks of the suits and hardware that will be used during tomorrow's planned 6 ½ hour space walk. The full crews on both vehicles then reviewed the procedures to be followed throughout Hadfield and Parazynski's space walk.

    This first space walk, scheduled to begin about 6:20 a.m., will focus on installing the station's robotic arm, called Canadarm2, and attaching an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) antenna on the station's exterior. A second space walk is scheduled for Tuesday, and will focus on establishing power connections and checking out the new 57.7 foot-long robotic arm.

    Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineer Susan Helms verified the performance of the station's carbon dioxide removal system, called Vozdukh, which had been operating in a slightly degraded condition. The system started working normally overnight on its own, and their checkout confirmed that it is operating within normal parameters. Usachev, Helms and Voss also exercised and continued preparations for the next week of joint operations with the Shuttle crew.

    All systems are in good shape aboard both vehicles. The Station crew will go to sleep at 5:31 p.m. today, followed 10 minutes later by the crew of Endeavour. Mission Control will awaken the shuttle crew at 1:41 a.m. Sunday and the station crew will hear its wake-up alarm tone at 2:01 a.m.

  • 2001 Apr 22 - EVA STS-100-1  Crew: Hadfield, Parazynski. EVA Type: Extra-Vehicular Activity. EVA Duration: 0.30 days.

    Objective was start of installation of the Canadarm-2 SSRMS manipulator arm .Hadfield was the first Canadian spacewalker. The UHF communications antenna was installed on Destiny and the SSRMS initial setup was completed.

  • 2001 Apr 22 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #06 

    Now docked to the International Space Station, Endeavour and its seven-member crew are preparing for the first of two planned space walks set to begin about 6:20 this morning to install the orbiting outpost's Canadian built robotic arm. Called Canadarm2, the high-tech robotic arm is the most versatile ever flown in space.

    Shortly after crew wakeup, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski began suiting up for the six and a half hour space walk that marks the 19th devoted to the assembly of the ISS and the 63rd in the history of the shuttle program. Hadfield will be wearing a spacesuit with red stripes around the legs, while Parazynski's suit will have no markings. John Phillips will serve as the in-cabin quarterback for the space walk as Pilot Jeff Ashby and European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni operate the shuttle's robotic arm to install the new arm on the outside of the Destiny laboratory.

    Hadfield and Parazynski will connect cables to give the arm power and allow it to accept computer commands from the lab. They will unbolt the arm from the pallet, then unfold its two booms and tighten bolts to make them rigid. The space walkers also will install a UHF antenna on Destiny.

    The Space station's Expedition Two crewmembers Jim Voss and Susan Helms will power up the arm from the Robotic Work Station inside Destiny, checking connections made by the space walkers.

    A second space walk is scheduled for Tuesday, and will focus on establishing permanent power connections between the 57.7 foot-long arm and station and running it through a thorough checkout.

    The shuttle crew was awakened earlier this morning by Canadian Stan Roger's "Take It From Day to Day" played for Hadfield in honor of the space walk - the first ever by a Canadian. The Expedition Two crew was awakened shortly after the shuttle crew.

    Endeavour's cabin pressure will be increased to match that of the station during the space walk leading toward opening of the hatches between the shuttle and station Monday morning. Endeavour docked with the station at 8:59 a.m. Saturday followed soon after by entrance into the docking port on the station to retrieve some tools for use during today's space walk. The shuttle crew left behind four water containers, fresh food, computer equipment and IMAX camera film for the station crew.

  • 2001 Apr 22 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #07 

    Endeavour's astronauts extended the reach of the International Space Station today, successfully installing a 57.7 foot long Canadian-built robotic arm.

    Mission Control Houston recognized the importance of today's activities sending up a congratulatory message from Canadian Astronaut Steve MacLean and playing the Canadian anthem, "Oh Canada" before the two space walkers - Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield - floated back into Endeavour. Hadfield became the first Canadian to conduct a spacewalk today as he worked to install the Canadian built and provided Canadarm2 robotic arm.

    "It really just opens the door to what all of us can be doing here internationally, beginning to explore space as a planet," said Hadfield.

    Parazynski and Hadfield spent 7 hours and 10 minutes working outside the station, installing first an Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) antenna before turning their attention to the station's new robotic arm. They floated out of Endeavour's airlock at 6:45 a.m. central time and about two hours later had installed and deployed the UHF antenna on the Destiny module of the station.

    With that complete, the two astronauts turned their attention to installing the new station robotic arm. The main boom was deployed at 10 a.m. central, and a few minutes later, at 10:10 a.m. Hadfield and Parazynski began unfolding the arm as Endeavour and the station flew 238 miles over the Atlantic Ocean.

    With the new arm secured in its pallet attached to the exterior of the Destiny laboratory, Hadfield and Parazynski connected cables to give the arm power and allow it to accept computer commands from inside the lab. After unfolding the arm, they used a pistol grip tool to properly secure a series of expandable fasteners that keep the booms rigidized in position. The two space walkers experienced some difficulty ensuring an appropriate torque level had been placed on the fasteners. By taking the pistol grip tool from automatic to manual mode, Hadfield and Parazynski securely tightened the bolts in place, completing their activities for the day and beginning to clean up the payload bay before returning to Endeavour.

    Today's spacewalk, which concluded at 1:55 p.m., was the 19th conducted to assemble the International Space Station. A second spacewalk scheduled for Tuesday will focus on establishing permanent power connections between the arm and station and performing a thorough checkout.

    At 1:53 p.m., Flight Engineers Susan Helms and Jim Voss, on board the station, commanded the first motion of the new station robotic arm as they flew 242 miles over the Indian Ocean crossing the eastern coast of Africa. All indications are that the arm operated perfectly in this initial commanding.

    Tomorrow, just before 5:30 a.m., Helms and Voss will "walk" the arm off the pallet and attach it to a grapple fixture on the Destiny module. On Wednesday morning, they will use the station arm to hand the pallet to the shuttle arm. In a procedure that will take about 3 ½ hours from start-to-finish, the pallet will be transferred from one arm to the other and berthed back in Endeavour's payload bay for return to Earth

    Endeavour's 50 foot-long robotic arm will be pressed into service once again Monday morning as Pilot Jeff Ashby grapples the Italian Space Agency-provided "Raffaello" logistics module and docks it to the Unity module. Early Tuesday morning, the Expedition Two crew - Voss, Helms and Commander Yury Usachev - will enter Raffaello and begin transferring the supplies, equipment and experiment racks loaded inside.

    After a busy day on orbit for both crews, the station crew will go to sleep at 5:31 p.m., followed 10 minutes later by Endeavour's crew. Mission Control will wake up Commander Kent Rominger, Ashby, Mission Specialists John Phillips, Yuri Lonchakov, Umberto Guidoni, Hadfield and Parazynski at 1:41 a.m. Monday. The station crew is scheduled to wake up at 2:01 a.m.

  • 2001 Apr 23 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #08 

    The 10 astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station and the docked shuttle Endeavour are beginning a day that will see the first opening of hatches linking the two spacecraft. Highlights will include an impressive first step by the station's new Canadarm2 and the berthing to the station of Raffaello, the Italian-built logistics module.

    Hatch opening was set for 4 a.m. following a wakeup call from Mission Control earlier this morning. Judy Collins' "Both Sides Now" for Pilot Jeff Ashby started the shuttle crews' day.

    After transfer of equipment and supplies, the hatches will be closed again a little after 2 p.m. so that the Shuttle cabin pressure can once again be lowered to prepare for Tuesday's second spacewalk. That spacewalk will focus on permanently powering the station arm and doing further checkouts.

    The 57.7-foot arm was installed and unfolded Sunday during a 7 hour, 10 minute spacewalk by Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield. They also installed a UHF antenna on the station's U.S. laboratory Destiny. It was the 19th spacewalk devoted to ISS assembly and the 63rd in the history of the shuttle program.

    After additional checkouts by Helms and Voss this morning, the arm will "walk" off the Spacelab Pallet on which it was launched. Its free end will be attached to a Power and Data Grapple Fixture on Destiny, becoming the arm's base. That first step, beginning a little after 5 a.m., will cover just over 24 feet. Wednesday morning, the station arm will hand the pallet to the shuttle arm, to be berthed in Endeavour's cargo bay for return to Earth.

    Endeavour's own 50-foot robotic arm, operated by Ashby, will grapple the Raffaello logistics module in the cargo bay and dock it to the Unity module. Its installation there should be complete about 10 a.m. today. Early Tuesday, the Expedition Two crew will begin transferring the food, supplies, equipment and two experiment racks for installation in Destiny from Raffaello to the station.

    Both crews are scheduled to end their day about 6:30 p.m. today. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 240 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 23 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #09 

    Two elements built by two countries adorn the International Space Station (ISS) tonight after Endeavour's astronauts and the Station's Expedition Two crew worked throughout the day to bring the complex one step closer to an independent robotic capability.

    The new 57-foot long Canadian-built Canadarm2 robot arm took its first step this morning, "walking off" a pallet mounted at the top of the Destiny Laboratory to grab onto an electrical grapple fixture on Destiny capable of providing data, power and telemetry to the dexterous appendage.

    With Expedition Two Flight Engineer Susan Helms sending commands from a workstation inside Destiny, the arm began to move off the pallet at 6:13 a.m. Central time. Three hours later, after an extensive checkout of all of its new joints, the arm affixed itself to the Destiny grapple point where it will remain overnight in preparation for its first active grappling of a payload --- the pallet on which it was launched --- on Tuesday.

    As Canadarm2 was completing its work for the day, Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski used Endeavour's slightly smaller robot arm to latch onto the Italian-built Raffaello cargo module in the Shuttle's payload bay. Raffaello was lifted out of the bay and was attached to a docking port on the Station's Unity module at 11:00 a.m., setting the stage for Expedition Commander Yury Usachev, and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Helms to begin unloading three tons of supplies beginning tomorrow. Parazynski was assisted by European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni, who will take the lead in assisting the Station crewmembers in the unloading of Raffaello and the repacking of discarded items in the module later this week.

    Parazynski and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield prepared for their second spacewalk of the mission tomorrow by checking out their tools and spacesuits. They are scheduled to emerge from Endeavour's airlock around 8 a.m. Tuesday for a planned 6 ½ hour excursion to rewire the base of the newly installed Canadarm2 so it can operate from its new home on the Destiny Laboratory, to remove a communications antenna from Unity which is no longer needed and to mount a spare electrical converter unit on a stowage platform on Destiny for future Station use.

    Earlier today, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists John Phillips and Yuri Lonchakov of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency led the way as hatches swung open between Endeavour and the ISS at 4:25 a.m., allowing the ten crewmembers to greet one another for the first time. Some supplies carried to the Station aboard Endeavour were transferred throughout the day until the hatches once again were closed at 2:26 p.m. after 10 hours of joint operations. The hatch closure enabled the Shuttle's cabin pressure to be lowered to support tomorrow's spacewalk.

    Near the end of the day, Rominger and Ashby supervised a one-hour firing of Endeavour's jets to gently raise the orbit of the ISS about 2 ½ statute miles, from 237.8 statute miles to 240.3 statute miles. Two more reboosts are planned on Wednesday and Thursday to leave the Station at the correct altitude for the arrival of a Russian-commanded "taxi" crew next week delivering a fresh Soyuz return vehicle to the complex.

    Both crews are scheduled to end their day just after 6:30 p.m. and will be awakened early Tuesday morning. Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes.

  • 2001 Apr 24 - EVA STS-100-2  Crew: Hadfield, Parazynski. EVA Type: Extra-Vehicular Activity. EVA Duration: 0.32 days.

    The astronauts removed a temporary communications antenna from Unity, and connected up power to the Canadarm-2. Susan Helms aboard Destiny then used the arm's LEE A manipulator to remove the SLP Spacelab Pallet from Destiny at 1825 GMT. Meanwhile the EVA crew moved the DCSU switching unit from a sidewall carrier on the port side of Endeavour's cargo bay to the ESP (External Stowage Platform) on Destiny, next to the PFCS (Pump Flow Control System) which was installed on the ESP on the previous mission.

  • 2001 Apr 24 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #10 

    Unpacking a space-based moving van and taking a second walk in space is the order of business today for astronauts and cosmonauts orbiting in the International Space Station and aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.

    The Raffaello logistics module, now open for business following yesterday's berthing to the side of the station's Unity module, will be unloaded over the course of the next five days and then reloaded with unneeded cargo from the station for return to Earth.

    While the Expedition Two crew of Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms begin to transfer goods from Raffaello, on the other side of the hatch aboard Endeavour, Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield planned to conduct the second Extravehicular Activity beginning about 8 a.m.

    The first order of business for the veteran spacewalkers will be to connect power, computer and video cables to the Power and Data Grapple Fixture on the side of the station's Destiny laboratory. An antenna on Unity will be removed, as it is no longer needed. Cables on the pallet that carried the new robot arm to the station will be disconnected. Once those cables are removed, the Canadian-built Canadarm2 will be receiving power and communicating with the station's Robotics Work Station inside Destiny.

    Near the end of the planned 6-½ hour spacewalk, Helms will command the station's new robotic arm to pick up the 3,000-pound pallet that delivered it to space. She then will maneuver the pallet through various positions to test the arm with a load. Helms will finish today's tests by maneuvering the pallet over Endeavour's payload bay where it will remain parked overnight, still attached to the high-tech robotic arm.

    The day began for the astronauts and cosmonauts with the dulcet tones of Louis Armstrong singing "What A Wonderful World." The song was played for Parazynski in honor of today's spacewalk.

    Included in the nearly two tons of equipment being off-loaded from the Italian-built Raffaello are two new experiment racks that soon will be filled with science experiments currently in Endeavour's middeck, and other experiments that will be brought to the station on future shuttle missions. Once the hatches are open late this afternoon after the spacewalk, European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni will take the lead in assisting the station crewmembers in the unloading of Raffaello and the repacking of discarded items in the module for return to Earth.

    Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 237 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 24 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #11 

    Endeavour's two space walkers -- Canadian Chris Hadfield and American Scott Parazynski-- worked as space-age electricians today, completing connections that allowed the new International Space Station robotic arm to operate from a new base on the outside of the Destiny science lab.

    Expedition 2 Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms steered Canadarm2 as it lifted its first payload in space, a 3,000-pound pallet that the 57-foot-long arm had been nestled in for launch in the shuttle's cargo bay.

    Today's 7 hour, 40 minute spacewalk began at 7:34 a.m. Central time, as Hadfield and Parazynski worked to complete all of the primary goals of the mission, including the connection of the Power and Data Grapple Fixture circuits for the new arm on Destiny, the removal of an early communications antenna and the transfer of a spare Direct Current Switching Unit from the shuttle's payload bay to an equipment storage rack on the outside of Destiny.

    As the pair rewired power and data connections for Canadarm2, the backup power circuit failed to respond to commanding from Helms, who was operating from a workstation inside Destiny. Hadfield and Parazynski opened a panel to gain access to another connector at the base of the arm and after disconnecting and reconnecting cables, were able to complete the redundant power path to the arm to the cheers of flight controllers in Houston.

    During the removal of the early communications antenna, an electrical connector cover got away from Hadfield and nestled behind a thermal cover in the docking port to which the airlock will be mated in June. After two unsuccessful attempts to locate the errant piece of metal - which required extensive coordination between the shuttle and station flight control teams on the ground -- Hadfield was instructed to stop searching and to move on to other work. The errant component is not expected to have any impact on future operations. With all of their work successfully completed, Hadfield and Parazynski completed their space walk at 3:15 p.m., bringing the total spacewalk time on STS-100 to 14 hours, 50 minutes. A potential third spacewalk on Thursday likely will not be needed.

    Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev and Station crewmates Voss and Helms started their workday transferring supplies, equipment and experiment racks from the Raffaello cargo module, which is berthed to the Unity connecting node.

    After the spacewalk was completed, the two crews turned their attention to reopening the hatches between the station and shuttle. Commander Kent Rominger reported that Endeavour's crew had returned to the ISS at 5:15 p.m. to set the stage for the resumption of transfer activities on Wednesday. The two crews will begin their sleep periods shortly after 6:30 p.m.

    Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 237 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 25 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #12 

    The Station's new robotic arm truly will extend the reach of humans in space today when it hands the 3,000-pound pallet delivering it to space to the shuttle's robotic arm for transport back to Earth. The three-hour task is set to begin about 6 a.m.

    While robotic arm operations are underway by Expedition Two crewmembers Susan Helms and Jim Voss aboard the station, and shuttle crewmembers Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski, the remaining shuttle and station astronauts and cosmonauts continue the task of unpacking the Raffaello high-tech moving van. European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni is overseeing the unloading of the Italian-built logistics module.

    Today's wakeup call to the crew was "Con te Partiro" ("With You I Will Go"), sung by Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli. It was played for Guidoni who is from Italy.

    Working at the Robotics Work Station in the Destiny Laboratory, Helms and Voss will use the new Canadarm2 to maneuver the pallet within reach of Endeavour's robotic arm under control of Hadfield and Parazynski. In a reverse passing of the torch, the new arm will pass the pallet to its older cousin officially beginning the station arm's own career in space.

    Hadfield and Parazynksi completed connections on the station's new robotic arm during the second of two planned spacewalks yesterday. The 7 hour, 40 minute Extravehicular Activity included the connection of power, data and television cables, which allow the robot arm to operate from a base on the outside of the Destiny science laboratory.

    At about 2:30 today, Endeavour's Commander Kent Rominger and Pilot Jeff Ashby will boost the station's altitude another 2 ½ miles by firing thruster jets in a precise sequence for about one hour. With one reboost maneuver completed several days ago, a third and final identical firing of the reaction control system jets is planned Thursday.

    Both spacecraft are in excellent shape orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 243 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 25 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #13 

    Troubleshooting efforts designed to restore full capability to the International Space Station's three redundant command and control computers continue in Mission Control, even as the 10 astronauts and cosmonauts on board the outpost worked together today to install new experiments in the Destiny laboratory.

    Shortly after the ISS crew went to bed last night, the ISS flight controllers reported a loss of Command and Control Computer number one (C&C 1), one of three systems management computers on board. Overnight, flight controllers inititiated a procedure to re-string those functions through one of the two remaining backup computers that route data for systems management. This morning when Expedition Two Flight Engineer Susan Helms sent commands to transfer data files from the mass storage device, which houses the files for station systems management for the operation of the robotic work stations, the command was rejected.

    After initial troubleshooting efforts failed to resolve the problem, flight controllers once again worked a procedure to re-string data management functions to the third computer, but the computer problem continued and flight control teams continued to evaluate the situation throughout the day.

    Following a power cycle of command and control computer 1, the first of a series of diagnostic commands - this to turn on and off a light on board the Destiny laboratory - was successfully transmitted from the ground to the space station shortly before 7:30 p.m. Overnight the space station flight control team will attempt to reset the computers by commanding them from the "primary" to "standby" mode in an effort to clear any software interaction that might be causing the problems. If successful, this would allow the Expedition Crew and ground controllers to again interface with the command and control computers. The diagnostic troubleshooting will continue through the night.

    The primary result of today's computer problem was a loss of communication and data transfer between the Space Station Flight Control Room and the station. Communication capability was routed through Endeavour enabling the crew and flight controllers to talk to one another.

    Despite the difficulties encountered with the computer system today, all systems on board the spacecraft continued to function properly.

    Several of the activities planned for today, including the handoff of a 3,000 pound pallete from the station's new robotic arm, back to the shuttle's arm, were postponed until Thursday, pending resolution of the computer issue. A reboost of the complex, using Endeavour's small thrusters, also was delayed. The crew members instead turned their attention to offloading experiment racks and equipment from the Raffaello logistics module, and transferring the experiments and hardware to the station.

    Once the computer difficulties are resolved, Helms and crew mate Jim Voss will command the station's new Canadarm2 to maneuver the pallet within reach of Endeavour's robotic arm under control of mission specialists Chris Hadfield and Scott Parazynski.

    Shortly before 7 p.m. Central, Mission Control said goodnight to both crews following a busy day on orbit. Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev, Voss and Helms are slated to wake up about 2:30 a.m. Thursday; the seven astronauts on board Endeavour will receive a wake-up call from Mission Control about 10 minutes later.

  • 2001 Apr 26 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #14 

    Good news greeted space station flight controllers this morning when, shortly after awakening, Expedition Two flight engineer Susan Helms reported that the International Space Station computer systems may be returning to normal. Working at a laptop computer aboard the station that serves as the crew's primary interface with the station's United States command and control computer system, Helms reported the good news at about 3:45 a.m. Shortly afterward, Helms performed a series of troubleshooting steps that restored the ground's ability to monitor and send commands to the station's U.S. systems.

    Space station flight controllers then sent commands that have put the station's systems in a better configuration in the event computer problems recur today. They also are planning to send commands that will transmit data to the ground from the station computers to allow technicians to thoroughly analyze those computers' hardware and software as part of the investigation that is under way to determine the cause of the computer problems.

    Today's plan for the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Endeavour and the station will have them continue joint work this morning to reload the Raffaello logistics module with unneeded station equipment and supplies for return to Earth. The crews have almost completed unloading the 4,000 pounds of equipment that Raffaello carried to the station. While that reloading work takes place, flight controllers will continue their analysis of the station computers.

    Given continued success with the computer troubleshooting, the crews will resume work with the station's new Canadarm2 and the shuttle's robotic arm after 8 a.m., handing off a 3,000-pound Spacelab Pallet from the station arm to the shuttle arm to store the pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay. Another reboost of the spacecraft's altitude is planned later today as well, an hour-long jet firing by Endeavour that will raise the complex's altitude by almost 4½ miles.

    A practice run with the new station arm to rehearse moves the arm must make during the next shuttle assembly mission to the station to attach a new airlock will be conducted on Friday.

    The crew of Endeavour was awakened just after 2:40 a.m. by a Russian folk song, "Behind the Fog." That song was played for Endeavour crewmember Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov. The two spacecraft are orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 243 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 26 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #15 

    Good news greeted space station flight controllers this morning when, shortly after awakening, Expedition Two flight engineer Susan Helms reported that the International Space Station computer systems may be returning to normal.

    Working at a laptop computer aboard the station that serves as the crew's primary interface with the station's United States command and control computer system, Helms relayed the good news about 3:45 a.m. Shortly afterward, Helms performed a series of troubleshooting steps that restored the ground's ability to monitor and send commands to the station's U.S. systems.

    Space station flight controllers then sent commands that have put the station's systems in a better configuration in the event computer problems recur today. They also sent commands that transmitted data to the ground from the station computers to allow technicians to thoroughly analyze their hardware and software as part of the investigation that is under way to determine the cause of the computer problems.

    Today, the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard Endeavour will continue joint work to reload the Raffaello Logistics Module with unneeded station equipment and supplies for return to Earth. The crews have completed unloading the 4,000 pounds of equipment that Raffaello carried to the station. While the reloading of Raffaello takes place, flight controllers will continue their analysis of the station computers. The station command and control computer brought on line early this morning has continued to be fully functional and operate normally throughout the day. Controllers are working to bring another such computer online as a backup system later today. The recovery of the one command and control computer during the night is believed to have resulted from an automatic sequence aboard the station that powered each of the three command and control computers on and off in an attempt to bring them on line. The other two computers remained off line, however.

    Given continued success with the computer recovery, the shuttle and station crews will resume work with the station's new Canadarm2 and the shuttle's robotic arm on Friday, handing off a 3,000-pound Spacelab Pallet from the station arm to the shuttle arm to store the pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay. A practice run with the new station arm to rehearse moves the arm must make during the next shuttle assembly mission to the station to attach a new airlock also will be conducted on Friday.

    A second reboost of the station's altitude remains planned for later today. It will be an hour-long jet firing by Endeavour that will raise the complex's altitude by almost 4½ miles. The two spacecraft are now orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes at an altitude of 243 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 26 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #16 

    As flight controllers continued to troubleshoot computer systems on board the International Space Station (ISS), the ten crewmembers were told late today they would spend some bonus time together, after mission managers requested an additional two days of docked operations to allow ground teams to recover the use of command computers in the Destiny laboratory and to complete joint activities.

    Final confirmation of the two-day extension is pending Russian concurrence of NASA's request for a one-day delay to their Soyuz launch, currently scheduled for Saturday. That would allow Endeavour to remain docked to the Station until at least Monday to help resolve the computer problems which were first noticed Tuesday night. The Soyuz vehicle was rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at dawn today.

    With one of three command and control computers still up and running on board the station, flight controllers worked through the day to overcome what is believed to be a software problem with the other two command computers and their processing systems. Ultimately a decision was made to postpone the unberthing of the Raffaello logistics module from the Unity module until Friday while ground controllers worked to recover the computers. With other work on hold, the crewmembers completed packing up Raffaello with unneeded gear and trash, which will be brought back to Earth.

    If at least one additional command computer can be recovered overnight, and engineers can reboot two fault protection computers in the Unity module which also shut down earlier today, the Raffaello module could be unberthed around midday Friday. Procedures to bring at least one additional computer back on line for further operations are expected to take about 10 hours.

    If Raffaello can be returned to Endeavour's cargo bay tomorrow, then the crew will likely be given the green light to press ahead with the handoff of a pallet from the newly installed Canadarm2 Station robot arm to Endeavour's slightly smaller robot arm on Saturday, setting the stage for undocking on Monday.

    To recover the two Unity computers, which offer a defense against other computer malfunctions by automatically rebooting them, controllers will have to perform a complex resynchronization procedure early Friday shortly before the planned wakeup of the two crews.

    Endeavour has enough power and other consumables to remain in orbit until Friday, if necessary. With a two-day mission extension, landing would occur on Wednesday.

    The crews of Endeavour and the International Space Station are scheduled to be awakened around 2:40 a.m. Central time Friday. Meanwhile, all of Endeavour's systems continue to function flawlessly as it orbits the Earth linked to the ISS.

  • 2001 Apr 27 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #17 

    Flight controllers worked successfully overnight troubleshooting computer problems on board the International Space Station and plan to continue a recovery of full computer operations on the complex today. The station and shuttle crews awoke this morning to find most of the station's computers operating well and on line, although efforts are continuing to bring up the orbiting outpost's backup computers.

    The crew today will assist with bringing the remaining station computers on line, including swapping a backup payload computer for one of the station's three command and control computers. Of the three station command and control computers, one is on line and fully functional, providing full computer operations aboard the station. The other two, which should serve as backups to the primary computer, are off-line. Today's activities are planned to bring them on line as well. The swap of one of those off-line command and control computers with the backup payload computer will correct what is believed to be a failed hard drive in that unit. The other off-line command and control computer has been loaded with new software from the ground that should correct its operating problems, although flight controllers have not yet rebooted the unit.

    In addition to the station computer troubleshooting, the station and shuttle crews today will continue to concentrate on the transfer of supplies and equipment from the shuttle to the station. They also plan to close the Raffaello logistics carrier's hatch and later detach that module, using the shuttle's robotic arm to reberth it in Endeavour's bay for a return to Earth. Almost 4,000 pounds of equipment and supplies were unloaded from Raffaello onto the station. Yesterday, the crew completed reloading it with items bound for Earth. The shuttle is planned to boost the station's altitude by about 2.5 statute miles today as well, the second such boost during the mission thus far.

    Managers have added an extra day to Endeavour's mission and are now planning to have the shuttle remain docked to the station until Sunday with a landing on Tuesday. A further extension of the mission also may be considered. The crew of Endeavour was awakened this morning to the song "Buckaroo," sung by Don Cain of Dubuque, Iowa, father of STS-100 Ascent and Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain. Except for the station computer problems now being resolved, flight controllers have identified no significant problems with any of the station or shuttle systems.

  • 2001 Apr 27 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #18 

    The Italian Space Agency-provided Raffaello logistics module, loaded with 1,600 pounds of material to be returned to Earth, was tucked securely in Endeavour's payload bay at 3:58 p.m. Central time today as the International Space Station and shuttle flew high over the Pacific Ocean, north of Indonesia.

    Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, at the controls of the shuttle's robotic arm and assisted by European Space Agency Astronaut Umberto Guidoni, grappled the 14,700 pound "moving van," undocking it from the Destiny laboratory and carefully maneuvering it into position before securing it in the payload bay. Over the course of the past week, the astronauts and cosmonauts on board the station transferred 6,000 pounds of equipment from Raffaello to the station, and then stowed unneeded equipment and hardware on board for return.

    The unberthing of Raffaello followed last night's work by ground controllers to successfully synchronize timers on all the on-board computers, including the one operational Control and Command (C&C) computer in Destiny. With the one operational C&C computer, and Susan Helms at the ready with a back-up laptop computer in Unity, the crew was given a "go" to begin the undocking procedure about 2:20 p.m. today.

    Work to recover the command and control computers continued throughout the day today, with good progress reported, and a reload of software currently under way to restore C&C computer number three to full performance. C&C computer number one was determined to have a failed hard drive. That C& C computer will be replaced on orbit with a backup payload computer, called Payload Computer Two, so that the failed C&C computer can be returned to Earth for inspection and analysis. Overnight, flight controllers will reload software on C&C number one in the hopes of bringing it back on line as well.

    The plan for the crew tomorrow, assuming a minimum of two C&C computers are up and functioning, would see Helms and crew mate Jim Voss operating the station's robotic arm to hand off its cradle to the shuttle's robot arm, being commanded by Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield on board Endeavour. Most of the activities planned for a "dress rehearsal" of the maneuvers the arm will perform during the next station assembly mission to install an airlock have been deleted from the timeline. Only the portions of the rehearsal related to shuttle robotic arm camera views will be performed.

    Earlier today, NASA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviakosmos, reached a decision on the launch of the Soyuz replacement vehicle, for 2:37 a.m. central time Saturday. Rosaviakosmos has agreed to delay the Soyuz docking to the station if additional time is required to resolve command and control problems aboard the station.

    Mission managers will assess the need for that additional docked day of operations based on specific criteria, including a minimum of two fully functioning command and control computers, securing the Canadarm2 cradle pallet back in Endeavour's payload bay, successfully reloading software in Command and Control computer Three, and completing final transfer activities between the station and shuttle.

    With another busy day behind them, the two crews were bid goodnight by Mission Control and will be awakened at 2:41 a.m. Saturday. Both spacecraft are in good condition, orbiting the Earth every 92 minutes.

  • 2001 Apr 28 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #19 

    The primary computer aboard the International Space Station continued to work well through the night, but flight controllers continued to encounter difficulties recovering the station's backup computers.

    The station's two backup command and control computers remain off line. Attempts overnight to reload software in one of the computers were not successful. Analysts on the ground have uncovered an error in the software load that they believe may have been the source of the problem. Further efforts to reload software into the backup computers are expected to resume later this morning.

    Even if backup computers are not yet on line, the crew may be given a go today to use the station's robotic arm in an abbreviated maneuver to hand a carrier pallet to Endeavour's arm so that it may be stowed aboard the shuttle for a return to Earth. If so, the joint robotic activities would begin no earlier than 8 a.m. to allow time for managers to thoroughly evaluate the plan.

    Meanwhile, the crews are using the shuttle's robotic arm and cameras and the station's cameras to calibrate the Space Vision System, a precision alignment aid for operators of the robotic arm, and gather information that will help prepare for the next shuttle mission to visit the station. On that flight, planned for launch in June, the Space Vision System will be a key aid for using the station arm to attach a new airlock to the station. The crew also is continuing the transfer of equipment from the shuttle to the station during the day, and may work on some station maintenance tasks. A joint crew press conference, during which the 10 astronauts and cosmonauts will field questions from U.S., Canadian and European media, is planned at 1:41 p.m. CDT.

    Shortly after Endeavour's crew awoke today, Mission Control reported to them the successful launch of a replacement Soyuz spacecraft bound for the station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. The Soyuz, with a taxi crew of Commander Talgat A. Musabaev, Flight Engineer Yuri M. Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito, will replace the Soyuz spacecraft now attached to the station, which is nearing the end of its lifetime as a station emergency "lifeboat." The new Soyuz is tentatively planned to dock with the station at 3:05 a.m. CDT Monday, however the Soyuz docking plans will be delayed if a decision is made to further extend Endeavour's stay at the station.

    The shuttle crew was awakened today to the song "Dangerous," sung by The Arrogant Worms, played for Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield at the request of his wife. The station and shuttle are in an orbit of about 250 by 235 statute miles.

  • 2001 Apr 28 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #20 

    A Canadian "handshake in space" occurred at 4:02 p.m Central time today, as the Canadian-built space station robotic arm - operated by Expedition Two crew member Susan Helms - transferred its launch cradle over to Endeavour's robotic arm, with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield at the controls. The exchange of the pallet from station arm to shuttle arm marked the first ever robotic-to-robotic transfer in space.

    The successful exchange of the pallet was the last remaining major objective of the mission to be accomplished and could pave the way for Endeavour to undock from the station Sunday morning, if computers on board can be placed in a stable configuration overnight. Mission managers had established three specific criteria to be met prior to Endeavour's undocking. The criteria were to reberth the cradle pallet in the shuttle's payload bay, complete final transfer activities and place the station's command and control (C&C) computers in a stable configuration.

    With the pallet securely in Endeavour's payload bay and all final transfer items in place, the one remaining item is to ensure the computer system is in a stable configuration prior to Endeavour's departure. Overnight, flight controllers will uplink a series of commands designed to restore the two computers to full capability. C&C three is in an acceptable condition, although it is known to have a bad hard drive. Helms and crew mate Jim Voss will perform repair work on that computer at a later date.

    A final decision whether to undock Endeavour - and delay the docking of the Soyuz replacement vehicle - is expected late tonight or early Sunday morning.

    After spending much of this morning refining procedures to minimize inputs to the station's primary command and control computer, which developed problems accessing its hard drive, Space Station Flight Director Mark Ferring gave the Expedition Two crew a "go" to begin with arm operations at 1:27 p.m. With Helms working at the robotic work station, first motion of the station arm occurred at 3:01 p.m. Through a series of carefully choreographed commands, the station arm was maneuvered into its handoff position. Hadfield then slowly moved Endeavour's 50-foot long robot arm into position to latch onto the cradle, which was securely attached to the station arm at 3:43 p.m. At 4:02 p.m., as the two spacecraft flew over British Columbia, the pallet changed hands.

    Both arms then began backing away - with the station arm now under command of Voss, according to plan. Hadfield then stowed the pallet in Endeavour's payload bay at 4:51 p.m.

    Earlier in the day, Voss informed flight controllers that Endeavour crew members were helping with maintenance activities on the station's treadmill, called TVIS, installing new hardware to allow the Expedition crew to once again use it for exercise. The treadmill's walking surface had degraded and the crew had been told not to use it until repairs were made. Voss reports repairs are now about 50 per cent complete.

    After enjoying a meal together, both crews were scheduled to go to sleep shortly after 7 p.m. Both crews will enjoy an extra hour of sleep, waking up just before 4 a.m.

    Due to a compressed schedule tomorrow, the in-flight crew news conference, originally scheduled for 6:15 a.m. Sunday, has been canceled.

    If a decision is made to undock tomorrow, the astronauts and cosmonauts will exchange final farewells about 9:30 a.m. and then begin closing the hatches between the two spacecraft. Undocking would occur at 12:34 p.m. central. Pilot Jeff Ashby would then slowly back Endeavour away to a distance of approximately 450 feet, where he will begin a three-quarter circle flyaround of the station before commanding a final separation burn signaling Endeavour's final departure from the station. With an undocking Sunday, the mission is scheduled to conclude with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 8:04 a.m. Central time Tuesday.

  • 2001 Apr 29 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #21 

    Endeavour's crew and the crew of the International Space Station will say farewell today, ending an eight-day visit by the shuttle that saw delivery a new robotic arm and more than six tons of supplies and equipment to the complex, including two scientific experiment racks for the U.S. laboratory Destiny.

    The crews are plan to close the hatches between the two spacecraft at 9:41 a.m.. Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the station at 12:34 p.m. With Pilot Jeff Ashby at the controls, the shuttle will back away to distance of about 450 feet to perform a three-quarters circle of the station which will include a special maneuver to allow filming by a payload bay-mounted IMAX camera. At 1:32 p.m., Ashby will fire Endeavour's jets to separate the vicinity of the station and put Endeavour on course for a 7:59 a.m. CDT Tuesday landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    Aboard the station, all three command and control computers - one primary and two backups -- are on line and operating well. One, the primary computer, has full capabilities. Of the two backups, one is functioning but has a failed hard drive. The third is working but flight controllers are still bringing up its hard drive.

    After Endeavour undocks today, the station crew will have the afternoon off duty. A Russian Aviation and Space Agency Soyuz spacecraft with a crew of three - Commander Talgat Musabaev, Flight Engineer Yuri Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito -- is planned to dock with the station at 2:52 a.m. Monday. The Soyuz, which will replace the Soyuz now docked to the station as a space "lifeboat" for the complex, is trailing the complex by about 6,000 statute miles.

    Endeavour's crew was awakened this morning by the song "Miles from Nowhere," performed by Cat Stevens and played for Ashby in anticipation of today's undocking. A crew news conference for Endeavour's crew is tentatively planned for Monday morning.

  • 2001 Apr 29 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #22 

    With a gentle push from springs in the docking module, Endeavour backed slowly away from the International Space Station at 12:34 p.m. Central time today, as the two spacecraft soared 240 miles over the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia.

    As Pilot Jeff Ashby slowly backed Endeavour away, Commander Kent Rominger and Expedition Two flight engineer Susan Helms exchanged final wishes for Endeavour's planned return to Earth, and a continued safe journey for the station crew. Once Endeavour was at a distance of 450 feet from the station, Ashby initiated a three-quarter circle flyaround of the station as Mission Specialist Yuri Lonchakov activated a large-format IMAX camera in Endeavour's payload bay to photograph the station.

    At 1:28 p.m., with the flyaround complete, Ashby fired a separation burn, initiating Endeavour's final departure from the orbiting complex, now equipped with a new Canadian-built robotic arm and communications antenna, installed by Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Chris Hadfield during two space walks. During eight days of joint operations, the two crews also transferred more than three tons of supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to the station.

    On board the station, the Expedition Two crew - Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Helms - will enjoy some time off this afternoon following a busy week on orbit. Early Monday morning, they will support the docking of a replacement Soyuz spacecraft that will serve as the station's "lifeboat." The Soyuz and its crew of three - Commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Yuri Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito -- is scheduled to dock at 2:52 a.m. Monday.

    Endeavour's crew will go to sleep shortly after 4:30 p.m. today, awakening at 1:41 a.m. Monday to begin what should be their final full day on orbit. Endeavour is scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center, weather permitting, at 8:03 a.m. Tuesday. The primary activity for the crew on Monday will center on Endeavour's return to Earth, with Rominger, Ashby and Flight Engineer John Phillips verifying the performance of Endeavour's flight control surfaces and steering jets. Hadfield, Parazynski, Lonchakov and Umberto Guidoni will begin stowing away much of the equipment the crew has used over the past 11 days on orbit. All seven crew members are scheduled to participate in a press conference, talking with media in the U.S., Canada and Italy, at 10:01 a.m. Monday.

  • 2001 Apr 30 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #23 

    A replacement Soyuz spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station early Monday, providing the station crew with a new "lifeboat" should an unexpected return to Earth become necessary. The docking occurred at 2:58 a.m. as the station orbited over south-central Russia near the Mongolian border.

    The Soyuz has a lifetime on orbit of about six months. The crew of the Soyuz which docked today, commander Talgat Musabayev, Flight Engineer Yuri Baturin and American businessman Dennis Tito, will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz capsule that launched the Expedition One crew to the station last Oct. 31. That Soyuz has been at the station since it docked there Nov. 2.

    When this morning's docking occurred, the shuttle Endeavour was about 78 statute miles ahead of the space station. Its seven crewmembers will spend today preparing for its return to Earth. Landing is scheduled for 8:04 a.m. CDT Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour crewmembers were awakened at 12:41 a.m. by music from the soundtrack of the movie Gladiator.

    Today, shuttle Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Flight Engineer John Phillips will test Endeavour's flight control surfaces and steering jets. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, mission specialist Scott Parazynski, cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov and European Space Agency astronaut Umberto Guidoni will stow away much of the equipment the crew has used over the past 11 days in space. All seven crewmembers are also scheduled to participate in a press conference with media in the U.S., Canada and Italy at 10:01 a.m.

    Endeavour accomplished all of its major mission goals during the eight days it was docked to the space station. Parazynski and Hadfield installed and helped test a new Canadian-built robotic arm on the space station during two spacewalks that lasted a total of 14 hours and 50 minutes. Hadfield made history on that first space walk by becoming the first Canadian astronaut to ever walk in space. Working with the station's Expedition Two crew, Russian Commander Yury Usachev and astronauts Jim Voss and Susan Helms, they transferred more than three tons of supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to the station, then repacked 1,600 pounds of equipment that was no longer needed aboard the station.

    Space station flight controllers were successful overnight in reformatting the hard drive on new Command and Control (C&C) Computer One, which was originally a payload computer. Controllers then copied all the software from the prime C&C 2, to the C&C 1 hard drive. After more testing later today, the station's three C&Cs will have two hard drives that contain all the necessary software to run the station's systems.

  • 2001 Apr 30 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #24 

    Weather permitting, Endeavour and its crew of seven will return to the Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning, concluding a successful mission to install a new-generation robotic arm on the International Space Station, and a journey of more than 4.8 million miles. In preparation for tomorrow's landing opportunities, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Flight Engineer John Phillips verified the performance of Endeavour's flight control systems and surfaces and steering jets.

    Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, Scott Parazynski, Yuri Lonchakov and Umberto Guidoni stowed away much of the equipment the crew has used over the past 11 days in space. All seven crew members also were scheduled for some time off today to relax. Preliminary forecasts at the three-mile long Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida are not promising for tomorrow's opportunities, with the possibility of rain and high winds in the area. The back-up landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California has been called up to provide Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain and his team of flight controllers with additional options in returning Endeavour to Earth. There are two opportunities for Endeavour to return to the Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. The first would see a deorbit burn to slow Endeavour down and drop it out of orbit, occuring at 6:55 a.m., with landing to follow at 8:04 a.m. Central time. There is a second opportunity one orbit later with a deorbit burn at 8:31 a.m. resulting in a 9:39 a.m. landing. There are also two opportunities to land at Edwards Air Force Base tomorrow, at 11:11 a.m. and 12:47 p.m. respectively. Throughout the night, flight controllers will continue to look at weather conditions at both landing sites formulating plans to bring Endeavour home. Endeavour's crew is scheduled to be awakened at 11:41 p.m. today and will begin preparations for their possible return trip home shortly after 3 a.m. tomorrow. In the meantime, with the arrival of the three-member Soyuz taxi crew, the first activity on board the International Space Station today was an extensive safety briefing conducted by Expedition Two Commander Yury Usachev. The briefing included familiarizing the crew with station systems and evacuation routes. Crew members then swapped their custom-fitted Soyuz seatliners from one vehicle to another, and transferred some cargo from Soyuz to the station, setting up a plasma crystal experiment.

  • 2001 May 1 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #25 

    With the Kennedy Space Center reporting cloud cover, showers and gusty winds and with forecasters calling for more of the same today and tomorrow, flight controllers began focusing on bringing Endeavour home to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base later today.

    The first opportunity of the day to land Endeavour at the Florida spaceport has already been passed up and flight controllers continue to plan for a landing on the second and final opportunity at Kennedy today. But spacecraft communicators told Endeavour's crewmembers that if a second Florida waveoff occurs, they likely would land at Edwards later today. Two opportunities to land at Edwards are available today. For the first, the deorbit burn would occur at 10:03 a.m. central time with landing at 11:11 a.m. The second would see a deorbit burn at 11:39 a.m. and touchdown at 12:47 p.m. Forecasters said weather at Edwards is ideal. Endeavour, which was launched April 19, brought an advanced and more powerful robotic arm, Canadarm2, to the International Space Station. The shuttle also delivered to the station more than 6,000 pounds of equipment and supplies, much of it transported in the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module named Raffaello. Among equipment aboard Raffaello were two new scientific experiment racks for the space station's U.S. laboratory Destiny. Endeavour's crew, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov, were awakened at 11:48 p.m. by "Truth," performed by Spandau Ballet. The wakeup music was for Rominger, requested by his family.

  • 2001 May 1 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #26 

    With the Kennedy Space Center reporting cloud cover, showers and gusty winds and with forecasters calling for more of the same for the rest of the week, flight controllers decided to bring Endeavour home to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base later today.

    Two opportunities to land at Edwards are available today. For the first, the deorbit burn would occur at 10:03 a.m. central time with landing at 11:11 a.m. The second would see a deorbit burn at 11:39 a.m. and touchdown at 12:47 p.m. Forecasters said weather at Edwards is ideal. Endeavour, which was launched April 19, brought an advanced and more powerful robotic arm, Canadarm2, to the International Space Station. The shuttle also delivered to the station more than 6,000 pounds of equipment and supplies, much of it transported in the Italian-built Multipurpose Logistics Module named Raffaello. Among equipment aboard Raffaello were two new scientific experiment racks for the space station's U.S. laboratory Destiny. Endeavour's crew, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni of the European Space Agency and Cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov, were awakened at 11:48 p.m. by "Truth," performed by Spandau Ballet. The wakeup music was for Rominger, requested by his family.

  • 2001 May 1 - STS-100 Mission Status Report #27 

    Endeavour and its crew of seven glided to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California today, touching down at 11:11 a.m. central time, concluding a successful mission to install a new-generation robotic arm on the International Space Station, and a journey of more than 4.9 million miles.

    With continuing cloud cover, rain showers and gusty winds at the Kennedy Space Center, Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain waved off landing opportunities there and elected to return to the West Coast where weather conditions were perfect for today's landing. Today's landing was the 48th at Edwards Air Force Base in shuttle program history.

    Endeavour's crew - Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski, Chris Hadfield, John Phillips, Yuri Lonchakov and Umberto Guidoni - is expected to remain overnight in California, returning to Houston Wednesday afternoon.

    During 11 days on orbit, eight of which were spent in joint operations with the International Space Station crew, Endeavour's crew installed a new robotic arm called Canadarm2, and transferred more than 6,000 pounds of equipment, experiments and supplies between vehicles.

    A public welcome home ceremony for the crew is slated for 4 p.m. at Hangar 990 at NASA's Ellington Field.

  • 2001 May 1 - Landing of STS-100 

    STS-100 landed at 16:10 GMT with the crew of Rominger, Ashby, Hadfield, Phillips, Parazynski, Guidoni and Lonchakov aboard.

  • 2001 May 2 - ISS Status Report: ISS 01-11 

    With the landing of Endeavour following the STS-100 mission and the arrival at the International Space Station of the Soyuz Taxi Crew with a new vehicle, the Expedition Two crew now is settling in to begin the process of unpacking and stowing nearly two tons of new supplies and hardware.

    The three command and control computers onboard have been recovered, for the most part, with C&C 2 being used as the primary and C&C 1 as backup. The third currently is in standby while work continues to fully load the hard drive on C&C 1 with identical software as that on the primary system. The computers began exhibiting problems last Wednesday during Endeavour's visit and flight controllers continue to reconfigure the systems to support all operations on board including the Robotic Work Station which will serve as the command post for complete checkout of the station's new robotic arm - Canadarm2 - delivered to the station on the STS-100 mission.

    While investigations into what caused the computer problems onboard continues on the ground, science activities continue onboard. Commander Yury Usachev and Flight Engineers Jim Voss and Susan Helms are overseeing the activation of several experiment racks onboard, including one that is remotely operated from the ground. It is the first to be operated in this fashion.

    Except for the Human Research Facility, all station payloads are overseen from NASA's Payloads Operations Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

    The HRF is managed and operated by a team in the Telescience Support Center at the Johnson Space Center.

    The Destiny Laboratory's carbon-dioxide removal system is operating at half its design capability, but still working in tandem with the Russian system to provide adequate CO2 removal capability for the six crew members.

    The Soyuz Taxi Crew is scheduled to depart Saturday night at 9:19 p.m. CDT in the spacecraft in which the Expedition One crew arrived last November. The new Soyuz will remain docked to the station for the next six months serving as an emergency return vehicle should that become necessary.

    In preparation for that Soyuz vehicle swap, a test firing of the oldest vehicle's thruster jets is scheduled in the next day or two to ensure it is ready to come home early Sunday morning. This test is similar to the Reaction Control System hotfire test on the shuttle before it returns home from a mission.

    Beginning Thursday May 10, and occurring each Thursday thereafter leading to the next shuttle mission to the station, the crew will test the Canadian-built robot arm on the station. This will verify its operation before the next component - the U.S. airlock - arrives. The airlock can only be attached to the station using this new robot arm.

    The International Space Station continues to orbit the Earth in good shape at an altitude of 245 statute miles (395 km).


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