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STS-77

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STS-77 Credit: www.spacefacts.de

AKA: Endeavour;Spacehab 04. Launched: 1996-05-19. Returned: 1996-05-29. Number crew: 6 . Duration: 10.03 days.

Payloads: Shuttle Pointed Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN) 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE); Technology Experiments Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS) 01 (includes Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE), Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE) (RME 1316), Liquid Metal Test Experiment (LMTE) and Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS) Satellite Test Unit (STU); SPACEHAB-4; Brilliant Eyes Ten-Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE); 12 getaway specials attached to a GAS bridge assembly (GAS 056, 063, 142, 144, 163, 200, 490, 564, 565, 703, 741 and the Reduced-Fill Tank Pressure Control Experiment (RFTPCE); Aquatic Research Facility (ARF) 01; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) 07, Block III.

Orbits of Earth: 161. Distance traveled: 6,598,310 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 115,456 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 100,415 kg. Payload to Orbit: 12,233 kg. Payload Returned: 11,860 kg. Landed at: Concrete runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

NASA Official Mission Summary:

STS-77
(SPACEHAB; SPARTAN (IAE))
Endeavour
Pad B
77th Shuttle mission
11th flight OV-105
30th KSC landing
Crew:
John H. Casper, Commander
(4th Shuttle flight)
Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot (3rd)
Andrew S. W. Thomas, Mission Specialist (1st)
Daniel W. Bursch, Mission Specialist (3rd)
Mario Runco Jr., Mission Specialist (3rd)
Marc Garneau, Mission Specialist (2nd) (Canadian Space Agency)
Orbiter Preps (move to):
OPF - Sept. 18, 1995
VAB - April 8, 1996
Pad - April 16, 1996

Launch:

May 19, 1996, 6:30:00 a.m. EDT. Original launch date of May 16 changed to May 19 due to Eastern Range schedule. Countdown proceeded smoothly to on-time liftoff May 19.

Landing:

May 29, 1996, 7:09:18 a.m. EDT, Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Rollout distance: 9,291 feet (2,832 meters). Rollout time: 42 seconds. Mission duration: 10 days, zero hours, 39 minutes, 18 seconds. Landed revolution 161, the first opportunity at KSC.

Mission Highlights:

Fourth Shuttle flight of 1996 highlighted by four rendezvous activities with two different payloads. Primary payloads, all located in the cargo bay, were the SPACEHAB-4 pressurized research module; the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) mounted on Spartan 207 free-flyer; and a suite of four technology demonstration experiments known as Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS). More than 90 percent of the payloads were sponsored by NASA's Office of Space Access and Technology.

SPACEHAB-4 single module carried nearly 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of support equipment and variety of experiments covering such fields as biotechnology, electronic materials, polymers and agriculture, including: Advanced Separation Process for Organic Materials (ADSEP); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA); Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (PGBA); Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-2 (FGBA-2); Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG); Gas Permeable Polymer Membrane (GPPM); Handheld Diffusion Test Cell (HHDTC); Commercial Float Zone Furnace (CFZF); and the Space Experiment Facility (SEF). Also considered part of SPACEHAB payload complement but located in middeck lockers were IMMUNE-3 and NIH-C7 payloads.

CFZF, sponsored by NASA and the German and Canadian space agencies, was considered top priority SPACEHAB-4 payload; designed to produce large, ultra-pure crystals of such semiconductor materials as gallium arsenide. FGBA-2, an on-orbit soft-drink dispenser, required some troubleshooting, and SEF experiment declared failed when command problems with payload could not be fixed.

Spartan free-flyer deployed on flight day two using orbiter Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm. The 132-pound (60- kilogram) IAE antenna structure, mounted on three struts, was inflated to its full size of 50 feet (15 meters) in diameter, about the size of a tennis court. Potential benefits of inflatable antennas over conventional rigid structures include their lower development costs, greater reliability, and lower mass and volume requiring less stowage space and potentially a smaller launch vehicle.

Actual on-orbit performance of the antenna - its surface smoothness - documented with cameras and sensors for later analysis. Satellite deploy and rendezvous activities also conducted with Passive Aerodynamically-Stabilized Magnetically-Damped Satellite (PAMS), one of four Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS) research payloads. TEAMS payloads located in Hitchhiker carrier in payload bay. Satellite Test Unit (STU) on PAMS deployed on flight day four.

Other TEAMS experiments were Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE); Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE) and Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE).

Secondary experiments included Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE), an instrument designed to supercool infrared and other sensors through cyclical release and absorption of hydrogen; Aquatic Research Facility (ARF), a joint Canadian Space Agency/NASA project that allows investigation of wide range of small aquatic species, including starfish, mussels and sea urchins; Biological Research in a Canister (BRIC 07) to study endocrine functioning; Tank Pressure Control Experiment/ Reduced Fill Level (TPCE/RFL) to develop pressure control for cryogenic tankage; and series of experiments flying in Get Away Special canisters.

Casper spoke with Mir cosmonaut and U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid, who was entering her 65th day aboard the Mir space station. No significant on-orbit problems with orbiter were reported.

• STS-77 - . Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Brown, Bursch, Casper, Garneau, Runco, Thomas, Andrew. Payload: Endeavour F11 / GBA-9. Mass: 12,233 kg (26,969 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Bursch, Casper, Garneau, Runco, Thomas, Andrew. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-77. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Duration: 10.03 days. Decay Date: 1996-05-29 . USAF Sat Cat: 23870 . COSPAR: 1996-032A. Apogee: 285 km (177 mi). Perigee: 274 km (170 mi). Inclination: 39.00 deg. Period: 90.10 min.

  Deployed and retrieved Spartan 2; deployed PAMS-STU; carried Spacehab module. Payloads: Shuttle Pointed Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN) 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE); Technology Experiments Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS) 01 (includes Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE), Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE) (RME 1316), Liquid Metal Test Experiment (LMTE) and Passive Aerodynami-cally Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS) Satellite Test Unit (STU); SPACEHAB-4; Brilliant Eyes Ten-Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE); 12 getaway specials attached to a GAS bridge assembly (GAS 056, 063, 142, 144, 163, 200, 490, 564, 565, 703, 741 and the Reduced-Fill Tank Pressure Control Experiment (RFTPCE); Aquatic Research Facility (ARF) 01; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) 07, Block III.

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder - . Flight: STS-77. "Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder" - The Air Force Song - in honor of Commander John H. Casper, an Air Force Colonel, and pilot Curtis L. Brown, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel..

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Up, Up and Away - . Flight: STS-77. "Up, Up and Away" by The Fifth Dimension in honor of the Inflatable Antenna Experiment conducted yesterday as part of the Spartan mission..

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Anchors Aweigh - . Flight: STS-77. "Anchors Aweigh".

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Milky Way - . Flight: STS-77. "Milky Way" , a children's song provided by Casper's wife, Chris..

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - . Flight: STS-77. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Gloria Estefan requested by Curt Brown's fiancee..

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Down Under - . Flight: STS-77. "Down Under" by Men At Work, in honor of Australian-born Mission Specialist Andy Thomas.

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Up Down, and Touch the Ground - . Flight: STS-77. "Up Down, and Touch the Ground" Tigger and his friends from "Winnie the Pooh" sing-a long.

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Light My Fire - . Flight: STS-77. "Light My Fire" by The Doors. (Pre-sleep music:"Good Night Sweetheart" by The Spaniels..

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: Start Me Up - . Flight: STS-77. "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones.

• STS-77 - Wakeup Song: I Can See Clearly Now - . Flight: STS-77. "I Can See Clearly Now" by Jimmy Cliff .

• Landing of STS-77 - . Return Crew: Brown, Bursch, Casper, Garneau, Runco, Thomas, Andrew. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Bursch, Casper, Garneau, Runco, Thomas, Andrew. Flight: STS-77. STS-77 landed at 11:10 GMT. .