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STS-88
Part of ISS
STS-88
STS-88
Credit: NASA
First ISS assembly mission. Delivered Unity space station node to orbit.

AKA: Endeavour;ISS-2A. Launched: 1998-12-03. Returned: 1998-12-15. Number crew: 6 . Duration: 11.80 days.

First attempted launch of STS-88 was scrubbed at 09:03 GMT on December 2 due to a problem with a hydraulic system sensor. Launch came the next day, with Endeavour entering an initial 75 km x 313 km x 51.6 degree orbit. Half an orbit after launch, at 09:19 GMT, Endeavour fired its OMS engines to raise the orbit to 180 km x 322 km x 51.6 degree.

On December 5 at 22:25 GMT Nancy Currie unberthed the Unity space station node from the payload bay using the RMS arm. She then moved the Unity to a position docked to the Orbiter Docking System in the payload bay in readiness for assembly with the Russian-launched Zarya FGB ISS component. After rendezvous with the Zarya FGB module, on December 6 at 23:47 GMT Endeavour grappled Zarya with the robot arm, and at 02:07 GMT on December 7 it was soft docked to the PMA-1 port on Unity. After some problems hard dock was achieved at 02:48 GMT. Unity and Zarya then formed the core of the future International Space Station. Ross and Newman made three space walks to connect cables between Zarya and Unity, on December 7, 9 and 12. On the last EVA a canvas tool bag was attached to the exterior of Unity to provide tools for future station assembly workers. Docking cables were disconnected to prevent Unity and Zarya from inadvertently undocking. Following an internal examination of the embryonic space station, Endeavour undocked at 20:30 GMT on December 13. The SAC-A and Mightysat satellites were ejected from the payload bay on December 14 and 15. Deorbit burn was December 16 at 03:48 GMT, and Endeavour landed at 04:53:29 GMT, on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center.

Payloads included:

NASA Official Mission Summary:

STS-88
(1st Space Station Flight)
Endeavour
Pad A
93rd Shuttle mission
13th flight OV-105
46th KSC landing
Crew:
Robert D. Cabana, Commander
(4th Shuttle flight)
Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, Pilot (1st)
Nancy J. Currie, Mission Specialist (3rd)
Jerry L. Ross, Mission Specialist (6th)
James H. Newman, Mission Specialist (3rd)
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, Mission Specialist and
Cosmonaut, (4th spaceflight, 2nd Shuttle, 2nd Mir)
Orbiter Preps (move to):
OPF - Feb. 1, 1998
VAB - Oct. 13, 1998
Pad - Oct. 21, 1998

Launch:

December 4, 1998, 3:35:34.075 a.m. EST. The originally scheduled launch of Endeavour on Dec. 3 was postponed for 24 hours when time ran out on the launch window. About 4 minutes prior to launch after orbiter hydraulic systems were powered on, a master alarm associated with hydraulic system number 1 in the crew cabin was noted. The countdown was held at T-31 seconds to further assess the situation. Shuttle system engineers attempted to quickly complete an assessment of the suspect hydraulic system and eventually gave an initial "go" to resume the countdown. With only seconds to respond, launch controllers were unable to resume the countdown in time to launch within the allotted remaining window. The launch was completed on time on Dec. 4.

Landing:

December 15, 1998, 10:53:29 p.m. EST, Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Rollout distance: 8,343 feet. Rollout time: 44 seconds. Mission duration: 11 days, 19 hours and 18 minutes. Landed on orbit 186, logging 4.6-million miles. It marked the 10th nighttime landing in the Shuttle program, the fifth at Kennedy Space Center, the 17th straight landing at Kennedy Space Center, the 24th in the last 25 Shuttle missions to land at the Florida spaceport, the 46th KSC landing in the history of the Shuttle program, and the ninth landing of Endeavour at KSC.

Mission Highlights:

During the 12-day mission to begin assembly of the International Space Station (ISS), all objectives were met. On Dec. 5, the 12.8- ton Unity connecting module was first connected to Endeavour's docking system; on Dec. 6, using the 50-foot-long robot arm, the Zarya control module was captured from orbit and mated to Unity; and astronauts Ross and Newman conducted three spacewalks to attach cables, connectors and hand rails. The two modules were powered up after the astronauts' entry.

Other EVA objectives were met as Ross and Newman tested a Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) unit, a self-rescue device should a spacewalker become separated from the spacecraft during an EVA; nudged two undeployed antennas on Zarya into position; removed launch restraint pins on Unity's four hatchways for mating future additions of station modules and truss structures; installed a sunshade over Unity's two data relay boxes to protect them against harsh sunlight; stowed a tool bag on Unity and disconnected umbilicals used for the mating procedure with Zarya; installed a handrail on Zarya; and made a detailed photographic survey of the Station.

Astronauts completed assembly of an early S-band communications system that allows flight controllers in Houston to send commands to Unity's systems and keep tabs on the health of the station, plus conducted a successful test of the videoconferencing capability of the early communications system which the first permanent crew will use. Krikalev and Currie also replaced a faulty unity in Zarya.

A new spacewalk record was established as Ross completed his seventh walk, totaling 44 hours, nine minutes. Newman moved into third place with four walks totaling 28 hours, 27 minutes. Significant dates and times of the mission: Unity and Zarya were successfully engaged at 9:48 p.m., Dec. 6, and Unity came to life at 10:49 p.m., Dec. 7. At 2:54 p.m., Dec. 10, Cabana and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev floated into the new Station together, followed by the rest of the crew; at 4:12 p.m., Cabana and Krikalev opened the hatch to Zarya and entered; at 5:41 p.m., Dec. 11, Cabana and Krikalev closed the hatch to Zarya; and at 7:26 p.m., they closed the door to Unity. ISS flew free at 3:25 p.m., Dec. 13, as Pilot Rick Sturckow separated Endeavour from the Station.

Secondary objectives that were met were the successful deployment of the Shuttle's KU-band antenna and the Hitchhiker payload, including the MightySat and SAC-A satellites. Problem areas/unexpected events: When the Unity-Zarya fittings would not align properly, it was necessary for the robot arm to loosely grapple Zarya. In addition, several construction items (slidewire carrier, worksite interface socket, retractable tether, trunnion pin cover) floated away from the orbiter; some floodlights failed during EVA; an incompatible connection was found between the activated carbon ion exchange and the hose assembly, but repaired; a camera on the Orbiter Space Vision System experienced binding during fast-rate operation, but could be used for slow-rate; and uncertainties surfaced about the unexpected depletion of the SAFER propellant, gaseous nitrogen.

Mission Objectives The STS-88 "Unity" mission was the first manned International Space Station assembly flight. The primary mission objective was to rendezvous with the already launched Zarya control module and successfully attach the Unity connecting module, providing the foundation for future ISS components.

Launch

Launch Window: 10 minutes
Altitude: 173 nm (210 nm for rendezvous)
Inclination: 51.6 degrees
Duration: 11 Days 19 Hrs. 49 Min.
Shuttle Liftoff Weight: 4,518,390 lbs
Orbiter alone is 263,927 lbs.
Software Version: OI-26B

Space Shuttle Main Engines
SSME 1: SN-2043
SSME 2: SN-2044
SSME 3: SN-2045

Super Light Weight Tank

Abort Landing Sites
RTLS: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC
TAL: Zaragoza, Spain; ALTERNATES: Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain
AOA: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC; ALTERNATES: White Sands Space Harbor, NM

Landing

Primary Landing Site: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC
ALTERNATE: Edwards Air Force Base, CA
Orbiter/Payload Weight at Landing: 200,296 lbs.

Payloads Cargo Bay
UNITY Connecting Module
IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC)
MightySat 1
Satelite de Aplicaciones/Cientifico-A (SAC-A)
Getaway Special G-093
Space Experiment Module (SEM-07)

Endeavour carried the Unity connecting module, the first U.S.-built station module, into orbit. Endeavour's launch followed the launch of the first element of the station, the Zarya control module which took place on Nov. 20, 1998.

Zarya was boosted into orbit by a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. Funded by the U.S. but built in Russia, Zarya acted as a type of space tugboat for the early station, providing propulsion, power, communications and the capability to perform an automated rendezvous and docking with the third module, the Russian-provided Service Module, an early living quarters. Since achieving orbit, Zarya had gone through on-orbit checks and awaited the arrival of Endeavour and Unity. Unity would serve as the main connecting point for later U.S. station modules and components.


More at: STS-88.

Family: Manned spaceflight. People: Cabana, Currie, Krikalyov, Newman, Ross, Sturckow. Country: USA. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Launch Sites: Cape Canaveral. Agency: NASA, NASA Houston.
Photo Gallery

STS-88STS-88
Credit: www.spacefacts.de



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