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STS-95

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STS-95 Credit: NASA

AKA: Discovery. Launched: 1998-10-29. Returned: 1998-11-07. Number crew: 7 . Duration: 8.91 days.

The flight of STS-95 provoked more publicity for NASA than any other flight in years, due to the presence of ex-astronaut Senator John Glenn on the crew, which also included the first Spanish astronaut, Pedro Duque. The US Navy PANSAT student satellite was deployed on Oct 30 into a 550 km x 561 x 28.5 degree orbit. The Spartan 201 satellite was deployed from Discovery on November 1 and retrieved on November 3. Spartan 201 was on its fifth mission to observe the solar corona. The data on this mission would be used to recalibrate the SOHO satellite which recently resumed observation of the Sun following loss of control. Discovery landed at 17:03:31 GMT November 7 on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA Official Mission Summary:

STS-95
(John Glenn's Flight)
Discovery
Pad B
92nd Shuttle mission
25th flight OV-103
45th KSC landing
1st U.S. President to attend
a Shuttle launch
1st flight Space Shuttle Main
Engine-Block II
Crew:
Curtis L. Brown, Commander (5th Shuttle flight)
Steven W. Lindsey, Pilot (2nd)
Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist (3rd)
Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist (2nd)
Pedro Duque, Mission Specialist (1st) (European Space Agency)
Chiaki Mukai, Payload Specialist (2nd) (National Space and Development Agency of Japan)
John H. Glenn Jr., Payload Specialist (1st Shuttle, 2nd spaceflight)
Orbiter Preps (move to):
OPF - June 15, 1998
VAB - Sept. 14, 1998
Pad - Sept. 21, 1998

Launch:

October 29, 1998, 2:19:34 p.m. EST. At 12:30 p.m., the hatch was closed with crew inside the Space Shuttle Discovery, just as President Bill Clinton's Air Force One plane touched down at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station skid strip. The countdown proceeded to T-9 minutes, but was held an additional 8.5 minutes while the launch team discussed the status of a master alarm heard during cabin leak checks after hatch closure. Once the count picked up and the Orbiter Access Arm was retracted, the Range Safety Officer (RSO) requested a hold at T-5 minutes due to aircraft in the restricted air space around KSC. Once the aircraft cleared the area, the RSO gave the all-clear signal and the countdown proceeded. Following main engine start, and prior to booster ignition, the drag chute compartment door fell off but posed no problem for the mission. Managers decided not to deploy the chute upon landing.

Landing:

November 7, 1998, 12:04 p.m. EST, Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. No drag chute deployed. Just after landing, Astronaut John Glenn said, "One G and I feel fine." Rollout distance: 9,508 feet. Rollout time: 59 seconds. Mission duration: eight days, 21 hours, 44 minutes. Landed on orbit 135. Logged 3.6 million statute miles. Discovery landed on first opportunity at KSC, marking the 16th consecutive landing at KSC and 23rd in the last 24 Shuttle missions. This was Discovery's 13th landing at KSC and the 45th KSC landing in the history of the Shuttle program.

Mission Highlights:

The primary objectives of STS-95 included conducting a variety of science experiments in the pressurized SPACEHAB module, the deployment and retrieval of the Spartan free-flyer payload, and operations with the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker payloads being carried in the payload bay. The scientific research mission also returned space pioneer John Glenn to orbit - 36 years, eight months and nine days after he became the first American to orbit the Earth.

A slate of more than 80 experiments filled the nearly nine days in space. In addition to a variety of medical and material research, the crew released the Petite Amateur Naval Satellite, or PANSAT, to test innovative technologies to capture and transmit radio signals that normally would be lost because the original signals were too weak or contained too much interference. The crew also released the Spartan free-flying satellite to study the sun and the solar wind in a research effort to help scientists better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread disruptions of communications and power supplies on Earth.

Medical research during the mission included a battery of tests on Payload Specialist Glenn and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque to further research how the absence of gravity affects balance and perception, immune system response, bone and muscle density, metabolism and blood flow, and sleep.

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test provided an on-orbit test bed for hardware that will be used during the third Hubble servicing mission.

Mission Objectives - The primary mission objectives are to successfully perform the planned operations of the four primary payloads: SPACEHAB, HOST, IEH-03, and SPARTAN-201.

Launch Site: Pad 39-B Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Altitude: 300 nautical miles
Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Duration: 8 Days 21 Hrs. 50 Min.
Shuttle Liftoff Weight: 4,521,918 lbs.
Software Version: OI-26B
Super Light Weight Tank

Abort Landing Sites:
RTLS: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC
TAL: Banjul, The Gambia; Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain
AOA: Edwards Air Force Base, California

Space Shuttle Main Engines
SSME 1: #2048
SSME 2: #2043
SSME 3: #2045

Payloads

Cargo Bay:
SPACEHAB
SPARTAN 201-5
HST Orbital Systems Test Platform (HOST)
International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3)
Cryogenic Thermal Storage Unit (CRYOTSU)
Space Experiment Module (SEM) - 4
Getaway Special (GAS) Program

In-Cabin:
Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC)
Electronic Nose (E-NOSE)

Photo Gallery

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STS-95 Credit: www.spacefacts.de

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• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The Shuttle Discovery blasted off into a cloudless sky today at 1:19 p.m. Central time from the Kennedy Space Center to kick off a planned nine-day scientific research mission and to return John Glenn to space, 36 years, 8 months and nine days after he became the first American to orbit the Earth. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Curbeam, Glenn, Mukai, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The crew of Discovery sailed through an opening day in orbit this afternoon, staying ahead of schedule for the most part as they prepared the spacecraft and a slate of more than 80 experiments for nine days in orbit.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - . Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Payload: Discovery F25. Mass: 116,884 kg (257,685 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: Douglas. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-95. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Discovery. Duration: 8.91 days. Decay Date: 1998-11-07 . USAF Sat Cat: 25519 . COSPAR: 1998-064A. Apogee: 557 km (346 mi). Perigee: 536 km (333 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 95.60 min.

  The flight of STS-95 provoked more publicity for NASA than any other flight in years, due to the presence of ex-astronaut Senator John Glenn on the crew, which also included the first Spanish astronaut, Pedro Duque. The US Navy PANSAT student satellite was deployed on Oct 30 into a 550 km x 561 x 28.5 degree orbit. The Spartan 201 satellite was deployed from Discovery on November 1 and retrieved on November 3. Spartan 201 was on its fifth mission to observe the solar corona. The data on this mission would be used to recalibrate the SOHO satellite which recently resumed observation of the Sun following loss of control. Discovery landed at 17:03:31 GMT November 7 on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: What a Wonderful World - . Flight: STS-95. "What a Wonderful World" Louis Armstrong. Played for Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski from his wife, Gail. CAPCOM: Mike Gernhardt.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 03 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's astronauts will spend their first full day in space supporting wide-ranging activities, from releasing a small communications satellite to studying the behavior of materials at an atomic level.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 04 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Lindsey, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's crew moved through a steady pace of experiments during the Shuttle's first full day in orbit, releasing a miniature telecommunications satellite and conducting a variety of medical and material research.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: Cachito - . Flight: STS-95. "Cachito" Nat King Cole. This song about parenthood was directed to Pedro Duque and his wife, Consuelo, who recently has a baby. CAPCOM: Mike Gernhardt.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 05 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Mukai, Parazynski. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Medical investigations will begin in earnest today as Discovery's crew moves forward with research comparing the changes the human body goes through when making trips into orbit with the changes that occur as part of the natural aging process on Earth.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 06 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's crew spent much of the last half of today in preparation for tomorrow's planned release of the Spartan solar science satellite, checking out the tools and equipment that will be used during the release and separation from the satellite.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Mukai, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's crew released a second satellite today, a telescope package that will fly free of the Shuttle for two days to study the sun and the solar wind, research that may help scientists better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread disruptions of communications and power supplies on Earth. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 07 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Lindsey, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Chris Rice's "Hallelujahs" awakened Discovery's seven astronauts at 6:35 a.m. Central time today to begin their fourth day of science activities. The song was requested by pilot Steve Lindsey's wife, Diane. Today's primary activity will be deployment at 1:03 p.m. CST this afternoon of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which will fly free of Discovery for two days studying the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: This Pretty Planet - . Flight: STS-95. "This Pretty Planet" Tom Chapin requested by pilot Steve Lindsay's wife Diane And/or"Hallelujahs" by Chris Rice. CAPCOM: Mike Gernhardt.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 10 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's crew took a few hours break from the continuous pace of research activity on board today, a standard rest period for the crew that is planned during longer shuttle flights.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: Moon River - . Flight: STS-95. "Moon River" Andy Williams. Annie Glenn requested it as a tribute to the friendship between Williams and her husband. CAPCOM: Chris Hadfield.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Husband, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 6 a.m. Central time this morning by Andy Williams' rendition of the 1962 Academy Award winning song, "Moon River." Annie Glenn requested the song as a tribute to the longstanding friendship between Williams and her husband, Payload Specialist John Glenn. The seven crew members are looking forward to some free time today, following yesterday's successful deployment of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which will study the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere until it is retrieved by Discovery tomorrow. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 11 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts began the second half of their flight at 5:25 a.m. Central time this morning to the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "If the House is A-Rockin," in honor of Mission Specialist Steve Robinson. Robinson is known as "Stevie Ray Robinson" by the other members of the astronaut band known as "Max Q". After enjoying a break in their schedule yesterday, the crew is focusing its attention on this afternoon's retrieval of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which has spent the past two days studying the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere. Retrieval is set for 2:45 p.m. Central time. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The SPARTAN satellite was captured and returned to its berth this afternoon, successfully completing its two-day solar science mission. SPARTAN Mission Manager Craig Toohey congratulated the crew and flight control team on their performance in executing the mission exactly as planned. Toohey said that 30 percent of the science data already had been linked to the ground and the remainder would be off-loaded at landing. SPARTAN Scientist Dr. Richard Fisher noted that investigators were pleased to have the satellite in orbit near a solar maximum cycle and that its instruments had captured sought-after data on a solar mass ejection event. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: The House is Rockin' - . Flight: STS-95. "The House is Rockin'" Stevie Ray Vaughn. In honor of Mission Specialist Steve Robinson known as"Stevie Ray Robinson" by other members of his astronaut band,"Max Q" CAPCOM: Chris Hadfield.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Music from Japan awakened Discovery's astronauts at 4:50 a.m. Central time this morning. "Wakaki Chi," a cheering song from Keio University where Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai received her medical degree, was played in recognition of the phone call she will receive at 2:55 p.m. from Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Yutaka Takeyama. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 14 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The seventh day in orbit for Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member astronaut crew was packed with ongoing science operations. Early in the day, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, assisted by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, tested the Orbiter Space Vision System. OSVS uses special markings on Spartan and the shuttle cargo bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's operator using shuttle television images. This was its final on-orbit test before going into operational use on the next Space Shuttle flight in December as an aid in using the arm to join together the first two modules of the International Space Station. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: Wakaki Chi - . Flight: STS-95. "Wakaki Chi" ("Young Spirit") a cheering song from Keio University where Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai received her medical degree. CAPCOM: Chris Hadfield.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The Moody Blues awakened Discovery's seven astronauts at 4:15 a.m. Central time this morning for their eighth day of on-orbit science activities. The song, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere," was chosen by Commander Curt Brown's family.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 16 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Some of the 80-plus experiments aboard Discovery were being wrapped up today as the end of the STS-95 mission approaches. Others will continue through Friday afternoon, the final full day on orbit.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: I Know You're Out There Somewhere - . Flight: STS-95. "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" The Moody Blues. Chosen by Commander Curt Brown's family. CAPCOM: Scott Horowitz.

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: Voyage Into Space - . Flight: STS-95. "Voyage Into Space" , an original composition written for John Glenn by composer and pianist Peter Nero, a long-time friend of the Glenns. CAPCOM: Scott Horowitz.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 17 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Glenn, Lindsey. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 3:40 a.m. Central time this morning to begin their final full day in orbit and make preparations to assure that Discovery is ready for entry and landing. Today's wake-up song was "Voyage into Space," an original composition written for John Glenn by composer and pianist Peter Nero, a long-time friend of the Glenns. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 18 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Lindsey, Ross. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's seven-member crew Friday packed up and prepared for the trip home Saturday with a landing planned for mid-day at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 - Wakeup Song: La Cucaracha - . Flight: STS-95. "La Cucaracha" . Played for Pedro Duque at request of his wife, Consuelo. CAPCOM: Scott Horowitz.

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 19 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Duque, Ross. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  The seven astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery were awakened at 3:09 a.m. this morning to make final preparations for their return to Earth later this morning. "La Cucaracha," a well-known Spanish song, was played for Mission Specialist Pedro Duque at the request of his wife, Consuelo. Additional Details: here....

• STS-95 Mission Status Report # 20 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95.

  Discovery's astronauts glided to a smooth landing at the Kennedy Space Center today to wrap up a nine-day, 3.6 million mile mission which marked the return of John Glenn to orbit and saw the crew members successfully conduct more than 80 scientific experiments. Additional Details: here....

• Landing of STS-95 - . Return Crew: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. STS-95 landed at 17:03 GMT. .