STS-113 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

STS-113 was a Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

mission to the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

(ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour

Space Shuttle Endeavour

Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...

. During the 14-day mission in late 2002, Endeavour and its crew extended the ISS backbone with the P1 truss

Integrated Truss Structure

the Integrated Truss Structure forms the backbone of the International Space Station, with mountings for unpressurized logistics carriers, radiators, solar arrays, and other equipment.-History:...

and exchanged the Expedition 5

Expedition 5

Expedition 5 was the fifth long-duration stay on the International Space Station . The crew, consisting of three people, remained in space for 184 days, 178 of which were spent aboard the ISS...

and Expedition 6

Expedition 6

Expedition 6 was the sixth expedition to the International Space Station. It was the last three man crew to reside on the station until the arrival of STS-121...

crews aboard the station. With Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Paul Lockhart at the controls, Endeavour docked with the station on 25 November 2002 to begin seven days of station assembly, spacewalks and crew and equipment transfers. This was Endeavour’s last flight before entering its Orbiter Major Modification period until 2007, and also the last shuttle mission before the Columbia disaster.

Crew

Mission highlights

STS-113 was an Assembly Mission (11A) to the International Space Station

International Space Station

, delivering the P1 Truss

Integrated Truss Structure

the Integrated Truss Structure forms the backbone of the International Space Station, with mountings for unpressurized logistics carriers, radiators, solar arrays, and other equipment.-History:...

segment, which provides structural support for the Space Station radiators. Mission Specialists John Herrington

John Herrington

John Bennett Herrington is an American business executive, former US Navy officer and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of one Space Shuttle mission. He is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space....

and Michael Lopez-Alegria

Michael Lopez-Alegria

Michael Eladio "LA" López-Alegría b. May 30, 1958, is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission...

performed three spacewalks to activate and outfit the P1. The STS-113 crew and both Expedition crews transferred about 1,969 kilograms (4,340 pounds) of cargo between the shuttle and station.

STS-113 delivered the Expedition 6

Expedition 6

Expedition 6 was the sixth expedition to the International Space Station. It was the last three man crew to reside on the station until the arrival of STS-121...

crew to the station for a four-month increment. The Expedition 5

Expedition 5

Expedition 5 was the fifth long-duration stay on the International Space Station . The crew, consisting of three people, remained in space for 184 days, 178 of which were spent aboard the ISS...

crew returned to Earth aboard STS-113, ending an 185-day stay in space.

STS-113 came to a close when Endeavour

Space Shuttle Endeavour

glided in to a landing at Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center

The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...

on 7 December. It was the 19th flight of Endeavour, the 112th shuttle mission, and the 16th shuttle mission to the station. The landing was the first time a mission ended on the fourth day of landing attempts.

Also carried aboard STS-113 was the Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS

Microelectromechanical systems

Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...

) based Pico Satellite Inspector. This payload deployed two small satellites which are connected via a 15 metres (49.2 ft) tether.

STS-113 was the last successful mission before STS-107

STS-107

-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...

. Gus Loria

Christopher Loria

Christopher Joseph "Gus" Loria is a United States Marine Corps officer and a former NASA astronaut. He was originally scheduled to fly on STS-113 as pilot, however he was grounded from spaceflight due to a severe back injury.-Personal:Born July 9, 1960 in Belmont, Massachusetts. He considers...

was originally scheduled to fly as the pilot for this mission, but was replaced due to an injury. His replacement was Paul S. Lockhart

STS-113 was the final mission during which Russian cosmonauts flew on the Space Shuttle.

Mission parameters

Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

:
- Orbiter Liftoff: 116460 kilograms (256,750.4 lb)
- Orbiter Landing: 91498 kilograms (201,718.6 lb)
- Payload: 12477 kilograms (27,507.1 lb)
Perigee
Perigee
Perigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...

: 379 kilometres (235.5 mi)
Apogee: 397 kilometres (246.7 mi)
Inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...

: 51.6°
Period
Orbital period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...

: 92.3 min

Docking with ISS

Docked: 25 November 2002, 21:59:00 UTC
Undocked: 2 December 2002, 20:50:00 UTC
Time Docked: 6 days, 22 h, 51 min, 00 s

Spacewalks

	Mission	Spacewalkers	Start – UTC	End – UTC	Duration	Mission
47.	STS-113 EVA 1	Michael Lopez-Alegria Michael Lopez-Alegria Michael Eladio "LA" López-Alegría b. May 30, 1958, is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission... John Herrington John Herrington John Bennett Herrington is an American business executive, former US Navy officer and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of one Space Shuttle mission. He is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space....	26 November 2002 19:49	27 November 2002 02:34	6 h, 45 min	Install P1 truss
48.	STS-113 EVA 2	Michael Lopez-Alegria Michael Lopez-Alegria Michael Eladio "LA" López-Alegría b. May 30, 1958, is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission... John Herrington John Herrington John Bennett Herrington is an American business executive, former US Navy officer and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of one Space Shuttle mission. He is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space....	28 November 2002 18:36	29 November 2002 00:46	6 h, 10 min	Install TV cameras, move CETA
49.	STS-113 EVA 3	Michael Lopez-Alegria Michael Lopez-Alegria Michael Eladio "LA" López-Alegría b. May 30, 1958, is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission... John Herrington John Herrington John Bennett Herrington is an American business executive, former US Navy officer and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of one Space Shuttle mission. He is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space....	30 November 2002 19:25	1 December 2002 02:25	7 h, 00 min	Inspect Mobile Transporter

External links

NASA mission summary
Status reports – Detailed NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

status reports for each day of the mission.
STS-113 Video Highlights