STS-130
Encyclopedia
STS-130 was a NASA
Space Shuttle
mission to the International Space Station
(ISS). 's primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center, providing a 360-degree view around the station. Endeavour launched at 04:14 EST (09:14 UTC) on 8 February 2010 and landed at 22:20 EST on 21 February 2010 on runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center
's Shuttle Landing Facility.
STS-130 carried Tranquility and the Cupola to the International Space Station. Tranquility was shipped from the Thales Alenia Space
facility in Turin, Italy. It arrived at Kennedy Space Center
on 21 May 2009. It was formerly known as Node 3, and was named by a NASA poll.
to the Vehicle Assembly Building
High bay 1 on 11 December 2009. Roll over began at 13:00 EST
and was completed 1 hour and 5 minutes later at 14:05 EST.
Endeavour moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39A
. The process started at 04:13 EST on 6 January 2010. Before rolling out to the launch pad, engineers at Kennedy Space Center
had an extended preparation time to get Endeavour ready to move to the launch pad due to the unusually cold weather. The 3.4 miles (5.5 km) was completed at 10:37 EST. The trip took 6hrs 24min.
. The second launch attempt was successful at 04:14:08 EST (9:14:08 UTC) 8 February 2010. Forecasters originally predicted a 70% chance of favorable launch weather conditions, but that degraded to 30% hours before the planned launch due to low clouds.
launched successfully at 4:14:08 EST (9:14:08 UTC). When Endeavour lifted off, the space station was traveling about 212 miles over western Romania. Once in orbit the crew opened the payload bay doors, activated the radiators and deployed the Ku band
antenna. Nick Patrick
and Kay Hire then proceeded to activate, did a check out of the Shuttle Robotic Arm (SRMS) and then conducted a survey of the payload bay. The crew was also successful in down-linking imagery and video of the external tank to the ground.
(TPS). All six of the crew members participated at one point during this task. Once the inspection process had moved to the port wing, astronauts Bob Behnken
and Nick Patrick
began working on checking out and preparing the spacesuits that will be used during the mission's three spacewalks. Once the survey of the TPS was complete, Stephen Robinson
and Kay Hire, with Bob Behnken joining once his spacesuit tasks were complete, began checking out and preparing the tools that will be used during the rendezvous with the International Space Station
(ISS). These tools include a hand-held LIDAR
gun used for finding out the closing rate of the shuttle and distance from the ISS, the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) which is the part of the shuttle that connects to the space station and a centerline camera in the ODS to assist the commander George Zamka during docking.
and flight engineer Oleg Kotov
took photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS). Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the ISS at 5:26 UTC (00:06 EST
). After completing leak checks the hatches between both vehicles were opened at 6:26 UTC (1:26 EST). The joint Expedition 22
/STS-130 crew conducted the standard welcome ceremony and then conducted their safety brief. Once that was complete commander George Zamka, Bob Behnken and Steve Robinson began transferring the spacesuits Behnken and Nick Patrick will use for the three spacewalks. Also during this time Nick Patrick and ISS flight engineer T.J. Creamer picked up the OBSS boom and handed it off to the space shuttle robot arm using the station's SSRMS or Canadarm2. The shuttle arm was operated by Kay Hire and pilot Terry Virts.
and Bob Behnken get all the tools they need ready for their spacewalk on flight day 5. While Patrick and Behnken were getting the tools ready, commander George Zamka and ISS flight engineer Soichi Noguchi
swapped out the Hard Upper Torso (HUT) on Bob Behnken's suit, since the original HUT had developed a problem with a wire harness and was not powering the Wireless Video System (WVS) or the heaters in his gloves and boots. Once the swap was complete, Zamka and Noguchi tested the suit successfully. The crew also performed a number of transfer related activities during the morning of their work day. After a joint meal together, the crew of STS-130 and ISS commander Jeff Williams and flight engineer T.J. Creamer conducted a PAO event with T.V. stations in Sacramento
, California, Mobile
, Alabama and a radio station in St. Louis
, Missouri. Once the PAO event was finished, the joint crews had some off duty time for the rest of the day. Before the two crews went to bed they conducted a spacewalk procedures review, then got Nick Patrick and Bob Behnken into the Quest Airlock. Behnken and Patrick spent the night there at 10.2 psi instead of at the station's 14.6 psi, breathing pure oxygen for an hour before and after their sleep period in order to prevent decompression sickness
.
. Once the new module was in place, the spacewalkers proceeded to connect temporary heater and data cables between Unity and Tranquility. Behnken and Patrick were ahead of the timeline so they were also able to complete some get-ahead tasks. The spacewalk was completed six and a half hours later, on Friday, 08:49 UTC. After the spacewalk, other crew members completed transfer-related tasks. The transfers are now over halfway complete.
. Massimino asked Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick questions he received through his twitter account. Later in the day Kay Hire and Terry Virts took questions from the Associated Press
, CBS News
and Reuters
. At the end of the day the whole crew conducted another EVA procedures review in preparation for EVA2.
were able to complete all their planned tasks in 5 hours and 54 minutes. The tasks included installing ammonia
coolant loops, thermal blankets to protect the ammonia hoses, outfitting the earth facing port of Tranquility for the Cupola, install handrails and a non-propulsive vent valve (NPV). During the connection of one of the ammonia hoses, a small amount of ammonia leaked out of a quick disconnect valve and floated towards Nick Patrick. Procedures called for a "bake-out" while Patrick worked during the sunlit portion of the orbit, and a contamination test in the airlock. The bake-out happened at the end of the spacewalk. While the spacewalk was happening, Terry Virts and Kay Hire along with ISS commander Jeff Williams, Soichi Noguchi
and T.J. Creamer, continued outfitting the Tranquility module. This included setting up the ventilation system, connecting electrical and computer cables and configuring racks. They confirmed lights and computers were on in the node once the ammonia cooling system had been activated. The crew also received word the mission had been extended by one day in the morning.
(PMA3) from the Harmony node, where it was temporarily located, to its permanent home on the end of Tranquility. The PMA will provide protection from micro-meteoroid debris. PMA3 was moved by Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick, with help from Jeff Williams and Soichi Noguchi to release the PMA3. During the PMA3 relocation, Kay Hire and Terry Virts continued work on outfitting the Cupola. The joint Expedition 22/STS-130 crews enjoyed a meal together and had some off-duty time in the 2nd half of their day. Before the scheduled bedtime the entire crew conducted another EVA procedures review for the third and final EVA of the mission.
and several school children. After the conference with President Obama and the children, the crew members began transferring Environmental control and life support system
(ECLSS) racks to the Tranquility module. These transfers were done by ISS commander Jeff Williams, flight engineer T.J. Creamer, shuttle commander George Zamka and mission specialist Stephen Robinson and took most of the day. Also during the day pilot Terry Virts continued working on getting the Cupola set-up for the robotics work station. He had a small problem installing some corner panels which are needed to hold the workstation. Spacewalkers Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick were busy reconfiguring the airlock for use by the station crew and later flights. They also transferred their spacesuits and tools back to the shuttle for the return trip home. After the rack transfers were done the crew completed some more transfers and passed the 75% complete mark. The space shuttle commanded by commander Zamka and pilot Terry Virts completed a reboost of the station using its vernier thrusters.
(RCS). Commander Zamka also did communications checks with mission control through the tracking stations at Merit Island
, White Sands Space Harbor
and Edwards Air Force Base
. These checks are routine for the day before landing and were all successful. While all the system checkouts were going on, the rest of the crew were stowing items no longer needed during the flight. During the early part of the day Stephen Robinson and Terry Virts also stowed and deactivated the space shuttle robotic arm. The entire crew also took time out of their day to conduct an in-flight interview with CNN
, CNN Español and Univision
.
s and getting into their launch and entry suits. Commander George Zamka and pilot Terry Virts fired Endeavours 2 OMS engines for 2min 38sec, this slowed Endeavour by about 200 ft/s (136.4 mph). The decision to go ahead with the de-orbit burn was made 25min prior to the burn occurring. Landing occurred at 22:22:10 EST at the Kennedy Space Center's
Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15. The crew exited the orbiter and inspected it about 2hrs after landing. All 6 crew members spoke to the press on the runway before heading back to the Operations & Check-out building.
.
Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
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...
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). 's primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center, providing a 360-degree view around the station. Endeavour launched at 04:14 EST (09:14 UTC) on 8 February 2010 and landed at 22:20 EST on 21 February 2010 on runway 15 at the 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...
's Shuttle Landing Facility.
Crew
Mission parameters
- MassMassMass 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:...
: - Total liftoff weight:4521961 lbs
- Orbiter liftoff weight:267470 lbs
- Landing weight:200694 lbs
- PerigeeApsisAn apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
: 212 miles (341.2 km) - ApogeeApsisAn apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
: 221 miles (355.7 km) - InclinationInclinationInclination 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 - PeriodOrbital periodThe 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 min
Mission payload
| Location | Cargo | Mass |
|---|---|---|
| Bays 1–2 | Orbiter Docking System EMU Extravehicular Mobility Unit The Space Shuttle/International Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit is an independent anthropomorphic system that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for a Space Shuttle or International Space Station crew member to perform extra-vehicular activity... 3004 / EMU 3005 |
1800 kilograms (3,968.3 lb) ~260 kilograms (573.2 lb) |
| Bay 3P | Shuttle Power Distribution Unit (SPDU) |
~17 kilograms (37.5 lb) |
| Bay 7P | APC/SPDU | 18 kilograms (39.7 lb) |
| Bay 7 | Cupola | 1805 kilograms (3,979.3 lb) |
| Bays 8–12 | Tranquility Node | 13004 kilograms (28,668.9 lb) |
| Starboard Sill | Orbiter Boom Sensor System Orbiter Boom Sensor System The Orbiter Boom Sensor System is a 50-foot boom carried on board NASA's Space Shuttles. The boom can be grappled by the Canadarm and serves as an extension of the arm, doubling its length to a combined total of 100 feet... |
~382 kilograms (842.2 lb) |
| Port Sill | Canadarm 201 | 410 kilograms (903.9 lb) |
| Total: | 17696 kilograms (39,013 lb) |
STS-130 carried Tranquility and the Cupola to the International Space Station. Tranquility was shipped from the Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
facility in Turin, Italy. It arrived 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 21 May 2009. It was formerly known as Node 3, and was named by a NASA poll.
Shuttle processing
was moved from her hangar in the Orbiter Processing Facility 2Orbiter Processing Facility
An Orbiter Processing Facility was one of three hangars where U.S. space shuttle orbiters underwent maintenance between flights. All three such facilities, OPF-1, OPF-2 and OPF-3, were located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at Launch Complex 39.They were located west of the Vehicle...
to the Vehicle Assembly Building
Vehicle Assembly Building
The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center was used to assemble and house American manned launch vehicles from 1968-2011. It is the fourth largest building in the world by volume...
High bay 1 on 11 December 2009. Roll over began at 13:00 EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
and was completed 1 hour and 5 minutes later at 14:05 EST.
Endeavour moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39A
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
Launch Complex 39 is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified to support Space Shuttle operations. NASA began modifying LC-39 in 2007 to...
. The process started at 04:13 EST on 6 January 2010. Before rolling out to the launch pad, engineers 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...
had an extended preparation time to get Endeavour ready to move to the launch pad due to the unusually cold weather. The 3.4 miles (5.5 km) was completed at 10:37 EST. The trip took 6hrs 24min.
Launch attempts
The first launch attempt was scheduled for 04:39:00 EST 7 February 2010, but was scrubbed due to clouds over the Kennedy Space CenterKennedy 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...
. The second launch attempt was successful at 04:14:08 EST (9:14:08 UTC) 8 February 2010. Forecasters originally predicted a 70% chance of favorable launch weather conditions, but that degraded to 30% hours before the planned launch due to low clouds.
Mission milestones
The mission marked:- 161st NASA manned space flight
- 130th shuttle mission since STS-1STS-1STS-1 was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Space Shuttle Columbia launched on 12 April 1981, and returned to Earth on 14 April, having orbited the Earth 37 times during the 54.5-hour mission. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project...
- 24th flight of Endeavour
- 32nd shuttle mission to the ISS
- 10th flight of Endeavour to the ISS
- 1st shuttle flight in 2010
- 105th post-ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
mission - 17th post-ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia disasterThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
mission - 34th night launch of a shuttle, 21st night launch from launch pad 39A
8 February (Flight Day 1: Launch)
EndeavourSpace 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...
launched successfully at 4:14:08 EST (9:14:08 UTC). When Endeavour lifted off, the space station was traveling about 212 miles over western Romania. Once in orbit the crew opened the payload bay doors, activated the radiators and deployed the Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
antenna. Nick Patrick
Nicholas Patrick
Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space....
and Kay Hire then proceeded to activate, did a check out of the Shuttle Robotic Arm (SRMS) and then conducted a survey of the payload bay. The crew was also successful in down-linking imagery and video of the external tank to the ground.
9 February (Flight Day 2)
Most of the crew day was spent on conducting the standard inspection of the thermal protection systemSpace Shuttle thermal protection system
The Space Shuttle thermal protection system is the barrier that protects the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the searing heat of atmospheric reentry...
(TPS). All six of the crew members participated at one point during this task. Once the inspection process had moved to the port wing, astronauts Bob Behnken
Robert L. Behnken
Robert Louis "Bob" Behnken is an engineer, U. S. Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut. Behnken holds a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering and has reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Bob Behnken has logged over 1000 flight hours in 25 different aircraft. He flew on Space...
and Nick Patrick
Nicholas Patrick
Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space....
began working on checking out and preparing the spacesuits that will be used during the mission's three spacewalks. Once the survey of the TPS was complete, Stephen Robinson
Stephen Robinson
Stephen Kern Robinson is a NASA astronaut. He was born October 26, 1955, in Sacramento, California.He enjoys flying, antique aircraft, swimming, canoeing, hiking, music, art, and stereo photography. He plays lead guitar in Max Q, a rock and roll band...
and Kay Hire, with Bob Behnken joining once his spacesuit tasks were complete, began checking out and preparing the tools that will be used during the rendezvous with 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). These tools include a hand-held LIDAR
LIDAR
LIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance to, or other properties of a target by illuminating the target with light, often using pulses from a laser...
gun used for finding out the closing rate of the shuttle and distance from the ISS, the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) which is the part of the shuttle that connects to the space station and a centerline camera in the ODS to assist the commander George Zamka during docking.
10 February (Flight Day 3: Rendezvous with ISS)
During the first part of the crew's workday, they performed a series of burns to catch up and dock with the International Space Station (ISS). Once the shuttle was 600 feet (182.9 m) below the ISS, commander George Zamka began what is known as the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM). During the maneuver, ISS commander Jeff WilliamsJeff Williams
Jeffrey Francis Williams is an Australian-born, left-handed pitcher who was best known for playing for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. He is a specialist set-up pitcher, or closer.-Olympics:...
and flight engineer Oleg Kotov
Oleg Kotov
Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov was born October 27, 1965, in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a military pilot, he joined the Russian cosmonaut corps. He has flown two long duration spaceflight on the International Space Station logging just short of a year in space...
took photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS). Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the ISS at 5:26 UTC (00:06 EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
). After completing leak checks the hatches between both vehicles were opened at 6:26 UTC (1:26 EST). The joint Expedition 22
Expedition 22
Expedition 22 was the 22nd long duration crew flight to the International Space Station . This expedition began in November 2009 when the Expedition 21 crew departed. For a period of 3 weeks, there were only 2 crew members; it was the first time that had happened since STS-114 had delivered a third...
/STS-130 crew conducted the standard welcome ceremony and then conducted their safety brief. Once that was complete commander George Zamka, Bob Behnken and Steve Robinson began transferring the spacesuits Behnken and Nick Patrick will use for the three spacewalks. Also during this time Nick Patrick and ISS flight engineer T.J. Creamer picked up the OBSS boom and handed it off to the space shuttle robot arm using the station's SSRMS or Canadarm2. The shuttle arm was operated by Kay Hire and pilot Terry Virts.
11 February (Flight Day 4: Spacewalk 1 preparation)
Flight day 4 saw Nick PatrickNicholas Patrick
Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space....
and Bob Behnken get all the tools they need ready for their spacewalk on flight day 5. While Patrick and Behnken were getting the tools ready, commander George Zamka and ISS flight engineer Soichi Noguchi
Soichi Noguchi
is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and a JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was most recently in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and...
swapped out the Hard Upper Torso (HUT) on Bob Behnken's suit, since the original HUT had developed a problem with a wire harness and was not powering the Wireless Video System (WVS) or the heaters in his gloves and boots. Once the swap was complete, Zamka and Noguchi tested the suit successfully. The crew also performed a number of transfer related activities during the morning of their work day. After a joint meal together, the crew of STS-130 and ISS commander Jeff Williams and flight engineer T.J. Creamer conducted a PAO event with T.V. stations in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, California, Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama and a radio station in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri. Once the PAO event was finished, the joint crews had some off duty time for the rest of the day. Before the two crews went to bed they conducted a spacewalk procedures review, then got Nick Patrick and Bob Behnken into the Quest Airlock. Behnken and Patrick spent the night there at 10.2 psi instead of at the station's 14.6 psi, breathing pure oxygen for an hour before and after their sleep period in order to prevent decompression sickness
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
.
12 February (Flight Day 5: Spacewalk 1)
Flight day 5 saw astronauts Nick Patrick and Bob Behnken perform the mission's first spacewalk, which began on time at 02:17 UTC. Their first task was to move the payload bay of Endeavour and prepare and release launch locks on the Tranquility module and Cupola. Once Behnken and Patrick were clear of its path, the Tranquility module was moved to the port side of the Unity node using the space station's robot arm. Before Tranquility was installed the spacewalkers removed Dextre's ORU platform and secured it to one of the truss segments to function as a backup for a platform to be installed on STS-132STS-132
STS-132 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on 16 May 2010. STS-132 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 14 May 2010. The primary payload was the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module, along with an Integrated...
. Once the new module was in place, the spacewalkers proceeded to connect temporary heater and data cables between Unity and Tranquility. Behnken and Patrick were ahead of the timeline so they were also able to complete some get-ahead tasks. The spacewalk was completed six and a half hours later, on Friday, 08:49 UTC. After the spacewalk, other crew members completed transfer-related tasks. The transfers are now over halfway complete.
13 February (Flight Day 6: Spacewalk 2 preparation)
On flight day 6 members of the joint crew opened the hatches to the new Tranquility module for the first time. STS-130 crew-members George Zamka, Terry Virts, Stephen Robinson and Kay Hire all helped in the initial outfitting of the node. During the initial outfitting, Terry Virts and Kay Hire prepared the Cupola for its move from the end of Node 3. While that was going on spacewalkers Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick re-sized and repaired Bob Behnken's original suit for use by Nick Patrick, after a small problem with a fan was discovered. Once that task was complete the pair began getting their tools ready for the second of three spacewalks. Throughout the day there were 2 PAO events, the first was a special event conducted by Capcom Mike MassiminoMichael J. Massimino
Michael James Massimino is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Mike is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, both of which serviced the Hubble Space Telescope , including the historic final repair mission.-Personal life:...
. Massimino asked Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick questions he received through his twitter account. Later in the day Kay Hire and Terry Virts took questions from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
and Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
. At the end of the day the whole crew conducted another EVA procedures review in preparation for EVA2.
14 February (Flight Day 7: Spacewalk 2)
The second of three spacewalks was completed on flight day 7. Bob Behnken and Nick PatrickNicholas Patrick
Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space....
were able to complete all their planned tasks in 5 hours and 54 minutes. The tasks included installing ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
coolant loops, thermal blankets to protect the ammonia hoses, outfitting the earth facing port of Tranquility for the Cupola, install handrails and a non-propulsive vent valve (NPV). During the connection of one of the ammonia hoses, a small amount of ammonia leaked out of a quick disconnect valve and floated towards Nick Patrick. Procedures called for a "bake-out" while Patrick worked during the sunlit portion of the orbit, and a contamination test in the airlock. The bake-out happened at the end of the spacewalk. While the spacewalk was happening, Terry Virts and Kay Hire along with ISS commander Jeff Williams, Soichi Noguchi
Soichi Noguchi
is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and a JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was most recently in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and...
and T.J. Creamer, continued outfitting the Tranquility module. This included setting up the ventilation system, connecting electrical and computer cables and configuring racks. They confirmed lights and computers were on in the node once the ammonia cooling system had been activated. The crew also received word the mission had been extended by one day in the morning.
15 February (Flight Day 8)
On flight day 8, the Cupola was successfully moved from its launch location to its permanent location on the earth facing side of Tranquility. Cupola was moved by the space station robot arm (SSRMS), which was operated by Kay Hire and Terry Virts. ISS commander Jeff Williams assisted them by releasing the bolts and hooks that held the Cupola in place and then securing it to its new home. The process was slightly delayed due to some bolts that were torqued tighter than expected on the ground, but flight controllers were able to increase the torque to release the bolts. Once the move of the Cupola was complete, outfitting continued to get the cupola ready. The crew will be able to ingress it tomorrow, but the window covers will not be opened until after the third and final spacewalk. While the Cupola relocation was going on, some of the crew members participated in transferring items between the shuttle and station. Also during this time Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick prepared the tools that they will use during the final spacewalk scheduled for flight day 10. During this time the pair re-sized another spacesuit on station for use by Behnken. This was done because the suit Behnken had been using had some problems with its communications equipment.16 February (Flight Day 9: Spacewalk 3 preparation)
Flight day 9 saw the relocation of Pressurized Mating Adapter 3Pressurized Mating Adapter
The International Space Station uses three Pressurized Mating Adapters to interconnect spacecraft and modules with different docking mechanisms. The first two PMAs were launched with the Unity module in 1998 aboard STS-88...
(PMA3) from the Harmony node, where it was temporarily located, to its permanent home on the end of Tranquility. The PMA will provide protection from micro-meteoroid debris. PMA3 was moved by Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick, with help from Jeff Williams and Soichi Noguchi to release the PMA3. During the PMA3 relocation, Kay Hire and Terry Virts continued work on outfitting the Cupola. The joint Expedition 22/STS-130 crews enjoyed a meal together and had some off-duty time in the 2nd half of their day. Before the scheduled bedtime the entire crew conducted another EVA procedures review for the third and final EVA of the mission.
17 February (Flight Day 10: Spacewalk 3)
On flight day 10, astronauts Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick completed the third and final spacewalk of the STS-130 mission. Their tasks included hooking up heater and data cables for PMA-3, removing thermal covers and launch locks on Cupola, and installing handrails on Tranquility and a video cable for another base to be installed on the Russian segment of the ISS. Bob Behnken also connected the second ammonia cooling loop and disconnected a temporary power cable on Tranquility. Once the launch locks were removed, pilot Terry Virts opened the windows on Cupola for the first time. During the day Kay Hire and Terry Virts hooked up and transferred the Cupola robotics station for its use in the future. Terry Virts also completed some transfer tasks in the morning.18 February (Flight Day 11)
On flight day 11, the joint Expedition 22/STS-130 crew received a phone call from U.S. President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and several school children. After the conference with President Obama and the children, the crew members began transferring Environmental control and life support system
ISS ECLSS
The International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System is a life support system that provides or controls atmospheric pressure, fire detection and suppression, oxygen levels, waste management and water supply...
(ECLSS) racks to the Tranquility module. These transfers were done by ISS commander Jeff Williams, flight engineer T.J. Creamer, shuttle commander George Zamka and mission specialist Stephen Robinson and took most of the day. Also during the day pilot Terry Virts continued working on getting the Cupola set-up for the robotics work station. He had a small problem installing some corner panels which are needed to hold the workstation. Spacewalkers Bob Behnken and Nick Patrick were busy reconfiguring the airlock for use by the station crew and later flights. They also transferred their spacesuits and tools back to the shuttle for the return trip home. After the rack transfers were done the crew completed some more transfers and passed the 75% complete mark. The space shuttle commanded by commander Zamka and pilot Terry Virts completed a reboost of the station using its vernier thrusters.
19 February (Flight Day 12)
The STS-130 crew completed their remaining transfer tasks on flight day 12. The joint STS-130/Expedition 22 crew held a joint press conference with reports at NASA centers and in Japan. ISS commander Jeff Williams and shuttle commander George Zamka held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the cupola for use. After the conference and ribbon cutting ceremony the crews gathered one last time for a meal together in the Unity module. After their meal the crews conducted a farewell ceremony and closed the hatches between the two vehicles. The latter part of the STS-130 crew's day was spent stowing items and getting their rendezvous tools out and checking them out to ensure they are ready for undocking.20 February (Flight Day 13 – Undocking)
Space shuttle Endeavour successfully undocked with the ISS at 00:54 UTC (19:54 EST) on flight day 13. After undocking, pilot Terry Virts backed Endeavour to a distance of 400 feet (121.9 m) and began conducting a fly around of the ISS. After the fly around was complete, Virts used Endeavour's jets to move the shuttle to a point behind the station. Once the separation burns were complete, the crew conducted the late inspection of the shuttles thermal protection system. The inspection took up most of the crews afternoon with crew members rotating in and out to help with it. Commander George Zamka performed a waste water and condensate water dump, with the help of Terry Virts.21 February (Flight Day 14: Landing Prep)
The crew of STS-130 began preparing the space shuttle Endeavour for landing. During the day commander George Zamka and pilot Terry Virts, with help from mission specialist and flight engineer Stephen Robinson checked out the Flight Control System (FCS) and did a hot fire test of the Reaction Control SystemReaction control system
A reaction control system is a subsystem of a spacecraft whose purpose is attitude control and steering by the use of thrusters. An RCS system is capable of providing small amounts of thrust in any desired direction or combination of directions. An RCS is also capable of providing torque to allow...
(RCS). Commander Zamka also did communications checks with mission control through the tracking stations at Merit Island
Merritt Island spaceflight tracking and data network station
The Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station, known in NASA parlance as MILA, was a radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex located on at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida...
, White Sands Space Harbor
White Sands Space Harbor
White Sands Space Harbor is the primary training area used by NASA for Space Shuttle pilots flying practice approaches and landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft and T-38 Talon aircraft. Its runways, navigational aids, runway lighting, and control facilities also stand continuously ready as a...
and Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
. These checks are routine for the day before landing and were all successful. While all the system checkouts were going on, the rest of the crew were stowing items no longer needed during the flight. During the early part of the day Stephen Robinson and Terry Virts also stowed and deactivated the space shuttle robotic arm. The entire crew also took time out of their day to conduct an in-flight interview with CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, CNN Español and Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
.
22 February (Flight Day 15: Landing)
Space shuttle Endeavour and her STS-130 crew awoke on flight day 15 to begin getting ready for landing. The landing preparations included closing the payload bay doors, activating the Auxiliary Power UnitAuxiliary power unit
An auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft, as well as some large land vehicles.-Function:...
s and getting into their launch and entry suits. Commander George Zamka and pilot Terry Virts fired Endeavours 2 OMS engines for 2min 38sec, this slowed Endeavour by about 200 ft/s (136.4 mph). The decision to go ahead with the de-orbit burn was made 25min prior to the burn occurring. Landing occurred at 22:22:10 EST at the Kennedy Space Center's
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...
Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15. The crew exited the orbiter and inspected it about 2hrs after landing. All 6 crew members spoke to the press on the runway before heading back to the Operations & Check-out building.
Spacewalks
| EVA | Spacewalkers | Start (UTC Coordinated Universal Time Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose... ) |
End (UTC) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVA 1 | Robert L. Behnken Robert L. Behnken Robert Louis "Bob" Behnken is an engineer, U. S. Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut. Behnken holds a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering and has reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Bob Behnken has logged over 1000 flight hours in 25 different aircraft. He flew on Space... Nicholas Patrick Nicholas Patrick Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space.... |
12 February 2010 2:17 UTC |
12 February 2010 8:49 UTC |
6 hours 32 minutes |
| Behnken and Patrick removed a protective cover on a port on the Unity node where Tranquility will be berthed half way through the spacewalk. They then moved on to release launch locks and connects on Tranquility that connected it to the shuttle. The pair then removed a spare parts platform from Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator , is a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station , and extends the function of this system to replace some activities otherwise requiring spacewalks... or Dextre that will be replaced by a new one on a future mission. Once that task was completed Behnken and Patrick then made several connections on the newly installed Tranquility node to bring it to life. |
||||
| EVA 2 | Robert L. Behnken Nicholas Patrick |
14 February 2010 2:20 UTC |
14 February 2010 8:14 UTC |
5 hours 54 minutes |
| Behnken and Patrick installed ammonia plumbing and connectors between Unity, Destiny and Tranquility and cover them with thermal insulation. When turned on, the ammonia will provide cooling to Tranquility. They then prepared a port on the Earth-facing side of Tranquility for the flight day 8 relocation and attachment of the cupola. | ||||
| EVA 3 | Nicholas Patrick Robert L. Behnken |
17 February 2010 2:15 UTC |
17 February 2010 8:03 UTC |
5 hours 48 minutes |
| Behnken and Patrick turned on the ammonia cooling lines between Unity and Tranquility, installed heater and data cables on Tranquility, removed insulation and launch locks from the newly installed Cupola, and installed handrails on the outside of Tranquility. | ||||
Wake-up calls
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
.
Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
| Flight Day | Song | Artist | Played for | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | "Give Me Your Eyes Give Me Your Eyes "Give Me Your Eyes" is a song by contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath from his second album, What If We. It was released in July 2008 as the album's lead single and quickly gained success. It sold nearly 6,000 downloads in the first week, and became 2008's highest-debuting Christian track... " |
Brandon Heath Brandon Heath Brandon Heath is a contemporary Christian musician from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released three studio albums: Don't Get Comfortable , What If We and "Leaving Eden" . He is best known for the No. 1 "I'm Not Who I Was" and "Give Me Your Eyes". He was nominated four times at the Dove Awards of... |
Terry Virts | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 3 | "Katmandu Katmandu (song) "Katmandu" is the title of a song written and recorded by American rock artist Bob Seger. It was initially released on his studio album Beautiful Loser, and later featured on his live album Live Bullet. The single edit reached number 43 on the US Top 40, becoming Seger's most successful single... " |
Bob Seger Bob Seger Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s... |
George Zamka | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 4 | "Also sprach Zarathustra Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss) Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name. The composer conducted its first performance on 27 November 1896 in Frankfurt... " |
Richard Strauss Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till... |
Nicholas Patrick Nicholas Patrick Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space.... |
WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 5 | "Beautiful Day Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by the rock band U2. It is the first track from their 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and it was released as the album's lead single. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date... " |
U2 U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music... |
Kathryn Hire | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 6 | "The Ballad of Serenity" (Opening theme to Firefly Firefly (TV series) Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear.... ) |
Sonny Rhodes Sonny Rhodes Sonny Rhodes is an American blues singer and lap steel guitar player. He has recorded over two hundred songs. "I'm what you call a self-proclaimed Disciple of the Blues!" said Rhodes about his years playing and singing for fans of blues around the world... |
Robert Behnken | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 7 | "Too Much Stuff" | Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist.... |
Stephen Robinson Stephen Robinson Stephen Kern Robinson is a NASA astronaut. He was born October 26, 1955, in Sacramento, California.He enjoys flying, antique aircraft, swimming, canoeing, hiking, music, art, and stereo photography. He plays lead guitar in Max Q, a rock and roll band... |
WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 8 | "Forty Years On Forty Years On (song) Forty Years On is a song written by Edward Ernest Bowen and John Farmer in 1872.It is specifically about life at school and is meant to give pupils now an idea of what it will be like in forty years when they return to their old school, and to remind old boys about their school life... (Harrow School song)" |
Edward Ernest Bowen & John Farmer John Farmer (1835-1901) John Farmer , from Nottingham, composed oratorios, cantatas, and other church music, and chamber music.His father, also John , was a Nottingham lacemaker and a cellist... |
Nicholas Patrick Nicholas Patrick Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space.... |
WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 9 | "Parabola Parabola (song) "Parabola" is a song by the American rock band Tool, the song was released as the second single from their third studio album Lateralus. It was released in 2002 as a promo only, however, on December 20, 2005, the single was re-released, which includes the song and a DVD containing the music video... " |
Tool Tool (band) Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour... |
Robert Behnken | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 10 | "Window on the World" | Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Buffett James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"... |
Kathryn Hire | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 11 | "Oh Yeah" | Johnny A. Johnny A. Johnny A. is an American guitarist/songwriter, born in Malden, Massachusetts.Growing up in Boston as a young child, he became interested in music, starting with drums at age six. Upon being exposed to The Beatles in 1964 , Johnny bought a $49 Lafayette Electronics guitar. In the late seventies, he... |
Stephen Robinson Stephen Robinson Stephen Kern Robinson is a NASA astronaut. He was born October 26, 1955, in Sacramento, California.He enjoys flying, antique aircraft, swimming, canoeing, hiking, music, art, and stereo photography. He plays lead guitar in Max Q, a rock and roll band... |
WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 12 | "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) "I'm Gonna Be " is a song written and performed by The Proclaimers. It was released on their 1988 Sunshine on Leith album, and subsequently as a single. It has become one of their most popular songs, reaching No. 11 in the UK charts and No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in 1989, plus, five years... " |
Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.After starting his career in the late 1980s as a singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Chapman has since been recognized as one of the most prolific singers in the genre,... |
Terry Virts | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 13 | "In Wonder" | Newsboys Newsboys Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold... |
Terry Virts | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 14 | "The Distance The Distance (song) "The Distance" is a song by the American alternative rock band Cake. Released in 1996, "The Distance" was the second single from the band's second album Fashion Nugget, and considered one of their most popular songs... " |
Cake Cake (band) Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and... |
The entire crew | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
| Day 15 | "The Marines Hymn" | United States Marine Corp. Band | George Zamka | WAV, MP3 TRANSCRIPT |
See also
- 2010 in spaceflight2010 in spaceflightThe year 2010 saw a number of notable events in spaceflight. These included the first test flight of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which is intended to conduct commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, and the...
- List of ISS spacewalks
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of spacewalks since 2000
- List of human spaceflights