STS-70
Encyclopedia
STS-70 was the 21st flight of the Space Shuttle
Discovery
, and the last of 7 shuttle missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
(TDRS). This was the first shuttle mission controlled from the new Mission Control Center room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. STS-70 was also the first flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine, designed to improve both engine performance and safety. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center
in Florida on 13 July 1995, only six days after the landing of sister ship Atlantis, marking the fastest turnaround between flights in the history of the program.
(IUS) solid rocket
. It was built by TRW and weighs about 2200 kilograms (4,850.2 lb). The satellite was ejected from Discovery's cargo bay exactly on time at 2:55 p.m. CDT, approximately six hours into the flight. The release of the satellite was overseen by Mission Specialists Don Thomas and Mary Ellen Weber. About 15 minutes later, Discovery's Commander Tom Henricks fired the shuttle's engines to raise the orbit and move away from the vicinity of the satellite and the IUS. At about 3:55 p.m., the IUS fired the first of two burns that would put TDRS-G into its proper, 22,000-mile-high geostationary orbit above the central Pacific Ocean at 178 degrees West longitude. The deployment operations utilized 3 separate control centers; the White Sands ground station controlled the TDRS, the JSC Mission Control Center (MCC) controlled the shuttle, and the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) control center at Onizuka Air Force Base in Sunnyvale California controlled the booster stage. Once it reached its destination, the fully deployed satellite had a wingspan of 57 ft. The TDRS was the sixth placed in operational use. The first TDRS
was launched aboard STS-6
on 1983-04-04 with a scheduled lifetime of seven years. The second satellite, TDRS-B
was lost
aboard Challenger
on mission STS-51-L
. TDRS-3
was deployed from STS-26
, TDRS-4
from STS-29
, TDRS-5
from STS-43
and TDRS-6
was deployed by STS-54
. The on-orbit TDRS network was rearranged and included two fully operational spacecraft occupying the TDRS East and West slots, one on-orbit fully functional spare, TDRS-1, which was nearly depleted having exceeded its planned lifetime, and the partially operational TDRS-3 spacecraft dedicated to supporting the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
and providing coverage an area that can't be seen by the other satellites known as the Zone of Exclusion.
The Bioreactor Demonstration System was designed to use
ground-based and space-bioreactor systems to grow individual
cells into organized tissue that is morphologically and
functionally similar to the original tissue or organ.
The BDS was composed of a device developed at the
Johnson Space Center that used a rotating cylinder to
suspend cells and tissues in a growth medium, simulating
some aspects of microgravity. The system, which was already used extensively in ground-based research, also provided for gas and nutrient exchange.
The purpose of the flight experiment was to demonstrate
the performance of the bioreactor in actual mircrogravity.
As such, the primary goal was to assess the fluid dynamic
characteristics of the bioreactor in microgravity.
STS-70 landed at the Kennedy Space Center on 22 July,1995 at 8:02 a.m. EDT on Runway 33. Nose gear touchdown occurred at 8:02:11am EDT (Mission Elapsed Time of 8days 22hr 20min and 16sec) with wheels stop at 8:02:57am (MET of 8 days 22hr 21min and 2 sec.) An earlier KSC landing opportunity at 6:26 a.m. EDT was waived off due to marginable yet improving weather conditions at KSC.
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...
Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
, and the last of 7 shuttle missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
A Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is a type of communications satellite that forms part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System used by NASA and other United States government agencies for communications to and from independent "User Platforms" such as satellites, balloons, aircraft,...
(TDRS). This was the first shuttle mission controlled from the new Mission Control Center room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. STS-70 was also the first flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine, designed to improve both engine performance and safety. The mission was launched from 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...
in Florida on 13 July 1995, only six days after the landing of sister ship Atlantis, marking the fastest turnaround between flights in the history of the program.
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:...
: 20159 kilograms (44,443 lb) payload - PerigeePerigeePerigee 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"...
: 257 kilometres (159.7 mi) - Apogee: 257 kilometres (159.7 mi)
- 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...
: 28.5° - 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...
: 90.5 min
Preparations and Launch
STS-70 had originally moved ahead of STS-71 because of a delay in the launch of the Russian Spektr laboratory module to the Russian space station Mir. However, on 31 May 1995 shuttle managers assessed damage to the External Tank of STS-70 caused by nesting Flicker Woodpeckers. The damage consisted of about 71 holes (ranging in size from 4 inches in diameter to 1/2 inch in diameter) in the ETs thermal protection foam insulation. Technicians installed safeguards against additional damage. On 2 June, NASA managers decided to delay the launch of Discovery in order to make repairs to the insulation, and STS-71 was moved ahead of STS-70. Discovery was rolled back to the VAB on 8 June, and was returned to the pad on 15 June. Launch occurred 13 July, 1995 at 9:41:55.078 a.m. EDT. The launch window was 2 hours 30 min. The hatch was closed at 8:13am EDT and the count proceeded smoothly until T-31 sec. The count was held for 55 seconds at T-31 sec by the Booster Range Safety Engineer (CBRS) Tod Gracom at the LCC C-5 Console due to fluxuations seen on the external tank automatic gain control (AGC) ET range safety system receiver . Launch Commit Criteria contigency procedures were worked and the count then proceeded on schedule. STS-70 marked the maiden flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine. Engine number 2036 featured the new high-pressure liquid oxygen turbopump, a two-duct powerhead, baffleless main injector, single-coil heat exchanger and start sequence modifications. The Block I engine flew in the number one position on Discovery. The other two engines were of the existing Phase II design.Mission Highlights
The primary mission was the launch and deployment of the 7th Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) by means of the two-stage Inertial Upper StageInertial Upper Stage
The Inertial Upper Stage , originally known as the Interim Upper Stage, is a two-stage solid-fueled booster rocket developed by the U.S...
(IUS) solid rocket
Solid rocket
A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket engine that uses solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used by the Chinese in warfare as early as the 13th century and later by the Mongols, Arabs, and Indians.All rockets used some form of...
. It was built by TRW and weighs about 2200 kilograms (4,850.2 lb). The satellite was ejected from Discovery's cargo bay exactly on time at 2:55 p.m. CDT, approximately six hours into the flight. The release of the satellite was overseen by Mission Specialists Don Thomas and Mary Ellen Weber. About 15 minutes later, Discovery's Commander Tom Henricks fired the shuttle's engines to raise the orbit and move away from the vicinity of the satellite and the IUS. At about 3:55 p.m., the IUS fired the first of two burns that would put TDRS-G into its proper, 22,000-mile-high geostationary orbit above the central Pacific Ocean at 178 degrees West longitude. The deployment operations utilized 3 separate control centers; the White Sands ground station controlled the TDRS, the JSC Mission Control Center (MCC) controlled the shuttle, and the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) control center at Onizuka Air Force Base in Sunnyvale California controlled the booster stage. Once it reached its destination, the fully deployed satellite had a wingspan of 57 ft. The TDRS was the sixth placed in operational use. The first TDRS
TDRS-1
TDRS-1, known before launch as TDRS-A, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW and launched by on its maiden flight, STS-6. While on the pad, problems were detected with the Shuttle's main...
was launched aboard STS-6
STS-6
STS-6 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission conducted using Space Shuttle Challenger, carrying the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-1, into orbit. Launched on 4 April 1983, STS-6 was the sixth shuttle mission and the first of the ten missions flown by Challenger...
on 1983-04-04 with a scheduled lifetime of seven years. The second satellite, TDRS-B
TDRS-B
TDRS-B was an American communications satellite, which was to have formed part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was destroyed when the disintegrated 73 seconds after launch....
was lost
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The 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...
aboard Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
on mission STS-51-L
STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
. TDRS-3
TDRS-3
TDRS-3 , known before launch as TDRS-C, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System...
was deployed from STS-26
STS-26
STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the Discovery orbiter. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 29 September 1988, and landed four days later on 3 October. STS-26 was declared the "Return to Flight" mission, being the first mission after...
, TDRS-4
TDRS-4
TDRS-4, known before launch as TDRS-D, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW, based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites.TDRS-D was...
from STS-29
STS-29
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter liftoff: **Orbiter landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Mission summary:Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Pad B, Launch...
, TDRS-5
TDRS-5
TDRS-5, known before launch as TDRS-E, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW is based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites.It was...
from STS-43
STS-43
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Preparations and Launch:The launch took place on 2 August 1991, 11:01:59 am EDT...
and TDRS-6
TDRS-6
TDRS-6, known before launch as TDRS-F, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW, and is based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites.TDRS-F...
was deployed by STS-54
STS-54
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Space walks:* Harbaugh and Runco – EVA 1*EVA 1 Start: 17 January 1993...
. The on-orbit TDRS network was rearranged and included two fully operational spacecraft occupying the TDRS East and West slots, one on-orbit fully functional spare, TDRS-1, which was nearly depleted having exceeded its planned lifetime, and the partially operational TDRS-3 spacecraft dedicated to supporting the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was a space observatory detecting light from 20 KeV to 30 GeV in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. It featured four main telescopes in one spacecraft covering x-rays and gamma-rays, including various specialized sub-instruments and detectors...
and providing coverage an area that can't be seen by the other satellites known as the Zone of Exclusion.
Additional Payloads and Experiments
Secondary objectives of the mission were to fulfill the requirements of the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment / National Institutes of Health-Rodents (PARE/NIH-R); Bioreactor Demonstration System (BDS), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG); Space Tissue Loss/National Institutes of Health-Cells (STL/NIH-C); Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC); Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-II (SAREX-II), Visual Function Tester-4 (VFT-4); Hand-Held, Earth Oriented, Real-Time, Cooperative, User-Friendly, Location-Targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES); Microcapsules in Space-B (MIS-B); Windows Experiment (WINDEX); Radiation Monitoring Equipment-III (RME-III); and the Military Applications of Ship Tracks (MAST).The Bioreactor Demonstration System was designed to use
ground-based and space-bioreactor systems to grow individual
cells into organized tissue that is morphologically and
functionally similar to the original tissue or organ.
The BDS was composed of a device developed at the
Johnson Space Center that used a rotating cylinder to
suspend cells and tissues in a growth medium, simulating
some aspects of microgravity. The system, which was already used extensively in ground-based research, also provided for gas and nutrient exchange.
The purpose of the flight experiment was to demonstrate
the performance of the bioreactor in actual mircrogravity.
As such, the primary goal was to assess the fluid dynamic
characteristics of the bioreactor in microgravity.
Landing
Landing opportunities at The Kennedy Space Center at 7:54am EDT and 9:31 a.m 21 July, 1995 were waived off due to a buildup of ground fog over the Shuttle Landing Facility. Flight Director Rich Jackson directed the five STS-70 astronauts to remain aloft for another day after poor visibility prevented Discovery's homecoming on the two consecutive landing opportunities. Discovery's astronauts were informed that their landing had been waved off for the day at 7:10 AM CDT after astronaut Steve Oswald, flying weather reconnaissance in a Shuttle Training Aircraft over the landing strip, reported that he could not see the 3- mile long runway from his vantage point.STS-70 landed at the Kennedy Space Center on 22 July,1995 at 8:02 a.m. EDT on Runway 33. Nose gear touchdown occurred at 8:02:11am EDT (Mission Elapsed Time of 8days 22hr 20min and 16sec) with wheels stop at 8:02:57am (MET of 8 days 22hr 21min and 2 sec.) An earlier KSC landing opportunity at 6:26 a.m. EDT was waived off due to marginable yet improving weather conditions at KSC.
See also
- Space scienceSpace scienceThe term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
- Space shuttleSpace ShuttleThe 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...
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of human spaceflights chronologically