SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-86
PRESS KIT
SEPTEMBER 1997
GENERAL MISSION INFORMATION
Detailed Test Objectives (DTOs)
STS-86 MIR RENDEZVOUS, DOCKING & UNDOCKING
SHUTTLE-MIR ACTIVITIES & SCIENCE
EVA Development Flight Test (EDFT)
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) PAYLOADS & ACTIVITIES
STS-86 EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Commercial Protein Crystal Growth
Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM)
Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local Exhaust (SIMPLEX)
STS-86 CREW BIOGRAPHIES
Jim Wetherbee, Commander (CDR)
Mike Bloomfield, Pilot (PLT)
Vladimir Titov, Mission Specialist 1
Scott Parazynski, Mission Specialist 2
Jean-Loup Chretien, Mission Specialist 3
Wendy Lawrence, Mission Specialist 4
David Wolf, Mission Specialist 5 (up)
Mike Foale,
Mission Specialist 5 (down)
ASTRONAUT WOLF CONTINUING AMERICAN
PRESENCE ON MIR, JOINT U.S.-RUSSIAN SPACEWALK HIGHLIGHT STS-86
MISSION
The continuing cooperative
effort in space exploration between the United States and Russia
and a joint spacewalk will be the focus of NASA's
seventh Shuttle mission of 1997 with the launch of Space Shuttle
Atlantis on Mission STS-86.
This is the seventh
of nine planned missions to Mir and
the fourth one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts. Astronaut
Mike Foale,
who has been on Mir since mid-May, will be replaced by astronaut
David Wolf.
Wolf will spend more than four months on the orbiting Russian
facility. He will return to Earth on Space Shuttle Mission STS-89,
scheduled for launch in January 1998.
The STS-86 crew
will be commanded by Jim Wetherbee
who will be making his fourth Shuttle flight. The pilot, Mike Bloomfield,
will be making his first flight. There are five mission specialists
assigned to this flight. Vladimir Titov,
a Russian cosmonaut, serving
as Mission Specialist-1, is making his fourth space flight and
second flight on the Space Shuttle. Mission Specialist-2 Scott Parazynski
is making
his second flight. Jean-Loup Chretien
of the French
Space Agency (CNES) is Mission Specialist-3 and is making his
third flight and first on the Shuttle. Mission Specialist-4 Wendy Lawrence
and Mission
Specialist-5 David Wolf
are making
their second space flight. Shortly after docking, Wolf and Foale
will conduct their handover with Wolf becoming a member of the
Mir 24 crew and Foale becoming a STS-86 Mission Specialist through
the end of the flight.
Atlantis is targeted
for a late evening launch on
September 25, 1997 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex
39-A. The current launch time of 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT Sept.
26) may vary slightly based on calculations of Mir's precise location
in space at the time of liftoff due to Shuttle rendezvous phasing
requirements. The STS-86 mission is scheduled to last 9 days,
20 hours, 24 minutes. An on-time launch on Sept. 25 and nominal
mission duration would have Atlantis landing back at Kennedy Space
Center on October 5 just before sunset at 6:58 p.m. EDT (2258
GMT).
Atlantis' rendezvous
and docking with the Mir actually begin with the precisely timed
launch setting the orbiter on a course for rendezvous with the
orbiting Russian facility. Over the next two to three days, periodic
firings of Atlantis' small thruster engines will gradually bring
the Shuttle within close proximity to Mir.
The STS-86 mission
is part of the NASA/Mir program which
consists of nine Shuttle-Mir dockings and seven long duration
flights of U.S. astronauts aboard the Russian space station. The
U.S. astronauts will launch and land on a Shuttle and serve as
Mir crew members while the Mir cosmonauts use their traditional
Soyuz vehicle for launch and landing. This series of missions
will expand U.S. research on Mir by providing resupply materials
for experiments to be performed aboard the station as well as
returning experiment samples and data to Earth.
Atlantis will again
be carrying the SPACEHAB module in the payload bay of the orbiter.
The double module configuration will house experiments to be performed
by Atlantis' crew along with logistics equipment to be transferred
to Mir.
Parazynski and Titov will conduct
a five-hour spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), on the
fourth day Atlantis is docked with the Mir. It will be the first
U.S. spacewalk to include participation by a foreign astronaut.
Parazynski and Titov will leave
Atlantis' airlock to retrieve four suitcase-sized experiments
called the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) from the exterior
of Mir's Docking Module. The experiments, which were attached
to the Docking Module by astronauts during Shuttle mission STS-76
in March 1996, are studying the effects of exposure to the space
environment on a variety of materials.
In addition to transferring the
MEEP back to Atlantis, Parazynski and Titov will leave an item
on the exterior of Mir. A solar array cap to be placed on the
damaged Spektr module on a later Russian space walk will be brought
out of the shuttle airlock and tethered to the exterior of the
Docking Module. The solar array cap is too large to be transferred
through Mir, and the cap is needed to seal off the base of the
damaged array on Spektr if and when the array is jettisoned by
cosmonauts.
Parazynski and Titov also will
continue an evaluation of the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER),
a small jet-backpack designed for use as a type of life jacket
during station assembly. Parazynski and Titov also will evaluate
equipment designed to be compatible for use by spacewalkers on
the U.S. and Russian segments of the International Space Station.
The current Mir 24 mission began when cosmonauts Commander Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov were launched on August 5, in a Soyuz vehicle and docked with the Mir two days later. Mike Foale began his stay on the orbiting Russian facility with the Mir 23 crew in mid-May with the docking of STS-84. He became a member of the Mir 24 crew and continued his science investigations when the Mir 23 crew returned to Earth on August 13. Wolf is scheduled to be replaced by another NASA Astronaut when Endeavour docks with Mir in January 1998.
The STS-86 mission
and the work performed by Wolf during his time on the Mir station
will include investigations in the fields of advanced
technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences,
International Space Station risk mitigation, microgravity sciences
and space sciences.
Because of his previous Space Shuttle extravehicular activity
(EVA) spacewalk training along with Mir EVA training done at the
Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Wolf
also may perform spacewalk activities during his tour of duty
on the orbiting Russian facility.
When Atlantis undocks from Mir,
the separation manevers performed will have two objectives. First,
just after undocking, the Shuttle will continue to back away through
a corridor similar to that used during approach with periodic
stops to "stationkeep" in order to collect data for
the European laser docking sensor. Atlantis will continue away
from Mir until it reaches a distance of 600 feet below the Mir.
Following evaluations of the European
sensor, Atlantis will then begin a re-approach to a distance of
240 feet while Mir maneuvers to an orientation that provides adequate
viewing of the damaged areas of its Spektr module. After reaching
the 240 foot range, Atlantis will begin a flyaround to photograph
the damage from the Progress collision. Once the flyaround/photo
survey activities are complete, Atlantis will perform a separation
burn to move to an orbit below and ahead of Mir. Because of propellant
constraints, this undocking profile may be modified during the
mission.
STS-86 will be the
20th flight of Atlantis and the 87th mission flown since the start
of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981.
NASA Television
Transmission
NASA Television is
available through the GE2 satellite system which is located on
Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees west longitude, frequency 3880.0
MHz, audio 6.8 MHz.
The schedule for
television transmissions from the orbiter and for mission briefings
will be available during the mission at Kennedy Space Center,
FL; Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, AL; Dryden Flight Research Center,
Edwards, CA; Johnson Space Center,
Houston, TX; and NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC. The television schedule will be updated to reflect
changes dictated by mission operations.
Status Reports
Status reports on
countdown and mission progress, on-orbit activities and landing
operations will be produced by the appropriate NASA newscenter.
Briefings
A mission press briefing schedule will
be issued before launch. During the mission, status briefings
by a flight director or mission operations representative and
when appropriate, representatives from the payload team, will
occur at least once each day. The updated NASA television schedule
will indicate when mission briefings are planned.
Internet Information
Information on STS-86
is available through several sources on the Internet. The primary
source for mission information is the NASA Shuttle Web.
This site contains information on the crew and its mission and
will be regularly updated with status reports, photos and video
clips throughout the flight.
General information
on NASA and its programs is available through the NASA Home Page and
the NASA Public Affairs Home Page:
Information on other
current NASA activities is available through today@nasa.gov.
Access by CompuServe
Users with CompuServe
accounts can access NASA press releases by typing "GO NASA"
(no quotes) and making a selection from the categories offered.
Launch Date/Site: September 25, 1997/KSC Launch Pad 39-A
Launch Time: 10:34 PM EDT
Launch Window: Approximately 7 minutes
Orbiter: Atlantis (OV-104), 20th flight
Orbit Altitude/Inclination: 160 nautical miles, 51.6 degrees (213 nm for docking)
Mission Duration: 9 days, 20 hours, 24 minutes
Landing Date: October 5, 1997
Landing Time: 6:58 PM EDT
Primary Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Abort Landing Sites: Return to Launch Site - KSC
Transoceanic Abort Sites - Zaragoza, Spain;
Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain
Abort-Once Around - KSC
Crew: Jim Wetherbee, Commander (CDR), 4th flight
Mike Bloomfield, Pilot (PLT), 1st flight
Vladimir Titov, Mission Specialist 1 (MS 1), 4th flight
Scott Parazynski, Mission Specialist 2 (MS 2), 2nd flight
Jean-Loup Chretien, Mission Specialist 3 (MS 3), 3rd flight
Wendy Lawrence, Mission Specialist 4 (MS 4), 2nd flight
David Wolf, Mission Specialist 5 up, (MS 5), 2nd flight
Mike Foale, Mission Specialist
5 down, (MS 5), 4th flight
EVA Crew: Scott
Parazynski (EV 1), Vladimir Titov (EV 2)
Cargo Bay Payloads: Spacehab Double Module
Orbiter Docking System
European Proximity Sensor
MEEP Carriers
SEEDS-II
In-Cabin Payloads: RME's
KidSat
CPCG
CREAM
CCM-A
MSX
SIMPLEX
| Payloads | Prime | Backup |
| Rendezvous and Docking | Wetherbee | Bloomfield |
| Undocking and Flyaround | Bloomfield | Wetherbee |
| Rendezvous Tools | Parazynski | Titov |
| Orbiter Docking System | Parazynski | Chretien |
| Russian Language | Chretien | Titov |
| Spacehab | Chretien | Titov |
| Logistics Transfers | Titov | Chretien |
| Water Bag Fills | Titov | Others |
| EVA | Parazynski | Titov |
| Intravehicular Crewmember | Bloomfield | ------ |
| CPCG | Bloomfield | ------ |
| CCM-A | Wetherbee | ------ |
| SIMPLEX | Bloomfield | Wetherbee |
| MSX | Bloomfield | Wetherbee |
| KidSat | Bloomfield | ------ |
| SEEDS-II | Chretien | ------ |
| Earth Observations | Parazynski | Others |
| Ascent Seat on Flight Deck | Titov | ------ |
| Entry Seat on Flight Deck | Chretien | ------ |
| Recumbent Seat Setup | Titov | Foale |
| EVENT | MET | TIME OF DAY (EDT) | GMT |
| Launch | 0/00:00 | 10:34 PM, Sept. 25 | 0234, Sept. 26 |
| Mir Docking | 1/18:56 | 5:30 PM, Sept.27 | 2130, Sept. 27 |
| Mir Undocking | 7/13:12 | 11:46 AM, Oct. 3 | 1546, Oct. 3 |
| KSC Landing | 9/20:24 | 6:58 PM, Oct. 5 | 2258, Oct. 5 |
DTO 259: Tuned Notch Filter Test
DTO 312: External Tank TPS Performance
DTO 671: EVA Hardware for Future Scheduled EVA Missions
DTO 700-9A: Orbiter Evaluation of TDRS Acquisition in Despreader Bypass Mode
DTO 700-10: Orbiter Space Vision System Videotaping
DTO 700-12: Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System
DTO 700-13A: Signal Attenuation Effects of ET During Ascent
DTO 700-15: Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System
DTO 700-16: S-Band Sequential Still Video Demonstration
DTO 805: Crosswind Landing Performance
DTO 1118: Photographic and Video Survey of Mir Space Station
DTO 1125: Measurements of Dose as a Function of Shielding Thickness
DTO 1213: Station Docking Target Evaluation
RME 1303-1: Shuttle/Mir Experiment Kit Transport, Enhanced Dynamic Loads
RME 1303-2: Shuttle /Mir Experiment Kit Transport, Mir Auxiliary Sensor Unit
RME 1303-3: Shuttle/Mir Experiment Kit Transport, Water Experiment Kit
RME 1303-5: Space Portable SpectroReflectometer
RME 1304: Mir Environmental Effects Payload
RME 1314: ESA Proximity Operations Sensor
RME 1317: Mir Structural Dynamics Experiment
RME 1320: Radiation Monitoring Equipment-III
RME 1324: Volatile Organics Analyzer
RME 1332: Space Station - Test of PCS Hardware
DSO 207: Adaptation to Linear
Acceleration after Space Flight
| Vehicle/Payload | Pounds |
| Orbiter (Atlantis) empty and 3 SSME's | 152,174 |
| Shuttle System at SRB Ignition | 4,514,873 |
| Orbiter Weight at Landing with Cargo | 251,730 |
| Spacehab | 14,447 |
| Orbiter Docking System | 4,016 |
Flight Day 1:
Launch/Ascent
OMS-2 Burn
Payload Bay Door Opening
Spacehab Activation
Flight Day 2:
EMU Checkout
SAFER Checkout
Rendezvous Tool Checkout
Centerline Camera Installation
Orbiter Docking System Ring Extension
Flight Day 3:
Rendezvous and Docking
Hatch Opening and Welcoming Ceremony
Flight Day 4:
Soyuz Seat Transfer and Installation (formal transfer of Wolf for Foale)
Logistics Transfer Operations
Flight Day 5:
Greenhouse Operations
Logistics Transfer Operations
Flight Day 6:
Logistics Transfer Operations
Hatch Closure for EVA
EVA Tool Preparation
Flight Day 7:
EVA (5 hours, Parazynski and Titov)
Hatch Opening
Flight Day 8:
Final Logistics Transfer Operations and Inventory
Joint Crew News Conference
Farewell Ceremony
Final Hatch Closure
Flight Day 9:
Undocking and Flyaround Inspection of Spektr Module
Seperation Maneuver
Off Duty Time
Flight Day 10:
Flight Control System Checkout
Reaction Control System Hot-Fire
Cabin Stowage
Recumbent Seat Setup
Flight Day 11:
Payload Bay Door Closing
Deorbit Burn
KSC Landing
Space Shuttle launch
abort philosophy aims toward safe and intact recovery of the flight
crew, Orbiter and its payload. Abort modes for STS-86 include:
* Abort-To-Orbit
(ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine thrust late enough to permit
reaching a minimal 105-nautical mile orbit with the orbital maneuvering
system engines.
* Abort-Once-Around
(AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown with the capability to allow
one orbit of the Earth before landing at Kennedy Space Center,
Fla.
* Transoceanic Abort
Landing (TAL) -- Loss of one or more main engines midway through
powered flight would force a landing at either Zaragoza or Moron
in Spain or Ben Guerir in Morocco.
* Return-To-Launch-Site
(RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one or more engines, and without enough
energy to reach a TAL site, would result in a pitch around and
thrust back toward Kennedy until within gliding distance.
Atlantis' rendezvous and docking
with the Russian Space Station Mir actually begins with the precisely
timed launch of the shuttle on a course for the Mir, and, over
the next two days, periodic small engine firings that will gradually
bring Atlantis to a point eight nautical miles behind Mir on docking
day, the starting point for a final approach to the station.
Mir Rendezvous & Docking--
Flight Day 3
About two hours before the scheduled
docking time on Flight Day Three of the mission, Atlantis will
reach a point about eight nautical miles behind the Mir Space
Station and conduct a Terminal Phase Initiation (TI) burn, beginning
the final phase of the rendezvous. Atlantis will close the final
eight nautical miles to Mir during the next orbit. As Atlantis
approaches, the shuttle's rendezvous radar system will begin tracking
Mir and providing range and closing rate information to Atlantis.
Atlantis' crew also will begin air-to-air communications with
the Mir crew using a VHF radio.
As Atlantis reaches close proximity
to Mir, the Trajectory Control Sensor, a laser ranging device
mounted in the payload bay, will supplement the shuttle's onboard
navigation information by supplying additional data on the range
and closing rate. As Atlantis closes in on the Mir, the shuttle
will have the opportunity for four small successive engine firings
to fine-tune its approach using its onboard navigation information.
Flying a slightly modified rendezvous profile for improved efficiency,
Atlantis will aim for a point directly below Mir, along the Earth
radius vector (R-Bar), an imaginary line drawn between the Mir
center of gravity and the center of Earth. Approaching along the
R-Bar, from directly underneath the Mir, allows natural forces
to assist in braking Atlantis' approach. During this approach,
the crew will begin using a hand-held laser ranging device to
supplement distance and closing rate measurements made by other
shuttle navigational equipment.
Atlantis will intercept the R-Bar
at a point 600 ft below Mir. Commander Jim Wetherbee will fly
the shuttle using the aft flight deck controls as Atlantis begins
moving up toward Mir. Because of the approach from underneath
Mir, Wetherbee will have to perform very few braking firings.
However, if such firings are required, the shuttle's jets will
be used in a mode called "Low-Z," a technique that uses
slightly offset jets on Atlantis' nose and tail to slow the spacecraft
rather than firing jets pointed directly at Mir. This technique
avoids contamination of the space station and its solar arrays
by exhaust from the shuttle steering jets.
Using the centerline camera fixed
in the center of Atlantis' docking mechanism, Wetherbee will center
Atlantis' docking mechanism with the Docking Module mechanism
on Mir, continually refining this alignment as he approaches within
300 feet of the station.
At a distance of about 30 feet
from docking, Wetherbee will stop Atlantis and stationkeep momentarily
to adjust the docking mechanism alignment, if necessary. At that
time, a final go or no- go decision to proceed with the docking
will be made by flight control teams in both Houston and Moscow.
When Atlantis proceeds with docking,
the shuttle crew will use ship-to-ship communications with Mir
to inform the Mir crew of the shuttle's status and to keep them
informed of major events, including confirmation of contact, capture
and the conclusion of damping. Damping, the halt of any relative
motion between the two spacecraft after docking, is performed
by shock absorber-type springs within the docking device. Mission
Specialist Scott Parazynski will oversee the operation of the
Orbiter Docking System from onboard Atlantis.
Undocking and Separation
Once Atlantis is ready to undock
from Mir, the initial separation will be performed by springs
that will gently push the shuttle away from the docking module.
Both the Mir and Atlantis will be in a mode called "free
drift" during the undocking, a mode that has the steering
jets of each spacecraft shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings.
Once the docking mechanism's springs
have pushed Atlantis away to a distance of about two feet from
Mir, where the docking devices will be clear of one another, Atlantis'
steering jets will be turned back on and fired in the Low-Z mode
to begin slowly moving away from Mir.
The shuttle will continue to back
away through a corridor similar to that used during approach with
periodic stops to "stationkeep" in order to collect
data for the European laser docking sensor. Atlantis will continue
away from Mir until it reaches a distance of 600 feet below the
Mir. At this point, Atlantis will begin a re-approach to a distance
of 240 feet while Mir maneuvers to an orientation that provides
adequate viewing of the damaged areas of its Spektr module. After
reaching the 240 foot range, Atlantis will begin a flyaround to
photograph the damage from the Progress collision. Once the flyaround/photo
survey activities are complete, Atlantis will perform a separation
burn to move to an orbit below and ahead of Mir. Because of propellant
constraints, this undocking profile may be modified during the
mission.
EVA Development
Flight Test (EDFT)
Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski
and Vladimir Titov will conduct a five-hour spacewalk, or extravehicular
activity (EVA), on the fourth day Atlantis is docked with the
Mir. It will be the first U.S. spacewalk to include the participation
of a foreign astronaut.
Parazynski is designated Extravehicular
crewmember-1 (EV-1) and will be identified by red bands around
each leg of his spacesuit. Titov is designated EV-2. Parazynski
and Titov will leave Atlantis' airlock to retrieve four suitcase-sized
experiments called the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP)
from the exterior of Mir's Docking Module. The experiments were
attached to the Docking Module by astronauts Linda Godwin and
Rich Clifford during Shuttle mission STS-76 in March 1996.
Parazynski and Titov will exit
the upward-facing hatch in the tunnel between Atlantis' crew cabin
and the Spacehab module and move up the Docking Module to release
the MEEP packages. The retrieved packages will be folded and stowed
in sidewall carriers in Atlantis' cargo bay, two carriers located
in front of the Orbiter Docking System (ODS) and two located aft
of the ODS. Within the MEEP packages, investigators are studying
the effects of exposure to the space environment on a variety
of materials.
In addition to transferring the
MEEP back to Atlantis, Parazynski and Titov will leave an item
on the exterior of Mir. A solar array cap to be placed on the
damaged Spektr module on a later Russian space walk will be brought
out of the shuttle airlock and tethered to the exteritor of the
Docking Module. The solar array cap is too large to be transferred
through Mir, and is needed to seal off the base of the damaged
array on Spektr if and when the array is jettisoned by cosmonauts.
The spacewalk will continue a
series of EVA Development Flight Test (EDFT) spacewalks that have
been conducted on six past Space Shuttle missions. The tests are
designed to evaluate equipment and techniques and build experience
among astronauts and ground controllers in preparation for assembly
of the International Space Station. Past EDFT spacewalks have
evaluated equipment ranging from the labeling to be used on the
exterior of the station to the nuts and bolts to be used as connectors.
In addition to retrieving the
MEEP, Parazynski and Titov will continue an evaluation of the
Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER), a small jet-backpack designed
for use as a type of life jacket during station assembly. Originally
evaluated on Shuttle mission STS-64, the SAFER is designed to
be worn by astronauts during station spacewalks to allow them
to fly back to the station under their own power in the event
they become untethered. The SAFER unit to be tested on STS-86
is the first flight production model. Parazynski and Titov will
be wearing the devices, and, while remaining tethered and in a
foot restraint, they will evaluate the deployment of the hand
controller and the firing of the automatic attitude hold feature.
Firing the automatic attitude hold feature while the astronauts
are in a foot restraint will test the firing mechanisms in the
device, such as the valves and gas thrusters. The astronauts will
not perform any free-flight testing of the SAFER as was performed
on STS-64.
Parazynski and Titov also will
evaluate equipment designed to be compatible for use by spacewalkers
on the U.S. and Russian segments of the International Space Station.
The evaluations will include a Universal Foot Restraint designed
to hold the boots of both U.S. and Russian spacesuits; common
safety, equipment and body restraint tethers; and a common tool
carrier.
MIR Environmental
Effects Payload (MEEP)
The Mir Environmental Effects
Payload (MEEP) is managed by NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton,
VA, and has been studying the frequency and effects of space debris
striking the Mir space station. MEEP has been gathering data on
human-made and natural space debris, capturing some debris for
later study. It was attached to Mir's Docking Module during a
spacewalk by two Shuttle astronauts during the STS-76 mission
in March 1996.
The MEEP payload has also exposed
selected and proposed International Space Station materials to
the effects of space and orbital debris to determine the reactions
of the materials to the space environment. Because the International
Space Station will be placed in approximately the same Earth orbit
as Mir, flying MEEP aboard Mir is giving researchers an opportunity
to test materials for the International Space Station in a comparable
orbital position.
MEEP consists of four separate
experiments. The Polished Plate Micrometeoroid and Debris experiment
is designed to study how often space debris hit the station, the
sizes of these debris, the source of the debris, and the damage
the debris would do if it hit the station. The Orbital Debris
Collector experiment is designed to capture orbital debris and
return them to Earth to determine what the debris are made of
and their possible origins.
The Passive Optical Sample Assembly
I and II experiments consist of various materials that are intended
for use on the International Space Station. These materials include
paint samples, glass coatings, multi-layer insulation and a variety
of metallic samples.
The four MEEP experiments have
been attached to Mir for more than a year. The data will be studied
to determine what kind of debris hit the space station and how
those contaminants can actually collect on some of the different
surfaces of a space station, affecting its surfaces and long-term
performance.
The four MEEP experiments will
be carried back in Atlantis' cargo bay. They will be contained
in four Passive Experiment Carriers (PEC) - two in front of, and
two behind the Orbiter Docking System.
The Phase 1 Program consists of
nine Shuttle-Mir dockings and seven long-duration flights of U.S.
astronauts aboard the Russian space station between early 1995
and mid 1998. The U.S. astronauts will launch and land on a Shuttle
and serve as Mir crewmembers for flight durations ranging from
127 to 187 days, while the Mir cosmonauts stay approximately 180
days and use their traditional Soyuz vehicle for launch and landing.
This series of missions will expand U.S. research on Mir by providing
resupply materials for experiments to be performed aboard Mir,
as well as returning experimental samples and data to Earth.
The Mir 24 mission began when
the cosmonaut crew launched on August 5, 1997, in a Soyuz vehicle
and docked with the Mir two days later. Michael Foale joined the
Mir 23 crew with the May 17, 1997, docking of Atlantis during
Mission STS-84. The return of Atlantis on STS-86 will conclude
some experiments, continue others and commence still others. Data
gained from the mission will supply insight for the planning and
development of the International Space Station, Earth-based sciences
of human and biological processes and the advancement of commercial
technology.
Science Overview
As scientists learn more about
the effects of the space environment, they continue to develop
questions from the fields of human life sciences, fundamental
biology, biotechnology, material sciences, and spacecraft structural
and environmental dynamics. Valuable scientific information regarding
these subjects will be returned from the NASA/Mir Program disciplines
of advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human
life sciences, International Space Station risk mitigation, microgravity
sciences and space sciences. This knowledge will assist researchers
in developing future space stations, science programs and procedures
for those facilities, and advance the knowledge base of these
areas to the benefit of all people on Earth.
The advanced technology discipline
will evaluate new technologies and techniques using Mir as a test
bed. Self-contained experiments in biotechnology, as well as pioneering
work in space based metallurgy, will be conducted.
Earth sciences research in ocean
biochemistry, land surface hydrology and meteorology will be performed.
Observation and documentation of transient natural and human-induced
changes will be accomplished with the use of hand-held photography.
Residence in Earth orbit will allow for documentation of atmospheric
conditions, unpredictable events, and ecological and seasonal
changes over long time periods.
Fundamental biology research continues
investigations to study the radiation environment of Mir, particularly
in the area of charged particles.
Human life sciences research consists
of investigations that focus on the crewmembers' adaptation to
weightlessness in terms of skeletal muscle and bone changes, the
cardiovascular system, psychological interactions and metabolism.
In the Space Medicine Program, environmental factors such as water
quality, air quality, surface assessment for microbes, and crew
microbiology will be assessed. These ambitious investigations
will continue the characterization of the integrated human responses
to a prolonged presence in space.
The International Space Station
risk mitigation discipline consists of several technology demonstrations
associated with human factors and maintenance of crew health and
safety aboard the space station. In order to improve the design
and operation of the International Space Station, information
is gathered to fully evaluate the Mir interior and exterior environments.
This discipline includes investigations of radio interference,
particle impact on the station, docked configuration stability,
water microbiological monitoring and radiation monitoring.
Microgravity research will advance
scientific understanding through research in biotechnology, crystal
growth and materials science. The ambient acceleration and vibration
environment of Mir will be characterized to support future research
programs.
Most of the Mir 24/NASA research
will be conducted on the Mir; however, Shuttle-based experiments
will be conducted in the middeck or Spacehab modules of STS-86.
Human Life Sciences
The task of safely keeping men
and women in space for long durations, whether they are doing
research in Earth orbit or exploring other planets in our solar
system, requires continued improvement in our understanding of
the effects of spaceflight factors on the ways humans live and
work. The Human Life Sciences (HLS) project has a set of investigations
planned for the Mir 24/NASA 6 mission to determine how the body
adapts to weightlessness and other space flight factors, including
the psychological aspects of a confined environment and how they
readapt to Earth's gravitational forces. The results of these
investigations will guide the development of ways to minimize
any negative effects so that crewmembers can remain healthy and
efficient during long flights, as well as after their return to
Earth.
International Space Station
Risk Mitigation
The Space Portable Spetroreflectometer
(SPSR) is a new tool designed to measure the effects of the space
environment on spacecraft materials. This is the first hand-held,
battery-powered device of its kind, allowing astronauts to measure
actual spacecraft devices, rather than relying on information
gathered from samples. During Extravehicular Activity (EVA) operations
scheduled later this year, cosmonauts and astronauts will use
this device to measure how much energy is being absorbed by the
thermal control coatings, or radiator surfaces, of the Mir space
station. Radiators, which are used to shed excess heat from the
spacecraft, play a vital role as part of the station's cooling
system.
Measurements will be used to determine
the deterioration of radiator surfaces caused by the space environment.
The radiator surfaces of Mir are very similar to those being manufactured
for the International Space Station. Based on ground testing,
researchers have constructed models of expected deterioration
for the Space Station. The SPSR will provide valuable data for
determining how materials degrade when exposed to the space environment.
The Space Portable Spectroreflectometer was built for the Space Environments and Effects program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL by AZ Technology, In. of Huntsville.
Microgravity
The Interferometer to study Protein
Crystal Growth (IPCG)- flying for the first time on STS-86 and
the NASA 6 mission-- is an instrument designed to yield valuable
preliminary data on how protein crystal growth differs in the
microgravity environment of space. Researchers also hope to develop
technologies and methods to improve the protein crystal growth
process, which may help unlock future answers to the molecular
structure of targeted proteins, leading to the development of
new, disease-fighting drugs.
The IPCG hardware will be transported to the Mir on STS-86 and installed in the microgravity glovebox for experiment operations. Once installed, the interferometer, an instrument for measuring wavelengths of light, collects and stores optical information on a growing crystal in the facility, showing growth in form and structure, as well as in change in concentration of the protein solution surrounding the crystal. A total of three experiments will be conducted on six fluid systems. The IPCG hardware will be removed from the glovebox and returned to stowage at the completion of the experiments and returned on STS-89.
Dr. Alexander McPherson, University
of California, Irvine, is the principal investigator of the IPCG
experiment.
The Canadian Protein Crystallization Experiment (CAPE) is a biotechnology flight experiment developed by Canadian Space Agency scientists that could help lead to advanced treatment and possible cures for some debilitating diseases as well as bacterial and viral infections. Some of the diseases targeted include cancer, meningitis, cystic fibrosis, emphphysema, diabetes, Alzheimers, breast cancer and hypertension.
CAPE consists of wells, or small
test tubes, which will be processed over a period of several months
aboard the Mir. Of the 700 wells available for the project, the
majority will contain samples of 32 different proteins from 15
Canadian universities and research institutions. Forty-four wells
will contain student experiments.
Because protein crystals are fragile,
it is difficult to grow adequately large or perfect protein crystals
in Earth-based laboratories. However, the microgravity environment
of space does not present gravity-induced effects such as sedimentation
and convection to disrupt the growth of these fragile crystals.
The chance of growing larger, more perfect crystals is greatly
improved. and may significantly accelerate drug development research.
Coordination and integration of
the experiment with the Shuttle/Mir Flight Program is managed
by NASA's Microgravity Research Program at Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, AL.
The European Space Agency (ESA)
is again sponsoring a test of a European laser docking system
that will be tested for the second time during the Shuttle's approach
and departure from Mir. A GPS receiver and an optical rendezvous
sensor on the Shuttle, together with equipment already installed
on Mir, will be operated in an enactment of how ESA's unmanned
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will approach and depart the
International Space Station when it delivers supplies to it early
in the next century.
During the long-range approach
to Mir (starting 3 hours before docking), ESA's receivers on Atlantis
and Mir will receive data from Navstar Global Positioning Satellites
on the position of the other craft. The accuracy of that relative
navigational data will later be compared with true data from the
Shuttle's rendezvous radar.
When the Shuttle is 170 feet from
Mir, the short-range experiment will begin. Navigation will be
handed over to the optical rendezvous sensor. Data will later
be compared with "true" figures, this time supplied
by the NASA Trajectory Control System (TCS), a laser ranging device
in the payload bay.
The experiments will be repeated
during Atlantis' departure from Mir. As the Shuttle backs away
from Mir through a corridor similar to that used during approach,
periodic stops will be made to "stationkeep" in order
to collect data for the European laser docking sensor. Atlantis
will continue backing away from Mir until it reaches a distance
of 600 feet below the Mir.
This test is last in a series
of three flight demonstrations. The GPS elements of the system
were tested on STS-80 in November 1996 and the first full flight
test was done on the sixth Shuttle-Mir docking mission in May
1997.
The Seeds in Space-II experiment
will passively expose a group of tomato seeds, in hand-sewn dacron
bags, to the vacuum of space. Seeds flown in the SEEDS-II payload
will be compared with a control group of seeds and an experimental
group of seeds located in an underwater habitat in Key Largo,
Florida. Upon completion of the mission, all of the seeds will
be distributed to schools for education and outreach purposes.
The students will compare the experimental seeds with the control
group seeds. The experiment is designed to increase student awareness
of the similarities and complexities involved in the hostile ocean
and space environments.
The SEEDS-II is a passive payload
and does not require any power or crew interaction. The payload
will be self-contained within a standard, unsealed 2.5 ft GAS
canister that will be exposed to space for the duration of the
mission.
The STS-86 mission will support
the third and final flight of KidSat,
NASA's pilot education program that uses an electronic still camera
aboard the Shuttle to bring the frontiers of space exploration
to a growing number of U.S. middle school classrooms via the Internet.
KidSat is a NASA-sponsored research
and development project that links middle school, high school
and university students to Space Shuttle missions. The mission
of KidSat is to understand and demonstrate how middle school students
can actively make observations of the Earth by using mounted cameras
onboard the Space Shuttle to conduct scientific inquiry in support
of their middle school curricula. Students engage in a process
to select and analyze images of the Earth during Shuttle flights
and use the tools of modern science (computers, data analysis
tools and the Internet) to widely disseminate the images and results.
A team environment, modeling scientific research and space operations
and promoting student growth, discovery and achievement, while
helping students participate in solving real-world problems, is
implemented.
These students remotely operate
a Kodak electronic still camera, mounted in the right overhead
window on the flight-deck of the Space Shuttle, to take digital
photographs of the Earth. Middle school students are responsible
for planning the photo requests, which involves calculating the
longitude and latitude of a region, as well as the exact time
the Shuttle flies over it. High school and university students
then compile the requests into a single control file that is forwarded
by KidSat representatives at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in
Houston to the IBM Thinkpad connected to the camera. Using special
flight software, the Thinkpad automatically commands the camera
to snap the pictures requested by the middle schools. These pictures
then retrace their path back down to Earth where they reach their
final destination -- a computer archive. Students then can access
their pictures from this archive, using the Internet.
KidSat has flown on two previous
Shuttle missions: the first was in March 1996 (STS-76) and the
second in January 1997 (STS-81). STS-86 marks the third and final
mission of this pilot program. Three U.S. middle schools participated
in the first flight. Since then, KidSat has been growing; there
were 15 schools participating during the STS-81 mission, and 52
schools will participate during the STS-86 flight. Over 300 photos
were taken during STS-76, and another 500 were taken during STS-81.
The three-year pilot program is
a partnership between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), and the Johns
Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth
(JHU-IAAY).
During the Shuttle mission, the
KidSat mission operations center at UCSD is staffed by undergraduate
and high school students. The center is modeled after Mission
Control at JSC. The students receive telemetry from the Shuttle
on their computer monitors and can listen to and receive instructions
from NASA's flight controllers over direct channels to JSC.
The KidSat mission operations
team monitors the Shuttle's progress around the clock and continually
provides up-to-date information to the middle schools, which are
using the Internet to send instructions to photograph specific
regions of the Earth. Since any change in the Shuttle's orbit
can affect students' selections, UCSD constantly updates this
information so that the middle schools may re-plan their photographic
requests if necessary. This is done through a sophisticated World
Wide Web site that allows students access to interactive maps
of orbit ground tracks to aid in photo selection.
When the image requests have been
verified by KidSat mission operations, they are compiled into
a single camera control file and forwarded electronically to the
KidSat representatives at JSC. They pass this file on to flight
controllers who uplink it to an IBM Thinkpad connected to the
KidSat camera. Software on the Thinkpad, developed by students
working at JPL, uses these commands to control the camera. These
same students trained the astronauts on the use of the software
and the installation of the KidSat camera in the Shuttle's overhead
window.
After the photographs are taken,
they are sent back down to the KidSat data system at JPL, staffed
by high school students during the mission and posted on the World
Wide Web for the students to study and analyze. The curriculum
used by the middle school students and teachers is being developed
by the JHU-IAAY and UCSD.
Some of the topics the students
explored during the previous KidSat missions were weather, biomes,
the relationship between history and geography and the patterns
of rivers on the landscape. Additional interests for these missions
included searching for impact craters and studying the relationships
of center pivot irrigation fields to available water supply.
The KidSat pilot program is sponsored
by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education, with support
from the Offices of Space Flight, Mission to Planet Earth, and
Space Science.
The Commercial Protein Crystal
Growth (CPCG) payload is comprised of a Commercial Refrigerator/Incubator
Module (CRIM) designed as a generic carrier, and the Commercial
Vapor Diffusion Apparatus (CVDA) experiment. The primary objective
of the CVDA experiment is to produce large, high-quality crystals
of selected proteins under controlled conditions in microgravity.
Crystals of sufficient size and suitable quality are essential
for protein crystallographic analysis of molecular structures
via X-ray diffraction and computer modeling.
The vapor diffusion method of
protein crystal growth is a technique by which protein crystallization
is initiated through change in protein/precipitant concentrations.
Water vapor is transported from a droplet protein/precipitant
solution at a given pH to a reservoir containing a relatively
high concentration of precipitating agent. The process is driven
by drop-reservoir vapor pressure difference in a closed volume.
Typical precipitating agents are ammonium sulfate, sodium chloride,
polyethylene glycol, and methyl pentane diol.
The CVDA design provides a better
thermal environment for samples as well as providing a larger
number of experiments per CRIM, 128 as compared with 60 per old
VDA configuration. Each CVDA Chamber Block consists of four experiment
chambers per row. The assembly will have eight rows of experiment
chambers, thus 128 per assembly.
The Cosmic Radiation Effects
and Activation Monitor will be used to collect data on
cosmic ray energy loss spectra, neutron fluxes and induced radioactivity
as a function of geomagnetic coordinates and detector location
within the orbiter. Payload hardware consists of the active cosmic
ray monitor, a passive scintillation crystal canister, two neutron
spectrometers and 10 passive detector packages. The active monitor
will be used to obtain real-time spectral data, while the passive
monitors will obtain data integrated over the mission duration.
An additional control passive detector package will be used for
obtaining background data prior to launch.
The CREAM active monitor is a box containing sensors and associated electronics and solid-state memory. The active monitor will be rotated between two passive package locations throughout the mission. CREAM uses three different types of passive detectors. The first is a set of scintillation crystals packaged in an aluminum canister that will remain in a central location within Mir throughout the mission.
There are also passive detector
packages, which contain nickel and gold activation foils, neutron
bubble dosimeters and thermoluminescent dosimeters. Eight of these
packages will be placed in four specific locations within Mir,
while the remaining two will remain in the central location within
Mir. The third type of passive detector is the neutron spectrometer,
which consists of three identical sets of six gel-filled test
tubes. The "test tubes," or neutron bubble detectors,
are designed to measure specific energy thresholds of the neutron
environment within Mir.
The Cell Culture Module-A payload
was formerly known as the Space Tissue Loss / National Institutes
of Health-Cells Configuration A. The payload objectives are to
validate models for muscle, bone and endothelial cell biochemical
and functional loss induced by microgravity stress; to evaluate
cytoskeleton, metabolism, membrane integrity and protease activity
in target cells; and to test tissue loss pharmaceuticals for efficacy.
The experiment unit fits into a single standard middeck locker
that has a modified locker door with its panels removed. The unit
takes in and vents air to the cabin via the front panel. The experiment
is powered and functions continuously from pre-launch through
post-landing.
The analysis module includes the
sealed fluid path assembly containing the cells under study, all
media for sustained growth, automated drug delivery provisions
for testing of candidate pharmaceuticals, inline vital activity
and physical environment monitors, integral fraction collection
capabilities and cell fixation facilities.
Experiment activities can be performed
without any crew intervention other than initiation of the experiment
at the beginning of on-orbit payload operations and termination
of the experiment prior to deorbit preparation.
The Shuttle Ionospheric Modification
with Pulsed Local Exhaust payload of opportunity has no
flight hardware; orbiter OMS thruster firings will be used to
create ionospheric disturbances for observation by the SIMPLEX
radars. SIMPLEX has three different radar sites used for collecting
data: 1) Arecibo, 2) Kwajalein, and 3) Jicamarca. One of the radar
sites (Arecibo) will also use a low-level laser to observe the
effects on the ionosphere resulting from the thruster firing.
The objective of the SIMPLEX activity
is to determine the source of Very High Frequency (VHF) radar
echoes caused by the Orbiter and its OMS engine firings. The principal
investigator (PI) will use the collected data to examine the effects
of orbital kinetic energy on ionospheric irregularities and to
understand the processes that take place with the venting of exhaust
materials. SIMPLEX sensors may collect data during any encounter
opportunity when the orbiter support activities meet the criteria
defined.
| Debra Rahn, Mike Braukus, Headquarters, Washington, D.C. | Space Shuttle Mission, International Cooperation, Policy, Management | 202/358-1639 |
| Kyle Herring, Ed Campion, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX | Mission Operations, Astronauts | 281/483-5111 |
| Lisa Malone, Dave Dickinson, Kennedy Space Center, FL | Launch Processing, KSC Landing Information | 407/867-2468 |
| Fred Brown, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA | Landing Info | 805/258-2663 |
| June Malone, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL | External Tank, Solid Rocket Boosters, Shuttle Main Engines | 205/544-7061 |