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STS-79

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STS-79

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AKA: Atlantis;Spacehab Double Module. Launched: 1996-09-16. Returned: 1996-09-26. Number crew: 5 . Duration: 10.14 days.

On September 19 Atlantis docked with the Russian Mir space station. Aboard Atlantis in the payload bay were the Orbiter Docking System, the modified Long Tunnel, and the Spacehab Double Module, containing supplies for the Mir. Astronaut John Blaha relieved Shannon Lucid as NASA resident on the complex. Atlantis undocked from the Mir complex on September 23 at 23:33 GMT. Valeriy Korzun, Aleksandr Kaleri and John Blaha remain on Mir. On September 26 Atlantis closed its payload bay doors, and at 11:06 GMT fired its OMS engines for a three minute long deorbit burn. After entry interface at 11:42 GMT the spaceship flew across Canada and the US for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 at 12:13 GMT.

The replaced RSRM-56 solid rocket boosters separated at 08:57 GMT. MECO (Main Engine Cutoff) came at 09:03 GMT, followed by external tank ET-81 separation with Atlantis in a 82 x 296 km x 51.6 deg orbit. The OMS 2 burn to raise orbit to 157 x 293 km was carried out at 09:37 GMT, and the payload bay doors were opened at 10:15 GMT.

On September 19 Atlantis docked with the Mir complex. The crew reported 'tally ho' (visual contact) at 01:07 GMT, after the terminal burn at 00:33 GMT. By 01:39 they were 3 km apart; twenty minutes later that distance to 300 m. The crew closed in to 10 meters at 03:03 GMT, and carried out station-keeping at that distance for a few minutes, before closing in again for docking at 03:13 GMT. The docking rings retracted and brought the two vehicles together for `hard dock' at 03:20 GMT. At 05:40 the hatch was opened.

NASA Official Mission Summary:

STS-79
(4th Mir docking; SPACEHAB)
Atlantis
Pad A
79th Shuttle mission
17th flight OV-104
Lucid sets U.S., world human spaceflight records
4th Shuttle-Mir docking
1st U.S. crew exchange
11th, 12th rollbacks
32nd KSC landing
Crew:
William F. Readdy, Commander (3rd Shuttle flight)
Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot (2nd)
Tom Akers, Mission Specialist (4th)
Jay Apt, Mission Specialist (4th)
Carl E. Walz, Mission Specialist (3rd)
Embarking to Mir:
John E. Blaha, Mission Specialist and Mir 22/NASA 3 flight engineer (5th Shuttle flight)
Returning from Mir:
Shannon W. Lucid, Mir 21/NASA 2 Cosmonaut Researcher and Mission Specialist (5th Shuttle flight)
Orbiter Preps (move to):
Flow A:
OPF -April 13, 1996
VAB - June 24, 1996
Pad - July 1, 1996
Flow B (1st rollback):
VAB - July 10, 1996 (Hurricane Bertha; SRB changeout)
OPF - Aug. 3, 1996
VAB - Aug. 13, 1996
Pad - Aug. 20, 1996
Flow C (2nd rollback):
VAB - Sept. 4, 1996 (Hurricane Fran)
Pad - Sept. 5, 1996

Launch:

September 16, 1996, 4:54:49 a.m. EDT. Launch originally set for July 31 slipped when mission managers decided to switch out Atlantis' twin solid rocket boosters. STS-79 boosters assembled using same new adhesive as boosters flown on previous mission, STS-78, in which hot gas path into J-joints of motor field joints was observed post-retrieval. Although managers concluded original STS-79 boosters were safe to fly, they decided to replace them with a set slated for STS-80 that used original adhesive. Booster change-out took place after Atlantis was already back in Vehicle Assembly Building due to threat from Hurricane Bertha. New launch date of Sept. 12 targeted and Atlantis returned to pad. Launch date delayed to Sept. 16 when Shuttle was returned to VAB due to threat from Hurricane Fran, marking first time Shuttle rolled back twice in single processing flow due to hurricane threats. Countdown proceeded smoothly to on-time liftoff Sept. 16. Approximately 13 minutes into flight, auxiliary power unit no. 2 powered down prematurely. After review and analysis, Mission Management Team concluded mission could proceed to nominal end-of mission as planned.

Landing:

September 26, 1996, 8:13:15 a.m. EDT, Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Rollout distance: 10,981 feet (3,347 meters). Rollout time: one minute, two seconds. Mission duration: ten days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, 26 seconds. Landed revolution 160, on first opportunity at KSC. Lucid able to walk off orbiter into Crew Transport Vehicle with assistance, and later the same day received congratulatory call from President Clinton.

Mission Highlights:

STS-79 highlighted by return to Earth of U.S. astronaut Lucid after 188 days in space, first U.S. crew exchange aboard Russian Space Station Mir, and fourth Shuttle-Mir docking. Lucid's long-duration spaceflight set new U.S. record as well as world record for a woman. She embarked to Mir March 22 with STS-76 mission. Lucid was followed on Mir by astronaut John Blaha during STS-79, giving her distinction of membership in four different flight crews - two U.S. and two Russian.

STS-79 also marked second flight of SPACEHAB module in support of Shuttle-Mir activities and first flight of SPACEHAB Double Module configuration. Shuttle-Mir linkup occurred at 11:13 p.m. EDT, Sept. 18, following R-bar approach. Hatches opened at 1:40 a.m., Sept. 19, and Blaha and Lucid exchanged places at 7 a.m. EDT. Awaiting Blaha on Mir were Valery Korzun, Mir 22 commander, and Alexander Kaleri, flight engineer.

During five days of mated operations, two crews transferred more than 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms) of supplies to Mir, including logistics, food and water generated by orbiter fuel cells. Three experiments also were transferred: Biotechnology System (BTS) for study of cartilage development; Material in Devices as Superconductors (MIDAS) to measure electrical properties of high-temperature superconductor materials; and Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA), containing several smaller experiments, including self-contained aquatic systems.

About 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of experiment samples and equipment transferred from Mir to Atlantis; total logistical transfer to and from station of more than 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) was most extensive to date.

During her approximately six-month stay on Mir, Lucid conducted research in following fields: advanced technology, Earth sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, microgravity research and space sciences. Specific experiments included: Environmental Radiation Measurements to ascertain ionizing radiation levels aboard Mir; Greenhouse-Integrated Plant Experiments, to study effect of microgravity on plants, specifically dwarf wheat; and Assessment of Humoral Immune Function During Long-Duration Space Flight, to gather data on effect of long-term spaceflight on the human immune system and involving collection of blood serum and saliva samples. Some research conducted in newest and final Mir module, Priroda, which arrived at station during Lucid's stay.

Three experiments remained on Atlantis: Extreme Temperature Translation Furnace (ETTF), a new furnace design allowing spacebased processing up to 871 degrees Fahrenheit (1,600 degrees Centigrade) and above; Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) complement of 128 individual samples involving 12 different proteins; and Mechanics of Granular Materials, designed to further understanding of behavior of cohesionless granular materials, which could in turn lead to better understanding of how Earth's surface responds during earthquakes and landslides.

As with all Shuttle-Mir flights, risk-mitigation experiments were conducted to help reduce development risk for the International Space Station. Flying for first time was the Active Rack Isolation System (ARIS), an experiment rack designed to cushion payloads from vibration and other disturbances.

Conducted near end of flight was test using orbiter's small vernier jets to lower Atlantis' orbit. Similar maneuver may be employed at end of second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, STS-82, to re-boost Hubble to a higher orbit while still in orbiter payload bay.

Photo Gallery

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STS-79 Credit: www.spacefacts.de

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• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Duke of Earl - . Flight: STS-79.

  "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler."Song was up linked in honor of Carl Walz's 20th anniversary. The song is one he performed for his wife, Pam, before they were married while he was a member of an Ohio band called"The Blue Moons". This is the second time Walz has spent his anniversary in orbit" CAPCOM: Kay Hire

• STS-79 - . Call Sign: Atlantis. Crew: Akers, Apt, Blaha, Readdy, Walz, Wilcutt. Payload: Atlantis F17 / External Airlock/ODS. Mass: 115,900 kg (255,500 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Akers, Apt, Blaha, Readdy, Walz, Wilcutt. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: Mir. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: Soyuz TM-24, STS-76 Mir NASA-1, STS-79, STS-79 Mir NASA-2. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Atlantis. Duration: 10.14 days. Decay Date: 1996-09-25 . USAF Sat Cat: 24324 . COSPAR: 1996-057A. Apogee: 386 km (239 mi). Perigee: 368 km (228 mi). Inclination: 51.70 deg. Period: 92.10 min.

  On September 19 Atlantis docked with the Russian Mir space station. Aboard Atlantis in the payload bay were the Orbiter Docking System, the modified Long Tunnel, and the Spacehab Double Module, containing supplies for the Mir. Astronaut John Blaha relieved Shannon Lucid as NASA resident on the complex. Atlantis undocked from the Mir complex on September 23 at 23:33 GMT. Valeriy Korzun, Aleksandr Kaleri and John Blaha remain on Mir. On September 26 Atlantis closed its payload bay doors, and at 11:06 GMT fired its OMS engines for a three minute long deorbit burn. After entry interface at 11:42 GMT the spaceship flew across Canada and the US for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 at 12:13 GMT.

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Rescue Me - . Flight: STS-79. "Rescue Me" by Fontella Bass."Capcom Kay Hire called the wakeup music"a message from Shannon" referring to U.S. astronaut Dr. Shannon Lucid who has spent approximately six months aboard Mir" CAPCOM: Kay Hire.

• Mir News 328: Start Atlantis - . Nation: Russia. Program: Mir. Flight: Soyuz TM-24, STS-76 Mir NASA-1, STS-79, STS-79 Mir NASA-2.

  Within 20 minutes after the launch of Atlantis on mission STS-79 on 16.09.1996 at 08.54.49 UTC commander Readdy could be heard in a contact with Houston via a relay station in Spain. This was on 259.700 mc (AM) between 0913-0919 UTC. For ballistic reasons lift-off took place 46 seconds later than originally planned.

  Rendezvous and docking operations:

  Begin Mir rendezvous operation: 18.09 2134 UTC TI Burn 19.09 0003 Arrival on R-bar (Earth radius vector) 0153 Hovering at 170 feet from Mir 0235 Begin final approach 0310 Atlantis docks with Mir 0317 Hardmate Atlantis/Mir 0337

  For observers in Western-Europe the passes of Mir (and -the then being in a short distance- of Atlantis) begin during Mir's orbit nr. 60468 with a pass between 0307-0315 UTC, maximum elevation 11 degrees. So communications between Mir and Atlantis might be possible on the well known VHF frequencies. Whether there will be TV-images -for instance via CNN- or not is not sure at this point. If the Russians use Altair-1 (Cosmos-2054) over 16 dgs West images seen by Mir of the approaching Atlantis might be possible between 0230-0324 UTC. During the last docking mission of Atlantis (STS-76) those images could be seen via CNN together with images of Mir seen by a camera in Atlantis. It is also possible that the Russians will use Altair-2 (over 96 dgs East) during the window from 0306-0402 UTC.

  Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Hold On (I'm Coming) - . Flight: STS-79. "Hold On (I'm Coming)" performed by Sam and Dave referring to the return of Shannon Lucid..

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - . Flight: STS-79. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" by Jerry Lee Lewis referring to the ARIS experiment. ARIS = Active Rack Isolation System, a set of sensors and actuators which dampen out vibrations for ultra-sensitive microgravity experiments..

• Mir News 329: Atlantis docked at Mir - . Nation: Russia. Program: Mir. Flight: Soyuz TM-24, STS-76 Mir NASA-1, STS-79, STS-79 Mir NASA-2.

  'Readdy was ready' and he controlled the free drift with a speed of appr. 2.5 cm/sec of Atlantis to Mir during the final phase of the approach. The result was a perfect soft docking on 19.09.96 at 0313 UTC. The original operation schedule was almost executed on the minute, except for the time of the 'touch', which had been put forward by 4 minutes. For friends in Western Europa who use to monitor radio transmissions during such operations this was a blessing for it meant that the docking could take place within the window for both objects on Mir's orbit nr. 60468, 0307-0315 UTC. So at 031330 UTC they could hear Readdy reporting in Russian: 'KASANIYE' (touch). For this report he used the 130.165 mc FM and immediately after his report commander Korzun in Mir reported on 143.625 mc that he had a positive indication about the docking. Monitoring people always hope that they can pick up that important word 'kasaniye' during dockings of Soyuz- and Progress-ships, but mostly the moment of that touch takes place just a few minutes after LOS of their position, in the past this occurred a few times during Soyuz-TM dockings. Of course it is always possible to log the traffic during such dockings in the final phase of the approach. This time there was not much radio traffic before the 'touch' for Readdy had to do his job with concentration and everybody was watching the operation silently. TV-images transmitted by TV-stations revealed that there were no direct images from camera's on board Mir. So possibly the geostationary Luches: Altair-1 and 2 were not in use. During the first 3 docking missions these images could be seen simultaneously with the images from Atlantis , relayed by TDRS-s. Certainly we will get images made from inside Mir during the docking operation, but these were recorded and transmitted to earth later. During the next pass of the enormous space-complex (in orb. Mir nr. 60469, 0441-0453 UTC) the Mir-crew already had accomplished the air-seal checks and opened 2 hatches of the SO (docking compartment). They also had removed things which had been necessary during the docking and now had to be stowed away. Just before LOS for our position Korzun tried to communicate via 130.165 mc with Atlantis to get information about the proceedings there. Opening of the hatches from Atlantis to Mir took place at 0539 UTC, so not in our VHF-range. Via TV-stations receiving relays via a TDRS we could see nice images of the meeting of both crews and the first gathering on board Mir.

  SAREX STS-79: During this mission there might be radio-amateur activities by the astronauts-radio-amateurs Jay Apt (N5QWL), Carl Walz (KC5TIE) and John Blaha (KC5TZQ). Sarex VHF downlink is 145.840 mc FM with uplink frequencies: 144.450 and 144.470 mc FM. Please do not use 145.840 mc FM for 'uplink' or -during Atlantis passes -local bragging. Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Cheeseburger in Paradise - . Flight: STS-79. "Cheeseburger in Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett referring to Shannon Lucid's thoughts of her diet after returning to Earth..

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Another Saturday Night - . Flight: STS-79. "Another Saturday Night" By Max Q. Carl Walz is a member..

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Got Me Under Pressure - . Flight: STS-79. "Got Me Under Pressure" by ZZ Top referring to the raising of cabin pressure to 15.5 psi to transfer oxygen and nitrogen to Mir..

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Please Don't Leave Me - . Flight: STS-79. "Please Don't Leave Me" by Fats Domino. Some music for undocking day.

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Only Wanna Be With You - . Flight: STS-79. "Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie and the Blowfish referring to the impending return of Lucid to her family..

• STS-79 - Wakeup Song: Danger Zone - . Flight: STS-79. "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins. Played in honor of the two Navy crewmen on board, Bill Readdy and Terrence Wilcutt. Wilcutt's a Marine, not Navy. (The Navy trains the Marine pilots so it's still a valid connection.).

• Landing of STS-79 - . Return Crew: Akers, Apt, Lucid, Readdy, Walz, Wilcutt. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Akers, Apt, Lucid, Readdy, Walz, Wilcutt. Program: Mir. Flight: Soyuz TM-24, STS-76 Mir NASA-1, STS-79, STS-79 Mir NASA-2. STS-79 landed at 12:13 GMT with the crew of Lucid, Readdy, Wilcutt, Akers, Apt and Walz aboard..