STS-106 Crew, Ground Teams Prepare for 'Dream Mission'
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SPACE CENTER August 25, 2000 Roundup VOL. 39, NO. 17 L YNDON B. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS STS-106 Crew, ground teams prepare for ‘Dream Mission’ NASA JSC Photo STS106-(s)-002 The crew of STS-106, from left, Boris Morukov, Scott Altman, Rick Mastracchio, Edward Lu, Dan Burbank, Terrence Wilcutt, and Yuri Malenchenko. ith the successful launch and dock- of equipment and supplies from Atlantis walkers will maneuver by continuously ago, will provide the early living quarters ing of the Russian Zvezda Service and the Progress. According to STS-106 attaching, disconnecting and reattaching two for station residents but at this point is W Module and Progress resupply craft Launch Package Manager Sharon Castle, shorter tethers – much as a rock-climber – to more like a vacant apartment. The crew achieved, the spotlight is back on NASA for more than 7,200 pounds of payloads will be traverse the length of the station. will spend five days unloading cargo and the next step in development of the Interna- ferried to orbit on Atlantis. Another 1,300 Burbank and Mastracchio, both flying stowing it throughout the tional Space Station. STS-106, which will be pounds will be unpacked from the Progress their first missions, will assist with station to properly out- the 99th shuttle mission, is slated to bring the module already attached to the orbiting the EVAs from fit Zvezda. Burbank next visitors to the newly expanded station. station. Payloads include everything inside the shuttle. will have the task of The 106 crew, a team of five U.S. astronauts from food and water to exercise Mastracchio will coordinating all the and two Russian cosmonauts, is now in final equipment, computers, stowage of gear in the stages of training for its September 8 launch clothing and medical ISS and aboard Atlantis. Crewmembers say they’ve gear – all for the first per- recording the got one of the best missions ever. manent residents of ISS. inventory for future “Having the opportunity to fly on a space retrieval. Cargo will likely be stowed shuttle mission is an awesome experience,” EVA milestones behind panels and module walls as well as said Commander Terry Wilcutt, “but what Approximately 100 pounds use attached to wall surfaces and station corri- makes STS-106 special is the wide and chal- of equipment will be the robotic arm to dors. Cargo stowage will be well lenging range of tasks we will perform. installed externally on the sta- position the two astronauts organized in advance to make During our mission, we will fly to and dock tion. To accomplish this, Lu, a first-time as far along their 100-foot-long sure it does not block access with the space station, perform a space walk, space walker, and Malenchenko, a veteran path as possible. Burbank will serve to areas where crewmembers open up a brand new module, install and of two previous space walks, will perform as the Intravehicular Crewmember for the might be working. check out crucial systems on board the a space walk on the fourth day of the flight, space walk, coordinating all of the EVA station, unload a cargo resupply vessel, only the second EVA involving both a activities from within Atlantis’ cabin. Cleared for departure operate the shuttle robotic arm, and finally U.S. astronaut and a cosmonaut outside Once positioned, Lu and Malenchenko Once Atlantis’ crew has prepared the undock and fly around the station.” of the shuttle. will install several devices to the station, ISS for its first residents, the shuttle will Wilcutt will be joined by Pilot Scott The EVA also will be the first in which a including a magnetometer – an instrument undock from the station. At that time, Altman (Cmdr., USN), Mission Specialists U.S. astronaut moves about the station using that indicates the orientation of the space- Altman will take the controls and execute Dan Burbank (Lt. Cmdr., USCG), Ed Lu the Russian tether protocol. Traditionally craft – to a boom on the station. They also a flyaround of the station to enable the (Ph.D.), Richard Mastracchio, and Cosmo- during EVAs, U.S. astronauts use a single will connect Zvezda’s various data cables shuttle crew to conduct a photographic nauts Yuri Malenchenko (Col., Russian Air tether to leash the crewmember to the space- and lines to the Zarya module. survey of the station’s exterior. Force) and Boris Morukov (M.D.) for the craft. However, because of the distance After the flyaround, the shuttle will planned 11-day mission. crewmembers must travel for their various Orbital housewarming maneuver away from the station and pre- Assigned just over six months ago, the tasks on the station’s exterior, and obstacles One of the highlights of the mission will pare for a pre-dawn landing September 19 mission is chock full of high-profile along the way, use of a single long line in be when the crew opens the hatch to the at the landing facility at Kennedy Space activities for the crew, the largest mission this case is not feasible. For this mission, station’s living room on flight-day five. Center to complete the third shuttle mission objective being the unloading and stowage and likely many more afterward, the space Zvezda, launched less than two months of the year. I More information on the mission, including sighting opportunities, can be found at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/. Legendary JSC hosts First integrated Apollo-era Space Cowboys’ payload trainer engineer dies. Press Weekend. arrives at JSC. Page 2 Page 5 Page 7 2 August 25, 2000 SPACE CENTER Roundup Owen Maynard, key architect of Apollo spacecraft, dies at 75 wen Eugene Maynard, an early G mission sequence for leader of the Apollo Program and Apollo test missions O one of Canada’s spaceflight leading up to the first pioneers, died on July 17. He was 75. lunar landing on the G In 1960, Maynard was part of a small mission. Maynard group of engineers, NASA’s Space Task remained in charge of Group, in Langley Field, Virginia, systems engineering assigned to a new human spaceflight until he left NASA in program called Apollo. Working under 1970 following the the direction of leading human spaceflight successful achievement luminaries such as Robert Gilruth, Max of Kennedy’s goal. Faget and Caldwell Johnson, Maynard Maynard was born helped develop the initial designs of in 1924 in Sarnia, what would eventually become the Ontario, Canada. Apollo Command and Service When World War II Modules. The following year, when broke out, he left President John F. Kennedy gave school and worked as a Apollo the goal of landing on the boatbuilder and moon by the end of the decade, machinist before Maynard helped devise how Apollo NASA JSC Photo S66-24136 joining the Royal would fly to the moon and return Owen Maynard discusses various exhibits during Prince Philip’s visit to JSC in 1966. Canadian Air Force in safely back to Earth. 1942. He flew a Unlike Mercury and no one knew exactly the go land on the moon, and we didn’t know number of aircraft in Canada and Gemini, the selection of a composition and density of whether, if we did, we would sink out of overseas, although the war ended before spacecraft for Apollo the lunar surface. Maynard sight.” he could see combat. followed a process worked on the assumption In 1964, Maynard was promoted to the After the war, Maynard worked at involving external that the moon’s surface position he would hold for most of the Avro Canada while he earned his degree studies, requests for bore similarities to that of remainder of his career at NASA: chief of in aeronautical engineering at the proposals, and Arizona and helped the Systems Engineering Division. To University of Toronto. He held a number technical evalua- design the landing gear many people, this made him Apollo’s chief of jobs at Avro including working on the tions. In practice, accordingly. engineer. His responsibilities encompassed layout of the Avro Jetliner and the design however, the Space “We didn’t know making sure that the constituent parts of the and testing of the CF-105 Avro Arrow Task Group had its what the lunar Apollo spacecraft worked together, not weapons pack and landing gear. own design for surface was like,” only among themselves but also with the In 1959, the Arrow Program was Apollo. Maynard Owen Maynard Maynard said in a launch vehicle and ground facilities. cancelled, and Maynard and 30 other was part of the Canadian and British engineers from Avro technical review board that confirmed the 1999 interview for joined NASA. Until he became involved in group’s design. the JSC Oral the Apollo Program in 1960, Maynard About one year after Kennedy’s call to History Project. worked on the Mercury Program. land on the moon, NASA had decided on “The scientists Having worked on crew escape sending astronauts to the moon and were telling us that systems at Avro, Maynard evaluated the bringing them back to Earth by a method the lunar surface Mercury capsule’s emergency provisions. known as lunar orbit rendezvous or LOR. was like a fairy He found that an emergency abort off Maynard was among the first members of castle structure, the pad, for instance, could cause the the Space Task Group to see the wisdom of electrostatically spacecraft to land on solid ground rather using LOR as a means of landing on the suspended than in water. The shock attenuation moon at a time when other methods were particles that when system consisted of a crushable favored.