STS-122 Fact Sheet
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NASA Facts National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, D.C. 20546 (202) 358-1600 FACT SHEET February 2008 SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS (STS-122) Space shuttle Atlantis’ upcoming 11-day mission will deliver a key component to con- tinue construction of the International Space Station. During the first of three space- walks, a laboratory module, known as Columbus, will be installed. The following day, astronauts will enter the European Space Agency’s module for the first time, expand- ing the research facilities of the station and providing crew members and scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments. The shuttle also will deliver a new crew member and bring back another astronaut after a nearly two-month mission. CREW Steve Frick Alan Poindexter Commander (Captain, U.S Navy) Pilot (Captain, U.S Navy) ● Veteran of one spaceflight, pilot on STS-110 in ● First spaceflight 2002 ● Age: 46, Hometown: Rockville, Md. ● Age: 43, Hometown: Gibsonia, Penn. ● Married with two children ● Logged more than 3200 hours in 35 different ● Enjoys water skiing, motorcycling and fishing aircraft Leland Melvin Rex Walheim (WALL-hime) Mission Specialist-1 Mission Specialist-2 (Colonel, U.S. Air Force) ● First spaceflight ● Crewmate of Commander Frick during STS-110 ● Primary operator of station robotic arm in 2002 ● Born Feb. 15, 1964, Lynchburg, Va. ● Will perform three spacewalks ● Detroit Lions 11th round pick in 1986 NFL draft ● Age: 45, Hometown: San Carlos, Calif. ● Enjoys photography, tennis and snowboarding ● Enjoys skiing, hiking and football Hans Schlegel (SHLAY-guhl) Stanley Love Mission Specialist-3 Mission Specialist-4 ● European Space Agency astronaut ● First spaceflight ● Will perform two spacewalks ● Will perform one spacewalk ● Veteran of one spaceflight, STS-55 in 1993 ● Age: 42, Hometown: Eugene, Ore. ● Age: 56, Hometown: Aachen, Germany ● Married with two children ● Married with seven children ● Enjoys cycling, music and animation Léopold Eyharts (ā-arts) Daniel Tani (TAW-nee) Mission Specialist-5 Expedition 16 Flight Engineer-2 Expedition 16 Flight Engineer-2 Mission Specialist-5 ● European Space Agency astronaut ● Launched to the station on STS-120 in October ● Veteran of one spaceflight, to Mir in Feb. 1998 ● Age: 47, Hometown: Lombard, Ill. ● Age: 50, Born: Biarritz, France ● Returns to Earth on STS-122 ● Returns on STS-123, targeted for March 2008 ● Enjoys golf, cooking and running The STS-122 patch depicts the continuation of the voyages of the early explorers to today's fron- tier, space. The ship denotes the travels of the early expeditions from the east to the west. The space shuttle shows the continuation of that journey along the orbital path from west to east. A little more than 500 years after Columbus sailed to the new world, the STS-122 crew will bring the European laboratory module "Columbus" to the station to usher in a new era of scientific discovery. SPACEWALKS Each willlastapproximately 6.5 hours. • Onflightday4,WalheimandSchlegel’smaintaskwillbetopreparetheColumbus moduleforin- stallationonHarmony.They willinstallthe Power DataGrappleFixtureonColumbus,which willal- lowthespacestation’sroboticarmtograbthemoduleandmove itfromtheshuttle’spayloadbayto Harmony.Thespacewalkersalso willbegin worktoremovetheNitrogenTank Assembly,apartof thestation’sthermalcontrolsystem,fromtheP1truss.Theassemblyneedstobe replacedbecause thenitrogen isrunninglow. • Onflightday6,WalheimandSchlegel willremovetheoldNTAandtemporarilystoreiton anequip- mentcart.They willthen install the new one.The old NTAwillbetransferredto theshuttle’spayload bayforreturnhome. • Onflightday8,WalheimandLove willinstalltwo payloadsonColumbus’exterior:SOLAR,anob- servatorytomonitorthesun;andtheEuropeanTechnology ExposureFacility(EuTEF)thatwillcarry eightdifferentexperimentsrequiring exposure tothespaceenvironment.Thespacewalkersalso will moveafailedcontrolmomentgyroscopefromitsstorage locationon thestationtotheshuttle’spay- loadbayforreturnto Earth. Figure 1: Crew can work experiments in the lab’s racks Figure 2: Space station configuration after STS-122 FACTS & FIGURES • STS-122 isthe 121stspaceshuttleflight,the29th flightforspaceshuttle Atlantisand the 24thflight tothestation. • Columbusiscylindricalshaped,23feetlongand 15feetindiameter.Ithas amassof morethan 22,700poundsanda volumeof2,648cubicfeet.Thelaboratory willhold10racksofexperiments, eachapproximatelythesizeofaphonebooth. • Thelab isdesignedtohostexperimentsexamininghow humansreacttomicrogravity and theeffectofspaceon variousfluidsandobjects. • Therearetwostandsboltedtothe outsidethatcanbeusedforresearchonmaterialsand forunfiltered viewsofspace. • TheESAalsobuilttheColumbusControlCentre inOberpfaffenhofen,Germany,tomanagethere- searchaboardColumbus. • ThreeNASCARflags willfly inhonorofthe50th anniversariesofNASA andthe Daytona500. • WhentheInternationalSpaceStationiscomplete,itwill haveamassofalmost1million pounds,be largerthanafive-bedroomhouse andmeasure361feetend-to-end. • Thestation hasbeenpermanentlystaffedwithhuman occupantssinceNovember2000. • Thestation orbitsatanaveragealtitudeof220milesatan inclinationof51.6degreestothe equator. • Nearly17,000NASAcivilservantsandcontractorsacrossthecountrycontribute totheagency’s Space Shuttle Program. .