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STS-135: the Final Mission Dedicated to the Courageous Men and Women Who Have Devoted Their Lives to the Space Shuttle Program and the Pursuit of Space Exploration

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration STS-135: The Final Mission Dedicated to the courageous men and women who have devoted their lives to the Space Shuttle Program and the pursuit of space exploration PRESS KIT/JULY 2011 www.nasa.gov 2 011 2009 2008 2007 2003 2002 2001 1999 1998 1996 1994 1992 1991 1990 1989 STS-1: The First Mission 1985 1981 CONTENTS Section Page SPACE SHUTTLE HISTORY ...................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 1 SPACE SHUTTLE CONCEPT AND DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................... 2 THE SPACE SHUTTLE ERA BEGINS ....................................................................................................... 7 NASA REBOUNDS INTO SPACE ............................................................................................................ 14 FROM MIR TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION .......................................................................... 20 STATION ASSEMBLY COMPLETED AFTER COLUMBIA ........................................................................... 25 MISSION CONTROL ROSES EXPRESS THANKS, SUPPORT .................................................................... 30 SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM’S KEY STATISTICS (THRU STS-134) ........................................................ 32 THE ORBITER FLEET ............................................................................................................................. 32 SHUTTLE UPS AND DOWNS: LAUNCH, LAND AND LAUNCH AGAIN ....................................................... 41 THREE LANDING SITES USED, MANY MORE AVAILABLE ....................................................................... 44 ASTRONAUT CORPS MARKS CHANGES IN SPACE, SOCIETY ................................................................ 46 HUBBLE AND THE SHUTTLE: NEW VIEWS OF OUR UNIVERSE .............................................................. 49 STS-135 MISSION OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 51 STS-135 TIMELINE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 61 STS-135 MISSION PROFILE ................................................................................................... 63 STS-135 MISSION OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................. 65 MISSION PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................. 67 STS-135 ATLANTIS CREW ...................................................................................................... 69 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 75 RAFFAELLO MULTI-PURPOSE LOGISTICS MODULE (MPLM) FLIGHT MODULE 2 (FM2) .......................... 77 MPLM BACKGROUND INFORMATION ................................................................................................... 78 THE LIGHTWEIGHT MULTI-PURPOSE EXPERIMENT SUPPORT STRUCTURE CARRIER (LMC) ................ 79 ROBOTIC REFUELING MISSION (RRM) ................................................................................................ 82 PUMP MODULE (PM) ........................................................................................................................... 85 JULY 2011 CONTENTS i Section Page RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING ....................................................................................................... 87 UNDOCKING, SEPARATION AND DEPARTURE ....................................................................................... 88 SPACEWALKS ......................................................................................................................... 89 STS-135 EXPERIMENTS .......................................................................................................... 93 STS-135/ULF7 RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT .............................................................. 93 SHORT-DURATION RESEARCH TO BE COMPLETED ON STS-135/ULF7 .................................................. 94 RESEARCH TO BE DELIVERED TO STATION ON SHUTTLE ...................................................................... 96 RESEARCH OF OPPORTUNITY .............................................................................................................. 97 RESEARCH TO BE RETURNED ON SPACE SHUTTLE ............................................................................... 98 PICO-SATELLITE SOLAR CELL TESTBED ............................................................................................... 100 DEVELOPMENT TEST OBJECTIVES (DTO) AND DETAILED SUPPLEMENTARY OBJECTIVES (DSO) .......... 102 STUDENT EXPERIMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 105 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA .................................................................................................... 117 LAUNCH & LANDING ................................................................................................................ 135 LAUNCH ............................................................................................................................................... 135 ABORT TO ORBIT ................................................................................................................................. 135 TRANSOCEANIC ABORT LANDING ........................................................................................................ 135 RETURN TO LAUNCH SITE .................................................................................................................... 135 ABORT ONCE AROUND ......................................................................................................................... 135 LANDING ............................................................................................................................................. 135 ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................. 137 MEDIA ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................... 153 SPACE SHUTTLE AND INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION − PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS ..... 155 THE FUTURE ............................................................................................................................ 159 ORION MULTI-PURPOSE CREW VEHICLE ............................................................................................. 159 NASA COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM ................................................................................................. 162 ii CONTENTS JULY 2011 SPACE SHUTTLE HISTORY INTRODUCTION Engineering and technological advances were required in development of the shuttle. It Shuttle History: Knowledge, was called the most complex machine ever Capabilities, and Cooperation built. Its main engines stretched design and metallurgical capabilities. Its thermal For 30 years, the space shuttle has been the U.S. protection system, which shielded the orbiter human access to space. It has capabilities no from temperatures as high as 3,000 degrees other spacecraft can claim. No other spacecraft Fahrenheit during re-entry, was a work in is likely to match those capabilities in this progress until shortly before the first shuttle generation. launch. Engines and the thermal protection It is the fastest winged vehicle ever to fly, with system were designed for repeated reuse. an orbital velocity of 17,500 mph, 10 times the Both have been continually improved during speed of a high-powered rifle bullet. It is the the life of the Space Shuttle Program. So has only winged vehicle to reach orbit, and the only just about every other major shuttle system. reusable space launch and landing vehicle. Science, in addition to the advances required The shuttle can carry cargos of substantial for the spacecraft’s development, has made weight and dimensions. It has taken into space huge strides with the help of the space shuttle. more than half the mass of all payloads We have learned more about ourselves, about launched by all nations since Sputnik in 1957 – how our bodies and those of other organisms 3,450,143 pounds (though STS-132) and function, from the subcellular level on up. We counting as the final shuttle launch approaches. have learned how we as individuals interact More singular still is the shuttle’s ability to with one another under unusual and stressful return payloads from space. It has brought circumstances – and how to work together. back from orbit more than 97 percent of We have learned about our planet, its land all mass returned to Earth, a total of masses, its oceans, its atmosphere and its 225,574 pounds (though STS-132) before the environment as a whole. With the help of the upcoming final flight. shuttle we have learned more about our moon, It has launched 802 crew members including solar system, our galaxy and our universe. those lost on Challenger and Columbia. Crew The Hubble Space Telescope, for example, members returning on the shuttle numbered launched and repeatedly upgraded and 789. Many crew members flew more than once. repaired on shuttle
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