Apr 19 2001
From The Space Library
Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-100/ISS-6A launched into orbit carrying a Canadian-built robotic arm for the ISS and one of the most diverse crews ever assembled. The Canadian Space Agency had developed and built Canadarm2 at a cost of nearly US$1 billion. With a reach extending to 57 feet (17 meters), Canadarm2 was the centerpiece of Canada’s contribution to the ISS. Once in place, the new robotic arm would allow the ISS crew to lift spacewalkers to every part of the ISS’s exterior to perform maintenance and repairs. During the mission, the crew planned to install the arm, as well as to transport to the ISS a logistics carrier developed by the Italian Space Agency. The seven-person crew~Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Chris A. Hadfield, Scott E. Parazynski, John L. Phillips, Umberto Guidoni, and Yuri V. Lonchakov~included astronauts representing the space agencies of Canada, Europe, and Russia. STS-100 was the Shuttle’s fifth flight in six months, setting a record for the most spaceflights performed during such a short period in NASA’s history. (NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission Archives: STS-100,” http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-100.html (accessed 2 February 2009); NASA, “Endeavour’s International Crew Delivers Space Station Helping Hand,” news release 01-73, 16 April 2001; Mark Carreau, “Endeavour Lifts Off To Attach Arm to Space Station,” Houston Chronicle, 20 April 2001; NASA, “Endeavour’s Mission Will Extend Space Station’s Reach with Next-Generation Robotics; Launch Set for April 19,” news release 01-67, 6 April 2001.)
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and President of the Italian Space Agency Sergio DeJulio signed a framework for cooperation agreement for the construction of the habitation module for the ISS. The ISS partners planned the module to house the ISS crew, providing a galley and a Treadmill Vibration Isolation System among other features. In exchange for designing and manufacturing the habitation module, the Italian Space Agency received a commitment from NASA to provide Italian astronauts with access to the Shuttle and the ISS, as well as to help train Italian astronauts for their time in space. The bilateral agreement continued the trend of cooperation among nations, making the ISS a truly international endeavor. (NASA, “NASA Administrator Goldin and ASI President Dejulio To Sign Framework for Cooperation,” news release N01-24, 19 April 2001; NASA Watch, “NASA/ASI International Space Station Habitation Module Project Framework for Cooperation,” http://www.nasawatch.com/iss/04.19.01.nasa.asi.hab.html (accessed 24 July 2008)
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