Feb 7 2001

From The Space Library

Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-98/ISS-5A lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the most expensive and crucial component of the ISS~ the United States–built Destiny science laboratory. Mark Stephenson of the Boeing Company, which had built the US$1.4 billion research module, called the vessel “the crown jewel” of the ISS. NASA had set high stakes on the Destiny laboratory, which was so expensive and complicated to build, that NASA could not afford to assemble a backup module. Therefore, any problem in the transport and connection of the Destiny module would set back the ISS several years. NASA had delayed Atlantis’s mission for three weeks when engineers discovered evidence that faulty wiring might compromise the Shuttle’s safety. The vital mission brought the ISS closer to becoming the permanent and highly functional research station that NASA and the international space community had long awaited. The Destiny laboratory measured 28 feet (9 meters) long, weighed more than 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms), and held 13 computers. NASA expected to control the ISS using the computers and communications equipment built into Destiny. Because of the Space Shuttle’s cargo, some officials speculated that Atlantis’s mission was the most important for NASA’s research agenda ever undertaken. One NASA spokesperson called the Destiny module “the cornerstone for space-based research aboard the orbiting platform.” The STS-98 crew consisted of Commander Kenneth D. Cockrell; Pilot Mark L. Polansky; and Mission Specialists Robert L. Curbeam Jr., Thomas D. Jones, and Marsha S. Ivins. (NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission Archives: STS-98,” http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/ shuttlemissions/archives/STS-98.html (accessed 2 February 2009); William Harwood, “Atlantis Heads for Space Station; Shuttle Flight No. 102 Will Transport $1.4 Billion Lab Module,” Washington Post, 8 February 2001; Kelly Young, “Atlantis To Deliver Destiny,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 7 February 2001; Associated Press, “Shuttle Totes Space Station’s ‘Crown Jewel’,” 8 February 2001; Associated Press, “Countdown Begins for Launch of NASA Lab,” 5 February 2001; NASA, “Atlantis Set To Deliver International Space Station’s Destiny,” news release 01-16, 5 February 2001.)