STS-117
From The Space Library
 | |
| Organization | NASA-Office of Space Flight (United States) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Human Crew,Resupply/Refurbishment/Repair |
| Launch date | June 8, 2007 |
| Launch vehicle | Space Shuttle |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, United States |
| COSPAR ID | 2007-024A |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Experiments | Here |
| Alternate Names | 31600 |
| Additional Information | Here |
| Data Collection | Here |
| Payload Mass Up | 19355.24 kg |
| Payload Mass Down | 480.45 kg |
| Orbiter | Atlantis |
| Lift Off Mass | 2,057,054.09 kg |
| Orbiter Weight at Liftoff | 122,962.27 kg |
| Orbiter Weight at Landing | 90,682.27 kg |
| Landed | 3:49 p.m. EDT, concrete runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. |
| Orbits of Earth | 219 |
| Orbital Altitude | Approximately 220 nautical miles |
Contents |
Crew
- Commander: Frederick W. Sturckow
- Pilot: Lee J. Archambault
- Payload Commander:
- Mission Specialist 1: James F. Reilly II
- Mission Specialist 2: Steven R. Swanson
- Mission Specialist 3: Patrick G. Forrester
- Mission Specialist 4: John D. (Danny) Olivas
- Mission Specialist 5:
- Payload Specialist 1:
- Payload Specialist 2:
ISS/Mir Crew Transport
- Clayton C. Anderson - up only Sunita L. Williams - down only
Mission
STS 117 is an American shuttle spacecraft that was launched from Cape Canaveral at 23:38 UT on 08 June 2007. It carried seven American astronauts and tonnes of material to the International Space Station (ISS). It docked with the ISS at 19:38 UT on 10 June. The crew made four spacewalks to install two trusses (S3/S4) totalling 16 tonnes, to install two more solar panels on the ISS, and to repair the damaged insulation on the tail section of the shuttle. The trusses will enable installation of Japanese and European modules on the ISS. The new solar panels are reported to be the cause of a break-down of the mission-critical Russian computers which were soon repaired by ground commands. STS 117 undocked from the ISS at 14:42 UT on 19 June. Landing was delayed by an extra day due to bad weather at Cape Canaveral, until it could land on Edwards AFB in California at 19:49 UT on 22 June. The return included six of those seven astronauts plus another astronaut who had been in the ISS for over six months.
EVA
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) conducted by James Reilly, Danny Olivas, Patrick Forrester, and Steve Swanson during four spacewalks for a total of 27 hours, 58 minutes. EVA 1, 6 hours, 15 minutes; previously, Lee Archambault and Patrick Forrester had used the shuttle's robotic arm to grapple the S3/S4 truss, lift it from its berth in the payload bay, and maneuver it for handover to the station's Canadarm2, manned by Suni Williams. During their spacewalk, Reilly and Olivas focused on the final attachment of bolts, cables, and connectors to begin activation of the truss and ready it for deployment of its solar arrays. EVA 2, 7 hours, 16 minutes; Forrester and Swanson helped retract the 115-foot P6 solar array, which will be relocated during a future assembly mission, to clear the path for the new array, then removed all of the launch locks holding the solar alpha rotary joint in place, freeing it to rotate, enabling the new solar array wings on S4 to track the sun as ISS orbits the Earth. The arrays provide a total power capability of 60 kW, equivalent to the power used by 40 typical U.S. homes. EVA 3, 7 hours, 58 minutes; Reilly installed the hydrogen vent valve of a new oxygen generation system on the Destiny laboratory. Olivas completed a repair to a raised corner of a thermal insulation blanket that had come loose from the shuttle during launch. Olivas pressed down on the blanket and stapled one side of the 4- by 6-in. raised corner to an adjacent blanket. Olivas then pinned the other side of the blanket to a thermal tile. EVA 4, 6 hours, 29 minutes; Forrester and Swanson completed numerous tasks associated with the new truss segment, removed launch restraints on the SARJ to enable its rotation, and installed a debris shield on the Destiny laboratory.
Payload
ISS Assembly Flight 13A; ITS S3 and S4, second starboard truss segment, the heaviest station payload the space shuttle has carried to date; third set of solar arrays and batteries; ISS crew exchange
Mission patch: 
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