Feb 22 1996
From The Space Library
Mission STS-75, the 19th mission of Shuttle Columbia, launched from KSC in Cape Canaveral, Florida. A seven-person crew embarked on the mission, scheduled to last 13 days. Scott J. Horowitz, the first Shuttle pilot with a PhD, captained STS-75. NASA astronauts Andrew M. Allen, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, and Franklin R. Chang-Diaz; Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier; and two Italian astronauts, Umberto Guidoni and Maurizio Cheli, made up the crew. One of the mission's priorities was to place in flight the Italian tethered satellite system (TSS), which scientists had designed to harness new sources of power for the Space Shuttle. An attempt in 1992 to deploy the TSS had failed when a bolt in the system's reel mechanism caused the tether to jam. The U.S.- Italian satellite had cost US$443 million to produce. The satellite, extended on a 12-mile (19-kilometer) tether, had the potential to use its orbit to create electrical power for other spacecraft. NASA planned to fly the satellite for 22 hours. To retrieve the satellite, the crew intended to retract the tether until the satellite was about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the Shuttle, allowing it to hover at this distance while the Shuttle maneuvered into position to pick it up. (NASA, "Space Shuttle Mission STS-75-Press Kit," news release 96-27, February 1996; William J. Broad, "Shuttle Blasts Off for High-Wire Act To Unfurl 12.5 Miles of Electrical Cable in Space," New York Times, 23 February 1996; William Harwood, "Shuttle Begins Mission To Deploy Space Power Ball on 12.5-Mile Tether,")
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