Final Planned Flight of Atlantis Delivers New 'Dawn'

Space shuttle Atlantis thundered away from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 5, 2010 at 2:20 p.m. The on-time liftoff under a picturesque Florida sky was a perfect beginning to Atlantis' last scheduled mission, STS-132. The shuttle carried a six-person crew on a journey to deliver a new Russian module and several critical spare parts to the International Space Station.

"There are thousands of folks out there that have taken care of this bird for a long time," Commander Ken Ham said after Atlantis was cleared for launch. "We're going to take her on her 32nd flight, and if you don't mind, we'll take her out of the barn and make a few more laps around the planet."

Tucked into the shuttle's payload bay was the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 known as "Rassvet," meaning "dawn." Nearly 20 feet long and weighing more than 17,700 pounds including its cargo, the module features eight workstations designed for a variety of science experiments and educational research.

Image above: An exhaust plume surrounds the mobile launcher platform as Atlantis launches. Image credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Tom Farrar

The ambitious tasks ahead would be taken on by a crew of experienced space fliers. Ham was joined by Pilot Tony Antonelli, Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Michael Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers.

During the astronauts' first full day in orbit, the standard inspection of the orbiter's protective thermal coverings was completed using a backup camera system when a snagged cable temporarily prevented use of the intended laser and digital cameras. Both the primary and backup systems are part of the orbiter boom sensor system that attaches to the shuttle's robotic arm.

Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on May 16, two days after liftoff. Ham guided the orbiter through a graceful backflip known as a "rendezvous pitch maneuver," giving station crew members the chance to take nearly 400 photos of the shuttle. Finally, the two spacecraft linked up at 10:28 a.m. EDT as the pair sailed 220 miles above the South Pacific Ocean.

Image above: Anchored to the Canadarm2, Mission Specialist Garrett Reisman holds a space-to-ground antenna during the mission's first spacewalk. Image credit: NASA

The hatches between shuttle and station were opened at 12:18 p.m. and the six STS-132 astronauts were welcomed aboard by the station's six residents: cosmonauts Oleg Kotov, Expedition 23 commander, Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and U.S. astronauts T.J. Creamer and Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

"We've been here before, but it's bigger than we remember -- and, speaking for myself, better than I remember," Ham said as docked operations officially began. "I love this place!"

The combined crew got right to work, using the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to remove a cargo carrier from Atlantis' open payload bay to the station's mobile transporter. Mounted on the carrier were important new equipment and spares to be installed during the mission's three spacewalks, including a backup space-to-ground antenna and six 375-pound batteries.

The first of the mission's three spacewalks started the next morning at 7:54 a.m. when Reisman and Bowen switched their spacesuits to battery power and floated out of the station's Quest airlock. Riding the station's robotic arm, Reisman carried the boom for the new antenna from the cargo pallet up to the Z1 truss and returned to the cargo pallet to grab the six-foot-wide

Image above: The Russian-built Mini-Research Module 1 is removed from Atlantis' payload bay. Image credit: NASA

The pair then installed the antenna on the waiting boom, where it will help provide two-way data, voice and video communications for station residents. Reisman and Bowen added a spare-parts platform to the station's Dextre robotic arm and loosened the bolts holding the new batteries to the cargo carrier before wrapping up the 7-hour, 25-minute outing.

Installation of the Rassvet research module was the crew's next assignment. Ham and Antonelli used Atlantis' robotic arm to lift the nearly-20-foot-long component from the shuttle's payload bay, then handed it off to the station's robotic arm. Reisman guided the new module into the Earth-facing port on the Zarya module, achieving a flawless docking with one millimeter of clearance on either side of Rassvet's docking probe.

"Looks like a pretty good docking," Sellers reported to Mission Control. "Straight down the middle, got capture and contact."

Good joined Bowen for the second spacewalk, which got off to a head start at 6:38 a.m. May 19. First, Bowen fixed the snagged cable that had interfered with the early inspection of Atlantis' heat shield. After adjusting the cable and using a plastic tie to keep it in place, Mission Control announced the fix was successful.

Image above: Atlantis' belly is visible in a crystal-clear blue sky as it approaches touchdown on Runway 33. Image credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Tom Farrar

Next, the astronauts installed four of six new batteries on the station's port 6 truss, the station's backbone, transferring the old batteries to the cargo carrier for the return trip to Earth. Good and Bowen tightened the bolts on the new space-to-ground antenna before coming back inside as the 7-hour, 9-minute spacewalk ended.

Hatches between the station and Rassvet were opened the following day, as Atlantis and crew finished the mission's first week and enjoyed a few hours of off-duty time.

The final two port 6 truss batteries were installed during the mission's third and final spacewalk. Good and Reisman swapped out the remaining batteries and installed a backup ammonia coolant line between the port 4 and port 5 truss segments. They also left a new power and data grapple fixture inside the Quest airlock. The fixture will be installed by the station crew on the exterior of the Zarya module this summer.

With all the mission's major tasks accomplished, Good and Reisman headed back to the airlock after working outside the station for 6 hours and 46 minutes.

The astronauts finished transferring equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the space station as the docked portion of the STS-132 mission drew to a close.

"Thank you, Ken, and thank you to the whole crew," said station Commander Kotov as the Atlantis and station crews prepared to part ways. "Thank you for an excellent job, for your patience, for your work -- for everything."

Ham answered, "Through our entire docked timeframe here, we were a 12-person crew that operated together, and that was the only way we got everything done. ...We've had a great time together."

Image above: The STS-132 mission patch features Atlantis flying into the sunset as the end of the Space Shuttle Program approaches. However, the sun also is heralding the promise of a new day as it rises on the new ISS module, "Rassvet," the Russian word for dawn. Image credit: NASA

Atlantis undocked from the station May 23 at 11:22 a.m. after a weeklong stay at the orbiting complex. The shuttle circled the station at a distance of 400 to 600 feet and finally pulled away with a separation burn an hour and 15 minutes later.

The late inspection of Atlantis' protective skin went off without a hitch, and the shuttle was cleared to land.

Atlantis touched down at 8:48 a.m. May 26, gliding smoothly along Kennedy's Runway 33 after 186 orbits and nearly 12 full days in space. With Ham and Antonelli at the controls, the orbiter returned to its home port for what was planned to be the last time. During its 25 years of spaceflight, Atlantis completed 32 missions and traveled more than 120 million miles.

"We've all flown on Atlantis now, and some of us have flown on her a couple of times. She's a great ship," Antonelli said hours after landing, adding that it was a "real honor" to be on what may be its last flight. "We're happy to bring her back home to you here in Florida."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts132/launch/132_overview.html

STS-132 Space Shuttle Mission to Station Complete

Space shuttle Atlantis descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:48 a.m. EDT Wednesday, concluding the successful STS-132 mission to the International Space Station.

Atlantis undocked from the station Sunday after spending 7 days and 54 minutes docked to the orbiting laboratory. STS-132 was the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.

Image above: The newly-installed Rassvet Russian Mini-Research Module-1 is pictured with space shuttle Atlantis performing its flyaround of the International Space Station just after undocking. Credit: NASA

The third of five shuttle missions planned for 2010, this was the last scheduled flight for Atlantis. The mission delivered the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the station. Also known as Rassvet ("dawn" in Russian), the module provides additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

› Read more about the STS-132 mission

International Space Station Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov opened the hatch of the Mini Research Module-1, named Rassvet, Thursday.

The 11,000-pound module was attached to its permanent home on the Russian segment of the station May 18.

The new module will host a variety of biotechnology and biological science experiments and fluid physics and educational research. Rassvet contains a pressurized compartment with eight workstations, including a glove box to keep experiments separated from the in-cabin environment; two incubators to accommodate high- and low-temperature experiments; and a special platform to protect experiments from onboard vibrations.

Attached to its exterior is an experiment airlock that will be used on another Russian laboratory module set for delivery in 2012.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Atlantis' Crew Celebrates Charitable Strides with Commemorative Cargo

There are lots of ways for an everyday item to take on a special significance, but few work better than carrying that item into space.

The crew of STS-132 aims to make scores of objects already precious in their meaning more inspirational by taking them on this mission to the International Space Station.

A lapel pin from the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s “Race for a Cure,” for example, will be tucked inside an Atlantis locker. A green and black rubber wristband from Eli’s Army Cancer Survivors also is making the trip, along with a wristband from Team G Force Cancer Survivors.

There also are mementos from several other organizations inside Atlantis. A teddy bear from the Cleft Palate Foundation of Chapel Hill, N.C., a lapel pin from the Alzheimer’s Association of Chicago, and flags from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International and Make-A-Wish Foundation will be flown into orbit.

A box of commemorative items for NASA was packed inside space shuttle Atlantis for the STS-132 mission. Photo credit: NASA

Lapel pins and similar-sized commemoratives often are carried because they are small and lightweight, but their symbolism can be immense. The crew tucked a pin from the "Imagine There's No Hunger" campaign, for example, into the flight kit.

There also is room for bulkier items including banners, shirts and jerseys. For instance, Atlantis astronauts are taking a red T-shirt from the charity organization Save the Children.

The astronauts also are carrying several other lighthearted personal items, such as a 4 by 6-inch photo of Peter Pizza in Brooklyn, a piece for a Lego space shuttle and a DVD from the 2009 induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A red squeeze ball from the business network CNBC also is along for the ride.

Such commemorative items typically reflect a personal interest or achievement by a crew member and NASA makes room for them. The expectation is that, back on Earth, many of the objects will inspire future explorers and achievements.

A pair of large boxes holding flags, patches and other items have been anchored to the support struts for the airlock in Atlantis' cargo bay. Photo credit: NASA

Atlantis and the other shuttles typically carry a host of things, such as patches, flags and other objects intended as special rewards to groups or individuals or goodwill items.

Two large boxes, outfitted for space duty, have been bolted between the braces on Atlantis’ airlock in the payload bay. The triangular containers have been packed with 3 1/2-inch American flags, some 755 small international flags and 1,200 Space Shuttle Program flags. There also are six packages of the red, white and blue flags designed for the individual orbiters.

Shuttles have carried such mementos for more than 30 years. Space shuttle Enterprise, for example, was loaded with patches and flags when it was released from a 747 on several test flights in 1977. Columbia carried a similar assortment on STS-1 and each mission thereafter has included a host of similar items.

Astronaut Gus Grissom is credited with carrying the first mementos into space when he took rolls of dimes on his Mercury flight in 1961.

Almost 50 years later, the goal and effect remain the same: to celebrate and inspire exploration.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/whatsgoingup132.html

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A Feat of Daring Display

Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, astronaut Garrett Reisman continued his work during the first of three planned spacewalks for the STS-132 mission. During the seven-hour, 25-minute spacewalk, Reisman and NASA astronaut Steve Bowen installed a second antenna for high-speed Ku-band transmissions and added a spare parts platform to Dextre, a two-armed extension for the station’s robotic arm.

Image Credit: NASA

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1669.html

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A New 'Dawn' in Space

There's a new "dawn" for science experiments aboard the International Space Station.

A Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1 launched on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 mission May 14. The module, known as Rassvet -- which translates as "dawn" -- will be used for science research and cargo storage. It also will provide an additional docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress vehicles at the space station.

Weighing more than 11,000 pounds and measuring 19.7 feet in length and 7.7 feet in diameter, Rassvet will host a wide variety of biotechnology and biological science experiments and fluid physics and educational research.

The Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1, or Rassvet, is moved into a transportation container at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., prior to being loaded onto space shuttle Atlantis for its journey to the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA

The module contains a pressurized compartment with eight workstations equipped with facilities such as a glovebox to keep experiments separated from the in-cabin environment; two incubators to accommodate high- and low-temperature experiments; and a vibroprotective platform to protect payloads and experiments from onboard vibrations. The module contains four other workstations, complete with mechanical adapters, to install payloads into roll-out racks and shelves.

"Our science capabilities are going to be greater than ever on the space station," said Igor Sorokin, deputy head of the Space Station Utilization Center at S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia. "From the standpoint of science capabilities to be provided, as well as payload integration principles to be applied, this module can be considered as an intermediate one -- even in its "mini" version -- between the older Russian Service Module and future Multipurpose Laboratory Module, which is targeted for the station in 2012. We have applied some advanced principles of research facilities development and integration as compared with the Service Module, which will increase the utilization efficiency of the Russian segment."

Glovebox-C is intended for operations with sterile, dangerous or free-flowing substances, providing a 99,9% purification rate of the working chamber air. Image credit: S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia

Some benefits include conducting experiments such as Conjugation, which studies the exchange of genetic material in microgravity to develop strains producing new target proteins to fight disease. Another experiment, Kristallizator, allows large protein crystals to grow in orbit to better determine their 3-D structure. The results could be used in biology, medicine and pharmacology.

"Rassvet provides important new real estate for experiments to be conducted on the space station, and will be a cornerstone of Russian laboratory facilities for years to come," said Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "This new module enhances the station's research capabilities and enables new investigations to be performed."

Rassvet was developed at S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia in Russia.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/10-051.html

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Atlantis Roars Off the Launch Pad

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin the STS-132 mission to the International Space Station.

Image credit: NASA
May 14, 2010

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/multimedia/images/launch2.html

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Atlantis Revealed on Launch Pad 39A

The countdown continues toward the scheduled launch of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission. At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, the rotating service structure has been pulled away from Atlantis in preparation for liftoff Friday at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

"We've had a very clean countdown so far and we're currently on schedule, and we're not working on any issues," NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber said Thursday morning.

During the 12-day mission, Atlantis and the mission's six astronauts are delivering an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.

Image above: At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, space shuttle Atlantis is revealed Thursday evening after retraction of the pad's rotating service structure. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

According to STS-132 Weather Officer Todd McNamara, the primary launch weather concern is a low cloud ceiling. But the forecast is good overall, calling for a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions at launch time.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

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NASA Managers 'Go' for Friday Launch

Wednesday is "L-2" at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, meaning there are only two days remaining until the scheduled launch of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission. Countdown clocks across the launch complex were activated at 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday and the countdown continues on schedule for liftoff Friday at 2:20 p.m.

During the 12-day mission, Atlantis and the mission's six astronauts are delivering an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.

"From a Space Shuttle Program and ISS Program standpoint, we're ready to launch Atlantis and get this mission under way," said Mike Moses, chair of the prelaunch mission management team that gathered today at Kennedy and gave a unanimous "go" for liftoff. According to Launch Director Mike Leinbach, the launch team is not tracking any issues that would prevent an on-time liftoff.

Image above: Members of the STS-132 launch team take their stations in Firing Room 4 for the start of the STS-132 launch countdown. From left are United Space Alliance Orbiter Test Conductors Lauren Sally and Scott Kraftchick and NASA Test Directors William Heidtman and Jeffrey Skaja. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

Atlantis' astronauts are relaxing today while technicians at Launch Pad 39A load the orbiter's power reactant and storage distribution system, which supplies super-cold propellants to the vehicle's three fuel cells and life-support system during flight.

A high-pressure system continues to dominate Florida's weather pattern, resulting in favorable weather for the rest of the week. The primary launch weather concern is a low cloud ceiling, but the forecast is good overall, calling for a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions at launch time.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

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Crew Prepares for Visiting Vehicles

Aboard the International Space Station Monday, the Expedition 23 crew members oversaw the undocking of the ISS Progress 36 cargo craft and reviewed procedures for the upcoming relocation of the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft.

The ISS Progress 36 cargo ship undocked from the aft end of the Zvezda service module at 7:16 a.m. EDT and fired its thrusters to move to a safe distance away from the International Space Station. Russian engineers will conduct systems tests with the craft until it is deorbited around July 1.

The crew spent time reviewing procedures for the undocking of the Soyuz TMA-17 from Zarya’s Earth-facing port on Wednesday. With Commander Oleg Kotov at the controls, alongside fellow crew members Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi, the TMA-17 will redock to Zvezda’s free aft end port, which previously was home to the Progress 36.

Image above: The ISS Progress 36 cargo ship is seen shortly after undocking from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV

The Soyuz relocation opens up the Earth-facing port of Zarya for the installation of the new Rassvet mini-research module-1. The module will be delivered by space shuttle Atlantis, which is slated to launch Friday on the STS-132 mission. Rassvet, which means “dawn” in Russian, will provide additional storage space and a new docking port for Russian spacecraft.

Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson held a conference with STS-132 crew members on Earth regarding robotics operations for the mission.

Creamer worked with the plant research experiment known as Cambium, which seeks definitive evidence that gravity has a direct effect on the cells located under the inner bark where secondary growth occurs in willow seedlings.

Meanwhile, Noguchi worked on a second plant experiment called Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis at Different Gravity Levels. Also known as WAICO, this European Space Agency experiment studies the interaction of circumnutation (the successive bowing or bending in different directions of the growing tip of the stems and roots) and gravitropism (a tendency to grow toward or away from gravity) in microgravity and Earth gravity of Arabidopsis thaliana.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

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STS-132 Astronauts Practice for Entry

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the six astronauts who will fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission are participating in an integrated entry simulation, part of the final round of training and other preparations for their flight. Atlantis is in place on Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where technicians continue their efforts to ready the shuttle for liftoff.

On Wednesday, NASA managers will hold a news conference at Kennedy after the Flight Readiness Review meeting to discuss space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission.

Image above: Nature and technology coexist at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the arrival of space shuttle Atlantis at the pad. On the STS-132 mission, the six-member crew will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier, or ICC, and the Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1, or MRM-1, to the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Launch is targeted for May 14 at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

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STS-132 to Carry Research Module

In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1 is prepared for installation in the payload canister before transport to Launch Pad 39A.

The six-member crew of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 mission will deliver the module, known as Rassvet, to the International Space Station. The second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, it will be permanently attached to the Earth-facing port of the Zarya control module. Rassvet, which translates to "dawn," will be used for cargo storage and will provide an additional docking port to the station.

Image credit: NASA/Gianni Woods
April 5, 2010

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/stationpayloads/research_module.html

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Launch Rehearsal Complete, Crew Heads Back to Houston

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' six STS-132 astronauts completed their Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT, Saturday morning.

Image above: The crew of STS-132 discusses the upcoming mission with space shuttle Atlantis standing behind them. The crew, led by Commander Ken Ham, left, will carry the Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1, or MRM-1, to the International Space Station. Atlantis is targeted for launch May 14 at 2:19 p.m. EDT. Image credit: NASA TV

The astronauts headed back home in their T-38 jets to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston around 2 p.m. EDT Saturday.

STS-132 mission is targeted for launch at 2:19 p.m. on May 14 to deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

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