STS-104

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  26862 / 01028A Launch date - time  12 Jul 2001 - 09:03:59 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39A (39B? Ref #7) Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle Orbiter  Atlantis #24 (OV-104) Primary payload  Quest module Mass (kg)   Flight Crew  Lindsay, Hobaugh, Gernhardt Kavandi, Reilly Docking date - time  14 Jul 2001 - 03:08 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/xx port Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee   km    - Inclination  °    - Period   min Undocking date - time  22 Jul 2001 - 04:55 UT Landing date - time  25 Jul 2001 - 03:38:55 UT Landing location  KSC, Runway 15 Flight Duration  12d 18h 35m Nbr orbits  200

Launch crew

Summary:

Mission details:

• June 2001: The STS-104 mission is facing delays due to problems with the Station's Canadarm-2 robot arm (SSRMS). The SSRMS's Arm Contoller Unit and its Shoulder Pitch Joint showed malfunctions in their backup systems. The Airlock (STS-104's main payload) can't be installed without the SSRMS, and although the arm can be used in its current state, there are concerns that there isn't enough redundancy in case of failure. There is a chance STS-104 might be slipped to later in the year, with a spacewalk on STS-105 being used to repair the arm. A working SSRMS is needed for all future Station assembly.
• Orbiter OV-104 Atlantis was launched on Jul 12, 2001 from Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-104. Launch was at 0903:59 UTC. Main engine cutoff and external tank separation was at 0913 UTC. Atlantis was then in an orbit of around 59 x 235 km x 51.6 deg. The OMS-2 burn at 0942 UTC increased velocity by 29m/s and raised the orbit to 157 x 235 km x 51.6 deg and another burn at around 1240 UTC raised it further to 232 x 305 km. Atlantis docked with the Station at 0308 UTC on Jul 14.
• The payload bay of STS-104 contains the Airlock and two Spacelab Pallets each with a pair of high pressure gas tanks for attaching to the airlock exterior. Total Orbiter launch mass is reported by the press kit as 117127 kg. Current Station mass (including Soyuz and Progress) is 120470 kg.
• Bay cargo:

                                                              Mass/kg
  Bay 1-2   Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock            1800
            3 EMU spacesuits?                                   360?
  Bay 4-5?  Spacelab Pallet (Fwd)   O2-1/O2-2 oxygen tanks     2500
  Bay 6-7?  Spacelab Pallet (Aft)   N2-1/N2-2 nitrogen tanks   2500
  Bay 8-12? Station Joint Airlock                              6064
            Adapter beam with IMAX Cargo Bay Camera             238
  Sill      RMS arm                                             410
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Total 13872 kg?
  

• The main payload on STS-104 is the Joint Airlock, which has now been named Quest. The Quest module was built by Boeing/Huntsville. It consists of an Equipment Lock for storage and the actual airlock, called the Crew Lock. The Crew Lock is based on the Shuttle airlock and may have been built by Rockwell/Palmdale. The Equipment Lock was berthed to the Unity module at one of the large-diameter CBM hatches.
• On Jul 15, 2001 astronauts Gernhardt and Reilly made the first spacewalk of the mission. The airlock was depressurized at 0306 UTC and the hatch opened at 0307 UTC. The astronauts removed thermal covers from Quest and added handrails to it and to the O2/N2 tanks stored in the Spacelab pallets. The Station SSRMS arm grappled Quest at 0449 UTC and unberthed it from Atlantis at 0510 UTC, docking it to the Unity module at 0734 UTC. Quest was firmly bolted to Unity's +X CBM at 0740 UTC. The astronauts returned to the airlock at 0853 UTC, closing the hatch sometime around 0859 UTC and repressurized it at 0909 UTC, for a duration of 6h03m (depress/repress), 5h52m (hatch open/close), or 5h59m (NASA rule).
• The second STS-104 spacewalk was carried out on Jul 18, 2001. The airlock was depressurized at 0302 UTC and the hatch opened a minute later. Gernhardt and Reilly emerged at 0310 UTC and assisted in the installation of the oxygen and nitrogen tanks on the Quest module. O2 Tank 1, on the port side of the aft Spacelab pallet, was grappled by the Station's SSRMS arm at 0317 UTC and installed on Quest's nadir by 0421 UTC. N2 Tank 4, on the aft pallet's starboard side, was installed by 0639 UTC and O2 Tank 2 was moved from the port side of the forward pallet to Quest by 0845 UTC. Minor problems with valve configurations and recalcitrant connectors were soon overcome. The astronauts entered the airlock at 0921 UTC. The spacewalk lasted 6h31m (depress/repress), 6h24m (hatch open/close), or 6h29m (NASA rule).
• The same astronauts made the first spacewalk from the Quest module on Jul 21. The airlock depressurized slowly from 0329 UTC to 0434 UTC, when it reached 35 mbar and the airlock hatch was opened to vacuum. The N2 Tank 3 was transferred from the forward Spacelab pallet to the exterior of Quest, following which the astronauts climbed the P6 tower to inspect the solar arrays and the FPP experiment. The hatch was closed at 0832 UTC with repress at 0837 UTC for a duration of 4h03m (dp/rp), 3h58m (hatch open/close), or 4h02m (NASA rule).
• The STS-104 crew returned to Atlantis on Jul 22, and undocked at 0455 UTC. After flying around the station they departed the vicinity at 0615 UTC. Atlantis landed at 0338:55 UTC on Jul 25, touching down at Kennedy Space Centre runway 15.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel KSC. Credit: J. Vd Dr.

Landing cancel KSC. Credit: J. Vd Dr.