STS-122

Mission name	STS-122
Insignia	STS-122 patch.svg
Shuttle	Atlantis
Launch pad	LC-39A
Launch	7 February 2008 14:45 EST (19:45 UTC) During the second launch attempt, the sensors failed again, and the launch was halted. A tanking test on 18 December 2007 revealed the probable cause to lie with a connector between the external tank and the shuttle. The connector was replaced and the shuttle launched during the third attempt on 7 February 2008.
Terminology	Astronaut
Position1	Commander
Crew1 up	Stephen Frick
Flights1 up	Second
Position2	Pilot
Crew2 up	Alan G. Poindexter
Flights2 up	First
Position3	Mission Specialist 1
Crew3 up	Leland D. Melvin
Flights3 up	First
Position4	Mission Specialist 2
Crew4 up	Rex J. Walheim
Flights4 up	Second
Position5	Mission Specialist 3
Crew5 up	Hans Schlegel
Flights5 up	Second
Agency5 up	ESA
Position6	Mission Specialist 4
Crew6 up	Stanley G. Love
Flights6 up	First
Position7	Mission Specialist 5
Crew7 up	Léopold Eyharts
Flights7 up	Second
Agency7 up	ESA
Expedition7 up	Expedition 16
Details7 up	ISS Flight Engineer
Crew7 down	Daniel M. Tani
Flights7 down	Second
Expedition7 down	Expedition 16
Details7 down	ISS Flight Engineer
References	}}

Mission parameters

Mass:

:*Orbiter liftoff: :*Orbiter landing:

Perigee: TBD

Apogee: TBD

Inclination: 51.6° Period: 91.6 minutes

STS-122 also carried the Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR), the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF), and a new Nitrogen Tank Assembly, mounted in the cargo bay of an ICC-Lite payload rack, as well as a spare Drive Lock Assembly (DLA) sent to orbit in support of possible repairs to the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) which is malfunctioning.

Several items were returned with Atlantis: A malfunctioning Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that was swapped out with a new one during STS-118, and the empty Nitrogen Tank Assembly will be placed in the orbiter's payload bay, along with a trundle bearing from the Starboard SARJ that was removed during an EVA performed by Expedition 16.

{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="float:left; text-align:center;" |- |bgcolor="skyblue"|Location |bgcolor="skyblue" |Cargo |bgcolor="skyblue"|Mass |-valign="top" |Bay 1–2 || Orbiter Docking SystemEMU 3015 / EMU 3017 || ~ |- |Bay 3P ||Shuttle PowerDistribution Unit (SPDU) ||~ |- |Bay 6 ||ICC-LITE with failed CMG and empty NTA ||? |- |Bay 7P ||ECSH (EVA Cargo Stowage) on APC ||~ |- |Starboard Sill ||Orbiter Boom Sensor System ||~ |- |Port Sill ||Canadarm ||~ |- | |Total: |bgcolor="skyblue" |? |}

Outreach

Stowed within the Official Flight Kit (OFK), Atlantis carried three green starting flags provided by NASCAR in recognition of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on 17 February 2008, and the 50th anniversary of NASA on 1 October 2008. Once returned to Earth, one of the flown flags will be placed on public display at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, one will be presented to Ryan Newman, the winner of the 2008 Daytona 500, and the third will be used by NASA as part of its anniversary activities.

Mission background

The mission marks:

152nd NASA manned spaceflight.

121st space shuttle flight since STS-1.

29th flight of Atlantis

96th post-Challenger mission.

8th post-Columbia mission.

8th visit to the International Space Station for Atlantis.

300th US astronaut in space.

Shuttle processing

Launch preparations

The external tank (ET-125) arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on 14 September 2007, after traveling by barge from the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The external tank was then transferred to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to be inspected, and have the Liquid oxygen feedline bracket modified, before being mated to the solid rocket boosters on 17 October 2007.

The external tank was attached to the solid rocket boosters on 18 October 2007, and Atlantis moved to the VAB on 3 November 2007. With the entire stack placed upon the Mobile Launcher Platform, Atlantis moved to launch pad 39A on 10 November 2007, and the Columbus module was loaded into the orbiter's payload bay on 12 November. The terminal countdown demonstration test was completed on 20 November 2007.

Following the final Flight Readiness Review on 30 November 2007, NASA managers announced that Atlantis was ready to fly, and the launch date of 6 December 2007 was confirmed. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on 3 December 2007, to prepare for the first launch attempt on 6 December 2007.

6 December (Launch attempt 1)

On Thursday 6 December 2007, 16 minutes into the loading of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the external tank, two of the four liquid hydrogen Engine Cutoff (ECO) sensors failed to respond correctly, resulting in Launch Director Doug Lyons deciding to postpone the launch. The fuel cutoff sensor system is one of a series of redundant systems that protect the shuttle's main engines, by triggering engine shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low. The Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) requires that three of the four sensor systems function properly prior to liftoff.

On 7 December 2007, managers evaluated the options to fly, under the flight rationale guidelines. The issue was thought to be in the wiring inside the external tank, that results in the ECO sensors reporting incorrectly. During loading, testing of the ECO sensors is done to assure they function properly, but when the "dry tank" command was sent, the third and fourth sensors continued to report "wet" conditions. The concern was that if the tank were about to run dry, the sensors that control the shutdown of the shuttle's main engines might not send the shutdown command, resulting in running the engines without fuel, a dangerous situation. Managers evaluated if the Launch Commit Criteria could be removed, allowing Atlantis to fly with two of four sensors, and augment the LCO system with on-ground monitoring of propellant use by the Flight Control staff. The other option would involve repair or replacement of the sensors, which would most likely require the orbiter be moved back into the Vehicle Assembly Building, and would rule out a December launch. The Launch Commit Criteria would be changed, and Flight Controller procedures would be finalized to allow for additional monitoring of the ECO system during ascent. There was a unanimous decision to attempt a Sunday launch using the modified Launch Commit Criteria. NASA finally gave a new launch date of 10 January 2008.

During the post-scrub news conference, Launch Director Doug Lyons said that a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building was not a situation managers were considering currently, and explained that the pad offers extensive access to the systems for troubleshooting and investigation. "We can do extensive troubleshooting out there before we would entertain rolling back. There's not many things we can't do out at the launch pad that we could do in the VAB." The hose is part of the shuttle's cooling system that carries Freon, and is designed to flex when the payload bay doors are opened and closed. Making sure they were not overlooking potential problems, NASA engineers designed a tool to guide the hose back into the storage box, and performed the procedure on 3 February 2007. | notes1 = fault in Engine Cut Off (ECO) sensors | date2 = 2007-12-09 15:21:00 | result2 = scrubbed | reason2 = technical | decision_date2 = 2007-12-08 07:25 | decision_clock2= | weathergo2 = 30% | notes2 = fault in Engine Cut Off (ECO) sensors | date3 = 2008-02-07 17:45:30 | result3 = success | weathergo3 = | notes3 =

}}

Mission timeline

7 February (Flight day 1, Launch)

laboratory to the International Space Station.]] Fueling began at 05:26 EST, ahead of a planned 14:45 EST launch. The fuel sensors all performed as expected, and at 14:35 EST, Launch Director Doug Lyons gave Atlantis crewmembers the go to launch, with no constraints. Atlantis launched on schedule, at 14:45 EST (19:45 UTC). Main engine cutoff (MECO) occurred at 19:54 UTC. The crew opened the payload bay doors, deployed the K_u antenna, checked out and activated the shuttle's robotic arm, and downlinked the video footage taken during external tank separation to NASA managers.

8 February (Flight day 2)

The crew of Atlantis spent the day performing a variety of tasks designed to prepare the shuttle for docking on Saturday, including the installation of the centerline camera, and the extension of the orbiter docking system ring. A majority of the day's activities was devoted to inspecting the shuttle's thermal protection system using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS). Early in the morning, the crew performed a burn of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines to adjust the orbit in preparation for docking with the International Space Station. During interviews with CBS and NBC in the morning, Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson told reporters that since her birthday was Saturday, "My present is a new module that we're going to install on the station, I'm really looking forward to it." He reported that the orbiter had sufficient consumables for a mission extension, but the decision on whether to extend the mission would be made no earlier than flight day five, to allow the team to evaluate the inspection data. If the mission were extended, Sarafin said the extra day would be inserted into day nine, following the third EVA. Chairman of the Mission Management Team (MMT) John Shannon reported that his team gave the official "go" for docking during their first on-orbit meeting. Shannon noted that the initial imagery given to the engineering team showed "absolutely nothing of concern", with only one foam piece appearing to possibly impact the vehicle, 440 seconds into ascent. Extra images were taken of the starboard OMS pod as it was an "area of interest" due to the appearance of a raised blanket. Atlantis is the first orbiter to dock to the new position of the Pressurized Mating Adapter at the forward end of the Harmony module.

After working through a variety of leak check procedures, the hatches were opened between the shuttle and station at 18:40 UTC, and the two crews exchanged greetings and conducted a mandatory safety briefing. After the briefing, they began the rest of the day's tasks, including moving the station's robotic arm to grapple the OBSS, and then hand it off to the shuttle's robotic arm in preparation for future activities. The official exchange of Expedition 16 crewmembers Daniel Tani and Eyharts was completed in the evening, when they exchanged their Soyuz custom made seat liners, and Tani became a member of the STS-122 crew, while Eyharts began his position as Flight Engineer for Expedition 16. Sarafin also confirmed that they were investigating a slight tear in the thermal protection blanket on the starboard (right side) OMS pod. During the post-MMT briefing, Mission Management Chairman John Shannon explained there was a "crew medical issue", but it would not impact the mission objectives. For reasons of medical privacy, Shannon said NASA can not disclose which crewmember is affected, and no details would be given as to the nature of the issue, but Shannon said it was not something to be concerned about. Unconfirmed news reports claim that Schlegel had "lost his voice", and since communication is a critical function of an EVA, the decision to swap crewmembers was made. Earlier in the day, ESA confirmed the crewmember with the medical condition was Schlegel, but stated it was nothing serious and does not impact the health of any of the other crewmembers. Tani and Eyharts spent several hours working through a variety of station familiarization procedures, designed to assist Eyharts in learning where items are on the station. Love, Walheim and Schlegel were given several hours in their daily timeline to go over the EVA. Walheim and Love will spend the night in the Quest airlock in preparation for Monday's EVA. Commenting on the ongoing thermal protection system review, Shannon said "The thermal protection system inspections that we do are going extremely well, it's the fastest I've ever seen them done on a flight. We have completely cleared the bottom of the orbiter, there are no issues we are working on the bottom, and all of the reinforced carbon-carbon on the wings and the nose are completely cleared. We're gathering additional information on the right OMS pod. Atlantis is extremely clean."

At 19:53 UTC (14:53 EST), Walheim and Love completed the preparations for the unberthing of Columbus from the payload bay, and with Melvin inside the space station working the robotic arm, the module was successfully lifted out of the payload bay. The first contact of Columbus with the station was at 21:29, and at 21:44, Eyharts announced that Columbus was officially installed on its new home in orbit. "Houston and Munich, the European Columbus laboratory module is now part of the ISS," Eyharts radioed to the ground. Walheim and Love began the re-pressurization of the Quest airlock at 22:11 UTC (17:11 EST), which marked the official end of their 7 hour, 58 minute EVA.

12 February (Flight day 6)

The two crews spent the day working to activate and outfit the newest addition to the station, the Columbus module. After the ground conducted a variety of leak checks during the crew's sleep period the night before, the crew was given the go ahead to put the module into what is called "Berth Survival Mode", which is a "functional mode": A minimal healthy configuration that can be maintained for extended time periods, if required. This involved powering up basic computers, power distribution units, and heaters. The crew completed the Berth Survival Mode activation quickly, and moved on to final activation. Representing the European partners, Schlegel and Eyharts were the first crewmembers to enter the module, performing a partial ingress at 14:08 UTC (09:08 EST). Eyharts told the team on the ground, "We have a special thought at this moment for all the people in Europe and the U.S. who have contributed to the make up of Columbus. Especially to the space agencies, of course, the industry, but also all the citizens who are supporting space flight. This is a great moment, and Hans and I are very proud to be here and to ingress for the first time the Columbus module." The crew of Atlantis also took some time out to talk to reporters on the ground, one session in the morning, and another in the afternoon with CBS News, and Pittsburgh television stations. Frick, a native of Pittsburgh, Schlegel, and Poindexter participated in the afternoon interviews. Asked how he was feeling, Schlegel said he was proud to be a part of the mission to deliver Columbus, that the "big mission" was what mattered, and he was feeling fine and ready to perform the mission's second EVA. Station Commander Whitson and shuttle Commander Frick assisted Walheim and Schlegel in suiting up and working through the pre-EVA procedures. Eyharts and the rest of the crew aboard the station continued their work on outfitting and activating the new Columbus module, as well as working on transferring items between the shuttle and the station. The second EVA began officially at 14:27 UTC (09:27 EST) and ended at 21:12 UTC (16:12 EST). Walheim and Schlegel replaced a near empty Nitrogen Tank Assembly of the P1 truss with a new full tank that was brought in orbit by STS-122.

During the mission status briefing, Lead ISS Flight Director Sally Davis announced that the managers had officially approved an additional docked day extension, and the team had also cleared the orbiter's entire thermal protection system for re-entry, pending late inspection results. The right OMS pod blanket was determined to be of no issue for re-entry the day before, and the areas around the orbiter's windows that appeared damaged were fully cleared.

14 February (Flight day 8)

The two crews had a light day scheduled, designed to give the crew some rest after a busy week of activities. Several media interviews were conducted, including interviews with NBC News and a number of radio stations, as well as a special ESA event, a VIP call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who called to congratulate Eyharts and Schlegel, as representatives of the European Space Agency on the successful delivery and installation of the Columbus module to the station. The joint crews also did some maintenance tasks, including a waste water dump from the shuttle, transfer activities, and continued work on outfitting and activating the Columbus module.

15 February (Flight day 9)

After awakening at 08:45 UTC, Walheim and Love spent the morning preparing for the mission's final spacewalk, assisted by Whitson and Frick, while the rest of the crew worked on Columbus outfitting, transfers, and preparation for robotics support during the EVA. The third EVA officially began at 13:07 UTC (08:07 EST) and ended at 20:32 UTC (15:32 EST).

16 February (Flight day 10)

While the ongoing task of outfitting the Columbus module continued today, Atlantis' propulsion system was fired for 36 minutes to reboost the station's altitude by 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers) in preparation for the arrival of Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-123. Also, all members of the shuttle and station crews participated in news conferences with American and European media.

17 February (Flight day 11)

Hatches between Atlantis and the ISS were closed at 18:03 GMT.

18 February (Flight day 12)

Atlantis undocked from the ISS at 9:24 UTC (4:24 am EST).

19 February (Flight day 13)

The crew performed final inspections and preparations prior to landing.

20 February (Flight day 14, Landing)

The crew were cleared to close Atlantis' payload bay doors at 10:14 UTC, and this was completed by 10:28 UTC. At 12:32 UTC, NASA cleared Atlantis to land on its first opportunity at KSC. A two minute, 43 second de-orbit burn was conducted, beginning at 13:00 UTC. This was followed by entry interface at 13:35 UTC. Atlantis touched-down on Runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:07 am EST (14:07:10 UTC), Wheel stop occurred at 09:08 EST (14:08:08 UTC). The cumulative time in extra-vehicular activity during the mission was 22 hours, 8 minutes.

Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

Media

launches from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center as part of the STS-122 mission]]

See also

Space Shuttle program

2008 in spaceflight

List of ISS spacewalks

List of space shuttle missions

List of spacewalks and moonwalks

List of human spaceflights chronologically

References

External links

NASA's main shuttle page

NASA: Meet the STS-122 Launch Team

NASA: STS-122 mission summary

STS-122 mission animations

CBS News Space Place – Full coverage of STS-122

ESA: STS-122 lift off info

Up to the minute STS-122 Shuttle Report

STS-122 Official Flight Kit Manifest

Category:Space Shuttle missions Category:2008 in spaceflight