Space Shuttle STS-129 Atlantis Space Station Assembly ISS-ULF3 2009 NASA

more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/astro/space_station_news.html http://scitech.quickfound.net/astro/space_shuttle_news.html "STS-129 Post Flight Presentation - Narrated "Commander: Charles O. Hobaugh Pilot: Barry E. ""Butch"" Wilmore Mission Specialists: Leland D. Melvin, Michael J. Foreman, Randolph J. Bresnik, Robert L. Satcher Jr. Space Station Crew: (Down) Nicole P. Stott Dates: November 16-27, 2009 Vehicle: Atlantis" NASA film JSC-2342 Public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-129 STS-129 (ISS assembly flight ULF3) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Atlantis was launched on November 16, 2009 at 14:28 EST, and landed at 09:44 EST on November 27, 2009 on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. STS-129 focused on staging spare components outside the station. The 11-day flight included three spacewalks. The payload bay carried two large ExPRESS Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly, a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm, a spare trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter, and a high-pressure gas tank. STS-129 was the first flight of an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier. The completion of this mission left six space shuttle flights remaining until the end of the Space Shuttle program, after STS-135 was approved in February 2011... ExPRESS Logistics Carriers 1 and 2 The primary payload of STS-129 was the ExPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Logistics Carrier (ELC-1) and the ELC-2. The mass capacity of each ELC is 9,800 pounds (4,400 kg) with a volume of 30 meters cubed (total with spares, ELC-1: 13,850 pounds (6,280 kg) and ELC-2: 13,400 pounds (6,100 kg)). Goddard Space Flight Center served as the overall integrator for ELC-1 and ELC-2. The spare hardware stored on ELC-1 includes an Ammonia Tank Assembly, a Battery Charger Discharge Unit, a station robotic arm Latching End Effector, a Control Moment Gyroscope, a Nitrogen Tank Assembly, a Pump Module, a Plasma Contactor Unit and two empty Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanisms. ELC-2 was launched with an oxygen-filled High Pressure Gas Tank (HPGT), a Cargo Transport Container (CTC-1), a Mobile Transporter Trailing Umbilical System Reel Assembly (MT TUS-RA), a Control Moment Gyroscope, a Nitrogen Tank Assembly, a Pump Module, MISSE attach hardware and one empty site for future payloads. ELC-1 was installed on the Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attachment System #2 (UCCAS 2) on the P3 (port side) segment of the main truss. ELC-2 was installed on the Upper Outboard Payload Attach System on the S3 (Starboard Segment 3) of the main truss. Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) carrier ELC2 also carried MISSE-7, an experiment that will expose a variety of materials and coatings being considered for future spacecraft to the extreme conditions outside the space station. The materials are being evaluated for the effects of atomic oxygen, ultraviolet, direct sunlight, radiation, and extremes of heat and cold. The experimental findings will benefit better understanding, development and to test new materials suitable to better withstand the rigors of space environments with applications in the design of future spacecraft. MISSE-7 is composed of two suitcase-sized Passive Experiment Containers (PECs), identified as MISSE 7A and MISSE 7B. Once installed in the exterior of ISS by space walking astronauts, the PECs are opened. The orientation of MISSE 7A will be space facing/Earth facing while MISSE 7B will face forward/backward relative to the ISS orbit. Both MISSE 7A and MISSE 7B contain active and passive experiments. Passive experiments are designed for pre- and post-flight evaluation in ground-based laboratories. S-band Antenna Sub-Assembly (SASA) package Atlantis delivered a repaired S-band Antenna Sub-Assembly (SASA) to the ISS which was returned to Earth during the STS-120 mission in October 2007. SASA is a space station antenna assembly consisting of - Assembly Contingency Radio Frequency Group (RFG or ACRFG) - SASA Boom - Avionics Wire Harness Major functions of the ACRFG are to transmit/receive radio signals to/from the transponder, amplification of signals to a power level necessary to be acquired by a Tracking Data and Relay Satellite and to broadcast/receive signals through the selected antenna... SASA package was attached to the sidewall inside the payload bay of Atlantis during the ascent to the ISS. It was transferred from the payload bay to the Zenith 1 truss for installation as a spare by spacewalkers Foreman and Satcher performing EVA 1 on November 19... This was the 72nd space shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center...