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CX2SA > SAREX 22.09.06 00:04l 105 Lines 4679 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 53126_CX2SA
Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: NASA Welcomes Space Shuttle Cr
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ON0AR<F6KMO<F4BWT<ON0BEL<I0TVL<CX2SA
Sent: 060921/2256Z @:CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA #:53126 [Minas] FBB7.00e $:53126_CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : SAREX@WW
SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
> Sept. 21, 2006
>
> Grey Hautaluoma
> Headquarters, Washington
> 202-358-0668
>
> Tracy Young
> Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
> 321-867-2468
>
>
>
> NASA WELCOMES SPACE SHUTTLE CREW BACK TO EARTH
>
> The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew are home after a 12-day
> journey of more than 4.9 million miles in space. The mission,
> STS-115, succeeded in restarting assembly of the International Space
> Station. The crew delivered and installed the massive P3/P4 truss, an
> integral part of the station's backbone, and two sets of solar arrays
> that will eventually provide one quarter of the station's power.
>
> Atlantis' Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and mission
> specialists Joe Tanner, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Dan Burbank,
> and Steve MacLean, a Canadian astronaut, landed Thursday, Sept. 21,
> at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 6:21 a.m. EDT. After
> landing, Jett told Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center,
> "Thanks, Houston. It's nice to be back. It was a great team effort,
> so I think assembly's off to a good start."
>
> The flight was the first in a series of missions that will be among
> the most complex in space history. Atlantis delivered the first major
> new component to the station since 2002 and laid the groundwork for
> upcoming station assembly missions.
>
> STS-115 is one of the most photographed shuttle missions ever, with
> more than 100 high-definition, digital, video and film cameras
> documenting the launch and climb to orbit. Data from these images, as
> well as station and shuttle crew inspection, helped to clear
> Atlantis' thermal protection system for return only two and a half
> days after launch.
>
> Tanner, Piper, Burbank and MacLean, with the help of crewmates, made
> three spacewalks that completed truss installation, enabled solar
> arrays to be deployed and prepared an important radiator for later
> activation. They also installed a signal processor and transponder
> that transmits voice and data to the ground and performed other tasks
> to upgrade and protect the station's systems.
>
> A new procedure called a "camp out" was implemented, in which
> astronauts slept in the Quest airlock prior to their spacewalks. The
> process shortens the "prebreathe" time during which nitrogen is
> purged from the astronauts' systems and air pressure is lowered so
> the spacewalkers avoid the condition known as the bends. On each of
> the three spacewalks, the astronauts were able to perform more than
> the number of scheduled activities.
>
> The astronauts performed unprecedented robotics work. They used the
> shuttle's arm in a delicate maneuver to hand off the school bus-sized
> truss to the station's arm. The 45-foot truss weighs 35,000 pounds.
> The arrays at the end of the truss extended to their full 240-foot
> wingspan once they unfurled on flight day six. The astronauts also
> moved the station's robotic arm to a position where it will assist in
> the next phase of station construction.
>
> After Atlantis undocked from the station, it did the first full fly
> around of the facility since prior to the Space Shuttle Columbia
> accident. The maneuver helped ground crews get a better perspective
> on the station's environment and overall exterior health.
>
> Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a call during the mission
> to astronaut Steve MacLean to congratulate him on being the first
> Canadian to operate Canadarm2, the station's Canadian-built robotic
> arm.
>
> After undocking, the Atlantis crew participated in a first-ever
> three-way call with the Expedition 13 crew aboard the International
> Space Station and the three crew members of the Soyuz spacecraft on
> its way to the station. All 12 astronauts in space at that time were
> able to have a conversation.
>
> With Atlantis and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the next
> stage of International Space Station assembly. Preparations continue
> for Space Shuttle Discovery's launch, targeted for mid-December, on
> the STS-116 mission to deliver an additional truss segment and a
> cargo module to the station. Discovery will also do extensive work on
> the station's electrical and cooling systems.
>
> For more on the STS-115 mission and the upcoming STS-116 mission,
> visit:
>
> http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
>
>
>
----
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