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End of mission

STS-82 was a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission by Space Shuttle Discovery. It was the 82nd mission of the Space Shuttle program and the 22nd flight of the orbiter Discovery[1][2]. The mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on February 11, 1997.

Crew

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Mission parameters

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Space walks

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  • Lee and Smith - EVA 1
  • EVA 1 Start: February 14, 1997 - 04:34 UTC
  • EVA 1 End: February 14, - 11:16 UTC
  • Duration: 6 hours, 42 minutes
  • Harbaugh and Tanner - EVA 2
  • EVA 2 Start: February 15, 1997 - 03:25 UTC
  • EVA 2 End: February 15, - 10:52 UTC
  • Duration: 7 hours, 27 minutes
  • Lee and Smith - EVA 3
  • EVA 3 Start: February 16, 1997 - 02:53 UTC
  • EVA 3 End: February 16, - 10:04 UTC
  • Duration: 7 hours, 11 minutes
  • Harbaugh and Tanner - EVA 4
  • EVA 4 Start: February 17, 1997 - 03:45 UTC
  • EVA 4 End: February 17, - 10:19 UTC
  • Duration: 6 hours, 34 minutes
  • Lee and Smith - EVA 5
  • EVA 5 Start: February 18, 1997 - 03:15 UTC
  • EVA 5 End: February 18, - 18:32 UTC
  • Duration: 5 hours, 17 minutes

Mission Objectives

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The STS-82 mission was the second in a series of planned servicing missions to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope[1][3]. Hubble was placed in orbit on April 24, 1990 during Discovery's tenth mission, STS-31. It was designed to undergo periodic servicing and upgrading over its 15-year lifespan[4], with its first servicing having been performed by the crew of Endeavor in December of 1993 during shuttle mission STS-61. The goal of this second servicing mission was to significantly upgrade the scientific capabilities of Hubble and keep it functioning smoothly until the next scheduled servicing missions[1], STS-103 in 1999 and STS-109 in 2002.

Instruments to be replaced were the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph and the Faint Object Spectrograph. Replacing these instruments respectively were to be the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). In addition to installing the new instruments, astronauts were to replace other existing hardware with upgrades and spares. One of Hubble's reel-to-reel tape recorders was to be replaced by a digital solid state recorder (SSR). The SSR would provide much more flexibility than a reel-to-reel recorder and would be able to store ten times more data. One of Hubble's four Reaction Wheel Assemblies (RWA) was to be replaced with a refurbished spare. The RWA is part of Hubble's Pointing Control Subsystem. The RWAs use spin momentum to move the telescope into position. The wheels also maintain the spacecraft in a stable position. The wheel axes are oriented so that the telescope can provide science with only three wheels operating, if required.


Mission Chronology & Events

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STS-82 was originally scheduled for lift off from the Kennedy Space Center on February 13, 1997[5]. The targeted launch date was moved forward two days on January 16, 1997 to provide more range of opportunities[6][7]. Discovery lifted off on schedule from launch pad 39-A at 3:55:17 a.m. EST[1][8].

Mission Results

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Joseph Tanner performing maintenance on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Work performed during the STS-82 mission greatly improved the telescope's productivity and increased it's efficiency[3].

STS-82 demonstrated anew the capability of the Space Shuttle to service orbiting spacecraft as well as the benefits of human spaceflight.

The crew completed servicing and upgrading of the Hubble Space Telescope during four planned extravehicular activities (EVAs) and then performed a fifth unscheduled space walk to repair insulation on the telescope.


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Hawley, who originally deployed the telescope, operated the orbiter Remote Manipulator System arm on STS-82 to retrieve HST for second servicing at 3:34 a.m. EST, Feb. 13, and positioned it in payload bay less than half an hour later.

Relying on more than 150 tools and crew aids, Lee and Smith performed EVAs 1, 3 and 5, and Harbaugh and Tanner did EVAs 2 and 4. EVA 1 began at 11:34 p.m. EST, February 13, and lasted six hours, 42 minutes. One of Hubble's solar arrays was unexpectedly disturbed by gust of air from Discovery's airlock when it was depressurized, but was not damaged. Lee and Smith removed two scientific instruments from Hubble, the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) and Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS), and replaced them with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), respectively. STIS expected to shed further light on supermassive black holes. NICMOS features more capable infrared detectors and will give astronomers their first clear view of the universe at near infrared wavelengths between 0.8 and 2.5 micrometers.

EVA 2 began at 10:25 p.m., February 14, and lasted seven hours, 27 minutes. Harbaugh and Tanner replaced a degraded Fine Guidance Sensor and a failed Engineering and Science Tape Recorder with new spares. Also installed a new unit called the Optical Control Electronics Enhancement Kit, which will further increase the capability of the Fine Guidance Sensor. During this EVA astronauts noted cracking and wear on thermal insulation on side of telescope facing sun and in the direction of travel.

EVA 3 began at 9:53 p.m., February 15, and lasted seven hours, 11 minutes. Lee and Smith removed and replaced a Data Interface Unit on Hubble, as well as an old reel-to-reel- style Engineering and Science Tape Recorder with a new digital Solid State Recorder (SSR) that will allow simultaneous recording and playback of data. Also changed out one of four Reaction Wheel Assembly units that use spin momentum to move telescope toward a target and maintain it in a stable position. After this EVA, mission managers decided to add EVA 5 to repair the thermal insulation on HST.

EVA 4 began at 10:45 p.m., February 16, and lasted six hours, 34 minutes.

Harbaugh and Tanner replaced a Solar Array Drive Electronics package which controls the positioning of Hubble's solar arrays.

Also replaced covers over Hubble's magnetometers and placed thermal blankets of multi-layer material over two areas of degraded insulation around the light shield portion of the telescope just below the top of the observatory.

Meanwhile, inside Discovery Horowitz and Lee worked on the middeck to fabricate new insulation blankets for HST.


Final space walk, EVA 5, lasted five hours, 17 minutes.

Lee and Smith attached several thermal insulation blankets to three equipment compartments at the top of the Support Systems Module section of the telescope which contain key data processing, electronics and scientific instrument telemetry packages.

STS-82 EVA total of 33 hours, 11 minutes is about two hours shy of total EVA time recorded on first servicing mission.

Discovery's maneuvering jets fired several times during mission to reboost telescope's orbit by eight nautical miles.

Hubble redeployed on Feb. 19 at 1:41 a.m. and is now operating at the highest altitude it has ever flown, a 335-nautical-mile (620 km) by 321-nautical-mile (594 km) orbit.

Initial checkout of new instruments and equipment during mission showed all were performing nominally.

Calibration of two new science instruments was to take place over a period of several weeks with first images and data anticipated in about eight to 10 weeks.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d ""Kennedy Space Center Mission STS-82"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  2. ^ ""NASA Space Science Data Center: STS-82"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  3. ^ a b ""The Hubble Program: Service Mission 2"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  4. ^ ""NASA Shuttle Mission Archive - STS-82"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  5. ^ ""NASA Status Report - July 1, 1996"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  6. ^ ""NASA Status Report - January 16, 1997"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  7. ^ "Space Shuttle Mission Chronology: 1997"" (pdf). Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  8. ^ ""STS-82 Day 1 Highlights"". Retrieved 2009-02-11.

See also

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Category:1997 in space exploration Category:Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions Category:Space Shuttle missions

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