Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 179

STS-69

Endeavour (9)

USA

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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  07.09.1995
Launch time:  15:09 UTC
Launch site:  Cape Canaveral (KSC)
Launch pad:  39-A
Altitude:  305 km
Inclination:  28,4°
Landing date:  18.09.1995
Landing time:  11:37 UTC
Landing site:  Cape Canaveral (KSC)

walkout photo

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alternate crew photo

Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Walker  David Mathieson  CDR 4 10d 20h 28m  171 
2  Cockrell  Kenneth Dale "Taco"  PLT 2 10d 20h 28m  171 
3  Voss  James Shelton  MSP 3 10d 20h 28m  171 
4  Newman  James Hansen  MSP 2 10d 20h 28m  171 
5  Gernhardt  Michael Landon  MSP 1 10d 20h 28m  171 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Walker
2  Cockrell
3  Voss
4  Newman
5  Gernhardt
Landing
1  Walker
2  Cockrell
3  Gernhardt
4  Newman
5  Voss

Flight

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Cape Canaveral (KSC).

The crew deployed the SPARTAN-201 research platform and retrieved it after two days of free flying. The SPARTAN 201 free-flyer made its third flight aboard the Shuttle. The SPARTAN 201 mission was a scientific research effort aimed at the investigation of the interaction between the Sun and its outflowing wind of charged particles. SPARTAN's goal was to study the outer atmosphere of the Sun and its transition into the solar wind that constantly flows past the Earth.

Deploying of "Wake Shield Facility" (WSF-2) and retrieval after free flying were performed. The Wake Shield Facility (WSF), a saucer shaped satellite that flew free of the Shuttle for several days. The WSF growed thin films in a near perfect vacuum created by the wake of the satellite as it moves through space.

The only EVA in this mission was performed by James Voss and Michael Gernhardt on September 16, 1995 (6h 46m) to test assembly techniques for the ISS.

STS-69 saw the first flight of the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-1), the first of five planned flights to measure and monitor long-term variations in the magnitude of absolute extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux coming from the Sun, and to study EUV emissions from the plasma torus system around Jupiter originating from its moon Io. Another payload was a connection to the development of the Space Station is the Electrolysis Performance Improvement Concept Study (EPICS).

Other payloads aboard are the National Institutes of Health- Cells-4 (NIH-C4) experiment that investigates bone loss during space flight; the Biological Research in Canister-6 (BRIC-6) that studies the gravity-sensing mechanism within mammalian cells. Also flying are two commercial experiments. (CMIX-4) whose objectives include analysis of cell change in microgravity along with studies of neuro-muscular development disorders and the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-7 (CGBA-7). CGBA is a secondary payload that serves as an incubator and data collection point for experiments in pharmaceuticals testing and biomedicine, bioprocessing and biotechnology, agriculture and the environment.

The Thermal Energy Storage (TES-2) experiment also is part of the CAPL-2/GBA-6. The TES-2 payload is designed to provide data for understanding the long-duration behavior of thermal energy storage fluoride salts that undergo repeated melting and freezing in microgravity. The TES-2 payload is designed to study the microgravity behavior of voids in lithium fluoride–calcium fluoride eutectic, a thermal energy storage salt. Data from this experiment will validate a computer code called TESSIM, useful for the analysis of heat receivers in advanced solar dynamic power system designs.

Photos / Drawings


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Last update on July 29, 2012.