.
of the Space Shuttle program

Celebrating 30 Years
ISBN 978-0-16-090202-4

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Designed by adam chen

edited by William Wallack and george gonzalez

 library of congress cataloging-in-publication Data

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ISBN 978-0-16-090202-4

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F ro as le b y t eh S pu eri tn e dn e tn fo D co mu e tn s, .U S. G vo er mn e tn P ri tn i gn Office

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Table of Contents

Forward 6 STS-31 76 STS-70 146 STS-104 216

STS-1 8 STS-41 78 STS-69 148 STS-105 218

STS-2 10 STS-38 80 STS-73 150 STS-108 220

STS-3 12 STS-35 82 STS-74 152 STS-109 222

STS-4 14 STS-37 84 STS-72 154 STS-110 224

STS-5 16 STS-39 86 STS-75 156 STS-111 226

STS-6 18 STS-40 88 STS-76 158 STS-112 228

STS-7 20 STS-43 90 STS-77 160 STS-113 230

STS-8 22 STS-48 92 STS-78 162 STS-107 232

STS-9 24 STS-44 94 STS-79 164 STS-114 234

STS-41B 26 STS-42 96 STS-80 166 STS-121 236

STS-41C 28 STS-45 98 STS-81 168 STS-115 238

STS-41D 30 STS-49 100 STS-82 170 STS-116 240

STS-41G 32 STS-50 102 STS-83 172 STS-117 242

STS-51A 34 STS-46 104 STS-84 174 STS-118 244

STS-51C 36 STS-47 106 STS-94 176 STS-120 246

STS-51D 38 STS-52 108 STS-85 178 STS-122 248

STS-51B 40 STS-53 110 STS-86 180 STS-123 250

STS-51G 42 STS-54 112 STS-87 182 STS-124 252

STS-51F 44 STS-56 114 STS-89 184 STS-126 254

STS-51I 46 STS-55 116 STS-90 186 STS-119 256

STS-51J 48 STS-57 118 STS-91 188 STS-125 258

STS-61A 50 STS-51 120 STS-95 190 STS-127 260

STS-61B 52 STS-58 122 STS-88 192 STS-128 262

STS-61C 54 STS-61 124 STS-96 194 STS-129 264

STS-51L 56 STS-60 126 STS-93 196 STS-130 266

STS-26 58 STS-62 128 STS-103 198 STS-131 268

STS-27 60 STS-59 130 STS-99 200 STS-132 270

STS-29 62 STS-65 132 STS-101 202 STS-133 272

STS-30 64 STS-64 134 STS-106 204 STS-134 274

STS-28 66 STS-68 136 STS-92 206 STS-135 276

STS-34 68 STS-66 138 STS-97 208 Orbiter Facts 279

STS-33 70 STS-63 140 STS-98 210 International 281 

STS-32 72 STS-67 142 STS-102 212 Challenger Tribute 282 

STS-36 74 STS-71 144 STS-100 214 Columbia Tribute 283
Forward—A Message from Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

6
off the launch pad at Kennedy Space center for the very first time. 

In a flight that lasted 54 hours, NaSa proved an amazing piece of 

technology. for 30 years, the best workforce in the world has launched 

133 Shuttle flights, dedicated to making each better than the last. 

I want to thank each and every person who has ever been part of 

the Shuttle workforce over the years for your significant contribution 

to this american accomplishment. You’ve helped make the world a 

better place and should take pride in that. today belongs not just to 

the 360 men and women who have flown on the Shuttle, but to all of 

you who have helped their missions to succeed. 

Your work means a great deal to me personally. those of us who have 

flown the Shuttle put our lives in your hands each time we flew, and 

I never doubted that all of you on the ground, in launch and mission 

control, in orbiter processing, in every phase of the program, were 

absolutely dedicated, and among the most skilled and committed 

people I have ever known.

the Shuttle has provided this Nation with many firsts, with many 

proud moments, and it has helped the united States to lead the world 

in space exploration. over three decades, this flagship program has 

become part of the fabric of our Nation’s history. It’s helped us improve 

communications on earth and to understand our home planet better. 

It’s set scientific satellites like magellan and ulysses speeding on their 

missions into the solar system and launched hubble and chandra to 

explore the universe.

the Shuttle program has given us tremendous knowledge about a 

reusable spacecraft and launch system from which future commercial 

systems will benefit. It’s enabled construction of the International 

Space Station, our foothold for human exploration, which is leading 

to breakthroughs in human health and microgravity research. and it’s 

provided “first ever” astronaut flight and command opportunities for 

women and minorities. 

We’ll never forget the crews of challenger and columbia. many of us 

counted them as our personal friends, and their achievements will 

live on in the spirit of perseverance and grit and hope in which they 

lived and worked. they were all true heroes who made the ultimate 

sacrifice in service to this country.

the human space flight program will continue with astronauts living 

and working on the International Space Station until at least 2020. 

We wouldn’t have been able to build that orbiting outpost without 

the Shuttle. We wouldn’t have established that model of global 

cooperation that serves as a guidepost for how we can work together 

toward the greater things of which we are capable as human beings. 

With the last flight of atlantis in June, the Shuttles stop flying, but they 

don’t stop inspiring, and they don’t stop being part of the fabric of 

america. three museums and one NaSa center will have a Shuttle 

orbiter to continue to tell the story of human space flight and american 

accomplishment. 

there were many worthy institutions who requested an orbiter and 

far too few to go around. But millions of americans and people from 

around the world will continue to learn from these amazing vehicles 

and the stories of their crews and their missions in their new homes.

the Shuttle’s retirement is bittersweet for us, but I am also very 

excited about our future. a future that is bright and open to us 

because of the Shuttle program. We could not be reaching for new 

heights and developing the next generation of capabilities without 

the technological breakthroughs of the Shuttle and the many lessons 

learned that we will carry forward. our commitment to human space 

flight is steadfast, and with this amazing workforce, we will continue 

to lead the world in human space exploration and discovery.

NaSa administrator charles f. Bolden, Jr.

7
S

tS-1

8
Mission

StS-1, first Shuttle mission; 

Shuttle systems test flight

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

2 days, 6 hours, 20 minutes, and 53 seconds

Distance Traveled

933,757 miles

Orbits

37

Crew

9
StS-2

10
Mission

StS-2, office of Space and 

terrestrial applications-1 (oSta-1)

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 12, 1981, at 10:10:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 14, 1981, at 1:23:12 p.m. pSt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

2 days, 6 hours, 13 minutes, and 12 seconds 

Distance Traveled

933,757 miles

Orbits

37

Crew

11
S

tS-3

12
Mission

StS-3, office of Space Science-1 (oSS-1)

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

8 days, 0 hours, 4 minutes, and 46 seconds 

Distance Traveled

3,900,000 miles

Orbits

130

Crew

13
S

tS-4

14
StS-4 was the final Shuttle research and development flight. In addition to carrying a classified Department of Defense payload, 

mission cargo also included a get-away Special (gaS) that contained nine experiments from utah State university students, 

the first commercial experiment involving the continuous flow electrophoresis System (cfeS), the monodisperse latex 

reactor (mlr), the Induced environment contamination monitor (Iecm), and two Shuttle Student Involvement program 

(SSIp) experiments.

for the SSIp experiments, the crew performed medical experiments on themselves. the astronauts also operated the 

remote manipulator System (rmS) arm to swing the Iecm around the orbiter, and they took photos of lightning activity in 

earth’s atmosphere.

Mission

StS-4, Department of Defense; 

continuous flow electrophoresis System (cfeS)

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 27, 1982, at 11:00:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 4, 1982, at 9:09:40 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 40 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,900,000 miles

Orbits

113

Crew

15
StS-5

16
Mission

StS-5, commercial communications satellites: 

telesat canada (anik c-3) and 

Satellite Business Systems (SBS-3)

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 11, 1982, at 7:19:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 16, 1982, at 6:33:26 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

5 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 26 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,850,000 miles

Orbits

82

Crew

17
S

tS-6

18
Mission

StS-6, tracking and Data relay Satellite-a 

(tDrS-a); first Shuttle spacewalk

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

5 days, 0 hours, 23 minutes, and 42 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,820,000 miles

Orbits

81

Crew

19
S

tS-7

20
Sally K. ride became the first american woman to fly in space on StS-7. on the mission, two communications satellites 

were deployed, anik c-2 for telesat canada and palapa-B1 for Indonesia. Seven get-away Special (gaS) canisters in the 

cargo bay held a variety of experiments, including one studying the effects of space on the social behavior of an ant colony 

in zero gravity. ten experiments were mounted on the Shuttle pallet Satellite (SpaS-01) and performed research in forming 

metal alloys in microgravity and in using a remote sensing scanner. the orbiter’s small control rockets were fired while 

SpaS-01 was held by the remote manipulator System (rmS) to test the movement on an extended arm. 

other payloads on this mission were the office of Space and terrestrial applications-2 (oSta-2), the continuous flow 

electrophoresis System (cfeS), the monodisperse latex reactor (mlr), and one Shuttle Student Involvement program 

(SSIp) experiment. 

Mission

StS-7, communications satellite launch; 

first u.S. woman in space

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 18, 1983, at 7:33:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

June 24, 1983, at 6:56:59 a.m. pDt on 

runway 15 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

6 days, 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 59 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,220,000 miles

Orbits

98

Crew

21
S

tS-8NaSa’s eighth Space Shuttle launch lights up the florida sky at 2:32 a.m., august 30, 1983. 

challenger’s third flight was the first night launch of the program. 

22
Mission

StS-8, multipurpose satellite; 

first night launch and landing

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

September 5, 1983, at 12:40:43 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

6 days, 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 43 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,220,000 miles

Orbits

98

Crew

23
S

tS-9

24
StS-9 carried the first Spacelab mission and the first european Space agency (eSa) astronaut, ulf D. merbold of germany. 

eSa and NaSa jointly sponsored Spacelab-1 and conducted investigations that demonstrated advanced research was 

capable in space. 

Spacelab was an orbital laboratory and contained an observation platform that consisted of cylindrical pressurized 

modules and u-shaped unpressurized pallets that remained in the orbiter’s cargo bay during flight. altogether, 73 separate 

investigations were carried out in astronomy and physics, atmospheric physics, earth observations, life sciences, materials 

sciences, space plasma physics, and technology. this was the first time that six people were carried into space on a 

single vehicle.

Mission

StS-9, first Spacelab mission—orbital 

laboratory and observations platform; 

first six-crewmember flight

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 28, 1983, at 11:00:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 8, 1983, at 3:47:24 a.m. pSt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

10 days, 7 hours, 47 minutes, and 24 seconds 

Distance Traveled

3,330,000 miles

Orbits

167

Crew

25
S

tS-41B

26
Mission

StS-41B, Westar-VI, palapa-B2; 

manned maneuvering unit (mmu); 

first Kennedy Space center (KSc) landing

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 55 seconds 

Distance Traveled

2,870,000 miles

Orbits

128

Crew

27
S

tS-41

c

28
StS-41c marked the first direct ascent trajectory for the Space Shuttle. the astronauts, using the manned maneuvering 

unit (mmu), replaced the altitude control system and the coronagraph/polarimeter electronics box in the Solar maximum 

mission (Solar max) satellite—executing the first spacecraft repair in orbit. the long Duration exposure facility (lDef) was 

also deployed, carrying 57 experiments that were left on orbit with the intention of retrieving them during a later mission. 

other payloads on this mission were an ImaX camera, the radiation monitoring equipment (rme), a cinema 360 camera, 

and a Shuttle Student Involvement program (SSlp) experiment.

Mission

StS-41c, long Duration exposure facility 

(lDef); first on-orbit spacecraft repair

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

6 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes, and 7 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,880,000 miles

Orbits

108

Crew

29
S

tS-41D

30
Mission

StS-41D, SBS-D, Syncom IV-2, telstar; 

Solar wing extended

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

September 5, 1984, at 6:37:54 a.m. pDt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

6 days, 0 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,210,000 miles

Orbits

97

Crew

31
S

tS-41

g

32
Mission

StS-41g, earth radiation Budget Satellite 

(erBS); office of Space and terrestrial 

applications-3 (oSta-3)

Space Shuttle

challenger

Launched

october 5, 1984, at 7:03:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

october 13, 1984, at 12:26:38 p.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes, and 38 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,400,000 miles

Orbits

133

Crew

commander robert l. crippen

pilot Jon a. mcBride

mission Specialists Kathryn D. Sullivan, 

Sally K. ride, and David c. leestma

payload Specialists marc garneau and 

paul D. Scully-power

33
S

tS-51

a

34
Mission

StS-51a, telesat-h, Syncom IV-1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

November 8, 1984, at 7:15:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 16, 1984, at 6:59:56 a.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

7 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes, and 56 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,870,000 miles

Orbits

127

Crew

commander frederick h. hauck 

pilot David m. Walker

mission Specialists anna l. fisher, 

Dale a. gardner, and Joseph p. allen

35
S

tS-51

c

36
StS-51c was the first mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, 

crew activities and accomplishments are not disclosed.

the scheduled launch for January 23, 1985, was scrubbed because of freezing weather conditions. challenger was originally 

scheduled for mission 51-c, but thermal tile problems forced Discovery’s substitution. 

Mission

StS-51c, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

January 24, 1985, at 2:50:00 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 27, 1985, at 4:23:23 p.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

3 days, 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 23 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,242,566 miles

Orbits

49

Crew

commander thomas K. mattingly II

pilot loren J. Shriver

mission Specialists ellison S. onizuka and 

James f. Buchli

payload Specialist gary e. payton

37
S

tS-51D

38
Mission

StS-51D, telesat-I, communications satellite 

Syncom IV-3; first sitting member of congress 

in space

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

april 12, 1985, at 8:59:05 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

april 19, 1985, at 8:54:28 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

6 days, 23 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,500,000 miles

Orbits

110

Crew

commander Karol J. Bobko 

pilot Donald e. Williams 

mission Specialists m. rhea Seddon, 

Jeffrey a. hoffman, and S. David griggs 

payload Specialists charles D. Walker and 

Senator e. Jake garn

39
S

tS-51B

40
Mission

StS-51B, Spacelab-3 

Space Shuttle

challenger

Launched

april 29, 1985, at 12:02:18 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

may 6, 1985, at 9:11:04 a.m. pDt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes, and 46 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,900,000 miles

Orbits

111

Crew

commander robert f. overmyer 

pilot frederick D. gregory

mission Specialists Don l. lind, 

Norman e. thagard, and William e. thornton 

payload Specialists lodewijk van den Berg and 

taylor g. Wang

41
StS-51g

42
Mission

StS-51g, morelos-a, arabsat-a, and 

telstar-3D communications satellites

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

June 17, 1985, at 7:33:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

June 24, 1985, at 6:11:52 a.m. pDt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 1 hour, 38 minutes, and 52 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,500,000 miles

Orbits

112

Crew

commander Daniel c. Brandenstein

pilot John o. creighton

mission Specialists Shannon W. lucid, 

John m. fabian, and Steven r. Nagel 

payload Specialists patrick Baudry and 

Sultan Salman al-Saud

43
S

tS-51

f

44
Mission

StS-51f, Spacelab-2

Space Shuttle

challenger

Launched

July 29, 1985, at 5:00:00 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

august 6, 1985, at 12:45:26 p.m. pDt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes, and 26 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,850,000 miles

Orbits

127

Crew

commander c. gordon fullerton

pilot roy D. Bridges, Jr.

mission Specialists f. Story musgrave, 

anthony W. england, and Karl g. henize 

payload Specialists loren W. acton and 

John-David f. Bartoe

45
S

tS-51I

46
Mission

StS-51I, aSc-1, aussat-1, Syncom IV-4

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

august 27, 1985, at 6:58:01 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 3, 1985, at 6:15:43 a.m. pDt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 42 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,500,000 miles

Orbits

112

Crew

commander Joe h. engle

pilot richard o. covey

mission Specialists James D.a. van hoften, 

John m. lounge, and William f. fisher

47
StS-51J

48
StS-51J was the second mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, 

crew activities and accomplishments are not disclosed.

Mission

StS-51J, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

october 3, 1985, at 11:15:30 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

october 7, 1985, at 10:00:08 a.m. pDt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 1 hour, 44 minutes, and 38 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,682,641 miles

Orbits

64

Crew

commander Karol J. Bobko

pilot ronald J. grabe

mission Specialists David c. hilmers, 

robert l. Stewart, and William a. pailes

49
S

tS-61

a

50
Mission

StS-61a, Spacelab D-1 mission (first german 

dedicated Spacelab); first eight-member crew

Space Shuttle

challenger

Launched

october 30, 1985, 12:00:00 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 6, 1985, 9:44:51 a.m. pSt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 0 hours, 44 minutes, and 51 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,501,290 miles

Orbits

112

Crew

commander henry W. hartsfield, Jr.

pilot Steven r. Nagel

mission Specialists James f. Buchli, 

guion S. Bluford, and Bonnie J. Dunbar 

payload Specialists reinhard furrer, 

ernst messerschmid, and Wubbo J. ockels

51
S

tS-61B

52
Mission

StS-61B, morelos-B; aussat-2; Satcom Ku-2

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

November 26, 1985, 7:29:00 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 3, 1985, 1:33:49 p.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

6 days, 21 hours, 4 minutes, and 49 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,466,956 miles

Orbits

109

Crew

commander Brewster h. Shaw, Jr.

pilot Bryan D. o’connor

mission Specialists mary l. cleave, 

Sherwood c. Spring, and Jerry l. ross

payload Specialists rodolfo Neri Vela and 

charles D. Walker

53
S

tS-61

c

54
Mission

StS-61c, Satcom Ku-1

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

January 12, 1986, 6:55:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 18, 1986, 5:58:51 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 51 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,197,305 miles

Orbits

98

Crew

commander robert l. gibson

pilot charles f. Bolden, Jr.

mission Specialists franklin r. chang-Díaz, 

Steven a. hawley, and george D. Nelson 

payload Specialists robert J. cenker and 

congressman Bill Nelson

55
S

tS-51

l

56
Mission

StS-51l, tracking and Data relay Satellite-B 

(tDrS-B), Spartan-203

Space Shuttle

challenger

Launched

January 28, 1986, 11:38:00 a.m. eSt from

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Loss of Crew

the crew and vehicle were lost 73 seconds 

after lift-off.

Crew

commander francis r. Scobee 

pilot michael J. Smith 

mission Specialists Judith a. resnik, 

ellison S. onizuka, and ronald e. mcNair 

payload Specialists gregory B. Jarvis and 

Sharon christa mcauliffe

57
S

tS-26StS-26 was NaSa’s return to flight mission following the challenger accident. During 

the mission the crew delivered the tDrS-c communications satellite to earth orbit. 

58
Mission

StS-26, tracking and Data relay Satellite-c 

(tDrS-c)

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

September 29, 1988, 11:37:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

october 3, 1988, 9:37:11 a.m. pDt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 1 hour, 0 minutes, and 11 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,430,505 miles

Orbits

64

Crew

commander frederick h. hauck

pilot richard o. covey

mission Specialists John m. lounge, 

george D. Nelson, and David c. hilmers

59
S

tS-27

60
StS-27 was the third mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, crew 

activities and accomplishments are not disclosed.

the launch, which was set for December 1, 1988, during a classified launch window between 6:32 a.m. and 9:32 a.m., was 

postponed due to unacceptable cloud cover and wind conditions and was reset for the same launch period on December 2. 

Mission

StS-27, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

December 2, 1988, 9:30:34 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 6, 1988, 3:36:11 p.m. pSt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 9 hours, 5 minutes, and 37 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,812,075 miles

Orbits

68

Crew

commander robert l. gibson 

pilot guy S. gardner 

mission Specialists richard m. mullane, 

Jerry l. ross, and William m. Shepherd

61
S

tS-29

62
Mission

StS-29, tracking and Data relay Satellite-D 

(tDrS-D)

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

march 13, 1989, 9:57:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

march 18, 1989, 6:35:50 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, and 50 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,800,000 miles

Orbits

80

Crew

commander michael l. coats

pilot John e. Blaha

mission Specialists James p. Bagian, 

James f. Buchli, and robert c. Springer

63
S

tS-30Backdropped against partially cloudy florida skies, the Space Shuttle atlantis heads for a 

4-day mission in earth orbit with five astronaut crewmembers aboard. 

64
Mission

StS-30, magellan

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

4 days, 0 hours, 56 minutes, and 27 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,477,500 miles

Orbits

65

Crew

65
S

tS-28

66
StS-28 was the fourth mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, 

crew activities and accomplishments are not disclosed.

Mission

StS-28, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

august 8, 1989, 8:37:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

august 13, 1989, 6:37:09 a.m. pDt on 

runway 17 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

5 days, 1 hour, 0 minutes, and 8 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,070,943 miles

Orbits

81

Crew

commander Brewster h. Shaw, Jr.

pilot richard N. richards

mission Specialists James c. adamson, 

David c. leestma, and mark N. Brown

67
S

tS-34

68
Mission

StS-34, galileo; Shuttle Solar Backscatter 

ultraviolet (SSBuV) experiment

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

october 18, 1989, 12:53:40 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

october 23, 1989, 9:33:00 a.m. pDt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 23 hours, 39 minutes, and 20 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,800,000 miles

Orbits

79

Crew

commander Donald e. Williams 

pilot michael J. mcculley

mission Specialists franklin r. chang-Díaz, 

Shannon W. lucid, and ellen S. Baker

69
S

tS-33

70
StS-33 was the fifth mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, crew 

activities and accomplishments are not disclosed. 

the original launch date set for November 20, 1989, was rescheduled to allow for the changeout of suspect integrated 

electronics assemblies on the twin solid rocket boosters.

Mission

StS-33, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

November 22, 1989, 7:23:30 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 27, 1989, 4:30:19 p.m. pSt on 

runway 4 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

5 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes, and 49 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,045,056 miles

Orbits

79

Crew

commander frederick D. gregory 

pilot John e. Blaha

mission Specialists f. Story musgrave, 

manley l. carter, Jr., and Kathryn c. thornton

71
S

tS-32

72
Mission

StS-32, Syncom IV-f5; lDef retrieval

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

January 9, 1990, 7:35:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 20, 1990, 1:35:36 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

10 days, 21 hours, 0 minutes, and 36 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,509,972 miles

Orbits

172

Crew

commander Daniel c. Brandenstein

pilot James D. Wetherbee

mission Specialists Bonnie J. Dunbar, 

g. David low, and marsha S. Ivins

73
S

tS-36

74
StS-36 was the sixth mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, crew 

activities and accomplishments are not disclosed.

the launch set for february 22, 1990, was postponed several days due to an illness of the crew commander and poor 

weather conditions. It was the first time since apollo 13 in 1970 that a piloted space mission was affected by the illness of 

a crewmember. 

Mission

StS-36, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

february 28, 1990, 2:50:22 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

march 4, 1990, 10:08:44 a.m. pSt on 

runway 23 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 10 hours, 18 minutes, and 22 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,837,962 miles

Orbits

72

Crew

commander John o. creighton

pilot John h. casper

mission Specialists richard m. mullane, 

David c. hilmers, and pierre J. thuot

75
S

tS-31

76
Mission

StS-31, hubble Space telescope (hSt)

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

april 24, 1990, 8:33:51 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

april 29, 1990, 6:49:57 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

5 days, 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 6 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,068,213 miles

Orbits

80

Crew

commander loren J. Shriver

pilot charles f. Bolden, Jr.

mission Specialists Steven a. hawley, 

Bruce mccandless II, and Kathryn D. Sullivan

77
S

tS-41

78
Mission

StS-41, ulysses; SSBuV; ISac

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

october 6, 1990, 7:47:15 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

october 10, 1990, 6:57:19 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

4 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 4 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,707,445 miles

Orbits

66

Crew

commander richard N. richards 

pilot robert D. cabana

mission Specialists William m. Shepherd, 

Bruce e. melnick, and thomas D. akers

79
S

tS-38

80
StS-38 was the seventh mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. Because of the mission’s security classification, 

crew activities and accomplishments are not disclosed.

the launch was originally scheduled for July 1990; however, a liquid hydrogen leak found on columbia during the StS-35 

countdown prompted three precautionary tanking tests on atlantis at the launch pad on June 29, July 13, and July 25. tests 

confirmed a hydrogen fuel leak on the external tank side of the external tank/orbiter’s 17-inch quick disconnect umbilical. 

this leak could not be repaired at the pad, and atlantis was rolled back to the Vehicle assembly Building (VaB) on august 9, 

was demated, and was transferred to the orbiter processing facility (opf). During rollback, the vehicle was parked outside 

the VaB for about a day while the columbia StS-35 stack was transferred to the pad for launch. outside, atlantis suffered 

minor hail damage to its tiles during a thunderstorm. after repairs were made in the opf, atlantis was transferred to the VaB 

for mating on october 2. the vehicle was rolled out to pad 39a on october 12. 

Mission

StS-38, Department of Defense mission

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

November 15, 1990, 6:48:15 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 20, 1990, 4:42:42 p.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

4 days, 21 hours, 54 minutes, and 27 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,045,056 miles

Orbits

79

Crew

commander richard o. covey

pilot frank l. culbertson, Jr.

mission Specialists robert c. Springer,

carl J. meade, and charles D. gemar

81
S

tS-35

82
Mission

StS-35, astro-1 

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

December 2, 1990, 1:49:01 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 10, 1990, 9:54:09 p.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

8 days, 23 hours, 5 minutes, and 8 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,728,636 miles

Orbits

144

Crew

commander Vance D. Brand

pilot guy S. gardner

mission Specialists Jeffrey a. hoffman, 

John m. lounge, and robert a. parker 

payload Specialists Samuel t. Durrance 

and ronald a. parise

83
S

tS-37

84
Mission

StS-37, gamma ray observatory

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

april 5, 1991, 9:22:45 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

april 11, 1991, 5:55:29 a.m. pSt on 

runway 33 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

5 days, 23 hours, 32 minutes, and 44 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,487,075 miles

Orbits

93

Crew

commander Steven r. Nagel

pilot Kenneth D. cameron

mission Specialists Jerry l. ross, 

Jerome “Jay” apt, and linda m. godwin

85
S

tS-39

86
StS-39 was the eighth dedicated Department of Defense mission. Discovery carried an unclassified payload including the 

air force program-675 (afp-675), an Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) with critical Ionization Velocity (cIV), a 

chemical release observation (cro) experiment, the Shuttle pallet Satellite-II (SpaS-II) experiment, and the Space test 

payload-1 (Stp-1).

the classified payload consisted of a multipurpose experiment canister (mpec). also on board was the radiation monitoring 

equipment III (rme III) and the cloud logic to optimize use of Defense Systems-Ia (clouDS-Ia).

Mission

StS-39, Department of Defense mission, 

afp-675; IBSS; cro; SpaS-II; Stp-1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

april 28, 1991, 7:33:14 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

may 6, 1991, 2:55:35 p.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 7 hours, 22 minutes, and 21 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,475,000 miles

Orbits

134

Crew

commander michael l. coats

pilot l. Blaine hammond, Jr.

mission Specialists guion S. Bluford, Jr., 

gregory J. harbaugh, richard J. hieb, 

Donald r. mcmonagle, and charles l. Veach

87
S

tS-40

88
StS-40 was the fifth dedicated Spacelab mission, Spacelab life Sciences-1 (SlS-1), and the first mission dedicated 

solely to life sciences using the habitable module. the mission featured the most detailed and interrelated physiological 

measurements in space since the 1973–74 Skylab missions. the subjects were humans, 30 rodents, and thousands of tiny 

jellyfish. primarily, the SlS-1 experiments studied six body systems; of 18 investigations, 10 involved humans, 7 involved 

rodents, and 1 involved jellyfish. the six body systems investigated were the cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary (heart, 

lungs, and blood vessels); the renal/endocrine (kidneys, hormone-secreting organs, and glands); the blood (plasma); the 

immune (white blood cells); the musculoskeletal (muscles and bones); and the neurovestibular (brain and nerves, eyes, and 

inner ears). 

additional payload included 12 get-away Special (gaS) canisters installed on the gaS Bridge assembly for experiments 

in materials science, plant biology, and cosmic radiation; a middeck 0-gravity Dynamics experiment (moDe); and seven 

orbiter experiments (oeX).

Mission

StS-40, Spacelab life Sciences-1 

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

June 5, 1991, 9:24:51 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

June 14, 1991, 8:39:11 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

9 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 20 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,290,226 miles

Orbits

146

Crew

commander Bryan D. o’connor

pilot Sidney m. gutierrez

mission Specialists James p. Bagian, 

tamara e. Jernigan, m. rhea Seddon, 

f. Drew gaffney, and millie hughes-fulford

89
S

tS-43

90
Mission

StS-43, tracking and Data relay Satellite 

(tDrS-e); SSBuV; Share II

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

august 2, 1991, 11:02:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

august 11, 1991, 8:23:25 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 21 hours, 21 minutes, and 25 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,700,400 miles

Orbits

142

Crew

commander John e. Blaha

pilot michael e. Baker

mission Specialists Shannon W. lucid,

James c. adamson, and g. David low

91
S

tS-48

92
StS-48’s primary payload, the upper atmosphere research Satellite (uarS), was deployed on flight day 3. During its 

planned 18-month mission, the 14,500-pound observatory made the most extensive study to date of earth’s troposphere—

the upper level of the planet’s envelope of life-sustaining gases that also includes the protective ozone layer. uarS had 10 

sensing and measuring devices: the cryogenic limb array etalon Spectrometer (claeS); the Improved Stratospheric and 

mesospheric Sounder (ISamS); the microwave limb Sounder (mlS); the halogen occultation experiment (haloe); the 

high resolution Doppler Imager (hrDI); the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WlNDII); the Solar ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance 

monitor (SuSIm); the Solar/Stellar Irradiance comparison experiment (SolStIce); the particle environment monitor (pem); 

and the active cavity radiometer Irradiance monitor (acrIm II).

Mission

StS-48, uarS

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

September 12, 1991, 7:11:04 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 18, 1991, 12:38:42 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

5 days, 8 hours, 27 minutes, and 38 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,193,670 miles

Orbits

81

Crew

commander John o. creighton 

pilot Kenneth S. reightler, Jr.

mission Specialists mark N. Brown, 

charles D. gemar, and James f. Buchli

93
S

tS-44

94
Mission

StS-44, Department of Defense mission; DSp

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

November 24, 1991, 6:44:00 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 1, 1991, 2:34:43 p.m. pSt on 

runway 5 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

6 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes, and 43 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,890,067 miles

Orbits

110

Crew

commander frederick D. gregory

pilot terence t. henricks

mission Specialists mario runco, Jr., 

James S. Voss, f. Story musgrave, and 

thomas J. hennen

95
S

tS-42

96
Mission

StS-42, Iml-1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

January 22, 1992, 9:52:33 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 30, 1992, 8:07:17 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

8 days, 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 44 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,349,830 miles

Orbits

129

Crew

commander ronald J. grabe

pilot Stephen S. oswald

mission Specialists Norman e. thagard, 

David c. hilmers, and William f. readdy 

payload Specialists roberta l. Bondar and 

ulf D. merbold

97
S

tS-45

98
Mission

StS-45, atlaS-1

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

march 24, 1992, 8:13:40 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

april 2, 1992, 6:23:06 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 22 hours, 9 minutes, and 26 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,274,946 miles

Orbits

143

Crew

commander charles f. Bolden, Jr.

pilot Brian Duffy

mission Specialists Kathryn D. Sullivan, 

David c. leestma, and c. michael foale 

payload Specialists Byron K. lichtenberg and 

Dirk D. frimout

99
S

tS-49

100
StS-49 marked the first flight of the orbiter endeavour. the Intelsat VI (f-3) satellite, stranded in an unusable orbit since its 

launch aboard a titan vehicle in march 1990, was captured by crewmembers during an extravehicular activity (eVa) and 

equipped with a new perigee kick motor. the satellite was subsequently released into orbit, and the new motor was fired to 

put the spacecraft into a geosynchronous orbit for operational use.

StS-49 completed the first three-person eVa, and it was also the first Shuttle mission to require three rendezvous with an 

orbiting spacecraft. the mission also marked the first attachment of a live rocket motor to an orbiting satellite and the first 

to use a drag chute during a Space Shuttle landing.

Mission

StS-49, Intelsat VI repair

Space Shuttle

endeavour

Launched

may 7, 1992, 7:40:00 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

may 16, 1992, 1:57:39 p.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

8 days, 21 hours, 17 minutes, and 39 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,969,019 miles

Orbits

141

Crew

commander Daniel c. Brandenstein

pilot Kevin p. chilton

mission Specialists pierre J. thuot, 

Kathryn c. thornton, richard J. hieb, 

thomas D. akers, and Bruce e. melnick

101
S

tS-50

102
Mission

StS-50, uSml-1

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

June 25, 1992, 12:12:23 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 9, 1992, 7:42:27 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

13 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes, and 4 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,758,332 miles

Orbits

221

Crew

commander richard N. richards 

pilot Kenneth D. Bowersox 

mission Specialists Bonnie J. Dunbar, 

ellen S. Baker, and carl J. meade

payload Specialists lawrence J. Delucas and 

eugene h. trinh

103
S

tS-46

104
StS-46’s primary objective was deployment of the european Space agency’s (eSa) european retrievable carrier (eureca) 

and operation of the joint NaSa/Italian Space agency tethered Satellite System (tSS). the mission was extended 1 day 

to complete the science objectives. eureca deployed 1 day later than scheduled because of a problem with its data 

handling system. after deployment, the spacecraft’s thrusters were fired to boost eureca to its planned operating altitude 

of about 310 statute miles. however, the thruster firing was cut to 6 minutes instead of the planned 24 minutes because 

of unexpected attitude data from eureca. the problem resolved and eureca was boosted to operational orbit on the 

sixth day of the mission. (the payload was later retrieved on StS-57 in 1993.) the tSS deployment was also delayed 1 day 

because of eureca. During the tSS deployment, the satellite reached a maximum distance of only 840 feet from the orbiter 

instead of the planned 12.5 miles because of a jammed tether line. after numerous attempts over several days to free the 

tether, the tSS operations were curtailed and the satellite was stowed for return to earth.

Mission

StS-46, tSS-1; eureca deployment

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

July 31, 1992, 9:56:48 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

august 8, 1992, 9:11:50 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 2 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,321,007 miles

Orbits

127

Crew

commander loren J. Shriver

pilot andrew m. allen

mission Specialists Jeffrey a. hoffman, 

franklin r. chang-Díaz, claude Nicollier, and 

marsha S. Ivins

payload Specialist franco malerba

105
S

tS-47

106
Spacelab-J—a joint NaSa and National Space Development agency of Japan (NaSDa) mission utilizing a piloted Spacelab 

module—conducted microgravity investigations in materials and life sciences. the international crew, consisting of the first 

Japanese astronaut to fly aboard the Shuttle, the first african-american woman to fly in space, and the first married couple 

to fly on the same space mission, was divided into red and blue teams for around-the-clock operations. Spacelab-J included 

24 materials science and 20 life sciences experiments, of which 35 were sponsored by NaSDa, 7 were sponsored by NaSa, 

and 2 were collaborative efforts.

materials science investigations covered biotechnology, electronic materials, fluid dynamics, transport phenomena, glasses 

and ceramics, metals and alloys, and acceleration measurements. life sciences included experiments on human health, cell 

separation and biology, developmental biology, animal and human physiology and behavior, space radiation, and biological 

rhythms. test subjects included the crew, Japanese koi fish, cultured animal and plant cells, chicken embryos, fruit flies, 

fungi and plant seeds, and frogs and frog eggs.

Mission

StS-47, Spacelab-J

Space Shuttle

endeavour

Launched

September 12, 1992, 10:23:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 20, 1992, 8:53:22 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

7 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes, and 22 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,310,922 miles

Orbits

126

Crew

commander robert l. gibson

pilot curtis l. Brown, Jr. 

mission Specialists mark c. lee, N. Jan Davis, 

Jerome “Jay” apt, and mae c. Jemison

payload Specialist mamoru m. mohri

107
S

tS-52

108
Mission

StS-52, uSmp-1; lageoS II

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

october 22, 1992, 1:09:39 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 1, 1992, 9:05:53 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

9 days, 20 hours, 56 minutes, and 13 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,129,028 miles

Orbits

159

Crew

commander James D. Wetherbee

pilot michael a. Baker

mission Specialists charles l. Veach, 

William m. Shepherd, and tamara e. Jernigan 

payload Specialist Steven a. maclean

109
S

tS-53

110
StS-53 consisted of a classified Department of Defense primary payload, two unclassified secondary payloads, and nine 

unclassified middeck experiments.

Secondary payloads contained in or attached to get-away Special (gaS) hardware in the cargo bay included the orbital 

Debris radar calibration Spheres (oDeracS) and the combined Shuttle glow experiment/cryogenic heat pipe experiment 

(gcp).

middeck experiments included microcapsules in Space (mIS-l); Space tissue loss (Stl); the Visual function tester (Vft-2); 

the cosmic radiation effects and activation monitor (cream); the radiation monitoring equipment (rme-III); the fluid 

acquisition and resupply experiment (fare); the handheld, earth-oriented, real-time, cooperative, user-friendly, locationtargeting, and environmental System (herculeS); the Battlefield laser acquisition Sensor test (BlaSt); and the cloud 

logic to optimize use of Defense Systems (clouDS).

Mission

StS-53, Department of Defense mission; 

oDeracS

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

December 2, 1992, 8:24:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 9, 1992, 12:43:47 p.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

7 days, 7 hours, 19 minutes, and 47 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,034,680 miles

Orbits

116

Crew

commander David m. Walker

pilot robert D. cabana

mission Specialists guion S. Bluford, Jr.,

James S. Voss, and michael r. clifford

111
S

tS-54

112
Mission

StS-54, tracking and Data relay Satellite-f 

(tDrS-f); DXS

Space Shuttle

endeavour

Launched

January 13, 1993, 8:59:30 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 19, 1993, 8:37:47 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

5 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, and 17 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,501,277 miles

Orbits

96

Crew

commander John h. casper

pilot Donald r. mcmonagle

mission Specialists mario runco, Jr., 

gregory J. harbaugh, and Susan J. helms

113
S

tS-56

114
Mission

StS-56, atlaS-2; SpartaN-201

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

9 days, 6 hours, 8 minutes, and 19 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,853,997 miles

Orbits

148

Crew

115
S

tS-55

116
D-2 became the second Spacelab flight under german mission management with around-the-clock operations performed 

by the crew. Some 88 experiments were conducted, which included the following material science investigations: the 

material Science experiment Double rack for experiment modules and apparatus (meDea); the Werkstofflabor (Wl); the 

holographic optics laboratory (holop); and, on the unique Support Structure (uSS) located aft of D-2 in the cargo bay, 

the material Science autonomous payload (mauS) and the atomic oxygen exposure tray (aoet). also located on the uSS 

were radiation Detectors (rD) experiments. one crystal growth experiment yielded the largest crystal of gallium arsenide 

produced in space. life science research was performed with the anthrorack (ar), the Biolabor (BB), and the Baroreflex 

(Ba). anthrorack, an advanced minidiagnostic laboratory, allowed for the most comprehensive medical screening to date 

of human adaptation to weightlessness. Bernard a. harris, Jr., a medical doctor, set up the first intravenous line, injecting 

hans W. Schlegel with saline as part of a study to replace body fluids lost during the adaptation to weightlessness. 

Mission

StS-55, D-2 Spacelab mission

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

9 days, 23 hours, 39 minutes, and 59 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,164,183 miles

Orbits

160

Crew

117
S

tS-57

118
StS-57 marked the first flight of the commercially developed SpacehaB module, a pressurized laboratory designed to 

more than double the pressurized workspace for crew-tended experiments. altogether, 22 experiments were flown, covering 

materials and life sciences as well as a wastewater recycling experiment for a space station.

on June 24, 1993, the crew captured and stowed the approximately 9,424-pound european retrievable carrier (eureca) 

that was deployed on mission StS-46. however, eureca ground controllers were unable to stow the spacecraft’s two 

antennas, and, on June 25, astronauts g. David low and peter J. Wisoff spent the beginning of the scheduled extravehicular 

activity (eVa) manually folding the antennas. the remainder of the 5-hour, 50-minute eVa was spent on planned tasks.

Mission

StS-57, SpacehaB-1; eureca retrieval

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 21, 1993, 9:07:22 a.m. eDt from

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 1, 1993, 8:52:16 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

9 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes, and 54 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,118,037 miles

Orbits

155

Crew

119
S

tS-51

120
as one of the two primary payloads on StS-51, the advanced communications technology Satellite (actS) was deployed 

on flight day 1. approximately 45 minutes after the actS deployment, the attached transfer orbit Stage (toS) booster was 

fired to propel the pioneering communications technology spacecraft to geosynchronous transfer orbit. on flight day 2, the 

crew deployed the second primary payload, the orbiting and retrievable far and extreme ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle 

pallet Satellite (orfeuS-SpaS), the first in a series of astro-Shuttle pallet Satellite (astro-SpaS) astronomical missions. 

extensive footage of the orbiter was recorded by an ImaX camera mounted on SpaS. a joint german-u.S. astrophysics 

payload was controlled via the SpaS payload operations control center (Spoc) at Kennedy Space center (KSc), becoming 

the first Shuttle payload to be managed from florida. after 6 days of data collection, orfeuS-SpaS was retrieved with the 

remote manipulator System (rmS) arm and returned to the cargo bay. 

on September 16, 1993, mission specialists James h. Newman and carl e. Walz performed an extravehicular activity 

(eVa) lasting 7 hours, 5 minutes, and 28 seconds. the astronauts also evaluated tools, tethers, and foot restraint platforms 

intended for the upcoming hubble Space telescope (hSt) Servicing mission.

Mission

StS-51, actS/toS; orfeuS-SpaS

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

September 12, 1993, 7:45:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 22, 1993, 3:56:06 a.m. eDt on

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

9 days, 20 hours, 11 minutes, and 6 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,106,411 miles

Orbits

157

Crew

121
S

tS-58

122
StS-58 was the second dedicated Spacelab life Sciences mission (SlS-2). there were 14 experiments conducted in four 

areas: regulatory physiology, cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and neuroscience. eight of the experiments 

focused on the crew, and six of the experiments centered on 48 rodents. the crew collected more than 650 different 

samples from themselves and the rodents, increasing the statistical base for life sciences research when combined with 

data from SlS-1 and SlS-2. cardiovascular investigations: In-flight Study of cardiovascular Deconditioning, cardiovascular 

adaptation to Zero gravity, and pulmonary function During Weightlessness. regulatory physiology investigations: fluid 

electrolyte regulation During Space flight, regulation of Blood Volume During Space flight, regulation of erythropoiesis in 

rats During Space flight, and Influence of Space flight on erythrokinetics in man. musculoskeletal investigations: protein 

metabolism During Space flight; effects of Zero gravity on the functional and Biochemical properties of antigravity Skeletal 

muscle; effects of microgravity on the electron microscopy, histochemistry and protease activities of rat hindlimb muscles; 

pathophysiology of mineral loss During Space flight; and Bone, calcium, and Space flight. Neuroscience investigations: 

Study of the effects of Space travel on mammalian gravity receptors and Vestibular experiments in Spacelab.

Mission

StS-58, SlS-2

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

November 1, 1993, 07:05:42 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

14 days, 0 hours, 12 minutes, and 32 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,840,450 miles

Orbits

225

Crew

123
StS-61

124
the final Shuttle flight of 1993 was one of most challenging and complex missions ever attempted. During a record five 

back-to-back spacewalks that totaled 35 hours and 28 minutes, two teams of astronauts completed the first servicing of the 

hubble Space telescope (hSt). hubble rendezvous, grapple, and berthing occurred on flight day 3, with claude Nicollier 

using the remote manipulator System (rmS) arm to position the 43-foot-long hubble upright in the payload bay. throughout 

the mission, test commands were sent to hubble from the Space telescope operations control center (Stocc) at the 

goddard Space flight center (gSfc) in greenbelt, mD. after each servicing task was completed, Stocc controllers verified 

electrical interfaces between the replacement hardware and the telescope. hubble was redeployed on flight day 9. 

Mission

StS-61, first hubble Space telescope (hSt) 

Servicing mission

Space Shuttle

Launched

December 2, 1993, 4:27:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 13, 1993, 12:25:33 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

10 days, 19 hours, 58 minutes, and 33 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,433,772 miles

Orbits

163

Crew

125
S

tS-60

126
StS-60 marked the first flight of a russian cosmonaut on a u.S. Space Shuttle and was the initial step in implementing 

the agreement on NaSa/russian Space agency (rSa) cooperation in human Space flight. the mission also marked the 

second flight of the SpacehaB pressurized module and the 100th get-away Special (gaS) payload to fly in space. also on 

board the Shuttle was the Wake Shield facility-1 (WSf-1), making the first in a planned series of flights.

SpacehaB-2 activated shortly after reaching orbit. taking up about one quarter of the payload bay, the 1,100-cubic-foot 

module carried 12 experiments. four of these experiments involved materials science topics, seven life sciences 

investigations, and a space dust collection experiment.

the crew also conducted the first joint NaSa–russian Space agency in-flight medical and radiological investigations. 

Sergei K. Krikalev communicated with amateur radio operators in moscow using the Shuttle amateur radio experiment 

(SareX) equipment. 

Mission

StS-60, WSf-1; SpacehaB-2

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

8 days, 7 hours, 9 minutes, and 22 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,439,704 miles

Orbits

130

Crew

127
S

tS-62

128
the primary payloads on StS-62 were the united States microgravity payload-2 (uSmp-2) and the office of aeronautics and 

Space technology-2 (oaSt-2). the uSmp-2 included five experiments investigating materials processing and crystal growth 

in microgravity, while oaSt-2 featured six experiments focusing on space technology and space flight. Both payloads were 

activated by the crew and operated by teams on the ground. uSmp-2 experiments received emphasis at the beginning of the 

flight. the crew’s experiments included the Dexterous end effector (Dee), a new magnetic end effector and grapple fixture 

design that was tested for use on the remote manipulator System (rmS) arm; the Shuttle Solar Backscatter ultraviolet/a 

(SSBuV/a) spectrometer; and the limited Duration Space environment candidate material exposure (lDce), which were all 

located in the payload bay. 

middeck experiments included the advanced protein crystal growth experiment; the physiological Systems experiment 

(pSe); the commercial protein crystal growth (cpcg) experiment; the commercial generic Bioprocessing apparatus 

(cgBa); the middeck 0-gravity Dynamics experiment (moDe); the Bioreactor Demonstration Systems (BDS); and the auroral 

photography experiment (ape-B). the air force maui optical Site calibration test (amoS) required no onboard hardware. 

Mission

StS-62, uSmp-2; oaSt-2

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

13 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, and 41 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,820,146 miles

Orbits

224

Crew

129
StS-59

130
the primary payload on board StS-59 was the Space radar laboratory (Srl-1), which was activated by the crew and 

operated by teams on the ground. the Srl-1 included the Spaceborne Imaging radar-c and the X-band Synthetic aperture 

radar (SIr-c/X-Sar) and an atmospheric instrument called the measurement of air pollution from Satellites (mapS). the 

german Space agency (Dara) and the Italian Space agency (aSI) provided the X-Sar instrument. SIr-c/X-Sar covered 

approximately 38.5 million miles of earth, the equivalent of 20 percent of the planet. more than 400 sites were imaged, 

including 19 primary observation sites (supersites) in Brazil, michigan, North carolina, and central europe. 

thirteen countries were represented in the project by 49 principal investigators and more than 100 scientists coordinated 

by the Jet propulsion laboratory (Jpl) in pasadena, ca. Some 133 hours of data were collected. the mapS experiment 

measured the global distribution of carbon monoxide in the troposphere, or lower atmosphere.

Mission

StS-59, Space radar laboratory (Srl-1)

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

11 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 30 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,704,835 miles

Orbits

183

Crew

131
S

tS-65

132
StS-65 marked the second flight of the International microgravity laboratory (Iml-2), which carried more than twice the 

number of experiments and facilities as the Iml-1. the crew split into two teams to perform around-the-clock research. 

more than 80 experiments, representing more than 200 scientists from six space agencies, were located in the Spacelab 

module in the payload bay (one piece of equipment was stowed in the middeck lockers). fifty of the experiments delved 

into life sciences, including bioprocessing, space biology, human physiology, and radiation biology. Some of the equipment 

used for these investigations had flown on previous Spacelab flights, such as the european Space agency’s (eSa) Biorack, 

which marked its third flight. the Iml-2 Biorack housed 19 experiments featuring chemicals and biological samples such as 

bacteria, mammalian and human cells, isolated tissues and eggs, sea urchin larvae, and fruit flies and plant seedlings. over 

the course of a single mission, specimens evolved through several stages of life cycles, which allowed for the study of the 

effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on living tissues. 

payload specialist chiaki Naito-mukai became the first Japanese woman to fly in space.

Mission

StS-65, International microgravity laboratory 

(Iml-2)

Space Shuttle

Launched

July 8, 1994, at 12:43:00 a.m. eDt from

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 23, 1994, at 6:38:00 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

14 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes, and 0 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,143,846 miles

Orbits

235

Crew

133
StS-64

134
StS-64 marked the first flight of the lidar In-space technology experiment (lIte) and the first untethered u.S. extravehicular 

activity (eVa) in 10 years. the lIte payload employs lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, a type of optical radar 

using laser pulses instead of radio waves to study earth’s atmosphere. the first space flight of lidar was a highly successful 

technology test. the lIte instrument operated for 53 hours, yielding more than 43 hours of high-rate data. unprecedented 

views were obtained of cloud structures, storm systems, dust clouds, pollutants, burning forest, and surface reflectance. the 

sites studied included the atmosphere above northern europe, Indonesia, the South pacific, russia, and africa. Sixty-five 

groups from 20 countries made validation measurements with ground-based and aircraft instruments to verify lIte data. the 

lIte science program was part of NaSa’s mission to planet earth (mtpe).

mission specialists mark c. lee and carl J. meade completed the 28th eVa of the Space Shuttle program on September 16. 

During the 6-hour, 15-minute eVa, they tested a new backpack called the Simplified aid for eVa rescue (Safer), which was 

designed for use in the event a crewmember became untethered while conducting an eVa.

Mission

StS-64, lIte; Safer tested

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

September 9, 1994, 6:22:05 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 20, 1994, 2:12:52 p.m. pDt on 

runway 4 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

10 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes, and 57 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,576,174 miles

Orbits

176

Crew

135
StS-68

136
StS-68 marked the second flight in 1994 of the Space radar laboratory (the first flight was StS-59 in april), which was part 

of NaSa’s mission to planet earth (mtpe). flying the Srl during different seasons allowed for comparisons between the 

first and second flights. the Srl-2 was activated on flight day 1, and around-the-clock observations were conducted by the 

astronauts, who split into two teams. In addition to repeated data takes over the same locations as Srl-1, unusual events 

were also imaged, including an erupting volcano in russia and islands of Japan after an earthquake. 

the mission also studied fires set in British columbia, canada, for forest management purposes. Special readings were 

taken with another Srl element, measurement of air pollution from Satellites (mapS), to gain a better understanding of 

carbon monoxide emissions from a burning forest. flying for the fourth time on the Shuttle, mapS was designed to measure 

the global distribution of carbon monoxide. 

Mission

StS-68, Space radar laboratory (Srl-2)

Space Shuttle

Launched

September 30, 1994, 7:16:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

Duration

11 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 8 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,703,000 miles

Orbits

182

Crew

137
S

tS-66

138
StS-66 further advanced a comprehensive effort to collect data about the Sun’s energy output, the chemical makeup 

of earth’s middle atmosphere, and how these factors affect global ozone levels. Seven instruments on the atmospheric 

laboratory for applications and Science-3 (atlaS-3) also flew on the first two atlaS flights.

also considered a primary payload was the cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and telescopes for the atmosphere-Shuttle 

pallet Satellite (crISta-SpaS), continuing a joint NaSa–german Space agency (Dara) series of scientific missions. 

atlaS-3 and crISta-SpaS were considered a joint mission with a single set of science objectives. During the mission, the 

crew divided into two teams for around-the-clock research. 

Mission

StS-66, atlaS-3; crISta-SpaS

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 3, 1994, 11:59:43 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 14, 1994, 7:33:45 a.m. pSt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

10 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes, and 2 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,554,791 miles

Orbits

174

Crew

139
S

tS-63

140
the first Space Shuttle flight of 1995 included several historic achievements, including the first flight of a female Shuttle 

pilot; the second flight of a russian cosmonaut on the Shuttle, as part of phase I of the International Space Station (ISS) 

program; and the Shuttle’s first approach and flyaround of the russian space station mir.

after extensive negotiations and technical information exchanges between the u.S. and russian space teams, the russians 

concluded that the close approach could be safely achieved and the StS-63 crew was given a “go” to proceed. Ship-toship radio contact with mir was achieved, and Valdimar g. titov, who lived on mir for more than a year, communicated 

excitedly with the three cosmonauts aboard the space station: mir 17 commander alexander Viktorenko; flight engineer 

elena V. Kondakova; and Valery polyakov, a physician who broke titov’s record for extended time in space. after stationkeeping 

at a distance of 400 feet from mir and with James D. Wetherbee manually controlling the orbiter, Discovery was flown to 

37 feet from the russian space station. “as we are bringing our spaceships closer together, we are bringing our nations 

closer together,” Wetherbee said after Discovery was at the point of closest approach. “the next time we approach, we will 

shake your hand and together we will lead our world into the next millennium.”

Mission

StS-63, SpacehaB-3

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

8 days, 6 hours, 28 minutes, and 15 seconds

Distance Traveled

2,992,000 miles

Orbits

129

Crew

141
S

tS-67

142
endeavour logged over 6.8 million miles during StS-67, allowing for a sustained examination of the “hidden universe” of 

ultraviolet light. the primary payload, the astro-2 observatory, built upon the discoveries made by astro-1.

astro-2, which marked the second flight of three ultraviolet telescopes flown on astro-1, was mounted on the Instrument 

pointing System (IpS) on the Spacelab pallet in the cargo bay. the hopkins ultraviolet telescope (hut), developed at the 

Johns  hopkins university, performed spectroscopy in the far ultraviolet region of the spectrum to identify the physical 

processes and chemical composition of a celestial object. the improvements made to hut after astro-1 made it three times 

more sensitive. the Wisconsin ultraviolet photo-polarimeter experiment (Wuppe), built at the university of Wisconsin, 

measured the photometry and polarization of ultraviolet radiation from astronomical objects. the ultraviolet Imaging 

telescope (uIt), sponsored by NaSa’s goddard Space flight center (gSfc) in greenbelt, mD, took wide-field photographs 

of objects in ultraviolet light.

Mission

StS-67, astro-2

Space Shuttle

Launched

march 2, 1995, 1:38:13 a.m. eSt from

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

Duration

16 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes, and 48 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,892,836 miles

Orbits

262

Crew

143
S

tS-71

144
StS-71 marked a number of historic firsts in human space flight, including the 100th u.S. human space launch conducted 

from cape canaveral, fl, the first u.S. Space Shuttle–russian space station mir docking and joint on-orbit operations, the 

largest spacecraft ever in orbit, and the first on-orbit changeout of the Shuttle crew. 

Docking occurred with atlantis closing in on mir from directly below. the manual phase of docking began with atlantis about 

a half-mile below mir, with robert l. gibson at the controls on the aft flight deck. Stationkeeping was performed when 

the orbiter was about 250 feet from mir, pending approval from russian and u.S. flight directors to proceed. gibson then 

maneuvered the orbiter to a point at about 30 feet from mir before beginning the final approach to the station. the closing 

rate was near the targeted 0.1 feet per second, and the closing velocity was about 0.107 feet per second at contact. Interface 

contact was nearly flawless: less than 1 inch lateral misalignment with an angular misalignment of less than 0.5 degrees 

per axis. Docking occurred about 216 nautical miles above the lake Baykal region of the russian federation. the orbiter 

Docking System (oDS) with androgynous peripheral Docking System served as the actual connection point to a similar 

interface on the docking port on mir’s Krystall module. oDS performed flawlessly during the docking sequence.

Mission

StS-71, first Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 27, 1995, 3:32:19 p.m. eDt from

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 7, 1995, 10:54:35 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

9 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, and 15 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,100,000 miles

Orbits

153

Crew

145
S

tS-70

146
the primary objective of the StS-70 mission was accomplished when the tracking and Data relay Satellite-g (tDrS-g) 

deployed from the orbiter payload bay about 6 hours after lift-off. approximately 1 hour after deployment, the Inertial upper 

Stage (IuS) booster attached to tDrS-g completed the first of two scheduled burns to place tDrS-g in geosynchronous 

orbit. once it completed an on-orbit checkout, tDrS-g was scheduled to become an operational spare, completing an 

existing tDrS network of advanced tracking and communications satellites.

During the remainder of the mission, the five crewmembers completed a variety of experiments. the Biological research in 

canister (BrIc) experiments studied the effects of microgravity on a wide range of physiological processes in plants, insects, 

and small invertebrate animals. BrIc-4 examined how the hormone system and muscle formation of tobacco hornworms 

were affected by microgravity. BrIc-5 tested whether cell division changes in the daylily were due to microgravity or other 

causes. also, the Bioreactor Development System (BDS), made of a device developed at the Johnson Space center (JSc) in 

houston, tX, used colon cancer cells to test bioreactor performance in microgravity; this experiment worked extremely well, 

yielding tissue cultures better than any seen previously.

Mission

StS-70, tracking and Data relay Satellite-g 

(tDrS-g)

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

July 13, 1995, at 9:41:55 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 22, 1995, at 8:02:00 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, and 5 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,700,000 miles

Orbits

143

Crew

147
S

tS-69

148
StS-69 marked the first time two different payloads were retrieved and deployed during the same mission. the mission also 

featured an extravehicular activity (eVa) to practice for International Space Station (ISS) activities and to evaluate spacesuit 

design modifications.

the first of two primary payloads, Spartan 201-03, deployed on flight day 2. this was the third Spartan 201 mission in a 

planned series of four. the primary objective was to study the outer atmosphere of the Sun and its transition into the solar 

wind that constantly flows past earth. the timing of the Spartan 201-03 flight was intended to coincide with the passage of 

the ulysses spacecraft over the Sun’s north polar region and to expand the range of data collected on the origins of solar 

wind. the Spartan 201-03 configuration featured two scientific instruments, the ultraviolet coronal Spectrometer (uVcS) 

and the White light coronagraph (Wlc). the uVcS measured characteristics of light emitted by neutral hydrogen atoms in 

the solar corona, the outermost portion of the Sun’s atmosphere from which the solar wind evolves. the Wlc imaged the 

changing shape and form of the corona. 

Mission

StS-69, Spartan 201-03; uVcS/Wlc

Space Shuttle

Launched

September 7, 1995, at 11:09:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 18, 1995, at 7:37:55 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

10 days, 20 hours, 28 minutes, and 55 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,500,000 miles

Orbits

171

Crew

149
S

tS-73

150
StS-73 marked the second flight of the united States microgravity laboratory-2 (uSml-2), building on the foundation of 

its predecessor, which flew on columbia during mission StS-50 in 1992. research during uSml-2 concentrated within the 

same overall areas of uSml-1, with many experiments flying for the second time. the crew divided into two teams to work 

around the clock in the 23-foot-long Spacelab module located in columbia’s payload bay. research was conducted in five 

areas: fluid physics, materials science, biotechnology, combustion science, and commercial space processing. uSml-2 

activities were directed by NaSa’s Spacelab mission operations control facility at marshall Space flight center (mSfc) in 

huntsville, al.

there were unprecedented results from the Surface tension Driven convection experiment (StDce), which detailed basic 

fluid mechanics and heat transfer of thermocapillary flows, or the motions created within fluids. oscillations observed on 

uSml-2 samples had never been observed on earth, and researchers controlling the experiment from the ground were 

able to pinpoint when fluid flows transitioned from stable to unstable. the research has direct applications on earth, in that 

unwanted fluid flows during melting and resolidifying can create defects in high-tech crystals, metals, alloys, and ceramics.

Mission

StS-73, uSml-2

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

November 5, 1995, at 7:45:21 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

15 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes, and 21 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,600,000 miles

Orbits

255

Crew

151
S

tS-74

152
StS-74 marked the second docking of the u.S. Space Shuttle to the russian space station mir, continuing phase I activities 

that lead to construction of the International Space Station (ISS) later that decade. the mission illustrated the international 

flavor of the Space Station effort with the fourth canadian to fly on the Shuttle, chris a. hadfield, who was also the first 

canadian mission specialist. hardware in the payload bay included the canadian-built remote manipulator System 

(rmS) arm, the u.S.-built orbiter Docking System (oDS), the russian-built Docking module (Dm) and solar array, and a 

u.S.-russian–built solar array. awaiting atlantis aboard mir were two russian cosmonauts and a german cosmonaut, along 

with russian and european Space agency (eSa) research samples and equipment.

unlike the first docking flight during which a crew exchange took place, the second docking focused on the delivery of 

equipment to mir. the primary payload of the mission was the russian-built Dm, which was designed to become a permanent 

extension on mir to afford better clearances for Shuttle-mir linkups. two solar arrays were stowed on Dm for later transfer 

to mir by spacewalking cosmonauts.

Mission

StS-74, Second Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 12, 1995, at 7:30:43 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 20, 1995, at 12:01:29 p.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 44 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,400,000 miles

Orbits

128

Crew

153
S

tS-72

154
the first Shuttle flight of 1996 was highlighted by the retrieval of a Japanese satellite, the deployment and retrieval of a NaSa 

science payload, and two spacewalks.

mission specialist Koichi Wakata operated the remote manipulator System (rmS) arm on flight day 3 to pluck the Japanese 

Space flyer unit (Sfu) from orbit, completing a 10-month scientific mission involving almost a dozen experiments that 

ranged from materials science to biological studies. the Sfu was launched aboard a Japanese h-2 rocket on

march 18, 1995, from tanegashima Space center. 

the office of aeronautics and Space technology-flyer (oaSt-flyer), which was released on flight day 4, housed the Spartan 

platform’s four experiments: the return flux experiment (refleX), to test the accuracy of computer models predicting 

spacecraft exposure to contamination; the global positioning System (gpS) attitude Determination and control experiment 

(gaDacS), to demonstrate gpS technology in space; the Solar exposure to laser ordnance Device (SeloDe), to test laser 

ordnance devices; and the Spartan packet radio experiment (Spre), an amateur radio communications experiment.

Mission

StS-72, Sfu; office of aeronautics and Space 

technology-flyer (oaSt-flyer)

Space Shuttle

Launched

January 11, 1996, at 4:41:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 20, 1996, at 2:41:40 a.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 22 hours, 0 minutes, and 40 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,700,000 miles

Orbits

142

Crew

155
S

tS-75

156
the reflight of the u.S.-Italian tethered Satellite System (tSS-1r) was marred by the loss of the satellite on flight day 3, 

although valuable scientific data was still gathered. the other primary payload, the united States microgravity payload-3 

(uSmp-3), performed nominally. the tSS flew previously on mission StS-46 in June 1992, but experiment operations were 

curtailed due to a jammed tether. 

the tSS concept was designed to study electrodynamics of a tether system in the electrically charged portion of earth’s 

atmosphere called the ionosphere. the satellite was provided by Italy, and the tether/deployer assembly was u.S.-built. 

twelve investigations—six by NaSa, five by the Italian Space agency (aSI), and one by the u.S. air force—were planned. 

Deployment of the tSS-1r on StS-75 was delayed by 1 day to allow for the troubleshooting of onboard tSS computers by 

the flightcrew. excellent scientific data was being gathered when the tether snapped on flight day 3, as the satellite was just 

short of full deployment of about 12.8 miles. the satellite immediately began speeding away from the orbiter as a result of 

orbital forces, and the crew was never in any danger. the crew retracted the remaining tether the following day.

Mission

StS-75, tSS-1r; uSmp-3

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

15 days, 17 hours, 40 minutes, and 21 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,500,000 miles

Orbits

251

Crew

157
S

tS-76

158
the third linkup between a u.S. Space Shuttle and the russian space station mir was highlighted by the transfer of veteran 

astronaut Shannon W. lucid to mir. lucid was the first american woman to live on the station. her approximately 41⁄2-month 

stay would also eclipse the long-duration u.S. space flight record set by the first american to live on mir, Norman e. thagard. 

lucid was succeeded by astronaut John e. Blaha during StS-79 in august, giving her the distinction of having membership 

in four different flightcrews—two u.S. and two russian. her stay on mir kicked off a continuous u.S. presence in space for 

the next 2 years.

the payload bay configuration included the orbiter Docking System (oDS) in the forward area and the SpacehaB single 

module toward the aft. StS-76 marked the first flight of the SpacehaB pressurized module to support Shuttle-mir dockings; 

the single module primarily served as a stowage area for a large supply of equipment slated for transfer to the space station, 

but it also carried the european Space agency’s (eSa) Biorack experiment rack for on-orbit research.

Mission

StS-76, third Shuttle-mir docking; SpacehaB

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

9 days, 5 hours, 15 minutes, and 53 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,800,000 miles

Orbits

145

Crew

159
S

tS-77

160
the fourth Shuttle flight of 1996 was highlighted by four rendezvous activities with two different payloads. the primary 

payloads, all located in the cargo bay, were the SpacehaB-4 pressurized research module; the Inflatable antenna experiment 

(Iae) mounted on a Spartan 207 free-flyer; and a suite of four technology demonstration experiments known as technology 

experiments for advancing missions in Space (teamS). 

the SpacehaB-4 single module carried nearly 3,000 pounds of support equipment and a variety of experiments covering 

such fields as biotechnology, electronic materials, polymers, and agriculture. the experiments included the advanced 

Separation process for organic materials (aDSep), the commercial generic Bioprocessing apparatus (cgBa), the plant 

generic Bioprocessing apparatus (pgBa), the fluids generic Bioprocessing apparatus-2 (fgBa-2), the commercial protein 

crystal growth (cpcg), the gas permeable polymer membrane (gppm), the handheld Diffusion test cell (hhDtc), the 

commercial float Zone furnace (cfZf), and the Space experiment facility (Sef). also considered part of the SpacehaB 

payload but located in middeck lockers were ImmuNe-3 and NIh-c7. 

Mission

StS-77, SpacehaB; SpartaN (Iae)

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

10 days, 0 hours, 39 minutes, and 20 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,100,000 miles

Orbits

161

Crew

161
S

tS-78

162
five space agencies (NaSa, the european Space agency, the french Space agency, the canadian Space agency, and the 

Italian Space agency) and research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the primary payload of StS-78, the 

life and microgravity Spacelab (lmS). more than 40 of the experiments flown were grouped into two areas: life sciences, which 

included human physiology and space biology, and microgravity science, which included basic fluid physics investigations, 

advanced semiconductor and metal alloy materials processing, and medical research in protein crystal growth.

the lmS investigations conducted were the most extensive telescience to date. Investigators were located at four remote 

european and four remote u.S. locations. the mission also made extensive use of video imaging to help crewmembers 

perform in-flight maintenance procedures on experiment hardware.

Mission

StS-78, lmS

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 20, 1996, at 10:49:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 7, 1996, at 8:39:36 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

16 days, 21 hours, 47 minutes, and 35 seconds

Distance Traveled

7,046,000 miles

Orbits

272

Crew

163
S

tS-79

164
Mission

StS-79, fourth Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Launched

September 16, 1996, at 4:54:49 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 26, 1996, at 8:13:13 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

10 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 24 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,900,000 miles

Orbits

160

Crew

commander William f. readdy

pilot terrence W. Wilcutt

mission Specialists thomas D. akers, 

John e. Blaha, Jerome “Jay” apt, carl e. Walz,

and Shannon W. lucid

StS-79 was highlighted by the return to earth of u.S. astronaut Shannon W. lucid after 188 days in space, the first u.S. crew 

exchange aboard the russian space station mir, and the fourth Shuttle-mir docking. lucid’s long-duration space flight set 

new u.S. and world records for a woman in space. She embarked to mir on march 22 with the StS-76 mission. Succeeding 

her on mir for an approximately 4-month stay was John e. Blaha, who returned to earth in January 1997 with the StS-81 crew.

StS-79 also marked the second flight of the SpacehaB module in support of Shuttle-mir activities and the first flight of 

SpacehaB’s double module configuration. the Shuttle-mir linkup occurred at 11:13 p.m., September 18, following an 

r-bar, or earth radius vector, approach. the hatches opened at 1:40 a.m., September 19, and Blaha and lucid exchanged 

places at 7 a.m. awaiting Blaha on mir were Valery g. Korzun, mir 22 commander, and alexander Y. Kaleri, flight engineer.

165
S

tS-80

Backdropped against part of Baja california, the Wake Shield facility (WSf-3) is 

about to re-berth into the cargo bay of the earth-orbiting Space Shuttle columbia. 

columbia’s remote manipulator System (rmS) was used extensively during 

operations with the experiment. 

166
the final Shuttle flight of 1996 was highlighted by the successful deployment, operation, and retrieval of two free-flying 

research spacecraft. the two planned extravehicular activities (eVas) were canceled because the crew could not open the 

outer airlock hatch and, when troubleshooting did not reveal a cause, mission managers concluded it would not be prudent 

to attempt the two eVas and risk unnecessary damage to the hatch or seals.

the orbiting and retrievable far and extreme ultraviolet Spectrometer-Shuttle pallet Satellite II (orfeuS-SpaS II) 

deployed on flight day 1 to begin approximately 2 weeks of data-gathering. making its second flight aboard the Shuttle, 

orfeuS-SpaS  II featured three primary scientific instruments: the orfeuS-telescope with the far ultraviolet (fuV) 

Spectrograph and the extreme ultraviolet (euV) Spectrograph. a secondary but highly complementary payload was the 

Interstellar medium absorption profile Spectrograph (ImapS). Nonastronomy payloads on orfeuS-SpaS included the 

Surface effects Sample monitor (SeSam), the atV rendezvous pre-Development project (arp), and the Student experiment 

on aStro-SpaS (SeaS).

Mission

StS-80, orfeuS-SpaS II; WSf-3

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 19, 1996, at 2:55:47 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 7, 1996, at 6:49:04 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

17 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes, and 17 seconds

Distance Traveled

7,043,950 miles

Orbits

279

Crew

167
S

tS-81

168
the first Shuttle flight of 1997 was highlighted by both the return of u.S. astronaut John e. Blaha to earth after a 118-day 

stay aboard the russian space station mir and the largest transfer to date of logistics between the two spacecraft. atlantis 

also returned the first plants to complete a life cycle in space—a crop of wheat grown from seed to seed. this fifth of nine 

planned dockings continued phase 1B of the NaSa/russian Space agency (rSa) cooperative effort, with Jerry m. linenger 

becoming the third u.S. astronaut in succession to live on mir. the same payload configuration flown on the previous 

docking flight—featuring the SpacehaB double module—flew again.

Blaha joined the mir 22 crew of commander Valeri g. Korzun and flight engineer aleksandr V. Kaleri on September 19, 1996, 

when he arrived there with the crew of StS-79. linenger was to work with the mir 22 crew until the arrival in february of the 

mir 23 crew of commander Vasili tsibliev, flight engineer aleksandr lazutkin, and german researcher reinhold ewald. ewald 

was to return to earth with the mir 22 cosmonauts after a brief stay on the station. astronaut c. michael foale replaced 

linenger on mir when the StS-84 mission arrived in may 1997.

Mission

StS-81, fifth Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

January 12, 1997, at 4:27:23 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 22, 1997, at 9:22:44 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

10 days, 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 21 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,900,000 miles

Orbits

160

Crew

169
S

tS-82

170
StS-82 demonstrated the benefits of human space flight and the Space Shuttle’s new capability of servicing orbiting 

spacecraft. a six-member crew completed the servicing and upgrading of the hubble Space telescope (hSt) during four 

planned extravehicular activities (eVas) and then performed a fifth unscheduled spacewalk to repair insulation on the 

telescope. the hSt first deployed in april 1990 during StS-31. It was designed to undergo periodic servicing and upgrading 

over its lifespan, with its first servicing performed during StS-61 in December 1993. Steven a. hawley, who originally 

deployed the telescope, operated the orbiter’s remote manipulator System (rmS) arm on StS-82 to retrieve the hSt for a 

second servicing at 3:34 a.m., february 13, 1997, and positioned it in the payload bay less than half an hour later. 

Discovery’s maneuvering jets fired several times during the mission to reboost the telescope’s orbit by 8 nautical miles. 

hubble redeployed on february 19 and began operating at its highest altitude ever flown, a 335-by-321-nautical-mile orbit. 

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

calibration of two new science instruments was to take place over a period of several weeks, with the first images and data 

anticipated to arrive about 8 to 10 weeks later. 

Mission

StS-82, Second hubble Space telescope (hSt) 

Servicing mission

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

9 days, 23 hours, 37 minutes, and 7 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,800,000 miles

Orbits

150

Crew

171
S

tS-83

172 
the first flight of the microgravity Science laboratory-1 (mSl-1) was cut short due to concerns about one of the Shuttle’s 

three fuel cells, marking only the third time in Shuttle program history that a mission ended early. (StS-2, in 1981, and 

StS-44, in 1991, were the other missions to end prematurely). fuel cell No. 2 had shown some erratic readings during 

prelaunch startup, but the Shuttle was cleared to fly after additional checkout and testing. Shortly after on-orbit operations 

began, the fuel cell No. 2 substack No. 3 differential voltage began trending upward. there are three fuel cells on each orbiter, 

each containing three substacks made up of two banks of 16 cells. In one substack of fuel cell No. 2, the difference in output 

voltage between the two banks of cells was increasing. the fuel cells used a reaction of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to 

generate electricity and produce drinking water. although one fuel cell produced enough electricity to conduct on-orbit and 

landing operations, Shuttle flight rules required that all three fuel cells function well enough to ensure the crew’s safety and 

to provide sufficient backup capability during reentry and landing.

a decision to refly the mission in its entirety was made by the mission management team in the days following columbia’s 

return. the reflight was first designated StS-83r and then renamed StS-94.

Mission

StS-83, mSl-1

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

3 days, 23 hours, 12 minutes, and 39 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,500,000 miles

Orbits

63

Crew

173
S

tS-84

174
Mission

StS-84, Sixth Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

9 days, 5 hours, 19 minutes, and 55 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,600,000 miles

Orbits

144

Crew

175
S

tS-94With its drag chute deployed, the Space Shuttle columbia lands on runway 33 at the 

Kennedy Space center’s (KSc) Shuttle landing facility (Slf) in florida. 

176
StS-94 marked the reflight of mission StS-83, which was shortened due a fuel cell malfunction. this was the first time that 

the same crew, vehicle, and payload configuration were reflown in space. the primary payload was the microgravity Science 

laboratory-1 (mSl-1). the quick turnaround in processing columbia for reflight was accomplished in part by completing the 

first reservicing of mSl-1 in the orbiter. the crew maintained 24-hour/two-shift operations. 

using the Spacelab module as a test bed, mSl-1 tested some of the hardware, facilities, and procedures for future use on 

the International Space Station (ISS). the 33 investigations conducted also yielded new knowledge in the principal scientific 

fields of combustion, biotechnology, and materials processing.

the 25 primary experiments, four glovebox investigations, and four accelerometer studies on mSl-1 were contributed 

by scientists from NaSa, the european Space agency (eSa), the german Space agency (Dara), and the National Space 

Development agency of Japan (NaSDa). a record number of commands—more than 35,000—were sent from the Spacelab 

mission operations control center at the marshall Space flight center directly to the mSl-1 experiments.

Mission

StS-94, mSl-1 reflight

Space Shuttle

Launched

July 1, 1997, at 2:02:00 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 17, 1997, at 6:46:33 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes, and 33 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,200,000 miles

Orbits

251

Crew

177
StS-85

178
StS-85 carried payload that focused on the mission to planet earth (mtpe) objectives as well as the International Space Station 

(ISS) assembly preparations. the payload included the cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and telescopes for the atmosphereShuttle pallet Satellite-2 (crISta-SpaS-02), the Japanese manipulator flight Development (mfD), the  technology 

applications and Science-01 (taS-1), and the International extreme ultraviolet hitchhiker-02 (Ieh-02).

this was the second flight of the crISta-SpaS payload. crISta-SpaS-02 also represented the fourth mission in a 

cooperative venture between the german Space agency (Dara) and NaSa. the payload included three telescopes and four 

spectrometers, deployed on flight day 1, to gather data about earth’s middle atmosphere. after more than 200 hours of free 

flight, crISta-SpaS was retrieved on august 16, 1997. the three crISta telescopes collected 38 full atmospheric profiles 

of the middle atmosphere. a total of 22 sounding rockets and 40 balloons were launched to provide correlating data. once 

science operations were complete, crISta-SpaS was used in a simulation exercise to prepare for the first ISS assembly 

flight, StS-88, with the payload being manipulated as if it were the functional cargo Block (fgB) that would be attached to 

the ISS Node 1.

Mission

StS-85, crISta-SpaS-02

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

11 days, 20 hours, 26 minutes, and 58 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,725,000 miles

Orbits

185

Crew

179
S

tS-86

180 
the seventh mir docking mission continued the presence of a u.S. astronaut on the russian space station with the transfer 

of physician David a. Wolf to mir. Wolf became the sixth u.S. astronaut in succession to live on mir to continue phase 1B of 

the NaSa/russian Space agency (rSa) cooperative effort.

astronaut c. michael foale returned to earth after spending 145 days in space—134 of them aboard mir. his estimated 

mileage logged was 58 million miles, making his excursion the second longest u.S. space flight, at the time, behind 

Shannon W. lucid’s record of 188 days. During his stay, a collision on June 25, 1997, between a progress resupply vehicle and 

the station’s Spektr module damaged a radiator and a solar array on Spektr. the mishap occurred while mir 23 commander 

Vasily tsibliev was guiding the progress capsule to a manual docking. It caused the Spektr module to depressurize. the 

crew sealed the hatch to the leaking Spektr module, leaving foale’s personal effects and several NaSa science experiments 

inside, and repressurized the remaining modules.

Mission

StS-86, Seventh Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Launched

September 25, 1997, at 10:34:19 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

Duration

10 days, 19 hours, 20 minutes, and 51 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,225,000 miles

Orbits

170

Crew

181
S

tS-87

182 
the primary payload of StS-87, the united States microgravity payload-4 (uSmp-4), performed well. research using the 

other major payload, the SpartaN 201-04 free-flyer, was not completed. SpartaN deployment was delayed 1 day to 

November 21, 1997, to allow time for a companion spacecraft, the Solar and heliospheric observatory (Soho), which was 

already on orbit, to come back online. Kalpana chawla used the orbiter’s mechanical arm to release SpartaN at 4:04 p.m. 

the spacecraft failed to execute a pirouette maneuver several minutes later, suggesting that there was a problem with the 

attitude control system for fine pointing toward solar targets. chawla then regrappled the SpartaN but did not receive a 

firm capture indication. When she backed the arm away once more, a rotational spin of about 2 degrees per second was 

apparently imparted to the satellite. 

after a plan was formulated to retrieve the free-flyer, Winston e. Scott and takao Doi began a 7-hour, 43-minute spacewalk 

on November 24 and captured the SpartaN by hand at 9:09 p.m. the two astronauts then completed a series of activities 

that continued preparations for on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Doi became the first Japanese 

citizen to walk in space.

Mission

StS-87, uSmp-4; Spartan 201-04

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 19, 1997, at 2:46:00 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 5, 1997, at 7:20:04 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes, and 4 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,544,000 miles

Orbits

252

Crew

183
S

tS-89

184
endeavour returned to space after completing its first orbiter maintenance Down period (omDp), becoming the first orbiter 

other than atlantis to dock with mir. on may 22, 1997, mission managers announced endeavour would fly StS-89 instead 

of Discovery. the launch, which was originally targeted for January 15, 1998, changed first to no earlier than January 20 

and then to January 22, per a request from the russian space program to allow for completion of activities on mir. this was 

the first launch overseen by one of two new rotational launch Directors, Dave King, and following the retirement of veteran 

launch Director James f. harrington III.

the docking of Space Shuttle endeavour to mir occurred on January 24, at an altitude of 214 nautical miles. the transfer of 

andrew S.W. thomas to mir and the return of David a. Wolf to the u.S. orbiter occurred at 6:35 p.m., January 25. Initially, 

thomas thought that his Sokol pressure suit did not fit, and the crew exchange was allowed to proceed only after Wolf’s suit 

was adjusted to fit thomas. once on mir, thomas was able to make adequate adjustments to his own suit (which would be 

worn should the crew need to return to earth in the Soyuz capsule), and this suit remained on mir with him. Wolf spent a total 

of 119 days aboard mir, and upon landing his total on-orbit time was 128 days.

Mission

StS-89, eighth Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Launched

January 22, 1998, at 9:48:15 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

January 31, 1998, at 5:35:09 p.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes, and 54 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,610,000 miles

Orbits

139

Crew

185
S

tS-90

186
Mission

StS-90, final Spacelab mission

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

Landed

Duration

15 days, 21 hours, 49 minutes, and 59 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,375,000 miles

Orbits

256

Crew

Neurolab is a Spacelab module mission focusing on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Neurolab’s 26 

experiments targeted one of the most complex and least understood parts of the human body—the nervous system. the 

primary goals of these experiments were to conduct basic research in neurosciences and to expand our understanding 

of how the nervous system develops and functions in space. test subjects were crewmembers, rats, mice, crickets, 

snails, and two kinds of fish. this was a cooperative effort of NaSa, several domestic partners, and the space agencies of 

canada (cSa), france (cNeS) and germany (Dara), as well as the european Space agency (eSa) and the National Space 

Development agency of Japan (NaSDa). most experiments were conducted in the pressurized Spacelab long module 

located in columbia’s payload bay. this was the 16th and last scheduled flight of the eSa-developed Spacelab module, 

although the Spacelab pallets were continued to be used on the International Space Station (ISS).

other payloads on StS-90 included the Shuttle Vibration forces (SVf) experiment, the Bioreactor Demonstration System-04, 

and three get-away Special (gaS) canister investigations.

187
S

tS-91

188
the docking of Discovery to mir, the first for that orbiter, occurred at 12:58 p.m., June 4, 1998, at an altitude of 208 miles. 

the hatches opened at 2:34 p.m. the same day. at hatch opening, andrew S.W. thomas officially became a member of 

Discovery’s crew, completing 130 days of living and working on mir. the transfer wrapped up a total of 907 days spent by 

seven u.S. astronauts aboard the russian space station as long-duration crewmembers. During the next 4 days, the mir 

25 and StS-91 crews transferred more than 1,100 pounds of water and almost 4,700 pounds of cargo experiments and 

supplies between the two spacecraft. During this time, long-term u.S. experiments aboard mir were moved into Discovery’s 

middeck locker area and the SpacehaB single module was moved into the orbiter’s payload bay. 

the crews also conducted risk mitigation experiments (rmes) and human life Sciences (hlS) investigations. When the 

hatches closed for undocking at 9:07 a.m., June 8, and the spacecraft separated at 12:01 p.m. that day, the final Shuttle-mir 

docking mission was concluded and phase 1 of the International Space Station (ISS) program came to an end.

Mission

StS-91, Ninth and final Shuttle-mir docking

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

June 2, 1998, at 6:06:24 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

June 12 1998, at 2:00:17 p.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

9 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes, and 53 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,800,000 miles

Orbits

155

Crew

189
StS-95

Backdropped against the blackness of space and 

earth’s horizon, Spartan 201-05 leaves the cargo 

bay of the Space Shuttle Discovery. the satellite 

would remain a free-flyer for several days while 

it recorded data on the solar wind and the Sun’s 

corona. these data helped increase knowledge of 

the Sun’s effect on our planet. 

190
the primary objectives of StS-95 included conducting a variety of science experiments in the pressurized SpacehaB 

module, deploying and retrieving the Spartan free-flyer payload, and performing operations with the hubble Space telescope 

(hSt) orbiting Systems test (hoSt) and the International extreme ultraviolet hitchhiker payloads. the scientific research 

mission also returned space pioneer and u.S. Senator John h. glenn to orbit—36 years, 8 months, and 9 days after he 

became the first american to orbit earth.

a slate of more than 80 experiments filled the mission’s nearly 9 days in space. In addition to a variety of medical and material 

research, the crew released the petite amateur Naval Satellite, or paNSat, to test innovative technologies that capture and 

transmit weak or interference-laden radio signals. the crew also released the Spartan free-flying satellite to study the Sun 

and the solar wind in an effort to help scientists better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread 

disruptions of communications and power supplies on earth.

Mission

StS-95, John glenn’s flight; SpacehaB

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

November 7, 1998, at 12:03:30 p.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

8 days, 21 hours, 43 minutes, and 56 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,644,459 miles

Orbits

134

Crew

191
StS-88

192
all of the objectives were met during the 12-day mission to begin assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). on 

December 5, 1998, the 12.8-ton unity connecting module was first connected to endeavour’s docking system. on 

December 6, using the 50-foot-long robot arm, the Zarya control module was captured from orbit and mated to unity. 

astronauts Jerry l. ross and James h. Newman conducted three spacewalks to attach cables, connectors, and handrails. 

the two modules were powered up after the astronauts entered.

other extravehicular activity (eVa) objectives were met as ross and Newman tested a Simplified aid for eVa rescue (Safer) 

unit, a self-rescue device should a spacewalker become separated from the spacecraft during an eVa. they also nudged 

two undeployed antennas on Zarya into position, removed launch restraint pins on unity’s four hatchways for mating future 

additions of Station modules and truss structures, installed a sunshade over unity’s two data relay boxes to protect them 

against harsh sunlight, stowed a tool bag on unity and disconnected umbilicals used for the mating procedure with Zarya, 

installed a handrail on Zarya, and made a detailed photographic survey of the Station.

Mission

StS-88, first International Space Station 

(ISS) flight

Space Shuttle

Launched

December 4, 1998, at 3:35:34 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 15, 1998, at 10:53:30 p.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

11 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes, and 56 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,650,000 miles

Orbits

186

Crew

193
S

tS-96

194
all major objectives were accomplished during the StS-96 mission. on may 29, 1999, Discovery made the first docking 

to the International Space Station (ISS). Kent V. rominger eased the Shuttle to a textbook linkup with unity’s pressurized 

mating adapter-2 (pma-2) as the orbiter and the ISS flew over the russian-Kazakh border.

the 45th spacewalk in Space Shuttle history and the fourth of the ISS era lasted 7 hours and 55 minutes, making it the 

second-longest ever conducted at the time. tamara e. Jernigan and Daniel t. Barry transferred a u.S.-built crane, called the 

orbital transfer Device, and parts of the russian crane Strela from the Shuttle’s payload bay and attached them to locations 

on the outside of the Station. the astronauts also installed two new portable foot restraints that would fit both american and 

russian space boots, and they attached three bags filled with tools and handrails that would be used during future assembly 

operations. the cranes and tools fastened to the outside of the Station totaled 662 pounds. once those primary tasks were 

accomplished, Jernigan and Barry installed an insulating cover on a trunnion pin on the unity module, documented painted 

surfaces on both the unity and Zarya modules, and inspected one of two early communications System (e-com) antennas 

on unity.

Mission

StS-96, Second International Space Station 

(ISS) flight

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

June 6, 1999, at 2:02:43 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

9 days, 19 hours, 13 minutes, and 1 second

Distance Traveled

4,051,000 miles

Orbits

154

Crew

195
S

tS-93

196
StS-93 was the first mission in Space Shuttle history to be commanded by a woman, eileen m. collins. this was also the 

shortest scheduled mission since 1990.

on the first day of the 5-day mission, the chandra X-ray observatory was deployed from columbia’s payload bay. chandra’s 

two-stage Inertial upper Stage (IuS) booster propelled the observatory into a transfer orbit of 205 miles by 44,759 miles in 

altitude. following the second IuS burn, chandra’s solar arrays were deployed and the IuS separated from the observatory 

as planned.

During the rest of the mission, secondary payloads and experiments were activated including the Southwest ultraviolet 

Imaging System (SWuIS), which was used aboard columbia to capture ultraviolet imagery of earth, the moon, mercury, 

Venus, and Jupiter.

Mission

StS-93, chandra X-ray observatory

Space Shuttle

Launched

July 23, 1999, at 12:31:00 a.m. eDt from

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 27, 1999, at 11:20:35 p.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

4 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes, and 35 seconds

Distance Traveled

1,796,000 miles

Orbits

80

Crew

197
StS-103

198
StS-103 restored the hubble Space telescope (hSt) to working order and upgraded some of its systems, readying the 

decade-old observatory for its second scheduled decade of astronomical observations.

the first few days of the 8-day mission, the crew prepared for the rendezvous and capture of the hSt and the three maintenance 

spacewalks to follow. after a 30-orbit chase, commander curtis l. Brown, Jr. and pilot Scott J. Kelly maneuvered the orbiter 

to a point directly beneath hubble, then moved upward toward it. mission specialist Jean-françois clervoy grappled hubble 

using the orbiter’s robotic arm and placed it on the flight Support System in the rear of Discovery’s cargo bay. 

hubble was released from Discovery’s cargo bay on christmas Day. mission StS-103 was the third time in the history of the 

u.S. space program that a crew had spent christmas in space.

Mission

StS-103, third hubble Space telescope (hSt) 

Servicing mission

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

December 19, 1999, at 7:50:00 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 27, 1999, at 7:00:47 p.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

7 days, 23 hours, 10 minutes, 47 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,267,360 miles

Orbits

119

Crew

199
StS-99

200
the Shuttle radar topography mission (Srtm) mast was deployed successfully to its full length and the antenna was 

turned to its operation position. after a successful checkout of the radar systems, mapping began at 12:31 a.m., less than 

12 hours after launch. crewmembers, split into two shifts so they could work around the clock, began mapping an area 

from 60 degrees north to 56 degrees south. Data was sent to NaSa’s Jet propulsion laboratory (Jpl) for analysis, and early 

indications showed the data to be of excellent quality.

mapping proceeded fairly smoothly, but during an attitude-hold period for payload mapping during the second day of flight, 

it was determined that orbiter propellant usage had doubled from 0.07 to 0.15 percent an hour. the increase was caused 

by a failure of the payload cold-gas thrust system, which was used to offset the gravity gradient torque of the mast. as a 

result of this failure, orbiter propellant was being used at a higher-than-planned rate to maintain the attitude of the vehicle. 

measures to reduce the expenditure were evaluated, and based on the analysis, enough propellant could be saved to 

complete the planned science mission. 

Mission

StS-99, Shuttle radar topography mission 

(Srtm)

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

11 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes, and 44 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,708,821 miles

Orbits

181

Crew

201
S

tS-101

202
on their 10-day mission, the astronauts completed one extravehicular activity (eVa), equipped the International Space Station 

(ISS) with new or replacement gear, and transferred more than a ton of supplies for use by future ISS residents. 

the eVa marked the fifth spacewalk for construction of the ISS, the 49th conducted from a Space Shuttle, and the 85th overall 

conducted by u.S. astronauts. During the 6-hour, 44-minute eVa, mission specialists James S. Voss and Jeffrey N. Williams 

secured a u.S.-built crane that was installed on the Station last year; installed the final parts of a russian-built crane, Strela, 

on the pressurized mating adapter-1 (pma-1) that connects the unity node to the Zarya control module; replaced a faulty 

antenna for one of the Station’s communications systems; and installed various handrails and a camera cable on the ISS 

exterior. mission specialist mary ellen Weber operated the Shuttle’s robotic arm, which she used to maneuver Voss during 

much of the spacewalk. over the course of 3 days, the crew installed 4 batteries and associated electronics, 10 new smoke 

detectors in the Zarya module, 4 new cooling fans, additional cables for the Zarya computer, a new communications memory 

unit, and a new power distribution box for the u.S.-built communications system.

Mission

StS-101, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 2a.2a

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

9 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes, and 9 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,076,281 miles

Orbits

155

Crew

203
S

tS-106

204
the crew of StS-106, during its 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), completed all assigned mission 

objectives to prepare the Station for its first occupants, who were to arrive later that year. the mission to the 143-foot-long 

ISS focused on unloading nearly three tons of cargo from the orbiter and a progress supply craft already docked to the 

opposite end of the Station. the crew transferred more than 6,000 pounds of material to the interior of the Station—including 

six 100-pound bags of water, all of the food for the first resident crew, office supplies, onboard environmental supplies, a 

vacuum cleaner, and a computer and monitor.

the astronauts spent a total of 5 days, 9 hours, and 21 minutes inside the Station before closing the hatch on the orbiting 

outpost. terrence W. Wilcutt and Scott D. altman commanded a series of four altitude boosts to place the Station in an orbit 

of approximately 241 by 233 statute miles, raising the average altitude by 14 miles. after spending 7 days, 21 hours, and 

54 minutes linked to the Station, atlantis undocked at 11:46 p.m. as Wilcutt and altman fired atlantis’s jets to move to a 

distance of about 450 feet for a double-loop flyaround.

Mission

StS-106, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 2a.2b 

Space Shuttle

Launched

September 8, 2000, at 8:45:47 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 20, 2000, at 3:56:44 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

11 days, 19 hours, 10 minutes, and 57 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,919,243 miles

Orbits

185

Crew

205
S

tS-92

206
StS-92, during its 12-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), completed all assigned objectives to install the 

Zenith Z1 truss and the third pressurized mating adapter-3 (pma-3) for use as a docking port for subsequent Shuttle missions.

In the afternoon of flight day 2, Discovery and its crew completed a successful rendezvous and docking with the ISS, setting 

the stage for 6 days of construction and outfitting. Discovery’s five mission specialists, leroy chiao, William S. mcarthur, 

peter J.K. Wisoff, michael e. lópez-alegría, and Koichi Wakata, performed a total of four extravehicular activities (eVa) 

during the Space Shuttle program’s 100th mission. 

on flight day 9, the crew of Discovery shifted their attention to the interior of the ISS as they completed connections for the 

newly installed Z1 truss external framework and began transferring equipment and supplies for the first resident crew of the 

ISS. they also successfully completed testing the four control moment gyroscopes (cmg) that would be used to orient the 

ISS as it orbits earth.

Mission

StS-92, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 3a

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 21 hours, 42 minutes, and 42 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,331,301 miles

Orbits

202

Crew

207
StS-97

208
on their 11-day mission, the astronauts of StS-97 completed three spacewalks, or eVas, to deliver and connect the first 

set of u.S.-provided solar arrays to the International Space Station (ISS), to prepare a docking port for the arrival of the 

u.S. Destiny laboratory, to install floating potential probes to measure electrical potential surrounding the Station, and to 

install a camera cable outside the unity module.

at 9:36 a.m. on friday, December 8, 2001, the StS-97 crew paid its first visit to the expedition 1 crew residing in the 

International Space Station (ISS). until then, the Shuttle and the Station had kept one hatch closed to maintain respective 

atmospheric pressures, allowing the Shuttle crew to conduct their spacewalks and mission goals. after a welcome ceremony 

and briefing, the eight spacefarers conducted structural tests of the Station and its solar arrays; transferred equipment, 

supplies, and refuse between the spacecraft; and checked out the television camera cable installed by Joseph r. tanner 

and carlos I. Noriega for an upcoming mission.

Mission

StS-97, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 4a

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 30, 2000, at 10:06:01 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 11, 2000, at 6:03:23 p.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

10 days, 19 hours, 57 minutes, and 22 seconds 

Distance Traveled

4,476,164 miles

Orbits

171

Crew

209
S

tS-98In the grasp of the Shuttle’s remote manipulator System (rmS) robot arm, the Destiny laboratory is 

moved from its stowage position in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle atlantis. 

210
after docking to the International Space Station (ISS) on flight day 2, the Station and the Shuttle crews opened hatches 

and unloaded supplies, including three 12-gallon bags of water, a spare computer, cables to power up Destiny, and various 

personal items for the Station crew.

on february 10, 2001, the u.S. Destiny laboratory was successfully installed on the ISS using the remote manipulator 

System (rmS) and concurrent extravehicular activities (eVas). mission specialist marsha S. Ivins, using the rmS, grappled 

the pressurized mating adapter-2 (pma-2) on Node 1 and maneuvered it to the Z1 truss for a temporary stay. Ivins latched 

the rmS onto the Destiny laboratory in the payload bay and lifted it out. She then flipped the 16-ton laboratory 180 degrees 

and moved it into position to attach it to Node 1. a set of automatic bolts tightened to hold the lab permanently in place.

Mission

StS-98, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 5a

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 20 hours, 20 minutes, and 4 seconds 

Distance Traveled

5,369,576 miles

Orbits

203

Crew

211
S

tS-102

Beginning a 5.3-million-mile mission, the Space Shuttle Discovery 

leaves a trail of smoke as it rises through earth’s atmosphere.

212
a sunrise launch carried the second resident crew to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as the first multipurpose 

logistics module (mplm), leonardo, which was full of supplies, equipment, and science racks, to the u.S. Destiny laboratory. 

the Shuttle and Station crews unloaded almost 5 tons of experiments and equipment from leonardo and packed almost 

1 ton of items for return to earth. Discovery’s spacewalkers—James S. Voss, Susan J. helms, andrew S.W. thomas, and 

paul W. richards—set the stage for the continued expansion of the Station by installing a platform that would be used to 

mount a canadian-built robotic arm, the Space Station remote manipulator System (SSrmS), to the Station on a future 

mission.

Discovery docked with the Station at 1:38 a.m. on march 10, 2001. hatches between the two spacecraft were opened at 

3:51 a.m. all 10 crewmembers greeted each other for several minutes in the Destiny module. the first expedition 2 

crewmember to trade places was Yury V. usachev, who replaced Yuri p. gidzenko on march 10, 2001. Voss swapped places 

with Sergei K. Krikalev on march 11, and helms swapped with William m. Shepherd on march 14. a formal transfer of 

command was conducted on march 19 as commander Shepherd passed Station responsibility to usachev. 

Mission

StS-102, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 5a.1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 19 hours, 49 minutes, and 32 seconds 

Distance Traveled

5,357,432 miles

Orbits

102

Crew

213
S

tS-100

214
Docking with the International Space Station (ISS) occurred at 9:59 a.m. on april 21, 2001. the advanced robotic arm, called 

canadarm2, was attached to a pallet on the outside of the Destiny laboratory. It later was directed to “walk off” the pallet 

and grab onto an electrical grapple fixture on the lab, which would provide data, power, and telemetry to the arm. Days later, 

the arm was used to hand off the cradle to the orbiter’s arm. the exchange of the cradle from the Station arm to the Shuttle 

arm marked the first ever robotic-to-robotic transfer in space. the 6,000 pounds of cargo inside the multipurpose logistics 

module (mplm) raffaello was transferred to the Station, including two new scientific experiment racks for Destiny and the 

first three u.S. commercial payloads. In turn, 1,600 pounds of material was stored inside raffaello for the return to earth. 

on april 23, 4 days after launch, the hatches between endeavour and the Space Station were opened, allowing the Shuttle 

crew and the Station crew to greet one another for the first time. other crew activities during the mission included attaching 

an ultrahigh-frequency antenna to the outside of the Station; calibrating the Space Vision System, an alignment aid for 

operating the robotic arm; helping repair the Space Station’s treadmill; and filming for ImaX.

Mission

StS-100, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 6a

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

11 days, 21 hours, 30 minutes, and 1 second

Distance Traveled

4,910,188 miles

Orbits

186

Crew

215
S

tS-104Backdropped by the blackness of space and by earth’s horizon, 

the Space Shuttle atlantis was photographed while docked to 

the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS) 

during the StS-104 mission. 

216
after docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on July 13, 2001, both atlantis and ISS crews reviewed their 

extravehicular activity (eVa) procedures. In a series of three spacewalks, the joint airlock module was attached to the unity 

Node, and high-pressure gas tanks were attached to the airlock, which was christened “Quest.” the crews tested nitrogen 

and oxygen lines for use on future Shuttle missions and installed valves to connect Quest to the ISS environmental control 

system. the crews also installed a computer to run the airlock’s systems. air bubbles in a coolant line caused a water spill—

its cleanup caused a task to be postponed to another day. astronauts replaced a leaky air circulation valve and moved the 

hatch for the airlock into position between the equipment lock and the crew lock.

Janet l. Kavandi, michael l. gernhardt, and James f. reilly transferred items between the Shuttle and the Station, storing 

equipment and spacesuits in the airlock. Both Station and Shuttle crews checked out and activated the new Quest airlock, 

conducting a dry run before the inaugural event. 

Mission

StS-104, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 7a

Space Shuttle

Launched

July 12, 2001, at 5:03:59 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 24, 2001, at 11:38:55 p.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

12 days, 18 hours, 34 minutes, and 56 seconds 

Distance Traveled

5,309,429 miles

Orbits

200

Crew

commander Steven W. lindsey

pilot charles o. hobaugh

mission Specialists michael l. gernhardt, 

James f. reilly, and Janet l. Kavandi

217
S

tS-105

Backdropped over the blue-and-white earth, astronaut Daniel t. Barry, 

mission specialist, is pictured near the end of the Space Shuttle Discovery’s 

remote manipulator System (rmS) arm during the early stages of the 

second extravehicular activity (eVa) of the StS-105 mission. 

218
after the linkup of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station (ISS), the hatches were opened and the 

crews greeted one another. part of the mission was to bring the next resident crew, expedition 3, to the ISS and return 

expedition 2 to earth. the payload included the early ammonia Servicer (eaS) and the multipurpose logistics module 

(mplm) leonardo.

on the fifth day of the mission, august 16, 2001, Discovery maintained control of the Space Station while russian flight 

controllers completed loading and upgrading software commands to the Zvezda module. after completion of the upgrade, 

the Zvezda module again assumed control of the Station’s attitude, or position in space. While docked with the ISS, the 

crews unloaded 7,000 pounds of supplies, equipment, and science racks from the mplm leonardo, storing the new cargo 

on the Space Station. this was the second flight of leonardo to the ISS. 

on august 20, the Discovery crew undocked from the ISS and performed a flyaround. the crew later deployed a small 

science satellite, Simplesat, via a spring ejection from a canister at the rear of the cargo bay.

Mission

StS-105, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 7a.1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

11 days, 21 hours, 12 minutes, and 45 seconds 

Distance Traveled

4,912,390 miles

Orbits

186

Crew

219
S

tS-108

220
Shuttle commander Dominic l. gorie brought endeavour to a gentle linkup with the International Space Shuttle (ISS) as the 

two craft sailed over england. Within minutes, pilot mark e. Kelly and mission specialists linda m. godwin and Daniel m. tani 

began postdocking checks of the mechanical interface between endeavour and the Station’s Destiny laboratory prior to the 

opening of the hatches on the two vehicles. mission managers extended endeavour’s flight to a duration of 12 days to allow 

endeavour’s crew to assist with additional maintenance tasks on the Station, including work on a treadmill and replacing a 

failed compressor in one of the air conditioners in the Zvezda Service module.

the astronauts and cosmonauts completed the transfer of more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and material from endeavour 

and the raffaello multipurpose logistics module (mplm) to the Station. the transferred items included more than 850 pounds 

of food, 1,000 pounds of clothing and other crew provisions, 300 pounds of experiments and associated equipment, 

800 pounds of spacewalking gear, and 600 pounds of medical equipment. In turn, the crew packed up the raffaello module 

with items bound for a return trip to earth.

Mission

StS-108, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight uf-1

Space Shuttle

Launched

December 5, 2001, at 5:19:28 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 17, 2001, at 11:55:12 a.m. eSt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

11 days, 19 hours, 35 minutes, and 44 seconds 

Distance Traveled

4,817,649 miles

Orbits

186

Crew

221
S

tS-109

222
the 11-day mission rejuvenated the hubble Space telescope (hSt) in a series of five spacewalks. after grasping the 

telescope and pulling it into the payload bay, the spacewalkers, assisted by mission specialist Nancy J. currie operating 

the Shuttle’s robotic arm, installed new-and-improved equipment that gave the telescope more power, a new module to 

dispense the power, and a camera able to see twice as much area with more speed and clarity. they also installed an 

experimental cooling system in the hope of restoring life to the Near-Infrared camera and multi-object Spectrometer. 

the hSt was released from the grasp of columbia’s robotic arm at 5:04 a.m. on march 9, 2002. the spacewalks that were 

needed to install the new and upgraded equipment set a new eVa record for a single Shuttle mission with a total time of 

35 hours and 55  minutes. the previous record was 35 hours and 28 minutes, set by StS-61 during the first hubble 

Servicing mission.

Mission

StS-109, hubble Space telescope (hSt) 

Servicing mission

Space Shuttle

columbia

Launched

Landed

Duration

10 days, 22 hours, 9 minutes, and 51 seconds

Distance Traveled

3,941,705 miles

Orbits

165

Crew

223
S

tS-110While docked to the International Space Station (ISS), a Soyuz vehicle (foreground) and 

the Space Shuttle atlantis were photographed by a crewmember in the pirs docking 

compartment on the orbital outpost. 

224
the launch marked a milestone as mission specialist Jerry l. ross became the first human to fly in space seven times, 

breaking his own and other astronauts’ records of six space flights. his two spacewalks on StS-110 gave him a total of 

58 hours and 18 minutes of cumulative extravehicular activity (eVa) in space.

the installation of the S0 (S-zero) truss was the primary objective of StS-110 and began with the removal of the truss 

from atlantis’s payload bay. mission specialist ellen l. ochoa lifted it out with the Station’s robotic arm and maneuvered 

it onto a clamp at the top of the Destiny laboratory. the truss contained the navigational devices, computers, and cooling 

and power systems needed to attach additional laboratories to the complex. four spacewalks were required for the task. 

the truss served as a platform on which other trusses were attached and additional solar arrays were mounted to form the 

356-foot-long Space Station. Between and during spacewalks, Shuttle and ISS crewmembers transferred experiments and 

supplies between the spacecraft. they also transferred oxygen from the Shuttle to one of the four high-pressure gas tanks, 

which were used to repressurize the module after spacewalks. 

Mission

StS-110, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 8a

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

10 days, 19 hours, 42 minutes, and 39 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,525,299 miles

Orbits

171

Crew

225
StS-111Backdropped by the blackness of space, the Space Shuttle endeavour is pictured while docked 

to the pressurized mating adapter (pma-2) at the forward end of the Destiny laboratory on the 

International Space Station (ISS). a portion of the canadarm2 is visible in the lower left corner, and 

endeavour’s robotic arm is in full view as it is stretched out with the S0 (S-zero) truss at its end.

226
on June 7, 2002, mission specialist franklin r. chang-Díaz completed his seventh Shuttle flight, tying astronaut Jerry l. ross 

for the most trips to space. after docking with the International Space Station (ISS) and linking to the Destiny laboratory’s 

forward docking port, the endeavour and ISS crews transferred equipment, supplies, and experiments. on June 8, using the 

Shuttle’s robotic arm, commander Kenneth D. cockrell moved the multipurpose logistics module (mplm) leonardo from 

endeavour’s payload bay to the unity module. leonardo carried a total of 8,062 pounds of supplies and equipment to the 

Space Station, including a new science rack to house microgravity experiments and a glovebox that would allow Station 

crews to conduct experiments requiring isolation. this mission also featured the 41st spacewalk in support of ISS assembly, 

bringing the total mission extravehicular activity (eVa) time to 19 hours and 31 minutes.

the expedition 4 crew—Yuri I. onufriyenko, Daniel W. Bursch and carl e. Walz—unofficially ended their 182-day residence 

aboard the ISS, and the expedition 5 crew—commander Valery g. Korzun and flight engineers peggy a. Whitson and 

Sergei Y. treschev—began their tenure.

Mission

StS-111, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight uf-2

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 5, 2002, at 5:22:49 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

June 19, 2002, at 10:57:42 a.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

13 days, 20 hours, 34 minutes, 53 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,781,115 miles

Orbits

217

Crew

227
S

tS-112

228
the primary payloads for StS-112 were the S1 integrated truss segment and the crew and equipment translation aid 

(ceta) cart a. the ceta was the first of two human-powered carts that rode along the International Space Station (ISS) 

railway to provide mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts.

activities on this mission included three spacewalks to attach the S1 truss to the Space Station. mission specialist 

Sandra h. magnus and ISS science officer peggy a. Whitson lifted the 14-ton, 45-foot S1 truss from atlantis’s payload bay 

using the Station’s canadarm2. they then attached it to the Station with four remotely operated bolts.

other tasks completed on this mission included repairing the Station’s exercise treadmill, adjusting protective circuits that 

measured current in the S1 truss radiator assembly to greater tolerance levels for space, and removing and replacing a 

humidity separator in the Quest airlock.

Mission

StS-112, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 9a

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

10 days, 19 hours, 57 minutes, and 50 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,513,015 miles

Orbits

171

Crew

229
S

tS-113

230
over the course of the 14-day mission, the StS-113 crew and the expedition 6 crew installed the new p1 truss on the 

International Space Station (ISS), performed three spacewalks to outfit and activate the truss, and transferred supplies and 

equipment between the two spacecraft. endeavour brought more than 2,500 pounds of material to the Station. Included 

among the transfer were the protein crystal growth-Single locker enclosure System (pcg-SteS) and the plant generic 

Bioprocessing apparatus (pgBa), both of which returned to earth, and the pcg-SteS unit 10, which moved onto the 

Station. While endeavour was docked to the Space Station, expedition 5 NaSa science officer peggy a. Whitson and 

expedition 6 commander Kenneth D. Bowersox replaced two valves and cleared debris from vent lines of the carbon 

Dioxide removal assembly (cDra) in the Station’s u.S. Destiny laboratory.

prior to the first spacewalk, commander James D. Wetherbee removed the p1 truss from endeavour’s payload bay, using 

the Shuttle’s robotic arm, and handed it off to the Station’s canadarm2. Whitson and Bowersox maneuvered the p1 to its 

installation position. StS-113 is also noteworthy because mission specialist John B. herrington was the only Native american 

to fly in space.

Mission

StS-113, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 11a

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 23, 2002, at 7:49:47 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 7, 2002, at 2:37:13 p.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

13 days, 18 hours, 47 minutes, and 26 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,735,600 miles

Orbits

216

Crew

231
S

tS-107

232
the landing at the Kennedy Space center (KSc) was planned for february 1, 2003, after a 16-day mission, but the crew and 

columbia were lost during reentry over east texas at about 9 a.m., 16 minutes prior to the scheduled touchdown. a 7-month 

investigation followed, including a 4-month search across texas to recover debris. Nearly 85,000 pieces of orbiter debris 

were shipped to KSc and housed in the columbia Debris hangar near the Shuttle landing facility (Slf). about 38 percent 

of the orbiter was eventually recovered. the columbia accident Investigation Board concluded that damage incurred during 

launch to the Shuttle’s left wing led to the loss of the crew and orbiter.

StS-107 carried seven crewmembers, including the first Israeli astronaut, on a marathon international scientific research 

flight. as a research mission, the crew was kept busy 24 hours a day performing various chores involved with science 

experiments. experiments in the SpacehaB research Double module (rDm) included nine commercial payloads involving 

21 separate investigations. In the physical sciences, three studies inside a large, rugged chamber examined the physics of 

combustion, soot production, and fire-quenching processes in microgravity. these experiments provided new insights into 

combustion and fire suppression that could not be gained on earth. 

Mission

StS-107, microgravity research mission/

SpacehaB 

Space Shuttle

Launched

January 16, 2003, at 10:39:00 a.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Loss of Crew

the crew and vehicle were lost during reentry, 

16 minutes before landing on february 1, 2003. 

Duration

15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, and 32 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,649,757 miles

Orbits

256

Crew

233
S

tS-114

234
StS-114 was the first return to flight mission since the tragic loss of columbia on february 1, 2003. two-and-a-half 

years were spent researching and implementing safety improvements for the orbiters and their external tanks. the changes 

included greater in-depth examination of reinforced carbon-carbon panels that were used on the wing leading edges, plus 

replacing bolts and new foam applications on the tanks.

Discovery’s climb to orbit was extensively documented through a system of new and upgraded ground-based cameras, 

radar systems, and airborne cameras aboard high-altitude aircraft. the imagery captured of Discovery’s launch, and 

additional imagery from laser systems on Discovery’s new orbiter Boom Sensor System (oBSS) laser scanner as well as 

data from sensors embedded in the Shuttle’s wings, helped mission managers determine the health of Discovery’s thermal 

protection system. Before docking with the International Space Station (ISS), commander eileen m. collins performed 

the first rendezvous pitch maneuver (rpm) about 600 feet below the ISS. the motion flipped the Shuttle end-over-end at 

3⁄4 degree per second, allowing expedition 11 crewmembers to photograph the underside of Discovery and its heat-resistant 

tiles in detail. all imagery was downlinked to a team of 200 to analyze.

Mission

StS-114, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight lf1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

July 26, 2005, at 10:39:00 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

Duration

13 days, 21 hours, 32 minutes, and 23 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,796,419 miles

Orbits

219

Crew

235
StS-121

236
StS-121 was the second return to flight mission, demonstrating techniques for inspecting and protecting the Shuttle’s 

thermal protection system and replacing critical hardware needed for future International Space Station (ISS) assembly. the 

mission also restored the Station to a three-person crew for the first time since may 2003, leaving european Space agency 

(eSa) astronaut thomas a. reiter aboard to join expedition 13. this was the most photographed Shuttle mission in history, 

with more than 100 high-definition, digital, video and film cameras documenting the launch. the images helped assess any 

damage sustained during launch. In addition, the crew used the orbiter Boom Sensor System (oBSS) with a laser dynamic 

range imager, laser camera system, and intensified television camera to examine the Shuttle’s nose cap, port wing, leading 

edge of the starboard wing, and outside of the crew cabin. No risk was found.

after docking to the Station, the crew transferred the multipurpose logistics module (mplm) leonardo to the unity module, 

moving 7,400 pounds of supplies and equipment during their stay. the cargo included a new heat exchange that collected 

condensation out of the air on the Station, a new window and window seals for the microgravity Sciences glovebox, and a 

spare u.S. extravehicular activity (eVa) suit and emergency jet pack.

Mission

StS-121, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight ulf1.1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

July 4, 2006, at 2:37:55 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 17, 2006, at 9:14:42 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

12 days, 18 hours, 36 minutes, and 47 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,293,923 miles

Orbits

202

Crew

237
S

tS-115

238
this mission resumed assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) after a hiatus of 4 years. Before the docking, the 

crew used the orbiter Boom Sensor System (oBSS), the 50-foot-long extension for the Shuttle’s robotic arm, to inspect 

the reinforced carbon-carbon panels along the leading edge of atlantis’s starboard and port wings and the nose cap. after 

docking, christopher J. ferguson and Daniel c. Burbank attached the Shuttle’s robotic arm to the p3/p4 truss, lifted it 

from its berth in the payload bay, and maneuvered it for handover to the Station’s canadarm2. after opening the hatch, 

Steven g.maclean and expedition 13 flight engineer Jeffrey N. Williams used the canadarm2 to take the truss from the 

Shuttle’s robotic arm. maclean was the first canadian to operate the canadarm2 in space.

three spacewalks were later planned to install the p3/p4 integrated truss, deploy the solar arrays, and prepare them for 

operation. 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 that spacewalkers avoid the decompression sickness known as “the bends.”

Mission

StS-115, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 12a

Space Shuttle

Launched

September 9, 2006, at 11:14:55 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

September 21, 2006, at 6:21:23 a.m. eDt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

11 days, 19 hours, 6 minutes, and 28 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,910,268 miles

Orbits

186

Crew

239
S

tS-116

240
Discovery rocketed into a dark florida sky on the first night launch in more than 4 years. after reaching orbit, the crew used 

the Shuttle’s robotic arm and orbiter Boom Sensor System (oBSS) to examine Discovery’s thermal protection system. 

Docking with the International Space Station (ISS) occurred at 4:12 p.m. on December 11, 2006, and four extravehicular 

activities (eVas) allowed astronauts to continue construction of the ISS. the total time spent on spacewalks on this mission 

was 25 hours and 45 minutes. the crew wrapped up 8 days of docked operations, separating from the ISS on December 19.

on December 20, the crew inspected the heat shield for possible micrometeoroid debris damage using the sensor-equipped 

oBSS that unfolded from the payload bay. they also deployed small technology demonstration satellites, known as mepSI, 

or the microelectromechanical System-based picoSat Inspector, for the Department of Defense Space test program, as well 

as student experiment scientific satellites and the atmospheric Neutral Density experiment (aNDe), which measured the 

density and composition of the low-earth orbit atmosphere.

Mission

StS-116, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 12a.1

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

December 9, 2006, at 8:47:35 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

December 22, 2006, at 5:31:58 p.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

12 days, 20 hours, 44 minutes, and 23 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,330,398 miles

Orbits

204

Crew

241
S

tS-117

242
StS-117, flown by the Space Shuttle atlantis, launched from Kennedy Space center (KSc) on June 8, 2007. Damage from 

a hail storm on february 26 postponed the originally planned launch date of march 15. the launch of StS-117 marked the 

250th orbital human space flight. atlantis delivered the second starboard truss segment (the S3/S4 truss) and its associated 

energy systems, including a set of solar arrays, to the International Space Station (ISS). During the course of the mission, 

the crew installed the new truss segment, retracted one set of solar arrays, and unfolded the new set on the starboard side 

of the Station. StS-117 and expedition 15 also swapped crewmembers, leaving Shuttle crewmember clayton c. anderson 

on the Station and returning ISS crewmember Sunita l. Williams back to earth.

on June 11, NaSa mission managers announced a 2-day extension of the mission, adding a fourth extravehicular activity 

(eVa). these 2 days were inserted into the mission timeline after flight day 8. Because of the launch day and rendezvous 

day uncertainty, the decision to extend the mission was deferred until after the launch. the repair of the gap in the orbital 

maneuvering System (omS) thermal blanket (heat shielding) was conducted during eVa 3.

Mission

StS-117, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 13a

Space Shuttle

Launched

June 8, 2007, at 7:38:04 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

June 22, 2007, at 12:49:37 p.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

13 days, 20 hours, 11 minutes, and 33 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,809,363 miles

Orbits

219

Crew

243
S

tS-118

244
the Space Shuttle endeavour’s StS-118 mission was the 22nd Shuttle flight to the International Space Station (ISS). the 

StS-118 mission delivered and assembled the starboard S5 truss segment of the ISS, as well as the external Stowage 

platform-3 (eSp-3) and a replacement control moment gyroscope (cmg). the mission was also the final flight to include 

the SpacehaB logistics single module.

the SpacehaB logistics single module, a pressurized aluminum habitat that was carried inside the payload bay, had a 

capacity of 6,000 pounds and carried a variety of cargo and research projects, including supply materials for the ISS. 

SpacehaB also returned cargo, including the materials International Space Station experiment–passive experiment 

container (mISSe–pec) 3 and 4, a Department of Defense payload that had been installed on the ISS. launched in July 2006, 

the mISSe–pec 3 and 4 contained over 850 materials specimens that were studied to determine the effects of long-term 

exposure to the environment of space.

Mission

StS-118, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 13a.1

Space Shuttle

endeavour

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes, and 35 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,274,977 miles

Orbits

201

Crew

245
StS-120

Backdropped by a blue-and-white earth, 

the Space Shuttle Discovery approaches 

the International Space Station (ISS) 

during StS-120 rendezvous and docking 

operations. the harmony node is visible 

in Discovery’s cargo bay. 

246
StS-120 was the 23rd Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). retired air force colonel pamela a. melroy 

commanded the mission, which took the harmony Node 2 connecting module to the ISS. melroy, a veteran Shuttle pilot, was 

the second woman to command a Shuttle. 

the mission delivered launch package 10a to the ISS, which consisted of the u.S. harmony module (also known as Node 

2), with four Dc-to-Dc converter unit (DDcu) racks and three Zero-g Storage racks (ZSr) installed; a power and Data 

grapple fixture (pDgf) for the Station’s robotic arm; and a Shuttle power Distribution unit (SpDu). harmony was built for 

NaSa by thales alenia Space in torino, Italy, as part of an agreement between NaSa and the european Space agency (eSa) 

and was the first pressurized habitable module delivered to the Station since the pirs docking compartment was installed in 

august 2001. 

the final positioning of harmony allowed for the later installation of the european columbus and Japanese Kibō research 

modules, which were attached to the side ports of harmony.

Mission

StS-120, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 10a

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

November 7, 2007, at 1:01:17 p.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

15 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 58 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,249,432 miles

Orbits

238

Crew

247
S

tS-122

In the grasp of the Station’s robotic canadarm2, the columbus laboratory is moved 

from its stowage position in the Space Shuttle atlantis’s payload bay to the starboard 

side of the harmony module of the International Space Station (ISS). 

248
flown by the Space Shuttle atlantis, StS-122 marked the 24th Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) 

and the 121st Space Shuttle flight. the mission was also referred to as ISS-1e by the ISS program. the primary objective 

of StS-122 was to deliver the european columbus science laboratory, built by the european Space agency (eSa), to the 

Station, as well as the Biolab, the fluid Science laboratory (fSl), the european Drawer rack (eDr), and the european 

physiology modules (epm) payloads. It also returned expedition 16 flight engineer Daniel m. tani to earth. tani was replaced 

on expedition 16 by léopold eyharts, a french flight engineer representing eSa. 

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 Integrated cargo carrier (Icc)-lite payload rack, as well 

as a spare Drive lock assembly (Dla) that was sent to orbit in support of possible repairs to the starboard Solar alpha 

rotary Joint (SarJ), which was malfunctioning.

Mission

StS-122, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 1e

Space Shuttle

atlantis

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes, and 39 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,296,842 miles

Orbits

202

Crew

249
StS-123

250
StS-123 was the 25th Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It delivered the first component of the 

Japanese experiment module (Kibō) and the canadian Special purpose Dexterous manipulator (SpDm) robotics system to 

the Station. this was the first mission to fully utilize the Station-to-Shuttle power transfer System (SSptS), which allowed 

Space Station power to augment the Shuttle’s power systems. the mission also set a record for a Shuttle’s longest stay at 

the ISS. 

the mission delivered NaSa astronaut garrett e. reisman to the Station and returned european Space agency (eSa) 

astronaut léopold eyharts to earth.

Mission

StS-123, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 1J/a

Space Shuttle

Launched

march 11, 2008, at 2:28:14 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

Duration

15 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes, and 52 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,577,857 miles

Orbits

250

Crew

commander Dominic l. gorie

pilot gregory h. Johnson

mission Specialists garrett e. reisman, 

robert l. Behnken, michael J. foreman, 

takao Doi, richard m. linnehan, and

léopold eyharts (not shown)

251
S

tS-124

252
StS-124 was the 26th Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and was the second of three flights that would 

launch components to complete the Kibō laboratory. the mission also included three spacewalks. 

the mission successfully delivered the pressurized module (pm) of the Japanese experiment module (Jem), called Kibō, to 

the ISS. Kibō was berthed to the harmony module and the pressurized section of the Jem experiment logistics module, 

brought up by the StS-123 crew, and was moved from harmony to the Jem-pm. the Japanese remote manipulator System 

(rmS), a robotic arm, was also delivered by StS-124 and attached to Kibō. 

astronaut gregory e. chamitoff flew to the Station as a mission specialist on StS-124. he took astronaut garrett e. reisman’s 

place as an expedition 17 flight engineer and would return to earth on Shuttle mission StS-126.

on this mission, NaSa and Disney joined forces for elementary school education. “Buzz lightyear,” a 12-inch-tall action 

figure based on the cartoon character from the pixar “toy Story” movies, was delivered to the ISS for a 6-month stay.

Mission

StS-124, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 1J

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

June 14, 2008, at 11:15:18 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

13 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes, and 6 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,735,643 miles

Orbits

217

Crew

253
StS-126

254
StS-126 was the 27th Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). endeavour carried a reusable logistics 

module that held supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, exercise equipment, regenerative life-support 

system resources, and spare hardware. 

StS-126 was scheduled to be a 16-day mission with four spacewalks largely dedicated to the servicing and repair of 

the Solar alpha rotary Joints (SarJ). an additional docked day was added to the flight plan to give the crew more time 

to complete their tasks. the starboard SarJ had shown anomalous behavior since august 2007, and its use had been 

minimized pending diagnosis and repair. Both the starboard and port SarJs were serviced. In addition to lubricating both 

bearings, the remaining 11 trundle bearings in the starboard SarJ were replaced. trundle bearing assembly five was removed 

during an expedition 16 extravehicular activity (eVa) for further examination in December 2007. 

the mission also included the leonardo multipurpose logistics module (mplm) on its fifth space flight. leonardo held more 

than 14,000 pounds of supplies and equipment. 

Mission

StS-126, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight ulf2

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 14, 2008, at 7:55:39 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 30, 2008, at 1:25:09 a.m. pSt on 

runway 4 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

15 days, 20 hours, 39 minutes, and 30 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,615,109 miles

Orbits

250

Crew

255
S

tS-119

256
StS-119 was the 28th Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and was flown aboard the orbiter

Discovery. the mission delivered the S6 solar arrays to the ISS, completing the construction of the Integrated truss 

Structure. StS-119 also carried several experiments, including the Shuttle Ionospheric modification with pulsed local 

eXhaust (SImpleX), the Shuttle exhaust Ion turbulence experiments (SeIte), and the maui analysis of upper atmospheric 

Injections (mauI). StS-119 was also used for the Boundary layer transition Detailed test objective experiment. one tile of 

the thermal protection system was raised 0.25 inches above the others so that, at about mach 15 during reentry, a boundary 

layer transition would be initiated. 

Koichi Wakata remained on the Station, replacing expedition 18 flight engineer Sandra h. magnus, who returned to earth 

with the StS-119 crew. Wakata would serve as a flight engineer for expeditions 18 and 19 and return to earth on Shuttle 

mission StS-127.

Mission

StS-119, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight 15a

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes, and 42 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,304,106 miles

Orbits

202

Crew

257
S

tS-125Backdropped by the blackness of space and the thin line of earth’s atmosphere, the Space Shuttle atlantis’s payload bay, 

the remote manipulator System (rmS) robotic arm, the vertical stabilizer, and the orbital maneuvering System (omS) 

pods are featured in this image.

258
StS-125, or hSt-Sm4 (hubble Space telescope Servicing mission 4), was the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to the 

hubble Space telescope (hSt).

atlantis’s astronauts repaired and upgraded the hSt, conducting five spacewalks during their mission to extend the life of 

the orbiting observatory. they successfully installed two new instruments and repaired two others, replaced gyroscopes and 

batteries, and added new thermal insulation panels to protect the orbiting observatory. 

With the newly installed Wide field camera, hubble could observe in the ultraviolet, infrared, and visible light spectrums; peer 

deep onto the cosmic frontier in search of the earliest star systems; and study planets in the solar system. the telescope’s 

new cosmic origins Spectrograph allowed it to study the grand-scale structure of the universe, including the star-driven 

chemical evolution that produces carbon and other elements necessary for life.

Mission

StS-125, hubble Space telescope (hSt) 

Servicing mission 4

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, and 18 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,276,106 miles

Orbits

197

Crew

259
StS-127

260
StS-127 was the 29th Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). When endeavour docked with the ISS on this 

mission in July 2009, it set a record for having the most humans in space at the same time in the same vehicle—it was the 

first time 13 people had been on the Station at once. the mission also tied the record for having the most people in space, 

13, at any one time. 

endeavour set sail on its 23rd mission with the Kibō Japanese experiment module exposed facility and experiment logistics 

module exposed Section. the facility provides a type of “front porch” for experiments in the exposed space environment, as 

well as a robotic arm that is attached to the Kibō pressurized module and is used to position experiments outside the Station. 

the mission included five spacewalks. 

the mission delivered timothy l. Kopra to the Station as a flight engineer and science officer and returned Japanese 

astronaut Koichi Wakata to earth. astronauts Douglas g. hurley, christopher J. cassidy, thomas h. marshburn, and Kopra 

made their first trips to space.

Mission

StS-127, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 2J/a

Space Shuttle

Launched

July 15, 2009, at 6:03:10 p.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 31, 2009, at 10:48:07 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes, and 58 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,547,853 miles

Orbits

248

Crew

261
S

tS-128

262
this was Discovery’s 37th mission to space and the 30th mission of a Space Shuttle dedicated to the assembly and 

maintenance of the International Space Station (ISS). 

the Space Shuttle Discovery carried the multipurpose logistics module (mplm) leonardo as its primary payload. the 

mplm contained three racks for life support, a crew quarter to be installed in Kibō, a new treadmill (colBert) that would 

temporarily be placed in Node 2 and later moved to Node 3, and an air revitalization System (arS) that would temporarily 

be placed in Kibō and later moved to Node 3. three spacewalks were carried out during the mission to remove and replace 

a materials processing experiment outside the european Space agency’s (eSa’s) columbus module and to return an empty 

ammonia tank assembly. 

Nicole m.p. Stott remained on the Station as an expedition 20 flight engineer, replacing timothy l. Kopra. Kopra returned 

home aboard Discovery as a mission specialist.

Mission

StS-128, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 17a

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

September 11, 2009, at 5:53:20 p.m. pDt on 

runway 22 at edwards air force Base, ca

Duration

13 days, 20 hours, 53 minutes, 43 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,702,716 miles

Orbits

219

Crew

263
S

tS-129

264
StS-129 was the 31st Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). the mission focused on staging spare 

components outside the Station. the 11-day flight included three spacewalks. the payload bay carried two large expreSS 

(expedite the processing of experiments to the Space Station) logistics carriers (elc) 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 high-pressure gas tank, and a spare trailing umbilical system for the mobile transporter (mt)—a railway 

that runs along the outside of the ISS. 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. 

atlantis returned Station crewmember Nicole m.p. Stott to earth, making StS-129 the final Space Shuttle crew rotation flight 

to or from the Space Station.

Mission

StS-129, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight ulf3

Space Shuttle

Launched

November 16, 2009, at 2:28:01 p.m. eSt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

November 27, 2009, at 9:44:21 a.m. eSt on 

runway 33 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, and 14 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,490,138 miles

Orbits

171

Crew

265
StS-130

266
StS-130 was the 32nd Shuttle mission to the Station. During the StS-130 mission, the Space Shuttle endeavour delivered 

the tranquility node and its cupola, a dome-shaped extension from tranquility made up of seven windows. the node 

and cupola were the last major u.S. modules added to the Space Station, and together they helped clear out premium 

workspace in other areas of the Station—as well as offer a window on the world.

at 15-feet-wide and 23-feet-long, the tranquility node provided a centralized home for the Station’s environmental control 

equipment—one of the systems that remove carbon dioxide from the Station’s air, one of the Station’s bathrooms, and the 

equipment that converts urine into drinkable water—all of which took up space in the Destiny laboratory.

Mission

StS-130, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 20a

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

13 days, 18 hours, 6 minutes, and 22 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,738,991 miles

Orbits

217

Crew

267
S

tS-131

268
StS-131 was the 33rd Shuttle mission to the Station. the primary payload of StS-131 was the multipurpose logistics 

module (mplm) leonardo. the mplm was filled with food and science supplies for the International Space Station (ISS). the 

mplm also carried the third and final minus eighty Degree laboratory freezer for ISS (melfI), the Window orbital research 

facility (Worf), one crew Quarters rack, the muscle atrophy resistive exercise (mareS) rack, the resupply Stowage 

racks (rSrs), and the resupply Stowage platforms (rSps). 

the mission featured three spacewalks performed by richard a. mastracchio and clayton c. anderson. the astronauts 

replaced an ammonia tank assembly, retrieved a Japanese experiment from the Station’s exterior, and switched out a rate 

gyro assembly on the S0 (S-zero) element of the Station’s truss.

Mission

StS-131, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight 19a

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 9 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,232,235 miles

Orbits

238

Crew

269
StS-132

270 
on mission StS-132, the Space Shuttle atlantis delivered an Integrated cargo carrier and a russian-built mini research 

module to the International Space Station (ISS). StS-132 was the 32nd mission for atlantis.

three spacewalks were conducted while atlantis was docked to the orbiting laboratory. During the first spacewalk, mission 

specialists garrett e. reisman and Stephen g. Bowen installed a spare antenna and a stowage platform. on the second 

spacewalk, Bowen and mission specialist michael t. good replaced batteries on the p6 integrated truss that store solar 

energy. outside for the final spacewalk were good and reisman, who replaced the last of the p6 truss batteries and retrieved 

a power data grapple fixture for installation at a later date.

rassvet, the russian-built mini research module, was removed from the Shuttle’s payload bay and installed on the Zarya 

module. reisman and mission specialist piers J. Sellers operated the Station’s robotic arm, canadarm2, during this process. 

reisman and Sellers also maneuvered the Integrated cargo carrier from atlantis into position on the Station with canadarm2. 

Mission

StS-132, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight ulf4

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

Duration

11 days, 18 hours, 27 minutes, and 59 seconds

Distance Traveled

4,879,978 miles

Orbits

186

Crew

271
S

tS-133

272
StS-133 commander Steven W. lindsey, pilot eric a. Boe and mission specialists B. alvin Drew, Stephen g. Bowen, 

michael r. Barratt, and Nicole m.p. Stott delivered a new module and an external stowage platform to the 

International Space Station (ISS). During Space Shuttle Discovery’s almost 9 days at the Station, Bowen and Drew performed 

two spacewalks for maintenance work and installation of new components.

Discovery’s visit to the Station was extended by 2 days so its crew could help outfit the permanent multipurpose module 

(pmm) leonardo that it delivered. leonardo had visited the Station seven times earlier as a cargo carrier before being 

refurbished to serve as a permanent 2,472-cubic-foot addition to the orbiting laboratory. among the 6,000 pounds of 

leonardo cargo was robonaut 2, a human-upper-torso-like robot that could be a precursor of devices to help during 

spacewalks. about 2,000 pounds of additional cargo for the Station was carried on the Shuttle’s middeck.

this was the 35th Shuttle mission to the Station and the final flight of Discovery.

Mission

StS-133, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight ulf5

Space Shuttle

Discovery

Launched

Landed

Duration

12 days, 19 hours, 3 minutes, and 53 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,304,140 miles

Orbits

202

Crew

273
StS-134

274
StS-134, International Space Station (ISS) assembly flight ulf6, was the penultimate mission of NaSa’s Space Shuttle 

program. the mission marked the 25th and final flight of the Space Shuttle endeavour. this flight delivered the alpha magnetic 

Spectrometer and an expreSS logistics carrier to the ISS. the alpha magnetic Spectrometer 2 (amS-02) was carried to the 

ISS in endeavour’s payload bay and was attached to the ISS’s S3 truss segment. the amS-02 unit was a particle physics 

detector that contained a large permanent magnet and was designed to search for antimatter and investigate the origin and 

structure of dark matter.

StS-134 was expected to be the final Space Shuttle mission had StS-135 not received funding from congress; however, 

in february 2011, NaSa stated that StS-135 would fly “regardless” of the funding situation. the launch on Need (loN) 

mission, a contingency mission to rescue a stranded StS-134 crew, would have been the StS-135 flight (formerly StS-335) 

flown by atlantis. 

Mission

StS-134, International Space Station (ISS)

assembly flight ulf6

Space Shuttle

Launched

Landed

June 1, 2011, at 2:34:50 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

15 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes, and 22 seconds

Distance Traveled

6,510,221 miles

Orbits

248

Crew

275
S

tS-135

StS-135 was the 33rd flight of atlantis, the 37th Space Shuttle 

mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and the 135th 

and final mission of NaSa’s Space Shuttle program. 

276
StS-135 was the final mission of the american Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter atlantis and hardware originally 

processed for the StS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. StS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, and was originally 

scheduled to land on July 20, but the mission was extended to July 21. the four-person crew was the smallest of any Shuttle 

mission since StS-6 in april 1983. the mission’s primary cargo was the multipurpose logistics module (mplm) raffaello 

and a lightweight multipurpose carrier (lmc). the flight of raffaello marked the only time that atlantis carried a mplm.

although the mission was authorized, it initially had no congressional appropriation in the NaSa budget, raising questions 

about whether the mission would fly. on January 20, 2011, program managers changed StS-335 to StS-135 on the flight 

manifest, a move that allowed for training and other mission-specific preparations. In february, NaSa program managers 

told their workforce that StS-135 would fly via a continuing resolution. until this point, there had been no official reference 

to StS-135 in NaSa’s official documentation for the general public.

Mission

StS-135, International Space Station (ISS) 

assembly flight ulf7

Space Shuttle

Launched

July 8, 2011, at 11:29:04 a.m. eDt from 

launch pad 39a at Kennedy Space center, fl

Landed

July 21, 2011, at 5:56:58 a.m. eDt on 

runway 15 at Kennedy Space center, fl

Duration

12 days, 18 hours, 27 minutes, and 56 seconds

Distance Traveled

5,284,862 miles

Orbits

200

Crew

277
278
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Facts

Orbiter

enterprise

Designation

oV-101, test Vehicle

Rollout

September 17, 1976

Weight

150,000 pounds

Flights Flown

0

Miles Traveled

0

Orbits

0

Crew Flown

0

Status

Decommissioned to the 

Intrepid Sea, air & Space 

museum, New York

Orbiter

columbia

Designation

oV-102

Rollout

march 8, 1979

Weight

178,000 pounds

Flights Flown

28

Miles Traveled

121,696,993

Orbits

4,808

Crew Flown

160

Status

lost

Orbiter

challenger

Designation

oV-099

Rollout

June 30, 1982

Weight

175,111 pounds

Flights Flown

10

Miles Traveled

23,661,290

Orbits

995

Crew Flown

60

Status

lost

Orbiter

Discovery

Designation

oV-103

Rollout

october 16, 1983

Weight

171,000 pounds

Flights Flown

39

Miles Traveled

148,221,675

Orbits

5,830

Crew Flown

252

Status

Decommissioned to the 

National air and Space 

museum, Virginia

Orbiter

atlantis

Designation

oV-104

Rollout

march 6, 1985

Weight

171,000 pounds

Flights Flown

33

Miles Traveled

125,935,769

Orbits

4,848

Crew Flown

207

Status

Decommissioned to the 

Kennedy Space center 

Visitor’s complex, florida

Orbiter

endeavour

Designation

oV-105

Rollout

april 25, 1991

Weight

172,000 pounds

Flights Flown

25

Miles Traveled

122,883,151

Orbits

4,671

Crew Flown

173

Status

Decommissioned to the 

california Science center, 

los angeles
Six NaSa astronauts, three russian cosmonauts, and one Japanese astronaut 

reunite in the International Space Station’s u.S. Node 2, or harmony, following a 

July 10, 2011, docking of the Space Shuttle atlantis and the Station.

280
International Astronauts

Country

russia

Space Flights

26

Astronauts

20

Country

canada

Space Flights

14

Astronauts

8

Country

Japan

Space Flights

12

Astronauts

7

Country

france

Space Flights

9

Astronauts

7

Country

germany

Space Flights

9

Astronauts

7

Country

Italy

Space Flights

6

Astronauts

5

Country

Switzerland

Space Flights

4

Astronauts

1

Country

Sweden

Space Flights

2

Astronauts

1

Country

Belgium

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1

Country

Israel

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1

Country

mexico

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1

Country

Netherlands

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1

Country

Saudi arabia

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1

Country

Spain

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1

Country

ukraine

Space Flights

1

Astronauts

1
A Tribute to Challenger

282
A Tribute to Columbia

283
284
.