NOVEMBER 2008 CONTENTS i

Section Page

STS-126 MISSION OVERVIEW................................................................................................ 1

TIMELINE OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 9

MISSION PROFILE................................................................................................................... 13

MISSION PRIORITIES............................................................................................................. 15

MISSION PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................. 17

STS-126 ENDEAVOUR CREW .................................................................................................. 19

PAYLOAD OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 29

MULTI-PURPOSE LOGISTICS MODULE ................................................................................................. 29

RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING .................................................................................................. 35

UNDOCKING, SEPARATION AND DEPARTURE ....................................................................................... 36

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM (ECLSS) ....................................... 39

SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT (SARJ)..................................................................................... 47

SPACEWALKS ......................................................................................................................... 55

EXPERIMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 63

DETAILED TEST OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................... 63

SHORT-DURATION U.S. INTEGRATED RESEARCH TO BE COMPLETED DURING STS-126/ULF2 ............. 65

ADVANCED RESISTIVE EXERCISE DEVICE.............................................................................. 73

SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA .................................................................................................... 77

CONTENTS 
ii CONTENTS NOVEMB 08 R 20E

Section Page

LAUNCH AND LANDING ........................................................................................................... 95

LAUNCH............................................................................................................................................... 95

ABORT-TO-ORBIT................................................................................................................................ 95

TRANSATLANTIC ABORT LANDING ...................................................................................................... 95

RETURN-TO-LAUNCH-SITE................................................................................................................... 95

ABORT ONCE AROUND ......................................................................................................................... 95

LANDING ............................................................................................................................................. 95

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... 97

MEDIA ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................... 109

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS .................................................................................................. 111

  

   

   

  

   

 
NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION OVERVIEW 1

STS-126 MISSION OVERVIEW 

The STS-126 crew members take a break during a training session at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 

From the left are astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough, both mission 

specialists; Eric Boe, pilot; Chris Ferguson, commander; Steve Bowen, Sandra Magnus and 

Donald Pettit, all mission specialists. 

When the fourth space shuttle mission of the 

year is complete, the International Space Station 

will have all of the key systems needed to turn 

what is now a three-bedroom, one-bathroom 

home for three into a five-bedroom, two-bath 

residence for six. 

Space shuttle Endeavour, commanded by 

veteran space flier Navy Capt. Chris Ferguson, 

47, is scheduled to launch at 7:55 p.m. EST on 

Nov. 14 and arrive at the space station two days 

later. The shuttle and station crews will 

collaborate on the delivery of key life support 
2 MISSION OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

Astronauts Sandra Magnus (foreground), Expedition 18/19 flight engineer; 

Shane Kimbrough and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, both STS-126 mission specialists, 

give a “thumbs-up” signal during a training session in one of the full-scale trainers 

in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. 

and habitability systems that will enable longterm, self-sustaining station operations after the 

shuttle fleet is retired. 

The crew will conduct four spacewalks to 

service and lubricate the complex’s two Solar 

Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ) that allow the 

station’s photovoltaic cells to revolve like 

paddlewheels and point at the sun. The 

starboard SARJ has had limited use since 

September 2007. The spacewalkers also will 

install a new nitrogen tank, a global positioning 

system, antenna, and a camera on the station’s 

Integrated Truss Assembly. 
NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION OVERVIEW 3

This graphic depicts the location of the STS-126 payload hardware. 

The shuttle will deliver a new flight engineer, 

Sandra Magnus, 44, to join the Expedition 18 

crew, and return Flight Engineer

Greg Chamitoff (SHAM-eh-tawf), 45, to Earth. 

Air Force Col. Eric A. Boe, 44, will serve as 

Endeavour’s pilot. The mission specialists are 

Navy Capt. Steve Bowen, 44; Army Lt. Col. 

Shane Kimbrough (KIM-bro), 41; Navy Capt. 

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (stef-uh-NIHshun PIE-pur), 45; Donald Pettit, 53; and 

Magnus. STS-126 will be the second spaceflight 

for Ferguson and Piper, who flew together on 

STS-115 in September 2006, and for Pettit, who 

spent six months aboard the station in 

2002-2003. 

Endeavour will carry an Italian-built reusable 

logistics module named Leonardo, which will 

deliver 14,416 pounds of supplies and 

equipment, including an advanced resistive 

exercise device, a second toilet, a galley, two 

sleep stations and a water-recycling plumbing 

system that will be integrated into the station’s 

regenerative life support system. Leonardo will 

return to Earth aboard Endeavour at the 

conclusion of STS-126, bringing home an 

estimated 3,441 pounds of equipment and 

scientific samples from station research. 

A few hours after Endeavour’s docking on the 

third day of the flight, Magnus and Chamitoff 
4 MISSION OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

will exchange custom-made Russian Soyuz 

spacecraft seat liners. With that exchange, 

Magnus will become a part of the Expedition 18 

space station crew, and Chamitoff will become 

part of Endeavour’s crew. 

Magnus will join Expedition Commander and 

Air Force Col. E. Michael Fincke and Flight 

Engineer Cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, a 

colonel in the Russian Air Force, who were 

launched to the complex in the Soyuz TMA-13 

spacecraft on Oct. 12 from the Baikonur 

Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. In the spring, 

Magnus will return to Earth on shuttle mission 

STS-119, while Fincke and Lonchakov will 

return in the Soyuz. 

After launch, Endeavour’s thermal protection 

heat shield will be inspected, using the 

standard procedures. However, once 

Endeavour is docked to the station and the 

Multipurpose Logistics Module is installed at 

its Harmony common berthing port, any 

focused inspections of the shuttle’s starboard 

wing would require a hand-off of the Orbiter 

Boom Sensor System (OBSS) from the shuttle’s 

robotic arm to the station’s arm. The OBSS uses 

laser devices and cameras to map the shuttle’s 

wings and nose cap. 

Ferguson will be at Endeavour’s aft flight deck 

controls on the third day as the shuttle 

approaches the station for docking. Flying just 

600 feet below the complex, Endeavour will 

execute a slow rotational back flip maneuver, 

presenting its belly and other areas of its heat 

protective tiles to station residents Fincke and 

Chamitoff, who will use digital cameras 

equipped with 400 and 800 millimeter lenses to 

acquire detailed imagery. 

Endeavour is scheduled to dock to the forward 

docking port at the end of the station’s 

Harmony module at 4:56 p.m. EST Nov. 16. 

About two hours later, hatches will be opened 

between the two spacecraft to allow the 

10 crew members to greet one another for the 

start of nine days of joint operations. 

Following a standard safety briefing by station 

Commander Fincke, the crews will exchange 

Magnus for Chamitoff as the new station crew 

member, prepare for the next day’s spacewalk, 

and activate a Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer 

System to provide additional electricity for the 

longer operation of shuttle systems. 

The night before the first spacewalk, Piper and 

Bowen will move into the Quest airlock for the 

overnight “campout.” The “campout” helps to 

purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams, 

preventing decompression sickness once they 

move out into the vacuum of space. Piper, who 

conducted two spacewalks on STS-115, will be 

designated EV 1, or extravehicular crew 

member 1. She will wear the suit bearing the 

solid red stripes for the spacewalks that will be 

conducted on flight days 5, 7 and 9. Bowen will 

be performing his first spacewalks as 

extravehicular crew member 2 and will wear 

the solid white suit on flight days 5, 9 and 11. 

Kimbrough will serve as extravehicular crew 

member 3 and will wear the suit with broken 

red and white stripes on flight days 7 and 11. 

The spacewalkers will repeat the “campout” 

preparations the nights before the second, third 

and fourth spacewalks. 
NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION OVERVIEW 5

Astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-126 mission specialist, participates in an Extravehicular Mobility 

Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew 

Systems Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Astronaut Shane Kimbrough, mission 

specialist, assisted Bowen. 

On the fifth day of the flight, Piper and Bowen 

will begin the first spacewalk by replacing a 

depleted nitrogen tank and a device used to 

help coolant flow along the truss, the backbone 

of the station. They will get help from Pettit 

and Magnus, who will operate the station’s 

robotic arm, plucking the new tank and Flex 

Hose Rotary Coupler (FHRC) from

Endeavour’s Lightweight Mission Peculiar

Equipment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) 

and positioning them for the spacewalkers. 

Piper and Bowen will remove the old units and 

secure them for return to Earth. Piper and 

Bowen also will remove covers from the front 

of the Japanese Kibo (in English, “Hope”) 

module to prepare for the installation of the

module’s exposed facility during the STS-127 

mission in 2009. The pair also will begin 

inspecting, cleaning and lubricating the 

starboard SARJ race ring and replacing 11 of its 

12 trundle bearings. One trundle bearing was 

replaced on STS-124 in June. The bearings will 

be returned to Earth for inspection and 

additional failure analysis. 

On flight day seven, Piper and Kimbrough will 

relocate two Crew Equipment Translation Aid 

(CETA) carts, setting the stage for the 
relocation of External Stowage Platform 3. The 

spacewalkers also will lubricate the end 

effector, or hand, on the one end of Canadarm2, 

the station’s robotic arm. There are two such 

Latching End Effectors, one on each end of the 

arm, which allow it to move about the station 

and maneuver equipment for assembly and 

maintenance. Piper and Kimbrough will wrap 

up the spacewalk with additional lubrication 

and trundle bearing replacement on the 

starboard SARJ. 

On flight day nine, Piper and Bowen will 

devote their entire spacewalk to additional 

cleaning, lubricating and replacement of 

starboard SARJ trundle bearings. 

The final spacewalk of the mission is scheduled 

for flight day 11. Bowen and Kimbrough will 

team up to remove a multi-layer insulation 

blanket from Kibo. Kimbrough then will move 

to the opposite end of the station’s truss to 

lubricate the port SARJ. Bowen will install a 

protective cover on Kibo’s berthing mechanism, 

where its External Facility Berthing Mechanism 

will be connected. Bowen also will install a 

handrail and a Global Positioning System 

antenna on Kibo’s logistics module and a new 

television camera on the truss. Kimbrough will 

replace insulation on several cooling loops on 

the port truss. At the end of the spacewalk, 

both will perform any get-ahead tasks time will 

allow. 

On flight day 12, the crew will complete the 

transfer of equipment and supplies from 

Leonardo and the space shuttle’s middeck to 

the station. They then will button up Leonardo 

for its move back to Endeavour’s payload bay 

on the following day and transfer spacewalk 

equipment and two spacesuits back to 

Endeavour. 

6 MISSION OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

On flight day 13, Endeavour’s crew will take 

half the day off while the expedition crews 

continue handover discussions. 

Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the 

station at 10:31 a.m. EST on Thanksgiving Day, 

flight day 14. Boe, flying the shuttle from the 

aft flight deck, will guide the orbiter on a fly 

around of the complex so the crew can capture 

detailed imagery of the station’s configuration. 

Once Endeavour’s maneuvering jets are fired to 

separate it from the station, Boe, Pettit and 

Kimbrough will take turns manipulating the 

shuttle’s robotic arm and the OBSS to conduct a 

“late” inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield, a 

final opportunity to confirm Endeavour’s 

readiness to return to Earth. 

On flight day 15, Ferguson, Boe and Pettit also 

will conduct the traditional checkout of the 

orbiter’s flight control surfaces and steering jets 

in preparation for landing the next day. The 

shuttle crew will stow equipment and supplies 

that were used during the mission, berth the 

OBSS onto the right-hand sill of the payload 

bay, and shut down the shuttle’s robotic arm 

systems for the remainder of the mission. The 

entire crew will conduct a review of landing 

procedures. 

Boe and Kimbrough will spring-deploy a small 

satellite, the Picosat Solar Cell (PSSC) 

Experiment, from the shuttle cargo bay after 

undocking from the station. The 5-by-10-inch 

satellite, a Department of Defense Space Test 

Program experiment sponsored by the Air 

Force Research Laboratory and The Aerospace 

Corp., will test two types of new solar cells in 

the harsh space environment. The performance 

of the solar cells and their degradation over 

time will be recorded and used to determine 

their flight worthiness. 
NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION OVERVIEW 7

Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, space shuttle Endeavour approaches the 

International Space Station during STS-123 rendezvous and docking operations in March 2008. 

On flight day 16, the crew will stow any 

remaining equipment, and Chamitoff will set 

up a special “recumbent” seat in the middeck to 

assist him as he readapts to Earth’s gravity 

following three months of weightlessness. 

Endeavour is scheduled to return to Earth on 

Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m. EST, landing at 

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and 

bringing to an end its 22nd mission, the 27th 

shuttle flight to the International Space Station 

and the 124th flight in shuttle program history. 
8 MISSION OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

Astronaut Chris Ferguson (right), STS-126 commander, briefs his crew in preparation for a 

training session. From the left are astronauts Donald Pettit, Shane Kimbrough, Steve Bowen, 

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, all mission specialists; Sandra Magnus, Expedition 18/19 flight 

engineer; and Eric Boe, pilot. 
TIMELINE OVERVIEW 

NOVEMBER 2008 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 9

Flight Day 1 

• Launch 

• Payload Bay Door Opening 

• Ku-Band Antenna Deployment 

• Shuttle Robotic Arm Activation 

• Umbilical Well and Handheld External 

Tank Photo Downlink 

Flight Day 2 

• Endeavour Thermal Protection System 

Survey with Shuttle Robotic Arm/Orbiter 

Boom Sensor System (OBSS) 

• Extravehicular Mobility Unit Checkout 

• Centerline Camera Installation 

• Orbiter Docking System Ring Extension 

• Orbital Maneuvering System Pod Survey 

• Rendezvous Tools Checkout 

Flight Day 3 

• Rendezvous with the International Space 

Station 

• Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver Photography 

by the Expedition 18 Crew 

• Docking to Harmony/Pressurized Mating 

Adapter-2 

• Hatch Opening and Welcoming 

• Magnus and Chamitoff Exchange Soyuz 

Seatliners; Magnus Joins Expedition 18, 

Chamitoff Joins the STS-126 Crew 

• OBSS Handoff from Canadarm2 to Shuttle 

Robotic Arm 

Flight Day 4 

• Canadarm2 Grapple and Unberthing of 

Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module 

(MPLM) from Endeavour’s cargo bay 

• Installation of Leonardo MPLM onto Nadir 

Port of Harmony/Node 2 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

• Leonardo MPLM Ingress 

• EVA 1 Procedure Review 

• EVA 1 Campout by Piper and Bowen 

Flight Day 5 

• EVA Preparations 

• EVA 1 by Piper and Bowen (Nitrogen Tank 

Assembly replacement, assorted station 

assembly tasks, start of cleaning and 

lubrication of starboard Solar Alpha Rotary 

Joint) 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 
10 TIMELINE OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

Flight Day 6 

• Start of Installation of New Environmental 

Systems and Crew Habitability Equipment 

for Six-Person Crew 

• Shuttle Robotic Arm/OBSS Focused 

Inspection of Endeavour’s Thermal 

Protection System, if Required 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

• EVA 2 Procedure Review 

• EVA 2 Campout by Piper and Kimbrough 

Flight Day 7 

• EVA Preparations 

• EVA 2 by Piper and Kimbrough (Crew and 

Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 

Relocation, lubrication of Canadarm2 end 

effector, continuation of cleaning and 

lubrication of starboard Solar Alpha Rotary 

Joint) 

• GPS Antenna Assembly 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

Flight Day 8 

• Kibo Experiment Facility Berthing 

Mechanism Checkout 

• Camera System Assembly 

• Joint Crew News Conference 

• Crew Off Duty Time 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

• EVA 3 Procedure Review 

• EVA 3 Campout by Piper and Bowen 

Flight Day 9 

• EVA Preparations 

• EVA 3 by Piper and Bowen (continuation of 

cleaning and lubrication of starboard Solar 

Alpha Rotary Joint) 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

Flight Day 10 

• Crew Off Duty Period 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

• EVA 4 Procedure Review 

• EVA 4 Campout by Bowen and Kimbrough 

Flight Day 11 

• EVA Preparations 

• EVA 4 by Bowen and Kimbrough (Thermal 

cover removal from Kibo module, 

lubrication of port Solar Alpha Rotary Joint, 

installation of GPS antenna on Kibo, 

thermal cover removal from P3 truss, 

installation of camera system on truss) 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

Flight Day 12 

• Final Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

• Leonardo MPLM Egress and 

Depressurization 

• Canadarm2 Removal of Leonardo MPLM 

from Harmony/Node 2 and Berthing in 

Endeavour’s Cargo Bay 
NOVEMBER 2008 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 11

Flight Day 13 

• Crew Off Duty Time 

• Rendezvous Tool Checkout 

• Final Farewells and Hatch Closure 

• Centerline Camera Installation 

Flight Day 14 

• Undocking 

• Flyaround of the International Space Station 

• Final Separation 

• OBSS Late Inspection of Endeavour’s 

Thermal Protection System 

Flight Day 15 

• Flight Control System Checkout 

• Reaction Control System Hot-Fire Test 

• Picosat Deployment 

• Cabin Stowage 

• Chamitoff’s Recumbent Seat Set Up 

• Crew Deorbit Briefing 

• Ku-Band Antenna Stowage 

Flight Day 16 

• Deorbit Preparations 

• Payload Bay Door Closing 

• Deorbit Burn 

• NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Landing 
12 TIMELINE OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION PROFILE 13

MISSION PROFILE 

CREW 

Commander: Chris Ferguson 

Pilot: Eric Boe 

Mission Specialist 1: Donald Pettit 

Mission Specialist 2: Steve Bowen 

Mission Specialist 3: Heidemarie 

 Stefanyshyn-Piper

Mission Specialist 4: Shane Kimbrough 

Mission Specialist 5: Sandra Magnus (up) 

Mission Specialist 6: Greg Chamitoff (down)

LAUNCH 

Orbiter: Endeavour (OV-105) 

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center 

Launch Pad 39A 

Launch Date: Nov. 14, 2008 

Launch Time: 7:55 p.m. EST (Preferred 

In-Plane launch time for 

11/14) 

Launch Window: 5 minutes 

Altitude: 122 Nautical Miles 

(140.4 miles) Orbital 

Insertion; 190 nautical 

miles (218.6 miles) ISS 

rendezvous altitude 

Inclination: 51.6 Degrees 

Duration: 14 Days 18 Hours 

5 Minutes 

VEHICLE DATA 

Shuttle Liftoff Weight: 4,523,132 

pounds 

Orbiter/Payload Liftoff Weight: 266,894 

pounds 

Orbiter/Payload Landing Weight: 223,422 

pounds 

Software Version: OI-33 

Space Shuttle Main Engines: 

SSME 1: 2047 

SSME 2: 2052 

SSME 3: 2054 

External Tank: ET-129 

SRB Set: BI-136 

RSRM Set: 104 

SHUTTLE ABORTS 

Abort Landing Sites 

RTLS: Kennedy Space Center Shuttle 

Landing Facility 

TAL: Primary – Zaragoza 

AOA: Primary – Kennedy Space Center 

LANDING 

Landing Date: Nov. 29, 2008 

Landing Time: 2 p.m. EST 

Primary landing Site: Kennedy Space Center 

Shuttle Landing Facility 

PAYLOADS 

27th station flight (ULF2), Multi-Purpose 

Logistics Module (MPLM) 
14 MISSION PROFILE NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION PRIORITIES 15

MISSION PRIORITIES 

1. Dock Endeavour to Pressurized Mating 

Adapter-2 and perform mandatory safety 

briefing for all crew members 

2. Rotate Expedition 17/18 Flight Engineer and 

NASA Science Officer Greg Chamitoff with 

Expedition 18 Flight Engineer and NASA 

Science Officer Sandra Magnus 

3. Berth, activate and check out Multi-Purpose 

Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo using 

the space station’s robotic arm 

4. Perform MPLM Passive Common Berthing 

Mechanism (PCBM) sealing surface 

inspection 

5. Transfer mandatory quantities of water 

from Endeavour to the International Space 

Station 

6. Transfer critical items per Utilization 

Logistics Flight-2 transfer priority list 

7. Return MPLM to the shuttle cargo bay 

8. Transfer and install space station MPLM 

items/racks to the space station: 

− Water Recovery System (WRS) 1 to 

Destiny laboratory, WRS 2 to Destiny 

laboratory, Waste and Hygiene 

Compartment (WHC) to Destiny 

laboratory 

− Relocate cycle ergometer with vibration 

isolation and stabilization (CEVIS) using 

the CEVIS relocation adaptation bracket 

hardware to accommodate the 

installation of the WHC 

− Expedite the Processing of Experiments 

to Space Station rack No. 6 (includes 

galley) to Destiny laboratory 

− Zero-gravity Stowage Rack (ZSR) to 

Columbus laboratory 

− Crew quarters to Harmony module 

− Advanced Resistive Exercise Device to 

space station temp stow 

− Crew Health Care System 2 (ZSR) to 

Kibo laboratory 

− Combustion Integration Rack Passive 

Rack Isolation System to Destiny 

laboratory 

− ZSR to Kibo laboratory 

9. Transfer flex hose rotary coupler from the 

Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment 

Support Structure Carrier (LMC) to the 

External Stowage Platform (ESP) 3 

10. Return empty nitrogen tank assembly flight 

support equipment from the ESP 3 to the 

LMC 

11. Relocate two Crew and Equipment 

Translation Aid (CETA) carts from 

starboard-starboard to port-port 

12. Perform starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint 

(SARJ) activities 

13. Perform minimum crew handover of 

12 hours per rotating crew member 

(including crew safety handover) 

14. Transfer additional cargo items 
16 MISSION PRIORITIES NOVEMBER 2008

15. Install and return respiratory support packs 

and radiation area monitors 

16. Perform space station daily payload status 

checks as required 

17. Perform assembly and activation of sixperson crew system hardware 

18. Remove WRS launch restraint and install 

Orbital Replacement Unit 

19. Perform space station payload research 

operations tasks, sortie experiment activities 

and short-duration bioastronautics 

investigations 

20. Deploy pico-satellite solar cell experiment 

21. Transfer and install Harmony resupply 

stowage to MPLM for return 

22. Perform external facility berthing 

mechanism activities 

23. Install/remove Antimicrobial Applicator 

(AmiA) in the Japanese Experiment Module 

24. Remove failed Columbus return fan 

assembly for return 
NOVEMBER 2008 MISSION PERSONNEL 17

MISSION PERSONNEL 

KEY CONSOLE POSITIONS FOR STS-126 (ENDEAVOUR) 

 Flt. Director CAPCOM PAO

Ascent Bryan Lunney Alan Poindexter 

Greg (Box) Johnson 

(Weather) 

Kelly Humphries 

Orbit 1 (Lead) Mike Sarafin Steve Robinson Kelly Humphries 

(Lead) 

Orbit 2 Tony Ceccacci 

(FD 1-12) 

Paul Dye 

(FD 13-EOM) 

Jim Dutton Brandi Dean 

Planning Paul Dye 

(FD 1-3) 

Kwatsi Alibaruho 

Shannon Lucid John Ira Petty 

(FD 4-EOM) 

Entry Bryan Lunney Alan Poindexter 

Greg (Box) Johnson 

(Weather) 

Kelly Humphries 

Shuttle Team 4 Richard Jones N/A N/A 

ISS Orbit 1 Holly Ridings Terry Virts N/A 

ISS Orbit 2 (Lead) Ginger Kerrick Mark Vande Hei N/A 

ISS Orbit 3 Brian Smith Robert Hanley N/A 

Station Team 4 Courtenay McMillan 

HQ PAO Representative at KSC for Launch – John Yembrick

JSC PAO Representative at KSC for Launch – Nicole Cloutier

KSC Launch Commentator – Candrea Thomas

KSC Launch Director – Mike Leinbach

NASA Launch Test Director – Charlie Blackwell-Thompson 
18 MISSION PERSONNEL NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 CREW 19

STS-126 ENDEAVOUR CREW 

The STS-126 patch represents space shuttle 

Endeavour on its mission to help complete 

the assembly of the International Space 

Station (ISS). The inner patch outline depicts 

the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) 

Leonardo. This reusable logistics module will 

carry the equipment necessary to sustain a crew 

of six onboard the station and will include 

additional crew quarters, exercise equipment, 

galley, and life support equipment. 

In addition, a single expedition crew member 

will launch on STS-126 to remain on the space 

station, replacing an expedition crew member 

who will return home with the shuttle crew. 

Near the center of the patch, the constellation 

Orion reflects the goals of the human 

spaceflight program to return us to the moon 

and prepare us for journeys to Mars. The moon 

and the Red Planet are also shown. At the top 

of the patch is the gold symbol of the astronaut 

office. The sunburst, just clearing the horizon 

of the magnificent Earth, powers all these 

efforts through the solar arrays of the space 

station orbiting high above. 
20 CREW NOVEMBER 2008

The STS-126 crew members take a break during a training session at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 

From the left are astronauts Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough, both mission 

specialists; Eric Boe, pilot; Chris Ferguson, commander; Steve Bowen, Sandra Magnus and Donald 

Pettit, all mission specialists. 

Short biographical sketches of the crew follow 

with detailed background available at: 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/
NOVEMBER 2008 CREW 21

STS-126 CREW BIOGRAPHIES 

Chris Ferguson 

Navy Capt. Chris Ferguson will lead the crew 

of STS-126 on the 27th shuttle mission to the 

International Space Station. Ferguson served as 

the pilot of STS-115 in 2007 and has logged 

more than 12 days in space. He has overall 

responsibility for the execution of the mission, 

orbiter systems operations and flight

operations, including landing. In addition, 

Ferguson will fly the shuttle in a procedure 

called the rendezvous pitch maneuver while 

Endeavour is 600 feet below the complex to 

enable the station crew to photograph the 

shuttle’s heat shield. He then will dock 

Endeavour to the station. 
Eric Boe 

Air Force Col. Eric Boe will serve as the pilot 

for the 15-day mission. He has more than 

4,000 flight hours in more than 45 different 

aircraft. STS-126 will be his first spaceflight. 

Since selection as an astronaut in 2000, Boe has 

served as the director of operations at the 

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 

Star City, Russia, and worked on the new 

22 CREW NOVEMBER 2008

Ares I crew launch vehicle and Orion crew 

exploration vehicle. During the mission, Boe 

will be responsible for orbiter systems 

operations and shuttle robotic arm operations 

and will aid Ferguson in the rendezvous and 

docking with the station. Boe will fly 

Endeavour around the station at the end of the 

joint mission. 
NOVEMBER 2008 CREW 23

Donald Pettit 

Veteran astronaut Donald Pettit will make his 

second spaceflight as mission specialist 1 on 

STS-126. Pettit, who holds a doctorate in 

chemical engineering, has more than five and a 

half months of spaceflight experience. He 

served as a flight engineer during Expedition 6 

on the International Space Station. As part of 

his long-duration mission, he performed two 

spacewalks. His role on this shuttle mission 

will include operating the shuttle robotic arm 

and serving as the lead for the transfer of cargo 

from the shuttle to the station. 
24 CREW NOVEMBER 2008

Steve Bowen 

Navy Capt. Steve Bowen will be making his 

first spaceflight as mission specialist 2 on 

STS-126. Bowen is the first submarine officer 

selected by NASA as an astronaut. He joined 

the astronaut corps in 2000 and served technical 

duties in the space station operations branch. 

For this mission, he will conduct three 

spacewalks to replace a nitrogen tank, clean the 

solar alpha rotary joint and replace trundle 

bearing assemblies. 
NOVEMBER 2008 CREW 25

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper 

Navy Capt. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper will 

be on her second spaceflight. She served as a 

mission specialist on STS-115, logging more 

than 12 days in space. She also completed two 

spacewalks on her first mission. She serves as 

the lead spacewalker for this mission and is 

scheduled to perform three spacewalks. 
26 CREW NOVEMBER 2008

Shane Kimbrough 

Army Lt. Col. Shane Kimbrough will serve as 

mission specialist 4 for his first spaceflight 

mission. Kimbrough first worked for the 

NASA team as part of the Aircraft Operations 

Division at Ellington Field in Houston, where 

he served as a flight simulation engineer on the 

Shuttle Training Aircraft. He was selected as an 

astronaut in 2004. Kimbrough will perform two 

spacewalks during the mission. 
NOVEMBER 2008 CREW 27

Sandra Magnus 

Astronaut Sandra Magnus will be making her 

second flight to space on STS-126, her ride for a 

longer mission on the space station. Magnus, 

who holds a doctorate from the Georgia 

Institute of Technology, first flew as a mission 

specialist aboard STS-112 in 2002. On that 

mission, she acquired nearly 11 days of 

spaceflight experience. Following that flight, 

she was assigned to work with the Canadian 

Space Agency to prepare Dextre, the Special 

Dexterous Manipulator robot, for installation 

on the space station. Magnus is scheduled to 

return to Earth on STS-119. 
28 CREW NOVEMBER 2008

Greg Chamitoff 

Astronaut Greg Chamitoff is serving as flight 

engineer and NASA science officer of the 

Expedition 18 crew on the space station. 

Chamitoff, who is on his first spaceflight, rode 

to the station as part of the STS-124 crew and 

will have accrued nearly six months in space 

when STS-126 arrives. He holds a doctorate in 

aeronautics and astronautics. Selected by 

NASA in 1998, Chamitoff has worked in the 

astronaut office robotics branch, was the lead 

CAPCOM for Expedition 9 and was a crew 

support astronaut for Expedition 6. Chamitoff 

served as an aquanaut for nine days as part of 

the third NEEMO mission in 2002. 
NOVEMBER 2008 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 29

PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 

In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Boeing 

technicians prepare to close the hatch on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The 

module is the payload for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-126 mission to the 

International Space Station. Photo courtesy of NASA. 

MULTI-PURPOSE LOGISTICS MODULE 

Leonardo Makes Fifth Voyage to the 

International Space Station 

The primary goal of the STS-126/ULF2 mission 

is to provide additional capability for the 

International Space Station to house astronauts 

and to increase the station crew size from three 

to the desired six crew members by spring 2009. 

Leonardo, a large cargo container inside 

Endeavour’s payload bay, will bring supplies 

and equipment to the International Space 

Station to help prepare the outpost for a sixmember crew. The supplies include 

replacement Trundle Bearing Assemblies 

(TBAs) for the station’s ailing Starboard Solar 

Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ). In all, more than 

1,000 items will be delivered in the MultiPurpose Logistics Module (MPLM). 

Leonardo is one of three differently named 

large, reusable pressurized MPLMs used to 

ferry cargo back and forth to the station. 

Including STS-126, the MPLMs have flown 

eight times since 2001. Leonardo was the first 
MPLM to deliver supplies to the station and 

STS-126 is its fifth flight. The cylindrical 

modules include components that provide life 

support, fire detection and suppression, 

electrical distribution and computers when 

attached to the station. 

30 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

Leonardo Specifications 

Dimensions: Length: 21 feet 

Diameter: 15 feet 

Weighs: 4.5 tons 

Payload Mass: 27,899 lbs 

The Italian-built, U.S.-owned logistics modules 

are capable of carrying more than 7.5 tons 

(15,000 pounds) of cargo, spares and supplies, 

the equivalent of a semi-truck trailer. The 

modules bring equipment to and from the 

space station, such as container racks with 

science equipment, science experiments from 

NASA and its international partners, spare 

parts, and other hardware items for return, 

such as completed experiments, system racks, 

space station hardware that needs repair and 

refuse. Some of the items are intended for 

disposal on Earth, while others are for analysis 

and data collection by hardware providers and 

scientists. In addition to Leonardo, Endeavour 

will carry the Lightweight Multi-Purpose 

Experiment Support Structure Carrier and a 

spare Flex Hose Rotary Coupler Unit (FHRC) 

for a future replacement spare. The shuttle will 

return a depleted Nitrogen Tank Assembly 

(NTA), which will be refilled and sent back to 

the station in 2010. The FHRC provides two 

isolated paths for distribution of ammonia 

between the space station radiators and the rest 

of the station. The NTA provides a highpressure gaseous nitrogen supply to control the 

flow of ammonia out of the Ammonia Tank 

Assembly (ATA). 

Carrying 16 system and cargo racks, Leonardo 

will fly with modifications that will allow 

12 additional cargo bags the size of carry-on 

suitcases to be flown inside the module’s rear 

end cone. 

Foot Restraint Assembly.

Two additional foot restraints will be flown on

Leonardo to elevate shorter crew members. 
NOVEMBER 2008 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 31

The above image is a crew quarter rack. Similar equipment will be carried to the 

space station on STS-126. 
32 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

The above image is the advanced Resistive Exercise Device, 

designated aRED. 

Leonardo will carry two crew quarters racks 

that will be installed inside the Harmony node, 

an advanced Resistive Exercise Device, 

designated aRED, two Water Reclamation 

Racks that will recycle urine into potable water, 

a Combustion Integration Rack that will 

analyze the physics of combustible gases, a 

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) rack 

including a toilet, a galley that will be located in 

the U.S. Destiny laboratory, three Zero-Gravity 

storage racks for stowage of large quantities of 

hardware, four handrail extender assemblies to 

increase crew members’ mobility as they float 

about the station, an antimicrobial applicator to 

remove bacteria from cooling and fluid lines, 

and two additional foot restraints to elevate 

shorter crew members. 

Also included in Leonardo is the General 

Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment 

Refrigerator, or GLACIER, a double locker 

cryogenic freezer for transporting and 
NOVEMBER 2008 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 33

preserving science experiments that will remain 

in orbit at the end of the mission. The freezer 

provides thermal control between +4° Celsius 

and -160° Celsius and can operate in both the 

space shuttle’s middeck and the EXPRESS Rack 

in orbit. The EXPRESS Rack system supports 

science payloads in several disciplines, such as 

biology, chemistry, physics, ecology and 

medicine, including commercial activities. In 

the active mode, GLACIER can be transported 

in the middeck, but for passive transport, it is 

flown in the logistics module. Additionially, an 

incubator/refrigerator, the Microgravity

Experiment Research Locker Incubator, or 

MERLIN, will fly in the MPLM. Though 

originally used for thermal control of scientific 

experiments, it will remain on the outpost and 

be used to store drinking beverages and food 

for a six-member station crew. 

Spare parts that are being transported include 

11 SARJ trundle bearing assemblies that 

lubricate and allow the giant rotary joint to turn 

the Starboard 4 and Starboard 6 Solar Array 

Wings, a new ISS External Television camera 

that will be installed during the mission’s 

fourth spacewalk, two hydrogen sensor units 

for detecting cross-contamination in the 

station’s Oxygen Generation System, and two 

crew headsets with cabling and controls for 

improved space-to-ground and crew-to-crew 

communications. 

The rear end cone section where the 

12 additional bags will be located was 

redesigned to allow the MPLM to carry up to 

an additional 480 to 600 pounds of cargo. The 

redesign created a structural support rack, like 

the cargo rack on top of vans and sport utility 

vehicles, to hold items in place. This also will 

allow for expanded cargo capacity for the 

remaining MPLM flights. 

GLACIER 
34 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW NOVEMBER 2008

The space shuttle flies MPLMs in its cargo bay 

when a large quantity of hardware has to be 

ferried to the station at one time. The modules 

are attached to the inside of the bay for launch 

and landing. When in the cargo bay, the 

modules are independent of the shuttle cabin, 

and there is no passageway for shuttle crew 

members to travel from the shuttle cabin to the 

module. After the shuttle has docked to the 

station, the MPLM is mated to the Node 2 nadir 

port of the station, using the station’s robotic 

arm. In the event of a failure or issue that 

prevents the successful latching of the MPLM 

to the nadir port, the MPLM can be mated to 

the zenith port. Nodes are modules that 

connect the elements to the station. For its 

return trip to Earth, Leonardo will be detached 

from the station and positioned back into the 

shuttle’s cargo bay. 

Leonardo is named after the Italian inventor 

and scientist Leonardo da Vinci. The two other 

modules are named Raffaello, after master 

painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio, and 

Donatello, for one of the founders of modern 

sculpture, Donato di Niccolo Di Betto Bardi. 

Raffaello has flown three times. Leonardo has 

flown the most because it is equipped with 

programmable heater thermostats on the 

outside of the module that allow for more 

mission flexibility. There are only two more 

MPLM flights scheduled before the station is 

complete and the space shuttle retires in 2010. 

Antimicrobial Applicator 

The applicator removes bacteria from cooling and fluid lines on the space station. 
NOVEMBER 2008 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING 35

RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING 

Rendezvous begins with a precisely timed 

launch which puts the shuttle on a trajectory to 

chase the International Space Station. A series 

of engine firings over the next two days will 

bring Endeavour to a point about 50,000 feet 

behind the station. 

Once there, Endeavour will start its final 

approach. About 2.5 hours before docking, the 

shuttle’s jets will be fired during what is called 

the terminal initiation burn. The shuttle will 

cover the final miles to the station during the 

next orbit. 

As Endeavour moves closer to the station, its 

rendezvous radar system and trajectory control 

sensor will give the crew range and closing-rate 

data. Several small correction burns will place 

Endeavour about 1,000 feet below the station. 

Commander Chris Ferguson, with help from 

Pilot Eric Boe and other crew members, will 

manually fly the shuttle for the remainder of 

the approach and docking. 

He will stop Endeavour about 600 feet below 

the station. Once he determines there is proper 

lighting, he will maneuver Endeavour through 

a nine-minute back flip called the Rendezvous 

Pitch Maneuver. That allows the station crew 

to take as many as 300 digital pictures of the 

shuttle’s heat shield. 

The above image illustrates Endeavour conducting the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver before 

docking to the space station. 
36 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING NOVEMBER 2008

Station crew members E. Michael Fincke and 

Greg Chamitoff will use digital cameras with 

400 mm and 800 mm lenses to photograph 

Endeavour’s upper and bottom surfaces 

through windows of the Zvezda Service 

Module. The 400 mm lens provides up to 

3-inch resolution and the 800 mm lens up to 

1-inch resolution. 

The photography is one of several techniques 

used to inspect the shuttle’s thermal protection 

system for possible damage. Areas of special 

interest include the thermal protection tiles, the 

reinforced carbon-carbon of the nose and 

leading edges of the wings, landing gear doors 

and the elevon cove. 

The photos will be downlinked through the 

station’s Ku-band communications system for 

analysis by systems engineers and mission 

managers. 

When Endeavour completes its back flip, it will 

be back where it started, with its payload bay 

facing the station. 

Ferguson then will fly Endeavour through a 

quarter circle to a position about 400 feet 

directly in front of the station. From that point 

he will begin the final approach to docking to 

the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 at the 

forward end of the Harmony node. 

The shuttle crew members operate laptop 

computers processing the navigational data, the 

laser range systems and Endeavour’s docking 

mechanism. 

Using a video camera mounted in the center of 

the Orbiter Docking System, Ferguson will line 

up the docking ports of the two spacecraft. If 

necessary, he will pause 30 feet from the station 

to ensure proper alignment of the docking 

mechanisms. 

He will maintain the shuttle’s speed relative to 

the station at about one-tenth of a foot per 

second, while both Endeavour and the station 

are moving at about 17,500 mph. He will keep 

the docking mechanisms aligned to a tolerance 

of three inches. 

When Endeavour makes contact with the 

station, preliminary latches will automatically 

attach the two spacecraft. The shuttle’s steering 

jets will be deactivated to reduce the forces 

acting at the docking interface. Shock absorber 

springs in the docking mechanism will dampen 

any relative motion between the shuttle and 

station. 

Once motion between the shuttle and the 

station has been stopped, the docking ring will 

be retracted to close a final set of latches 

between the two vehicles. 

UNDOCKING, SEPARATION AND 

DEPARTURE 

At undocking time, the hooks and latches will 

be opened and springs will push the shuttle 

away from the station. Endeavour’s steering 

jets will be shut off to avoid any inadvertent 

firings during the initial separation. 

Once Endeavour is about two feet from the 

station and the docking devices are clear of one 

another, Boe will turn the steering jets back on 

and will manually control Endeavour within a 

tight corridor as the shuttle separates from the 

station. 
7 

NOVEMBER 2008 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING 37

This image depicts Endeavour’s undocking and initial separation from the space station 

during the STS-126 mission. 

Endeavour will move to a distance of about 

450 feet, where Boe will begin to fly around 

the station. This maneuver will occur only if 

propellant margins and mission timeline 

activities permit. 

Once Endeavour completes 1.5 revolutions of 

the complex, Boe will fire Endeavour’s jets to 

leave the area. The shuttle will move about 

46 miles from the station and remain there 

while ground teams analyze data from the late 

inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield. The 

distance is close enough to allow the shuttle to 

return to the station in the unlikely event that 

the heat shield is damaged, preventing the 

shuttle’s safe re-entry. 
38 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 ECLSS 39

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LIFE SUPPORT 

SYSTEM (ECLSS) 

Water Recovery System 

WRS Rack 1 WRS Rack 2

WPA 

Particulate

Filter

WPA 

Microbial

Check

Valve

WPA 

Reactor

Health

Sensor

WPA Gas

Separator

WPA 

Catalytic

Reactor

WPA 

Controller

Avionics

Air Assy.

WPA Water

Storage

WPA Water

Delivery

UPA Pressure

Control & Purge

Assy.

UPA Firmware

Controller

Assy.

WPA Pump/

Separator

UPA Fluids

Control &

Pump Assy.

UPA Recycle

Filter Tank

Assy.

WPA Wastewater

UPA Wastewater Storage

Tank Assy.

WPA MultiFiltration Beds

UPA Distillation

Assy.

NEW WATER RECLAMATION SYSTEM 

HEADED FOR DUTY ON SPACE STATION 

The Water Recovery System (WRS) is the 

newest part of a comprehensive life support 

system for the station. The Oxygen Generation 

System (OGS), which was launched on space 

shuttle Discovery in July 2006, and the WRS 

will form the core of NASA’s Regenerative 

Environmental Control and Life Support 

System (ECLSS). 

The Water Recovery System uses a series of 

chemical processes and filters to treat the 

astronauts’ urine, perspiration and hygiene 

water, and provide water clean enough to 

drink. In fact, part of the same process has 

been used in remote areas of the world to 

produce drinkable water. 

A distillation process is used to recover water 

from urine. The process occurs within a 

rotating distillation assembly that compensates 

for the absence of gravity, aiding in the 
40 ECLSS NOVEMBER 2008

separation of liquids and gases in space. Once 

distilled, the water from the urine processor is 

combined with other wastewaters and 

delivered to the water processor for treatment. 

The water processor removes free gas and solid 

materials such as hair and lint, before the water 

goes through a series of filtration beds for 

further purification. Any remaining organic 

contaminants and microorganisms are removed 

by a high-temperature catalytic reaction. These 

rigorous treatment processes create water that 

meets stringent purity standards for human 

consumption. 

During docked operations, the joint 

Expedition 18 and STS-126 crew will transfer 

the racks containing the WRS and a new toilet, 

the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC), 

to the Destiny Laboratory. They will hook up 

all necessary electrical and fluid utilities to 

these systems and activate the WRS, beginning 

a six-month checkout period. 

The joint crew also will activate the Total 

Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA II), which 

will be used for on-board water quality 

monitoring. The crew will process previously 

collected urine through the WRS. They will 

then collect samples of drinking water 

processed by the WRS and send it back to Earth 

for analysis. This will begin a 90-day water 

quality validation that is required before crews 

can begin consuming the recycled drinking 

water. 

Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center, 

Huntsville, Ala., and at Hamilton Sundstrand 

Space Systems International Inc., Windsor 

Locks, Conn., led the design and development 

of the Water Recovery System. 

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA II) 
NOVEMBER 2008 ECLSS 41

NASA engineers Tom Phillips, Philip West and Robert Rutherford prepare one 

of the two International Space Station Water Recovery System racks from transport. 

The system will help the station accommodate six crew members. 

(NASA/MSFC/D. Higginbotham) 
42 ECLSS NOVEMBER 2008

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND LIFE 

SUPPORT SYSTEM 

Earth’s natural life support system supplies the 

air we breathe, the water we drink and other 

conditions that support life. For people to live 

in space, however, these functions must be 

provided by artificial means. 

The life support systems on the Mercury, 

Gemini and Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s were 

designed to be used once and discarded. 

Oxygen for breathing was provided from 

high-pressure or cryogenic storage tanks. 

Carbon dioxide was removed from the air by 

lithium hydroxide in replaceable canisters. 

Contaminants in the air were removed by 

replaceable filters and activated charcoal 

integrated with the lithium hydroxide canisters. 

Water for the Mercury and Gemini missions 

was stored in tanks, while fuel cells on the 

Apollo spacecraft produced electricity and 

provided water as a byproduct. Urine and 

wastewater were collected and stored or vented 

overboard. 

The space shuttle is a reusable vehicle, unlike 

those earlier spacecraft, and its life support 

system incorporates some advances. It still 

relies heavily on the use of consumables, 

however, limiting the time it can stay in space. 

The space station includes further advances in 

life support technology and relies on a 

combination of expendable and limited 

regenerative life support technologies located 

in the U.S. Destiny lab module and the Russian 

Zvezda service module. Advances include the 

development of regenerable methods for 

supplying oxygen, by electrolysis of water, and 

water, by recovering potable water from 

wastewater. 

Because it is expensive to continue launching 

fresh supplies of air, water and expendable life 

support equipment to the station and returning 

used equipment to Earth, these advances will 

help to reduce costs. 

By recycling urine and condensation collected 

from the atmosphere, the ECLSS will reduce the 

dependence on Earth resupply by cutting the 

amount of water and consumables needed to be 

launched by about 15,000 pounds per year. 

The space station’s ECLSS performs several 

functions: 

• Provides oxygen for metabolic consumption; 

• Provides potable water for consumption, 

food preparation and hygiene uses; 

• Removes carbon dioxide from the cabin air; 

• Filters particulates and microorganisms 

from the cabin air;

• Removes volatile organic trace gases from 

the cabin air;

• Monitors and controls cabin air partial 

pressures of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon 

dioxide, methane, hydrogen and water 

vapor in the cabin air;

• Maintains total cabin pressure;

• Maintains cabin temperature and humidity 

levels;

• Distributes cabin air between connected 

modules.
NOVEMBER 2008 ECLSS 43

Providing Clean Water and Air 

Portable Water Dispenser 

The space station’s ECLSS includes two key 

components – the WRS and the OGS – which 

are packaged into three refrigerator-sized racks 

that will be located in the U.S. lab of the station. 

The WRS provides clean water by reclaiming 

wastewater, including water from crew 

member urine, cabin humidity condensate and 

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) wastes. The 

recovered water must meet stringent purity 

standards before it can be used to support crew, 

spacewalking and payload activities. 

The WRS is designed to recycle crew member 

urine and wastewater for reuse as clean water. 

Each crew member uses about 3.5 liters 

(0.9 gallons) of water a day. Enough for 

2 liters (0.52 gallons) a day is provided by 

deliveries from Russian Progress resupply 

vehicles, ESA’s Jules Verne Automatic Transfer 

Vehicle and the space shuttles. The remaining 

1.5 liters (0.4 gallons) is recovered condensate 

from the Russian water processor. The two 

cargo vehicles carry water to the station in 

onboard supply tanks. The shuttle delivers 

water produced as a byproduct of the fuel cells 

that generate its electricity. The WRS will 

reduce the amount of water that needs to be 

delivered to the station for each crew member 

by 1.3 liters (0.34 gallons) a day, or about 

65 percent. Over the course of a year, it will 
44 ECLSS NOVEMBER 2008

reduce water deliveries to the station for a 

six-person crew by 2,850 liters (743 gallons). 

Water Recovery System 

The WRS consists of a Urine Processor 

Assembly (UPA) and a Water Processor 

Assembly (WPA). A low-pressure vacuum 

distillation process is used to recover water 

from urine. The entire process occurs within a 

rotating distillation assembly that compensates 

for the absence of gravity and aids in the 

separation of liquids and gases in space. 

Water from the urine processor is combined 

with all other wastewaters and delivered to the 

water processor for treatment. The water 

processor removes free gas and solid materials 

such as hair and lint, before the water goes 

through a series of multifiltration beds for 

further purification. Any remaining organic 

contaminants and microorganisms are removed 

by a high-temperature catalytic reactor 

assembly. 

The purity of water is checked by electrical 

conductivity sensors. The conductivity of 

water is increased by the presence of 

typical contaminants. Unacceptable water is 

reprocessed, and clean water is sent to a storage 

tank, ready for use by the crew. 

Water Use on Earth Compared to Space 

Item 

On Earth 

kg per person 

per day1

gallons per 

person per day 

In Space 

kg per person 

per day2

gallons per 

person per day 

% Reduction 

Oxygen 0.84 0.84 0.0 

Drinking Water 10 2.64 1.62 0.43 83.8 

Dried Food 1.77 1.77 0.0 

Water for Food 4 1.06 0.80 0.21 80.0 

Water for Brushing 

Teeth 

5 1.32 0.81 0.21 83.8 

Water to Flush Toilet 88 23.2 0.50 0.13 99.4 

Water to Shower 50 13.2 3.64 0.96 92.7 

Water to Wash Hands 20 5.28 1.82 0.48 90.9 

Water to Wash Clothes 16 4.23 12.5 3.3 21.9 

Water to Wash Dishes 12 3.17 5.45 1.44 54.6 

1 From Water Quality by Tchobanoglous and Schroeder, 1987 Addison-Wesley Pub.; Reading Mass, USA 

2 From Space Station Architectural Control Document 

The items that the astronauts need are in the left-hand column of the table. The average amounts used on Earth 

are in the second and third columns, and the amounts allowed for space are in the fourth and fifth columns. The 

space allotments are so much smaller because water is very heavy and we can’t carry that much water with us. 

Also, on Earth people spend a lot of time running the faucet waiting for the water to get hotter or colder, for 

instance. In addition, our washing machines and dishwashers are not as efficient as they could be, because water 

is not in scarce supply on Earth. The dish and clothes wash waters aren’t quite as high a reduction because we 

haven’t spent as much time developing those technologies for space. Greyed rows are not done on the station. 
Oxygen Generation System 

The OGS produces oxygen for breathing air for 

the crew and laboratory animals, as well as for 

replacement of oxygen lost due to experiment 

use, airlock depressurization, module leakage 

and carbon dioxide venting. The system 

consists mainly of the Oxygen Generation 

Assembly (OGA) and a Power Supply Module. 

The heart of the Oxygen Generation Assembly 

is the cell stack, which electrolyzes, or breaks 

apart, water provided by the WRS, yielding 

oxygen and hydrogen as byproducts. The 

oxygen is delivered to the cabin atmosphere, 

and the hydrogen is vented overboard. The 

Power Supply Module provides the power 

needed by the OGA to electrolyze the water. 

The OGS is designed to generate oxygen at a 

selectable rate and is capable of operating both 

continuously and cyclically. It provides from 

5 to 20 pounds of oxygen per day during 

continuous operation and a normal rate of 

12 pounds of oxygen per day during cyclic 

operation. 

The OGS will accommodate the testing of an 

experimental Carbon Dioxide Reduction 

Assembly. Once deployed, the reduction 

assembly will cause hydrogen produced by the 

OGA to react with carbon dioxide removed 

from the cabin atmosphere to produce water 

and methane. This water will be available for 

processing and reuse, thereby further reducing 

the amount of water to be resupplied to the 

space station from the ground. 

NOVEMBER 2008 ECLSS 45

Comparison between Earth and 

ISS Water Cycles 

Storage (Clouds, 

ground water, rivers, 

lakes, ocean) 

Tanks 

Runoff All liquid water 

movement is in 

plumbing 

Evaporation and 

Transpiration 

From wet towels and 

crew’s perspiration 

and respiration 

Condensation In the air conditioner’s 

condensing heat 

exchanger 

Precipitation In our case, this is the 

condensate collecting 

in the condensate tanks 

Comparison between ISS and Earth systems 

Earth ISS 

Sewage treatment plant Urine processor 

assembly 

Sewage tank UPA wastewater 

storage tank assembly 

Water treatment 

holding tank 

WPA wastewater tank 

Water treatment plan Water processor 

assembly 

Water tower WPA water storage 

Water lift station and WPA water delivery 

distribution 

Kitchen sink (food Potable water dispenser 

preparation, cleaning, (hot and ambient water 

drinking) for food and drinking, 

only source of hot 

water is here) 

Bathroom sink and Hygiene water hose 

shower (personal and (ambient temperature 

oral hygiene) water only) 

Toilet (gravity driven) Toilet (air flow driven 
46 ECLSS NOVEMBER 2008

FUTURE 

Ultimately, expendable life support equipment 

is not suitable for long-duration, crewed 

missions away from low Earth orbit due to the 

resupply requirements. On deep space 

missions in the future, such resupply will not 

be possible because of the distances involved, 

and it will not be possible to take along all the 

water and air that would be required for a 

voyage of months or years. Regenerative life 

support hardware, which can be used 

repeatedly to generate and recycle the life 

sustaining elements required by human 

travelers, is essential for long-duration trips 

into space. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT 47

SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT (SARJ) 

There are two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints 

(SARJs) on the International Space Station. 

They connect the Port 3 and Port 4 

(left side) truss segments and the Starboard 3 

and Starboard 4 (right side) segments. P3/P4 

was flown up on the STS-115 mission on 

Sept. 9, 2006, while S3/S4 was flown up on the 

STS-117 mission June 8, 2007. The SARJ is a 

10.5-foot diameter (129.5 inch) rotary joint that 

tracks the sun in the alpha axis that turns four 

port and four starboard solar arrays wings. The 

eight solar array wings (on P4, P6, S4 and S6) 

are used to convert solar energy to electrical 

power. The SARJ continuously rotates to keep 

the solar array wings on S4 and S6 and P4 and 

P6 oriented toward the sun as the station orbits 

the Earth. The SARJ rotates 360 degrees every 

orbit or about 4 degrees per minute. 

The SARJ weighs approximately 2,506 pounds 

and is made of aluminum and corrosion 

resistant steel. The major components of the 

SARJ are the Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA), 

Trundle Bearing Assemblies (TBA) (12 per 

joint), race rings (2 per joint) and Drive/Lock 

Assembly (DLA) (2 per joint) and the Rotary 

Joint Motor Controller (RJMC) (2 per joint). The 

SARJ can spin 360 degrees using bearing 

assemblies and a control system to turn. All of 

the power flows through the UTA in the center 

of the SARJ. A large 10.5-foot (129.5-inch 

diameter), 229-pound geared race ring is 

secured to the structure by the TBAs and driven 

by the DLA using the software control 

commanded from the DLA/RJMC pair. The 

DLA engages the teeth of the race ring to rotate 

the SARJ. The gold plating on the TBA rollers 

is transferred from the roller to the race ring to 

lubricate the ring to create a lubricating film. 

Each SARJ has two race rings, an inboard race 

ring that is attached to the P3 or S3 truss and an 

outboard race ring that is attached to the P4 or 

S4 truss segment. The 12 TBAs are attached to 

the inboard SARJ race ring via mounts that do 

not rotate. The TBAs are the structural 

connection in orbit between the inboard and 

outboard race rings. The DLA also are attached 

to the inboard SARJ structure and have 

“follower assemblies” that act in the same 

fashion as the TBAs, helping to locate the 

driving gear relative to the race ring teeth. The 

UTA is an electrical roll ring assembly that 

allows transmission of data and power across 

the rotating interface so it never has to unwind. 

The UTA passes through the center, or hub, of 

the joint so it interfaces with both the inboard 

and outboard segments. The roll ring 

assemblies allow the outboard elements to 

rotate relative to the inboard elements while 

providing continuous data and power 

transmission. Under contract to Boeing, the 

SARJ was designed, built and tested by 

Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, Calif. 
48 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT NOVEMBER 2008

Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) 
NOVEMBER 2008 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT 49

Race Ring, Gear Teeth, and Trundle Bearing Assembly 

Trundle Bearing Assembly 
50 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT NOVEMBER 2008

STARBOARD OUTBOARD RACE RING DAMAGE 

Damage to the race ring and magnetized debris 

NASA and Boeing engineers noticed a vibration 

and increased electrical currents on the 

starboard SARJ in September 2007. The 

increased currents were intermittent, not 

constant. The readings, indicating increased 

friction, ran as high as 0.9 amps, whereas 

the port SARJ has continued to operate 

nominally with a drive current of 

approximately one-seventh of an amp (0.136 to 

0.152 amps). Subsequent spacewalks confirmed 

that there was damage to the surface of the 

outboard race ring, which has a triangular 

cross-section that the 12 trundle bearings roll 

on. 

NASA has since limited movement of the 

starboard SARJ as a result of this damage 
NOVEMBER 2008 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT 51

Gold rollers from the TBA 

because of unacceptable vibrations and the 

desire not to propagate the race ring surface 

damage. The principal concern is accelerated 

fatigue of surrounding hardware due to 

increased vibration caused from the damaged 

surface. The damaged race ring was not 

designed to be removed. As a result, the SARJ 

is no longer in automated continuous tracking 

mode and is rotated only when needed. 

Analysis by a NASA-led industry team 

concluded that the most probable cause of the 

damage was a lack of adequate lubrication 

between the trundle bearings and the race ring 

surface. The lack of lubrication led to excessive 

friction which caused tipping of the rollers 

which put a stress on the race ring great enough 

to crack the hardened steel surface. The loss of 

gold on a subset of the rollers on the starboard 

SARJ was documented during component 

development. The system effect of the lack of 

the gold lubricant on these rollers was not fully 

realized at the time. The loss of gold could 

have been caused by improper application of 

gold to the bearing assemblies. The failure 

investigation team also is investigating if the 

lubrication properties of gold in the system 

application are adequate. The team recreated 

the failure with a gold-coated roller after an 

equivalent six-month run time in orbit. It is not 

understood why the gold lubrication did not 

properly transfer to the rolling surface. The 

port side SARJ continues to function normally. 

At the time of development, there was little 

data on how long liquid lubricants would 

survive in a space environment in the presence 

of atomic oxygen. The design community 

agreed that a gold lubricant via TBAs would be 

a better choice to meet design life because of its 

insensitivity to atomic oxygen. In addition, 

gold’s lubrication has been proven through 

testing to provide a lower coefficient of friction 

than that of bare steel-on-steel contact. 
52 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT NOVEMBER 2008

THE TEMPORARY FIX 

Braycote Grease Gun 

Based on current understanding of operations 

on the International Space Station, a Braycote 

grease can provide a lower coefficient of 

friction and will be applied to both SARJ units 

during the STS-126 mission. Braycote grease is 

a special, heavy, vacuum stable grease that has 

been designed to operate in the extreme 

temperature space environment. The grease 

will be applied in the same manner that caulk is 

applied from a caulk gun. The grease gun is 

very similar to the application methods used to 

apply the space shuttle tile repair materials. 

NASA has done extensive testing of the tools 

and procedures during earlier spacewalks. 

On the starboard SARJ, the crew will be 

applying 1/8 inch bead of grease to the entire 

outboard ring on all three surfaces. On the port 

SARJ, the crew will be applying the grease in 

about three foot segments to all three surfaces 

separated by about three feet of unlubricated 

race ring surfaces. As the SARJ rotates after the 

lubricant is applied, the trundle bearing rollers 

will spread the grease to the entire race ring. 

The process consists of the astronauts removing 

the multi-layer insulation covers, cleaning the 

area first with a dry cloth wipe, then with a 

greased wipe, and finally applying multiple 

beads of grease. On the starboard side, they 

also will use a putty-like scraper tool to clean 

up some of the debris and they will 

additionally replace 11 of the 12 trundle 

bearings, since they have some metal shavings 

and debris on them. The TBAs will be returned 

to Earth to aid in the root cause investigation as 

well as provide optimal chance for success of 

cleaning operation. One of the TBAs had been 

removed on an earlier spacewalk for analysis 

and was subsequently replaced. During this 

mission, the astronauts also will apply the 

Braycote grease to the port SARJ. 

Engineers will monitor SARJ operation by 

evaluating the DLA operating current as well as 

on-board accelerometer data after cleaning the 

starboard race ring and applying the Braycote 

grease. NASA will not go into the continuous 

autotrack mode with the starboard side SARJ 

until a permanent fix is implemented. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT 53

THE PERMANENT REPAIR 

Although the starboard SARJ has a redundant 

inboard race ring that could be used, NASA 

instead chose not to use this ring to ensure 

there will always be an available backup. 

Instead NASA approved a permanent fix on 

Sept. 2, 2008, that would involve installation of 

a third race ring assembly, new trundle 

bearings, new DLAs and a modified UTA to 

repair the starboard SARJ system. The debriscontaminated TBAs and DLAs will be removed 

and returned to Earth for refurbishment and 

the ring areas will be cleaned before insertion of 

the third ring and new TBA/DLA hardware. 

The normal UTA will be swapped out with the 

modified UTA. An estimated 10 spacewalks 

will be required for the repairs and are 

scheduled to occur in 2010 after the new ring 

assembly is brought up by the space shuttle. 

Boeing and its subcontractor Lockheed Martin 

will be responsible for designing the new 

hardware to allow insertion of the third ring. 
54 SOLAR ALPHA ROTARY JOINT NOVEMBER 2008

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SPACEWALKS 

NOVEMBER 2008 SPACEWALKS 55

Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, astronaut Rick Linnehan, STS-123 mission 

specialist, participates in the mission’s first scheduled session of extravehicular activity as 

construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. 

Four spacewalks, three astronauts and two 

Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ) – that 

summarizes the spacewalk plan for STS-126. 

Mission Specialists Heidemarie StefanyshynPiper, Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough will 

spend a combined total of 26.5 hours on flight 

days 5, 7, 9 and 11 working outside the station, 

and the bulk of that time will be used cleaning 

and lubricating the station’s two 10-foot-wide 

rotary joints, known as SARJs. 

Piper, the lead spacewalker for the mission, will 

suit up for the first three spacewalks in a 

spacesuit marked with solid red stripes. She is 

a veteran spacewalker, with two extravehicular 

activities, or EVAs, performed during STS-115 

in 2006. 

Bowen and Kimbrough both will perform their 

first spacewalks. Bowen will participate in the 

first, third and fourth EVAs and wear an all 

white spacesuit, while Kimbrough will wear a 
56 SPACEWALKS NOVEMBER 2008

spacesuit with broken red stripes for 

spacewalks two and four. 

Meanwhile, on the inside, Mission Specialists 

Donald Pettit and Sandra Magnus will operate 

the station’s robotic arm during the first and 

second spacewalks. Kimbrough will act as the 

mission’s intravehicular officer, or spacewalk 

choreographer, for the spacewalks that he is not 

performing. Eric Boe will coreograph those 

that Kimbrough performs. 

Preparations will start the night before each 

spacewalk, when the astronauts spend the 

night in the station’s Quest Airlock. This 

practice is called the campout prebreathe 

protocol and is used to purge nitrogen from the 

spacewalkers’ systems and prevent 

decompression sickness, also known as “the 

bends.” 

During the campout, the two astronauts 

performing the spacewalk will isolate 

themselves inside the airlock while the airlock’s 

air pressure is lowered to 10.2 pounds per 

square inch, or psi. The station is kept at the 

near-sea-level pressure of 14.7 psi. The 

morning of the spacewalk, the astronauts will 

wear oxygen masks while the airlock’s pressure 

is raised back to 14.7 psi for an hour and the 

hatch between the airlock and the rest of the 

station is opened. That allows the spacewalkers 

to perform their morning routines before 

returning to the airlock, where the air pressure 

is lowered again. About 50 minutes after the 

spacewalkers don their spacesuits, the 

prebreathe protocol will be complete. 

The procedure enables spacewalks to begin 

earlier in the crew’s day than was possible 

before the protocol was adopted. 

EVA-1 

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes

Crew: Piper and Bowen 

EVA Operations 

• Transfer an empty nitrogen tank assembly 

from external stowage platform 3 to the 

shuttle’s cargo bay for return to Earth 

• Transfer a new flex hose rotary coupler to 

external stowage platform 3 for future use 

when needed 

• Remove an insulation cover on the Kibo 

External Facility berthing mechanism 

• Begin cleaning and lubrication for the 

starboard SARJ and replacement of its 

12 trundle bearing assemblies 

The first order of business will be to swap the 

external equipment just delivered by the space 

shuttle with equipment that will be brought 

back to Earth. Piper will remove an empty 

nitrogen tank assembly that has been waiting 

on the external stowage platform 3 on the port, 

or left, side of the station’s truss since the June 

STS-124 mission. After installing a foot 

restraint on the end of the station’s robotic arm 

to stand in, Piper will remove the tank and 

carry it as she rides the arm to the shuttle’s 

cargo bay. 

Bowen will help Piper remove the nitrogen 

tank, then take care of some minor tasks, 

including retrieving a camera and closing a 

window flap on Harmony’s zenith common 

berthing mechanism. Bowen will meet Piper in 

the cargo bay to help stow the tank and remove 

a spare flex hose rotary coupler, or FHRC. 

FHRCs are used to transfer liquid ammonia 

across the rotary joints that allow the station’s 

radiators to rotate. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SPACEWALKS 57

Piper will carry the FHRC back to the stowage 

platform via robotic arm, where she and Bowen 

will install it for future use. Then, while Piper 

climbs off of the robotic arm, Bowen will 

remove some insulation from the common 

berthing mechanism that will be used to attach 

the Japanese external facility to the Kibo 

laboratory. 

When those tasks are done, the spacewalkers 

will start the mission’s first round of starboard 

SARJ maintenance. The rotary joint has 

22 protective insulation covers, of which no 

more than six can be removed at any one time. 

Piper will begin by opening cover eight. Cover 

seven was removed and left off during an 

inspection on a previous spacewalk. With the 

insulation covers removed, Piper will have 

access to the 10th of the joint’s trundle bearing 

assemblies, or TBAs, which connect the two 

halves of the joint and allow one side to rotate 

while the other stays still. Meanwhile, Bowen 

will work under covers 22 and one, on TBA six. 

With the covers removed, Piper and Bowen 

then will remove their respective TBAs and 

stow them in special bags designed to hold one 

TBA apiece. With that equipment out of the 

way, the spacewalkers will be able to begin 

cleaning the area under the open covers. First, 

they will use a wet wipe to remove debris from 

the cleaner areas of the joint, then to clean off 

the damaged outboard outer canted surface. 

Next, they will use a grease gun to add a line of 

grease to the outer canted surface and use a 

scraper similar to a putty knife to remove some 

of the debris that has become “pancaked” on 

the surface. They will clean the scrapers off 

inside of a debris container to prevent metal 

flakes from floating away, and then use a dry 

wipe to remove the grease from the area. Then 
58 SPACEWALKS NOVEMBER 2008

they will give the entire area a final wipe with a 

dry wipe to remove any residual grease and 

debris. 

Once the area is clean, the astronauts can begin 

lubricating the surface of the outboard ring. 

They will use a grease gun with a special, 

j-shaped nozzle to add grease to the inner 

canted surface, and a straight-nozzle grease gun 

for the outer canted and datum A surfaces. 

Finally, before closing the covers, Piper and 

Bowen will install clean trundle bearing 

assemblies in place of the ones they removed. 

Piper then will then repeat the process on 

TBA 11, under covers nine and 10. However, 

she will not reinstall TBA 11 until the second 

spacewalk. 

EVA-2 

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes

Crew: Piper and Kimbrough 

EVA Operations 

• Relocate the two Crew and Equipment 

Translation Aid (CETA) carts from the 

starboard side of the Mobile Transporter to 

the port side 

• Lubricate the station robotic arm’s latching 

end effector A snare bearings 

• Continue cleaning and lubrication for the 

starboard SARJ and replacement of its 

12 trundle bearing assemblies 

The first task of the second spacewalk will give 

Kimbrough a chance to ride the station’s robotic 

arm. He and Piper will move the station’s 

two Crew and Equipment and Translation Aid, 

or CETA, carts, the rail carts that allow 

astronauts to move equipment along the 

station’s truss, from their current homes on the 

starboard side of the station’s Mobile 

Transporter (MT) to the port side. 

Piper will get the carts ready for transfer by 

moving them into position and unlocking their 

wheel bogies. Kimbrough first will carry 

CETA 1 and then CETA 2 as he is flown on the 

robotic arm from one side of the MT to the 

other. Piper will meet him there each time, to 

install the carts in their new locations. 

When that task is done, Kimbrough will climb 

off of the robotic arm and remove the foot 

restraint Piper installed on the first spacewalk. 

This will give him access to the arm’s latching 

end effector, or LEE, the snares that allow it to 

grasp equipment. Inside the station, Pettit and 

Magnus will command the LEE, which has 

been experiencing some sticky spots, to open 

and close its snares. Kimbrough will apply 

lubricant to the LEE’s snare bearings and rotate 

the bearings using needlenose pliers to ensure 

the lubricant covers the bearings. 

Meanwhile, Piper will return to the starboard 

SARJ to continue its cleaning and lubrication. 

Following the first spacewalk, the SARJ will be 

rotated so that the areas Piper and Bowen 

already cleaned will be under the joint’s two 

drive lock assemblies, which cannot be 

removed easily. Piper will reopen covers nine 

and 10 and clean the new area under them, 

before reinstalling TBA 11, which she removed 

during the first spacewalk, and reclosing the 

covers. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SPACEWALKS 59

Next Piper will remove and replace TBAs eight 

and nine under cover five. When Kimbrough 

finishes his work on the robotic arm, he’ll join 

her at the SARJ and work on TBAs 12, under 

covers 11 and 12. 

EVA-3 

Duration: 7 hours 

Crew: Piper and Bowen 

EVA Operations: 

• Complete cleaning, lubrication and TBA 

replacement for the starboard SARJ 

The third and longest spacewalk of the mission 

will be completely devoted to work on the 

starboard SARJ. Using the same methods, 

Piper will open covers 13 and 14, remove TBA 

one, clean and lubricate the area, install a new 

TBA and close the covers. She will repeat the 

process on TBA two under covers 15 and 16 

and TBA three under covers 17 and 18. 

Bowen will do the same for TBA four under 

covers 19 and 20, TBA six under covers 22 and 

one and TBA seven under covers two and three. 

He also will remove TBA five under cover 20; 

however, it was replaced on a previous 

spacewalk, so he will simply clean and 

re-install it. 
60 SPACEWALKS NOVEMBER 2008

EVA-4 

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes

Crew: Bowen and Kimbrough

EVA Operations: 

• Lubricate the port SARJ 

• Install video camera 

• Re-install insulation cover on the Kibo 

External Facility berthing mechanism 

• Perform Kibo robotic arm grounding tab 

maintenance 

• Install spacewalk handrails on Kibo 

• Install Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) 

antennae on Kibo 

• Photograph radiators 

• Photograph trailing umbilical system cables 

The mission’s final spacewalk will require 

careful coordination, as the spacewalkers 

perform preventative maintenance on the 

station’s port SARJ, which currently is 

functioning well. Kimbrough will have just the 

one spacewalk to lubricate the same surface 

area that was lubricated over three spacewalks 

on the starboard side. 

To make that possible, he and Bowen will open 

covers 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 15, and leave them 

open for most of the spacewalk. Kimbrough 

then will lubricate the exposed area and move 

away so that flight controllers on the ground 

can rotate the joint 180 degrees. That will help 

spread the grease, and expose new, 

unlubricated areas under the open covers. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SPACEWALKS 61

While the joint is rotating, Kimbrough will 

return to the Quest airlock to retrieve a video 

camera. He will install the camera on the first 

port segment of the station’s truss, where it will 

be used next year to provide views of the 

robotic arm’s capture and docking of the first 

Japanese H-2 Transfer Vehicle. 

Kimbrough then will move back to the port 

SARJ, grease the newly exposed areas and close 

the covers. 

Meanwhile, Bowen will work on several 

projects at the Japanese Kibo module. He will 

reinstall the common berthing mechanism’s 

insulation that he removed during the first 

spacewalk. Next, he will tuck in the module’s 

robotic arm grounding tabs, which are 

obscuring the view of the arm’s camera, by 

wrapping the tabs around a cable and 

Velcroing them together. 

Afterward, Bowen will install three spacewalk 

handrails, two worksite interfaces and two 

Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) antennae on 

Kibo’s exterior. The H-2 Transfer Vehicle will 

use the GPS antennae to navigate to the space 

station. 

Both astronauts will wrap up the spacewalks by 

taking photographs. Bowen will photograph 

the radiators on the first port and starboard 

truss segments, using both regular and infrared 

cameras. In September, ground controllers 

noticed damage to one panel of the starboard 

radiator. 

Blemishes have been noticed on the trailing 

umbilical system cable of the mobile 

transporter, so Kimbrough has been asked to 

photograph it as well. The photographs will be 

used by teams on the ground to determine the 

cause of the damage and blemishes and decide 

what action, if any, should be taken. 
62 SPACEWALKS NOVEMBER 2008

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EXPERIMENTS 

NOVEMBER 2008 EXPERIMENTS 63

The space shuttle and International Space 

Station have an integrated research program 

that optimizes the use of shuttle crew members 

and long-duration space station crew members 

to address research questions in a variety of 

disciplines. 

For information on science on the station, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/

science/index.html

or 

http://iss-science.jsc.nasa.gov/index.cfm

Detailed information is located at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/

science/experiments/Expedition.html

DETAILED TEST OBJECTIVES 

Detailed Test Objectives (DTOs) are aimed at 

testing, evaluating or documenting space 

shuttle systems or hardware or proposed 

improvements to the space shuttle or space 

station hardware, systems and operations. 

SDTO 13005-U ISS Structural Life and 

Life Validation and Extension 

The purpose of this Station Development Test 

Objective (SDTO) is to guarantee safety of the 

station structure and crew by validating the 

in-orbit math models that were created for the 

space station. The test will be used to 

authenticate critical interface loads and to help 

improve predictions for fatigue of components 

on the station. 

The test will provide dynamic loads 

information for engineers to use in creating 

precise models that can be used for analysis. 

In-orbit data may aid in detecting structural 

anomalies, and the station’s response to actual 

loading events aids in postflight reconstruction 

of loads that help determine structural life 

usage. 

The test requires actual or educated estimates 

of input and actual in-orbit sensor 

measurements of the station response. 

Measurement of the force input, such as 

thruster firing sequences or video of crew 

activity, and the station’s response will aid in 

the reconstruction of station loads and 

structural life usage over the lifetime of the 

station, thus allowing the structure’s life to be 

extended. 

All of the in-orbit dynamic tests previously 

were performed on models in which the 

International Space Station and orbiter were 

docked. 

There are six such tests planned for STS-126. 

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor 

Pressure Oscillation Data Gathering 

The Space Shuttle Program is gathering data on 

five shuttle flights, beginning with STS-126, to 

gain a greater understanding of the pressure 

oscillation, or periodic variation, phenomena 

that regularly occurs within solid rocket 

motors. The pressure oscillation that is 

observed in solid rocket motors is similar to the 

hum made when blowing into a bottle. At 

1.5 psi, or pounds per square inch, a pressure 

wave will move up and down the motor from 

the front to the rear, generating acoustic noise 

as well as physical loads in the structure. These 

data are necessary to help propulsion engineers 
64 EXPERIMENTS NOVEMBER 2008

Intelligent Pressure Transducer 

confirm modeling techniques of pressure 

oscillations and the loads they create. As 

NASA engineers develop alternate propulsion 

designs for use in NASA, they will take 

advantage of current designs from which they 

can learn and measure. In an effort to obtain 

data to correlate pressure oscillation with the 

loads it can generate, the shuttle program is 

using two data systems to gather detailed 

information. Both systems are located on the 

top of the solid rocket motors inside the 

forward skirt. 

The Intelligent Pressure Transducer, or IPT, is 

a stand-alone pressure transducer with an 

internal data acquisition system that will record 

pressure data to an internal memory chip. The 

data will be downloaded to a computer after 

the booster has been recovered and returned to 

the Solid Rocket Booster Assembly and 

Refurbishment Facility at NASA’s Kennedy 

Space Center, Fla. This system has been used 

on numerous full-scale static test motors in 

Utah and will provide engineers with a 

common base to compare flight data to ground 

test data. 

The Enhanced Data Acquisition System, or 

EDAS, is a data acquisition system that will 

record pressure data from one of the Reusable 

Solid Rocket Booster Operational Pressure 

Transducers, or OPT, and from accelerometers 

and strain gages placed on the forward skirt 

walls. These data will provide engineers with 

time synchronized data that will allow them to 

determine the accelerations and loads that are 

transferred through the structure due to the 

pressure oscillation forces. 
NOVEMBER 2008 EXPERIMENTS 65

Data Acquisition System 

SHORT-DURATION U.S. INTEGRATED 

RESEARCH TO BE COMPLETED DURING 

STS-126/ULF2 

Validation of Procedures for Monitoring Crew 

Member Immune Function – Short Duration 

Biological Investigation (Integrated ImmuneSDBI) will assess the clinical risks resulting 

from the adverse effects of spaceflight on the 

human immune system and will validate a 

flight-compatible immune monitoring strategy. 

It will collect and analyze blood, urine and 

saliva samples from crew members before, 

during and after spaceflight to monitor changes 

in the immune system. 

Maui Analysis of Upper Atmospheric 

Injections (MAUI) will observe the space 

shuttle engine exhaust plumes from the Maui 

Space Surveillance Site in Hawaii. The 

observations will occur when the space 

shuttle fires its engines at night or twilight. A 

telescope and all-sky imagers will record 

images and data while the shuttle flies over the 

Maui site. The images will be analyzed to 

understand better the interaction between the 

spacecraft plume and the upper atmosphere of 

Earth. 

National Lab Pathfinder – Vaccine – 2 (NLPVaccine-2) is a commercial payload serving as a 

pathfinder for the use of the space station as a 

National Laboratory after station assembly is 

complete. It contains Salmonella enterica, a 

disease-causing organism, and will use 

spaceflight to develop potential vaccines for the 

prevention of infections on Earth and in 

microgravity. 

The Pico-Satellite Solar Cell Experiment 

(PSSC) is a picosatellite designed to test space 

environment effects on new solar cell 

technologies. 
Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments 

(SEITE) will use space-based sensors to detect 

the ionospheric turbulence inferred from the 

radar observations of a previous space shuttle 

Orbital Maneuvering System burn experiment 

using ground-based radar. 

Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure 

During Spaceflight – Short (Sleep-Short) will 

examine the effects of spaceflight on the sleepwake cycles of the astronauts during space 

shuttle missions. Advancing state-of-the-art 

technology for monitoring, diagnosing and 

assessing treatment of sleep patterns is vital to 

treating insomnia on Earth and in space. 

SAMPLES/HARDWARE RETURNING 

FROM ISS ON STS-126 

U.S. Research 

Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air 

(ANITA) will monitor 32 potential gaseous 

contaminants in the atmosphere aboard the 

station, including formaldehyde, ammonia and 

carbon monoxide. The experiment will test the 

accuracy and reliability of this technology as a 

potential next-generation atmosphere trace-gas 

monitoring system for the station. 

Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Control 

on Return from ISS (CCISS) will study the 

effects of long-duration spaceflight on crew 

members’ heart functions and the blood vessels 

that supply the brain. Learning more about the 

cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems 

could lead to specific countermeasures that 

might better protect future space travelers. This 

experiment is collaborative effort with the 

Canadian Space Agency. 

Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 

Science Insert – 02 (CSI-02) is an educational 

payload designed to interest middle school 

66 EXPERIMENTS NOVEMBER 2008

students in science, technology, engineering 

and math through participation in near realtime research conducted aboard the station. 

Students will observe a silicate garden 

experiment through data and imagery 

downlinked and distributed directly into the 

classroom via the Internet. 

Stability of Pharmacotherapeutic and 

Nutritional Compounds (Stability) will study 

the effects of radiation in space on complex 

organic molecules, such as vitamins and other 

compounds in food and medicine. This will 

help researchers develop more stable and 

reliable pharmaceutical and nutritional 

countermeasures suitable for future longduration missions to the moon and Mars. 

Validating Vegetable Production Unit (VPU) 

Plants, Protocols, Procedures and 

Requirements (P3R) Using Currently Existing 

Flight Resources (Lada-VPU-P3R) is a study to 

advance the technology required for plant 

growth in microgravity and to research related 

food safety issues. Lada-VPU-P3R also 

investigates the non-nutritional value to the 

flight crew of developing plants in orbit. The 

Lada-VPU-P3R uses the Lada hardware on the 

space station and falls under a cooperative 

agreement between NASA and the Russian 

Federal Space Agency. 

European Space Agency Research 

Role of Apoptosis in Lymphocyte Depression 

(ROALD) will determine the role of apoptosis, 

or programmed cell death, in loss of 

T-lymphocyte (white blood cells originating in 

the thymus) activity in microgravity. Various 

aspects of the apoptotic process will be 

assessed, using human T-lymphocytes, by 

analyzing gene expressions of metabolites of 
NOVEMBER 2008 EXPERIMENTS 67

reactive oxygen specie and membrane 

properties. 

SOdium LOading in Microgravity (SOLO)

This proposal is a continuation of extensive 

research into the mechanisms of fluid and salt 

retention in the body during bed rest and 

spaceflights. It is a metabolically controlled 

study. During long-term space missions, 

astronauts will participate in two study phases 

of five days each. Subjects follow a diet of 

constant either low or normal sodium intake, 

fairly high fluid consumption and isocaloric 

nutrition. 

Simulation of Geophysical Fluid Flow under 

Microgravity (Geoflow) will investigate the 

flow of a viscous incompressible fluid between 

two concentric spheres, rotating about a 

common axis, under the influence of a 

simulated central force field. This flow is of 

importance for astrophysical and geophysical 

problems, like global scale flow in the 

atmosphere, the oceans and in the liquid 

nucleus of planets. There is also an applied 

interest in this work: the electro-hydrodynamic 

force that simulates the central gravity field 

may find applications in high-performance heat 

exchangers, and in the study of electro-viscous 

phenomena. 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

Research 

Chaos, Turbulence and its Transition Process 

in Marangoni Convection (Marangoni) is a 

surface-tension-driven flow experiment. A 

liquid bridge of silicone oil (5 or 10 cSt) is 

formed into a pair of disks. Convection is 

induced by imposing the temperature 

difference between disks. Due to the fluid 

instability, flow transits from laminar to 

oscillatory, chaos, and turbulence flows one by 

one as the driving force increases. The flow 

and temperature fields are observed in each 

stage and the transition conditions and 

processes precisely investigated. 

EXPERIMENTS AND HARDWARE TO BE 

DELIVERED TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE 

STATION 

U.S. Research 

Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 

Science Insert – 03 (CSI-03) is the third set of 

investigations in the CSI program series. The 

CSI program provides the K-12 community 

opportunities to use the unique microgravity 

environment of the station as part of the regular 

classroom to encourage learning and interest in 

science, technology, engineering and math. 

CSI-03 will examine the complete life cycle of 

the painted lady butterfly and the ability of an 

orb-weaving spider to spin a web, eat and 

remain healthy in space. 

The JPL Electronic Nose (ENose) is a full-time, 

continuously operating event monitor designed 

to detect air contamination from spills and 

leaks in the crew habitat in the station. It fills 

the long-standing gap between onboard alarms 

and complex analytical instruments. ENose 

provides rapid, early identification and 

quantification of atmospheric changes caused 

by chemical species to which it has been 

trained. ENose also can be used to monitor 

cleanup processes after a leak or a spill. 

Test of Midodrine as a Countermeasure 

Against Post-Flight Orthostatic Hypotension – 

Long (Midodrine-Long) is a test of the ability 

of the drug midodrine to reduce the incidence 

or severity of orthostatic hypotension. If 

successful, it will be employed as a 

countermeasure to the dizziness caused by the 
68 EXPERIMENTS NOVEMBER 2008

blood pressure decrease that many astronauts 

experience upon returning to the Earth’s 

gravity. 

The Shear History Extensional Rheology 

Experiment (SHERE) is designed to investigate 

the effect of preshearing (rotation) on the stress 

and strain response of a polymeric liquid (a 

fluid consisting of many molecular chains) 

being stretched in microgravity. The 

fundamental understanding and measurement 

of the extensional rheology of complex fluids 

also allows Earth-based manufacturing 

processes to be controlled and improved. 

Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure 

During Spaceflight – Long (Sleep-Long) will 

examine the effects of spaceflight and ambient 

light exposure on the sleep-wake cycles of the 

crew members during long-duration stays on 

the space station. 

Space Acceleration Measurement System – II 

(SAMS-II) sensors called Triaxial Sensor 

Head-Ethernet Standalone will operate within 

the Combustion Integrated Rack and the 

Microgravity Science Glovebox facilities. These 

two SAMS sensors will provide acceleration 

data for fluid physics, material science and 

combustion experiments performed on the 

space station where the effects of gravity are 

important to the results of the research and 

affect the outcome of the research. The SAMS 

acceleration data provides measurement of the 

microgravity influence on a payload during 

science operations on board the station. 

The Agricultural Camera (AgCam) will take 

frequent images, in visible and infrared light, of 

vegetated areas on Earth, principally of 

growing crops, rangeland, grasslands, forests, 

and wetlands in the northern Great Plains and 

Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. 

Images will be delivered within two days 

directly to requesting farmers, ranchers, 

foresters, natural resource managers and tribal 

officials to help improve their environmental 

stewardship of the land. Images also will 

be shared with educators for classroom use. 

The Agricultural Camera was built and will be 

operated primarily by students and faculty at 

the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, 

N.D. 

As a countermeasure to spaceflight-induced 

bone loss, Bisphosphonates will determine 

whether antiresorptive agents (help reduce 

bone loss), in conjunction with the routine 

in-flight exercise program, will protect station 

crew members from the regional decreases in 

bone mineral density documented on previous 

station missions. 

Multi-User Droplet Combustion Apparatus – 

FLame Extinguishment Experiment (MDCAFLEX) will assess the effectiveness of fire 

suppressants in microgravity and quantify the 

effect of different possible crew exploration 

atmospheres on fire suppression. The goal of 

this research is to provide definition and 

direction for large-scale fire suppression tests 

and selection of the fire suppressant for nextgeneration crew exploration vehicles. 

Nutritional Status Assessment (Nutrition) is 

the most comprehensive in-flight study done 

by NASA to date of human physiologic 

changes during long-duration spaceflight. 

This includes measures of bone metabolism, 

oxidative damage, nutritional assessments, and 

hormonal changes. This study will impact both 

the definition of nutritional requirements and 

development of food systems for future 

space exploration missions to the moon and 

Mars. This experiment also will help to 

improve understanding of the impact of 
NOVEMBER 2008 EXPERIMENTS 69

countermeasures such as exercise and 

pharmaceuticals on nutritional status and 

nutrient requirements for astronauts. 

The National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration Biological Specimen

Repository (Repository) is a storage bank that 

is used to maintain biological specimens over 

extended periods of time and under 

well-controlled conditions. Biological samples 

from the space station, including blood and 

urine, will be collected, processed and archived 

during the preflight, in-flight and postflight 

phases of space station missions. This 

investigation has been developed to archive 

biosamples for use as a resource for future 

spaceflight-related research. 

The goal of Space-Dynamically Responding 

Ultrasonic Matrix System (SpaceDRUMS) is 

to provide a suite of hardware capable of 

facilitating containerless advanced materials 

science, including combustion synthesis and 

fluid physics. That is, inside SpaceDRUMS, 

samples of experimental materials can be 

processed without ever touching a container 

wall. 

The Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment 

(SPICE) determines the point at which gas-jet 

flames, which are similar to a butane-lighter 

flame, begin to emit soot (dark carbonaceous 

particulate formed inside the flame) in 

microgravity. Studying a soot emitting flame 

is important in understanding the ability of 

fires to spread and in the control of soot in 

practical combustion systems space. 

European Space Agency Research 

Motion Perception: Vestibular Adaptation to 

G-Transitions (MOP) seeks to obtain insight 

into the process of vestibular adaptation to 

gravity transitions and to correlate the 

cosmonauts’ susceptibility to the Space 

Adaptation Syndrome (SAS) with the 

susceptibility to Sickness Induced by 

Centrifugation (SIC). 

The Study of Lower Back Pain in 

Crewmembers During Space Flight (Mus)

studies the details on development of Low Back 

Pain (LBP) during flight in astronauts and 

cosmonauts. According to the biomechanical 

model, strain on the ilio-lumbar ligaments 

increases with backward tilt of the pelvis 

combined with forward flexion of the spine. 

This is what astronauts may experience due to 

loss of spinal curvature in space. The objective 

is to assess astronaut deep muscle corset 

atrophy in response to microgravity exposure. 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

Research 

The Study on Microgravity Effect for Pattern 

Formation of Dendritic Crystal by a Method 

of in-situ Observation (Ice Crystal) will 

precisely analyze the factors concerning the 

pattern formation of crystal growth, an ice 

crystal growing freely in supercooled bulk 

water, in-situ, using an interference microscope 

under microgravity condition, in which the free 

convection in the growth chamber cannot 

occur. Three-dimensional patterns of ice 

crystals and the thermal diffusion field around 

the crystal will be analyzed from the 

experimental results. 

Changes in LOH Profile of TK mutants of 

Human Cultured Cells (LOH) – Gene 

Expression of p53-Regulated Genes in 

Mammalian Cultured Cells After Exposure to 

Space Environment (RadGene) is a two-part 

investigation addressing genetic alterations in 

immature immune cells. LOH uses immature 

immune, or lymphoblastoid, cells to detect 
70 EXPERIMENTS NOVEMBER 2008

potential changes on the chromosome after 

exposure to cosmic radiation. RadGene looks 

for changes in gene expression of p53, a tumor 

suppressive protein, after cosmic radiation 

exposure. 

Commercial Payload Program (Commercial) is 

a to-be-determined commercial investigation 

sponsored by the Japan Aerospace and 

Exploration Agency. 

U.S. INTEGRATED INTERNATIONAL 

SPACE STATION FACILITIES TO BE 

DELIVERED ON STS-126 

EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to 

Space Station Rack 6 (EXPRESS Rack 6) are 

multipurpose payload rack systems that store 

and support experiments aboard the space 

station. The EXPRESS Rack system supports 

science experiments in any discipline by 

providing structural interfaces, power, data, 

cooling, water and other items needed to 

operate science experiments in space. 

The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) is one 

of two racks being developed for the Fluids and 

Combustion Facility (FCF) on the space station. 

CIR will be customizable so it can be used in 

different scenarios and experiments; it will first 

operate independently, then together with 

other components of the FCF. Fluids and 

combustion science experiments aboard the 

space station are very sensitive to disruption 

from undesired vibrations. CIR will protect the 

samples from vibrations using the Passive Rack 

Isolation System (PaRIS). 
NOVEMBER 2008 EXPERIMENTS 71

EXPRESS Rack 6 
72 EXPERIMENTS NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 aRED 73

ADVANCED RESISTIVE EXERCISE DEVICE 

Earth-based studies have demonstrated the 

effectiveness of high-load resistive exercise to 

prevent musculoskeletal deconditioning. The 

advanced Resistive Exercise Device (aRED) 

was developed to improve existing 

International Space Station exercise capabilities 

by providing more complete protection to the 

musculoskeletal system during long-duration 

spaceflight. Specifically, the aRED uses 

vacuum cylinders to provide a concentric 

workloads up to 600 pounds, with an eccentric 

load up to 90 percent of the concentric force. 

The aRED also provides feedback to the 

astronaut during use and data to the NASA 

exercise physiologists monitoring crew member 

prescriptions. The original space station 

countermeasure equipment, an interim 

Resistive Exercise Device (iRED), has no 

feedback to the user with functional limitations 

of 300 pounds concentric loading and only 

60 percent eccentric force. 

The aRED mimics the force loading 

characteristics of traditional resistive exercises 

(weighted bars or dumbbells) by providing a 

more constant force throughout the range of 

motion using inertial flywheels in the load path 

of vacuum cylinders to simulate the 

characteristics of free weight exercise. 

The aRED is part of the mandatory in-flight 

exercise countermeasures program and will be 

used up to six days a week during a mission 

in combination with treadmill and cycle 

ergometer exercises to prevent deconditioning 

of astronauts. It offers traditional upper and 

lower-body exercises, such as squats, dead lift, 

heel raises, bicep curls, bench press, and 

many others. Flight surgeons, trainers and 

physiologists expect that the greater loads 

provided by aRED will result in more efficient 

and effective exercise, thereby preventing the 

muscle and bone loss that astronauts sometimes 

experience during long space missions. 
74 aRED NOVEMBER 2008

Frame

Vacuum Cylinder 

 Assemblies 

Flywheel 

Assemblies 

Arm Base Assembly 

Main Arm 

Assembly 

Exercise 

Platform 

advanced Resistive Exercise Device (aRED) 
NOVEMBER 2008 aRED 75
76 aRED NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 77

SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 

SHUTTLE ABORT MODES 

Redundant Sequence Launch Sequencer 

(RSLS) Aborts 

These occur when the on-board shuttle 

computers detect a problem and command a 

halt in the launch sequence after taking over 

from the ground launch sequencer and before 

solid rocket booster ignition. 

Ascent Aborts 

Selection of an ascent abort mode may become 

necessary if there is a failure that affects vehicle 

performance, such as the failure of a space 

shuttle main engine or an orbital maneuvering 

system engine. Other failures requiring early 

termination of a flight, such as a cabin leak, 

might also require the selection of an abort 

mode. There are two basic types of ascent abort 

modes for space shuttle missions: intact aborts 

and contingency aborts. Intact aborts are 

designed to provide a safe return of the orbiter 

to a planned landing site. Contingency aborts 

are designed to permit flight crew survival 

following more severe failures when an intact 

abort is not possible. A contingency abort 

would generally result in a ditch operation. 

Intact Aborts 

There are four types of intact aborts: abort to 

orbit (ATO), abort once around (AOA), 

transoceanic abort landing (TAL) and return to 

launch site (RTLS). 

Return to Launch Site 

The RTLS abort mode is designed to allow the 

return of the orbiter, crew, and payload to the 

launch site, KSC, approximately 25 minutes 

after liftoff. 

The RTLS profile is designed to accommodate 

the loss of thrust from one space shuttle main 

engine between liftoff and approximately 

four minutes 20 seconds, after which not 

enough main propulsion system propellant 

remains to return to the launch site. An RTLS 

can be considered to consist of three stages – a 

powered stage, during which the space shuttle 

main engines are still thrusting; an external 

tank separation phase; and the glide phase, 

during which the orbiter glides to a landing at 

the KSC. The powered RTLS phase begins with 

the crew selection of the RTLS abort, after solid 

rocket booster separation. The crew selects the 

abort mode by positioning the abort rotary 

switch to RTLS and depressing the abort push 

button. The time at which the RTLS is selected 

depends on the reason for the abort. For 

example, a three-engine RTLS is selected at the 

last moment, about 3 minutes, 34 seconds into 

the mission; whereas an RTLS chosen due to an 

engine out at liftoff is selected at the earliest 

time, about 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the 

mission (after solid rocket booster separation). 

After RTLS is selected, the vehicle continues 

downrange to dissipate excess main propulsion 

system propellant. The goal is to leave only 

enough main propulsion system propellant to 

be able to turn the vehicle around, fly back 

toward the KSC and achieve the proper main 

engine cutoff conditions so the vehicle can glide 

to the KSC after external tank separation. 

During the downrange phase, a pitch-around 

maneuver is initiated (the time depends in part 

on the time of a space shuttle main engine 

failure) to orient the orbiter/external tank 

configuration to a heads-up attitude, pointing 

toward the launch site. At this time, the vehicle 

is still moving away from the launch site, but 
78 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

the space shuttle main engines are now 

thrusting to null the downrange velocity. In 

addition, excess orbital maneuvering system 

and reaction control system propellants are 

dumped by continuous orbital maneuvering 

system and reaction control system engine 

thrustings to improve the orbiter weight and 

center of gravity for the glide phase and 

landing. 

The vehicle will reach the desired main engine 

cutoff point with less than 2 percent excess 

propellant remaining in the external tank. At 

main engine cutoff minus 20 seconds, a pitch 

down maneuver (called powered pitch-down) 

takes the mated vehicle to the required external 

tank separation attitude and pitch rate. After 

main engine cutoff has been commanded, the 

external tank separation sequence begins, 

including a reaction control system maneuver 

that ensures that the orbiter does not recontact 

the external tank and that the orbiter has 

achieved the necessary pitch attitude to begin 

the glide phase of the RTLS. 

After the reaction control system maneuver has 

been completed, the glide phase of the RTLS 

begins. From then on, the RTLS is handled 

similarly to a normal entry. 

Transoceanic Abort Landing 

The TAL abort mode was developed to 

improve the options available when a space 

shuttle main engine fails after the last RTLS 

opportunity but before the first time that an 

AOA can be accomplished with only two space 

shuttle main engines or when a major orbiter 

system failure, for example, a large cabin 

pressure leak or cooling system failure, occurs 

after the last RTLS opportunity, making it 

imperative to land as quickly as possible. 

In a TAL abort, the vehicle continues on a 

ballistic trajectory across the Atlantic Ocean to 

land at a predetermined runway. Landing 

occurs about 45 minutes after launch. The 

landing site is selected near the normal ascent 

ground track of the orbiter to make the most 

efficient use of space shuttle main engine 

propellant. The landing site also must have the 

necessary runway length, weather conditions 

and U.S. State Department approval. The three 

landing sites that have been identified for a 

launch are Zaragoza, Spain; Moron, Spain; and 

Istres, France. 

To select the TAL abort mode, the crew must 

place the abort rotary switch in the TAL/AOA 

position and depress the abort push button 

before main engine cutoff (Depressing it after 

main engine cutoff selects the AOA abort 

mode). The TAL abort mode begins sending 

commands to steer the vehicle toward the plane 

of the landing site. It also rolls the vehicle 

heads up before main engine cutoff and sends 

commands to begin an orbital maneuvering 

system propellant dump (by burning the 

propellants through the orbital maneuvering 

system engines and the reaction control system 

engines). This dump is necessary to increase 

vehicle performance (by decreasing weight) to 

place the center of gravity in the proper place 

for vehicle control and to decrease the vehicle’s 

landing weight. TAL is handled like a normal 

entry. 

Abort to Orbit 

An ATO is an abort mode used to boost the 

orbiter to a safe orbital altitude when 

performance has been lost and it is impossible 

to reach the planned orbital altitude. If a space 

shuttle main engine fails in a region that results 

in a main engine cutoff under speed, the MCC 

will determine that an abort mode is necessary 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 79

and will inform the crew. The orbital 

maneuvering system engines would be used to 

place the orbiter in a circular orbit. 

Abort Once Around 

The AOA abort mode is used in cases in which 

vehicle performance has been lost to such an 

extent that either it is impossible to achieve a 

viable orbit or not enough orbital maneuvering 

system propellant is available to accomplish the 

orbital maneuvering system thrusting 

maneuver to place the orbiter on orbit and the 

deorbit thrusting maneuver. In addition, an 

AOA is used in cases in which a major systems 

problem (cabin leak, loss of cooling) makes it 

necessary to land quickly. In the AOA abort 

mode, one orbital maneuvering system 

thrusting sequence is made to adjust the 

post-main engine cutoff orbit so a second 

orbital maneuvering system thrusting sequence 

will result in the vehicle deorbiting and landing 

at the AOA landing site (White Sands, N.M.; 

Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; or the Kennedy 

Space Center, Fla). Thus, an AOA results in the 

orbiter circling the Earth once and landing 

about 90 minutes after liftoff. 

After the deorbit thrusting sequence has been 

executed, the flight crew flies to a landing at the 

planned site much as it would for a nominal 

entry. 

Contingency Aborts 

Contingency aborts are caused by loss of more 

than one main engine or failures in other 

systems. Loss of one main engine while 

another is stuck at a low thrust setting also may 

necessitate a contingency abort. Such an abort 

would maintain orbiter integrity for in-flight 

crew escape if a landing cannot be achieved at a 

suitable landing field. 

Contingency aborts due to system failures other 

than those involving the main engines would 

normally result in an intact recovery of vehicle 

and crew. Loss of more than one main engine 

may, depending on engine failure times, result 

in a safe runway landing. However, in most 

three-engine-out cases during ascent, the 

orbiter would have to be ditched. The inflight 

crew escape system would be used before 

ditching the orbiter. 

Abort Decisions 

There is a definite order of preference for the 

various abort modes. The type of failure and the 

time of the failure determine which type of abort 

is selected. In cases where performance loss is 

the only factor, the preferred modes are ATO, 

AOA, TAL and RTLS, in that order. The mode 

chosen is the highest one that can be completed 

with the remaining vehicle performance. 

In the case of some support system failures, 

such as cabin leaks or vehicle cooling problems, 

the preferred mode might be the one that will 

end the mission most quickly. In these cases, 

TAL or RTLS might be preferable to AOA or 

ATO. A contingency abort is never chosen if 

another abort option exists. 

Mission Control Houston is prime for calling 

these aborts because it has a more precise 

knowledge of the orbiter’s position than the 

crew can obtain from on-board systems. Before 

main engine cutoff, Mission Control makes 

periodic calls to the crew to identify which 

abort mode is (or is not) available. If ground 

communications are lost, the flight crew has 

on-board methods, such as cue cards, dedicated 

displays and display information, to determine 

the abort region. Which abort mode is selected 

depends on the cause and timing of the failure 

causing the abort and which mode is safest or 
80 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

improves mission success. If the problem is a 

space shuttle main engine failure, the flight 

crew and Mission Control Center select the best 

option available at the time a main engine fails. 

If the problem is a system failure that 

jeopardizes the vehicle, the fastest abort mode 

that results in the earliest vehicle landing is 

chosen. RTLS and TAL are the quickest options 

(35 minutes), whereas an AOA requires about 

90 minutes. Which of these is selected depends 

on the time of the failure with three good space 

shuttle main engines. 

The flight crew selects the abort mode by 

positioning an abort mode switch and 

depressing an abort push button. 

SHUTTLE ABORT HISTORY 

RSLS Abort History 

(STS-41 D) June 26, 1984 

The countdown for the second launch attempt 

for Discovery’s maiden flight ended at T-4 

seconds when the orbiter’s computers detected 

a sluggish valve in main engine No. 3. The 

main engine was replaced and Discovery was 

finally launched on Aug. 30, 1984. 

(STS-51 F) July 12, 1985 

The countdown for Challenger’s launch was 

halted at T-3 seconds when on-board 

computers detected a problem with a coolant 

valve on main engine No. 2. The valve was 

replaced and Challenger was launched on 

July 29, 1985. 

(STS-55) March 22, 1993 

The countdown for Columbia’s launch was 

halted by on-board computers at T-3 seconds 

following a problem with purge pressure 

readings in the oxidizer preburner on main 

engine No. 2. Columbia’s three main engines 

were replaced on the launch pad, and the flight 

was rescheduled behind Discovery’s launch on 

STS-56. Columbia finally launched on 

April 26, 1993. 

(STS-51) Aug. 12, 1993 

The countdown for Discovery’s third launch 

attempt ended at the T-3 second mark when 

onboard computers detected the failure of one of 

four sensors in main engine No. 2 which monitor 

the flow of hydrogen fuel to the engine. All of 

Discovery’s main engines were ordered replaced 

on the launch pad, delaying the shuttle’s fourth 

launch attempt until Sept. 12, 1993. 

(STS-68) Aug. 18, 1994 

The countdown for Endeavour’s first launch 

attempt ended 1.9 seconds before liftoff when 

on-board computers detected higher than 

acceptable readings in one channel of a sensor 

monitoring the discharge temperature of the 

high pressure oxidizer turbopump in main 

engine No. 3. A test firing of the engine at the 

Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on 

September 2nd confirmed that a slight drift in a 

fuel flow meter in the engine caused a slight 

increase in the turbopump’s temperature. The 

test firing also confirmed a slightly slower start 

for main engine No. 3 during the pad abort, 

which could have contributed to the higher 

temperatures. After Endeavour was brought 

back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be 

outfitted with three replacement engines, 

NASA managers set Oct. 2 as the date for 

Endeavour’s second launch attempt. 

Abort to Orbit History 

(STS-51 F) July 29, 1985 

After an RSLS abort on July 12, 1985, 

Challenger was launched on July 29, 1985. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 81

Five minutes and 45 seconds after launch, a 

sensor problem resulted in the shutdown of 

center engine No. 1, resulting in a safe “abort to 

orbit” and successful completion of the mission. 

SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINES 

Developed in the 1970s by NASA’s Marshall 

Space Flight Center, MSFC in Huntsville, Ala., 

the space shuttle main engine is the most 

advanced liquid-fueled rocket engine ever built. 

Every space shuttle main engine is tested and 

proven flight worthy at NASA’s Stennis Space 

Center in south Mississippi, before installation 

on an orbiter. Its main features include variable 

thrust, high performance reusability, high 

redundancy and a fully integrated engine 

controller. 

The shuttle’s three main engines are mounted 

on the orbiter aft fuselage in a triangular 

pattern. Spaced so that they are movable 

during launch, the engines are used, in 

conjunction with the solid rocket boosters, to 

steer the shuttle vehicle. 

Each of these powerful main engines is 14 feet 

long, weighs about 7,000 pounds and is 7.5 feet 

in diameter at the end of its nozzle. 

The engines operate for about 8.5 minutes 

during liftoff and ascent, burning more than 

500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen 

and liquid oxygen propellants stored in the 

external tank attached to the underside of the 

shuttle. The engines shut down just before the 

shuttle, traveling at about 17,000 miles per 

hour, reaches orbit. 

The main engine operates at greater 

temperature extremes than any mechanical 

system in common use today. The fuel, 

liquefied hydrogen at -423 degrees Fahrenheit, 

is the second coldest liquid on Earth. When it 

and the liquid oxygen are combusted, the 

temperature in the main combustion chamber is 

6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the 

boiling point of iron. 

The main engines use a staged combustion 

cycle so that all propellants entering the engines 

are used to produce thrust, or power, more 

efficiently than any previous rocket engine. In 

a staged combustion cycle, propellants are first 

burned partially at high pressure and relatively 

low temperature, and then burned completely 

at high temperature and pressure in the main 

combustion chamber. The rapid mixing of the 

propellants under these conditions is so 

complete that 99 percent of the fuel is burned. 

At normal operating level, each engine 

generates 490,847 pounds of thrust, measured 

in a vacuum. Full power is 512,900 pounds of 

thrust; minimum power is 316,100 pounds of 

thrust. 

The engine can be throttled by varying the 

output of the pre-burners, thus varying the 

speed of the high-pressure turbopumps and, 

therefore, the flow of the propellant. 

At about 26 seconds into ascent, the main 

engines are throttled down to 316,000 pounds 

of thrust to keep the dynamic pressure on the 

vehicle below a specified level,about 

580 pounds per square foot, known as max q. 

Then, the engines are throttled back up to 

normal operating level at about 60 seconds. 

This reduces stress on the vehicle. The main 

engines are throttled down again at about 

seven minutes, 40 seconds into the mission to 

maintain three g’s, three times the Earth’s 

gravitational pull, reducing stress on the crew 

and the vehicle. This acceleration level is about 

one-third the acceleration experienced on 

previous crewed space vehicles. 
82 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

About 10 seconds before main engine cutoff, or 

MECO, the cutoff sequence begins. About 

three seconds later the main engines are 

commanded to begin throttling at 10 percent 

thrust per second until they achieve 65 percent 

thrust. This is held for about 6.7 seconds, and 

the engines are shut down. 

The engine performance has the highest thrust 

for its weight of any engine yet developed. In 

fact, one space shuttle main engine generates 

sufficient thrust to maintain the flight of two 

and one-half Boeing 747 airplanes. 

The space shuttle main engine also is the first 

rocket engine to use a built-in electronic digital 

controller, or computer. The controller accepts 

commands from the orbiter for engine start, 

change in throttle, shutdown and monitoring of 

engine operation. 

NASA continues to increase the reliability and 

safety of shuttle flights through a series of 

enhancements to the space shuttle main 

engines. The engines were modified in 1988, 

1995, 1998, 2001 and 2007. Modifications 

include new high-pressure fuel and oxidizer 

turbopumps that reduce maintenance and 

operating costs of the engine, a two-duct 

powerhead that reduces pressure and 

turbulence in the engine, and a single-coil heat 

exchanger that lowers the number of post flight 

inspections required. Another modification 

incorporates a large-throat main combustion 

chamber that improves the engine’s reliability 

by reducing pressure and temperature in the 

chamber. 

The most recent engine enhancement is the 

Advanced Health Management System, or 

AHMS, which made its first flight in 2007. 

AHMS is a controller upgrade that provides 

new monitoring and insight into the health of 

the two most complex components of the space 

shuttle main engine—the high pressure fuel 

turbopump and the high pressure oxidizer 

turbopump. New advanced digital signal 

processors monitor engine vibration and have 

the ability to shut down an engine if vibration 

exceeds safe limits. AHMS was developed by 

engineers at Marshall. 

After the orbiter lands, the engines are removed 

and returned to a processing facility at 

Kennedy Space Center, Fla., where they are 

rechecked and readied for the next flight. Some 

components are returned to the main engine’s 

prime contractor, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, 

West Palm Beach, Fla., for regular maintenance. 

The main engines are designed to operate for 

7.5 accumulated hours. 

SPACE SHUTTLE SOLID ROCKET 

BOOSTERS 

The combination of reusable solid rocket motor 

segments and solid rocket booster 

subassemblies makes up the flight 

configuration of the space shuttle solid rocket 

boosters, or SRBs. The two SRBs provide the 

main thrust to lift the space shuttle off the 

launch pad and up to an altitude of about 

150,000 feet, or 28 miles. The two SRBs carry 

the entire weight of the external tank and 

orbiter and transmit the weight load through 

their structure to the mobile launcher platform. 

The primary elements of each booster are the 

motor, including case, propellant, igniter and 

nozzle; separation systems; operational flight 

instrumentation; recovery avionics; 

pyrotechnics; deceleration system; thrust vector 

control system; and range safety destruct 

system. 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 83

Each booster is attached to the external tank at 

the SRB aft frame by two lateral sway braces 

and a diagonal attachment. The forward end of 

each SRB is attached to the external tank at the 

forward end of the SRB forward skirt. On the 

launch pad, each booster also is attached to the 

mobile launcher platform at the aft skirt by four 

bolts and nuts that are severed by small 

explosives at liftoff. 

Each booster has a sea level thrust of about 

3.3 million pounds at launch. The SRBs are 

ignited after the three space shuttle main 

engines’ thrust level is verified. They provide 

71.4 percent of the thrust at liftoff and during 

first-stage ascent. Seventy-five seconds after 

separation, SRB apogee occurs at an altitude of 

about 220,000 feet, or 40 miles. Impact occurs 

in the ocean about 140 miles downrange. 

The SRBs are used as matched pairs, each made 

up of four solid rocket motor segments. They 

are matched by loading each of the four motor 

segments from the same batches of propellant 

ingredients to minimize any thrust imbalance. 

The segmented-casing design assures 

maximum flexibility in fabrication and ease of 

transportation and handling. Each segment is 

shipped to the launch site on a heavy-duty rail 

car with a specially built cover. 

Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) 

ATK Launch Systems of Brigham City, Utah, 

manufactures the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid 

Rocket Motor (RSRM) at its Utah facility. The 

RSRM is the largest solid rocket motor ever to 

fly, the only solid rocket motor rated for human 

flight and the first designed for reuse, one of 

the most important cost-saving factors in the 

nation’s space program. 

Each RSRM consists of four rocket motor 

segments, thrust vector control and an aft exit 

cone assembly. Each motor is just over 126 feet 

long and 12 feet in diameter. Of the motor’s 

total weight of 1.25 million pounds, propellant 

accounts for 1.1 million pounds. 

Approximately 110,000 quality-control 

inspections, in addition to static tests, are 

conducted on each RSRM flight set to verify 

flawless operation. 

Each space shuttle launch requires the boost of 

two RSRMs to lift the 4.5-million-pound shuttle 

vehicle. From ignition to the end of burn, about 

123 seconds later, each RSRM generates an 

average thrust of 2.6 million pounds. By the 

time the twin SRBs have completed their task, 

the space shuttle orbiter has reached an altitude 

of 28 miles and is traveling at a speed in excess 

of 3,000 miles per hour. Before retirement, each 

RSRM can be used as many as 20 times. 

The propellant mixture in each SRB motor 

consists of: ammonium perchlorate, an 

oxidizer; aluminum fuel; iron oxide, a catalyst; 

a polymer, which is a binder that holds the 

mixture together; and an epoxy curing agent. 

The propellant has the consistency of a pencil 

eraser. It has a molded internal geometry 

designed to provide required performance. 

This configuration provides high thrust at 

ignition and then reduces the thrust by about 

one-third 50 seconds after liftoff to prevent 

overstressing the vehicle during maximum 

dynamic pressure. 

The RSRM segments are shipped by rail from 

ATK’s Utah facility to the Kennedy Space 

Center, Fla. At KSC, United Space Alliance 

joins the segments with the forward assembly, 

aft skirt, frustum, and nose cap. The 

subassemblies contain the booster guidance 

system, the hydraulics system that steers the 

nozzles, Booster Separation Motors built by 

ATK, and parachutes. 
84 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

Following the Challenger accident, detailed 

structural analyses were performed on critical 

structural elements of the SRB. Analyses were 

primarily focused in areas where anomalies had 

been noted during postflight inspection of 

recovered hardware. 

One of these areas was the attach ring where 

the SRBs connect to the external tank. Areas of 

distress were noted in some of the fasteners 

where the ring attaches to the SRB motor case. 

The distress was attributed to the high loads 

encountered during water impact. To correct 

the situation and ensure higher strength 

margins during ascent, the attach ring was 

redesigned to encircle the motor case 

completely. Previously, the attach ring formed 

a “C” and encircled the motor case 270 degrees. 

Additionally, special structural tests were done 

on the aft skirt. During this test program, an 

anomaly occurred in a critical weld between the 

hold-down post and skin of the skirt. A 

redesign was implemented to add

reinforcement brackets and fittings in the aft 

ring of the skirt. 

These two modifications added about 

450 pounds to the weight of each SRB. 

Beginning with the STS-8 mission, the nozzle 

expansion ratio of each booster is 7-to-79. The 

nozzle is gimbaled for thrust vector, or 

direction, control. Each SRB has its own 

redundant auxiliary power units and hydraulic 

pumps. The all-axis gimbaling capability is 8 

degrees. Each nozzle has a carbon cloth liner 

that erodes and chars during firing. The nozzle 

is a convergent-divergent, movable design in 

which an aft pivot-point flexible bearing is the 

gimbal mechanism. 

The cone-shaped aft skirt supports the weight 

of the entire vehicle as it rests on the mobile 

launcher platform. The four aft separation 

motors are mounted on the skirt. The aft 

section contains: avionics; a thrust vector 

control system that consists of two auxiliary 

power units and hydraulic pumps; hydraulic 

systems; and a nozzle extension jettison system. 

The forward section of each booster contains 

avionics, a sequencer, forward separation 

motors, a nose cone separation system, drogue 

and main parachutes, a recovery beacon, a 

recovery light, a parachute camera on selected 

flights and a range safety system. 

Each SRB has two integrated electronic 

assemblies, one forward and one aft. After 

burnout, the forward assembly turns on the 

recovery aids and initiates the release of the 

nose cap and frustum, a transition piece 

between the nose cone and solid rocket motor. 

The aft assembly, mounted in the external tankto-SRB attach ring, connects with the forward 

assembly and the shuttle avionics systems for 

SRB ignition commands and nozzle thrust 

vector control. Each integrated electronic 

assembly has a multiplexer/demultiplexer, 

which sends or receives more than one 

message, signal or unit of information on a 

single communication channel. 

Eight Booster Separation Motors, four in the 

nose frustum and four in the aft skirt of each 

SRB, thrust for 1.02 seconds when the SRBs 

separate from the external tank. Each solid 

rocket separation motor is 31.1 inches long and 

12.8 inches in diameter. 

After separation from the tank, the boosters 

descend. At a predetermined altitude, 

parachutes are deployed to decelerate them for 

a safe splashdown in the ocean. Just prior to 

splashdown, the aft exit cones, or nozzle 

extensions, are separated from the vehicles to 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 85

reduce water impact loads. Splashdown occurs 

approximately 162 miles from the launch site. 

Location aids are provided for each SRB, 

frustum and drogue chutes, and main 

parachutes. These include a transmitter, 

antenna, strobe/converter, battery and

salt-water switch electronics. The location aids 

are designed for a minimum operating life of 

72 hours and, when refurbished, are considered 

usable up to 20 times. The flashing light is an 

exception. It has an operating life of 280 hours. 

The battery is used only once. 

The recovery crew retrieves the SRBs, frustum 

and drogue chutes, and main parachutes. The 

nozzles are plugged, the solid rocket motors are 

dewatered, and the SRBs are towed back to the 

launch site. Each booster is removed from the 

water, and its components are disassembled 

and washed with fresh and deionized water to 

limit salt-water corrosion. The motor segments, 

igniter and nozzle are shipped back to ATK in 

Utah for refurbishment. The SRB nose caps and 

nozzle extensions are not recovered. 

Each SRB incorporates a range safety system 

that includes a battery power source, receiver 

and decoder, antennas, and ordnance. 

Hold-Down Posts 

Each SRB has four hold-down posts that fit into 

corresponding support posts on the mobile 

launcher platform. Hold-down bolts secure the 

SRB and launcher platform posts together. 

Each bolt has a nut at each end, but only the top 

nut is frangible. The top nut contains two 

NASA standard detonators, or NSDs, which are 

ignited at solid rocket motor ignition 

commands. 

When the two NSDs are ignited at each 

hold-down, the hold-down bolt travels 

downward because of the release of tension in 

the bolt (pretensioned before launch), NSD gas 

pressure and gravity. The bolt is stopped by 

the stud deceleration stand, which contains 

sand. The SRB bolt is 28 inches long and 

3.5 inches in diameter. The frangible nut is 

captured in a blast container. 

The solid rocket motor ignition commands are 

issued by the orbiter’s computers through the 

master events controllers to the hold-down 

pyrotechnic initiator controllers, or PICs, on the 

mobile launcher platform. They provide the 

ignition to the hold-down NSDs. The launch 

processing system monitors the SRB hold-down 

PICs for low voltage during the last 16 seconds 

before launch. PIC low voltage will initiate a 

launch hold. 

SRB Ignition 

SRB ignition can occur only when a manual 

lock pin from each SRB safe and arm device has 

been removed. The ground crew removes the 

pin during prelaunch activities. At T minus 

five minutes, the SRB safe and arm device is 

rotated to the arm position. The solid rocket 

motor ignition commands are issued when the 

three SSMEs are at or above 90 percent rated 

thrust, no SSME fail and/or SRB ignition PIC 

low voltage is indicated, and there are no holds 

from the Launch Processing System, or LPS. 

The solid rocket motor ignition commands are 

sent by the orbiter computers through the 

master events controllers, or MECs, to the safe 

and arm device NSDs in each SRB. A 

programmable interval clock, or PIC, 

single-channel capacitor discharge device 

controls the firing of each pyrotechnic device. 

Three signals must be present simultaneously 

for the PIC to generate the pyro firing output. 

These signals – arm, fire 1 and fire 2 – originate 
86 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

in the orbiter General Purpose Computers, or 

GPCs, and are transmitted to the MECs. The 

MECs reformat them to 28-volt dc signals for 

the programmable interval clock. The arm 

signal charges the PIC capacitor to 40 volts dc. 

The fire 2 commands cause the redundant 

NSDs to fire through a thin barrier seal down a 

flame tunnel. This ignites a pyro booster 

charge, which is retained in the safe and arm 

device behind a perforated plate. The booster 

charge ignites the propellant in the igniter 

initiator; and combustion products of this 

propellant ignite the solid rocket motor 

initiator, which fires down the length of the 

solid rocket motor, igniting the solid rocket 

motor propellant. 

The GPC launch sequence also controls certain 

critical main propulsion system valves and 

monitors the engine-ready indications from the 

SSMEs. The Main Propulsion System, or MPS, 

start commands are issued by the on-board 

computers at T minus 6.6 seconds in a 

staggered start – engine three, engine two, 

engine one – all about within 0.25 of a second, 

and the sequence monitors the thrust buildup 

of each engine. All three SSMEs must reach the 

required 90 percent thrust within three seconds, 

otherwise, an orderly shutdown is commanded 

and safing functions are initiated. 

Normal thrust buildup to the required 

90 percent thrust level will result in the SSMEs 

being commanded to the liftoff position at 

T minus three seconds as well as the fire 1 

command being issued to arm the SRBs. At 

T minus three seconds, the vehicle base 

bending load modes are allowed to initialize, 

with a movement of 25.5 inches measured at 

the tip of the external tank, with movement 

towards the external tank. 

At T minus zero, the two SRBs are ignited 

under command of the four onboard 

computers; separation of the four explosive 

bolts on each SRB is initiated; the two T-0 

umbilicals, one on each side of the spacecraft, 

are retracted; the onboard master timing unit, 

event timer and mission event timers are 

started; the three SSMEs are at 100 percent; and 

the ground launch sequence is terminated. 

The solid rocket motor thrust profile is tailored 

to reduce thrust during the maximum dynamic 

pressure region. 

Electrical Power Distribution 

Electrical power distribution in each SRB 

consists of orbiter-supplied main dc bus power 

to each SRB via SRB buses A, B and C. In 

addition, orbiter main dc bus C supplies 

backup power to SRB buses A and B, and 

orbiter bus B supplies backup power to SRB 

bus C. This electrical power distribution 

arrangement allows all SRB buses to remain 

powered in the event one orbiter main bus fails. 

The nominal dc voltage is 28 volts dc, with an 

upper limit of 32 volts dc and a lower limit of 

24 volts dc. 

Hydraulic Power Units 

There are two self-contained, independent 

HPUs on each SRB. Each HPU consists of an 

auxiliary power unit, fuel supply module, 

hydraulic pump, hydraulic reservoir and 

hydraulic fluid manifold assembly. The 

auxiliary power units, or APUs, are fueled by 

hydrazine and generate mechanical shaft power 

to a hydraulic pump that produces hydraulic 

pressure for the SRB hydraulic system. The two 

separate HPUs and two hydraulic systems are 

located on the aft end of each SRB between the 

SRB nozzle and aft skirt. The HPU components 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 87

are mounted on the aft skirt between the rock 

and tilt actuators. The two systems operate 

from T minus 28 seconds until SRB separation 

from the orbiter and external tank. The two 

independent hydraulic systems are connected 

to the rock and tilt servoactuators. 

The APU controller electronics are located in 

the SRB aft integrated electronic assemblies on 

the aft external tank attach rings. 

The APUs and their fuel systems are isolated 

from each other. Each fuel supply module tank 

contains 22 pounds of hydrazine. The fuel tank 

is pressurized with gaseous nitrogen at 400 psi, 

which provides the force to expel the fuel from 

the tank to the fuel distribution line, 

maintaining a positive fuel supply to the APU 

throughout its operation. 

The fuel isolation valve is opened at APU 

startup to allow fuel to flow to the APU fuel 

pump and control valves and then to the gas 

generator. The gas generator’s catalytic action 

decomposes the fuel and creates a hot gas. It 

feeds the hot gas exhaust product to the APU 

two-stage gas turbine. Fuel flows primarily 

through the startup bypass line until the APU 

speed is such that the fuel pump outlet pressure 

is greater than the bypass line’s. Then all the 

fuel is supplied to the fuel pump. 

The APU turbine assembly provides 

mechanical power to the APU gearbox. The 

gearbox drives the APU fuel pump, hydraulic 

pump and lube oil pump. The APU lube oil 

pump lubricates the gearbox. The turbine 

exhaust of each APU flows over the exterior of 

the gas generator, cooling it, and is then 

directed overboard through an exhaust duct. 

When the APU speed reaches 100 percent, the 

APU primary control valve closes, and the APU 

speed is controlled by the APU controller 

electronics. If the primary control valve logic 

fails to the open state, the secondary control 

valve assumes control of the APU at 

112 percent speed. Each HPU on an SRB is 

connected to both servoactuators on that SRB. 

One HPU serves as the primary hydraulic 

source for the servoactuator, and the other 

HPU serves as the secondary hydraulics for 

the servoactuator. Each servoactuator has a 

switching valve that allows the secondary 

hydraulics to power the actuator if the primary 

hydraulic pressure drops below 2,050 psi. A 

switch contact on the switching valve will close 

when the valve is in the secondary position. 

When the valve is closed, a signal is sent to the 

APU controller that inhibits the 100 percent 

APU speed control logic and enables the 

112 percent APU speed control logic. The 

100 percent APU speed enables one APU/ 

HPU to supply sufficient operating hydraulic 

pressure to both servoactuators of that SRB. 

The APU 100 percent speed corresponds to 

72,000 rpm, 110 percent to 79,200 pm, and 

112 percent to 80,640 rpm. 

The hydraulic pump speed is 3,600 rpm and 

supplies hydraulic pressure of 3,050, plus or 

minus 50, psi. A high-pressure relief valve 

provides overpressure protection to the 

hydraulic system and relieves at 3,750 psi. 

The APUs/HPUs and hydraulic systems are 

reusable for 20 missions. 

Thrust Vector Control 

Each SRB has two hydraulic gimbal 

servoactuators, one for rock and one for tilt. 

The servoactuators provide the force and 

control to gimbal the nozzle for thrust vector 

control. 
88 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

The space shuttle ascent thrust vector control, 

or ATVC, portion of the flight control system 

directs the thrust of the three shuttle main 

engines and the two SRB nozzles to control 

shuttle attitude and trajectory during liftoff and 

ascent. Commands from the guidance system 

are transmitted to the ATVC drivers, which 

transmit signals proportional to the commands 

to each servoactuator of the main engines and 

SRBs. Four independent flight control system 

channels and four ATVC channels control six 

main engine and four SRB ATVC drivers, with 

each driver controlling one hydraulic port on 

each main and SRB servoactuator. 

Each SRB servoactuator consists of four 

independent, two-stage servovalves that 

receive signals from the drivers. Each 

servovalve controls one power spool in each 

actuator, which positions an actuator ram and 

the nozzle to control the direction of thrust. 

The four servovalves in each actuator provide a 

force-summed majority voting arrangement to 

position the power spool. With four identical 

commands to the four servovalves, the actuator 

force-sum action prevents a single erroneous 

command from affecting power ram motion. If 

the erroneous command persists for more than 

a predetermined time, differential pressure 

sensing activates a selector valve to isolate and 

remove the defective servovalve hydraulic 

pressure, permitting the remaining channels 

and servovalves to control the actuator ram 

spool. 

Failure monitors are provided for each channel 

to indicate which channel has been bypassed. 

An isolation valve on each channel provides the 

capability of resetting a failed or bypassed 

channel. 

Each actuator ram is equipped with transducers 

for position feedback to the thrust vector 

control system. Within each servoactuator ram 

is a splashdown load relief assembly to cushion 

the nozzle at water splashdown and prevent 

damage to the nozzle flexible bearing. 

SRB Rate Gyro Assemblies 

Each SRB contains two RGAs, with each RGA 

containing one pitch and one yaw gyro. These 

provide an output proportional to angular rates 

about the pitch and yaw axes to the orbiter 

computers and guidance, navigation and 

control system during first-stage ascent flight in 

conjunction with the orbiter roll rate gyros until 

SRB separation. At SRB separation, a 

switchover is made from the SRB RGAs to the 

orbiter RGAs. 

The SRB RGA rates pass through the orbiter 

flight aft multiplexers/demultiplexers to the 

orbiter GPCs. The RGA rates are then 

mid-value-selected in redundancy management 

to provide SRB pitch and yaw rates to the 

user software. The RGAs are designed for 

20 missions. 

SRB Separation 

SRB separation is initiated when the three solid 

rocket motor chamber pressure transducers are 

processed in the redundancy management 

middle value select and the head-end chamber 

pressure of both SRBs is less than or equal to 

50 psi. A backup cue is the time elapsed from 

booster ignition. 

The separation sequence is initiated, 

commanding the thrust vector control actuators 

to the null position and putting the main 

propulsion system into a second stage 

configuration 0.8 second from sequence 

initialization, which ensures the thrust of each 

SRB is less than 100,000 pounds. Orbiter yaw 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 89

attitude is held for four seconds, and SRB thrust 

drops to less than 60,000 pounds. The SRBs 

separate from the external tank within 

30 milliseconds of the ordnance firing 

command. 

The forward attachment point consists of a ball 

on the SRB and socket on the external tank held 

together by one bolt. The bolt contains one 

NSD pressure cartridge at each end. The 

forward attachment point also carries the Range 

Safety System, or RSS, cross-strap wiring 

connecting each SRB RSS and the ET RSS with 

each other. 

The aft attachment points consist of three 

separate struts, upper, diagonal, and lower. 

Each strut contains one bolt with an NSD 

pressure cartridge at each end. The upper strut 

also carries the umbilical interface between its 

SRB and the external tank and on to the orbiter. 

There are four Booster Separation Motors, or 

BSMs on each end of each SRB. The BSMs 

separate the SRBs from the external tank. The 

solid rocket motors in each cluster of four are 

ignited by firing redundant NSD pressure 

cartridges into redundant confined detonating 

fuse manifolds. The separation commands 

issued from the orbiter by the SRB separation 

sequence initiate the redundant NSD pressure 

cartridge in each bolt and ignite the BSMs to 

achieve a clean separation 

SRB Cameras 

A new camera, the External Tank Observation 

Camera, was added on the first Return to Flight 

mission. Named because it was originally 

certified to give NASA engineers a closer look 

at the insulating foam on the external tank’s 

inter-tank, the mid-section that joins the liquid 

hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. It consists 

of an off-the-shelf SuperCircuits PC 17 video 

camera and Sony mini-DV tape recorder 

positioned in each forward skirt section of the 

two boosters and offers a view of the Orbiter’s 

nose, the tank’s intertank and, at separation, the 

booster opposite the camera. 

The camera’s 2.5 mm lens provides a wideangle, 90 degree horizontal field of view. 

Recording begins at launch and continues until 

after drogue parachute deployment, when the 

recorder switches over to a second identical 

camera looking out the top to record main 

parachute deployment. Audio is also recorded, 

which allows some correlation between the 

video and various flight events. The recorder 

battery pack is a 7.2 volt Lithium Ion battery 

which supports 90 minutes of operation, 

enough to support launch and then descent 

back to the Atlantic Ocean. The camera battery 

pack is a 24V Ni-Cad battery pack. 

Video from the cameras is available for 

engineering review approximately 24 hours 

after the arrival of the boosters on the dock at 

Kennedy Space Center, usually about 52 hours 

after the launch. 

Redesigned Booster Separation Motors 

Redesigned Booster Separation Motors will fly 

the first time in both forward and aft locations 

on STS-125. As a result of vendor viability and 

manifest support issues, space shuttle BSMs are 

now being manufactured by ATK. The igniter 

has been redesigned and other changes include 

material upgrades driven by obsolescence 

issues and improvements to process and 

inspection techniques. 

As before, eight BSMs are located on each 

booster, four on the forward section and four 

on the aft skirt. Once the SRBs have completed 

their flight, the eight BSMs are fired to jettison 

the boosters away from the orbiter and external 

tank, allowing the solid rocket motors to 

parachute to Earth and be reused. 
90 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

SPACE SHUTTLE SUPER LIGHT WEIGHT 

TANK (SLWT) 

The super lightweight external tank (SLWT) 

made its first shuttle flight June 2, 1998, on 

mission STS-91. The SLWT is 7,500 pounds 

lighter than the standard external tank. The 

lighter weight tank allows the shuttle to deliver 

International Space Station elements (such as 

the service module) into the proper orbit. 

The SLWT is the same size as the previous 

design. But the liquid hydrogen tank and the 

liquid oxygen tank are made of aluminum 

lithium, a lighter, stronger material than the 

metal alloy used for the shuttle’s current tank. 

The tank’s structural design has also been 

improved, making it 30 percent stronger and 

5 percent less dense. 

The SLWT, like the standard tank, is 

manufactured at Michoud Assembly, near 

New Orleans, by Lockheed Martin. 

The 154-foot-long external tank is the largest 

single component of the space shuttle. It stands 

taller than a 15-story building and has a 

diameter of about 27 feet. The external tank 

holds over 530,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen 

and liquid oxygen in two separate tanks. The 

hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer) 

are used as propellants for the shuttle’s three 

main engines. 

EXTERNAL TANK 

The 154-foot-long external tank is the largest 

single component of the space shuttle. It stands 

taller than a 15-story building and has a 

diameter of about 27 feet. The external tank 

holds more than 530,000 gallons of liquid 

hydrogen and liquid oxygen in two separate 

tanks, the forward liquid oxygen tank and the 

aft liquid hydrogen tank. An unpressurized 

intertank unites the two propellant tanks. 

Liquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen 

(oxidizer) are used as propellants for the 

shuttle’s three main engines. The external tank 

weighs 58,500 pounds empty and 

1,668,500 pounds when filled with propellants. 

The external tank is the “backbone” of the 

shuttle during launch, providing structural 

support for attachment with the solid rocket 

boosters and orbiter. It is the only component 

of the shuttle that is not reused. Approximately 

8.5 minutes after reaching orbit, with its 

propellant used, the tank is jettisoned and falls 

in a preplanned trajectory. Most of the tank 

disintegrates in the atmosphere, and the 

remainder falls into the ocean. 

The external tank is manufactured at NASA’s 

Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans by 

Lockheed Martin Space Systems. 

Foam Facts 

The external tank is covered with spray-on 

foam insulation that insulates the tank before 

and during launch. More than 90 percent of the 

tank’s foam is applied using an automated 

system, leaving less than 10 percent to be 

applied manually. 

There are two types of foam on the external 

tank, known as the Thermal Protection System, 

or TPS. One is low-density, closed-cell foam on 

the tank acreage and is known as Spray-OnFoam-Insulation, often referred to by its 

acronym, SOFI. Most of the tank is covered by 

either an automated or manually applied SOFI. 

Most areas around protuberances, such as 

brackets and structural elements, are applied by 

pouring foam ingredients into part-specific 

molds. The other is a denser composite 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 91

material made of silicone resins and cork and 

called ablator. An ablator is a material that 

dissipates heat by eroding. It is used on areas 

of the external tank subjected to extreme heat, 

such as the aft dome near the engine exhaust, 

and remaining protuberances, such as the cable 

trays. These areas are exposed to extreme 

aerodynamic heating. 

Closed-cell foam used on the tank was 

developed to keep the propellants that fuel the 

shuttle’s three main engines at optimum 

temperature. It keeps the shuttle’s liquid 

hydrogen fuel at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit 

and the liquid oxygen tank at near minus 

297 degrees Fahrenheit, even as the tank sits 

under the hot Florida sun. At the same time, 

the foam prevents a buildup of ice on the 

outside of the tank. 

The foam insulation must be durable enough to 

endure a 180-day stay at the launch pad, 

withstand temperatures up to 115 degrees 

Fahrenheit, humidity as high as 100 percent, 

and resist sand, salt, fog, rain, solar radiation 

and even fungus. Then, during launch, the 

foam must tolerate temperatures as high as 

2,200 degrees Fahrenheit generated by 

aerodynamic friction and radiant heating from 

the 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit main engine 

plumes. Finally, when the external tank begins 

reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere about 

30 minutes after launch, the foam maintains the 

tank’s structural temperatures and allows it to 

safely disintegrate over a remote ocean location. 

Though the foam insulation on the majority of 

the tank is only 1-inch thick, it adds 

4,823 pounds to the tank’s weight. In the areas 

of the tank subjected to the highest heating, 

insulation is somewhat thicker, between 1.5 to 

3 inches thick. Though the foam’s density 

varies with the type, an average density is 

about 2.4 pounds per cubic foot. 

Application of the foam, whether automated by 

computer or hand-sprayed, is designed to meet 

NASA’s requirements for finish, thickness, 

roughness, density, strength and adhesion. As 

in most assembly production situations, the 

foam is applied in specially designed, 

environmentally controlled spray cells and 

applied in several phases, often over a period of 

several weeks. Before spraying, the foam’s raw 

material and mechanical properties are tested 

to ensure they meet NASA specifications. 

Multiple visual inspections of all foam surfaces 

are performed after the spraying is complete. 

Most of the foam is applied at NASA’s 

Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans 

when the tank is manufactured, including most 

of the “closeout” areas, or final areas applied. 

These closeouts are done either by hand 

pouring or manual spraying. Additional 

closeouts are completed once the tank reaches 

Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

The super lightweight external tank, or SLWT, 

made its first shuttle flight in June 1998 on 

mission STS-91. The SLWT is 7,500 pounds 

lighter than previously flown tanks. The SLWT 

is the same size as the previous design, but the 

liquid hydrogen tank and the liquid oxygen 

tank are made of aluminum lithium, a lighter, 

stronger material than the metal alloy used 

previously. 

Beginning with the first Return to Flight 

mission, STS-114 in June 2005, several 

improvements were made to improve safety 

and flight reliability. 
92 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

Forward Bipod 

The external tank’s forward shuttle attach 

fitting, called the bipod, was redesigned to 

eliminate the large insulating foam ramps as a 

source of debris. Each external tank has two 

bipod fittings that connect the tank to the 

orbiter through the shuttle’s two forward 

attachment struts. Four rod heaters were 

placed below each forward bipod, replacing the 

large insulated foam Protuberance Airload, or 

PAL, ramps. 

Liquid Hydrogen Tank & Liquid Oxygen 

Intertank Flange Closeouts 

The liquid hydrogen tank flange located at the 

bottom of the intertank and the liquid oxygen 

tank flange located at the top of the intertank 

provide joining mechanisms with the intertank. 

After each of these three component tanks, 

liquid oxygen, intertank and liquid hydrogen, 

are joined mechanically, the flanges at both 

ends are insulated with foam. An enhanced 

closeout, or finishing, procedure was added to 

improve foam application to the stringer, or 

intertank ribbing, and to the upper and lower 

area of both the liquid hydrogen and liquid 

oxygen intertank flanges. 

Liquid Oxygen Feedline Bellows 

The liquid oxygen feedline bellows were 

reshaped to include a “drip lip” that allows 

condensate moisture to run off and prevent 

freezing. A strip heater was added to the 

forward bellow to further reduce the potential 

of high density ice or frost formation. Joints on 

the liquid oxygen feedline assembly allow the 

feedline to move during installation and during 

liquid hydrogen tank fill. Because it must flex, 

it cannot be insulated with foam like the 

remainder of the tank. 

Other tank improvements include: 

Liquid Oxygen & Liquid Hydrogen 

Protuberance Airload (PAL) Ramps 

External tank ET-119, which flew on the second 

Return to Flight mission, STS-121, in July 2006, 

was the first tank to fly without PAL ramps 

along portions of the liquid oxygen and 

liquid hydrogen tanks. These PAL ramps were 

extensively studied and determined to not be 

necessary for their original purpose, which was 

to protect cable trays from aeroelastic instability 

during ascent. Extensive tests were conducted 

to verify the shuttle could fly safely without 

these particular PAL ramps. Extensions were 

added to the ice frost ramps for the pressline 

and cable tray brackets, where these PAL ramps 

were removed to make the geometry of the 

ramps consistent with other locations on 

the tank and thereby provide consistent 

aerodynamic flow. Nine extensions were 

added, six on the liquid hydrogen tank and 

three on the liquid oxygen tank. 

Engine Cutoff (ECO) Sensor Modification 

Beginning with STS-122, ET-125, which 

launched on Feb. 7, 2008, the ECO sensor 

system feed through connector on the liquid 

hydrogen tank was modified by soldering the 

connector’s pins and sockets to address false 

readings in the system. All subsequent tanks 

after ET-125 have the same modification. 

Liquid Hydrogen Tank Ice Frost Ramps 

ET-128, which flew on the STS-124 shuttle 

mission, May 31, 2008, was the first tank to fly 

with redesigned liquid hydrogen tank ice frost 

ramps. Design changes were incorporated at 

all 17 ice frost ramp locations on the liquid 

hydrogen tank, stations 1151 through 2057, to 

reduce foam loss. Although the redesigned 
NOVEMBER 2008 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 93

ramps appear identical to the previous design, 

several changes were made. PDL* and NCFI 

foam have been replaced with BX* manual 

spray foam in the ramp’s base cutout to reduce 

debonding and cracking; Pressline and cable 

tray bracket feet corners have been rounded to 

reduce stresses; shear pin holes have been 

sealed to reduce leak paths; isolators were 

primed to promote adhesion; isolator corners 

were rounded to help reduce thermal 

protection system foam stresses; BX manual 

spray was applied in bracket pockets to reduce 

geometric voids. 

*BX is a type of foam used on the tank’s 

“loseout,” or final finished areas; it is applied 

manually or hand-sprayed. PDL is an acronym 

for Product Development Laboratory, the first 

supplier of the foam during the early days of 

the external tank’s development. PDL is 

applied by pouring foam ingredients into a 

mold. NCFI foam is used on the aft dome, or 

bottom, of the liquid hydrogen tank. 

Liquid Oxygen Feedline Brackets 

ET-128 also was the first tank to fly with 

redesigned liquid oxygen feedline brackets. 

Titanium brackets, much less thermally 

conductive than aluminum, replaced aluminum 

brackets at four locations: XT 1129, XT 1377, 

Xt 1624 and Xt 1871. This change minimizes ice 

formation in under-insulated areas, and 

reduces the amount of foam required to cover 

the brackets and the propensity for ice 

development. Zero-gap/slip plane Teflon 

material was added to the upper outboard 

monoball attachment to eliminate ice adhesion. 

Additional foam has been added to the liquid 

oxygen feedline to further minimize ice 

formation along the length of the feedline. 
94 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 LAUNCH & LANDING 95

LAUNCH AND LANDING 

LAUNCH 

As with all previous space shuttle launches, 

Endeavour has several options to abort its 

ascent if needed after engine failures or other 

systems problems. Shuttle launch abort 

philosophy is intended to facilitate safe 

recovery of the flight crew and intact recovery 

of the orbiter and its payload. 

Abort modes include: 

ABORT-TO-ORBIT 

This mode is used if there’s a partial loss of 

main engine thrust late enough to permit 

reaching a minimal 105 by 85 nautical mile orbit 

with the orbital maneuvering system engines. 

The engines boost the shuttle to a safe orbital 

altitude when it is impossible to reach the 

planned orbital altitude. 

TRANSATLANTIC ABORT LANDING 

The loss of one or more main engines midway 

through powered flight would force a landing 

at either Zaragoza, Spain; Moron, Spain; or 

Istres, France. For launch to proceed, weather 

conditions must be acceptable at one of these 

TAL sites. 

RETURN-TO-LAUNCH-SITE 

If one or more engines shuts down early and 

there’s not enough energy to reach Zaragoza, 

the shuttle would pitch around toward 

Kennedy until within gliding distance of the 

Shuttle Landing Facility. For launch to 

proceed, weather conditions must be forecast to 

be acceptable for a possible RTLS landing at 

KSC about 20 minutes after liftoff. 

ABORT ONCE AROUND 

An AOA is selected if the vehicle cannot 

achieve a viable orbit or will not have enough 

propellant to perform a deorbit burn, but has 

enough energy to circle the Earth once and land 

about 90 minutes after liftoff. 

LANDING 

The primary landing site for Endeavour on 

STS‐126 is the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle 

Landing Facility. Alternate landing sites that 

could be used if needed because of weather 

conditions or systems failures are at Edwards 

Air Force Base, Calif., and White Sands Space 

Harbor, N.M. 
96 LAUNCH & LANDING NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 97

A/G Alignment Guides 

A/L Airlock 

AAA Avionics Air Assembly 

ABC Audio Bus Controller 

ACBM Active Common Berthing Mechanism 

ACDU Airlock Control and Display Unit 

ACO Assembly Checkout Officer 

ACS Atmosphere Control and Supply 

ACU Arm Control Unit 

ADS Audio Distribution System 

AE Approach Ellipsoid 

AEP Airlock Electronics Package 

AI Approach Initiation 

AJIS Alpha Joint Interface Structure 

AM Atmosphere Monitoring 

AMOS Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site 

AOH Assembly Operations Handbook 

APAS Androgynous Peripheral Attachment 

APCU Assembly Power Converter Unit 

APE Antenna Pointing Electronics 

Audio Pointing Equipment 

APFR Articulating Portable Foot Restraint 

APM Antenna Pointing Mechanism 

APS Automated Payload Switch 

APV Automated Procedure Viewer 

AR Atmosphere Revitalization 

ARCU American-to-Russian Converter Unit 

ARS Atmosphere Revitalization System 

ASW Application Software 

ATA Ammonia Tank Assembly 

ATCS Active Thermal Control System 

ATU Audio Terminal Unit 

BAD Broadcast Ancillary Data 

BC Bus Controller 

BCDU Battery Charge/Discharge Unit 

Berthing Mechanism Control and Display Unit 

BEP Berthing Mechanism Electronics Package 

BGA Beta Gimbal Assembly 

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 
98 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS NOVEMBER 2008

BIC Bus Interface Controller 

BIT Built-In Test 

BM Berthing Mechanism 

BOS BIC Operations Software 

BSS Basic Software 

BSTS Basic Standard Support Software 

C&C Command and Control 

C&DH Command and Data Handling 

C&T Communication and Tracking 

C&W Caution and Warning 

C/L Crew Lock 

C/O Checkout 

CAM Collision Avoidance Maneuver 

CAPE Canister for All Payload Ejections 

CAS Common Attach System 

CB Control Bus 

CBCS Centerline Berthing Camera System 

CBM Common Berthing Mechanism 

CCA Circuit Card Assembly 

CCAA Common Cabin Air Assembly 

CCHA Crew Communication Headset Assembly 

CCP Camera Control Panel 

CCT Communication Configuration Table 

CCTV Closed-Circuit Television 

CDR Space Shuttle Commander 

CDRA Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly 

CETA Crew Equipment Translation Aid 

CHeCS Crew Health Care System 

CHX Cabin Heat Exchanger 

CISC Complicated Instruction Set Computer 

CLA Camera Light Assembly 

CLPA Camera Light Pan Tilt Assembly 

CMG Control Moment Gyro 

COTS Commercial Off the Shelf 

CPA Control Panel Assembly 

CPB Camera Power Box 

CR Change Request 

CRT Cathode-Ray Tube 

CSA Canadian Space Agency 

CSA-CP Compound Specific Analyzer 

CVIU Common Video Interface Unit 
NOVEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 99

CVT Current Value Table 

CZ Communication Zone 

DB Data Book 

DC Docking Compartment 

DCSU Direct Current Switching Unit 

DDCU DC-to-DC Converter Unit 

DEM Demodulator 

DFL Decommutation Format Load 

DIU Data Interface Unit 

DMS Data Management System 

DMS-R Data Management System-Russian 

DPG Differential Pressure Gauge 

DPU Baseband Data Processing Unit 

DRTS Japanese Data Relay Satellite 

DYF Display Frame 

E/L Equipment Lock 

EATCS External Active Thermal Control System 

EBCS External Berthing Camera System 

ECC Error Correction Code 

ECLSS Environmental Control and Life Support System 

ECS Environmental Control System 

ECU Electronic Control Unit 

EDSU External Data Storage Unit 

EDU EEU Driver Unit 

EE End Effector 

EETCS Early External Thermal Control System 

EEU Experiment Exchange Unit 

EF Exposed Facility 

EFBM Exposed Facility Berthing Mechanism 

EFHX Exposed Facility Heat Exchanger 

EFU Exposed Facility Unit 

EGIL Electrical, General Instrumentation, and Lighting 

EIU Ethernet Interface Unit 

ELM-ES Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section 

ELM-PS Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section 

ELPS Emergency Lighting Power Supply 

EMGF Electric Mechanical Grapple Fixture 

EMI Electro-Magnetic Imaging 

EMU Extravehicular Mobility Unit 

E-ORU EVA Essential ORU 

EP Exposed Pallet 
100 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS NOVEMBER 2008

EPS Electrical Power System 

ES Exposed Section 

ESA European Space Agency 

ESC JEF System Controller 

ESW Extended Support Software 

ET External Tank 

ETCS External Thermal Control System 

ETI Elapsed Time Indicator 

ETRS EVA Temporary Rail Stop 

ETVCG External Television Camera Group 

EV Extravehicular 

EVA Extravehicular Activity (Spacewalk) 

EXP-D Experiment-D 

EXT External 

FA Fluid Accumulator 

FAS Flight Application Software 

FCT Flight Control Team 

FD Flight Day 

FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Interface 

FDIR Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery 

FDS Fire Detection System 

FE Flight Engineer 

FET-SW Field Effect Transistor Switch 

FGB Functional Cargo Block 

FOR Frame of Reference 

FPP Fluid Pump Package 

FR Flight Rule 

FRD Flight Requirements Document 

FRGF Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture 

FRM Functional Redundancy Mode 

FSE Flight Support Equipment 

FSEGF Flight Support Equipment Grapple Fixture 

FSW Flight Software 

GAS Get-Away Special 

GCA Ground Control Assist 

GLA General Lighting Assemblies 

General Luminaire Assembly 

GLONASS Global Navigational Satellite System 

GNC Guidance, Navigation, and Control 

GPC General Purpose Computer 

GPS Global Positioning System 
NOVEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 101

GPSR Global Positioning System Receiver 

GUI Graphical User Interface 

H&S Health and Status 

HCE Heater Control Equipment 

HCTL Heater Controller 

HEPA High Efficiency Particulate Acquisition 

HPA High Power Amplifier 

HPP Hard Point Plates 

HRDR High Rate Data Recorder 

HREL Hold/Release Electronics 

HRFM High Rate Frame Multiplexer 

HRM Hold Release Mechanism 

HRMS High Rate Multiplexer and Switcher 

HTV H-II Transfer Vehicle 

HTVCC HTV Control Center 

HTV Prox HTV Proximity 

HX Heat Exchanger 

I/F Interface 

IAA Intravehicular Antenna Assembly 

IAC Internal Audio Controller 

IBM International Business Machines 

ICB Inner Capture Box 

ICC Integrated Cargo Carrier 

ICS Interorbit Communication System 

ICS-EF Interorbit Communication System – Exposed Facility 

IDRD Increment Definition and Requirements Document 

IELK Individual Equipment Liner Kit 

IFHX Interface Heat Exchanger 

IMCS Integrated Mission Control System 

IMCU Image Compressor Unit 

IMV Intermodule Ventilation 

INCO Instrumentation and Communication Officer 

IP International Partner 

IP-PCDU ICS-PM Power Control and Distribution Unit 

IP-PDB Payload Power Distribution Box 

ISP International Standard Payload 

ISPR International Standard Payload Rack 

ISS International Space Station 

ISSSH International Space Station Systems Handbook 

ITCS Internal Thermal Control System 

ITS Integrated Truss Segment 
102 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS NOVEMBER 2008

IVA Intravehicular Activity 

IVSU Internal Video Switch Unit 

JAL JEM Air Lock 

JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

JCP JEM Control Processor 

JEF JEM Exposed Facility 

JEM Japanese Experiment Module 

JEMAL JEM Airlock 

JEM-PM JEM – Pressurized Module 

JEMRMS Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System 

JEUS Joint Expedited Undocking and Separation 

JFCT Japanese Flight Control Team 

JLE Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section 

JLP Japapese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section 

JLP-EDU JLP-EFU Driver Unit 

JLP-EFU JLP Exposed Facility Unit 

JPM Japanese Pressurized Module 

JPM WS JEM Pressurized Module Workstation 

JSC Johnson Space Center 

JTVE JEM Television Equipment 

Kbps Kilobit per second 

KOS Keep Out Sphere 

LB Local Bus 

LCA LAB Cradle Assembly 

LCD Liquid Crystal Display 

LED Light Emitting Diode 

LEE Latching End Effector 

LMC Lightweight MPESS Carrier 

LSW Light Switch 

LTA Launch-to-Activation 

LTAB Launch-to-Activation Box 

LTL Low Temperature Loop 

MA Main Arm 

MAUI Main Analysis of Upper-Atmospheric Injections 

Mb Megabit 

Mbps Megabit per second 

MBS Mobile Base System 

MBSU Main Bus Switching Unit 

MCA Major Constituent Analyzer 
NOVEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 103

MCC Mission Control Center 

MCC-H Mission Control Center – Houston 

MCC-M Mission Control Center – Moscow 

MCDS Multifunction Cathode-Ray Tube Display System 

MCS Mission Control System 

MDA MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. 

MDM Multiplexer/Demultiplexer 

MDP Management Data Processor 

MELFI Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS 

MGB Middle Grapple Box 

MIP Mission Integration Plan 

MISSE Materials International Space Station Experiment 

MKAM Minimum Keep Alive Monitor 

MLE Middeck Locker Equivalent 

MLI Multi-layer Insulation 

MLM Multipurpose Laboratory Module 

MMOD Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris 

MOD Modulator 

MON Television Monitor 

MPC Main Processing Controller 

MPESS Multipurpose Experiment Support Structure 

MPEV Manual Pressure Equalization Valve 

MPL Manipulator Retention Latch 

MPLM Multi-Purpose Logistics Module 

MPM Manipulator Positioning Mechanism 

MPV Manual Procedure Viewer 

MSD Mass Storage Device 

MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center 

MSP Maintenance Switch Panel 

MSS Mobile Servicing System 

MT Mobile Tracker 

MTL Moderate Temperature Loop 

MUX Data Multiplexer 

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

NCS Node Control Software 

NET No Earlier Than 

NLT No Less Than 

n.mi. nautical mile 

NPRV Negative Pressure Relief Valve 

NSV Network Service 
104 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS NOVEMBER 2008

NTA Nitrogen Tank Assembly 

NTSC National Television Standard Committee 

OBSS Orbiter Boom Sensor System 

OCA Orbital Communications Adapter 

OCAD Operational Control Agreement Document 

OCAS Operator Commanded Automatic Sequence 

ODF Operations Data File 

ODS Orbiter Docking System 

OI Orbiter Interface 

OIU Orbiter Interface Unit 

OMS Orbital Maneuvering System 

OODT Onboard Operation Data Table 

ORCA Oxygen Recharge Compressor Assembly 

ORU Orbital Replacement Unit 

OS Operating System 

OSA Orbiter-based Station Avionics 

OSE Orbital Support Equipment 

OTCM ORU and Tool Changeout Mechanism 

OTP ORU and Tool Platform 

P/L Payload 

PAL Planning and Authorization Letter 

PAM Payload Attach Mechanism 

PAO Public Affairs Office 

PBA Portable Breathing Apparatus 

PCA Pressure Control Assembly 

PCBM Passive Common Berthing Mechanism 

PCN Page Change Notice 

PCS Portable Computer System 

PCU Power Control Unit 

PDA Payload Disconnect Assembly 

PDB Power Distribution Box 

PDGF Power and Data Grapple Fixture 

PDH Payload Data Handling unit 

PDRS Payload Deployment Retrieval System 

PDU Power Distribution Unit 

PEC Passive Experiment Container 

PEHG Payload Ethernet Hub Gateway 

PFE Portable Fire Extinguisher 

PGSC Payload General Support Computer 

PIB Power Interface Box 

PIU Payload Interface Unit 
NOVEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 105

PLB Payload Bay 

PLBD Payload Bay Door 

PLC Pressurized Logistics Carrier 

PLT Payload Laptop Terminal 

Space Shuttle Pilot 

PM Pressurized Module 

PMA Pressurized Mating Adapter 

PMCU Power Management Control Unit 

POA Payload ORU Accommodation 

POR Point of Resolution 

PPRV Positive Pressure Relief Valve 

PRCS Primary Reaction Control System 

PREX Procedure Executor 

PRLA Payload Retention Latch Assembly 

PROX Proximity Communications Center 

psia Pounds per Square Inch Absolute 

PSP Payload Signal Processor 

PSRR Pressurized Section Resupply Rack 

PTCS Passive Thermal Control System 

PTR Port Thermal Radiator 

PTU Pan/Tilt Unit 

PVCU Photovoltaic Controller Unit 

PVM Photovoltaic Module 

PVR Photovoltaic Radiator 

PVTCS Photovoltaic Thermal Control System 

QD Quick Disconnect 

R&MA Restraint and Mobility Aid 

RACU Russian-to-American Converter Unit 

RAM Read Access Memory 

RBVM Radiator Beam Valve Module 

RCC Range Control Center 

RCT Rack Configuration Table 

RF Radio Frequency 

RGA Rate Gyro Assemblies 

RHC Rotational Hand Controller 

RIGEX Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away Special Experiment 

RIP Remote Interface Panel 

RLF Robotic Language File 

RLT Robotic Laptop Terminal 

RMS Remote Manipulator System 

ROEU Remotely Operated Electrical Umbilical 
106 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS NOVEMBER 2008

ROM Read Only Memory 

R-ORU Robotics Compatible Orbital Replacement Unit 

ROS Russian Orbital Segment 

RPC Remote Power Controller 

RPCM Remote Power Controller Module 

RPDA Remote Power Distribution Assembly 

RPM Roll Pitch Maneuver 

RS Russian Segment 

RSP Return Stowage Platform 

RSR Resupply Stowage Rack 

RT Remote Terminal 

RTAS Rocketdyne Truss Attachment System 

RVFS Rendezvous Flight Software 

RWS Robotics Workstation 

SAFER Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue 

SAM SFA Airlock Attachment Mechanism 

SARJ Solar Alpha Rotary Joint 

SCU Sync and Control Unit 

SD Smoke Detector 

SDS Sample Distribution System 

SEDA Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment 

SEDA-AP Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment – Attached Payload 

SELS SpaceOps Electronic Library System 

SEU Single Event Upset 

SFA Small Fine Arm 

SFAE SFA Electronics 

SI Smoke Indicator 

SLM Structural Latch Mechanism 

SLP-D Spacelab Pallet – D 

SLP-D1 Spacelab Pallet – Deployable 

SLP-D2 Spacelab Pallet – D2 

SLT Station Laptop Terminal 

System Laptop Terminal 

SM Service Module 

SMDP Service Module Debris Panel 

SOC System Operation Control 

SODF Space Operations Data File 

SPA Small Payload Attachment 

SPB Survival Power Distribution Box 

SPDA Secondary Power Distribution Assembly 

SPDM Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator 
NOVEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 107

SPEC Specialist 

SRAM Static RAM 

SRB Solid Rocket Booster 

SRMS Shuttle Remote Manipulator System 

SSAS Segment-to-Segment Attach System 

SSC Station Support Computer 

SSCB Space Station Control Board 

SSE Small Fine Arm Storage Equipment 

SSIPC Space Station Integration and Promotion Center 

SSME Space Shuttle Main Engine 

SSOR Space-to-Space Orbiter Radio 

SSP Standard Switch Panel 

SSPTS Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System 

SSRMS Space Station Remote Manipulator System 

STC Small Fire Arm Transportation Container 

STR Starboard Thermal Radiator 

STS Space Transfer System 

STVC SFA Television Camera 

SVS Space Vision System 

TA Thruster Assist 

TAC TCS Assembly Controller 

TAC-M TCS Assembly Controller – M 

TCA Thermal Control System Assembly 

TCB Total Capture Box 

TCCS Trace Contaminant Control System 

TCCV Temperature Control and Check Valve 

TCS Thermal Control System 

TCV Temperature Control Valve 

TDK Transportation Device Kit 

TDRS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 

THA Tool Holder Assembly 

THC Temperature and Humidity Control 

Translational Hand Controller 

THCU Temperature and Humidity Control Unit 

TIU Thermal Interface Unit 

TKSC Tsukuba Space Center (Japan) 

TLM Telemetry 

TMA Russian vehicle designation 

TMR Triple Modular Redundancy 

TPL Transfer Priority List 

TRRJ Thermal Radiator Rotary Joint 
108 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS NOVEMBER 2008

TUS Trailing Umbilical System 

TVC Television Camera 

UCCAS Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attach System 

UCM Umbilical Connect Mechanism 

UCM-E UCM – Exposed Section Half 

UCM-P UCM – Payload Half 

UHF Ultrahigh Frequency 

UIL User Interface Language 

ULC Unpressurized Logistics Carrier 

UMA Umbilical Mating Adapter 

UOP Utility Outlet Panel 

UPC Up Converter 

USA United Space Alliance 

US LAB United States Laboratory 

USOS United States On-Orbit Segment 

VAJ Vacuum Access Jumper 

VBSP Video Baseband Signal Processor 

VCU Video Control Unit 

VDS Video Distribution System 

VLU Video Light Unit 

VRA Vent Relief Assembly 

VRCS Vernier Reaction Control System 

VRCV Vent Relief Control Valve 

VRIV Vent Relief Isolation Valve 

VSU Video Switcher Unit 

VSW Video Switcher 

WAICO Waiving and Coiling 

WCL Water Cooling Loop 

WETA Wireless Video System External Transceiver Assembly 

WIF Work Interface 

WRM Water Recovery and Management 

WRS Water Recovery System 

WS Water Separator 

Work Site 

Work Station 

WVA Water Vent Assembly 

ZSR Zero-g Stowage Rack 
NOVEMBER 2008 MEDIA ASSISTANCE 109

MEDIA ASSISTANCE 

NASA TELEVISION TRANSMISSION 

NASA Television is carried on an MPEG‐2 

digital signal accessed via satellite AMC‐6, at 

72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 

4040 MHz, vertical polarization. For those in 

Alaska or Hawaii, NASA Television will be 

seen on AMC‐7, at 137 degrees west longitude, 

transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal 

polarization. In both instances, a Digital Video 

Broadcast, or DVB‐compliant Integrated 

Receiver Decoder, or IRD, with modulation of 

QPSK/DBV, data rate of 36.86 and FEC 3/4 will 

be needed for reception. The NASA Television 

schedule and links to streaming video are 

available at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

NASA TV’s digital conversion will require 

members of the broadcast media to upgrade 

with an ‘addressable’ Integrated Receiver 

De‐coder, or IRD, to participate in live news 

events and interviews, media briefings and 

receive NASA’s Video File news feeds on a 

dedicated Media Services channel. NASA 

mission coverage will air on a digital NASA 

Public Services “Free to Air” channel, for which 

only a basic IRD will be needed. 

Television Schedule 

A schedule of key in‐orbit events and media 

briefings during the mission will be detailed in 

a NASA TV schedule posted at the link above. 

The schedule will be updated as necessary and 

will also be available at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

mission_schedule.html

Status Reports 

Status reports on launch countdown and 

mission progress, in‐orbit activities and landing 

operations will be posted at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

This site also contains information on the crew 

and will be updated regularly with photos and 

video clips throughout the flight. 

More Internet Information 

Information on the ISS is available at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/station

Information on safety enhancements made 

since the Columbia accident is available at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/

system/index.html

Information on other current NASA activities is 

available at: 

http://www.nasa.gov

Resources for educators can be found at the 

following address: 

http://education.nasa.gov
110 MEDIA ASSISTANCE NOVEMBER 2008

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NOVEMBER 2008 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 111

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 

HEADQUARTERS 

WASHINGTON, DC 

Space Operations Mission Directorate 

Michael Braukus 

International Partners 

202-358-1979 

michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov

Katherine Trinidad 

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 

202-358-3749 

katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov

John Yembrick 

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 

202-358-0602 

john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov

Mike Curie 

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 

202-358-4715 

michael.curie@nasa.gov

Science Mission Directorate 

Grey Hautaluoma 

Research in Space 

202-358-0668 

grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov

Ashley Edwards 

Research in Space 

202-358-1756 

ashley.edwards-1@nasa.gov

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER 

HOUSTON, TEXAS 

James Hartsfield 

News Chief 

281-483-5111 

james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov

Kyle Herring 

Public Affairs Specialist 

Space Shuttle Program Office 

281-483-5111 

kyle.j.herring@nasa.gov

Rob Navias 

Program and Mission Operations Lead 

281-483-5111 

rob.navias-1@nasa.gov

Kelly Humphries 

Public Affairs Specialist 

International Space Station and Mission 

Operations Directorate 

281-483-5111 

kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters 

Public Affairs Specialist 

Astronauts 

281-483-5111 

nicole.cloutier-1@nasa.gov
112 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS NOVEMBER 2008

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER 

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA 

Allard Beutel 

News Chief 

321-867-2468 

allard.beutel@nasa.gov

Candrea Thomas 

Public Affairs Specialist 

Space Shuttle 

321-861-2468 

candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov

Tracy Young 

Public Affairs Specialist 

International Space Station 

321-867-2468 

tracy.g.young@nasa.gov

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER 

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA 

Dom Amatore 

Public Affairs Manager 

256-544-0034 

dominic.a.amatore@nasa.gov

June Malone 

Public Affairs Specialist 

News Chief/Media Manager 

256-544-0034 

june.e.malone@nasa.gov

Steve Roy 

Public Affairs Specialist 

Space Shuttle Propulsion 

256-544-0034 

steven.e.roy@nasa.gov

STENNIS SPACE CENTER 

BAY ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI 

Linda Theobald 

Public Affairs Officer 

228-688-3249 

linda.l.theobald@nasa.gov

Paul Foerman 

News Chief 

228-688-1880 

paul.foerman-1@nasa.gov

AMES RESEARCH CENTER 

MOFFETT FIELD, CALIFORNIA 

Mike Mewhinney 

News Chief 

650-604-3937 

michael.mewhinney@nasa.gov

Jonas Dino 

Public Affairs Specialist 

650-604-5612 

jonas.dino@nasa.gov

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER 

EDWARDS, CALIFORNIA 

Fred Johnsen 

Director, Public Affairs 

661-276-2998 

frederick.a.johnsen@nasa.gov

Alan Brown 

News Chief 

661-276-2665 

alan.brown@nasa.gov

Leslie Williams 

Public Affairs Specialist 

661-276-3893 

leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov
NOVEMBER 2008 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 113

GLENN RESEARCH CENTER 

CLEVELAND, OHIO 

Lori Rachul 

News Chief 

216-433-8806 

lori.j.rachul@nasa.gov

Katherine Martin 

Public Affairs Specialist 

216-433-2406 

katherine.martin@nasa.gov

LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER 

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA 

Marny Skora 

Head, News Media Office 

757-864-3315 

marny.skora@nasa.gov

Chris Rink 

Public Affairs Officer 

757-864-6786 

christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov

Kathy Barnstorff 

Public Affairs Officer 

757-864-9886 

katherine.a.barnstorff@nasa.gov

UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE 

Jessica Pieczonka 

Houston Operations 

281-212-6252 

832-205-0480 

jessica.b.pieczonka@usa-spaceops.com

David Waters 

Florida Operations 

321-861-3805 

david.waters@usa-spaceops.com

BOEING 

Tanya Deason-Sharp 

Media Relations 

Boeing Space Exploration 

281-226-6070 

tanya.e.deason-sharp@boeing.com

Ed Memi 

Media Relations 

Boeing Space Exploration 

281-226-4029 

edmund.g.memi@boeing.com

JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION 

AGENCY (JAXA) 

JAXA Public Affairs Office 

Tokyo, Japan 

011-81-3-6266-6414, 6415, 6416, 6417 

proffice@jaxa.jp

CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY (CSA) 

Jean-Pierre Arseneault 

Manager, Media Relations & Information 

Services 

514-824-0560 (cell) 

jean-pierre.arseneault@space.gc.ca

Media Relations Office 

Canadian Space Agency 

450-926-4370 

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) 

Clare Mattok 

Communication Manager 

Paris, France 

011-33-1-5369-7412 

clare.mattok@esa.int
114 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS NOVEMBER 2008

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