MARCH 2009 CONTENTS i

CONTENTS 

Section Page 

STS-119 MISSION OVERVIEW ................................................................................................ 1

STS-119 TIMELINE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 11

MISSION PROFILE................................................................................................................... 15

MAJOR MISSION PRIORITIES ................................................................................................ 17

MISSION PERSONNEL ............................................................................................................. 19

STS-119 CREW ....................................................................................................................... 21

PAYLOAD OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 31

DISCOVERY TO TRANSPORT LAST U.S. STARBOARD TRUSS SEGMENT TO SPACE STATION ................ 31

RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING .................................................................................................. 43

UNDOCKING, SEPARATION AND DEPARTURE ....................................................................................... 44

SPACEWALKS ......................................................................................................................... 47

EXPERIMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 55

DETAILED TEST OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................... 55

CONSTELLATION PROGRAM DETAILED TEST OBJECTIVES ................................................................... 56

SPACE SHUTTLE SOLID ROCKET MOTOR PRESSURE OSCILLATION DATA GATHERING ......................... 57

SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA .................................................................................................... 59

LAUNCH AND LANDING ........................................................................................................... 77

LAUNCH............................................................................................................................................... 77

ABORT-TO-ORBIT................................................................................................................................ 77

TRANSATLANTIC ABORT LANDING ...................................................................................................... 77

RETURN-TO-LAUNCH-SITE................................................................................................................... 77

ABORT ONCE AROUND ......................................................................................................................... 77

LANDING ............................................................................................................................................. 77
ii CONTENTS MARCH 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Section Page 

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... 79

MEDIA ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................... 91

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS .................................................................................................. 93
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 1

STS-119 MISSION OVERVIEW 

The STS-119 crew members 

As the 28th mission to the International Space 

Station, STS-119 will continue the strides made 

to complete construction of the orbiting 

complex. Discovery and its crew will deliver to 

the station not only the final set of 

power-generating solar array wings, but also 

the newest crew member. 

Discovery is scheduled to launch at 9:20 p.m. 

EDT March 11, and arrive at the space station 

two days later. Once docked, the shuttle and 

station crews will begin 10 days of joint 

activities including four spacewalks. 
2 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

This graphic depicts the location of the STS-119 payload hardware. 

Air Force Col. Lee Archambault 

(ARSH-um-boh) will lead the STS-119 crew. 

Navy Cmdr. Tony Antonelli will serve as the 

pilot. The mission specialists for the flight are 

Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, 

Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata 

(Ko-EE’-chee Wa-KAH’-tah). 

Wakata will remain on the station, joining 

Expedition 18 Commander E. Michael Fincke, 

an Air Force colonel, and Flight Engineer Yury 

Lonchakov (LAHN'-chuh-coff), a Russian Air 

Force colonel. Wakata will replace Expedition 

18 Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who will 

return to Earth with the STS-119 crew. Wakata 

will serve as a flight engineer for Expeditions 18 

and 19. 

Fincke and Lonchakov were launched to the 

complex in the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft on 

Oct. 12, 2008, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 

in Kazakhstan. Wakata will return to Earth on 

shuttle mission STS-127, while Fincke and 

Lonchakov will return in the Soyuz in April. 

The STS-119 flight will deliver the final pair of 

power-generating solar array wings and truss 

element to the space station. The delivery and 

installation of the station’s final, major U.S. 

truss segment, Starboard 6 (S6), during the 

STS-119 mission will signal the station’s 

readiness to house a six-member crew for 

conducting increased science. With the 

installation of the 31,127-pound, 45.4-foot-long 

segment, the station’s completed truss, or 

backbone, will measure 335 feet – more than the 

length of a football field. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 3

Astronauts Lee Archambault (left) and Tony Antonelli, STS-119 commander and pilot, respectively, 

pose for a photo in the cockpit of a NASA DC-9 aircraft before a Heavy Aircraft Training (HAT) 

session at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center. 

Discovery also will carry a replacement 

Distillation Assembly for the station’s new 

water recycling system. The unit is part of the 

Urine Processing Assembly that removes 

impurities from urine in an early stage of the 

recycling process. The entire Water Recovery 

System was delivered and installed during the 

STS-126 mission in November. Astronauts 

were able coax it into use during that mission 

by performing in-flight maintenance, but the 

Distillation Assembly failed after Endeavour’s 

departure. The replacement unit will fly in 

Discovery’s middeck and be installed by 

Sandy Magnus while other crew members are 

working on the mission’s second spacewalk. 

Flight Day 2 

The day after launch, inspection of Discovery’s 

thermal protection heat shield will be 

performed per the standard shuttle procedures. 

Phillips, Antonelli and Acaba will use the 

shuttle’s robotic arm with a 50-foot extension 

boom to obtain detailed imagery of the 

reinforced carbon-carbon protection on the 

leading edge of the orbiter’s wings and other 

critical surfaces. The Orbiter Boom Sensor 

System, or OBSS, uses laser devices and 

cameras to map the shuttle’s heat shield. After 

Discovery is docked to the station, any focused 

inspection of the shuttle’s thermal protection 
4 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

system would require a handoff of the sensor 

boom from the station’s robotic arm to the 

shuttle’s robotic arm because of interference 

created by the docking system linking the 

shuttle to the station. 

The crew also will check out spacesuits to be 

used during the mission’s four spacewalks and 

prepare for the next day’s rendezvous and 

docking with the station by checking out 

rendezvous tools, installing the centerline 

camera and extending the orbiter’s docking 

system ring. 

Flight Day 3 

On the third day of the mission, after Discovery 

has closed within 600 feet of the station, 

Archambault will operate the shuttle’s aft flight 

deck controls to approach the station for 

docking. First, Archambault will execute a 

slow backflip maneuver, presenting the belly of 

Discovery and other areas of its heat protective 

tiles to station residents Fincke and Magnus, 

who will use digital cameras equipped with 400 

and 800 millimeter lenses to acquire high 

resolution photos of Discovery’s heat shield. 

About two hours after Discovery attaches to the 

forward docking port at the end of the station’s 

Harmony module, hatches will be opened 

between the two spacecraft to allow the 10 crew 

members to greet one another for the start of 

joint operations. 

Following a standard safety briefing by Fincke, 

the crews will get to work, activating a 

Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System that 

will provide additional electricity to Discovery 

for the longer operation of shuttle systems. 

A few hours after hatch opening, Magnus and 

Wakata will exchange custom-made Russian 

Soyuz spacecraft seat liners. With that 

exchange, Wakata will become a member of the 

Expedition 18 space station crew and Magnus 

will become part of Discovery’s crew. 

Flight Day 4 

The following day, joint activities begin in 

earnest. Magnus will join Phillips at the 

robotics workstation in the station’s Destiny 

laboratory to use the station’s robotic arm, 

Canadarm2, to grapple the S6 truss segment in 

the shuttle’s payload bay. They’ll use the 

multi-jointed arm to gently lift the S6 truss from 

the cargo bay and hand it to the shuttle robotic 

arm, controlled by Antonelli and Acaba at 

Discovery’s aft flight deck. While the shuttle 

arm holds the truss segment, the station arm 

will be repositioned to the installation worksite. 

Once in position, the shuttle arm will hand the 

truss back over to the station robotic arm where 

it will remain in an overnight parked position. 

The rest of the day will focus on preparation for 

the first spacewalk of the mission. 

All 10 crew members will join to review 

procedures for the first planned spacewalk 

before Swanson and Arnold make their way to 

the Quest airlock where they will spend the 

night. This “campout” procedure helps to 

purge nitrogen from the astronauts’ 

bloodstream to prevent decompression sickness 

during the spacewalk. 

Flight Day 5 

On the fifth day of the flight, Swanson and 

Arnold will begin the first spacewalk by 

working with the crew inside to install the 

awaiting truss segment. Phillips, at the space 

station’s robotic workstation, will work in 

tandem with the two spacewalkers to 

maneuver the truss segment into place where 

the spacewalkers can then work on the detailed 

installation tasks. The spacewalkers will 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 5

Astronaut Joseph Acaba (right foreground), STS-119 mission specialist, dons a training version of 

his shuttle launch and entry suit in preparation for a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup 

Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. United Space Alliance suit technician Toni Cost-Davis 

assists Acaba. 

provide visual cues to Phillips for the final 

alignment before bolting the segment, 

connecting umbilicals, removing thermal 

covers, and releasing and unstowing the solar 

array blanket boxes, which store the 

accordion-like arrays. They’ll also prepare the 

truss’ photovoltaic radiator for deployment. 
6 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 18 flight engineer, takes a 

moment for a photo during a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA’s 

Johnson Space Center. Wakata is wearing a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit. 

Flight Day 6 

The following day sets aside time for a focused 

inspection of Discovery’s thermal protection 

system, if needed. If required, Archambault, 

Acaba and Antonelli will use the OBSS to 

conduct the inspection. The crews also will 

continue with the exchange of supplies and 

equipment from the shuttle to the station. 

Flight Day 7 

On flight day seven, Swanson will be joined by 

Acaba for the second spacewalk of the mission, 

the first ever for Acaba. They will prepare 

batteries on the Port 6 truss segment for 

replacement on a later mission and deploy an 

unpressurized cargo carrier attachment system 

on the P3 – or Port 3 truss segment. While still 

on the port side of the truss, Swanson will 

repair a thermal cover on a radiator beam valve 

module while Acaba installs fluid jumpers 

between the P1 and P3 truss segments. Next, 

they will move to the starboard side of the 

station’s truss to deploy a payload attachment 

system on the S3 segment. Before heading back 

to the station’s airlock, they’ll relocate a tool 

stanchion from the Z1 truss segment to the 

exterior of the Destiny laboratory and pick up a 

foot restraint for stowage inside the airlock. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 7

Astronauts Richard Arnold (left) and John Phillips (center), both STS-119 mission 

specialists, participate in a Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT) mockup training session in the 

Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. United Space 

Alliance crew instructor Lynn Coldiron assists the crew members. 

While the spacewalk is under way, Magnus will 

spend about three hours installing a 

replacement Distillation Assembly in Water 

Recovery System rack No. 2 in the Destiny 

Laboratory. The unit is part of the Urine 

Processing Assembly that removes impurities 

from urine in an early stage of the water 

recycling process. The failed Distillation 

Assembly will be returned to Earth for analysis 

by NASA engineers who are working to 

identify the cause of the failure. 

Flight Day 8 

The station should look even brighter after 

flight day eight, when the solar array’s wings 

are deployed. The crew will preside first over 

the deployment of the 1B electrical channel 

array toward the end of the station where 

Discovery is docked. When nearly half of the 

array’s length is unfurled, the crew will take a 

short break and proceed with the remainder of 

the 1B deployment. Next, they’ll move to the 

3B electrical channel array deployment toward 

the Russian segment of the complex, initially 

only deploying to the near-halfway point, 

and then to the full extension. This phased 

approach will give the onboard crew and the 

ground engineers time to monitor the 

deployment and ensure the arrays are 

unfolding properly. If focused inspection of the 

heat shield is not required on flight day six, 
8 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Astronaut Richard Arnold, STS-119 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. Astronauts Lee Archambault (left 

foreground), commander; Tony Antonelli (right background), pilot; and Steve Swanson (right 

foreground), mission specialist, assisted Arnold. 

then the solar array deployment will be moved 

up 48 hours earlier into the inspection’s 

reserved time. 

Flight Day 9 

On flight day nine, Acaba and Arnold will 

venture out for the third spacewalk, the second 

for each of them. On this spacewalk, the two 

will relocate a Crew and Equipment Translation 

Aid (CETA) cart to be used with the future 

battery replacement activity. Arnold will next 

reconfigure a cover on the Special Purpose 

Dexterous Manipulator’s orbital replacement 

unit tool changeout mechanism and remove a 

cover from one of its electronics units. When 

that task is complete, Arnold will lubricate one 

of the two end effectors of the space station 

robotic arm, duplicating the work done by 

spacewalker Shane Kimbrough during the 

STS-126 mission on the opposite end. 

Meanwhile, Acaba will work between the S1 

and S3 truss segments to attach cables in a bolt 

bus controller panel on the segment-to-segment 

attach system and install a fluid jumper. 

Afterward, the spacewalkers will reunite near 

the center of the station to replace Remote 

Power Control Modules on the Port 1 and 

Starboard 0 truss segments. 
MARCH 2009 MISSION OVERVIEW 9

Flight Day 10 

The crew members will continue the transfer of 

supplies and equipment between the space 

station and Discovery. They also will 

participate in a joint news conference. They 

will review procedures for the fourth and final 

planned spacewalk of the mission. Swanson 

and Arnold will spend the night in the Quest 

airlock in preparation for that spacewalk. 

Flight Day 11 

Swanson and Arnold will conduct the fourth 

planned spacewalk. They will work separately 

for the first half of the mission’s final 

spacewalk. Swanson will begin by installing a 

GPS antenna on the exterior of the Japanese 

logistics module. After that, he’ll swap 

connectors on a patch panel on the station’s 

zenith truss segment. Meanwhile, Arnold 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, and the photos will help 

them determine how the damage is affecting its 

operation. 

After that, Swanson and Arnold will work 

together. First they’ll install a wireless video 

system external transceiver assembly, or 

WETA, which supports the transmission of 

video from spacewalkers’ helmet cameras, on 

the S3 truss segment. To do so, Swanson will 

remove a dummy box currently in the location, 

and then attach the WETA to a stanchion. 

Arnold will connect three cables to the 

assembly. 

Afterward, Swanson and Arnold will prepare 

two more payload attachment systems on the 

S3 truss segment – one on the outboard side of 

the bottom of the segment, and one on the 

inboard side of the top of the segment. They 

will use the same process employed during the 

mission’s second spacewalk. 

Flight Day 12 

The shuttle crew will complete the transfer of 

their spacewalk equipment back from the 

station’s Quest airlock to Discovery on flight 

day 12, before saying farewell to the station 

crew and preparing for hatch closure between 

the two spacecraft. 

Flight Day 13 

Discovery is scheduled to undock from the 

station on flight day 13. Antonelli, flying the 

shuttle from the aft flight deck, will conduct a 

flyaround of the complex so the crew can 

capture detailed imagery of the station’s new 

configuration with the last of its 

power-producing solar arrays unfurled. After a 

little more than a lap around the station, 

Antonelli will fire the shuttle’s jets to separate 

from the station. At that time, Antonelli, Acaba 

and Phillips will take turns with the shuttle’s 

robotic arm and the OBSS to conduct a “late” 

inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield, a final 

opportunity to confirm Discovery’s readiness to 

return to Earth. 

Flight Day 14 

On flight day 14, Archambault, Antonelli and 

Swanson 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 also will stow equipment 

and supplies used during the mission, berth the 

sensor boom on the payload bay’s starboard sill 

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. 
10 MISSION OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, the STS-119 crew members await 

the start of a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. From 

the left are Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 18 flight 

engineer; NASA astronauts Tony Antonelli, STS-119 pilot; Lee Archambault, commander; 

John Phillips, Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold and Steve Swanson, all mission specialists. 

The crew also will stow any remaining 

equipment and set up a special “recumbent” 

seat in the middeck to assist Magnus as she 

readapts to Earth’s gravity following three 

months of weightlessness. 

Discovery is scheduled to return to Earth with a 

landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., 

on March 25 at 3:27 p.m. EDT, bringing to an 

end its 36th mission, the 28th shuttle flight to 

the International Space Station and the 125th 

flight in shuttle program history. 
MARCH 2009 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 11

STS-119 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 

Flight Day 1 

• Launch 

• Payload Bay Door Opening 

• Ku-Band Antenna Deployment 

• Shuttle Robotic Arm Activation 

• Umbilical Well and Handheld External 

Tank Photo and TV Downlink 

Flight Day 2 

• Discovery 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 

• Wakata and Magnus Exchange Soyuz 

Seatliners; Wakata Joins Expedition 18, 

Magnus Joins the STS-119 Crew 

• U.S. Spacesuit Transfer from Discovery to 

Space Station 

Flight Day 4 

• Canadarm2 Grapple and Unberth of S6 

Truss from Discovery’s Payload Bay 

• Canadarm2 Handoff of S6 Truss to Shuttle 

Robotic Arm 

• Canadarm2 Translation to S6 Installation 

Worksite 

• Shuttle Robotic Arm Handoff of S6 Truss 

Back to Canadarm2 

• Spacewalk 1 Procedure Review 

• Spacewalk 1 Campout by Swanson and 

Arnold 

Flight Day 5 

• Spacewalk Preparations 

• Spacewalk by Swanson and Arnold 

(S6 Installation and Umbilical Connections, 

Solar Array Blanket Box Release and 

Unstow) 

• S6 Truss Photovoltaic Radiator Deploy 
12 TIMELINE OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Flight Day 6 

• Canadarm2 Grapple of OBSS and Handoff 

to Shuttle Robotic Arm 

• Shuttle Robotic Arm/OBSS Focused 

Inspection of Discovery’s Thermal 

Protection System, if Required 

• Shuttle/Station Transfers 

• Spacewalk 2 Procedure Review 

• Spacewalk 2 Campout by Swanson and 

Acaba 

Flight Day 7 

• Spacewalk Preparations 

• Spacewalk 2 by Swanson and Acaba 

(P6 Battery Replacement Preparations for 

STS-127 Spacewalks, Deployment of P3 

and S3 Truss Payload Attachment Systems, 

P1/P3 Fluid Jumper Connections and 

Radiator Beam Valve Module Thermal 

Cover Removal and P6 Power and Data 

Grapple Fixture Retrieval) 

• Shuttle/Station Transfers 

• Water Recovery System Distillation 

Assembly Replacement 

Flight Day 8 

• S6 1B and 3B Channel Solar Array 

Deployments (If no focused inspection is 

required, the solar array deployment 

activity will move to Flight Day 6.) 

• Shuttle/Station Transfers 

• Spacewalk 3 Procedure Review 

• Spacewalk Campout by Acaba and Arnold 

Flight Day 9 

• Spacewalk Preparations 

• Spacewalk 3 by Acaba and Arnold (CETA 

Cart Relocation, Dextre Cover Removal 

Tasks, Canadarm2 Latching End Effector B 

Lubrication, P1 and S0 Truss Remote Power 

Control Module Replacement) 

• Shuttle/Station Transfers 

Flight Day 10 

• Crew Off Duty Period 

• Shuttle/ISS Transfers 

• Joint Crew News Conference 

• Spacewalk 4 Procedure Review 

• Spacewalk 4 Campout by Swanson and 

Arnold 

Flight Day 11 

• Spacewalk Preparations 

• Spacewalk 4 by Swanson and Arnold 

(Payload Attachment System Deployments, 

Video Signal Converter Installation, Fiber 

Optic Cable Installation) 

• Shuttle/Station Transfers 

Flight Day 12 

• Final Post-Spacewalk Hardware Transfers 

• Crew Off Duty Periods 

• Final Farewells and Hatch Closure 

• Centerline Camera Installation 
MARCH 2009 TIMELINE OVERVIEW 13

Flight Day 13 

• Undocking 

• Flyaround of the International Space Station 

• Final Separation 

• OBSS Late Inspection of Discovery’s 

Thermal Protection System 

Flight Day 14 

• Flight Control System Checkout 

• Reaction Control System Hot-Fire Test 

• Cabin Stowage 

• Magnus’ Recumbent Seat Setup 

• Crew Deorbit Briefing 

• Ku-Band Antenna Stowage 

Flight Day 15 

• Deorbit Preparations 

• Payload Bay Door Closing 

• Deorbit Burn 

• Kennedy Space Center Landing 
14 TIMELINE OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 MISSION PROFILE 15

MISSION PROFILE 

CREW 

Commander: Lee Archambault 

Pilot: Tony Antonelli

Mission Specialist 1: Joseph Acaba 

Mission Specialist 2: Steve Swanson 

Mission Specialist 3: Richard Arnold 

Mission Specialist 4: John Phillips 

Mission Specialist 5: Koichi Wakata (Up) 

Mission Specialist 5: Sandra Magnus (Down)

LAUNCH 

Orbiter: Discovery (OV-103) 

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center 

Launch Pad 39A 

Launch Date: March 11, 2009 

Launch Time: 9:20 p.m. EDT (Preferred 

In-Plane launch time for 

3/11) 

Launch Window: 5 Minutes 

Altitude: 122 Nautical Miles 

(140 Miles) Orbital 

Insertion; 195 NM 

(224 Miles) Rendezvous 

Inclination: 51.6 Degrees 

Duration: 13 Days 17 Hours 

25 Minutes 

VEHICLE DATA 

Shuttle Liftoff Weight: 4,521,669

pounds 

Orbiter/Payload Liftoff Weight: 266,448 

pounds 

Orbiter/Payload Landing Weight: 200,986 

pounds 

Software Version: OI-33

Space Shuttle Main Engines: 

SSME 1: 2048 

SSME 2: 2051 

SSME 3: 2058 

External Tank: ET-127 

SRB Set: BI-135 

RSRM Set: 103 

SHUTTLE ABORTS 

Abort Landing Sites 

RTLS: Kennedy Space Center Shuttle 

Landing Facility 

TAL: Primary – Zaragoza, Spain; 

Alternates – Moron, Spain and 

Istres, France 

AOA: Primary – Kennedy Space Center 

Shuttle Landing Facility; 

Alternate – White Sands Space 

Harbor 

LANDING 

Landing Date: March 25, 2009 

Landing Time: 3:27 p.m. EDT 

Primary landing Site: Kennedy Space Center 

Shuttle Landing Facility 

PAYLOADS 

Starboard 6 Truss Segment 
16 MISSION PROFILE MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 MISSION PRIORITIES 17

MAJOR MISSION PRIORITIES 

1. Dock Discovery to Pressurized Mating 

Adapter (PMA)-2 port and perform 

mandatory safety briefing for all crew 

members 

2. Rotate Expedition 18 Flight Engineer 

Sandra Magnus with Expedition 18/19 

Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata 

3. Configure International Space Station for 

Starboard 6 (S6) truss installation 

4. Perform robotic operations in support of 

S6 unberthing and installation 

5. Perform S6 installation and deployment 

tasks 

6. Transfer mandatory quantities of water 

from Discovery to the space station 

7. Transfer and stow critical cargo items to the 

space station 

8. Deploy S6 photovoltaic radiator 

9. Configure station, S3/S4, and deploy 

S6 solar array wings 

10. Configure space station for post-S6 

installation 

11. Verify S6 1B and 3B solar array wing 

positioning capability to support docking 

and undocking operations for visiting 

vehicles 

12. Perform minimum of crew handover of 

12 hours per rotating crew member 

including crew safety handover 

13. Remove and replace Urine Processor 

Assembly-Distillation Assembly 

14. Relocate Crew and Equipment Translation 

Aid (CETA) cart 

15. Prepare P6 battery for Flight 2J/A 

16. Prepare and install Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency Proximity Global 

Positioning System antenna B on Japanese 

Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized 

Section 

17. Perform a minimum of one Water Processor 

Assembly urine processing cycle 

18. Deploy S3 upper outboard Payload 

Attachment System (PAS) 

19. Deploy P3 nadir Unpressurized Cargo 

Carrier Attachment System (UCCAS) site 

20. Perform remaining high-priority 

maintenance activities of the Russian 

Operations Segment systems after 

Progress 32P arrival 

21. Perform daily space station payload status 

checks as required 

22. Perform station payload research operations 

tasks, sortie experiments and short-duration 

bioastronautics investigations 

23. Transfer required nitrogen from Discovery 

to the space station airlock high-pressure 

gas tank 

24. Perform additional crew handover of four 

hours per rotating crew member 
18 MISSION PRIORITIES MARCH 2009

25. Perform the following EVA tasks: 

− Release S6 Integrated Equipment 

Assembly (IEA) micrometeoroid 

orbital debris cover 

− Remove and replace S0-1A-D Remote 

Power Control Module (RPCM) 

− Remove and replace P1-1A-A RPCM 

− Lubricate Canadarm2 latching endeffector B snares 

− Reconfigure Z1 patch panel 

− Perform imagery survey of port and 

starboard radiators using IR camera and 

digital still camera 

− Deploy S3 lower outboard PAS 

− Deploy S3 upper inboard PA 

− Disconnect S1/S3 Segment-to-Segment 

Attach System (SSAS) umbilicals and 

install caps 

− Roll up blanket on the Special Purpose 

Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) to cover 

aluminum ground tabs 

− Remove SPDM Electronics Platform 1 

thermal cover 

− Retrieve and relocate tool stanchion on 

CETA cart 

− Retrieve and relocate Articulating 

Portable Foot Restraint (APFR) No. 4 

− Tack down flaps on SPDM 

− Install Wireless Video System External 

Transceiver Assembly No. 3 at S3 

location 
MARCH 2009 MISSION PERSONNEL 19

MISSION PERSONNEL 

KEY CONSOLE POSITIONS FOR STS-119 

 Flt. Director CAPCOM PAO

Ascent Richard Jones George Zamka 

Alan Poindexter (Wx) 

Kylie Clem 

Orbit 1 (Lead) Paul Dye George Zamka Nicole Cloutier 

Orbit 2 Mike Sarafin (FD 1-12) 

Tony Ceccacci 

(FD 13-EOM) 

Greg (Box) Johnson Brandi Dean 

Planning Bryan Lunney / 

Norm Knight 

Shannon Lucid Pat Ryan 

Entry Richard Jones George Zamka 

Alan Poindexter (Wx) 

Kylie Clem 

Shuttle Team 4 Tony Ceccacci N/A N/A 

ISS Orbit 1 (Lead) Kwatsi Alibaruho Rick Davis N/A 

ISS Orbit 2 Heather Rarick Lucia McCullough N/A 

ISS Orbit 3 David Korth Jay Marschke N/A 

Station Team 4 Bob Dempsey 

HQ PAO Representative at KSC for Launch – Michael Curie 

JSC PAO Representative at KSC for Launch – Laura Rochon 

KSC Launch Commentator – Candrea Thomas 

KSC Launch Director – Mike Leinbach 

NASA Launch Test Director – Steve Payne 
20 MISSION PERSONNEL MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 CREW 21

STS-119 CREW 

The shape of the STS-119/15A patch is of a solar 

array viewed at an angle. 

The International Space Station, which is the 

destination of the mission, is placed accordingly 

in the center of the patch just below the gold 

astronaut symbol. The gold solar array of the 

space station highlights the main cargo and 

task of STS-119/15A – the installation of the 

S6 truss segment and deployment of its solar 

arrays, the last to be delivered to the station. 

Under the Japanese Kibo module, marked by a 

red circle, is the name of Japanese astronaut 

Koichi Wakata, who goes up to the station to 

serve as flight engineer representing the Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The 

rest of the STS-119/15A crew members are 

denoted on the outer band of the patch. The 

17 white stars represent, in the crew’s words, 

“The enormous sacrifice the crews of Apollo 1, 

Challenger, and Columbia have given to our 

space program.” The U.S. flag flowing into the 

space shuttle signifies the support the people of 

the United States have given our space program 

over the years, along with pride the U.S. 

astronauts have in representing the United 

States on this mission. 
22 CREW MARCH 2009

Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, these seven astronauts take a 

break from training to pose for the STS-119 crew portrait. From the right (front row) are NASA 

astronauts Lee Archambault, commander, and Tony Antonelli, pilot. From the left (back row) are 

NASA astronauts Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace 

Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, all mission specialists. Wakata is scheduled to join 

the Expedition 18 crew as a flight engineer after launching to the station on STS-119. 

Short biographical sketches of the crew follow 

with detailed background available at: 

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/
MARCH 2009 CREW 23

STS-119 CREW BIOGRAPHIES 

Lee Archambault 

Air Force Col. Lee Archambault will lead the 

crew of STS-119 on the 28th shuttle mission to 

the space station. Archambault served as the 

pilot of STS-117 in 2007 and has logged more 

than 14 days in space. He has overall 

responsibility for the execution of the mission, 

orbiter systems operations and flight 

operations, including landing. In addition, 

Archambault will fly the shuttle in a procedure 

called the rendezvous pitch maneuver while 

Discovery is 600 feet below the station to enable 

the station crew to photograph the shuttle’s 

heat shield. He will then dock Discovery to the 

station. 
24 CREW MARCH 2009

Tony Antonelli 

Navy Cmdr. Tony Antonelli will serve as the 

pilot for the mission. Selected in 2000, this will 

be his first spaceflight. During the mission, 

Antonelli will be responsible for orbiter systems 

operations, shuttle robotic arm operations and 

will help Archambault in the rendezvous and 

docking with the station. Antonelli will undock 

Discovery from the station at the end of the 

joint mission. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 25

Joseph Acaba 

Selected as an astronaut candidate in 2004, this 

will be Joseph Acaba’s first spaceflight. After 

completing his initial training, Acaba was 

assigned to the Hardware Integration Team in 

the Space Station Branch working technical 

issues with the European Space Agency. 

During the mission, Acaba will perform two 

spacewalks, helping with the installation and 

outfitting of the space station. 

Acaba has five years of teaching experience, 

one at Melbourne High School in Florida and 

four years as a math and science teacher at 

Dunnellon Middle School in Florida. 
26 CREW MARCH 2009

Steve Swanson 

This will be the second trip to space for 

Steve Swanson, who flew as a mission 

specialist on STS-117. Swanson conducted 

two spacewalks on that mission, acquiring 

more than 13 hours of extravehicular activity 

time. He will use that experience during this 

mission as the lead spacewalker. Swanson 

will perform the first, second and fourth 

spacewalks to install new components to the 

station. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 27

Richard Arnold 

A classmate of Acaba’s, Richard Arnold also 

was selected in 2004 and is making his first 

spaceflight. He also worked in the Hardware 

Integration Team, working technical issues with 

the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. 

Arnold also participated in a NASA Extreme 

Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 

where he lived and worked in an undersea 

laboratory for 10 days. He will conduct three 

spacewalks on this mission. 

Arnold’s education experience includes an 

assignment as a science teacher at John Hanson 

Middle School in Waldorf, Md. In 1993, he 

taught college preparatory biology and marine 

environmental science at the Casablanca 

American School in Casablanca, Morocco. In 

1996, he was employed as a middle and high 

school science teacher and Science Department 

chair at the American International School in 

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2001, he taught 

middle school mathematics and science at the 

International School of Kuala Kencana in West 

Papua, Indonesia. In 2003, he accepted a 

similar teaching position at the American 

International School of Bucharest in Bucharest, 

Romania. 
28 CREW MARCH 2009

John Phillips 

John Phillips will be returning to space with 

more prior spaceflight experience than the rest 

of his crewmates combined. Phillips flew on 

shuttle mission STS-100, acquiring more than 

12 days of spaceflight experience. He went on 

to serve as a flight engineer on Expedition 11, a 

long-duration mission where he performed a 

spacewalk and spent nearly 180 days in space. 

On the STS-119 mission, he will perform robotic 

arm operations and co-lead the transfer 

activities with Arnold. 
MARCH 2009 CREW 29

Koichi Wakata 

Koichi Wakata will be making his third trip to 

space. He was the first Japanese mission 

specialist when he flew as part of STS-72. His 

second flight was STS-92, a mission to the space 

station that will now be his new home. Once he 

arrives on the station this time, he’ll be joining 

the onboard crew and become a flight engineer 

on Expedition 18. He will remain onboard and 

return with STS-127. 
30 CREW MARCH 2009

Sandra Magnus 

Astronaut Sandra Magnus will be concluding 

her long-duration mission aboard the space 

station and returning to Earth as a mission 

specialist on STS-119. She arrived at the 

complex with the STS-126 crew in November 

and has since served as a flight engineer on 

Expedition 18. This long-duration mission was 

her second flight to space. She had previously 

flown as a mission specialist aboard STS-112. 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 31

PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 

In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Boeing workers stand 

ready as the starboard integrated truss, known as S6, is rotated in order to remove and replace lower 

deck batteries. 

DISCOVERY TO TRANSPORT LAST U.S. 

STARBOARD TRUSS SEGMENT TO 

SPACE STATION 

STS-119 will deliver the International Space 

Station’s final, major U.S. truss segment, 

Starboard 6 (S6), providing the powergenerating capacity for a six-person crew to 

conduct increased science activities. With its 

two Solar Array Wings (SAWs) for converting 

solar energy into electrical power and a radiator 

for rejecting heat away from electrical 

components, the S6 is the final truss element 

and completes the station’s 11-segment 

Integrated Truss Structure (ITS). Also called a 

Photovoltaic Module (PVM) because of its 

ability to generate, store and distribute 

electrical power to the station, the Starboard 6 

segment will ensure the outpost is powered to 

its intended maximum potential. 

A unique feature about the S6 is that it will 

carry two spare Battery Charge/Discharge Units 

(BCDUs), used for controlling the charge and 

discharge of spare batteries on the station. The 
32 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

S6 segment was modified to carry the 

additional BCDUs, attached to the segment’s 

Long Spacer Truss structure. 

The space station’s solar arrays are the largest 

deployable space assemblies ever built and the 

most powerful electricity-producing arrays in 

orbit. Until deployed, each SAW remains 

folded in a special canister called a Solar Array 

Assembly (SAA) at the end of the S6 element. 

In the canister, each wing is equipped with an 

expandable mast. Two solar array blanket 

boxes, containing 32,800 solar cells, are 

connected to the ends of each canister and are 

restrained to the element frame for launch. The 

addition of S6 brings the station’s total SAWs to 

eight. Each wing is 115 by 38 feet wide and, 

when all eight are fully deployed, will 

encompass an area of 32,528 square feet, minus 

the masts. 

S6 Specifications

Dimensions: Width: 16.3 feet; 

195.48 inches 

Length: 45.4 feet; 

545.16 inches 

Height: 14.7 feet; 

176.54 inches 

On-Orbit Weight: 31,060 lbs 

Cost $297,918,471 

The 310-foot integrated truss structure to which 

the S6 will be attached forms the backbone 

of the space station, with mountings for 

unpressurized logistics carriers, radiators, solar 

arrays, and the various elements. The 45-footlong S6 began as an operations test item for its 

twin sister, the Port 6 truss segment that was 

launched during Endeavour’s STS-97 mission 

on Nov. 30, 2000. The starboard element was 

delivered to Kennedy Space Center in Florida 

on Dec. 17, 2002. 

Boeing, NASA’s prime contractor for the 

station, designed the S6 and worked with major 

subcontractors Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, 

Space Systems/Loral, and Hamilton Sundstrand 

to build it. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne 

provided most of the electrical power system 

components. 

Integrated Truss Segments and Payload 

Structure 

The integrated truss segments started with 

Starboard 0 (S0) as the center assignment and 

were numbered in ascending order outward to 

the port (P) and starboard (S) sides. Starboard 

is the right side and port is the left side of the 

truss structure. Zenith (Z) is up, when the 

station is flying in its normal orientation. At 

one time, there was an S2 and a P2 planned, but 

they were eliminated when the station design 

was scaled back. From S0, the truss segments 

are P1, P3, P4, P5 and P6 and S1, S3, S4, S5 and 

S6. P6 is attached to P5, and once in orbit S6 

will be attached to S5. The S6 primary structure 

is made of a hexagonal-shaped aluminum 

structure and includes four bulkheads and six 

longerons, which are beams that connect the 

bulkheads. 

During the STS-119 mission, S6 will be removed 

from the payload bay with the space station’s 

robotic arm because the shuttle’s arm is unable 

to remove the element with the current 

configuration of the station. The S6 element 

then will be handed to the shuttle arm and 

maneuvered to another location, while the 

station arm changes base points. The S6 then 

will be handed back to the station arm and 

maneuvered to an overnight park position. 

Removing the truss from the payload bay and 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 33

Photovoltaic Module 

maneuvering to an overnight park position 

takes an entire day. The following day the truss 

will be installed during a planned spacewalk. 

Once the final truss segment is attached, S6 will 

support power generation and energy storage, 

utility routing, power distribution and Orbital 

Replacement Unit (ORU) storage. 

Major Subsystems 

Major subsystems of the S6 truss are the 

starboard outboard Photovoltaic Module 

(PVM), the Photovoltaic Radiator (PVR), the 

Long Spacer Truss (LST) and the Modified 

Rocketdyne Truss Attachment System 

(MRTAS). The S6 PVM includes all equipment 

outboard S5, namely the two Photovoltaic 

Array Assemblies (PVAAs) and the Integrated 

Equipment Assembly (IEA). The PVR provides 

thermal cooling for the IEA. The MRTAS is 

used to provide a structural interface to the S5 

truss element. Each PVAA consists of a SAW 

and Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA). 

Major Elements 

Photovoltaic Modules (PVMs) 

S6 will be the fourth and final of the four PVMs 

that convert sunlight to electricity in orbit. The 

primary functions of the power module are to 

collect, convert, store, and distribute electrical 

power to loads within the segment and to other 

station segments. Electrical power is a critical 

resource for the station because it allows 

astronauts to live comfortably, safely operate 

the station and perform complex scientific 

experiments. Since the only readily available 

source of energy for spacecraft is sunlight, 

technologies were developed to efficiently 

convert solar energy to electrical power. 
34 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

The PVMs use large numbers of solar cells 

assembled onto solar arrays to produce high 

power levels. NASA and Lockheed Martin 

developed a method of mounting the solar 

arrays on a “blanket” that can be folded like an 

accordion for delivery to space and then 

deployed to its full size once in orbit. The cells 

are made from purified crystal ingots of silicon 

that directly convert light to electricity for 

immediate use through a process called 

photovoltaics. 

Gimbals are used to rotate the arrays so that 

they face the sun to provide maximum power 

to the space station. After the conversion 

process, the PVMs also use the electricity to 

recharge onboard batteries for continuous 

sources of electricity while the station is in the 

Earth’s shadow. Once complete, the station 

power system, consisting of U.S. and Russian 

hardware and four photovoltaic modules, will 

use between 80 – 100 kilowatts of power or 

about as much as 42 average houses (defined 

as 2,800 square feet of floor space using 

2 kilowatts each). Some of the electricity is 

needed to operate space station systems, but 

once that is figured in, the addition of the 

S6 will nearly double the amount of power 

available to perform scientific experiments on 

the station – from 15 kilowatts to 30 kilowatts. 

Solar Array Wings (SAWs) 

There are two SAWs on the S6 module, each 

deployed in the opposite direction of the 

other. Each SAW is made up of two solar 

blankets mounted to a common mast. Before 

deployment, each panel is folded accordion 

style into a Solar Array Blanket Box (SABB) 

measuring 20 inches high and 15 feet in length. 

Each blanket is only about 20 inches thick while 

in this stored position. The mast consists of 

interlocking battens that are stowed for launch 

inside a Mast Canister Assembly (MCA). 

When deployed by the astronauts, the SAW 

unfolds like an erector set. Like a human torso, 

it has two arms when mounted on S6, and they 

are rotated outwards by astronauts during a 

spacewalk so they can be fully deployed. 

Because these blankets were stored for such a 

long time, extensive testing was conducted to 

ensure they would unfold properly in orbit so 

the blankets would not stick together. 

When fully deployed, the SAW extends 115 feet 

and spans 38 feet across and extends to each 

side of the Integrated Equipment Assembly. 

Since the second SAW is deployed in the 

opposite direction, the total wing span is more 

than 240 feet. 

Each SAW weighs more than 2,400 pounds and 

uses 32,800 solar array cells, each measuring 

8 centimeters square with 4,100 diodes. The 

individual cells were made by Boeing’s 

Spectrolab and Aviation Systems Engineering 

Co. There are 400 solar array cells to a string 

and there are 82 strings per wing. Each SAW is 

capable of generating 32.8 kilowatts, or about 

10.5 to 15 kilowatts of usable power. There are 

two SAWs on the S6 module capable of 

delivering a combined 21 to 30 kilowatts of 

usable power per PVM with a total of four 

PVMs on the station. 

The solar arrays produce more power than can 

be made available to the station’s systems and 

experiments. Because all or part of the solar 

arrays are eclipsed by the Earth or station 

structure at times, batteries are used to store 

electricity for use during those periods. About 

60 percent of the electricity generated is used to 

recharge the batteries. During long eclipse 

periods, power availability is limited to about 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 35

10.5 kilowatts from each SAW, or 30 kilowatts 

per PVM. During shorter eclipse periods more 

power is available to station systems and 

experiments. Circuit breakers also regulate the 

flow of electricity to prevent overheating of the 

Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA) that allows 

power to flow through the rotating SARJ. 

Space Station Power 

Current (3 PVMS) Starboard 6 (S6) Total (post STS-119) 

Power Generation Capability 198 kilowatts 66 kilowatts 264 kilowatts 

Usable Power Capability* 63-90 kilowatts 21-30 kilowatts 84-120 kilowatts 

Power for Science** 15 kilowatts 15 kilowatts 30 kilowatts 

* The amount of usable power varies depending on the time of year and the orientation of the station 

relative to the Earth and sun. 

** A greater fraction of power from the first three photovoltaic modules (PVMs) currently installed is 

needed to support day-to-day station systems operation. 

Solar Array Wings 
36 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Solar Alpha Rotary Joint 

Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) 

When the S6 truss is attached to the S5 short 

spacer, it will be positioned outboard of the 

starboard SARJ, which is designed to 

continuously rotate to keep the S4 and S6 solar 

array wings oriented toward the sun as the 

station orbits the Earth. Located between 

S3 and S4, the starboard SARJ is a 10.5-foot 

diameter rotary joint that weighs 

approximately 2,500 pounds. The SARJ can 

spin 360 degrees using bearing assemblies and 

a servo control system to turn. Due to 

vibrations and damage found on its race ring, 

the starboard SARJ has been rotated only when 

needed. STS-126 astronauts cleaned and 

lubricated the race ring, and preliminary results 

show the joint is moving more freely. The race 

ring has a triangular cross-section on which 

12 bearings roll. All of the power flows 

through the Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA) in 

the SARJ. Roll ring assemblies allow 

transmission of data and power across the 

rotating interface so it never has to unwind. 

Beta Gimbal Assembly (BGA) 

The solar array wings also are oriented by the 

BGA, which can change the pitch of the wings 

by spinning the solar array. The BGA measures 

3 x 3 x 3 feet and provides a structural link to 

the Integrated Equipment Assembly (IEA). The 

BGA’s most visual functions are to deploy and 

retract the SAW and rotate it about its 

longitudinal axis. The BGA consists of three 

major components: the Bearing, Motor and Roll 

Ring Module (BMRRM), the Electronics Control 

Unit (ECU) and the Beta Gimbal Transition 

Structure, mounted on the BGA platform. The 

Sequential Shunt Unit (SSU) serves to manage 

and distribute the power generated from the 

arrays and is also mounted on each BGA 

platform. 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 37

Both the SARJ and BGA are pointing 

mechanisms and mechanical devices used to 

point the arrays toward the sun. They can 

follow an angle target and rotate to that target 

in the direction toward the sun. Controllers in 

orbit continuously update those targets so they 

keep moving as the station orbits the Earth 

every 90 minutes, maintaining the same 

orientation toward the sun at the same orbital 

rate. The SARJ mechanism rotates 360 degrees 

every orbit, or about 4 degrees per minute, 

whereas the BGA moves only about four or five 

degrees per day. 

S6 Integrated Equipment Assembly (IEA) 

The IEA has many components: 12 battery 

subassembly Orbital Replacement Units 

(ORUs), Battery Charge/Discharge Units 

(BCDU) ORUs, two Direct Current Switching 

Units (DCSUs), two Direct Current to Direct 

Current Converter Units (DDCUs), and two 

Photovoltaic Controller Units (PVCUs). The 

IEA integrates the Thermal Control Subsystem 

that consists of one Photovoltaic Radiator (PVR) 

ORU and two Pump Flow Control Subassembly 

(PFCS) ORUs, which are used to transfer and 

dissipate heat generated by the IEA ORU boxes. 

In addition, the IEA provides accommodation 

for ammonia servicing of the outboard PV 

modules as well as pass through of power and 

data to and from the outboard truss elements. 

The IEA measures 16 x 16 x 16 feet, weighs 

nearly 17,000 pounds and is designed to 

condition and store the electrical power 

collected by the photovoltaic arrays for use 

aboard the station. The IEA integrates the 

energy storage subsystem, the electrical 

distribution equipment, the thermal control 

system and structural framework. The IEA 

consists of three major elements: 

1. The power system electronics consisting 

of the Direct Current Switching 

Unit (DCSU) used for primary power 

distribution; the Direct Current to Direct 

Current Converter Unit (DDCU) used to 

produce regulated secondary power; the 

Battery Charge/Discharge Unit (BCDU) 

used to control the charging and 

discharging of the storage batteries; and the 

batteries used to store power. 

2. The Photovoltaic Thermal Control 

System (PVTCS) consisting of: the coldplate 

subassemblies used to transfer heat from 

electronic boxes to the coolant; the Pump 

Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) used to 

pump and control the flow of ammonia 

coolant; and the Photovoltaic Radiator 

(PVR) used to dissipate the heat into deep 

space. Ammonia, unlike other chemical 

coolants, has significantly greater heat 

transfer properties. 

3. The computers used to control the 

S6 module ORUs consisting of two 

Photovoltaic Controller Unit (PVCU) 

Multiplexer/Demultiplexers (MDMs). 

The IEA power system is divided into two 

independent and nearly identical channels. 

Each channel is capable of control, storage and 

distribution of power to the station. The two 

SAWs are attached to the outboard end of the 

IEA. 

Direct Current Switching Unit (DCSU) 

Power received from each SAW is fed directly 

into the appropriate DCSU, a high-power, 

multi-path remotely controlled unit used for 

primary and secondary power distribution, 

protection and fault isolation within the IEA. 

During periods of sunlight, the DCSU routes 

primary power directly to the station from its 

SAW and also routes power to the power 

storage system for battery charging. During 

periods of eclipse, the DCSU routes power from 
38 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

the power storage system to the station. The 

DCSU measures 25" by 40" by 14" and weighs 

218 pounds. 

Direct Current to Direct Current Converter 

Unit (DDCU) 

Primary power from the DCSU also is 

distributed to the DDCU, a power processing 

system that conditions the coarsely regulated 

power from the SAW and BCDUs to 

124.5 +/- 1.5 direct current volts. It has a 

maximum power output of 6.25 kW. This 

power is used for all S6 operations employing 

secondary power. By transmitting power at 

higher voltages and stepping it down to lower 

voltages where the power is to be used, much 

like municipal power systems, the station can 

use smaller wires to transmit this electrical 

power and thus reduce launch loads. The 

converters also isolate the secondary system 

from the primary system and maintain uniform 

power quality throughout the station. The 

DDCU measures 27.25" by 23" by 12" and 

weighs 129 pounds. 

Primary power from the DCSU also is 

distributed to the three power storage systems 

within each channel of the IEA. The power 

storage system consists of a Battery 

Charge/Discharge Unit (BCDU) and two 

battery subassembly ORUs. The BCDU serves 

a dual function of charging the batteries during 

solar collection periods and providing 

conditioned battery power to the primary 

power busses via the DCSU during eclipse 

periods. The BCDU has a battery charging 

capability of 8.4 kW and a discharge capability 

of 6.6 kW. The BCDU also includes provisions 

for battery status monitoring and protection 

from power circuit faults. Commanding of 

the BCDU is done from the PVCU. The BCDU 

measures 28" by 40" by 12" and weighs 

235 pounds. 

Each battery subassembly ORU consists of 

38 lightweight nickel hydrogen cells and 

associated electrical and mechanical equipment. 

Two battery subassembly ORUs connected 

in series are capable of storing 8 kilowatt-hours 

(kWh) of electrical power. This power is fed 

to the station via the BCDU and DCSU, 

respectively. The batteries have a design 

life of 6.5 years and can exceed 

38,000 charge/discharge cycles at 35 percent 

depth of discharge. Each battery measures 

41" by 37" by 19" and weighs 372 pounds. 

Photovoltaic Thermal Control System 

(PVTCS) 

To maintain the IEA electronics and batteries at 

safe operating temperatures in the harsh space 

environment, a PVTCS is used. The PVTCS 

consists of ammonia coolant, 11 coldplates, two 

Pump Flow Control Subassemblies (PFCS) and 

one Photovoltaic Radiator (PVR). 

The coldplate subassemblies are an integral 

part of the IEA structural framework. Heat is 

transferred from the IEA Orbital Replacement 

Unit (ORU) electronic boxes to the coldplates 

via fine interweaving fins on both the coldplate 

and the electronic boxes. The fins add lateral 

structural stiffness to the coldplates in addition 

to increasing the available heat transfer area. 

Pump Flow Control Subassemblies (PFCS) 

The PFCS is the heart of the thermal system, 

consisting of all the pumping capacity, valves 

and controls required to pump the heat transfer 

fluid to the heat exchangers and radiator, and 

regulate the temperature of the thermal control 

system ammonia coolant. The PVTCS is 

designed to dissipate an average of 6,000 watts 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 39

of heat, and communicates with the PVCUs. 

Each PFCS consumes 275 watts during normal 

operations and measures approximately 40 by 

29 by 19 inches, weighing 235 pounds. 

Photovoltaic Radiator (PVR) 

The PVR is deployable in orbit and is 

comprised of two separate flow paths through 

seven panels. Each flow path is independent 

and is connected to one of the two PFCSs on 

the IEA. In total, the PVR can reject up to 

14 kW of heat into deep space. The PVR weighs 

1,633 pounds and, when deployed, measures 

44 by 12 by 7 feet. 

Eleven-Segment Integrated Truss Structure 

Element Name: Starboard 6 Segment 

Manufacturer: The Boeing Company 

Dimensions: 16.3 feet wide; 45.4 feet long; 

14.7 feet high 

On-orbit Weight: 31,060 lbs 

Cost: $297,918,471 

Structure: Primarily aluminum 

Major components: The S6 Photovoltaic 

module includes all equipment outboard Truss 

Segment S5, namely the two Photovoltaic Array 

assemblies and the Integrated Equipment 

Assembly (IEA). 

Purpose: The S6 segment provides the space 

station with its final two power generation and 

storage channels, for a total of eight channels, 

along with providing storage of spare electrical 

power boxes. 

Construction: S6 was designed and built by 

Boeing Rocketdyne Power and Propulsion, now 

Pratt and Whitney, in Canoga Park, Calif. The 

assembled S6 was delivered to the Space 

Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space 

Center on Dec. 17, 2002, and handed off to 

NASA in September 2003. 

Major Subcontractors: Lockheed Martin, 

Honeywell, Hamilton Sundstrand, Space 

Systems/Loral, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne 

Unberthing and Installation: Starboard 6 

shuttle robotic arm unberth during STS-119 and 

station robotic arm handoff operations shown 

below. 
40 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

Starboard 6 shuttle robotic arm unberth during STS-119 and station robotic arm handoff operations 

shown below 
MARCH 2009 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW 41

Starboard 6 station robotic arm maneuver and installation are shown below 
42 PAYLOAD OVERVIEW MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING 43

The above image illustrates Discovery conducting the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver before 

docking to the space station. 

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 Discovery to a point about 50,000 feet 

behind the station. 

Once there, Discovery 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 Discovery 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 

Discovery about 1,000 feet below the station. 

Commander Lee Archambault, with help from 

Pilot Tony Antonelli and other crew members, 

will manually fly the shuttle for the remainder 

of the approach and docking. 

He will stop Discovery about 600 feet below the 

station. Once he determines there is proper 

lighting, he will maneuver Discovery through a 

nine-minute backflip called the Rendezvous 

Pitch Maneuver. That allows the station crew 

to take as many as 300 digital pictures of the 

shuttle’s heat shield. 
44 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING MARCH 2009

Station crew members E. Michael Fincke and 

Sandra Magnus will use digital cameras with 

400 mm and 800 mm lenses to photograph 

Discovery’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 Discovery completes its back flip, it will 

be back where it started, with its payload bay 

facing the station. 

Archambault then will fly Discovery 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 Discovery’s docking 

mechanism. 

Using a video camera mounted in the center of 

the Orbiter Docking System, Archambault 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 Discovery and the station 

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

the docking mechanisms aligned to a tolerance 

of three inches. 

When Discovery 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. Discovery’s steering jets 

will be shut off to avoid any inadvertent firings 

during the initial separation. 

Once Discovery is about two feet from the 

station and the docking devices are clear of one 

another, Antonelli will turn the steering jets 

back on and will manually control Discovery 

within a tight corridor as the shuttle separates 

from the station. 
7 

MARCH 2009 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING 45

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

Discovery will move to a distance of about 

450 feet, where Antonelli will begin to fly 

around the station. This maneuver will occur 

only if propellant margins and mission timeline 

activities permit. 

Once Discovery completes 1.5 revolutions of 

the complex, Antonelli will fire Discovery’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. 
46 RENDEZVOUS & DOCKING MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 SPACEWALKS 47

SPACEWALKS 

Astronaut Steve Swanson, STS-119 mission specialist, dons a training version of the Extravehicular 

Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit before being submerged in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy 

Laboratory (NBL) near NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Suit technicians assist Swanson. 

The four spacewalks of the STS-119 mission will 

feature a variety of tasks. The highlight is the 

installation of the final pair of solar arrays that 

will bring the station up to full power (and 

balance it out, appearance wise). To prepare for 

the next mission to the station, STS-127, the 

astronauts will move the Crew and Equipment 

Translation Aid carts out of the way of the 

mobile transporter, much as was done during 

the STS-126 mission. 

Mission Specialists Steve Swanson, Richard 

Arnold, and Joseph Acaba will spend a 

combined total of 26 hours outside the station 

on flight days 5, 7, 9 and 11. Swanson, the lead 

spacewalker for the mission, will suit up for the 

first, second and fourth spacewalks in a 

spacesuit marked with solid red stripes. He is a 

veteran spacewalker with two extravehicular 

activities, or EVAs, performed during the 

STS-117 flight in 2007. 

Arnold and Acaba will perform their first 

spacewalks. Arnold will participate in the first, 

third and fourth spacewalks and wear an all 

white spacesuit, while Acaba will wear a 

spacesuit with broken red stripes for 

spacewalks two and three. 
48 SPACEWALKS MARCH 2009

On each EVA day, a spacewalker inside the 

station will act as the intravehicular officer, or 

spacewalk choreographer. And Mission 

Specialist John Phillips will work with the 

spacewalkers from the inside to operate the 

station’s robotic arm as needed. 

Preparations will start the night before each 

spacewalk, when the astronauts spend time 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 air 

pressure is lowered to 10.2 pounds per square 

inch, or psi. The station is kept at the near-sealevel 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. Approximately 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: Swanson and Arnold 

EVA Operations 

• Install final starboard truss element (S6) 

• Prepare truss element for solar array deploy 

The first spacewalk of the mission will be 

devoted to installing the station’s new truss 

segment and preparing the segment’s solar 

arrays for unfolding on the eighth day of the 

mission. Swanson and Arnold will move to the 

S5 – or Starboard 5 – segment of the truss and 

make sure that the station’s robotic arm has 

the new S6 truss segment in the correct position 

for its installation. It should be about 

150 centimeters (4.9 feet) from the end of the S5 

truss. 

From the robotic arm workstation inside the 

Destiny laboratory, Phillips then will move the 

segment to a point 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) 

away from the end of the S5 truss, while 

Swanson and Arnold monitor clearances to 

ensure proper alignment. On their “go,” 

Phillips will move the segment to 

15 centimeters (about 6 inches) for another 

check before making contact. 

Assuming everything is correctly aligned, 

Arnold will engage a capture latch to allow the 

station’s truss to support the new segment, 

rather than the robotic arm. Then Swanson will 

tighten the four bolts that attach the segment to 

the station, and Arnold will attach four S6 

grounding straps to S5. 

With S6 safely attached to S5, Swanson and 

Arnold can begin hooking up the four 

connections that will allow power and data to 

pass from one segment to the other. After that, 

Swanson and Arnold split up. Arnold will 

release the restraints holding the blanket box 

that contains the solar array blankets, so that 

the arrays can be unfolded later. 
MARCH 2009 SPACEWALKS 49

Spacewalks 1 and 4 

Swanson, meanwhile, will have two tasks. First 

he’ll prepare the S6 radiator panels to be 

unfolded. He’ll remove the six cinches that 

keep the panels folded together, and remove 

two bars that prevent them from unfolding. 

Afterward, flight controllers at the Mission 

Control Center in Houston will be able to 

command the radiator to unfold. 

Swanson then will move to the beta gimbal 

assembly – or BGA – which allows the solar 

array wings to twist as they track the sun. The 

BGA is kept from rotating during launch by a 

keel fastener. Swanson will remove the 

fastener so he can rotate the BGA into place for 

the unfolding on the solar array wings. After 

he’s done, he’ll reinstall the fastener and 

remove some launch restraints on the BGA. 

Swanson and Arnold then will reunite and 

rotate the blanket boxes into position for the 

unfolding of the arrays within them. Swanson 

will work on the two boxes on the bottom, 

while Arnold works on the two on the top. 

Their last tasks will be to remove thermal 

covers from the system’s electronic control and 

sequential control units and jettison them 

behind the station to burn up in the Earth’s 

atmosphere. 
50 SPACEWALKS MARCH 2009

Spacewalk 2 

EVA-2 

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes

Crew: Swanson and Acaba 

EVA Operations 

• P6 battery prep 

• P3 nadir Unpressurized Cargo Carrier 

Attachment System and S3 outboard, zenith 

Payload Attachment System deploy 

• Radiator beam valve module thermal cover 

repair 

• P1/P3 fluid jumper install 

• Flex hose rotary coupler clamp release 

• Tool stanchion relocation 

• Foot restraint retrieval 

Swanson and Acaba’s first task during this 

spacewalk will be to loosen two bolts on the 

battery on the P6 – or Port 6 – arrays. The 

battery will be replaced during the STS-127 

mission. 

From there, they’ll continue working on the 

port side of the station’s truss, on the bottom of 

the P3 segment, to prepare an unpressurized 

cargo carrier attachment system for use. The 
MARCH 2009 SPACEWALKS 51

system allows cargo to be attached to the 

station’s truss. To do so, the spacewalkers will 

first remove two truss braces blocking access to 

the system. That will allow them to swing the 

system out, replace the braces, and attach the 

system to the outside of the truss. 

Following that task, Swanson will work on 

repairing a thermal cover over a quick 

disconnect on the first port segment’s radiator 

beam valve module. Acaba, meanwhile, will 

work between the first and third port segments 

to install two fluid jumpers, by disconnecting 

them from the panels they’re currently 

connected to and reconnecting them on new 

panels. The two spacewalkers then will reunite 

at the flex hose rotary coupler on P1 to release 

clamps holding a contingency hose down. The 

clamps were used to hold the hose in place 

during the equipment’s launch to the station. 

After that work is complete, Swanson and 

Acaba will move to the starboard side of the 

station’s truss to prepare a payload attachment 

system for use on the top of the outboard side 

of the S3 segment, in a process similar to 

preparing the unpressurized cargo carrier 

attachment system for use. Both systems are 

used to attach equipment to the station’s truss. 

The final tasks of the spacewalk will be for 

Swanson to relocate a tool stanchion from the 

station’s zenith truss segment to a worksite on 

the exterior of the Destiny laboratory, and for 

Acaba to retrieve a foot restraint on the toll 

stanchion and bring it into the station for 

repair. 

EVA-3 

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes 

Crew: Arnold and Acaba 

EVA Operations: 

• Crew and Equipment Translation Aid cart 

relocation 

• Dextre thermal cover maintenance/removal 

• Robotic arm latching end effector 

lubrication 

• S1/S3 bus bolt controller connector swap 

• S3 fluid jumper installation 

• S1 flex hose rotary coupler clamp release 

• P1 and S0 remote power control module 

replacement 

Arnold and Acaba will begin the mission’s 

third spacewalk by moving one of the station’s 

two Crew and Equipment and Translation Aid 

– or CETA – carts. The carts were moved to the 

port side of the station’s truss during the 

previous mission to give the robotic arm’s 

mobile transporter the best possible access to 

the starboard truss for the installation of the 

new truss segment and solar arrays. With that 

work done, one of the carts will be moved back 

to the station’s port side, leaving a cart for use 

on either side of the truss. 
52 SPACEWALKS MARCH 2009

Spacewalk 3 

Arnold will prepare the cart to be moved from 

P1 to S1 by releasing its brakes and wheel 

bogies. Acaba will carry it to its new home on 

S1 aboard the station’s robotic arm. Arnold 

then will move to the site and be ready to help 

Arnold reinstall the cart. 

Arnold then will take his turn on the station’s 

robotic arm, which will maneuver him into 

place to work on the station’s special purpose 

dexterous manipulator – also known as Dextre 

– on the exterior of the Destiny laboratory. 

Arnold will be re-securing two thermal covers 

on Dextre’s orbital replacement unit tool 

changeout mechanism and removing a thermal 

cover on one of its electrical platforms. 

When he’s done with that, he’ll climb off the 

robotic arm to lubricate the latching snares on 

its end effector, the mechanism that allows the 

arm to hold on to grapple fixtures or 

equipment. During the previous shuttle 

mission, the same lubrication was performed 

on the other end of the robotic arm – the arm 

has two end effectors, which allows it to move 

end-over-end to various worksites on the 

station. The snares have been experiencing 

some sticky spots that caused kinks in them, 

and during the previous mission, the 
MARCH 2009 SPACEWALKS 53

lubrication was able to help clear up that 

problem. Arnold will use a grease gun to apply 

the lubrication and use needlenose pliers to 

maneuver the snares. 

While Arnold is working on Dextre and the 

robotic arm, Acaba will perform several tasks 

on the starboard truss, mirroring some of the 

work he and Arnold did on the port side of the 

truss during the second spacewalk. He’ll install 

fluid jumpers between the S1 and S3 truss 

segments and release clamps on the S1 flex hose 

rotary coupler’s contingency hose. He’ll also 

swap a bolt bus controller connector on the 

truss’ segment-to-segment attach system. 

Arnold and Acaba will finish the spacewalk by 

replacing failed remote power control modules 

on the S0 and P1 truss segments. 

EVA-4 

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes 

Crew: Swanson and Arnold 

EVA Operations: 

• Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna 

installation 

• Z1 patch panel connector swap 

• S1/P1 radiator photography 

• Wireless Video System installation 

• S3 outboard, zenith and inboard, nadir PAS 

deploy 

Swanson and Arnold will work separately for 

the first half of the mission’s final scheduled 

spacewalk. Swanson will begin by installing a 

GPS antenna on the exterior of the Japanese 

logistics module. The antenna will be the 

second of two to be installed (the first was 

installed during the STS-126 mission) and will 

be used to guide the Japanese H-II Transfer 

Vehicle to the station later in the year. After 

that, he’ll swap connectors on a patch panel on 

the station’s zenith truss segment. 

Meanwhile, Arnold 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, and the photos will help them 

determine how the damage is affecting its 

operation. 

After that, Swanson and Arnold will work 

together. First they’ll install a wireless video 

system external transceiver assembly, or 

WETA, which supports the transmission of 

video from spacewalkers’ helmet cameras, on 

the S3 truss segment. To do so, Swanson will 

remove a dummy box currently in the location, 

and then attach the WETA to a stanchion. 

Arnold will connect three cables to the 

assembly. 

Afterward, Swanson and Arnold will prepare 

two more payload attachment systems on the 

S3 truss segment – one on the outboard side of 

the bottom of the segment, and one on the 

inboard side of the top of the segment. They 

will use the same process employed during the 

mission’s second spacewalk. 
54 SPACEWALKS MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 EXPERIMENTS 55

EXPERIMENTS 

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 four such tests planned for STS-119. 

SDTO 25007-U SPATIAL DIFFERENCES IN 

CO2 CONCENTRATIONS ON ISS (PART 2) 

The purpose of this DTO is to determine the 

spatial and temporal variations in carbon 

dioxide (CO2) concentrations under specific 

conditions that can occur within the space 

station. Carbon dioxide is a physiologicallyactive compound exhaled in quantities 

proportional to the rate of human metabolism. 

Under conditions where the rate of crew 

metabolism is high or there is limited 

ventilation, it may accumulate to concentrations 

that could affect crew health. 
56 EXPERIMENTS MARCH 2009

The purpose of this investigation is to use the 

Carbon Dioxide Monitor (CDM) to determine 

the magnitude of local accumulations under 

conditions where some accumulation might be 

expected. The findings can be compared with 

physiological effects known to be associated 

with carbon dioxide exposure to determine the 

magnitude of effects that can be expected by the 

crew. 

The spatial and temporal variations in 

concentrations as a result of crew exercise will 

be measured near the person’s breathing zone 

and a short distance away, but still in the 

exercise area. The monitoring sessions should 

last the length of the exercise sessions. 

The carbon dioxide concentration within a sleep 

station will be measured during normal 

ventilation of the station, and when airflow to 

the sleep station is disabled. These monitoring 

sessions are conducted during waking hours 

only with the sleep station doors closed. These 

results will assist in understanding the degree 

of hazard associated with a potential failure of 

ventilation to the sleep station. 

Variations in carbon dioxide concentrations as a 

result of confinement to poorly ventilated areas, 

and certain carbon dioxide intensive activities, 

will be measured near the person’s breathing 

zone, and a short distance away, but still in the 

inhabited module. The monitoring sessions 

should last the length of the activity or the 

entire crew day, whichever is appropriate. 

SDTO 13004-U RUSSIAN VEHICLE 

DOCKING/UNDOCKING LOADS ON ISS 

The International Space Station structure has a 

15-year life requirement. The overall objective 

is to guarantee safety of the space station 

structure and crew. Specific objectives are to 

accurately determine the structural life usage, 

to expand station operations, and to increase 

the life of the structure. Structural life estimates 

are based on worst-case loading conditions, 

using finite element models of structures and 

forcing-function estimations. Experimenters 

want to better understand these loads, and 

reduce the conservatism through post-flight 

reconstructions using correlated models, 

validated forcing functions, measured station 

response data and actual on-orbit loading 

conditions. This reconstruction requires actual 

or educated estimates of input and actual 

output of the station response. 

Measurement of the force input, such as 

thruster firing sequences or video of crew 

activity, and station response will aid 

reconstruction of station loads and structural 

life usage over the lifetime of the station, and 

allow life extension of the structure. 

CONSTELLATION PROGRAM DETAILED 

TEST OBJECTIVES 

The Space Shuttle Program will be performing 

Detailed Test Objectives (DTOs) for the 

Constellation Program to help test and evaluate 

hardware, systems and operations for the new 

program. 

Crew Seat 

The purpose is to obtain vibration specifications 

for unimpeded crew performance. The detailed 

test objective will be done in conjunction with 

another test -- not planned for STS-119 -- that 

will measure crew visual performance during 

launch to help determine how the crew’s 

computer displays can be made more readable. 

Three crew seats will be instrumented for three 

shuttle flights, STS-119, 127 and 128. These 

seats -- numbers 3, 5 and 6 -- are the mission 
MARCH 2009 EXPERIMENTS 57

specialists’ seats, one on the right, one on the 

left and one in the center position. 

Each seat will have a sensor data collection box 

fed by three accelerometers, one on the 

headrest, one on the back of the seat and one on 

the seat bottom. The information will be 

collected during launch and retrieved as the 

end of the mission. 

Boundary Layer Transition 

This flight experiment is designed to 

demonstrate that a protuberance on a BRI-18 

tile is safe to fly. BRI-18 is a tile originally 

developed as a potential heat shield upgrade 

on the orbiters and is being considered for 

use on the Orion crew exploration vehicles. 

Due to Orion’s geometry, the tiles would 

experience re-entry heating temperatures up to 

3,400 degrees Fahrenheit, about 500 degrees 

higher than the 2,900 degrees experienced by 

shuttles. 

Tested successfully in arc jet facilities, this 

phase of the experiment will gather information 

on the effect of high Mach number boundary 

layer transition caused by a protuberance on 

the space shuttle during the re-entry trajectory. 

Boundary layer transition is a disruption of the 

smooth, laminar flow of supersonic air across 

the shuttle’s belly and occurs normally when 

the shuttle’s velocity has dropped to around 

eight to 10 times the speed of sound, starting 

toward the back of the heat shield and moving 

forward. Known as “tripping the boundary 

layer,” this phenomenon can create eddies of 

turbulence that, in turn, result in higher 

downstream heating. 

For the experiment, a heat shield tile with a 

“speed bump” on it was installed under 

Discovery’s left wing to intentionally disturb 

the airflow in a controlled manner and make 

the airflow turbulent. The bump is four inches 

long and 0.3 inch wide. Ten thermocouples will 

be installed on the tile with the protuberance 

and on tiles downstream to capture test data. 

The experiment will receive additional support 

from a U.S. Navy aircraft that will check the 

orbiter’s exterior temperatures. A Navy NP-3D 

Orion will fly below Discovery during re-entry 

and use a long-range infrared camera to 

remotely monitor heating to the shuttle’s lower 

surface. The imagery captured and recorded 

will complement the information collected by 

the onboard instruments. Both will be used to 

verify and improve design efforts for future 

spacecraft. 

SPACE SHUTTLE SOLID ROCKET 

MOTOR PRESSURE OSCILLATION DATA 

GATHERING 

The Space Shuttle Program is gathering data on 

five shuttle flights 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 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 
58 EXPERIMENTS MARCH 2009

gather detailed information. Both systems are 

located on the top of the solid rocket motors 

inside the forward skirt. Because of 

rescheduling, STS-119 will only have the 

Intelligent Pressure Transducer installed. 

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. 

The EDAS instrumentation is mounted in the 

lower portion of the forward skirt, and 

therefore is inaccessible after mating to the 

forward segment. Since this booster stack was 

built for the STS-125 Hubble mission, prior to 

STS-126, NASA was unable to install the EDAS 

instrumentation. The decision was made to 

gather IPT data alone, instead of missing an 

opportunity to gather any data. 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 59

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 
60 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 61

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 
62 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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. 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 63

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. 
64 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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. 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 65

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. 
66 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 67

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 
68 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 69

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. 
70 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 71

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. 
72 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 73

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. 
74 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA 75

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. 
76 SHUTTLE REFERENCE DATA MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 LAUNCH & LANDING 77

LAUNCH AND LANDING 

LAUNCH 

As with all previous space shuttle launches, 

Discovery 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 Discovery on 

STS‐119 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. 
78 LAUNCH & LANDING MARCH 2009

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MARCH 2009 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 79

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 

A/G Alignment Guide 

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 

BIC Bus Interface Controller 
80 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 81

CVT Current Value Table 

CZ Communication Zone 

DB Data Book 

DC 

DCSU 

DDCU 

Docking Compartment 

Direct Current Switching Unit 

DC-to-DC Converter Unit 

DEM Demodulator 

DFL Decommutation Format Load 

DIU Data Interface Unit 

DMS 

DMS-R 

DPG 

DPU 

DRTS 

DYF 

Data Management System 

Data Management System-Russian 

Differential Pressure Gauge 

Baseband Data Processing Unit 

Japanese Data Relay Satellite 

Display Frame 

E/L 

E-ORU 

Equipment Lock 

EVA Essential ORU 

EATCS 

EBCS 

ECC 

External Active Thermal Control System 

External Berthing Camera System 

Error Correction Code 

ECLSS 

ECS 

ECU 

Environmental Control and Life Support System 

Environmental Control System 

Electronic Control Unit 

EDSU 

EDU 

External Data Storage Unit 

EEU Driver Unit 

EE End Effector 

EETCS 

EEU 

EF 

EFBM 

EFHX 

EFU 

EGIL 

EIU 

Early External Thermal Control System 

Experiment Exchange Unit 

Exposed Facility 

Exposed Facility Berthing Mechanism 

Exposed Facility Heat Exchanger 

Exposed Facility Unit 

Electrical, General Instrumentation, and Lighting 

Ethernet Interface Unit 

ELM-ES 

ELM-PS 

ELPS 

EMGF 

EMI 

EMU 

EP 

Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section 

Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section 

Emergency Lighting Power Supply 

Electric Mechanical Grapple Fixture 

Electro-Magnetic Imaging 

Extravehicular Mobility Unit 

Exposed Pallet 
82 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 83

GPSR 

GUI 

Global Positioning System Receiver 

Graphical User Interface 

H&S Health and Status 

HCE 

HCTL 

Heater Control Equipment 

Heater Controller 

HEPA 

HPA 

HPP 

High Efficiency Particulate Acquisition 

High Power Amplifier 

Hard Point Plates 

HRDR 

HREL 

HRFM 

HRM 

High Rate Data Recorder 

Hold/Release Electronics 

High Rate Frame Multiplexer 

Hold Release Mechanism 

HRMS 

HTV 

High Rate Multiplexer and Switcher 

H-II Transfer Vehicle 

HTVCC HTV Control Center 

HTV Prox 

HX 

HTV Proximity 

Heat Exchanger 

I/F 

IAA 

IAC 

Interface 

Intravehicular Antenna Assembly 

Internal Audio Controller 

IBM International Business Machines 

ICB 

ICC 

ICS 

ICS-EF 

IDRD 

IELK 

IFHX 

IMCS 

IMCU 

IMV 

Inner Capture Box 

Integrated Cargo Carrier 

Interorbit Communication System 

Interorbit Communication System – Exposed Facility 

Increment Definition and Requirements Document 

Individual Equipment Liner Kit 

Interface Heat Exchanger 

Integrated Mission Control System 

Image Compressor Unit 

Intermodule Ventilation 

INCO Instrumentation and Communication Officer 

IP International Partner 

IP-PCDU ICS-PM Power Control and Distribution Unit 

IP-PDB 

ISP 

ISPR 

ISS 

ISSSH 

ITCS 

ITS 

Payload Power Distribution Box 

International Standard Payload 

International Standard Payload Rack 

International Space Station 

International Space Station Systems Handbook 

Internal Thermal Control System 

Integrated Truss Segment 
84 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MARCH 2009

IVA 

IVSU 

Intravehicular Activity 

Internal Video Switch Unit 

JAL JEM Air Lock 

JAXA 

JCP 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

JEM Control Processor 

JEF 

JEM 

JEMAL 

JEM Exposed Facility 

Japanese Experiment Module 

JEM Air lock 

JEM-PM JEM – Pressurized Module 

JEMRMS 

JEUS 

JFCT 

JLE 

JLP 

JLP-EDU 

Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System 

Joint Expedited Undocking and Separation 

Japanese Flight Control Team 

Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Exposed Section 

Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section 

JLP-EFU Driver Unit 

JLP-EFU 

JPM 

JPM WS 

JLP Exposed Facility Unit 

Japanese Pressurized Module 

JEM Pressurized Module Workstation 

JSC 

JTVE 

Johnson Space Center 

JEM Television Equipment 

Kbps 

KOS 

Kilobit per second 

Keep Out Sphere 

LB Local Bus 

LCA 

LCD 

LED 

LEE 

LMC 

LSW 

LTA 

LAB Cradle Assembly 

Liquid Crystal Display 

Light Emitting Diode 

Latching End Effector 

Lightweight MPESS Carrier 

Light Switch 

Launch-to-Activation 

LTAB Launch-to-Activation Box 

LTL Low Temperature Loop 

MA Main Arm 

MAUI 

Mb 

Mbps 

MBS 

MBSU 

MCA 

Main Analysis of Upper-Atmospheric Injections 

Megabit 

Megabit per second 

Mobile Base System 

Main Bus Switching Unit 

Major Constituent Analyzer 
MARCH 2009 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 85

MCC Mission Control Center 

MCC-H Mission Control Center – Houston 

MCC-M Mission Control Center – Moscow 

MCDS 

MCS 

MDA 

Multifunction Cathode-Ray Tube Display System 

Mission Control System 

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. 

MDM 

MDP 

MELFI 

MGB 

MIP 

MISSE 

MKAM 

MLE 

MLI 

Multiplexer/Demultiplexer 

Management Data Processor 

Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS 

Middle Grapple Box 

Mission Integration Plan 

Materials International Space Station Experiment 

Minimum Keep Alive Monitor 

Middeck Locker Equivalent 

Multi-Insulation 

MLM 

MMOD 

MOD 

Multipurpose Laboratory Module 

Micrometeoroid/Orbital Debris 

Modulator 

MON Television Monitor 

MPC 

MPESS 

MPEV 

MPL 

MPLM 

MPM 

MPV 

Main Processing Controller 

Multipurpose Experiment Support Structure 

Manual Pressure Equalization Valve 

Manipulator Retention Latch 

Multi-Purpose Logistics Module 

Manipulator Positioning Mechanism 

Manual Procedure Viewer 

MSD 

MSFC 

MSP 

Mass Storage Device 

Marshall Space Flight Center 

Maintenance Switch Panel 

MSS 

MT 

Mobile Servicing System 

Mobile Tracker 

MTL 

MUX 

Moderate Temperature Loop 

Data Multiplexer 

NASA 

NCS 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Node Control Software 

NET No Earlier Than 

NLT No Less Than 

n.mi. nautical mile 

NPRV 

NSV 

Negative Pressure Relief Valve 

Network Service 
86 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MARCH 2009

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 
MARCH 2009 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 87

PLB 

PLBD 

PLC 

PLT 

PM 

Payload Bay 

Payload Bay Door 

Pressurized Logistics Carrier 

Payload Laptop Terminal 

Space Shuttle Pilot 

Pressurized Module 

PMA 

PMCU 

POA 

POR 

Pressurized Mating Adapter 

Power Management Control Unit 

Payload ORU Accommodation 

Point of Resolution 

PPRV Positive Pressure Relief Valve 

PRCS 

PREX 

Primary Reaction Control System 

Procedure Executor 

PRLA 

PROX 

psia 

PSP 

PSRR 

PTCS 

PTR 

Payload Retention Latch Assembly 

Proximity Communications Center 

Pounds per Square Inch Absolute 

Payload Signal Processor 

Pressurized Section Resupply Rack 

Passive Thermal Control System 

Port Thermal Radiator 

PTU 

PVCU 

Pan/Tilt Unit 

Photovoltaic Controller Unit 

PVM Photovoltaic Module 

PVR Photovoltaic Radiator 

PVTCS Photovoltaic Thermal Control System 

QD Quick Disconnect 

R&MA 

RACU 

Restraint and Mobility Aid 

Russian-to-American Converter Unit 

RAM 

RBVM 

Read Access Memory 

Radiator Beam Valve Module 

RCC 

RCT 

RF 

RGA 

RHC 

Range Control Center 

Rack Configuration Table 

Radio Frequency 

Rate Gyro Assembly 

Rotational Hand Controller 

RIGEX 

RIP 

Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away Special Experiment 

Remote Interface Panel 

RLF 

RLT 

RMS 

ROEU 

Robotic Language File 

Robotic Laptop Terminal 

Remote Manipulator System 

Remotely Operated Electrical Umbilical 
88 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MARCH 2009

ROM 

R-ORU 

ROS 

RPC 

Read Only Memory 

Robotics Compatible Orbital Replacement Unit 

Russian Orbital Segment 

Remote Power Controller 

RPCM Remote Power Controller Module 

RPDA 

RPM 

Remote Power Distribution Assembly 

Roll Pitch Maneuver 

RS 

RSP 

RSR 

RT 

Russian Segment 

Return Stowage Platform 

Resupply Stowage Rack 

Remote Terminal 

RTAS 

RVFS 

RWS 

Rocketdyne Truss Attachment System 

Rendezvous Flight Software 

Robotics Workstation 

SAFER 

SAM 

Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue 

SFA Airlock Attachment Mechanism 

SARJ 

SCU 

SD 

Solar Alpha Rotary Joint 

Sync and Control Unit 

Smoke Detector 

SDS 

SEDA 

SEDA-AP 

SELS 

SEU 

SFA 

Sample Distribution System 

Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment 

Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment – Attached Payload 

SpaceOps Electronic Library System 

Single Event Upset 

Small Fine Arm 

SFAE SFA Electronics 

SI Smoke Indicator 

SLM Structural Latch Mechanism 

SLP-D 

SLP-D1 

SLP-D2 

SLT 

SM 

Spacelab Pallet – D 

Spacelab Pallet – Deployable 

Spacelab Pallet – D2 

Station Laptop Terminal 

System Laptop Terminal 

Service Module 

SMDP Service Module Debris Panel 

SOC 

SODF 

SPA 

SPB 

System Operation Control 

Space Operations Data File 

Small Payload Attachment 

Survival Power Distribution Box 

SPDA 

SPDM 

Secondary Power Distribution Assembly 

Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator 
MARCH 2009 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS 89

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 
90 ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS MARCH 2009

TUS 

TVC 

Trailing Umbilical System 

Television Camera 

UCCAS 

UCM 

Unpressurized Cargo Carrier Attach System 

Umbilical Connect Mechanism 

UCM-E 

UCM-P 

UHF 

UIL 

ULC 

UMA 

UOP 

UPC 

USA 

US LAB 

USOS 

UCM – Exposed Section Half 

UCM – Payload Half 

Ultrahigh Frequency 

User Interface Language 

Unpressurized Logistics Carrier 

Umbilical Mating Adapter 

Utility Outlet Panel 

Up Converter 

United Space Alliance 

United States Laboratory 

United States On-Orbit Segment 

VAJ 

VBSP 

VCU 

Vacuum Access Jumper 

Video Baseband Signal Processor 

Video Control Unit 

VDS 

VLU 

VRA 

VRCS 

VRCV 

Video Distribution System 

Video Light Unit 

Vent Relief Assembly 

Vernier Reaction Control System 

Vent Relief Control Valve 

VRIV Vent Relief Isolation Valve 

VSU Video Switcher Unit 

VSW Video Switcher 

WAICO 

WCL 

WETA 

WIF 

Waiving and Coiling 

Water Cooling Loop 

Wireless Video System External Transceiver Assembly 

Work Interface 

WRM 

WRS 

WS 

Water Recovery and Management 

Water Recovery System 

Water Separator 

Work Site 

Work Station 

WVA Water Vent Assembly 

ZSR Zero-g Stowage Rack 
MARCH 2009 MEDIA ASSISTANCE 91

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
92 MEDIA ASSISTANCE MARCH 2009

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PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 

MARCH 2009 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 93

NASA 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 

202-358-1100 

katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov

John Yembrick 

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 

202-358-1100 

john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov

Mike Curie 

Shuttle, Space Station Policy 

202-358-1100 

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
94 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS MARCH 2009

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 

Paul Foerman 

News Chief 

228-688-1880 

paul.foerman-1@nasa.gov

Linda Theobald 

Public Affairs Officer 

228-688-3249 

linda.l.theobald@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
MARCH 2009 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS 95

GLENN RESEARCH CENTER 

CLEVELAND, OHIO 

Lori Rachul 

News Chief 

216-433-8806 

lori.j.rachul@nasa.gov

Jeannette P. Owens 

Public Affairs Specialist 

216-433-2990 

jeannette.p.owens@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 

Ed Memi 

Media Relations 

Boeing Space Exploration 

281-226-4029 

edmund.g.memi@boeing.com

JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION 

AGENCY (JAXA) 

Naoko Matsuo 

JAXA Public Affairs Representative 

Houston 

281-483-2251 

matsuo.naoko@jaxa.jp

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
96 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS MARCH 2009

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