Endeavour Begins Ninth Space Shuttle Flight To The International Space Station

By Cliff Lethbridge

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (April 19, 2001) - Space Shuttle Endeavour was successfully launched on Mission STS-100 from Launch Pad 39A at 2:41 p.m. EDT today. Launch occurred on time with no delays and marks the 104th Space Shuttle mission and the 16th flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-100 is the ninth Space Shuttle flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Primary payloads are the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), Canadarm2 and UHF Antenna.

The Italian-built Raffaello is the second MPLM to be flown aboard a Space Shuttle. One of three MPLM's, Raffaello is a cylindrical module about 21 feet long by 15 feet in diameter and weighing about 9,000 pounds. Each MPLM can carry up to 20,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to and from ISS. During this mission, Raffaello will be berthed in Endeavour's payload bay, then mounted to the ISS Unity Module. After supplies and equipment are carried to and from ISS, Raffaello will be re-berthed in Endeavour's payload bay for a return to Earth.

Canadarm2 is officially called the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, and is an advanced generation of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) which is standard operating equipment aboard the Space Shuttle. Canadarm2 will be permanently mounted to ISS. With a length of 57.7 feet, Canadarm2 is about 7 feet longer than the Space Shuttle RMS and is capable of performing the most advanced robotics maneuvers of any piece of equipment ever flown in space. Canadarm2 will be able to make intricate inchworm maneuvers around the complete ISS exterior and can move objects with a mass of up to 255,700 pounds, roughly five times that of the Space Shuttle RMS.

An external Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) antenna will also be carried to ISS. The antenna will be attached to the ISS Unity Module and will be used to support a variety of space-to-space communications. Endeavour also carries nine scientific experiments to ISS, the most to date carried to ISS by a Space Shuttle. Endeavour's seven member crew, representing the United States, Canada, Russia and Italy is the most diverse international crew ever to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission is scheduled to last 11 days with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center on April 30.

For Additional Information:

NASA STS-100 Mission Press Kit

NASA STS-100 Mission Status Reports

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