STS-102 Fact Sheet

By Cliff Lethbridge

STS-102 – Discovery

103rd Space Shuttle Mission

29th Flight of Discovery

Crew:

James Wetherbee, Commander

James Kelly, Pilot

Andrew Thomas, Mission Specialist

Paul Richards, Mission Specialist

James Voss, Embarking to International Space Station

Susan Helms, Embarking to International Space Station

Yury Usachev, Embarking to International Space Station

Bill Shepherd, Returning from International Space Station

Yuri Gidzenko, Returning from International Space Station

Sergei Krikalev, Returning from International Space Station

Orbiter Preparations:

Tow to Orbiter Processing Facility – November 3, 2000

Rollover to Vehicle Assembly Building – February 1, 2001

Rollout to Launch Pad 39B – February 12, 2001

Launch:

March 8, 2001 – 6:42:09 a.m. EST. Launch occurred on time with no delays.

Landing:

March 21, 2001 – 2:31 a.m. EST at Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center. Rollout distance was 11,405 feet. Rollout time was 1 minute, 24 seconds. Mission duration was 12 days, 19 hours, 49 minutes. Landing occurred during the 102^nd orbit. Discovery landed on the second of two landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center.

Mission Summary:

Discovery carried the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) LEONARDO to the International Space Station (ISS). LEONARDO carried supplies, equipment and science racks for transfer to ISS. Five tons of material was transferred from LEONARDO to ISS, and one ton of items were transferred from ISS to LEONARDO for a return to Earth. In addition, three astronaut crew members were transferred to ISS and three astronaut crew members were transferred to Discovery for a return to Earth. There were two spacewalks during the mission.

The first spacewalk was conducted on March 11 and lasted 8 hours, 56 minutes. Astronauts Helms and Voss prepared the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (PMA-3) to be moved from the Unity Module to make room for LEONARDO. They removed an antenna from the Common Berthing Mechanism to allow PMA-3 to be temporarily stored there while LEONARDO was connected to ISS. They also removed a Lab Cradle Assembly from Discovery’s payload bay and installed it on the side of the Destiny module. This was the longest spacewalk in Space Shuttle history.

The second spacewalk was conducted on March 13 and lasted 6 hours, 21 minutes. Astronauts Richards and Thomas installed an External Stowage Platform for spare ISS parts and attached a spare ammonia coolant pump to the platform. They also connected several cables on the exterior of the Destiny module which provide heater power and control for a robotic arm yet to be installed.