STS-113

Summary

STS-113 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. During the 14-day mission in late 2002, Endeavour and its crew extended the ISS backbone with the P1 truss and exchanged the Expedition 5 and Expedition 6 crews aboard the station. With Commander Jim Wetherbee and Pilot Paul Lockhart at the controls, Endeavour docked with the station on 25 November 2002 to begin seven days of station assembly, spacewalks and crew and equipment transfers. This was the last flight of Endeavour before entering its Orbiter Major Modification period until STS-118 in 2007 which include modernizing the cockpit, and also the penultimate shuttle mission before the Columbia disaster.

STS-113
Lopez-Alegria climbs the newly-installed P1 truss during the mission's second EVA
NamesSpace Transportation System-113
Mission typeISS assembly
Crew rotation
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2002-052A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.27556
Mission duration13 days, 18 hours, 48 minutes, 38 seconds
Distance travelled9,000,000 kilometres (5,600,000 mi)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Endeavour
Launch mass116,460 kilograms (256,750 lb)
Landing mass91,498 kilograms (201,719 lb)
Payload mass12,477 kilograms (27,507 lb)
Crew
Crew size7
Members
Launching
Landing
Start of mission
Launch date24 November 2002, 00:49:47 (2002-11-24UTC00:49:47Z) UTC
Launch siteKennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Landing date7 December 2002, 19:38:25 (2002-12-07UTC19:38:26Z) UTC
Landing siteKennedy SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude379 kilometres (235 mi)
Apogee altitude397 kilometres (247 mi)
Inclination51.6 degrees
Period92.3 min
Docking with ISS
Docking portPMA-2 (Destiny forward)
Docking date25 November 2002, 21:59 UTC
Undocking date2 December 2002, 20:50 UTC
Time docked6 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes

(L-R): Paul S. Lockhart, Michael E. López-Alegría, John B. Herrington, and James D. Wetherbee
← STS-112
STS-107 →
 

Crew edit

Position Launching Astronaut Landing Astronaut
Commander James D. Wetherbee
Sixth and last spaceflight
Pilot Paul S. Lockhart
Second and last spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Michael López-Alegría
Third spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 John B. Herrington
Only spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3 Kenneth D. Bowersox
Expedition 6
Fifth and last spaceflight
ISS Commander
Valery G. Korzun, RKA
Expedition 5
Second and last spaceflight
ISS Commander/Soyuz Commander
Mission Specialist 4 Nikolai M. Budarin, RKA
Expedition 6
Third and last spaceflight
ISS Flight Engineer/Soyuz Commander
Peggy A. Whitson
Expedition 5
First spaceflight
ISS Flight Engineer
Mission Specialist 5 Donald R. Pettit
Expedition 6
First spaceflight
ISS Flight Engineer
Sergei Y. Treshchov, RKA
Expedition 5
Only spaceflight
ISS Flight Engineer

Mission highlights edit

STS-113 was an Assembly Mission (11A) to the International Space Station, delivering the P1 Truss segment, which provides structural support for the Space Station radiators. Mission Specialists John Herrington and Michael López-Alegría performed three spacewalks to activate and outfit the P1. The STS-113 crew and both Expedition crews transferred about 1,969 kilograms (4,340 pounds) of cargo between the shuttle and station.

STS-113 delivered the Expedition 6 crew to the station for a four-month increment. The Expedition 5 crew returned to Earth aboard STS-113, ending a 185-day stay in space.

STS-113 came to a close when Endeavour glided in to a landing at Kennedy Space Center on 7 December. It was the 19th flight of Endeavour, the 112th shuttle mission, and the 16th shuttle mission to the station. The landing was the first (and only) time a mission ended on the fourth day of landing attempts.

Also carried aboard STS-113 was the Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS) based Pico Satellite Inspector (MEPSI). This payload deployed two small satellites which are connected via a 15 metres (49 ft) tether.

STS-113 was the last successful mission before STS-107. Gus Loria was originally scheduled to fly as the pilot for this mission, but was replaced due to an injury. His replacement was Paul S. Lockhart. John Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space.[note 1]

STS-113 was the final mission during which Russian cosmonauts flew on the Space Shuttle.

Because Endeavour entered its Orbiter Major Modification period after the Columbia disaster, this was the last shuttle mission to fly with an analog-style cockpit.

Attempt Planned Result Turnaround Reason Decision point Weather go (%) Notes
1 11 Nov 2002, 12:58:40 am scrubbed technical 10 Nov 2002, 9:00 pm 90%[1] problems with an oxygen system in the orbiter's midbody[2]
2 22 Nov 2002, 8:15:30 pm scrubbed 11 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes weather 22 Nov 2002, 8:05 pm 90% weather at TAL sites Zaragoza and Moron, Spain[3]
3 23 Nov 2002, 7:49:47 pm success 0 days, 23 hours, 34 minutes 95%[3] initial weather reports for TAL sites was not favorable but cleared in time for launch.

Mission parameters edit

Docking with ISS edit

  • Docked: 25 November 2002, 21:59:00 UTC
  • Undocked: 2 December 2002, 20:50:00 UTC
  • Time Docked: 6 days, 22 h, 51 min, 00 s

Spacewalks edit

Mission Spacewalkers Start – UTC End – UTC Duration Mission
47. STS-113
EVA 1
Michael López-Alegría
John Herrington
26 November 2002
19:49
27 November 2002
02:34
6 h, 45 min Install P1 truss
48. STS-113
EVA 2
Michael López-Alegría
John Herrington
28 November 2002
18:36
29 November 2002
00:46
6 h, 10 min Install TV cameras, move CETA
49. STS-113
EVA 3
Michael López-Alegría
John Herrington
30 November 2002
19:25
1 December 2002
02:25
7 h, 00 min Inspect Mobile Transporter

Gallery edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ William R. Pogue was of Choctaw ancestry and was a crewman aboard Skylab 4 in 1973–1974, but he was not an enrolled member of the Choctaw.

References edit

  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. ^ "Shuttle fueling begins". CBS News. 10 November 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Launch scrubbed by oxygen problem". CBS News. 10 November 2002. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Shuttle grounded by rain in Spain". CBS News. Retrieved 30 August 2009.

External links edit

  • NASA mission summary Archived 16 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  • Status reports – Detailed NASA status reports for each day of the mission.
  • STS-113 Video Highlights Archived 6 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine