STS-66 was a
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its ...
mission that was flown by the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
''Atlantis''. STS-66 launched on 3 November 1994 at 11:59:43.060 am EDT from
Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
. ''Atlantis'' landed at
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
on 14 November 1994 at 10:33:45 am EST.
Crew
Mission highlights
The Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Sciences – 3 (ATLAS-03) was the primary payload aboard STS-66. It continued the series of Spacelab flights to study the energy of the sun and how it affects the Earth's climate and environment. The ATLAS-03 mission made the first detailed measurements from the Shuttle of the Northern Hemisphere's middle atmosphere in late fall. The timing of the flight, when the
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
ozone
Ozone (), or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lo ...
hole is diminishing, allowed scientists to study possible effects of the ozone hole on mid-latitudes, the way
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
air recovers, and how the northern atmosphere changes as the winter season approaches.
In addition to the ATLAS-03 investigations, the mission included deployment and retrieval of the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometer Telescope for Atmosphere, or CRISTA. Mounted on the
Shuttle Pallet Satellite
The shuttle pallet satellite was a satellite bus designed to be deployed and then retrieved for return to Earth on NASA's Space Shuttle. It carried a variety of payloads both scientific and military in nature.
It was made by Messerschmitt-Bölko ...
, the payload is designed to explore the variability of the atmosphere and provide measurements that will complement those obtained by the
Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' durin ...
launched aboard ''Discovery'' in 1991. CRISTA-SPAS is a joint U.S./German experiment.
Other payloads in ''Atlantiss cargo bay included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV-7) payload and the Experiment on the Sun Complementing ATLAS (ESCAPE-II). Payloads located in the middeck include the Physiological & Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE/NIR-R), Protein Crystal Growth-Thermal Enclosure (PCG-TES), Protein Crystal Growth- Single Locker (PCG-STES), Space Tissue Loss/National Institute of Health (STL/NIH-C), Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and the Heat Pipe Performance-2 Experiment (HPP-2).
STS-66 further advanced comprehensive effort to collect data about sun's energy output, chemical makeup of the Earth's middle atmosphere, and how these factors affect global ozone levels. Seven instruments on the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) also flew on first two ATLAS flights. No other collection of space-based instruments provides the same extensive range of atmospheric measurements. Also considered a primary payload was the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), continuing joint NASA-German Space Agency (DARA, now the
DLR) series of scientific missions. ATLAS-3 and CRISTA-SPAS considered as joint mission with single set of science objectives. During the mission the crew divided into two teams for around-the-clock research.
ATLAS-3 instruments, mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the cargo bay, included Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS), which collected more data on trace gases in the atmosphere than on all three of its previous flights combined; Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SSBUV), which took ozone measurements to calibrate ozone monitor on aging NOAA-9 satellite as well as cooperative measurements with other ATLAS-3 instruments; Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), which took extremely precise measurements of the sun's total radiation for 30 orbits as calibration reference for sister instrument on Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) launched in 1991; Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON), provided by Belgium, which also measured solar radiation but as reference point to track changes over years; Solar Spectrum Measurement
SOLSPEC, French instrument, measured the Sun's radiation as function of wavelength; and
Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor
Solar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Of or relating to the Sun
** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun
** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. " solar panels")
** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indica ...
(SUSIM), which collected its highest precision solar ultraviolet radiation measurements in its 15-year lifetime.
Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder
330px, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, ...
(MAS), collected nine hours of observations, measuring distribution of water vapor, chlorine monoxide and ozone at altitudes between 12 and 60 miles (20 to ), before computer malfunction halted instrument operations.
CRISTA-SPAS released from orbiter's Remote Manipulator System arm on second day of mission. Flying at distance of about 25 to 44 miles (40 to ) behind the Shuttle, payload collected data for more than eight days before being retrieved and returned to the cargo bay. The CRISTA instrument gathered first global information about medium and small scale disturbances in trace gases in middle
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
, which could lead to better models of the atmosphere and Earth's energy balance. The second CRISTA-SPAS instrument, the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) measured amounts of ozone-destroying hydroxyl and nitric oxide in the middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere from 24 to 72 miles (40 to ). MAHRSI yielded first complete global maps of hydroxyl in atmosphere.
For retrieval of CRISTA-SPAS, a different approach method to the spacecraft was successfully tested as a prelude to the upcoming U.S. Shuttle/Russian Space Station
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
docking flights. Called R-Bar approach, it is expected to save propellant while reducing risk of contamination to Mir systems from orbiter thruster jet firings. STS-66 was the last solo shuttle flight for ''Atlantis'' for over 14 years, as her upcoming missions were dedicated to Mir, and ISS flights. ''Atlantis'' would not fly solo again until
STS-125
STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the last solo flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''.
The launch of ...
(The final
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...
Mission).
See also
*
List of human spaceflights
This is a list of all human spaceflights throughout history. Beginning in 1961 with the flight of Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, human spaceflight occurs when a human crew flies a spacecraft into outer space. Human spaceflight is distinguished ...
*
List of Space Shuttle missions
*
Outline of space science
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies occurring in outer ...
*
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
External links
NASA mission summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:STS-066
Space Shuttle missions
Edwards Air Force Base
Spacecraft launched in 1994
Spacecraft which reentered in 1994
1994 in Florida
1994 in California
November 1994 events