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STS-95 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 29 October 1998, using the orbiter ''Discovery''. It was the 25th flight of ''Discovery'' and the 92nd mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981. It was a highly publicized mission due to former Project Mercury astronaut and United States Senator
John H. Glenn Jr. John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
's return to space for his second space flight. At age 77, Glenn became the oldest person to go into space, a record that remained unbroken for 23 years until 82-year-old
Wally Funk Mary Wallace Funk (born February 1, 1939) is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight in ...
flew on a suborbital flight on Blue Origin NS-16, launching on 20 July 2021, which in turn was broken by William Shatner at age 90 on 13 October 2021. Glenn, however, remains the oldest person to reach Earth orbit. This mission is also noted for inaugurating
ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards are an American set of standards for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable and satellite networks. It is largely a replacement for the analog NTSC standard and, like that ...
HDTV broadcasting in the U.S., with live coast-to-coast coverage of the launch. In another first, Pedro Duque became the first Spaniard in space. The mission's objectives involved investigating life-sciences experiments, using the SpaceHab module to perform these experiments on Senator Glenn. Scientific objectives on this mission were not limited to furthering an understanding of the human body, but also to increase astronomical understanding with regards to the Sun, and how it affects life on Earth. The Spartan 201 spacecraft was released by the crew, flying free from the Shuttle, studying the acceleration of the solar wind that originates in the Sun's solar corona. The mission lasted just under ten days, with ''Discovery'' completing its voyage by landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The launch was rare in that the official launch weather forecast provided by the
45th Weather Squadron 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS), 45th Operations Group (45 OG), Space Launch Delta 45, at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida performs weather assessments for air and space operations; specifically, weather observations, forecasts, advisories, and warn ...
was 100 percent for favorable weather for launch as well as the Shuttle Landing Facility. Bill Clinton became the second sitting U.S. president to witness a crewed space launch, joined by his wife Hillary on the roof of the
Launch Control Center The Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center (commonly known as just the Launch Control Center or LCC) is a four-story building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, used to manage launches of launch vehicles from Kennedy Space ...
, and the only one to witness a Space Shuttle launch (President Richard Nixon witnessed the launch of
Apollo 12 Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Commander Pete Conra ...
).


Crew


Crew seating arrangements


Mission highlights

The primary objectives included conducting a variety of science experiments in the pressurized Spacehab module, the deployment and retrieval of the Spartan free-flyer payload, and operations with the HST Orbital Systems Test (HOST) and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH) payloads carried in the payload bay.


Spacehab

The Spacehab module flown on STS-95 was provided by Spacehab, Inc., a private company. The Spacehab system provided additional pressurized workspace for experiments, cargo and crew activities. Spacehab modules supported various Shuttle science missions along with several of the joint Shuttle-Mir missions. For STS-95, a single-module Spacehab flew in the forward portion of ''Discovery'''s payload bay, with the crew gaining access to the module through the airlock tunnel system. A variety of experiments sponsored by NASA, the Japanese Space Agency ( NASDA) and the
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
(ESA) focused on life sciences, microgravity sciences and advanced technology during the flight.


Spartan

The Spartan 201-5 free-flyer was deployed and retrieved using the Shuttle's
mechanical arm A mechanical arm is a machine that mimics the action of a human arm. Mechanical arms are composed of multiple beams connected by hinges powered by actuators. One end of the arm is attached to a firm base while the other has a tool. They can be c ...
. It was designed to investigate physical conditions and processes of the hot outer layers of the Sun's atmosphere, or solar corona. While deployed from the Shuttle, Spartan gathered measurements of the solar corona and solar wind. NASA expected that information collected during this mission would lead to a much better understanding of the solar winds that directly influence orbiting satellites and weather conditions on Earth which in turn impact television and phone communications. This was the fifth flight for the Spartan payload; it originally flew on the
STS-56 STS-56 was a NASA Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' mission to perform special experiments. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 8, 1993. Crew Mission highlights The primary payload of the flight was the Atm ...
mission in April 1993. On its previous mission, STS-87 in November 1997, Spartan developed problems shortly after being deployed from the Shuttle and had to be brought back into the Shuttle's payload bay by spacewalk. These problems were due with the attitude control system for fine pointing toward solar targets, and Spartan was cleared for use again on STS-95. Its mission was to successfully perform the same experiments from the previous year.


HOST

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test (HOST) platform carried experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. There were four experiments on the HOST platform. The NICMOS Cooling System allowed for zero-g verification of a reverse turbocharged Brayton cycle cooler, which allowed for longer life operation than the dewar system used on Hubble at the time. The HST 486 computer allowed for the identification of any radiation-susceptible parts in the
DF-224 The DF-224 is a space-qualified computer used in space missions from the 1980s. It was built by Rockwell Autonetics. As with many spacecraft computers, the design is very redundant, since servicing in space is at best difficult and often impossi ...
replacement computer to be carried on the third servicing mission, and demonstrate hardware and software responses to Single Event Upsets (SEUs). A solid state recorder compared on-orbit operation of the flight-spare solid state recorder with the unit installed in Hubble. A fiber optic line test used the same 4 kbit/s data stream that was sent to the orbiter's Payload Data Interrogator (PDI) and routed to a laptop computer for post-flight comparison.


IEH

The International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH) payload involved a half dozen different experiments mounted on a support structure which was carried in ''Discovery'''s payload bay. The six experiments that made up the IEH payload were the Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (SEH) payload, which obtained EUV and FUV fluxes that are required when studying the Earth's upper atmosphere; an Ultraviolet Spectrograph Telescope for Astronomical Research (UVSTAR) payload designed to measure EUV fluxes which could be used to form images of extended plasma sources (ex. Jupiter, hot stars, etc.); the STAR-LITE payload which made observations of extended and diffused astrophysical targets; the CONCAP-IV payload designed to grow thin films via physical vapor transport; the Petite Amateur Navy Satellite (PANSAT) payload which was managed by the Department of Defense Space Test Program, and involved a small deployable satellite that stored and transmitted digital communications to PANSAT ground stations; and a Getaway Special (GAS) payload.


Medical experiments on Glenn

According to the ''New York Times'', Glenn "won his seat on the shuttle flight by lobbying NASA for two years to fly as a human guinea pig for geriatric studies", which were named as the main reasons for his participation in the STS-95 mission. This series of experiments conducted on Glenn during the mission was sponsored by NASA and the National Institute on Aging, and based on the fact that the aging process and a space flight experience share a number of similar physiological responses. The investigations were expected to gather information which may provide a model system to help scientists interested in understanding aging. Some of these similarities include bone and muscle loss, balance disorders and sleep disturbances. Shortly before the flight, researchers learned that Glenn had to be disqualified from another of the flight's two main priority human experiments (about the effects of
melatonin Melatonin is a natural product found in plants and animals. It is primarily known in animals as a hormone released by the pineal gland in the brain at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle. In vertebrates ...
) because he did not meet one of study's medical conditions; he still participated in two other experiments about sleep monitoring and protein use. Data provided from Glenn during this mission was compared to data obtained from Glenn's '' Friendship 7'' orbital mission in 1962.


Trivia

Glenn was the oldest person, and the third sitting member of Congress, to fly into space. He was preceded by U.S. Senator from Utah Jake Garn ( STS-51-D) and U.S. Representative (later Senator) from Florida Bill Nelson ( STS-61-C). At the time, Glenn was Ohio's senior or ranking Senator. Other astronauts who later entered politics include Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17), later U.S. Senator from New Mexico, Jack Swigert (Apollo 13), who was elected to Congress in the state of Colorado but died before being sworn in, and U.S. Senator from Arizona
Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...
(
STS-108 STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Endeavour''. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS. STS-108 was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the In ...
, STS-121,
STS-124 STS-124 was a Space Shuttle mission, flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' to the International Space Station. ''Discovery'' launched on 31 May 2008 at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of 25 May 2008, and landed safely at t ...
, and STS-134). In a reprise of his first space flight, while in orbit, Glenn was greeted again by the citizens of Perth and Rockingham in Australia. They left their private and municipal lights on while the ''Discovery'' passed overhead, just like they did during his '' Friendship 7'' flight. This is the first mission wherein a Space Shuttle orbiter (''
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
'' in this mission) uses NASA's meatball insignia on its markings. It replaced the worm logotype that all orbiters had. ''
Endeavour Endeavour or endeavor may refer to: People Fictional characters * Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter * Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero A ...
'', '' Atlantis'', and ''
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
'' would follow in their respective missions of STS-88, STS-101, and STS-109. Space Shuttle orbiters '' Enterprise'' and ''
Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...
'' didn't have this change, for ''Enterprise'' became the property of The Smithsonian in 1985 and ''Challenger'' was
destroyed Destroyed may refer to: * ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds * ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby See also * Destruction (disambiguation) Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a ...
in 1986.


Crew award

The crew of STS-95 was awarded the Space Foundation's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award in 1999. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.


Anomalies

The drag chute door detached and fell from the orbiter at main engine ignition. There was some concern that the drag chute could deploy prematurely prior to touchdown, and the decision was made not to use the chute during landing rollout. Wheel brakes and speedbrakes were sufficient to bring ''Discovery'' to a stop on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility.NASA.gov
/ref> An RCS leak venting from a thruster on the left-hand OMS pod was observed in orbit. An isolation valve was used to disable the jet. Attitude control was maintained by system redundancy; there were 44 jets located around the orbiter.


Inaugural HDTV broadcast

The American Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) HDTV system had its public launch during the live coverage of the lift-off. The signal was transmitted coast-to-coast, and was seen by the public in science centers, and other public theaters specially equipped to receive and display the broadcast. The broadcast was made possible by the
Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and spaceb ...
, which sponsored the equipment necessary for transmitting and receiving the broadcast. The broadcast was hosted by former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, and former Gemini/ Apollo-era astronaut Pete Conrad.


Wake-up calls

NASA had begun a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the
Gemini program Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during
Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a ...
. Each track is specially chosen and often has a particular meaning to an individual member of the crew, or it is somehow applicable to their situation.


Mission insignia

The STS-95 mission insignia was designed by the crew, and evokes the scientific, engineering and historic elements of the flight. It depicts a stylized blue Space Shuttle with yellow, red, and blue streamers coming from its stern that represent the global benefits of the mission's science experiments and the solar science objectives of the Spartan satellite. A small
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
space capsule is depicted orbiting the Shuttle, and the red streamer extends up towards the center of the Shuttle to form a "7". The capsule and the number seven are in reference to Glenn's historic association with the Mercury Seven astronauts and their spacecraft: all of the crewed Mercury spacecraft had "7" as part of their name. The mission payloads—microgravity material science, medical research for humans on Earth and in space, and astronomy—represent three major scientific fields and are symbolized in the insignia by rocket plumes.


See also

*
John H. Glenn Jr. John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
* List of human spaceflights * List of Space Shuttle missions * Mercury-Atlas 6 * Outline of space science


References


External links


NASA mission summary


{{DEFAULTSORT:STS-095 Spacecraft launched in 1998 Space Shuttle missions John Glenn