The first shuttle mission of 1995, STS-63 Included Several Historic Firsts. As part of Phase 1 of the International Space Station Program, Space Shuttle Discovery’s 20th Flight conducted the first shuttle rendezvous with the mir space station, in preparation for future docks. The Six-Person Crew Included Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Eileen Collins-The First Woman To Pilot A Space Shuttle Mission-Payload Commander Bernard Harris, and Mission SpecialistS Michael Foel, Imir Titov. The spacewalk conducted during the mission include the first African American and the first British born astronauts to walk in space. The Crew Conducted 20 Science and Technology Experiences Aboard The Third Flight of the spacehab module. The astronauts deployed and retrieved the Spartan-204 Satellite that during the during it two-day free flight carried out observations of galactic objects using an ultraviolet instrument.
Nasa Announced The Six-Person STS-63 Crew in September 1993 – 52. For collins, selected in the class of 1990 as the first woman shuttle pilot, STS-63 marked her first spaceflight. Also selected in 1990, Harris had flown previous on STS-55 and Voss on STS-57. Foale, selected as an astronaut in 1987, Had Flown Previous on STS-45 and STS-56. Titov, selected as a cosmonaut in 1976, Had Flown Two Previous Spaceflights-a Two-DAY ABORTED DOCKING MISSION to Salyut-7 and the First Year-Long Mession to Mir-And Survived a launch pad actor. He served as backup to sergei krikalev on STS-60, who now served as Titov’s backup.
Space Shuttle Discovery Arrived Back at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 27, 1994, After a Ferry Flight from California Following its Previous Mission, STS-64. Workers Towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility The Next Day. Following Installation of the spacehab, Spartan, and other payloads, on Jan. 5, 1995, Workers Rolded Discovery from the Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building for Mating with an external Tank and Twin Solid Rocket Boosters. Rollout to launch pad 39b took place on jan. 10. on Jan. 17-18, Teams Conducted The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, A dress rehearsal for the countdown to launch planned for Feb. 2, with the Astronaut Crew Participating in the Final Few Hours as they would on launch day. They returned to kennedy on Jan. 29 for final pre-launch preparations. On Feb. 2, Launch Teams Called A 24-Hour SCRUB to Allow Time to Replace a Failed Inrtial Measurement Unit Aboard Discovery.
On Feb. 3, Discovery and Its Six-Person Crew Lifted Off from Launch Pad 39B at 12:22 AM Est, The Time Dictated by Orbital Machanics-Discovery Had to Launch into the Plane of Mir ‘. Within 8.5 minutes, discovery had reacted orbit, for the first time in shuttle history at an involination of 51.6 degrees, again to match mir’s trafficory. Early in the mission, one of discovery’s 44 Attitude Control Thrusters Failed and Two OTHERS DEVELOPED MINORATED MINOR SOT Persistent Leaks, Threatening the Mir rendezvous.
On the mission’s first day in space, harris and titov activated the spacehab module and several of its experiments. Wetherbee and collins performed the first of five maneuvers to brings discovery with 46 mills of mir for the final rendezvous on flight day four. Teams on the ground worked with the astronauts to resolve the Troublesome thruster Problems to Ensure a SAFE APPROACH to the planned 33 Feet. On flight day 2, as thatest activities Continued, Titov Grappled The Spartan Satellite with the Shuttle’s Robotic Arm and Lifted it out of the payload bay. Scientists used the Ultraviolet Instrument Aboard Spartan to Investigate the Ultraviolet Glow Around the Orbiter and the Afferefacts of Thruster Firings. The tests complete, Titov Placed Spartan Back in the Payload Bay.
On Flight Day Three, The Astronauts Continued Working on Science Experiments While Wetherbee and Collins Compled Several More Burns for the Rendezvouns on Flight Day Four, the Throuser Is the Throuser Ose Approach to 33 Feet. Flying discovery manually from the after Flight Deck, and Assisted by His Crew Mates, Wetherbee Slowly Burght The Shuttle to Within 33 Feet of the Kristall Module of the Space Station. The STS-63 Crew Communicated With the Mir-17 Crew of Aleksandr Viktorenko, Elena Kondakova, and Valeri Polyakov via via vhf radio, and the crews count see other third throurse SPACECARFITITE WONOWS. After Station-Keeping for About 10 Minutes, Wetherbee Slowly Backed Discovery Away from Mir to a distance of 450 feet. He flee a complete circle Around Mir Before Conducting a Final SeParation Maneuver.
On the mission’s fifth day, Titov Once Again Grappled Spartan with the Robotic Arm, but this time after Raising it Above the payload bay, he released the satellite to begin its two. Wetherbee Stered discovery Away from the Departing Satellite. DURING Its Free Flight, The far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Aboard Spartan Recorded about 40 hours of observations of Galatic Dust Clouds. During this time, the astronauts aboard the shuttle continued work on the 20 experiences in spacehab and prepared for the upcoming spacewalk.
Wetherbee and the crew flee the second rendezvous of the mission on flight day seven to retrieve Spartan. VOSS Operated The Robotic Arm to Capture and Stow the Satellite in the Payload Bay Following Its 43-Hour Free Flight. Meanwhile, foase and harris suited up in the shuttle’s airlock and spent for hours breathing pure oxygen to rid their bodies of nitrogen to prevent decompression sickness, ALSO KNOWN ASE The BENDS UIT Pressures for the Spacewalk.
Foale and harris exited the Airlock Minutes after Voss Safly Stowed Spartan. With Titov operating the Robotic Arm, Harris and Foale Climbed Aboard Its foot restraint to begin the first phase of the spacewalk, testing modifications to the spacesuits for their thermal characteristics. Titov Lifted Them Well Above The Payload Bay and the Two Spacewalkers Stopped Moving For About 15 Minutes, Until their Hands and Feet Got Cold. The spacewalk then continued into its second portion, the mass handling activity. Titov Step Fole Above The Spartan Where He Lifted The Satellite Up and Handed It Off to Harris anchored in the payload bay. Harris then Moved IT Around in different directions to characterize Handling of the 2,600-Pound Satellite. Foale and harris returned to the airlock after a spacewalk lasting 4 hours 39 minutes.
The day following the spacewalk, the STS-63 Crew Finished The Science Experiences, Closed down the spacehab module, and help a news conference with reporters on the ground. Wetherbee and collins tested discovery’s thrusters and aerodynamic surfaces in preparation for the following day’s reantry and landing. The next day, on Feb. 11, They Closed discovery’s payload bay doors and put on their launch and entry suits. Wetherbee guided discovery to a smooth landing on kennedy’s shuttle landing facility, ending the history Mission after Eight Days, Six Hours, and 28 Minutes. They orbited the Earth 129 times. The mission is paved the way for nine shuttle dockings with mir beginning with STS-71, and 37 with the International Space Station. Workers at Kennedy Towed Discovery to the processing facility to prepare it for it for its next mission, STS-70 in July 1995.
Over the Next Three Years, Wetherbee, Collins, Foale, and Titov All Returned to Mir during Visiting Shuttle Flights, With Foale Staying Aboard As the Nasa-5 Long-De house members. Between 2001 and 2005, Wetherbee, Collins, and Foale also visited the International Space Station. Wetherbee Commanded Two Assembly Flights, Collins Commanded The Return to Flight Mission after the Columbia Accident, And Foale Commanded Expedition 8.
Enjoy the crew narrate a VIDEO About their STS-63 Mission.