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HSF - STS-100 Shuttle Archives

️Wed Dec 10 2003

Imagery

IMAGE: Chris Hadfield stands on the shuttle arm to work on the station arm.

From the Gallery: Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield stands on the end of the shuttle's robot arm while working on the new space station arm.

STS-100 Delivers Canadarm2 to International Space Station
Endeavour and its crew spent almost 12 days on orbit, eight of which were spent in joint operations with the International Space Station crew. Endeavour�s crew delivered and installed a new robotic arm and helped to transfer equipment and supplies between vehicles.

Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency and Scott Parazynski of NASA performed two space walks to install the new 17.6-meter (57.7-foot) robotic arm onto the International Space Station. Canadarm2, a beefier second-generation version of the shuttle's robot arm, is essential to the continued assembly of the space station as the outpost grows beyond the reach of the shuttle's arm.

The Remote Manipulator System is the first of three Mobile Service System elements to be installed on the International Space Station.

Tough New Robot Arm Is First of Three Mobile Servicer System Pieces
STS-100 was the first of three space shuttle missions to carry pieces of the Space Station Mobile Servicer System, or SSMSS to the station. It delivered the long, hinged arm known as the Remote Manipulator System.

Future missions will deliver the Mobile Base System -- a work platform that moves along rails covering the length of the space station -- and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Canada Hand.

Canadarm2 - Brains and Brawn
Installed on station:	April 22, 2001, 5:40 a.m. CDT
Length :	17.6 meters (57.7 feet)
Weight:	1,800 kilograms (3,968 pounds)
Special Features:		Larger range of motion than a human arm.
		Automatic collision avoidance.
		Four color cameras.
		Composed of 19 plies of high-strength carbon fiber.

Space Station Crew Faces a Computer Failure Challenge
The International Space Station's three Command and Control Computers began to exhibit problems during Endeavour�s visit. Communications between the station and the ground were rerouted through Endeavour as flight controllers worked to solve the problem, and mission managers approved an extended stay for the shuttle if the computers were not recovered quickly.

After flight controllers determined that the hard drive on one Command and Control Computer had failed, space station Flight Engineer Susan Helms swapped it with another onboard computer. After reloading software, all three computers booted up normally. Endeavour brought the failed computer back to Earth for more testing.