Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-117

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STS-117 was flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis on 8 June 2007. The flight delivered and attached the Integrated Truss Structure S3/S4 and associated set of power-generating solar arrays to the International Space Station. The flight was delayed from October 2, 2003 in wake of Columbia tragedy.

STS-117 Image - Space Shuttle Crew

The Mission

Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-117 mission was shuttle flight number 118, Atlantis flight number 28 and the shuttle's 21st mission to the International Space Station flight. The previous mission was STS 116.

The aim of the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-117 mission was the:

1.	Delivery and installation of second and third starboard truss segments (S3/S4) The STS-117 mission delivered the second and third starboard truss segments (S3/S4) and another pair of solar arrays to the space station.
2.	Fold up the other side of the solar arrays in the P6 truss segment of the International Space Station. The crew will folded up the other side of the solar arrays in the P6 truss segment.

History

Shuttle mission was delayed from February 22, 2007. It was moved to March 16, but was delayed from March 15 to repair hail damage to external tank.

In April 2007, NASA targeted June 8 as the next possible launch opportunity for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 mission to the International Space Station. The agency’s decision followed a meeting of officials in April who reviewed progress in repairing insulating foam on the shuttle's external fuel tank that was damaged during a sudden hailstorm February 26 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched successfully on 8 June 2007. During the course of the mission the crew installed the new truss segment, retracted one set of solar arrays and unfolded the new set on the starboard side of the station.

The mission duration was 14 days and featured 4 space walks. Once the mission was complete it landed Edwards Air Force Base, California on 22 June 2007, instead of the Kennedy Space Center, Florida due to weather conditions.

Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams returned to Earth from the space station aboard shuttle mission STS-117. STS-117 flight carried Expedition 15/16 Flight Engineer Clayton C. Anderson to the station. He is scheduled to return home aboard Discovery on mission STS-120.

NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams set a new record on 16 June 2007 for the longest duration spaceflight by a woman. At that time, Williams surpassed Shannon Lucid’s mark of 188 days, 4 hours set in 1996.

STS-117 Crew

The crew of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-117 consisted of 6 astronauts:

1. Frederick W. Sturckow (Commander)
A veteran of two shuttle missions: as pilot on STS-88 in 1998 (the first International Space Station assembly mission) and on STS-105 (2001). Rick Sturckow commanded the crew of STS-117 on the shuttle's 21st mission to the space station.

2. Joseph Archambault (Pilot)
An Air Force colonel with over 4,250 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft, Archambault served as the pilot for STS-117.

3. James F. Reilly II (Mission Specialist)
An experienced spacewalker and veteran of two shuttle flights; STS-89 in 1998 and STS-104 in 2001. Reilly joined the crew of STS-117 as a mission specialist.

4. Steven R. Swanson (Mission Specialist)
A member of the 1998 astronaut class, Swanson made his first journey into space as an STS-117 mission specialist.

5. Patrick G. Forrester (Mission Specialist)
Forrester, who conducted two spacewalks on the STS-105 mission, was assigned as a mission specialist

6. John D. Olivas (Mission Specialist)
A former program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Danny Olivas joined the STS-117 crew as a mission specialist on his first spaceflight.

Future Space Shuttle Missions

As of July 31, 2007, upcoming shuttle missions are as follows:

- STS-118 is the next Space Shuttle mission on August 9, 2007.
- STS-120 targeted for no earlier than October. 20, 2007, on Discovery instead of Atlantis
- STS-122 targeted for no earlier than December. 6, 2007, on Atlantis instead of Discovery
- STS-123 targeted for no earlier than February 14, 2008, on Endeavour
- STS-124 targeted for no earlier than April 24, 2008, on Discovery instead of Atlantis
- STS-125 targeted for September 10, 2008.

Did you know?

* Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-115 was the first shuttle mission to resume the construction of the International Space Station. It follows the second return to flight mission STS-121.

* The previous Shuttle mission to this was Space Shuttle Discovery STS-116.

Shuttle Missions Patch Set
Space Shuttle Books
Space Shuttle Model: Includes all types of merchandise
Space Shuttle Video and DVD:

- Hail Columbia (IMAX) (1982) from Amazon.com (dvd, vhs) and Amazon.co.uk dvd
- First U.S. Space Shuttle Mission Video (1981) from Amazon.com

Space Shuttle STS-117 Links and References:

NASA Space Shuttle STS-117: Official page includes Biography and source of shuttle crew pictures.
STS-117 Photo Gallery: NASA
Shuttle Mission STS-117: Mission Overview

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Copyright © 2000-2008 Vic Stathopoulos. All rights reserved.
Updated: Sunday 13th, April, 2008

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