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| STS-113 | |
|---|---|
| Name | STS-113 |
| Operator | NASA |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Launch | November 23, 2002 |
| Landing | December 7, 2002 |
| Mission duration | 13 days, 18 hours, 52 minutes |
| Orbit | Low Earth orbit |
STS-113 was a Space Shuttle expedition conducted by NASA in late 2002 that delivered critical hardware and personnel to the International Space Station. The mission involved assembly operations, life-support upgrades, and a crew rotation that transferred a long-duration crewmember between the Expedition 6 and Expedition 7 missions. The flight used Space Shuttle Endeavour and featured multiple extravehicular activitys and robotic operations to install the P1 Truss segment.
The launch from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B placed the orbiter into Low Earth orbit to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). Primary tasks included delivering the P1 Truss developed by Boeing, integrating power and thermal systems, and performing an astronaut exchange between Susan Helms of Expedition 2 style crews and Yuri Usachyov-style Russian flight rotations—while working with Mission Control Center teams in Houston and coordinating with international partners such as Canadian Space Agency, Roscosmos, and European Space Agency. The mission marked a return to longer-duration shuttle assembly flights following the Columbia disaster suspension period adjustments and contributed to station configuration milestones.
The seven-person crew included commanders and specialists from multiple agencies: James Wetherbee led the flight as commander, with pilot Paul Lockhart and mission specialists John Herrington, Michael Lopez-Alegria, Ellen Ochoa, Nicholas Patrick, and Sergei Krikalev/John Phillips style rotations—drawing on expertise from Naval Test Pilot School, Johnson Space Center, and international training at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Crewmembers had backgrounds tied to institutions such as United States Navy, United States Air Force, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and previous flights including STS-101 and STS-92.
Primary hardware included the P1 Truss, a large structural element manufactured by Boeing to support radiators, cabling, and thermal control, and the Mobile Transporter rails interfaces that tied into the Integrated Truss Structure. Secondary payloads comprised life-support spares for Environmental Control and Life Support System upgrades, an electronics box for Main Bus Switching Unit redundancy, and experiments sponsored by NASA, CSA, and European Space Agency. Objectives emphasized completing power channel expansion, routing truss cabling and fluid lines, and enabling future deployments of the S1 Truss and S3/S4 Truss segments.
After launch on November 23, the orbiter performed orbit insertion burns and phasing maneuvers to approach the International Space Station where Shuttle-ISS docking occurred. Over subsequent days the crew conducted berthing operations with the Canadarm robotic manipulator, extracted the P1 Truss from the payload bay, and performed policy-driven inspections using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System and coordination with Johnson Space Center flight controllers. Mid-mission activities included crew exchange procedures with Expedition 6 and Expedition 7 personnel, stowage of spare hardware, and outfitting of utility interfaces, culminating in undocking and deorbit burns that returned the orbiter to a runway landing at Kennedy Space Center.
The mission featured multiple spacewalks conducted by pairs of mission specialists trained at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and overseen by Mission Control EVA planners. Tasks included connecting power and data umbilicals to the P1 Truss, installing structural fasteners and thermal blankets developed at Marshall Space Flight Center, and routing coolant loop lines linked to the station's radiators. EVAs relied on Extravehicular Mobility Unit suits, tether systems from Johnson Space Center, and robotic positioning by the Canadarm2 to stabilize astronauts during installation work. Contingency procedures accommodated tool issues and hardware alignment challenges addressed in real time with support from Houston and Moscow flight controllers.
After landing, engineers at Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center performed post-flight inspections of the orbiter and payload hardware, evaluating the performance of the P1 Truss integration and the health of the Environmental Control and Life Support System upgrades. Data reviews involved cross-analysis with teams from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and international partners to validate thermal models, electrical load balancing, and structural dynamics. Lessons learned informed subsequent assembly flights and contributed to upgrades in EVA procedures, suit servicing protocols at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and contingency operations for future Station assembly missions.
The mission insignia, created by flight crew artists in coordination with NASA insignia guidelines, incorporated representations of the P1 Truss, the International Space Station, and symbolic elements honoring international cooperation among United States, Russia, Canada, and European Space Agency partners. Crew members received flight awards and commendations from institutions including NASA, United States Congress recognitions, and agency-level honors, while mission milestones were cited in technical reports from Marshall Space Flight Center and post-flight briefings at Johnson Space Center.
Category:Space Shuttle missions Category:2002 in spaceflight