Space Shuttle Back in Business: Canada Plays Critical Role in Return to Flight
More than two years of hard work is about to pay off as the Space Shuttle fleet rockets back into service. Liftoff of Discovery's STS-114 mission with her seven-member crew is slated for July 26, with a launch window extending to July 31, 2005. This mission promises to set new standards for safety, thanks in part to crucial Canadian contributions. Under the command of veteran NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins, Discovery will rendezvous with the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) to deliver vital supplies. The mission will also demonstrate new tools and techniques that will ensure that the orbiter can safely be repaired while in space.
Two Canadian Companies supply safety inspection tools
In 2003, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) determined that, before the Shuttle could fly again, NASA would need to assure its ability to examine every inch of the spacecraft in orbit for signs of damage. MDA's Brampton, Ontario location is providing a new tool that will make that possible: a 15-metre (50-foot) extension to the Space Shuttle's Canadarm that will be used like a huge dentist's mirror.
Once the Shuttle is in orbit, Canadarm will pick up the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to look for external damage similar to that which led to the Columbia accident. With the extra reach, the inspection boom will enable astronauts to survey the thermal protection system of the shuttle, including its tiled underbelly and the leading edges of the wings. The boom extension builds on the technology and experience MDA has gained in developing several generations of space-borne robotic manipulators. MDA built the Shuttle's own Canadarm, as well as Canadarm2 on the International Space Station, and the upcoming two-armed dexterous manipulator named Dextre, also destined for the ISS.
The end of the boom is outfitted with two high-tech laser cameras and laser ranging sensors that can inspect every single shuttle tile for cracks and holes while in orbit. Designed by Ottawa-based space vision technology developer Neptec, one of these , the Laser Camera System (LCS), consists of a wide angle, high speed, high-precision instrument that uses a state-of-the-art scanning technique to generate three-dimensional images. The LCS is the most accurate, space qualified, large volume 3-D imager available today and flew previously on shuttle flight STS-105 in August 2001. Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield, who now serves as Chief of Robotics for the NASA Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has played a large role in the review of these new Canadian robotic technologies.
International Space Station will be a hub of activity
This flight is the first for NASA since the Columbia disaster grounded the remaining orbiters, and will be the 114th Space Shuttle launch and the 31st space voyage for Discovery. Aside from transporting the seven-member Shuttle crew, STS-114 will be the third trip to space for the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module named Raffaello. Transported inside the shuttle's payload bay, the Italian Space Agency-built cargo container will carry supplies and research equipment to the station. A big part of the cargo being delivered is the Human Research Facility
(HRF-2), designed to boost the medical research capabilities of the ISS. Through physiological measurements of onboard astronauts, HRF-2 will offer insight into the health challenges associated with long-term human space flight. Once unpacked, Rafaello will be refilled with hardware needing repair, completed experiments, and no-longer needed supplies for the return trip back to Earth on Discovery.
While docked with the space station, two Discovery astronauts will conduct a series of three spacewalks that will test potential emergency shuttle fixes and outfit the station with new equipment. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Astronaut Soichi Noguchi's first venture outside of the shuttle will demonstrate new repair techniques using a glue-like substance designed specifically to repair damage to the heat resistant tiles on the shuttle's underside.
Meanwhile, NASA mission specialist Steve Robinson will try a new putty-like material to repair cracks in the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels that cover the leading edge of the shuttle wings. Known as the Thermal Protection System, these ceramic tiles and panels protect the spacecraft during its fiery re-entry back into Earth's atmosphere.
During their second outing, the spacewalking pair will replace a failed Control Moment Gyroscope, which helps maintain the proper Space Station attitude during orbit. On the third and final spacewalk of the mission, they will install the External Stowage Platform-a shelf that will hold spare parts needed for later ISS construction missions. Canadian Space Agency Chief Astronaut Julie Payette will be one of the CapComs (Capsule Communicators), a voice link with the crew of STS-114.
Next mission will include Canadian astronaut
As a result of the Columbia tragedy, over two years of research and development in Canada and the U.S. have been invested in modifying the Shuttles and setting the stage for the safe return to flight. After the Shuttles check out on the two flights scheduled for July and September, they will be ready once more to begin ferrying large components to the station later this fall.
Current plans have Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Steve MacLean flying to the ISS this December on STS-115. The Endeavour crew will deliver a pair of solar arrays. MacLean will help install the arrays by operating Canadarm2 and its Mobile Base on the station. He will be the first Canadian to perform a major ISS assembly task using the Mobile Servicing System in space and the second Canadian astronaut to perform a spacewalk.
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