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STS-133
PRESS KIT/February 2011
www.nasa.gov
CONTENTS
Section Page
SPACEWALKS ......................................................................................................................... 39
EXPERIMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 45
S H OR T- D UR AT I O N EXP ER IM E NT S T O B E P E R FO RM E D O N STS-133 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
R E S EA R CH SAM PL E S/H ARD WA R E T O BE D E L I V E R ED T O S TAT I O N O N D I S C O VER Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
R E S EA R CH SAM PL E S/H ARDWA R E T O BE R E T UR N E D O N D I S C O VER Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
SPACE SH UTTLE DETAILED TEST OBJECTIVES (DTO) AND DETAILED SUPPLEMENTARY
OBJECTIVES ( D S O ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is poised for the STS-133
launch from Launch Pad 39A following the roughly six-hour journey, known as “rollout,” from the
Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
As space shuttle Discovery heads to the 4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 24. The
International Space Station on its final mission, flight is designated Utilization and Logistics
it will be taking with it two key components – Flight 5 (ULF5) in the assembly sequence of
the Italian-built Permanent Multipurpose the space station.
Module (PMM) and Express Logistics Carrier 4
(ELC4) – that will provide spare parts and The commander for Discovery’s final flight
storage capacity to the orbiting complex. is veteran astronaut Steve Lindsey (Col.,
Discovery also will deliver Robonaut 2, which USAF, Retired). He will be joined by
will become the first humanoid robot in space. Pilot Eric Boe (Col., USAF) and Mission
Specialists Steve Bowen (Capt., U.S. Navy),
The 39th flight of NASA’s most flown shuttle is Dr. Michael Barratt, Nicole Stott and
scheduled to last 11 days, beginning at Alvin Drew (Col., USAF Retired).
Lindsey has flown four times before, including supporting the target launch window. Bowen
twice on Space Shuttle Discovery. He was pilot is a veteran of two shuttle flights, STS-126 in
on STS-95, where Senator John Glenn served as November 2008 and STS-132 in May 2010, and
a payload specialist. Lindsey also commanded has conducted five spacewalks. Bowen will
STS-121, a return to flight mission in July 2006. join Drew on the two planned spacewalks of
the STS-133 mission.
Boe previously served as the pilot of STS-126 in
November 2008, which delivered a number of Discovery will spend two days heading toward
supplies and new equipment to the station. its rendezvous with the International Space
Drew flew on STS-118 in August 2007, which Station. On the second day of the flight, the
delivered a piece of the station’s truss structure. crew will perform the standard scan of the
Barratt and Stott are previous residents of the shuttle’s thermal protection system using the
International Space Station. Barratt served as a orbiter boom sensor system attached to the end
member of Expeditions 19 and 20 and Stott of Discovery’s robotic arm. While the
served as a member of Expeditions 20 and 21, inspection is underway, Bowen, Drew and Stott
all in 2009. will work on preparing the spacesuits onboard
the shuttle that will be transferred to the station
On Jan. 19, Bowen replaced Tim Kopra as the after docking and will be used during the
STS-133 mission specialist 2 following a bicycle mission’s two spacewalks.
injury Jan. 15 that prohibited Kopra from
On the third day of the flight, Discovery will of the starboard truss, right next to where the
approach and dock with the space station. Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be installed
After the hatches are opened between the two on STS-134. That mission also will deliver
spacecraft, both crews will begin working on ELC3, which will be the final logistics carrier
transferring items between the two vehicles. installed on the station. It will be positioned on
Before the end of the day, Barratt and Stott will the upper outboard attachment point on the
use the station’s robotic arm to retrieve ELC4 port side.
from inside the shuttle’s payload bay and
install it in the lower inboard position on the Flight day 4 will be focused on more transfer
starboard side of the station’s truss structure. work, as well as preparations by Bowen and
The cargo carrier weighs 8,235 pounds. ELC1 Drew for their spacewalk the next day. Both
and 2 were placed on the station’s truss crews will walk through the choreography of
structure during STS-129. ELC1 is mounted on the spacewalk, and both Bowen and Drew will
the lower inboard position on the port side of spend the night camped out inside the Quest
the station. ELC2 is on the upper outboard side airlock.
NASA astronaut Alvin Drew, STS-133 mission specialist, participates in a spacesuit fit check in the
Space Station Airlock Test Article in the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space
Center. Astronaut Nicole Stott, mission specialist, assists Drew.
NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, STS-133 mission specialist, shakes hands with Robonaut 2 (R2)
during media day in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Ron Diftler, NASA Robonaut project manager, is at left.
Attired in a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit, NASA astronaut Eric Boe,
STS-133 pilot, occupies the pilot’s seat during a simulation exercise in the motion-base
shuttle mission simulator in the Jake Garn Simulation and Training Facility at NASA’s
Johnson Space Center.
Space Shuttle Discovery lands on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:08 a.m. (EDT) on April 20, 2010, completing the
15-day STS-131 mission to the International Space Station.
The STS-133 mission patch is based upon Discovery is depicted ascending on a plume of
sketches from the late artist Robert McCall; they flame as if it is just beginning a mission.
were the final creations of his long and However it is just the orbiter, without boosters
prodigious career. In the foreground, a solitary or an external tank, as it would be at mission’s
orbiter ascends into a dark blue sky above a end. This is to signify Discovery’s completion
roiling fiery plume. A spray of stars surrounds of its operational life and the beginning of its
the orbiter and a top-lit crescent forms the new role as a symbol of NASA’s and the
background behind the ascent. The mission nation’s proud legacy in human spaceflight.
number, STS-133, is emblazoned on the patch
center, and crew members’ names are listed on Short biographical sketches of the crew follow
a sky-blue border around the scene. The shuttle with more detailed biographies available at:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/bios/.
Steve Lindsey
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Steve Lindsey, cockpit council and chief of International Space
50, will serve as commander of STS-133. In his Station operations. His most recent position
role as commander, he will have overall was chief of the astronaut corps where he was
responsibility for the mission and will ensure responsible for the mission preparation
that all objectives are executed safely. activities of all space shuttle and International
Space Station crews and their support
Lindsey has performed several technical duties personnel.
that include working as the shuttle landing and
rollout representative, deputy for shuttle A veteran of four spaceflights, he has logged
operations, co-chairman of the space shuttle more than 1,203 hours in space.
Eric Boe, 46, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, will operations branch and space shuttle branch.
serve as pilot of STS-133. For one year he served as NASA’s director of
operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training
Selected by NASA in 2000, he completed two Center in Star City, Russia.
years of training and evaluation, then was
assigned technical duties in the astronaut office Boe first served as a pilot on STS-126, a 15-day
advanced vehicles branch, space station mission in November 2008.
In his second trip to space, Alvin Drew, 47, a A command pilot, he has more than 25 years of
retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, will serve experience and 3,500 hours of flying
as a mission specialist on STS-133. Selected by 30 different types of aircraft. The Washington,
NASA in 2000 and after completing astronaut D.C., native logged more than 305 hours in
training, he was initially assigned technical space during the STS-118 space shuttle mission
duties in the astronaut office space station in August 2007.
operations branch. Drew then served as
NASA’s director of operations at the Gagarin
Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City,
Russia.
Dr. Michael Barratt, 51, will serve as a mission served as lead crew surgeon for first expedition
specialist on the STS-133 crew. crew to the space station from July 1998 until
selected as an astronaut candidate in 2000.
Barratt, a board certified physician in internal
and aerospace medicine, began his career in the He served numerous technical roles before
space program as a project physician with training for his first mission as a flight engineer
KRUG Life Sciences in 1991, and joined NASA on Expeditions 19 and 20 in 2009. During that
as a flight surgeon in 1992. From July 1995 mission, he acquired 199 days of spaceflight
through July 1998, he served as medical experience.
operations lead for the space station and then
Nicole Stott, 47, also joined the astronaut ranks the aircraft operations division, where she
after working at NASA. Stott initially joined served as a flight simulation engineer on the
NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shuttle training aircraft.
serving numerous roles including vehicle
operations engineer, NASA convoy Stott, also selected as an astronaut in 2000, flew
commander, shuttle flow director for space her first mission in 2009 as a flight engineer for
shuttle Endeavour and orbiter project engineer the Expedition 20 and 21 crews, logging 91 days
for space shuttle Columbia. In 1998, she joined in space. Stott will serve as a mission specialist
the Johnson Space Center team as a member of on the STS-133 crew.
This graphic depicts the space shuttle Discovery’s payload bay for STS-133, which includes the
Permanent Multipurpose Module and the Express Logistics Carrier 4. The total payload
weight, not counting the middeck, is 36,514 pounds.
• Provide easy interfaces for future On the STS-133 mission, the PMM will carry
exploitation of the retained resources. 14 racks to the station – one experiment rack,
six resupply stowage platforms (RSPs),
• Provide a certified life extension for all five resupply stowage racks (RSRs), and
equipments and subsystems. two integrated stowage platforms (ISPs).
• Developed a software update to eliminate
The experiment rack carried in the PMM is the
faulty alarms.
Express Rack 8.
The Italian Space Agency contracted with
Thales Alenia Space, which also designed and PMM Specifications
built the three multi-purpose logistic modules, Dimensions: Length: 21 feet
to make the modifications. This module flew Diameter: 15 feet
seven times as Leonardo, the multipurpose
Payload Mass (launch): 28,353 pounds
logistics module. As the PMM module, this
Empty Weight: 21,817 pounds
will be its final flight and the last pressurized
element to be added to the U.S. operating
segment (USOS) of the station.
The International Space Station contains several unpressurized platforms that include
ELCs 1-4 and External Storage Platforms (ESP) 1-2.
A spare Heat Rejection Subsystem (HRS) radiator is shown installed in a stowed configuration
on the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4) which is being flown on the STS-133 mission. The
heat is transferred to the HRS radiator via flowing liquid ammonia. The ammonia, through loops
in the panels, allows the heat to be radiated to the “coldness” of deep space. The spare will remain
installed on ELC4 while on the International Space Station.
This graphic depicts the installed location of the PMM and ELC4 on the station.
Following the failure of a pump module on the will wear a spacesuit marked with solid red
International Space Station in August 2010, the stripes, while Drew will wear an all-white
spacewalk plan for STS-133 underwent a major spacesuit. These will be the sixth and seventh
overhaul. What had been planned for spacewalks for Bowen, who performed three
noncritical tasks that simply had not yet found spacewalks on STS-126 in November of 2008
a home became a chance to finish up work and two spacewalks on STS-132 in May of 2010,
started on the three unplanned spacewalks totaling 34 hours and 30 minutes. It will be
conducted by Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Drew’s first time to venture outside the space
Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Doug Wheelock. station.
For the STS-133 mission, Mission Specialists When a spacewalk – also called extravehicular
Steve Bowen and Al Drew will spend 13 hours activity (EVA) for short – is being conducted,
outside the station on flight days 5 and 7. one crew member inside the International
Bowen, the lead spacewalker for the mission, Space Station is assigned the job of
When he is not assisting Bowen with the Afterward, Drew will move to the Tranquility
adapter plate, Drew will remove some node to remove some insulation covering
insulation from the avionics assembly on the electrical connectors. In the meantime, Bowen
new ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 and retrieve will have gotten off the robotic arm. Since he’ll
three sets of stowage bags from the CETA cart be in the vicinity, his next task will be to install
on the port side of the station’s truss system. a lens cover on the camera on the arm’s elbow
joint. The cover will protect the lens from any
The Boundary Layer Transition (BLT) flight For the experiment, a heat shield tile with a
experiment will gather information on the effect “speed bump” on it was installed under
of high Mach number boundary layer transition Discovery’s left wing to intentionally disturb
caused by a protuberance on the space shuttle the airflow in a controlled manner and make
during the re-entry trajectory. the airflow turbulent. The bump is four inches
long and approximately 0.4 inch wide. Ten
The experiment is designed to further thermocouples are installed on several tiles,
understand the high Mach number thermal including the protuberance tile and tiles
environments created by a protuberance on the downstream of the protuberance.
lower side of the orbiter during re-entry. The
protuberance was built on a BRI-18 tile Additionally, data from this experiment will
originally developed as a heat shield upgrade expand the aerodynamics and aeroheating
on the orbiters. Due to the likely geometry and knowledge base and will be used to verify and
re-entry profile of future exploration vehicles, improve design efforts for future spacecraft.
these vehicles will experience a high Mach DTO 900 Solid Rocket Booster Thrust
number boundary layer transition during Oscillation
atmospheric entry. By flying this protuberance
during the orbiter’s re-entry, a high Mach The Space Shuttle Program is continuing to
number transition environment will be created gather data on pressure oscillation, or periodic
on a small zone of the orbiter’s underside, variation, a phenomenon that regularly occurs
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(STS-41 D) June 26, 1984 The countdown for Endeavour’s first launch
attempt ended 1.9 seconds before liftoff when
The countdown for the second launch attempt onboard computers detected higher than
for Discovery’s maiden flight ended at T-4 acceptable readings in one channel of a sensor
seconds when the orbiter’s computers detected monitoring the discharge temperature of the
a sluggish valve in main engine No. 3. The high pressure oxidizer turbopump in main
main engine was replaced and Discovery was engine No. 3. A test firing of the engine at the
finally launched on Aug. 30, 1984. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on
Sept. 2, 1994, confirmed that a slight drift in a
(STS-51 F) July 12, 1985
fuel flow meter in the engine caused a slight
The countdown for Challenger’s launch was increase in the turbopump’s temperature. The
halted at T-3 seconds when onboard computers test firing also confirmed a slightly slower start
detected a problem with a coolant valve on for main engine No. 3 during the pad abort,
main engine No. 2. The valve was replaced and which could have contributed to the higher
Challenger was launched on July 29, 1985. temperatures. After Endeavour was brought
back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be
outfitted with three replacement engines,
SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINES The main engines use a staged combustion
cycle so that all propellants entering the engines
Developed in the 1970s by NASA’s Marshall are used to produce thrust, or power, more
Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Ala., the efficiently than any previous rocket engine. In
space shuttle main engine is the most advanced a staged combustion cycle, propellants are first
liquid-fueled rocket engine ever built. Every burned partially at high pressure and relatively
space shuttle main engine is tested and proven low temperature, and then burned completely
flight worthy at NASA’s Stennis Space Center at high temperature and pressure in the main
in south Mississippi, before installation on combustion chamber. The rapid mixing of the
an orbiter. Its main features include variable propellants under these conditions is so
thrust, high performance reusability, high complete that 99 percent of the fuel is burned.
redundancy and a fully integrated engine
controller. At normal operating level, each engine
generates 490,847 pounds of thrust, measured
The shuttle’s three main engines are mounted in a vacuum. Full power is 512,900 pounds of
on the orbiter aft fuselage in a triangular thrust; minimum power is 316,100 pounds of
pattern. Spaced so that they are movable thrust.
during launch, the engines are used, in
conjunction with the solid rocket boosters, to The engine can be throttled by varying the
steer the shuttle vehicle. output of the preburners, thus varying the
speed of the high-pressure turbopumps and,
Each of these powerful main engines is 14 feet therefore, the flow of the propellant.
long, weighs about 7,000 pounds and is 7.5 feet
in diameter at the end of its nozzle. At about 26 seconds into ascent, the main
engines are throttled down to 316,000 pounds
The engines operate for about 8.5 minutes of thrust to keep the dynamic pressure on the
during liftoff and ascent, burning more than vehicle below a specified level, about
500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid hydrogen 580 pounds per square foot, known as max q.
and liquid oxygen propellants stored in the Then, the engines are throttled back up to
external tank attached to the underside of the normal operating level at about 60 seconds.
shuttle. The engines shut down just before the This reduces stress on the vehicle. The main
DB Data Book
DC Docking Compartment
DCSU Direct Current Switching Unit
DDCU DC-to-DC Converter Unit
DEM Demodulator
DFL Decommutation Format Load
DIU Data Interface Unit
DMS Data Management System
DMS-R Data Management System-Russian
DPG Differential Pressure Gauge
DPU Baseband Data Processing Unit
DRTS Japanese Data Relay Satellite
DYF Display Frame
FA Fluid Accumulator
FAS Flight Application Software
FCT Flight Control Team
FD Flight Day
FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FDIR Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery
FDS Fire Detection System
FE Flight Engineer
FET-SW Field Effect Transistor Switch
I/F Interface
IAA Intravehicular Antenna Assembly
IAC Internal Audio Controller
IBM International Business Machines
ICB Inner Capture Box
ICC Integrated Cargo Carrier
ICS Interorbit Communication System
ICS-EF Interorbit Communication System - Exposed Facility
IDRD Increment Definition and Requirements Document
IELK Individual Equipment Liner Kit
IFHX Interface Heat Exchanger
IMCS Integrated Mission Control System
IMCU Image Compressor Unit
IMV Intermodule Ventilation
INCO Instrumentation and Communication Officer
IP International Partner
IP-PCDU ICS-PM Power Control and Distribution Unit
IP-PDB Payload Power Distribution Box
ISP International Standard Payload
ISPR International Standard Payload Rack
ISS International Space Station
ISSSH International Space Station Systems Handbook
ITCS Internal Thermal Control System
ITS Integrated Truss Segment
IV Intravehicular
IVA Intravehicular Activity
IVSU Internal Video Switch Unit
IWIS ISS Wireless Instrumentation System
LB Local Bus
LCA LAB Cradle Assembly
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LED Light Emitting Diode
LEE Latching End Effector
LIDAR Light Intensification Detection and Ranging
LMC Lightweight MPESS Carrier
LSW Light Switch
LTA Launch-to-Activation
LTAB Launch-to-Activation Box
LTL Low Temperature Loop
MA Main Arm
MAUI Main Analysis of Upper-Atmospheric Injections
Mb Megabit
Mbps Megabit per second
MBS Mobile Base System
MBSU Main Bus Switching Unit
MCA Major Constituent Analyzer
MCC Mission Control Center
MCC-H Mission Control Center – Houston
MCC-M Mission Control Center – Moscow
MCDS Multifunction Cathode-Ray Tube Display System
MCS Mission Control System
MDA MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.
MDM Multiplexer/Demultiplexer
MDP Management Data Processor
P/L Payload
PAL Protuberance Airload
PAM Payload Attach Mechanism
PAO Public Affairs Office
PAS Payload Adapter System
PBA Portable Breathing Apparatus
PCA Pressure Control Assembly
PCBM Passive Common Berthing Mechanism
PCN Page Change Notice
PCS Portable Computer System
PCU Power Control Unit
Plasma Contactor Unit
PDA Payload Disconnect Assembly
PDB Power Distribution Box
PDGF Power and Data Grapple Fixture
PDH Payload Data Handling unit
PDL Product Development Laboratory
PDRS Payload Deployment Retrieval System
PDU Power Distribution Unit
PEC Passive Experiment Container
PEHG Payload Ethernet Hub Gateway
PFE Portable Fire Extinguisher
PFRAM Passive Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism
PGSC Payload General Support Computer
QD Quick Disconnect
S Starboard
SAFER Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue
SAM SFA Airlock Attachment Mechanism
SAME Smoke and Aerosol Measurement Experiment
SAPA Small Adapter Plate Assembly
SARJ Solar Alpha Rotary Joint
SASA S-Band Antenna Sub-Assembly
SCU Sync and Control Unit
SD Smoke Detector
SDS Sample Distribution System
SEDA Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment
SEDA-AP Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment - Attached Payload
SEITE Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments
Digital NASA TV has the following four digital In continental North America, Alaska and
channels: Hawaii, NASA Television’s Public, Education,
Media and HD channels are MPEG-2 digital
1. NASA Public Service (“Free to Air”),
C-band signals carried by QPSK/DVB-S
featuring documentaries, archival
modulation on satellite AMC-3, transponder
programming, and coverage of NASA
15C, at 87 degrees west longitude. Downlink
missions and events.
frequency is 4000 MHz, horizontal polarization,
2. NASA Education Services (“Free to with a data rate of 38.86 Mhz, symbol rate of
Air/Addressable”), dedicated to providing 28.1115 Ms/s, and 3/4 FEC. A Digital Video
educational programming to schools, Broadcast (DVB) compliant Integrated Receiver
educational institutions and museums. Decoder (IRD) is needed for reception.
Marny Skora
Communications Director
757-864-6121
marny.skora@nasa.gov