sts-66 space shuttle mission report

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e

NASA-CR-199594

(LASTS-08295) STS-66 SPACE SHUTTLEMISSION REPORT (LockheedEngineering and Sciences Co_) 69 p

(LISTS-08295

/ N

N96-11512

Unclas

G /16 0066500

February 1995

L I B R A R YC O F1 !

LANGLEY R E S E A R C H C E N T I X. . .

LIBRARY NASA


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NOTE

The STS-66 Space Shuttle Mission Report was prepared frominputs received from the Orbiter Project as well as otherorganizations. The following personnel may be contactedshould questions arise concerning the technical content ofthis document.

Don L. McCormack, JSC713483-3327

C. A. Snoddy, MSFC205-544-0391

Michael Darnell, JSC713-483-M5

Sharon B. Castle, JSC713-483-5505

G. P. Buoni, JSC713-483-0639

F. T. Bums, Jr., JSC713-483-1262

Orbiter and subsystems

MSFC Elements (SRB,RSRM, SSME, ET,SRSS, and MPS)

Payloads/Experiments

AT LAS-3 Payload

DTOs and DSOs

FCE and GFE


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NSTS 08295

STS-66

SPACE SHUTTLE

MISSION REPORT

P pa ed by

Robert W. F Ike, Jr.LESCIFI ht Engineering and Vehic a Management Office

Approved by

% ^ ^ L 1 4 K n ^Don L. McCormack

STS-66 Lead Mission Evaluation Room ManagerFlight Engineering d Vehicle Management Office

bw eid W . C a m pM a n a g e r ,Flight Engineering ancj-Vehicle Management Office

IAay/WGreeneager, M iter P roject Office

Brewster4 H. ShawD i re o r , S p a c e S h u t tle O p e r a tio n s

Prepared byLockheed Engineering and Sciences Company

fo r

Flight Engineering and Vehicle Management Office

NATIONAL AERO NAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONLYNDON B . JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

HOUSTON, TEX AS 77058

February 1995


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STS-66 Table of ContentsTitle Page

INTRODUCTION.......................................... 1MISSION SUMMARY ....................................... 3PAYLOADS.............................................. 7

ATMOSPHERIC LABORATO RY FOR APPLICr;TIONS ANDSCIENCES -3........... . ...................... 8

Chemical Constituents of the Middle Atmosphere ....... 8Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy ......... aMillimeter Wave Atmospheric.. Sounder .............. 9Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/A .............. 9

Solar Radiatian and the Middle Atmosphere............ 10Solar Spectrum Experiment ....................... 10Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor ....... 10

TOTAL S O L A R IRRADIANCE MEASUREMENTS ........... 10Active Cavity RadiometerIrradiance Monitor............ 10SolarConstant.. ................................. 11

PAYLOAD MISSION-PECULIARIMISSIONIDEPENDENTEQUIPMENT ................................... 11

Global Pointing System .. ........................... 11CRYOGENICINFRARED SPECTROMETERS AND

TELESCOPES FOR THEATMOSPHERE - SHUTTLE-PALLET S AT E L L I T E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1

C, ryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes fortheAtmosphere .............................. 11

Middle Atmosphere Hig h Res olution SRectroo raphInvestigation ................................. 12

E X P E R I M E N T OF T H E S U N COMPLEMENTING THEATLASPAYLOAD AND EDUCATION41.................... 12

NATIONAL INSTITUTE O FHEALTH - R O D E N T S - 1 PAY L O A D . 12PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROW THEXPERIMENTS ............ 13NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF HEALTH - CELLS-2 PAYLOAD... 14SPACE ACCELERATION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM ........ 14HEAT PIPE PERFORMANCE EXPERIMENT ............... 14

VEHICLE PERFORMANCE.................................. 15SOL ID ROCKET BOO STER ............................. 15REDESIGNED SOLIDR O CK E T M O T O R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6EXTERNAL TANK ..................................... 16SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINES ........................ 17S H U T T L E RANGE SAFETY SYSTEM ...................... 18ORBITER SUBSYSTEMS ............................... 18

Main Propulsion System .......................... 18


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STS-66 Table of ContentsTitle Page

Reaction Control Subsystem ...................... 19Orbital ManeuverincLSubsystem .................... 22Power Reactant Storage and Distribution Subsystem.. 22Fuel Cell Pawerplant Subsystem .................... 23Auxiliary Power Unit Subsystem .................... 23HydraulicsMlaterSpray Boiler Subsystem............ 24Electrical Power Distribution and Control Subsystem.. 25Environmental Control and Life Support Subsystem .. 25Smoke Detection and Fire Suppression Subsystem.... 27Airlock Support System .......................... 27Avionics and Software System .................... 27Displays and Controls Subsystem .................. 29Communications and Tracking Subsystems ......... 30Operational Instrumentation/Modular

Auxiliary Data System ........................ 31Structures and Mechanical Subsystems ............. 31Integrated Aerodynamics. Heating and Thermal

Interfaces................................... 32Thermal Control Subsystem ....................... 32Aerothermodynarni cs ............................. 33Thermal Protection Subsystem and Windows......... 33

REMOTE MANIPULATOR SYSTEM............................. 35FLIGHT CREW EQUIPMENTIGOVERNMENT FURNISHED

EQUIPMENT ................. ............... 37CARGO INTEGRATION ....................................... 39DEVELOPMENT TEST OBJECTIVESIDETAILED SUPPLEMENTARY

OBJECTIVES ................ ............... 40DEVELOPMENT TESTOBJECTIVES .. .................... 40DETAILED SUPPLEMENTARY OBJECTIVES ................ 44

PHOTOGF IAPHY AND TELEVISION ANALYSIS ................... 47LAUNCH PH OTOGRAPHY AND V IDEO DATA ANALYSIS...... 47ON-O RB IT PHOTOGRAPHY AND V IDEO DATA ANALYSIS ... .47LANDING PHOTOGRAPH Y AND VIDEO DATA ANALY SIS .. .. . 47

List of Tables

TABLE I - STS-66 SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ..................... 48TABLE If - STS-66 ORBITER PROBLEM TRACKING LIST.......... 51TABLE III - STS-66 GFE PROBLEM TRACKING LIST .............. 57TAB LE IV - M SFC ELEME NTS PRO B LEM TRAC KING LIST . .. .. .. .. 60


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Appendixes

A - D O C U M E N T S O U R C E S ................................ . . A-1B - A C R O N Y M S A N DABBREVIAi*t N'S ........................ B-1


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INTRODUCTION

The STS-66 Space Shuttle Program Miss ion Report summarizes th e Payloadactivities as well as the Orbiter, External Tank (ET), Solid Rocket Booster (SRS),Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), and the Space Sh uttle main engine(SSME) systems performance during this sixty-sixth flight of the Space ShuttleProgram and the thirteenth flight of the O rbiter vehicle Atlantis (OV -104). Inaddition to the Orbiter, the Space Shuttle Veh icle consisted of an ET tha t wasdesignated ET-67; three SSMEs that were designated as serial numbers 2030,2034, and 2017 in positions 1, 2, and 3, respectively; and two SRB s that w eredesignated BI-069. The RSRMs th at were installed in each SRB weredesignated as 360L038A (lightweigh t) for the left SRB, and 36OW 038B(welterweight) for th e right SRB .

The ST S-66 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report fulfills the Space ShuttleProgram requirement as documented in NSTS 07700, Volume VIE, Appendix E.Tha requir-mang yis U100 COLAiI II IGJoi organizational element of th e Space ShuttleProgram will report the results of their h ardware and software evaluation andmission performance. In addition, each element must identify all related in-flightanomalies.

The primary objective of this fligh t was to accomplish complementary scienceobjectives by operating th e Atmos pheric Laboratory for Applications andScience -3 (ATLAS-3) and the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers andTelescopes for the Atmos phere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS). Thesecondary objectives of this flight were to perform the operations of th e Shuttle

Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/A (SSBUV/A) payload, the Experiment of the SunComplementing th e Atlas Payload and Education-11 (ESCAPE-11) payload, thePhysiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment/National Institutes of Health-Rodents (PARE/N IH-R) payload, the Protein Crystal Growth-Thermal E nclosureSystem (PCG-T ES) payload, the Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker ThermalEnclosure System (PCG-STES), the Space Tissue/National Institutes of Health-Cells (STUN IH-C) A payload, the Space Acce!eration Measurement System s(SAMS) Ex periment, and Heat Pipe Performance Experiment (HP PE) payload.

The 11-day plus 2 contingency day STS-66 mission was flown as planned, withno contingency days used for wea ther avoidance or Orbiter contingencyoperations. The s equence of events for the STS-66 mission is s hown in Table 1,and the Orbiter Problem Tracking List is s hown in Table 11. Table III shows theGovernment Fumished Equipment/Fligh t Crew Equipment (GFE/FCE ) ProblemTracking List, and Table IV s hows the Marsh all Space Flight Center (MSFC)Problem Tracking List. in addition, all Integration in-flight anomalies arereferenced in applicable sections of th e report. Appendix A lists the s ources ofdata from which this report was prepared, and Appendix B defines all acronyms


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and abbreviations us ed in the report. All times in th e report are given inGreenwich mean time (G.m.t.) as w ell as mission elapsed time (MET ).

The six-person crew for ST S-66 consisted of Donald R. McMonagle, Lt. Col.,USAF, Commander; Curtis L. B rown, Jr., Lt. Col., USAF, Pilot; Ellen Ochoa,Ph. D., Payload Commander (Mission Specialist 1); Joseph R. Tanner, MissionSpecialist 2; Jean-Francois Clervoy, European Space Agency, MissionSpecialist 3; and Scott E. Parazyns ki, M. D., Mission Specialist 4. STS-66 wasthe third space fligh t for the Commander, the second s pace flight for the Pilotand Payload Commander (Miss ion Specialist 1), and the first space flight forMiss ion Specialist 2, Mis sion Specialist 3, and Mission Specialist 4. The crewwas divided into two teams , red and blue, to enable continuous around-the-clockoperations of the experiments.

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M I S S I O N S U M M A R Y

The STS-66 Space Shuttle vehicle was success fully launched at307:16:59:43.004 G.m.t. (10:59:43 a.m. c.s.t.) on November 3, 1994, fromKennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39 B. The countdown was heldfor 3 minutes 43 s econds at T-5 minutes to discuss the weather conditions,specifically winds, at the Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAB ) site. The poweredascent phase of the f light was nominal. All SSME and RSRM start s equencesoccurred as expected and the launch phase performance was satisf actory in allrespects. First stage ascent performance was as expected. SRB separation,entry, deceleration and water impact occurred nominally. Both SRBs wererecovered and returned to KSC for refurbishment. Performance of the SSMEs,ET, and main propulsion system (MPS) was nominal.

During the maneuver to photograph the ET after separation, the Orbiter reactioncontrol subsys tem (RCS) aft firing thruster L1Afailed off because of lowchamber pressure. The redundancy management (RM) software deselected thethruster 320 ms ec into the firing. The peak chamber pressure was 11.3 psiaover 160 msec (four data samples). Injector temperatures verified at least partialopening of both the fuel and oxidizer valves. Thruster L1A remained deselectedfor the remainder of the mission.

A nominal direct-insertion trajectory was flown; consequently, no orbitalmaneuvering subsys tem (OMS) 1 maneuver was required. The OMS 2maneuver was initiated at 307:17:35:56.1 G.m.t. (00:00:36:13.1 MET). The

maneuver was 160 seconds in duration and the AV was 262.3 ft/sec. A165.1 by 164.0 nmi. orbit was achieved as a result of the OMS 2 maneuver.

Payload bay door opening was completed at 307:18:29:56 G.m.t.(00:01:30:13 MET). During the door opening sequence, all operations wereperformed on dual motors within the s pecified time. W hen the starboard doorwas opened, the ready to-latch (RTL) switch 3 and close switch 2 did nottransfer off as required. Approximately 38 and 44 minutes later, respectively, theready-to-latch and close sw itches transferred to their correct state. Thisanomaly did not recur during payload bay door closing operations.

The Spacelab was activated successfully at 307:19:27 G.m.t. (00:02:27 MET),and the ATLAS-3 activation was completed 57 minutes later. TheSSBUV/A wasactivated at 307:23:00 G.W . (00:06:00 MET).

The remote manipulator system (RMS) checkout was s uccessfully completed at307:21:43 G.m.t. (00:04:43 MET). The CRISTA-SPAS was powered on, andchecked out. All systems of the SPAS performed nominally and the spacecrafthealth was s atisfactory. The RIMS was us ed to grapple the CRISTA-SPAS in the

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payload bay following the che ckout. The CR ISTA-SPAS w as unberthed at308:11:45:54 G.m.t. (00:18:46:11 MET ), and released at 308:12:4 9:49 G.m.t.(00:19:50:06 MET).

After release and separation from the CRISTA-SPAS, a series of RCSmaneuvers w ere satisfactorily completed to maintain the planned separationdistance between the Orbiter and CRISTA-SPAS. Six of the 17 plannedmaneuvers (NC-3, NC-4, NC-5, NC-8, NC-12, and NC-15) were not performedbecause they were not required. However, one small RCS maneuver (N C10A)was added to make a total of 12 maneuvers performed. RCS operation duringall of these maneuvers was nominal. In addition to the 12 R CS maneuvers , oneOMS maneuver (OMS 3/N C-18) was also performed satisfactorily.

During the rendezvous with CRISTA-SPAS, one OMS maneuver (OM S-4) wasperformed satisfactorily to initiate the rendezvous s equence. Also, four primaryRCS maneuvers w ere performed during the rendezvous with nominal results.

Flight control system (FCS) checkout was performed using auxiliary power unit(APU)1 and all FCS parameters w ere nominal. The APU was started at315:10:3 3:11 G.m.t. (07:17:33: 28 MET ) and ran for 4 minutes 2 seconds . A totalof 12 lb of fuel was used. Hydraulics system operations w ere also nominal.

During a systems management (SM) checkpoint from general purpose computer(GPC) 4 to mass memory unit (MMU)1 at 315:13:26 G.m.t. (07:20:26 MET ), twoerror messag es (1/0 ERROR MM U 1 and S60 CHECK PT FAIL) wereannunciated. The checkpoint was unsuccessful. During troubleshooting, all

further transactions between GPC 4 and MMU 1 failed. Successful transactionswere performed between GPC 1 and MMU 1. This interface problem betweenGPC 4 and M MU 1 w as believed to be due to a failure of the GPC 4 bus controlelement (B CE) 18 transmitter and/or receiver. A software dump of GPC 4 wasperformed, and analysis of the dumped data supported the B CE 18 failure andindicated no other problem with GPC 4. A verification of GPC 4 as a redundantguidance, navigation and control GPC was performed a t 316:18:30 G.m.t.(09:01:30 MET).

The SM function was moved from GPC 4 to GPC 3 . GPC 4 was th en placed inthe redundant set with GPC 1 at 316:19 :13 G.m.t. (09:02: 13 MET ) to determinewheth er the problem that the GPC 4 interface had with MMU 1 also affectedGPC 4 communications on the fligh t critical (FC) 8 data bus. The testconfirmed that GPC 4 comm unications on FC8 were nominal, isolating theproblem to the GPC 4 B CE 18 interface with MMU 1. The condition did notimpact entry procedures.

A simultaneous supply/was te water dump was completed at 315:16:06 G.m.t.(07:23:06 MET) and was followed by a successful purge of the supply waterdump line. Approximately 96 Ib of w aste water and 117 lb of supply water were

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dum ped w ith no w ater system anom alies noted. The dum p wa s observed by theRM S end-effector cam era, which show ed an icicle growing toward the supplydum p nozzle. The dum p was term inated just before the icicle reache d thesupp ly nozzle. The base of the icicle was attached to the po rt payload bay do or(PLED ). (No te: A portion of the icicle rema ined attache d to the po rt PLSDthrough out entry and landing.) Bec ause o f the ice forma tion, no further wastewater dum ps w ere performe d. Sufficient ullage existed to support a nom inalend-of-m ission. Supply water was dum ped throug h the FE S.

The C R ISTA instrume nt collected 180 hou rs of data and the M iddle Atmo sphe reHigh Res olution Spectrograph Investigation (MA HR SI) instrum ent collectedabou t 200 hours of data. CR ISTA is the first instrum ent to p rovide d etailedi n fo r m a t io n o n th e c o n d i ti o n s i n th e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e t h e d y n a m ic s o f w

temperature changes and atmosp heric m ovements w hich dis tr ibute the gasesthat influence ozone che m istry.

During the rendez vous phase with the CR ISTA-SPA S satellite, a Shuttlem aneuv er called the "MAH R SI football ' wa s performed . This mane uver allowedthe M AH RSI instrument to m ake ob servations of the Shuttle and the areaimm ediately around it . Bo th the CR ISTA and MA H RSI teams w ere elated withthe achievem ents of the payload m ission. The C R ISTA-SPA S was grapp led at31 6:12:06 G .m.t. (08:19:06 M ET). After co m pletion o f the high priority ob jectivesof the notch filter detailed test objective (DTO), the CRISTA-SPAS was berthedat 3 16:14 :30 G.m .t. (08:21:30 M ET).

The R CS ho t-fire wa s p erform ed at 31 7:10:02:18 G.m.t. (09:17:02:35 ME T).

Primary thruster1 - 4 1 -w a s n o t fi re d , 1 - 3 1 - w a s fir e d o n ly o n c e , a n d L 1 A w a s n o tfired as it had failed ea rlier in the m ission.

The ATLA S-3 payload deactivation occurred at 318:02:30 G.m.t.(10:09:30 ME T), and initial Spacelab dea ctivation followe d at 31 8:05:07 G.m .t.(10:12:07 ME T). The SSBU VIA ins trum ent w as d eactiva ted at 31 8:06:23 G.m.t.(10:13:23 ME T). Final deactivation of the Spacelab w as co m pleted at31 8:12:05 G.m.t. (10:19:05 M ET). The ove rall perform anc e o f the Spac elabsubsystems was nom inal.

At 31 6:10:05 G.m.t. (10:17:05 M ET), the flash ev apo rator sys tem (FES) Bcontroller experienced a n under tem perature shutdo wn . The prim ary Bcontroller pow er was cycled and the F ES operated norm ally until radiator bypasswas s elected. Follow ing radiator bypass/FE S check out, several large transientsoccurred o n the primary B c ontroller. The evap orator outlet tem peratureoscillated between 34OF and 47 OF (limits are 39OF t 2 F) and the prima ry Acon troller wa s selec ted at 31 8:12:04 G .m.t. (10:19:04 ME T). The F ES op eratednom inally during entry.

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A l l e n t r y s to w a g e a n d d e o r b i t p r e p a r a t io n s w e r e c o m p l e t e d in p r e p a r a t i o n fo re n t r y. T h e p a y l o a d b a y d o o r : w e r o s u c c e s s f u l ly c l o s e d a n d l a t c h e d a t31 8 :11 :54 :45 G.m .t . (10 :18:55 :02 M ET) . The w ea the r a t KSC w as b eco m ingw o r s e b e c a u s e o f a tr o p i c a l s t o r m t h a t w a s n e a r th e F l o ri d a e a s t c o a s t .C o n s e q u e n t ly, b o t h K S C l a n d i n g o p p o r tu n i t ie s w e r e w a i v e d , a n d t h e f ir s t la n d i n go p p o r t u n it y a t E d w a r d s A i r F o r c e B a s e w a s t a rg e t e d . T h e d e o r b it m a n e u v e r w a sin it ia t ed a t 318 :14 :31 :05 G .m. t . (10 :21 :31 :22 M ET) , and the m ane uve r wa s213 .8 seco nds in du ra t ion w i th a A V o f 380 .0 W sec .

D u r in g e n t r y, t h e A P U 1 s u p p l y li n e te m p e r a t u r e w a s e r ra t ic . A l l o t h e r A P U 1p a r a m e t e r s w e r e n o m in a l . A s a p r e c a u t io n , A P U 1 w a s s h u t d o w n i m m e d i a te lya f te r w h e e l s s t o p .

E n t r y w a s c o m p l e t e d s a t is f a c t o r il y, a n d m a i n la n d i n g g e a r to u c h d o w n o c c u r re da t t h e E d w a r d s A i r F o r c e B a s e c o n c r e t e r u n w a y 22 a t 3 1 8 :1 5 :3 3 : 4 5 G . m . t.(1 0 :22: 3 4 : 02 M E T ) o n N o v e m b e r 1 4 , 1 9 94 . Th e O r b i te r d r a g c h u t e w a sd e p l o y e d s a t is f a c t o r il y a t 3 1 8 :1 5 :3 3 : 4 9 G . m .t ., a n d n o s e l a n d i n g g e a r t o u c h d o w no c c u r re d 7 s e c o n d s l a te r. T h e d r a g c h u t e w a s j e t ti s o n e d a t 3 1 8 :1 5 :3 4 : 1 6 G . m .t .w i th w h e e l s s t o p o c c u r r in g a t 3 1 8 :1 5 :3 4 : 3 5 G .m .t . T h e r o l lo u t w a s n o r m a l in a l lr e s p e c t s . Th e f l ig h t d u r a ti o n w a s 1 0 d a y s 2 2 h o u r s 3 4 m i n u t e s 02 s e c o n d s .

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PAYLOADS

The STS-66 flight, Mis sion to Planet Earth, was launched on November 3, 1994.The Spacelab was activated successfully at 307:19:27 G.m.t. (00:02:27 MET),and the ATLAS-3 activation was completed 57 minutes later. At307:21:00 G.m.t. (00:04:00 MET), the CRISTA-SPAS was grappled, powered on,and checked out. All systems of the SPAS performed nominally and thespacecraft health was satisfactory. The SSBUV IA was activated at307:23:00 G.m.t. (00:06:00 MET). The CRISTA-SPAS was successfullydeployed at 308:11:50 G.rn.t. (00:18:50 MET).

The science teams for the ATLAS-3, CRISTA-SPAS, and the SSBUV-A payloadsare elated with the wealth of s cience data obtained in this extremely successfulmission. According to the Joint Mission Scientist, The mission not only met ourexpectations, but also all our hopes and dreams as well." Preliminary analysisof the data collected indicates that the Antarctic ozone hole is a self-containedregion, and that there has been a large increase in the amount of Freon-22 inthe s tratosphere. This chemical, used as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs) is not as great a threat to the ozone layer as CFCs. It is, however, still agrowing source of stratospheric chlorine. Also of note is the lack of a direct linkbetween the Antarctic ozone hole and ozone depletion in the mid-latitudes,indicating that there are atmospheric processes that are s till not well understood.

The CRISTA instrument collected 180 hours of data and the Middle AtmosphereHigh Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) instrument collected

about 200 hours of data. Current generation orbital satellites would requirealmost 6 months to collect a data set as large as CRISTA collected on this flight.CRISTA is the f irst instrument to provide detailed information on the conditionsin the upper atmosphere the dynamics of winds, temperature changes andatmospheric movements which distribute the gases that influence ozonechemistry. During the rendezvous phase w ith the CRISTA-SPAS satellite, aShuttle maneuver called the "MAHRSI football" was performed. This maneuverallowed the MAHRSI instrument to make observations of the Shuttle and thearea immediately around it. The measurements of the Shuttle and the attendant"Shuttle glow" will help scientists understand the phenomenon. Both theCRISTA and MAHRSI teams are elated with the achievements of their miss ion.The CRISTA-SPAS was g rappled at 316.13:05 G.m.t. (08:20:05 MET). Aftercompletion of the high priority objectives of the notch filter detailed test objective

(DTO), the CRISTA-SPASw as berthed at 316:16:50 G.m.t. (08:23:50 MET).

The ATLAS-3 payload deactivation occurred at 318:02: 30 G.m.t.(10:09:30 MET), and initial Spacelab deactivation followed at 318:05:07 G.m.t.(10:12:07 MET). Final deactivation of the Spacelab was completed at318:12:05 G.m.t. (10:19:05 MET). The SSBUV IA instrument was deactivated at

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318:06:2 3 G.m.t. (10:13:2 3 MET ). The overall performance of the Spacelabsubsystems was nominal.

At 315:20:53 G.m.t. (08:03:53 MET), the Spacelab subsystem inverter shutdown. Data review shows the inverter voltage decreased to the 22 -24 volt rangeper phase, and the s ubsys tem inverter output currents increased approximately6 amperes per phase before the s ubsystem inverter shut down. A 20-ampereincrease was reflected in the fuel-cell currents for about 20 ms ec. The crewperformed the required malfunction procedure and switched to the ex perimentinverter. The Spacelab subs ystems operated nominally for the remainder of themission on the ex periment inverter.

The Joint Science Mission scientists will require many months to refine thevolumes of data that were accumulated during the 11-day fligh t, but the successof the experiments is already apparent. As the postflight data analysis iscompleted, the data will be deposited in the Earth O bserving System DataInformation System archives at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)and will be available to atmospheric scientists around the w orld.

ATMOSPHERIC LABORATORY FOR APPLICATIONS AND SCIENCES-3

The AT LAS-3 payload was placed in orbit during a time of the year wh en theAntarctic ozone hole had already passed its deepes t level and had beg un torecover, and the North am Hemisph ere atmosphere was beg inning to adjust tothe approaching winter. This provided the ATLAS-3 atmos pheric instrumentsunique insights into how thes e changes take place.

Chemical C onstituents of the M iddle Atmosphere

Atmosph eric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy: Th e Jet Propulsion Laboratory's(JPL's) Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMO S) experimentcollected more data on trace gases in th e atmosph ere than on all three of itsprevious flights combined. The instrument took readings over the NorthernHemis phere from just above the U.S.-Canadian border down to the equator.Southern Hemisph ere observations, both inside and outside the Antarctic ozonehole, revealed new insigh ts into atmospheric chemistry there.

W ater vapor and nitrogen oxides are almost absent inside the ozone hole, but a

similar absence was not seen on the outs ide. The ATMO S Principal Investigatorstated that th is indicates that the ozone h ole is a self-contained region.

A comparison of the data from this flight and the first ATLASIATMO S flight3 years ago shows significant increases in the halogen-contdining HCFC-22.Though not as g reai a threat to the atmosphere as th e chlorofluorocarbons itreplaces, this gas is a growing s ource of stratospheric chlorine.

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Another key new finding is that reactive chlorine is converted directly to HCIduring the recovery phase. HCI is the primary reservoir species in the lowerstratosphere within the ozone hole, while both HCI and CION O2 are reservoirspecies at higher altitudes.

Millimeter W ave Atmospheric Sounder. The Millimeter W ave AtmosphericSounder (MAS), provided by Germany, made 10 hours of observation on the firstday of the miss ion. A malfunction in the instrument's onboard computer systemafter the first atmospheric observation period made it impossible to communicatewith th e MAS f or the remainder of the fligh t. However, the data MAS did collectwere revealing.

V ariations in the ozone and water vapor with altitude and latitude, as see n in thepreliminary data, were especially interesting. The structure sug gests that aconsiderable flow already exists from th e south pole to the north pole in themesosphere, a region of the atmosphere above the ozone layer.

The MAS instrument also obtained useful measurements of chlorine monoxidedespite the relatively short observation period. The res ults were primarily theresult of improvements made to the ch lorine monoxide detector that made thesensor twice as s ensitive as it was on previous ATLAS flights . Chlorinemonoxide, formed mainly by the breakdown of chlorofluorocarbons in theatmosph ere, plays an important part in the ozone loss.

Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/A: The SSBUV/A experiment took ozone

measurements to calibrate the ozone monitor on the NO AA-9 satellite, which hasbeen in orbit since 1984. The SSB UV/A also matched observations with theTotal Ozone M apping Spectrometer on a Rus sian meteorological satellite. Inaddition, the instrument took simultaneous meas urements w ith every otherATLAS-3 instrument. Comparisons of preliminary solar ultraviolet radiation datafrom SSB UV /A, Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM), and SolarSpectrum Experiment (SOLSPEC) show ed the Instruments to agree withinapproximately 5 percent of each other, a remarkable achievement for threeinstruments with different designs and calibration methods.

The SSBU V /A initially exhibited a problem in that four unsuccessful attemptswere made to open the door by ground comm and to activate the experiment.Howe ver, the crew wa s able to open the door from onboard using the Small

Payloads Accommodations s witch. Following this problem, the door operatedsatisfactorily by ground command for the remainder of the m ission. Theexperiment operated satisfactorily.

The SSBUVIA Principal Investigator called the ATLAS-3 mission "one of themost productive in data acquisition and the most productive in science," thanks

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to the close collaboration among the science teams, powerful computer tools,and the "enormously flexible Shuttle systems."

Solar Radiation and the MiddleAtmosphere

Solar Spectrum Experiment: The SOLSPEC experiment, provided by France,fulfilled its primary assignment - taking absolute measurements of the Sun'sradiation as a function of wavelength , from far ultraviolet to far infrared. It alsomade direct Earth measurements in ultraviolet ranges to assist in determiningthe chemical composition of the atmosphere. The SOLSPEC PrincipalInvestigator cited the quality of ATLAS-3 measurements and the absence oftechnical problems in declaring the mis sion "a great success."

Throughout ATLAS-3 operations, the Solar Constant (SOLCON) and SOLSPECwere commanded from the B elgian Science Remote Operations center, and theinstruments' home laboratories in Brussels and France processed the incomingdata. The operation was highly eff ective, freeing the principal investigators inHuntsville to dedicate more time to science planning. The short turnaround timein data processing allowed them to exchange data w ith other ATLAS-3 scientistswhile the mission was in progress.

Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor: The SUSIM collected the highestprecision solar ultraviolet radiation measurements in its 15-year lifetime.Improvements made s ince the instrument's creation have decreaseduncertainties from 30 percent in 1979 to 3 percent at the present time, according

to the Co-Investigator at the U. S. Naval Research Laboratory. The ATLAS-3SUSIM made simultaneous measurements with the SUSIM instrument onNASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (OARS) during each solar period,and preliminary comparisons to correct the UARS instrument's measurementsare being made.

T O T A L S O L A R I R R A D I A N C E M E A S U R E M E N T S

Active Cavity R adiometer Irradiance Monitor

The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), from NASA's JetPropulsion Laboratory, took precise measurements of the sun's total radiation.ACRIM's primary purpose was to check the accuracy of a sister instrument,which has been making solar measurements aboard NASA's UARS s ince itslaunch in 1991. Long exposure to s olar radiation degrades the accuracy ofsatellite instruments, so comparisons w ith the h ighly calibrated ATLAS-3instruments will help verify their reliability.

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S o la r C o n s t a n t

B e l g i u m ' s S O L C O N i n s tr u m e n t " w o r k e d p e r fe c t ly t h r o u g h o u t t h e m i s s io n , "a c c o r d i n g t o t h e P r in c i p a l In v e s t i g a t o r, Li k e A C R IM , SO LC O N r e c o r d s v e r yprec i se va lues o f so la r r ad ia t ion , p rov id ing a r e fe rence po in t to t rack s ub t l ec h a n g e s o v e r t e n s a n d e v e n h u n d r e d s o f y e a r s . A s p e c ia l te s t e x p o s e dSOLCO N's sen sor s to a tm osp her i c pa r t ic l e s in the O rb i te r d i rec t ion o f tr ave l .R e s u l ts c o n f ir m e d t h a t t h e p a r t ic l e s w e r e t h e s o u r c e o f d a t a g l it c h e s t h a t w e r es o m e t im e s s e e n a t th e b e g i n n in g o f o b s e r v a t i o n s . A d j u s t in g S O L C O N d a t a toa l low fo r the p a r t ic l e in t e r fe rence w i ll m ake the d a ta even m ore r e l iab le .

PAY L O A D M I SS IO N - P E C U L I A R /M I SS IO N - D E P E N D E N T E Q U I P M E N T

Global Pointing System

In i t ia l ly the A TLAS g lob a l pos i t ion ing s ys t em (GP S) w as ab le to t rack o n ly twoGP S sa te l li te s in the -Z loca l ve r t i ca l (LV) a t t it ude , b u t l a t e r wa s a b le to t r ack upto four an d f ive and com pu te so lu t ions d ur ing the -Z so la r ine r ti a l (S I) a t t it udep e r i o d s . T h e p o i n t in g m o d e o f th e A T LA S G P S w a s c h a n g e d t o e n a b l e it toseque n t i a lly sea rch fo r any o f the 24 G P S sa te l li te s . The s ign a l -to -no i se r a t iow a s a l s o c h a n g e d . Th e c o m b i n a tio n o f t h e s e c h a n g e s a l lo w e d t h e G P S r e c e iv e rt o c o m p u t e s o m e s o l u ti o n s w h i le i n t h e - ZLV a t ti tu d e .

C R Y O G E N I C IN FR A R E D S P E C T R O M E T E R S A N D TE L E S C O P E S F O R T H EAT M O S P H E R E-S H UT T L E PA L L E T S AT E L L I T E

C ryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atm osphere

T h e C r y o g e n i c In f ra r e d S p e c t ro m e t e rs a n d Te le s c o p e s f o r t h e A t m o s p h e r e(C R IS TA ) i n s t ru m e n t , fr o m t h e U n i v e rs i ty o f W u p p e r ta l in G e r m a n y, m a d e t h ef ir s t t h r e e -d i m e n s i o n a l g l o b a l m a p s o f a t m o s p h e r ic g a s e s . It s p u r p o s e w a s t od e t e r m i n e h o w t h e c o n d i ti o n s in t h e u p p e r a t m o s p h e r e t ra n s p o r t g a s e s f r o m o n ep l a c e t o a n o t h e r. "F o r in s t a n c e , w e w e r e l o o k i n g f o r c l o u d - li k e s t ru c t u r e s i no z o n e d i s t ri b u t io n , p r e d i c te d b y c o m p u t e r m o d e l s , w h i c h c o u l d h e l p e x p l a in w h yt h e r e is n o l a s t in g h o l e in N o r t h a m H e m i s p h e r e w i n t e r a n d s p r in g , " s a id t h eP r inc ipa l Inve s t iga to r. "So fa r, tha t i s un exp la ined ."

C R IS TA m a d e i n f ra r e d m e a s u r e m e n t s b o t h i n s id e a n d o u t s i d e th e S o u t h e r np o l a r v o r te x , a n d a l s o v i e w e d t h e e d g e o f t h e A n t a r c ti c o z o n e h o l e . A t o t a l o f51 ,000 ve r t ica l s cans o f the E ar th ' s a tmo sph ere , r ang ing f rom the u pp era tm osp here to nea r the g round , w i ll fu rn i sh th ree -d im ens ion a l p ro f il e s o f thed i s tr ib u t io n a n d m o v e m e n t o f te n t r a c e g a s e s i n v o l v e d i n o z o n e c h e m i s tr y.C R IS TA a l s o p r o d u c e d t h e f ir s t g lo b a l m a p o f a t o m i c o x y g e n , w h i c h s c i e n ti s tsb e l ie v e h e l p s c o o l t h e E a r th .

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Middle Atmosphere H igh R esoluti-,n Spectrograph Investigation

The MAHRSI instrument gave scientists an unprecedented look at an ozone-destroying molecule called hydroxyl. The Principal Investigator, located at theNaval Research Laboratory, said "W e now have in our hand four completeglobal maps of hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere. That's something w e neverhad before, and we're thrilled." The Principal Investigator also said that hydroxylvariations by latitude, that sh owed up in the preliminary data, may reflect similarvariations of water vapor and ozone detected by the MAS.

The MAHRSI also observed nitric oxide, another gas involved in ozonedestruction, in coordination with nitric oxide measurements made by theSSBUVIA experiment.

Other cooperative observations with SSB UV/A included MAHRSI ozor,measurements to tes t a potential system for the next generation of ozonesounders; and studies of cloud tops made simultaneously by SSBUV/A,MAHRSI, and CRISTA. Their combined ultraviolet and infrared measurementswill help define the influence of clouds on the measurement of stratosphericozone.

"The decisions we make to protect the health of our environment need to bebased on accurate scientific knowledge, and that's what the ATLAS miss ionswere all about," s aid an ATLAS representative. "Results will be s hared byscientists all over the world in their studies of the Sun and Earth's changing

atmosphere."E X P E R I M E N T O F T H E S U N C O M P L E M E N T I N G T H E A T L A S P A Y L O A D A N D

E D U C A T I O N 4 1

The s tudent-designed, developed and manufactured Experiment of the SunComplementing the ATLAS Payload and Education-111 (ESCAPE-11) wassuccess fully operated during the two data-take periods and satisfactory datawere collected. Instruments on ESCAPE-11 included a spectrometer and a digitalimaging telescope, which gathered data in the extreme ultraviolet wavelengthswhere little research has been done in the last 2 0 years. The data collectedhave been given to the sponsoring scientist for use in the analysis.

N A T I O N A L I N S T IT U T E O F H E A L T H - R O D E N T S- 1 PAYLOAD

The National Institute of Health-Rodents-1 (NIH-R-1) payload is a collaborativedevelopmental biology experiment that consists of 11 s tudies of the effect ofspace flight on developing rats. The data from these studies w ill provideimportant insights into the fields of gravitational and space biology and gravity's

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effect on living organisms. All aspects of the payload performed nominally andthe experimenters w ill evaluate the results during postflight operations.

Two animal enclosure modules (A EMs) were flown, each containing fivepregnant rats. There w ere nine Principal Investigators from the U . S., as well asone Principal Investigator from Russ ia and one from France. The s tudies beingconducted were as follows:

a. Effects of Space Flight on Muscles and Nerves;b. Experiment to Study the Role of Gravity in the Development of the

Optic Nerve;c. Effects of Weightlessness on Vestibular Development;

d. Effect of Spaceflight on Development of immune Responses;e. Choroid Plexus, Brain and Heart Neural Physiological (NP)Development in Space;

f . Fluid-Electrolyte Metabolism;g. Microgravity and Placental Development;h. Spaceflight Effects on Mammalian Development;1. Effect of Gravity on the Attachment of Tendon to Bone;j. Effect of Microgravity on Epidermal Development in the Rat; andk. Development of Sensory Receptors in Skeletal Muscle.

PROTEIN CRY STAL GROW TH EXPERIMENTS

Two related Protein Crystal Growth E xperiments (PCGE) were flown on the

STS-66 mission and these were:

a. Crystal Observation System/Thermal Enclosure System (COS)TES),and

b. Vapor D iffusion Apparatus/Single Locker Thermal E nclosure System(VDA/STES).

One of the six chambers of theCOS/TES did not form a droplet duringactivation. The remaining five chambers h ad crystal growth th at will be reviewedand analyzed by the Principal Investigator during postflight analysis activities.The th ree trays, each containing 20 protein crystal growth chamb ers, performednominally throughout the flight. According to the Principal Investigator, STS-66produced the highes t yields and largest crystals of any protein crystal growthexperiment flown on the Space Shuttle. Postflight analysis w ill be performed bythe Principal Investigator.

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NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH-CELLS-2 PAY LOAD

The N ational Institute of Health-Cells-2 (NIH-C-2) was comprised of twobiomedical experiments, which use d a computerized tissue culture incubator.The Payload experiments were as follows:

a. Investigations of the Effects of Microgravity onin vitro CartilageCalcification; and

b. Effect of Space Travel on Skeletal Myofibers.

The overall payload performance was nominal. The res ults will be reviewed andanalyzed during postflight operations.

SPACE ACCELERATION MEASUREMENT SY STEM

The Space Acceleration Measurement Sys tem (SAMS) collected data whichcharacterized the middeck environment, and was being flown for the eleventhtime on the Spain Shuttle. Data from the SAMS are used by the Protein CrystalGrowth experiments in th eir operation. All SAMS operations were nominal, andthe recorded data are being evaluated during the pos tflight analysis period.

HEAT PIPE PERFORMANCE EXPERIMENT

The Heat Pipe Performance Experiment-2 (HPPE-2) provided data forinvestigation of the thermal performance of 10 different axially grooved

aluminumiFreon heat pipes in 38 individual tests , three more than planned. Th epipes operated with as ymmetric and multiple heating zones under microgravityconditions. The performance of the HPP E-2 experiment was excellent.Additionally, preliminary results s how that the under-filled pipes show edsignificantly better performance than was seen in ground tests. The recordeddata will be analyzed during postflight operations.

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VEHICLE PERFORMANCE

The performance of the vehicle was nominal through out the launch and themission. A total of eigh teen vehicle anomaliesIT In es II and IV) wera definedfrom all elements; however, none of these anomalies h ad any significant impacton the mission.

The M arshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) STS-66 Flight Evaluation Reportscontain an in-depth discuss ion of the performance of each of the elementsprovided by M SFC. The MSFC Fligh t Evaluation Report is divided into sixvolumes as follows:

a. Volume I - Executive Summaryb. Volume II - Solid Rocket B ooster Projectc. V olume III - Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor Projectd. Volume IV - External Tank Projecte. V olume V - Space Shuttle Main Engine Projectf . Volume VI - Main Propulsion System

Copies of thes e reports may be obtained from the George C . Marshall SpaceFlight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812.

SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS

Data analysis shows that all Solid Rocket Booster (SRB ) systems performednominally. The SRB prelaunch countdown was normal, and no SRB LaunchCommit Criteria (LCC) violations occurred. One SRB Operations andMaintenance Requirements and Specifications Document (OMRSD) waiver waswritten. Following the Launch-minus-9-hour SRB APU frequency built-in testequipment (BITE) test, it was noted that none of the APU g as generator bedtemperatures exh ibited the characteristic increase. Normally, the APU bearingsoak test at Launch minus 2 4 hours traps fuel in the lines and it then flows intothe gas generator when the secondary speed control valve is opened during theB ITE test, thereby causing th e temperature increase. Subsequent dataretrievals sh owed that the SRB APU fuel pump bearing soak prior to Launchminus 24 hours h ad not been performed, even though the procedural step hadbeen signed off. Th e console operator had m istakenly opened the secondaryspeed control valve rather than th e fuel isolation valve. As a res ult, anadditional SRB APU resistance B ITE test was performed on all four APUs atapproximately Launch minus 20 minutes and verified that all APUs were readyfor launch.

B oth SRB s were satisfactorily separated from the ET 12 4.72 seconds after liftoff,and reports from th e recovery area, based on visual sig htings , indicate that th e

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d e c e l e ra t io n s u b s y s t e m s p e r fo r m e d a s d e s i g n e d . B o t h S R B s w e r e r e tr ie v e d a n dr e tu r n e d t o K SC f o r in s p e c t i o n , d i s a s s e m b l y, a n d r e f u r b is h m e n t .

D u r in g t h e i n s p e c t io n a n d d i s a s s e m b l y p h a s e , 53 i n s ta n c e s o f M a r s h a l lS p ra y a b l e A b l a t o r (M S A -2) n o t a d h e r i n g t o t h e p a i n te d s u r f a c e a d j a c e n t t o t h eP R -1 4 2 2 s e a l a n t w e r e fo u n d i n t h e r ig h t f ru s t u m . H o w e v e r, n o a b l a t o r w a s l o s t .T h is h i g h n u m b e r o f d e b o n d i n g s is o u t s i d e th e e x p e r ie n c e b a s e , a n d a s a r e s u l t ,F l igh t P rob lem STS-66-B-01 w as de c la red .

R E D E S IG N E D S O L I D R O C K E T M O T O R S

D a t a in d i c a t e th a t t h e f li g h t p e r fo r m a n c e o f b o t h R S R M s w a s w e l l w i th i n th ea l lo w a b l e p e r fo r m a n c e e n v e l o p e a n d w a s t yp i c a l o f t h e p e r fo r m a n c e o b s e r v e do n p r e v io u s f li g h ts . N o L C C o r O M R S D v i o la t io n s w e r e n o t e d , a n d n o i n -f lig h ta n o m a l ie s w e r e i d e n t if ie d f r o m t h e d a t a .

P o w e r-u p a n d o p e r a t io n o f a ll ig n i t e r a n d f i e ld j o i n t h e a t e r s w a s a c c o m p l is h e dr o u t in e l y. A l l R S R M t e m p e r a t u r e s w e r e m a i n ta i n e d w i th i n a c c e p t a b l e li m i t st h ro u g h o u t t h e c o u n t d o w n . F o r th i s f li g h t, th e l o w p r e s s u r e h e a t e d g r o u n d p u r g ei n th e S R B a f t s k ir t w a s u s e d t o m a i n ta i n th e c a s e / n o z z l e jo i n t te m p e r a t u r e sw it h in t h e L C C r a n g e s . A t T-1 5 m in u t e s , th e p u r g e w a s c h a n g e d t o h i g hpress u re to ine r t the SR B a f t sk i rt .

T h e m o t o r p e r f o rm a n c e w a s w i th i n t h e c o n t r a c t e n d i te m (C E I ) s p e c i fi c a ti o n

l im i ts . T h e p r o p e l la n t m e a n b u l k te m p e r a t u r e (P M B T ) w a s c a l c u l a te d t o b e77 OF and the propulsion Eystem performance based on this temperature iss h o w n in t h e t a b le o n t h e f o ll o w i n g p a g e .

E X T E R N A L TA N K

A l l o b j e c ti v e s a n d r e q u ir e m e n t s a s s o c i a te d w i th E T p r o p e l la n t l o a d i n g a n d f li g h to p e r a t io n s w e r e m e t . A l l E T e le c t r ic a l e q u ip m e n t a n d i n s tr u m e n t a t io n o p e r a t e ds a t i s fa c t o r i ly. T h e E T p u rg e a n d h e a t e r o p e r a t i o n s w e r e m o n i t o r e d a n d a l lp e r f o r m e d p r o p e r ly. N o E T LC C o r O M R S D v i o la t io n s w e r e id e n t i fi e d .

N o r m a l qu a n t i ti e s o f i c e a n d / o r fr o s t w e r e o b s e r v e d d u r in g t h e c o u n t d o w n , a n da l l o b s e r v a t io n s w e r e a c c e p t a b l e b a s e d o n S p a c e S h u tt le d o c u m e n t a ti o n . N oa n o m a l o u s t h e r m a l p ro t e c t io n s u b s y s t e m (T P S ) c o n d i ti o n s w e r e f o u n d i n t h ec o u n t d o w n i n s p e c t io n . H o w e v e r , a s in g l e r e c u rr in g a n d a c c e p t a b l e c r a c k w a sn o t e d w h e r e t h e f o a m b r id g e s b e t w e e n t h e v e r t ic a l s t ru t c a b l e t r a y a n d f i tt in gfa i r ing.

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RSRM PROPULSION PERFORMANCE

P a r a m e t e r L e f t m o t o r , 7 7OF Right motor,7 7 O FP r e d i c t e d A c t u a l P r e d i c t e d A c t u a l

Im p u ls e g a te s1 - 2 0 , 1 06 lbf-sec 6 6 . 3 1 6 5 . 4 4 6 6 . 0 2 6 5 . 4 31 - 6 0 , 1 06 Ibf-sec 17 6 .4 9 1 7 5 .2 7 1 7 5 .6 2 1 7 5 .1 2I -AT, 106 I b f- s e c . 2 9 7 . 0 9

2 6 8 . 62 9 7 . 0 52 6 8 . 6

2 9 6 . 0 62 6 8 . 6

2 9 7 . 1 52 6 8 . 7Va c u u m l s p , I b f- s e c / ib m

Burn rate, in/sec L 60F 0 . 3 6 9 0 0 . 3 6 6 9 0 . 3 6 8 0 0 . 3 6 6 5a t 6 2 5 p s ia

B u m r a te , in /s e c @ 8 1OF 0 . 3 7 3 5 0 . 3 7 1 4 0 . 3 7 2 5 0 . 3 7 1 0a t 6 2 5 p s ia

E v e n t t i m e s , se c o n d s "Ignition interval 0 . 2 3 2 N /A 0 . 2 3 2 N IAW e b tim eb 1 0 8 . 7 110 .0 1 0 9 . 2 1 0 9 . 9S e p a r a ti o n cas e , 5 0 p s i a11 8 . 4 1 2 0 . 0 11 8 . 9 119 .6Action t im eb 1 2 0 . 4 1 2 2 . 2 1 2 1 . 0 1 2 1 . 4S e p a ra tio n c o m m a n d1 2 3 . 8 1 2 4 . 8 1 2 3 . 8 1 2 4 . 8

P M B TO F 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7M a x i m u m i g n it io n r is e r a t e ,9 0 . 4 N IA 9 0 . 4 N /A

s ia /1 0 m sD e c a y tim e , se c o n d s 2 .8 3 .0 2 .8 2 .6

5 9 . 4 p s i a to 8 5 KTa i lo f f I m b a la n c e I m p u ls eP r e d i c t e d Actual

W A 2 5 8 Adifferential Klbf-secIm pulse Im balance = left motor m inus right m otor

A l l ti m e s a r e r e f e r e n c e d to i g n it io n c o m m a n d t im e e x c e p t w h e r e n o t e d b y a a .b Referenced to liftoff time (ignition interva!).

The ET pressurization sys tem functioned properly throughout the countdownand flight. The minimum ullage press ure experienced during the ullage press ureslump was 13.6 psid.

The E T was separated as planned, and the predicted intact impact point was45 nmi. uprange of the prefligh t prediction, and within the prefligh t predictedfootprint

The postflight evaluation of ascent and post-separation photography showedseveral divots and areas of missing insulation. None of these conditions were

anomalous.S P A C E S H U T T L E M A I N E N G I N E S

All SSME parameters were normal throughout the countdown and were typical ofthe conditions observed on previous flights. Eng ine-ready was achieved ontime, all LCC were met, and engine-start and thrus t buildup were nominal.

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Flight data indicate that the SSME performance during all phases of ascent wasnominal. The h igh pressure oxidizer turbopump (HPOTP) and high pres sure fuelturbopump (HPFTP) temperatures were well within specification throughoutengine operation. Engine cutoff times for SSME 1, 2, and 3 were 520.12,520.24, and 520.37 seconds af ter the engine s tart command, respectively.Specific impulse (Isp) was rated as a nominal 451.77 seconds bas ed ontrajectory data. Controller and software performance was also satis factory. Anumber of minor problems were noted in the flight data; however, none weresignificant and no in-flight anomalies were identified.

SHUTTLE RANGE SAFETY SYSTEM

The Shuttle Range Safety System (SRSS) performed normally throughout theascent phase of theflight. The closed-loop testing was completed as s cheduledduring the countdown. All SRSS safe and arm (S&A) devices were armed andsystem inhibits were turned off at the appropriate times.

ORBITER SUBSYSTEMS

Main Propulsion System

The overall performance of the MPSwas asexpected with no in-flight anomaliesnoted. Liquid oxygen (LO2) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) loading was performed as

planned with two exceptions. Propellant loading was delayed approximately1.5 hours because of a Helium supply system air intrusion indication (7 percentair), which was later determined to be a false indication from the hydrogenumbilical mass spectrometer (HUMS). The postflight inspection revealednumerous loose fittings. Also, an L02 revert occurred because the loadingconsole was failing to electronically update adequately, and the console wasreplaced during the 24 -minute delay caused by the revert. No LCC orOMRSDviolations were identified during the countdown.

Through out the preflight operations, no significant hazardous gas concentrationswere detected with the exception of a high Helium concentration (up to36,000 ppm) detected in the aft compartment during Helium bottle

pressurization. Evaluation showed that the Helium was being detected in thearea around the T-zero disconnect and not the aft compartment. A Helium bottlepressure decay check was performed and it showed that the system wasacceptable for flight. The maximum hydrogen concentration level in the Orbiteraft compartment, that occurred shortly after the start of fast-fill, wasapproximately 150 ppm. This level compares favorably with previous data forthis vehicle.

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Data from prelaunch as well as flight operations showed no anomalous valvemovement. All timings were w ithin the required specification limits as well as thehistorical data base.

Data analysis of the MPS performance during ascent has revealed nominalperformance except that the SSME 1 LH2 inlet pressure dropped fromapproximately 24.5 psia to 22 psia 2.5 minutes after liftoff and then graduallyrecovered to 27 psia by 4 minutes a fter liftoff (Flight Problem STS-66-V -08).A similar pressure signature on SSME 1 has been present on every OV -104flight since installation of the current pressure trE..3ducer (nine flights).Troubleshooting showed that the pressure transducer was operating nominally;however, based on the indicated press ure respo, ise of this transducer that was

seen during the last nine flights, the transducer was replaced.The pres surization and feed systems performed sa tisfactorily and satisfied alltank ullage pressure and SSME inlet net positive suction pressure (NP SP)requirements. The gaseous h ydrogen (GI-12) flow control valve performance wasnominal. Performance analysis of th e propulsion systems during start,mainstage, and sh utdown sh owed nominal operations, and all requirementswere satis fied. During the vacuum inerting process, the LH2 manifold pressurerose to 29 psia after the MPS dump, and the vacuum inerting was completed.As a result, the vacuum inerting process was repeated. This condition has beenseen since the MP S dump and vacuum inerting procedure was modified in the0I-23 softw are. The 0I-23 software procedures have been modified for futureflights.

Reaction Control Subsystem

The RCS fulfilled all requirements that w ere levied upon it; however, three in-slight anomalies w ere identified from the subs ystem data. Propellantconsumption during the miss ion from the RCS tanks was 4,726.9 Ibm plus anadditional 3830.5 Ibm from the OMS tanks during interconnect operations.

During the maneuver to photograph the ET after separation, RCS aft-firingprimary thruster L1 A failed off because of low chamber-pressure (Flight ProblemSTS-664-01). The redundancy management (RM) software deselected thethruster 320 ms ec into the firing. The peak chamber pressure was 11.3 psiaover 160 msec (four data samples ). Injector temperatures verified at least partialopening of both th e fuel and oxidizer valves. Thruster UA remained deselectedfor the remainder of th e miss ion. During th e postflight turnaround activities, thethruster was replaced.

The RC S orbit adjust (station keeping) and rendezvous maneuvers performed insupport of the CRISTA-SPAS retrieval operations are sh own in the followingtable. The R CS performed nominally during thes e maneuvers. Note that the

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NC 3, NC 4 , NC 5, NC 8, NC 12 and N C 14 maneuvers were not performedbecause they were not required.

RCS MANEUVERS FO R CRISTA-SPAS RETRIEVAL

Maneuver Thrusters fired and maneuver Start time, A V ,duration, seconds G.m.t. and MET ftfsec

N C 1 F 3 U ,L1 U, R1 U 308:16:04:52 G.m.t. ----0.72 second 00:23:05:09 MET

NC 2 L3A, R3A 309:10:16:13 G.m.t. 1.87 .0 s e c o n d s 0 1 : 1 7 :1 6 : 3 0 M E T

N C 6 L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 0 :2 3 : 12 : 4 2 G . W . .bo6 . 0 s e c o n d s 0 3 : 0 6 : 1 1 :5 9 M E T

N C 7 1 .3A , R 3A 3 11 : 1 8 : 0 7 : 2 9 G . m . t. 1 .56 . 0 s e c o n d s 0 4 : 0 1 :0 7 :4 6 M E TN C 9 L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 2 : 11 :1 9 : 4 3 G . m . t. 0 .5

2 . 0 s e c o n d s 0 4 : 1 8 :2 0 :0 0 M E TN C 1 0 L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 2 : 2 2 : 4 5 : 0 0 G . m . t. 2 .5

0 5 : 0 5 :4 6 : 1 7 M E TN C 1 0 A L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 3 : 0 2 : 2 3 : 4 4 G . m . t . --

0 5 : 0 9 :2 4 : 0 1 M E TN C 1 1 L 3 A , R 3 A , F 3 D , R D , L IU , L 2 D ,3 1 3 : 1 2 : 5 4 : 4 2 G . m . t . 0 .8

L 3 D , R 1 U , R 2 D , a n d R 3 D 0 5 :1 9 : 5 4 : 5 9 M E T

N C 1 3 L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 4 : 11 :4 3 : 4 3 G . m . t. 2 .51 0 s e c o n d s 0 6 :1 8 :4 4 :0 0 M E Tf

N C 1 5 L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 5 : 1 9 : 2 4 : 3 3 G . m . t. 0 .68 s e c o n d s 0 8 : 0 2 : 2 4 :5 0 M E T

N C 1 6 L 3 A , R 3 A 3 1 6 : 0 0 : 4 1 : 4 3 G . m . t . 1 .811 2 s e c o n d s 0 8 : 0 7 :4 2 : 0 0 M E TN C 1 7 R 3 R , L 3 A , R 3 A , R 1 U , a n d L 3 D3 1 6 : 0 5 : 5 9 G . m . t. 2 2 . 6

9 3 s e c o n d s 0 8 : 1 2 :5 9 M E TN C C 1 F 1 F , F 2 F, R D , F 3 L , R D , F 4 R ,3 1 6 : 0 8 : 0 2 G . m . t. 52

L 1 L , L IU , R 1 U , a n d R 3 D 0 8 : 1 5 :0 2 M E T24 seconds

MC 1 F3U, LIU, R7 U, L3A, and R3A 316:10:49:17 Gin t . 0.308 .17 .49:34 MET

MC 2 F3U, LIU, R1U, L3A, and R3A 316:11:21:46 G.m.t. 1.7908:18:22:03 MET

MC 3 F3U, LIU, R1U, L3A, and R3A 316:11:31:40 G.W. 1.308:18:31:57 MET

M04 RD, F3L, RD, L2D, L3A, L30, 316:11:53:10 G.m.t. --

R2% 113A, and R3D08:18:53: 27 MET

Data review indicated that the forward RCS oxidizer tank helium regulator B wasregulatinglow . Thisregulatorhas a h istory of low regulation pressure and awaiver was written against this regulator during flow 10 in preparation forSTS-44.The regulation pressure was w aived for all subsequent flights to

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240 ps ia (should bte no less than 24 2 psia). The performance of the regulator

was not significantly worse on STS-66. KSC performed the normal regulatorresponse and functional checkout as w ell as a low pressure/flow response testand functional checkout. The regulator performance was acceptable during th etests.

The RCS was reconfigured from interconnect to s traight feed at 317:05:42 G.m.t.(09:12:4 2 MET). Telemetry indicated ac motor-valve current on the ac bus 1,and a toggling closed-valve position indication on the left R':S 314/5 fuelcrossfeed valve (Flight Problem STS-66-V-11) after the left RCS 3/415 crossfeedswitch controlling both the oxidizer and fuel valves was moved to close thevalves. The valve continued to drive until the switch was cycled and then takento GPC to remove the close commands. At the time of th e switch cycle, dataindicate that two of th e three ac 1 phases had dropped off because of a thermalcutoff in the motor. The valve's ac motor was allowed to cool, and the crewrepeated the valve cycle attempt at 317:08:16 G.m.t. (09:15:16 MET). All on-board and ground telemetry data indicated nominal movement occurred on thefuel and oxidizer valves.

During entry, at approximately 318:14:58 G.m.t. (10:21:58 MET), th e left RCS3/4/5 fuel crossfeed valve close indication showed open; however, linedifferential pressures indicated that th e valve was s till closed. The redundantcircuit verification, performed postlanding, was nominal as commanded, and theleft RCS 3/4/5 fuel crossfeed valve regained the closed indication. The crewreported that the talkback was indicating correctly. KSC troubleshooting did notindicate a problem with the valve or actuator. The anomaly is suspected to have

been caused by a faulty limit switch within the actuator. The actuator wasreplaced and shipped to the vendor for further analysis and testing.

The RCS hot-fire was performed at 317:10:02:18 G.m.t. (09:17:02:35 MET).Primary thruster L4L was not fired and 1-31- was fired only once as a result of anearly termination of the hot-fire. The hot-fire was terminated early when it wasdiscovered that the RMS had been hit by the forward RCS thruster plumes.Additional firings of those two thrusters were not required.

During entry at 318:15:25:49.85 (10:22:26:06.85 MET), the primary thruster R3Rfuel injector temperature went off-scale high (Flight Problem STS-66-V-14). Theinitial indication was followed by two dips in temperature, a&-: which thetransducer remained off-scale high . The loss of th is s ensor did not affect entryoperations. KSC troubleshooting revealed a failed-open circuit in the thrus ter,and the thrusterw as replaced.

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Orbital Maneuveringgubsystem

The O MS performed very satisfactorily during the four planned firings with theleft engine operating for 416.3 seconds (four starts) and the right engine for373.6 seconds (two starts). OM S propellant usage w as 18,952.9 Ibm, of which3830.5 Ibm were used by the RCS. Th e following table show s th e pertinentparameters.

OMS FIRINGS

Firing AV,OMS firing Engine Time, G.m.t./MET duration, ftfsec

seconds

OMS-2 Both 307:17:35:56:1 G.m.t. 159.8 262.300:00:36:13.1 MET

OMS-3 Left 316 .,07:18:00.0 G.m.t. 31.6 26.0NC48 08:14:18:17.0 METOMS-4 Left 316 :10:29:00.2 G.m.t. 11.1 9.8

TI 08:17:29:17.2 METDeorbit B oth 3 18:1 4:31 :04.9 G.m.t. 213.8 380.0

10:21:31:21.9 MET

During prelaunch operations, the right-hand ox idizer inlet pressure transducerbias sh ifted unexpectedly. The pressure indication changed from 2 80 psis to285 psia w ith no corresponding change in oxidizer ullage press ure. As a result,the meas urement was ques tionable and the decision was m ade during thepreflight period to not use the indication as a confirming cue in the event of aright O ME failure during an ascent abort. The m easurement tracked the oxidizerullage pressure and did not exhibit any additional shifts during the mission. KSChas replaced the transducer.

The left OMS fuel tank total quantity gauging s ystem s uddenly dropped to31 percent 2 minutes into the O MS 2 maneuver. Data indicate that the foiwardprobe quantity reading of zero volts was an indication that the meas urement hadfailed. A similar failure occurred during the previous fligh t of this pod (STS-61).

Pow er Reactant Storaae and Distribution Subsystem

The power reactant storage and distribution (PRSD) subs ystem performednominally through out the mis sion. A total of 2969 Ibm of oxygen and 360 Ibm of

hydrogen was used during the m ission. Crew cabin requirements for breathingconsumed 112 Ibm of the total usage of oxyg en. The 955 Ibm of oxygen and96 Ibm of h ydrogen consumables remaining in th e PRSD would have supporteda 61-hour extension at the m ission average power level of 15,9 kW .

Tho h ydrogen tank 4 quantity measurement extibited almost instantaneouschanges from 40.3 percent to 46.5 percent at 311:08:45 G.m.t. (03:15:45 MET).One day after the tank was depleted to 2 percent, the quantity meas urement

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increased to 10 percent and was erratic between 2 and 10 percent for the

remainder of the mission. Prior to launch, a 6-percent bias was noted in thismeasurement, and an OM RSD w aiver was w ritten to fly as is. The erraticoperation did not affect the mis sion operations. The telemetry sig nal conditionerwas replaced during turnaround operations following th e miss ion.

Fuel Cell Powemlant Subsystem

The fuel cell powerplant (FCP) subsys tem performed nominally with 4164 kW hof power generated at an average power level of 15.9 kW . The fuel cellsconsumed 360 Ibm of hydrogen and 2857 Ibm of oxygen w ith a total of 3217 Ibmof water produced as a result.

The fuel cell 2 alternate :.rater line temperature rose from 84OF at307:18:00 G.m.t. (00:01:00 MET) to 138OF at 307:19:00 G.m.t. (00:02:00 M ET)(Flight Problem STS-66-V-03). The temperature remained in the 130OF to140 OF range for the remainder of the mis sion. The tem perature normally cyclesas the line heater cycles between 70OF and 90 F. The data indicate that warmfuel cell water was flowing through the FC 2 alternate water line because of acheck valve leak in that line. W ater in the FC alternate water lines flows intosupply water tank B . This flow maintained the FC 2 alternate water line nearlyas warm as the FC 2 product water line through out the miss ion. Leakage of thischeck valve has been seen on previous miss ions, although not to the extentobserved on this flight. As a result, the check valve was replaced following themission.

The fuel cell c hydrogen pump motor current sensor measurement exhibited stepchanges between 0.36 and 0.48 V dc throughout th e miss ion. Six individual stepchanges were noted during the miss ion with the final reading being 0.40 Vdc.The ac bus 2 phas es (A, B , and C) voltage and currents remained steadythroughout all of the s tep changes. Th e observed values of 0.36 and 0.48 voltsare well within the limits (0.28 and 0.75 volt) allowed by the Sh uttle OperationalData B ook (SODB ). The fuel cell vendor indicates that the condition was not aconcern for fuel cell failure.

Auxiliary Power Unit SubsysteM

The APU subs ystem performed nominally. Some minor problems w ere noted;

however, none compromised the successful completion of the mission. Therequirements of DTO 414 w ere fulfilled following ascent with the APUs s hutdownin the prescribed order (3, 1, 2). APU run-times and fuel consumption are sh ownin the table on the following pag e.

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APU R UN TIMES AND FUEL C ONSUMPTION

F l i g h tphaseAPU 1 (SIN 207) APU 2 (SIN 402) APU 3 (SIN 303)

Time,min:sec

Fuelconsumption,

I b

Time,min:sec

Fuelconsumption,

lb

Time,min:sec

Fuelconsumption,

lbAscent 19:08 48 19:22 61 18:42 47FCS checkout 04:03 VEn t rya 46:13 76 83:01 16 3 69:32 12 1

Total 69:24 136 102:23 2 14 78:14 16 8

a APU 1 wa s shut down about 2 minutes after landing, and APU s 2 and 3 were shut downapproximately 16 minutes after main gear touchdown.

During as cent, the APU 3 lubrication (tube) oil return and outlet temperaturesran warmer than the sam e temperatures on APUs 1 and 2. As a result, waterspray boiler (W SB ) 3 spray cooling began right at main engine cutoff (MECO); itnormally occurs about two minutes after MECO . Data show th at this AP Urequired spray cooling up to one minute earlier than the APU s w ith wh ich it wasflown on STS49, 47, -54, and -57 in the O V -105 vehicle. During entry, themore rapid warm-up was again noted. The condition had no impact on APUperformance. The APIJ will be removed and sent to the vendor for plannedrefurbishment.

During entry, the APU 1 s upply line temperature became erratic with thetemperature cis-creasing to 50OF and then increasing (Flight ProblemSTS-664-12). The tel.perature should have tracked the bypass linetemperature and fuel pump outlet temperature, for which th e indicators wereabout 4 inches away on either s ide and performed nominally. All other AP U 1parameters were nominal. As a precaution, APU 1 w as sh ut down two minutesafter landing. A sniff-check and a visual inspection were performed afterlanding, and no evidence of a fuel leak was found.

Hydraulics/Water Spray Boiler Subsystem

The hydraulicslW SB subsystem performed nominally throughout the prelaunchcountdown and the flight with one exception. The s ystem 3 W SB GN2 regulatoroutlet pressure began decaying when the W SB w as deactivated after ascent

(Flight Problem STS-664-04). At W SB 3 deactivation, the regulator outletpressure was 27.3 psia, and the leak rate was 0.125 psi/hr during the first24 h ours of the miss ion. The leak rate decayed throughout the miss ion and theregulator outlet pressure was 15.3 psia wh en the W SB was activated for entry.This leak had no mission impact. KSC has performed a crack and reseat testand decay test, and the res ults are being evaluated for poss ible replacement ofthe reg ulator.

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Electrical Power Distribution and Control Subsys temThe electrical power distribution and control (EPDC) subsystem performednominally throughout all phases of the mission.

Environmental Control and Life Support System

The environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) performed nominallythroughout the mission.

The active thermal control subsystem (ATCS) experienced several FESproblems. The res ponse of th e Freon coolant loop (FCL)1 evaporator outlettemperature sensor lagged the FCL 2 evaporator outlet temperature sensorduring transient heat loads (Flight Problem STS-664-05). The maximumtern, mature difference observed was 11OF when the crew switched the FEScontroller from GPC to Primary A ON. Since this sensor is used for monitoringonly and is not used for control by ,e FES, the condition did not impact ATCSperformance. KSC w ill troubleshoot the problem.

The FE S exhibited several periods of anomalous behavior. At the beginning ofthe miss ion when the FES was operating on the primary A controller in thetopping mode, the Freon outlet temperature oscillated within a 3 to 4OF range(normal is t 1 F) when the heat load was low (radiator outlet temperaturesof42 OF to 47 F) (Flight Problem STS-66-V-06), yet it operated in a very stablemanner at higher heat loads. At 311:12:30 G.m.t. (03:19:30 MET), the FES wasturned off because of payload requirements. W hen it was turned back on at311:13:25 G.m.t. (03:20:25 MET), the FES primary B controller was selected.The primary B controller experienced an over temperature sh utdown duringstart-up. The s hutdown was attributed to a small pocket of air trapped in thewater feedline system during reservicing that pass ed through the water sprayvalve and caused a momentary lapse in cooling. The FES w as res tarted withthe primary B controller and no oscillations were seen in th e outlet temperature.

Near the end of the mission at 316:15:55 G.m.t. (08:22 :55 MET), a change wasmade to operate ag ain on the primary A controller to obtain additional data.Although the vehicle attitudes did not provide many periods of low heat-loads,the outlet temperature still oscillated at those times. Post flight troubleshooting

has s hown that th e supply A topping spray valve was leaking, and the valve wasreplaced.

in performing the normal deorbit preparation timeline, the primary B controllerwas s elected for the radiator cold-soak. The radiator outlet temperature was setto 57 F, which is a high heat-load for the topping FES. About 15 minutes afterthe radiator cold-soak period had begun 1318:10:06 G.m.t. (10:17:06 MET)], the

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FES ex perienced an under-temperature shutdown when the outlet temperaturedropped below 37 F for more than 20 seconds (Flight P roblem STS-66-V-1 3).The F ES was restarted on the primary B controller and the radiator cold-soakwas completed without any further problems. A checkout of the secondarycontroller was th en performed satisfactorily. ,lust prior to PLB door closure, theradiators were bypass ed and the primary B controller was reselected with theFES in the f ull-up evaporator (both topper and hig h-load cores) mode. I a FESbegan exh ibiting large oscillations that did not dampen or become s table. Themaximum os cillation observed was from 34OF to 44 OF (normal is 39 1 F). Asa result, the crew sw itched back to the primary A controller and no furtheroscillations were noted during th e mis sion. Postflight troubleshooting revealedthat one mid-point sensor was not operating properly. The sensor was replaced.

The on-orbit radiator cold-soak provided a cooling reserve adeq uate for entrythrough landing plus 6 minutes, at which time ammonia system B using theprimary/GPC controller was activated. Ammonia system B provided cooling for32 minutes, after wh ich time the g round cooling was activated.

STS-66 was the second flight of the supply water dump line purge assembly(SW DLPA). The th ird supply water dump was viewed with the RMS videocamera to observe the performance of the purge assemb ly. During the dump,wh ich was performed simultaneously with the fourth w aste water dump, an icicleformed on the PLBD and extended back toward the dump nozzle (Flight ProblemSTS-66-V-10). The dump was terminated prior to the icicle reaching the nozzle.Since this occurred on the final dump of the miss ion, the icicle had no watermanagem ent impact. Data and hardware evaluations are continuing in anattempt to determine the cause of the anomaly. These evaluations haverevealed that th e supply nozzle is canted up approximately 4 degrees fromhorizontal. This is currently believed to be the most probable cause of th e icicleformation.

W ith the exception of the icicle formation, the s upply and waste water systemsperformed normally throughout th e miss ion. All supply water in-flight checkoutrequirements were satisfactorily completed before landing.

The s upply water was managed through th e use of the FES and the overboarddump sys tem. Three supply water dumps were performed from tanks B and D atan average dump rate of 1.76 percent/minute (1.9 lb/min). Using supply line

heaters, the supply w ater dump line temperature was m aintained between 69 Fand 95 F through out the mission.

W aste water was gathered at about the predicted rate. Four waste water dumpswere performed at an averag e dump rate of 1.8 percent/minute (3.18 lb/min).The w aste water d: , :>> line temperature was maintained in a satisfactory rangebetween 55 OF and 77 F. Th e vacuum vent line temperature was maintained

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between 58OF and 76 F, w ith th e vacuum vent nozzle temperature in asatisfactory range between 120 F and 193 F.

The was te collection system (W CS) performed normally through out the mission.

The atmospheric revitalization system (ARS) performed satisfactorily throughoutthe miss ion. DTO 664 - Cabin Temperature Survey was performed in support ofthis system. Also, the atmospheric revitalization pressure control systemperformed nominally throughout the mission. During the redundant systemscheck, the alternate s ystem functioned normally.

Smoke Detection and FireSuppression Subsystem

The smoke detection system showed no indications of smoke generation duringthe entire miss ion. How ever, the avionics bay 2A s moke .:etector concentrationindicated a drop to -500 pg /m3 at 314:02: 17 G.m.t. (06:09:17 M ET), and thengradually recovered to a nominal reading over a period of approximately36 hours (Flight Problem ST S-664-16). Redundant detector concentrationswere in the nominal 200pg/m3 range. A circuit self-test at 314: 22: 50 G.m.t.(07:05:50 M ET) produced nominal results. Th e sam e detector experiencedexcursions down to -700 pg/m3 on the last flight of this veh icle (STS-46). Thedetector's ability to detect a fire was not considered to be comp'omised andwas therefore acceptable for continued use during the mission.Troublesh ooting on the veh icle did not reproduce the anomaly. How ever, thedetector was removed and replaced.

Airlock Support System

Use of the airlock support system components was not required because noextravehicular activity was planned or performed. The active sys tem monitorparamete-s indicated normal outputs throughout th e flight.

Av ionics and Softwareft stemsem s

.'he guidance, navigation and control systems performed nominally. Problemsencountered in the data processing sys tem (DPS) arediscuss ed in the followingparagraphs.

Tw o error messages, 110 ERR OR W NU1 and CHECKPT F AIL",wereannunciated at 314:22:01:20 G.m.t. (07:05:01:37 MET) while the crew wasattempting to perform a systems m anagement (SM) ch eckpoint, which failed.The SM checkpoint was reattempted and successfully accomplished.

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During a subseq uent SM checkpoint from GPC 4 to MMU 1 at315:13:18:40 G.rin.t. (07:20:18:57 MET), the same two error messages (UOERRO R MMU 1 and S60 CHECK PT FAIL) were annunciated (Flight ProblemSTS-664-09). The checkpoint was unsuccessful. During troubleshooting, allfurther transactions between GPC 4 and MMU 1 failed. This interface problembetween GPC 4 and MM U 1 w as believed to be due to a failure of the GP C 4bus control element (B CE) 18 transm itter and/or receiver. A softw are dump ofGPC 4 was performed, and analysis of the dumped data supported the B CE 18failure and indicated no other problem with GPC 4 .

The SM f unction was moved from GPC 4 to GP C 3. GPC 4 w as then placed inthe redundant set with GPC 1 at 316:19:13 G.m.t. (09:02:13 ME T) to determinewh ether the problem that the GPC 4 interface had with M MU 1 also affected

GPC 4 communications on the flight critical (FC) 8 data bus. Thiscommunication is done with B CE 17, wh ich is in the s ame multiplexer interfaceadapter (MIA) as B CE 18. The test confirmed that GPC 4 communications onFC8 were nominal, isolating the problem to the GPC 4 EC E 18 interface withMMU 1. The condition did not significantly impact entry procedures.

A GPC 2 fail-to-sync occurred at 316:01:58:5 8 G.m.t. (08:08:59:15 ME T) wh ilethe crew was establishing a redundant set in preparation for rendezvous. W henthe crew moded GP C 2 from halt to standby, they reported observing a modetalkback indicating run and an output talkback indicating gray, wh ile the modesw itch was in standby. The downlist data indicate thatGPC 2 was m oded fromhalt to run to s tandby. This s equence would result in the obs erved taikbackresponse and subsequent GPC failure messages. GPC 2 was then moded torun, and it success fully joined the common s et. It was used in a redundant setwith GP C 1 and GPC 3 during the SPAS rendezvous. GPC 2 performednominally for the remainder of the mis sion.

GPC h ardware user note 006 describes what can happen if a GPC is in thesiesp mode and the mode sw itch is moved out of halt into the deadbandbetween halt and standby. The GPC w ill exit the sleep mode because of th elots of halt at the receiver, and if the HALT/STB Y/RUN latches come up in therun state (one of four possible state s), the GP C will initialize in the run mode(driving the talkbacks to run and gray) and then join the common set. If themode switch is moved into standby from the run state, the GPC w ill transitionfrom run to standby, and this results in a fail-to-sync. The e5served symptoms

are consistent with th is condition documented by the us er note. A hardware-initiated stand-alone memory( H I S A M )dump of GPC 2 was performed at318:04: 48 G.m.t. (08:11:48 MET ), and an analysis of the HISAM dump did notindicate a problem.

GPC 1 annunciated fail-off messages for primary RCS thrusters F3D , F4D, F4R,L2D, L3D, R213, R3D, and R311 at 313:20:23: 43 G.m.t. (08:03:24:0 0 MET ). The

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primary reaction jet drivers (RJDs ) were powered off at th e time, and no thrusterfirings h ad occurred. Prior to the failures, the vernier thrusters were s elected.Data at one sample-per-second for this period show high outputs from theforward translational hand controller (FW D TH C) C contacts for the +Y , +X, +Z,and -Z s imultaneous to the fligh t controller power switch on panel F7 being takento ON in preparation for manual maneuvering. There were no FW D TH C A or Bcontact indications for the s ame sam ple period. Normally, when pow er isapplied to the THC, all of the THC switch contacts w ill go high m omentarily (forapproximately 40 ms ), and the software responds to the simultaneous positiveand negative direction inputs for each axis by nulling the as sociated selectedoutputs to the digital autopilot (DAP). Data show th e selected FW D THC -Y and-Z outputs to the DA P were ON during the sample period, and the THC h ot-sticklogic apparently correctly responded by automatically changing to the primary

thruster DAP mode to support the translation request (there is no translationcapability with vernier thrusters) and s ubsequently returning to vernier mode.The commanded primary thrusters did not fire because the RJDs were notpowered, and this res ulted in deselection of the th rusters by the GPC . The crewreported that they believed it was possible that th e THC w as deflected in the -Yand Z directions wh en the flight controller power switch was m oved, and this isconsistent with the data and the responses of th e DAP and GPC 1. A procedureto test th e THC was uplinked to the crew and accomplished successfully. Alldeselected thrusters were reselected and remained operational for theremainder of the mis sion.

At 318:15: 58 G.m.t., about 20 minutes after th e ET umbilical doors were openedfollowing landing, the ET umbilical door aft centerline latch 2 "locked" indication2 transferred for 8 seconds and then off again (Flight Problem STS-66-V-17).The tw o "stow " indications remained on and the locked indication stayed offthrough out the entire time, indicating that the c:enteIine- latch could not havemoved. This discrete goes th rough multiplexerldeniultiplexer (MDM) flightcritical aft (FA) card 3 channel 1 bit 14. After th e vehicle was powered up in theOrbiter Processing Facility (OPF), B ITE testing of MDM FA3 confirmed that thefailure was in the M DM. Troubleshooting was performed, andMDM FA3 wasremoved and replaced.

Displays and Controls Subsystem

The displays and controls s ubsystem performance was nominal with th eexception of an unex plained occurrence withthe Ku -band digital display unit andseveral failures in the payload bay floodlight s ubsys tem.

The crew reported zeros instead of eights or threes on their Ku-band digitaldisplay at the end of the Ku-band s elf-test at 307:19:48 G.m.t. (00:02: 48 ME T).Ground telemetry, however, showed eights, indicating a successful self-test.The crew verified that the s witch configuration was correct, and also performed a

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lamp test with nominal results. Two additional self-tests of the K u-band were

completed at 308:12:10 G.m.t. (00:19:10 MET), and again the indication was notas expected onboard. However, the g round telemetry again indicatedsuccessful tests. Th ere was not a problem with the Ku-band system and thedigital display performance was nominal during Ku-band operations. During asubs equent self-test th at was performed prior to the CRISTA-SPAS retrieval, theindication on the digital display was nominal (all eights).

The payload bay floodlights were activated at 316:12:44 G.m.t. (08:19:44 MET)for RMS operations and CRISTA/SPAS g rapple and berthing. Current spikeswere noted on mid main S bus and the crew reported a flickering forwardstarboard floodlight. Th e forward starboard floodlight was switched off. Currenton mid main A rose six amperes f or two seconds then dropped 15 amperes at316:12:4 8 G.m.t. (08:19:48 MET) indicating a 10-ampere remote powercontroller (RPC) overcurrent trip. The crew confirmed failure of the aft s tarboardfloodlight at this time. A second RPC overcurrent trip indication was seen onmid power control assembly (MPCA) 2 RPC 9 at 316:13:04 G.m.t. (08:20:04MET) and the crew confirmed failure of the forward bulkhead floodlight.Postflight, KSC confirmed that the forward s tarboard floodlight and the forwardbulkhead floodlight f ailed. B oth of th e floodlights have been replaced. Failure ofthe aft s tarboard floodlight was isolated to a problem with a floodlight electronicsassem bly and it has bsen replaced.

Commu nications and Tracking Subsystems

The communications and tracking subs ystems performed nominally except for

the anomaly that occurred when using the Ku-band with N SP 2, as discussed inthe following paragraph. Th e Ku-band digital display did not indicate properlyduring Ku-band self-tests, and this is discuss ed in the Displays and ControlsSubsystem s ection o` this report.

W hite Sands and the Second TDRS Ground Terminal (STGT) both reported nodetectable modulation on Ku-band channel 1 on orbit 61 W at 311:12:30 G.m.t.(03:19:30 MET) and for a number of following passes with NSP 2 configured fortwo-way Ku-band operation (Flight Problem STS-66-V-07). Nominal data wereobserved on Ku-band channels 2 and 3. The link was config ured for use withNSP 1 five orbits later, and nominal iCu-band channel 1 modulation wasdetected. The link remained configured for NSP 1 use on-orbit to provideoperational instrumentation data downlink through th e Ku-band.

NSP 2 was reselected at 317:22 :27 G.m.t. (010:05:27 MET) and nominalmodulation of Ku-band channel 1 was observed at W hite Sands GroundTerminal (W SGT) and STGT. Coding of Ku-band channel 1 was turned offduring a Goldstone hand-down on S-band at 318:00:39 G.m.t. (010:07:39 MET),and nominal uncoded modulation was received by STGT through Tracking and

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D a t a R e l a y S a te l li te ( TD R S ) -W e s t o n K u - b a n d c h a n n e l 1 . N o r e c u r r e n c e o f th ep r e v io u s l y r e p o r te d N S P -2 a n o m a l y w a s o b s e r v e d . N S P 2 w a s u s e d a s p l a n n e df o r e n t ry s i n c e t h e N S P 2 -t o -K u - b a n d c h a n n e l 1 in t e r fa c e w a s n o t u s e d a t th a tt im e . Tr o u b l e s h o o t i n g a t K SC f a il e d t o r e p e a t t h e a n o m a l y.

Onerational Instrumentation/Modular Auxiliary Data System

D u r in g t h e S T S-6 6 m i s s io n , t h e i n s t ru m e n t a t io n s u b s y s t e m s o p e r a t e d n o m i n a ll y,a l th o u g h f o u r i n s t ru m e n t a t io n - re l a t e d a n o m a l ie s w e r e r e c o r d e d . N o n e o f th e s ea n o m a l ie s i m p a c t e d t h e m is s i o n ; h o w e v e r , th e e r r a tic A P U 1 s u p p l y li n et e m p e r a t u r e (F l ig h t P r o b l e m S S-6 6 -V -1 2 ) d i d r e s u l t i n s h u t t in g d o w n A P U 1 t w om i n u t e s a f te r w h e e l s s t o p . Th i s a n o m a l y is d i s c u s s e d i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l i n th eA u x i li a ry P o w e r U n i t Su b s y s t e m s e c t i o n o f th i s r e p o r t .

T h e r e m a i n i n g th r e e i n s t ru m e n t a t io n - r e la t e d a n o m a l ie s a r e :

a . F E S o u t le t te m p e r a t u r e s e n s o r r e s p o n s e la g ( F l ig h t P r o b l e mS TS -6 6 4 -0 5) . Th i s : a n o m a l y i s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e E n v i r o n m e n t a lC o n t r o l a n d L if e S u p p o r t S y s te m s e c t i o n o f t h i s r e p o r t .

b. SSME 1 LH2 inlet pressure response (Flight Problem STS-664-08).T h is a n o m a l y is d i s c u s s e d in t h e M a i n P r o p u l s io n S y s t e m s e c t io n o fth i s r epor t .

c . T h r u s t e r R 3 R f u e l in j e c t o r t e m p e r a t u r e f a i le d o f f -s c a l e h i g h ( F l ig h tP r o b l e m S T S-6 6 4 - 1 4 ) . T h is a n o m a l y is d i s c u s s e d i n th e R e a c t i o nC o n t r o l Su b s y s t e m s e c t i o n o f t h is r e p o r t .

D u r in g t h e p o s t la n d i n g O P S 2 re c o r d e r d u m p , t

sts-66 space shuttle mission report

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