STS-69

2025-09-08T02:28:23Z

2603:9001:3403:8F94:689F:967C:A0B7:906E: that is not correct, would be STS-70

{{short description|1995 American crewed spaceflight}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = STS-69
| names_list = [[Space Transportation System]]-69
| image = Wake Shield Facility on STS-69 (STS069-723-072).jpg
| image_caption = ''Endeavour''{{'s}} Canadarm grapples the Wake Shield Facility, prior to its deployment
| insignia = STS-69 patch.svg
| insignia_caption = STS-69 mission patch
| spacecraft = {{OV|105}}
| mission_type = Research
| operator = [[NASA]]
| COSPAR_ID = 
| SATCAT = 
| orbits_completed = 171
| distance_travelled = {{convert|4500000|mi|km|disp=flip}}
| mission_duration = 10 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes, 56 seconds
| launch_mass =
| landing_mass =
| payload_mass = {{convert|11499|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| launch_site = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]
| launch_date = {{Start date text|7 September 1995, 15:09:00|timezone=yes}} UTC<ref name="ssmr" />
| landing_date = {{End date text|18 September 1995, 11:38:56|timezone=yes}} UTC<ref name="ssmr" />
| landing_site = Kennedy, [[Shuttle Landing Facility|SLF Runway 33]]
| crew_size = 5
| crew_members = {{Unbulleted list|[[David M. Walker (astronaut)|David M. Walker]]|[[Kenneth Cockrell]]|[[James S. Voss]]|[[James H. Newman]]|[[Michael L. Gernhardt]]}}
| crew_photo = STS-69_crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = Left to right – Seated: Cockrell, Walker; Standing: Gernhardt, Newman, Voss
| apsis = gee
| orbit_epoch =
| orbit_reference = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime = [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]
| orbit_periapsis = {{convert|321|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|321|km}}
| orbit_period = 91.4 min
| orbit_inclination = 28.4 degrees
| programme = [[Space Shuttle program]]
| previous_mission = [[STS-70]] (70)
| next_mission = [[STS-73]] (72)
}}
'''STS-69''' was a [[Space Shuttle]] [[Space Shuttle Endeavour|''Endeavour'']] mission, and the second flight of the [[Wake Shield Facility]] (WSF).<ref name="69-archive">{{cite web |last1=Ryba |first1=Jeanne |title=STS-69 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-69.html |website=Space Shuttle |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425160022/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-69.html |archive-date=25 April 2021 |date=1 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The mission launched from [[Kennedy Space Center]], Florida on 7 September 1995.

==Crew==
{{Spaceflight crew
|terminology = Astronaut
|position1 = Commander
|crew1_up = [[David M. Walker (astronaut)|David M. Walker]]<ref name="presskit">{{cite web |last1=Campion |first1=Ed |last2=Navias |first2=Rob |last3=Buckingham |first3=Bruce |last4=Malone |first4=June |last5=Martin |first5=Cam |last6=Cast |first6=Jim |last7=Savage |first7=Don |last8=Isbell |first8=Doug |last9=Braukus |first9=Mike |last10=Jones |first10=Tammy |title=STS-69 Press Kit |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sts-069-press-kit.pdf?emrc=748e9f |website=NASA News |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115170601/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sts-069-press-kit.pdf?emrc=748e9f |archive-date=15 November 2024 |format=PDF |date=1995 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|flights1_up = Fourth and last
|position2 = Pilot
|crew2_up = [[Kenneth Cockrell]]<ref name="presskit" />
|flights2_up = Second

|position3 = Mission Specialist 1
|crew3_up = [[James S. Voss]]<ref name="presskit" />
|flights3_up = Third
|position4 = Mission Specialist 2<br>Flight Engineer
|crew4_up = [[James H. Newman]]<ref name="presskit" />
|flights4_up = Second
|position5 = Mission Specialist 3
|crew5_up = [[Michael L. Gernhardt]]<ref name="presskit" />
|flights5_up = First
}}

===Spacewalks===
;EVA 1 – Voss and Gernhardt<ref name="ssmr">{{cite web |last1=Swan |first1=Bobbie Gail |last2=Harsh |first2=George |last3=Ong |first3=A. Y. |last4=Albjerg |first4=M. |last5=Burns |first5=F. T. Jr. |title=STS-69 Space Shuttle Mission Report |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970001267/downloads/19970001267.pdf |website=NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425155840/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970001267/downloads/19970001267.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2021 |location=Houston, Texas |date=1 December 1995 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''EVA 1 Start''': 16 September 1995 – 08:20 UTC
*'''EVA 1 End''': 16 September 1995 – 15:06 UTC
*'''Duration''': 6 hours, 46 minutes

=== Crew seat assignments ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Seat<ref>{{cite web |title=STS-69 |url=http://spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-69.htm |access-date=July 29, 2024 |website=Spacefacts}}</ref>
! Launch
! Landing
|rowspan=8| [[File:Space Shuttle seating plan.svg|150px]]<br />Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.<br />Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
|-
! 1
|colspan=2| Walker
|-
! 2
|colspan=2| Cockrell
|-
! 3
|Voss
|Gernhardt
|-
! 4
|colspan=2|Newman
|-
! 5
|Gernhardt
|Voss
|-
! 6
|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| ''Unused''
|-
! 7
|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| ''Unused''
|}

==Mission highlights==
[[File:Michael Gernhardt in space during STS-69 in 1995.jpg|thumb|The pale blue Earth serves as a backdrop for astronaut [[Michael L. Gernhardt|Michael Gernhardt]], who is attached to the Shuttle ''Endeavour'''s robot arm during a spacewalk on the STS-69 mission in 1995. Unlike earlier spacewalking astronauts, Gernhardt was able to use an electronic cuff checklist, a prototype developed for the assembly of the International Space Station.]]
{{LaunchAttempt
| date1 = 1995-08-31 11:04 AM
| result1 = Scrubbed
| reason1 = Technical
| decision_date1 = 1995-08-31 3:30
| decision_clock1 = −06:00:00 hold
| notes1 = High condenser exit temperature in fuel cell #2.<ref name="ssmr" />{{Reference page|page=3}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunn |first=Marcia |date=1995-08-31 |title=Faulty fuel cell causes shuttle launch delay |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=9fRKRCJz75UC&dat=19950831&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=The Free Lance-Star |page=A2 |via=Google News |volume=111 |issue=208}}</ref>
| date2 = 1995-09-07 11:09 AM
| result2 = Success
}}
The 11-day mission was the second flight of the [[Wake Shield Facility]] (WSF), a saucer-shaped satellite that was to fly free of the Shuttle for several days. The purpose of the WSF was to [[thin-film deposition|grow thin films]] in a near perfect vacuum created by the wake of the satellite as it moved through space.<ref name="ssmr" /> The crew also deployed and retrieved the Spartan 201 astronomy satellite, performed a six-hour spacewalk to test assembly techniques for the [[international Space Station]] and tested thermal improvements made to [[spacesuit]]s used during space walks.

The Spartan 201 free-flyer made its third flight aboard the Shuttle. The Spartan 201 mission was a scientific research effort aimed at the investigation of the interaction between the Sun and its outflowing wind of charged particles. Spartan's goal was to study the outer atmosphere of the Sun and its transition into the solar wind that constantly flows past the Earth.<ref name="csr962">{{cite web |last1=Schroeder |first1=Christine A. |last2=Schutz |first2=Bob E. |date=1 May 1996 |title=Performance Assessment of Two GPS Receivers on Space Shuttle |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19980000250/downloads/19980000250.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425162737/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19980000250/downloads/19980000250.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2021 |access-date=25 April 2021 |website=NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server |publisher=[[University of Texas at Austin]], [[NASA]]}}</ref>

STS-69 saw the first flight of the [[International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker]] (IEH-1), the first of five planned flights to measure and monitor long-term variations in the magnitude of absolute extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux coming from the Sun, and to study EUV emissions from the plasma torus system around Jupiter originating from its moon Io.<ref name="69-archive" />

Also aboard ''Endeavour'' were the combined Capillary Pumped Loop-2<ref name="cplreport">{{cite web |last1=Hallinan |first1=K. P. |last2=Allen |first2=J. S. |title=Comments on the Operation of Capillary Pumped Loop Devices in Low Gravity |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20010004299/downloads/20010004299.pdf |website=NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server |publisher=[[University of Dayton|University of Dayton, Ohio]], [[NASA]] |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425163754/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20010004299/downloads/20010004299.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2021 |date=1 March 1999 |url-status=live}}</ref>/Gas Bridge Assembly<ref name="CPL3report">{{cite web |last1=Ottenstein |first1=Laura |last2=Butler |first2=Dan |last3=Ku |first3=Jentung |last4=Cheung |first4=Kwok |last5=Baldauff |first5=Robert |last6=Hoang |first6=Triem |title=Flight Testing of the Capillary Pumped Loop 3 Experiment |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20030025293/downloads/20030025293.pdf |website=NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server |publisher=[[NASA]], [[United States Naval Research Laboratory]], TTH Research |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425164343/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20030025293/downloads/20030025293.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2021 |date=1 January 2002 |url-status=live}}</ref> (CAPL-2/GBA) payload. This experiment consisted of the CAPL-2 Hitchhiker payload designed as an in-orbit microgravity demonstration of a cooling system planned for the Earth Observing System Program and the Thermal Energy Storage-2 payload, part of an effort to develop advanced energy generation techniques. Also a part of this payload were several [[Get Away Special|Getaway Special]] (GAS) experiments which investigated areas such as the interaction of spacecraft attitude and orbit control systems with spacecraft structures, fluid-filled beams as structural dampers in space and the effects of smoldering combustion in a long-term microgravity environment.

Another payload flown with a connection to the development of the Space Station was the [[Electrolysis]] Performance Improvement Concept Study (EPICS). Supply of oxygen and hydrogen by electrolyzing water in space plays an important role in meeting NASA's needs and goals for future space missions. On-board generation of oxygen was expected to reduce the annual resupply requirement for the Space Station by approximately {{convert|5400|kg}}.

Other payloads aboard were the National Institutes of Health- Cells-4 (NIH-C4) experiment that investigates [[Osteoporosis|bone loss]] during space flight; the Biological Research in Canister-6 (BRIC-6) that studies the gravity-sensing mechanism within mammalian cells. Also flying were two commercial experiments. (CMIX-4) whose objectives included analysis of cell change in microgravity along with studies of neuro-muscular development disorders and the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-7 (CGBA-7). CGBA was a secondary payload that served as an incubator and data collection point for experiments in pharmaceuticals testing and biomedicine, bioprocessing and biotechnology, agriculture and the environment.<ref name="lsda-69">{{cite web |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Abul A. |title=STS-69 |url=https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/82 |website=Life Sciences Data Archive |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425165237/https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/82 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |date=10 June 2010 }}</ref>

The Thermal Energy Storage (TES-2) experiment was also part of the CAPL-2/GBA-6. The TES-2 payload was designed to provide data for understanding the long-duration behavior of thermal energy storage fluoride salts that undergo repeated melting and freezing in microgravity. The TES-2 payload was designed to study the microgravity behavior of voids in [[lithium fluoride]]–[[calcium fluoride]] [[eutectic]], a thermal energy storage salt. Data from this experiment would validate a computer code called TESSIM,<ref name="rnt95">{{cite web |author1= |date=1 March 1996 |title=Research and Technology 1995 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19960041413/downloads/19960041413.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425165957/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19960041413/downloads/19960041413.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2021 |access-date=25 April 2021 |website=NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server |publisher=[[NASA]] |place=[[Glenn Research Center|Lewis Research Center]], Brook Park, Ohio |pages=113–114}}</ref> useful for the analysis of heat receivers in advanced solar dynamic power system designs.

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
* [[List of human spaceflights]]
* [[List of Space Shuttle missions]]
* [[Outline of space science]]
* [[Space Shuttle]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-69/mission-sts-69.html NASA mission summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329042615/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-69/mission-sts-69.html |date=29 March 2015 }}
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle71.htm STS-69 Video Highlights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109072738/http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle71.htm |date=9 November 2013 }}

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STS-69