STS-72

STS-72

Endeavour'sCanadarm captures the Space Flyer Unit
Mission type	Satellite retrieval Research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1996-001A
SATCATno.	23762
Mission duration	8 days, 22 hours, 01 minutes, 47 seconds
Distance travelled	6,000,000 kilometres (3,700,000 mi)
Orbits completed	142
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space ShuttleEndeavour
Launch mass	112,182 kilograms (247,319 lb)
Landing mass	98,549 kilograms (217,263 lb)
Payload mass	6,510 kilograms (14,350 lb)
Crew
Crew size	6
Members	Brian Duffy Brent W. Jett, Jr. Leroy Chiao Winston E. Scott Koichi Wakata Daniel T. Barry
Start of mission
Launch date	11 January 1996, 09:41:00.072(1996-01-11UTC09:41Z)UTC
Launch site	KennedyLC-39B
End of mission
Landing date	20 January 1996, 07:41:41(1996-01-20UTC07:41:42Z)UTC
Landing site	KennedySLF Runway 15
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	185 kilometres (115 mi)
Apogee altitude	470 kilometres (290 mi)
Inclination	28.45 degrees
Period	91.1 min
Left to right - Seated: Jett, Duffy; Standing: Scott, Chiao, Wakata, Barry Space Shuttle program

STS-72was aSpace ShuttleEndeavourmission to capture and return to Earth a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known asSpace Flyer Unit(SFU). The mission launched fromKennedy Space Center,Florida on 11 January 1996.

Crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Brian Duffy Third spaceflight
Pilot	Brent W. Jett First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Leroy Chiao Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	Winston E. Scott First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	Koichi Wakata,JAXA First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 4	Daniel T. Barry First spaceflight

Crew seating arrangements

Seat	Launch	Landing	Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck.
S1	Duffy	Duffy
S2	Jett	Jett
S3	Chiao	Wakata
S4	Scott	Scott
S5	Wakata	Chiao
S6	Barry	Barry

Spacewalks

• Chiao and Barry– EVA 1
• EVA 1 Start:15 January 1996 – 05:35 UTC
• EVA 1 End:15 January – 11:44 UTC
• Duration:6 hours, 9 minutes
• Chiao and Scott– EVA 2
• EVA 2 Start:17 January 1996 – 05:40 UTC
• EVA 2 End:17 January – 12:34 UTC
• Duration:6 hours, 54 minutes

Mission highlights

STS-72, the 74th flight of the Space Shuttle program and the 10th of the orbiterEndeavourwas launched at 4:41AM EST 11 January 1996 after a brief hold at the T-5-minute mark due to communication issues. The nighttime launch window was in support of the mission's primary objective, the capture and return to Earth of a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known asSpace Flyer Unit(SFU). The 3,577 kilograms (7,886 lb) SFU was launched by Japan'sNational Space Development Agency(NASDA) fromTanegashima Space Centerin Japan on 18 March 1995 aboard a Japanese H-II rocket (HII-3), and spent ten months in orbit conducting automated research in materials science, biology, engineering, and astronomy. Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata operated the orbiter's remote manipulator system arm on flight day three to pluck SFU from orbit. Both of the satellite's solar arrays had to be jettisoned prior to retrieval when sensors indicated improper latching following their retraction. This jettison procedure had been incorporated in preflight training as a contingency in the event of such an occurrence. The canisters housing the arrays were jettisoned 12 minutes apart asEndeavourand the SFU traveled across Africa on the thirtieth orbit of the mission. The contingency procedure delayed the capture of the satellite by about an hour and half. Once inEndeavour's payload bay, the satellite's internal batteries were bypassed following connection of a remotely operated electrical cable to the side of the satellite.On this mission,Daniel T. Barryand Japanese astronautKoichi Wakatawere the first people to playGoin space; for this achievement, both Barry and Wakata received the honorary awards of Ni Dan rank by theNihon Kiinmaking Barry one of only four Western Go players to receive such an award. Barry and Wakata used a special Go set, which was named Go Space, designed by Wai-Cheung Willson Chow.

OAST-Flyer

OAST-Flyer released.

The STS-72 mission also flew with the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology Flyer (OAST-Flyer) spacecraft. OAST-Flyer was the seventh in a series of missions aboard the reusable free-flying Spartan carrier spacecraft series. It consisted of four experiments: Return Flux Experiment (REFLEX) to test accuracy of computer models predicting spacecraft exposure to contamination;Global Positioning SystemAttitude Determination and Control Experiment (GADACS) to demonstrate GPS technology in space; Solar Exposure to Laser Ordnance Device (SELODE) to test laser ordnance devices;Spartan Packet Radio Experiment(SPRE) and theAmateur Radio Associationat theUniversity of Maryland(W3EAX) amateur radio communications experiment. On flight day four, Wakata again operated Endeavour's robot arm to deploy the Spartan, sending the experiment-laden platform on its way to a 50-hour free-flight at a distance of approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the orbiter. OAST-Flyer was retrieved on flight day six, with Wakata again operating the remote manipulator system arm to retrieve the platform.

Spacewalks

Leroy Chiao works in the payload bay.

Two 6.5-hour spacewalks were conducted by three astronauts to test hardware and tools to be used in the assembly of theInternational Space Stationstarting in late 1998. EVA-1 on flight day five consisted of Crewmembers Leroy Chiao (EV1) and Dan Barry (EV2). After taking a few minutes to acclimate themselves in the payload bay, first-time spacewalkers Chiao and Barry attached a portable work platform to the end of the robot arm, operated by Pilot Brent Jett and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata. Jett used the arm to grapple various pieces of hardware designed to hold large modular components, mimicking the way equipment boxes and avionics gear will be moved back and forth in assembling the Space Station.

Chiao and Barry then unfolded a cable tray diagonally across the forward portion of the cargo bay housing simulated electrical and fluid lines similar to those which would later connect modules and nodes of the Space Station. The rigid umbilical, as it is known, was tested for its ease of handling and the ability of the astronauts to hook up the lines to connectors on the side of Endeavour's bay. While Chiao unraveled various lengths of cable from a caddy device, Barry spent time practicing the hookup of the various cables in the rigid umbilical to connectors in the bay, testing his ability to manipulate tiny bolts and screws in weightlessness. He reported that most tasks could be accomplished with little difficulty. Barry and Chiao then traded places, as Barry mounted the portable work platform to evaluate its worth. The first EVA lasted 6 hours, 9 minutes.EVA-2 on Flight Day 7 consisted of Leroy Chiao (EV1) and Winston Scott (EV2), lasting 6 hours, 53 minutes. Chiao and Scott worked with utility boxes, slidewires and a portable work stanchion affixed toEndeavour's robot arm to gather additional data on methods and procedures which would be incorporated in the techniques used to assemble the International Space Station. Late in the spacewalk, Scott climbed into foot restraints on the OAST-Flyer satellite platform for a thermal evaluation exercise.Endeavourwas maneuvered to the coldest position possible, with its payload bay facing out toward deep space and allowing temperatures to dip to about 104 degrees below zero at the point where Scott was positioned to test the ability of his spacesuit to repel the bitter cold temperature of space.

Additional payloads

Other experiments onboard STS-72 included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Experiment (SSBUV-8) (previously flown onSTS-34,STS-41,STS-43,STS-45,STS-56,STS-62andSTS-66), EDFT-03, Shuttle Laser Altimeter Payload (SLA-01/GAS(5)), VDA-2,National Institutes of HealthNIH-R3 Experiment, Space Tissue Loss Experiment (STL/NIH-C), Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) (hardware previously flown onSTS-47,STS-57andSTS-60) and the Thermal Energy Storage (TES-2) experiment (previously flown onSTS-69). Get Away Specialpayloads included theUnited States Air Force AcademyG-342 Flexible Beam Experiment (FLEXBEAM-2), Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies' G-459 – Protein Crystal Growth Experiment and theJet Propulsion LaboratoryGAS Ballast Can with Sample Return Experiment.

Documentary

The crew of STS-72 and their families were followed by a camera crew fromPBSfrom the day they were assigned to the flight and then through their training and, finally, the mission itself. The result was a 90-minute documentary narrated byBill NyetitledAstronautswhich first aired on PBS on 17 July 1997 and was later released on VHS home video.

In December 2020, photographer John Angerson released unseen photos of mission preparation.

Image Gallery

• 
  Endeavouron Pad 39B.
• 
  Endeavourlaunching on STS-72.
• 
  Traditional inflight crew portrait.
• 
  Space Flyer Unit on approach.
• 
  SFU after panel jettison.
• 
  MS Koichi Wakata on the flight deck.
• 
  STS-72 Commander Duffy.
• 
  Dan Barry and Koichi Wakata playingGoon the middeck.
• 
  Spartan visible out the windows.
• 
  Sunburst overEndeavour.
• 
  Mt. Kilimanjaro from orbit.
• 
  Dan Barry works with the rigid umbilical.
• 
  Winston Scott during EVA 2.
• 
  Space ShuttleEndeavourlanding after a successful flight.

See also

• List of human spaceflights
• List of Space Shuttle missions
• Outline of space science
• Space Shuttle
• Spartan Packet Radio Experiment

External links

• NASA mission summaryArchived20 December 2016 at theWayback Machine
• STS-72 Video HighlightsArchived10 November 2013 at theWayback Machine