NASA - STS-134 Mission patch / AMS-02 Mission patch.
18 May 2011
Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station today at 12:14 CEST (10:14 GMT) after chasing it in space after a textbook launch on Monday. The crews have now started their combined operations.
STS-134 Endeavour's last docking at the ISS
The hatches between the Space Shuttle and Space Station were opened after leak tests at 13:38 and ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori and his five crewmates floated in the Space Station at 14:36 today. They were welcomed by Expedition 27 astronauts, including ESA’s another Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli. The two Italians were the first astronauts to meet after the hatches were opened.
Endeavour and Columbus seen after docking
The main payload of the Shuttle is a AMS-02, one of the most exciting scientific instruments ever built - an experiment that could change our understanding of the Universe. After being installed tomorrow, it will be the largest science experiment on the Station.
The installation will be done by careful choreography of the Space Shuttle robot arm and ISS robot arm: the huge instrument will be picked up by the Shuttle’s arm from the cargo bay of Endeavour and handed over to ISS arm, which will crane the AMS-02 to the far-away attaching point on the upper side of the ISS central truss.
Paolo Nespoli giving a safety briefing to visitors
Roberto Vittori will play an important role in these robotic manoeuvres.
During the 16-day STS-134 mission the astronauts from Endeavour will do four spacewalks and also install spare parts and micrometeoroid shields to the Space Station. After these works and in total 36 Shuttle visits, the orbital outpost is ready for a multitude of uses, ranging from performing fundamental science experiments to preparing for the exploration of deep space.
Paolo coming home
After almost six days of combined operations, the six-men-crew of Endeavour and three ISS astronauts – Andrei Borisenko, Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Ron Garan – will say goodbye to Dmitri Kondratyev, Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli, who have been aboard the ISS since last December.
Astronauts posing in the Harmony node
The leaving trio will take a Soyuz TMA-20 on Tuesday night, depart from the nadir docking port of the Rassvet docking module at 00:06 CEST on 23 May (22:06 GMT on 22 May).
The landing is supposed to happen about three hours later, at 3:26 CEST (01:26 GMT), to the steppes of Kazakhstan when Sun has just risen over the local horizon.
Science on DAMA mission
Roberto’s mission has been named as DAMA after the mystical form of matter – ‘dark matter’ – that fills the universe with even more strange dark energy, according to theories. AMS-02 will detect this ‘dark matter’ and antimatter by observing the cosmic rays, helping us hopefully to better understand the origin and structure of the Universe.
AMS-02
In addition, Roberto will act as a test subject for two ESA life science experiments and perform six studies sponsored by the Italian space agency, ASI, in technology, medicine, biology and material science.
STS-134 Endeavour preparing for final dock with ISS
Related links:
DAMA Mission: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/DAMA_mission/index.html
Last Shuttle with ESA astronaut lifts off to Space Station to hunt ‘dark matter’: http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMBERLSNNG_index_0.html
STS-134 mission (NASA): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html
Images, Videos, Text, Credits: ESA / NASA / AMS-02 Collaboration / Youtube.
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