science

STS-101

STS-101 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand STS-101 rather than just read about it. In short: STS-101 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. The mission was a 10-day mission conducted between 19 May 2000 and 29 May 2000.

Key takeaways

STS-101 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect STS-101 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-101 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-101 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. The mission was a 10-day mission conducted between 19 May 2000 and 29 May 2000. The mission was designated 2A.2a and was a resupply mission to the International Space Station. STS-101 was delayed 3 times in April due to high winds. STS-101 traveled 4.1 million miles and completed 155 revolutions of the earth and landed on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center. The mission was the first to be flown by a shuttle equipped with a glass cockpit.

Crew

Spacewalks Voss and Williams – EVA 1 EVA 1 Start: 22 May 2000 – 01:48 UTC EVA 1 End: 22 May 2000 – 08:32 UTC Duration: 6 hours, 44 minutes

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

The flight was originally given the designation "2A.2", serving as a logistics flight to carry cargo to the then-uncrewed space station, in between 2A.1/STS-96 and 3A/STS-92. STS-101 was originally planned to arrive after the Service Module Zvezda, but when Zvezda fell further behind, mission 2A.2 was split into 2A.2a and 2A.2b, the former arriving before Zvezda and the latter arriving after. The original plan for STS-101 was to have crewmembers perform a spacewalk to connect cables to Zvezda, but when the module slipped, so did the EVA, and the three spacewalk crewmembers Lu, Williams, and Malenchenko followed their EVA onto STS-106. Needing three additional crew for STS-101, the Expedition 2 crew of Voss, Helms, and Usachov joined the STS-101 crew for a short mission to their future home. STS-101 delivered supplies to the International Space Station, hauled up using a Spacehab double module and an Integrated Cargo Carrier pallet. The crew performed a spacewalk and then reboosted the station from 230 miles (370 km) to 250 miles (400 km). Detailed objectives included ISS ingress/safety to take air samples, monitor carbon dioxide, deploy portable, personal fans, measure air flow, rework/modify ISS ducting, replace air filters, and replace Zarya fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. Critical replacements, repairs and spares were also done to replace four suspect batteries on Zarya, replace failed or suspect electronics for Zarya's batteries, replace Radio Telemetry System memory unit, replace port early communications antenna, replace Radio Frequency Power Distribution Box and clear Space Vision System target. The mission also included incremental assembly/upgrades such as assembly of Strela crane, installation of additional exterior handrails, set up of center-line camera cable, installation of "Komparus" cable inserts and reseating the U.S. crane. Assembly parts, tools and equipment were also transferred to the station and equipment stowed for future missions. The station was also resupplied with water, a docking mechanism accessory kit, film and video tape for documentation, office supplies and personal items. Crew health maintenance items were also transferred including exercise equipment, medical support supplies, formaldehyde monitor kit and a passive dosimetry system. This mission was almost similar to the Columbia disaster. A damaged tile seam caused a breach which allowed superheated gas to enter the left wing during reentry. The gas did not penetrate deeply and the damage was repaired before the next flight. If it had penetrated deeply the Shuttle could have been destroyed during reentry. This mission was the first mission to fly with a glass cockpit.

Wake-up calls NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-101

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-101 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to STS-101 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about STS-101 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of STS-101

In research: STS-101 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses STS-101 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: STS-101 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000 in Florida, 2000 in the United States, Human spaceflights to the International Space Station, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-101 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study STS-101 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-101 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain STS-101 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-101 in simple terms?

STS-101 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. The mission was a 10-day mission conducted between 19 May 2000 and 29 May 2000.

Why does STS-101 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study STS-101?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on STS-101.