science

STS-122

STS-122 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-122 rather than just read about it. In short: STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS), flown by the Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-122 marked the 24th shuttle mission to the ISS, and the 121st Space Shuttle flight overall.

Key takeaways

STS-122 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-122 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-122 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS), flown by the Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-122 marked the 24th shuttle mission to the ISS, and the 121st Space Shuttle flight overall. The mission was also referred to as ISS-1E by the ISS program. The primary objective of STS-122 was to deliver the European Columbus science laboratory, built by the European Space Agency (ESA), to the station. It also returned Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani to Earth. Tani was replaced on Expedition 16 by Léopold Eyharts, a French Flight Engineer representing ESA. After Atlantis landing, the orbiter was prepared for STS-125, the final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. The original target launch date for STS-122 was December 6, 2007, but due to engine cutoff sensor (ECO) reading errors, the launch was postponed to December 9, 2007. During the second launch attempt, the sensors failed again, and the launch was halted. A tanking test on December 18, 2007, revealed the probable cause to lie with a connector between the external tank and the shuttle. The connector was replaced and the shuttle launched during the third attempt on February 7, 2008.

Crew

Crew seat assignments

Mission payloads

STS-122 was the ISS Assembly Flight 1E, which delivered the European Columbus laboratory module to the station, along with the Biolab, Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL), European Drawer Rack (EDR), and European Physiology Modules (EPM) payloads. STS-122 also carried the Solar Monitoring Observatory (SOLAR), the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF), and a new Nitrogen Tank Assembly, mounted in the cargo bay of an ICC-Lite payload rack, as well as a spare Drive Lock Assembly (DLA) sent to orbit in support of possible repairs to the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), which was malfunctioning. Several items were returned with Atlantis: A malfunctioning Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) that was swapped out with a new one during STS-118, and the empty Nitrogen Tank Assembly was placed in the orbiter's payload bay, along with a trundle bearing from the Starboard SARJ that was removed during an EVA performed by Expedition 16.

Outreach Stowed within the Official Flight Kit (OFK), Atlantis carried three green starting flags provided by NASCAR in recognition of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008, and the 50th anniversary of NASA on October 1, 2008. Once returned to Earth, one of the flown flags will be placed on public display at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, one will be presented to Ryan Newman, the winner of the 2008 Daytona 500, and the third will be used by NASA as part of its anniversary activities.

Mission background The mission marks:

152nd NASA crewed spaceflight. 121st Space Shuttle flight since STS-1. 29th flight of Atlantis 96th post-Challenger mission. 8th post-Columbia mission. 8th visit to the International Space Station for Atlantis. 300th US astronaut in space.

Shuttle processing

Launch preparations The external tank (ET-125) arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on September 14, 2007, after traveling by barge from the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The external tank was then transferred to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to be inspected, and have the liquid oxygen feedline bracket modified, before being mated to the solid rocket boosters on October 17, 2007. The external tank was attached to the solid rocket boosters on October 18, 2007, and Atlantis moved to the VAB on November 3, 2007. With the entire stack placed upon the mobile launcher platform, Atlantis moved to launch pad 39A on November 10, 2007, and the Columbus module was loaded into the orbiter's payload bay on November 12. The terminal countdown demonstration test was completed on November 20, 2007. Following the final Flight Readiness Review on November 30, 2007, NASA managers announced that Atlantis was ready to fly, and the launch date of December 6, 2007, was confirmed. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center on December 3, 2007, to prepare for the first launch attempt on December 6, 2007.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-122

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-122 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-122 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-122 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-122

In research: STS-122 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-122 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-122 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human spaceflights to the International Space Station, Space Shuttle missions, Spacecraft launched in 2008, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-122 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-122 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-122 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-122 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-122 in simple terms?

Why does STS-122 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-122?

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-122.