STS-76

Key takeaways

STS-76 belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect STS-76 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-76 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for Atlantis. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B. STS-76 lasted over 9 days, traveled about 6,100,000 km (3,800,000 mi) while orbiting Earth an estimated 145 times, and landing at 13:28:57 UTC on 31 March 1996 at Edwards Air Force Base, runway 22. The flight was the third Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Space Station Mir, as part of the Shuttle–Mir program, carrying astronaut Shannon Lucid to the orbital laboratory to replace NASA astronaut Norman Thagard. STS-76 also carried a SPACEHAB single module along with Lucid, and on flight day 6, Linda M. Godwin and Michael R. Clifford performed the first U.S. spacewalk around two docked spacecraft since the last Skylab mission in 1974.

Crew

Spacewalks Godwin and Clifford – EVA 1 EVA 1 Start: 27 March 1996 – 06:34 UTC EVA 1 End: 27 March 1996 – 12:36 UTC Duration: 6 hours, 02 minutes

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

The mission was the third linkup between a U.S. Space Shuttle and Russian space station Mir, and brought veteran astronaut Shannon Lucid to Mir to become the first American woman to live on the station. Her approximately four-and-a-half-month stay also eclipsed the long-duration U.S. spaceflight record set by the first American to live on Mir, Norman Thagard. Lucid was succeeded by astronaut John E. Blaha during STS-79 in August 1996, giving her the distinction of membership in four different flight crews — two U.S. and two Russian—and her stay on Mir kicked off the continuous U.S. presence in space for the next two years. Payload bay configuration included the Orbiter Docking System in the forward area and a SPACEHAB single module toward the aft. STS-76 marked the first flight of a SPACEHAB pressurized module to support Shuttle-Mir dockings. The single module primarily served as a stowage area for a large supply of equipment for transfer to space station, but also carried the European Space Agency's Biorack experiment rack for on-orbit research. Atlantis hooked up with Mir on flight day three, following same R-bar approach employed on STS-74. Actual connection between Orbiter Docking System and the Kristall module's docking port occurred at 02:50 UTC on 24 March 1996. Hatches opened a little less than two hours later. Awaiting Atlantis arrival were Mir 21 Commander Yury Onufriyenko and Flight Engineer Yuri Usachov, who were launched to Mir on 21 February 1996. In July, they were joined by Mir 22 Commander Valery Korzun, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Kaleri and CNES astronaut Claudie André-Deshays. After a two-week stay, André-Deshays would return to Earth with Onufriyenko and Usachov while Korzun and Kaleri remained on board with Lucid. During five days of docked operations, about 680 kg (1,500 lb) of water and two tons of scientific equipment, logistical material and resupply items were transferred to Mir. Experiment samples and miscellaneous equipment brought over to orbiter. In Biorack, 11 separate scientific investigations were conducted. Study topics included the effect of microgravity and cosmic radiation on plants, tissues, cells, bacteria and insects, and the effects of microgravity on bone loss. Also transferred to the station were the Mir Glovebox Stowage (MGBX) equipment to replenish the glovebox already on station, the Queen's University Experiment in Liquid Diffusion (QUELD) flown in the orbiter's middeck locker, and the High Temperature Liquid Phase Sintering (LPS) experiment. On flight day six, Godwin and Clifford conducted what some claim to be the first U.S. extravehicular activity (EVA) around two mated spacecraft. However, this appears to ignore the Apollo 9 EVA, and EVAs during Skylab. During six-hour, two-minute, 28-second EVA, they attached four Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) experiments to the station's docking module - designed to characterize the environment around Mir over an 18-month period. Godwin and Clifford wore Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER) propulsive devices - first flight-tested during STS-64. Other payloads included Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), KidSat, a project that gives middle school students opportunity to participate in space exploration, and Trapped Ions in Space (TRIS), a Naval Research Laboratory experiment flown in a Getaway Special canister in the payload bay.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-76

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-76 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, 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-76 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-76 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-76

In research: STS-76 appears in physics 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-76 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-76 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Edwards Air Force Base, Human spaceflights to Mir, Space Shuttle missions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-76 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.

How to study STS-76 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-76 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-76 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-76 in simple terms?

STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for Atlantis. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B.

Why does STS-76 matter?

Because it connects several physics 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-76?

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-76.