STS-87

Key takeaways

STS-87 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-87 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-87 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-87 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center on 19 November 1997. It was the 88th flight of the Space Shuttle and the 24th flight of Columbia. The mission goals were to conduct experiments using the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4), conduct two EVAs, and deploy the SPARTAN-201 experiment. This mission marked the first time an EVA was performed from Columbia. EVAs from Columbia were originally planned for STS-5 in 1982 and STS-80 in 1996, but were canceled due to spacesuit and airlock problems, respectively. It also marked the first EVA conducted by a Japanese astronaut, Takao Doi.

Crew

Backup crew

Space walks Scott and Doi – EVA 1 EVA 1 Start: 25 November 1997 – 00:02 UTC EVA 1 End: 25 November 1997 – 07:45 UTC Duration: 7 hours, 43 minutes Scott and Doi – EVA 2 EVA 2 Start: 3 December 1997 – 09:09 UTC EVA 2 End: 3 December 1997 – 14:09 UTC Duration: 4 hours, 59 minutes

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

STS-87 flew the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4), Spartan-201, Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), TEVA Demonstration Flight Test 5 (EDFT-05), the Shuttle Ozone Limb Sending Experiment (SOLSE), the Loop Heat Pipe (LHP), the Sodium Sulfur Battery Experiment (NaSBE), the Turbulent GAS Jet Diffusion (G-744) experiment, and the Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera/Sprint (AERCam Sprint) experiment. Mid-deck experiments included the Middeck Glovebox Payload (MGBX) and the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE).

United States Microgravity Payload The United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) was a Spacelab project managed by Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. The complement of microgravity research experiments was divided between two Mission-Peculiar Experiment Support Structures (MPESS) in the payload bay. The extended mission capability offered by the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) kit provides an opportunity for additional science gathering time.

SPARTAN-201

Spartan 201-04 was a Solar Physics Spacecraft designed to perform remote sensing of the hot outer layers of the Sun's atmosphere or solar corona. It was expected to be deployed on orbit 18 and retrieved on orbit 52. The objective of the observations was to investigate the mechanisms causing the heating of the solar corona and the acceleration of the solar wind that originates in the corona. Two primary experiments were the Ultraviolet Coronal Spectrometer from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the White Light Coronograph (WLC) from the High Altitude Observatory. Spartan 201 had three secondary experiments. The Technology Experiment Augmenting Spartan (TEXAS) was a Radio Frequency (RF) communications experiment that provided flight experience for components baselined on future Spartan missions, and a real-time communications and control link with the primary Spartan 201 experiments. This link was used to provide a fine-pointing adjustment to the WLC based on solar images downlinked in real-time. The Video Guidance Sensor (VGS) Flight Experiment was a laser guidance system that tested a key component of the Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) system. The Spartan Auxiliary Mounting Plate (SPAM) was a small equipment mounting plate that provided a mounting location for small experiments or auxiliary equipment of the Spartan Flight Support Structure (SFSS) It was a honeycomb plate using an experimental silicon carbide aluminum face sheet material with an aluminum core.

Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace The Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (AADSF) was a sophisticated materials science facility used for studying a common method of processing semiconductor crystals called directional solidification. Solidification is the process of freezing materials. In the type of directional solidification used in AADSF, the liquid sample, enclosed in quartz ampoules, slowly solidified along the long axis. A mechanism moved the sample through varying temperature zones in the furnace. To start processing, the furnace melted all but one end of the sample towards the other. Once crystallized, the sample remained in the furnace to be examined post-flight. The solidification front was of particular interest to scientists because the flows found in the liquid material influence the final composition and structure of the solid and its properties.

Confined Helium Experiment The Confined Helium Experiment (CHeX) provided a test of theories of the influence of boundaries on the matter by measuring the heat capacity of helium as it is confined to two dimensions.

Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment

The Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE) was a materials science solidification experiment that researchers used to investigate a particular type of solidification called dendritic growth. Dendritic solidification is one of the most common forms of solidifying metals and alloys. When materials crystallize or solidify under certain conditions, they freeze unstably, resulting in tiny, tree-like crystalline forms called dendrites. Scientists are particularly interested in dendrite size, shape, and how the branches of the dendrites interact with each other. These characteristics largely determine the properties of the material. Designed for research on the directional solidification of metallic alloys, the Material pour l'Étude des Phénomènes Intéressant la Solidification sur Terre et en Orbite (MEPHISTO) experiment was primarily interested in measuring the temperature, velocity, and shape of the solidification front (the point where the solid and liquid contact each other during solidification). MEPHISTO simultaneously processed three identical cylindrical samples of bismuth and tin alloy. In the first sample, the temperature fluctuations of the moving solidification were measured electrically, disturbing the sample. The position of the solid to liquid border was determined by an electrical resistance technique in the second sample. In the third sample, the faceted solidification front was marked at selected intervals with electric current pulses. The samples were returned to Earth for analysis. During the mission, MEPHISTO data were correlated with data from the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS). By comparing data, scientists determined how accelerations aboard the shuttle disturbed the solid to the liquid interface.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-87

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-87 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-87 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-87 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-87

In research: STS-87 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-87 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-87 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Kalpana Chawla, Space Shuttle missions, Spacecraft launched in 1997, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-87 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-87 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-87 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-87 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-87 in simple terms?

STS-87 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center on 19 November 1997. It was the 88th flight of the Space Shuttle and the 24th flight of Columbia.

Why does STS-87 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-87?

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-87.