STS-88

Key takeaways

STS-88 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect STS-88 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-88 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, and took the first American module, the Unity node, to the station. The seven-day mission was highlighted by the mating of the U.S.-built Unity node to the Functional Cargo Block (Zarya module) already in orbit, and three spacewalks to connect power and data transmission cables between the Node and the FGB. Zarya, built by Boeing and the Russian Space Agency, was launched on a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in November 1998. Other payloads on the STS-88 mission included the IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC), the Argentine Scientific Applications Satellite-S (SAC-A), the MightySat 1 Hitchhiker payload, the Space Experiment Module (SEM-07) and Getaway Special G-093 sponsored by the University of Michigan.

Crew

Launch attempts

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

Node 1, named Unity, was the first space station hardware delivered by the Space Shuttle. It has two Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMA), one attached to either end. One PMA (PMA-1) is permanently mated to Zarya, and the other (PMA-2) is used for spacecraft dockings and crew access to the station. Unity also contains an International Standard Payload Rack used to support on-orbit activities, which was activated after the fifth Shuttle/Station assembly flight. To begin the assembly sequence, the crew conducted a series of rendezvous maneuvers similar to those conducted on other Shuttle missions to reach the orbiting FGB. On the way, Currie used the Shuttle's robot arm to place Node 1 atop the Orbiter Docking System. Cabana completed the rendezvous by flying Endeavour to within 10 metres (33 ft) of the FGB, allowing Currie to capture the FGB with the robot arm and place it on the Node's Pressurized Mating Adapter. Once the two elements were docked, Ross and Newman conducted two scheduled spacewalks to connect power and data cables between the Node, PMAs and the FGB. The day following the spacewalks, Endeavour undocked from the two components, completing the first Space Station assembly mission. Endeavour's astronauts toured the new International Space Station on Thursday, 10 December 1998, entering the Unity and Zarya modules for the first time, and establishing an S-band communications system that enables U.S. flight controllers to monitor the outpost's systems. Reflecting the international cooperation involved in building the largest space complex in history, Commander Robert Cabana and Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev opened the hatch to the U.S.-built Unity connecting module and floated into the new station together. The rest of the crew followed and began turning on lights and unstowing gear in the roomy hub to which other modules would be connected in the future. Each passageway within Unity was marked by a sign leading the way into tunnels to which new modules would later be connected. About an hour later, Robert Cabana and Sergei Krikalev opened the hatch to the Russian-built Zarya control module, which was the nerve center for the station in its embryonic stage. Joined by Pilot Frederick Sturckow and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, James H. Newman and Nancy Currie, Cabana and Krikalev hailed the historic entrance into the International Space Station and said the hatch opening signified the start of a new era in space exploration.

Ross and Newman went right to work in Unity, completing the assembly of an early S-band communications system that allows flight controllers in Houston to send commands to Unity's systems and to keep tabs on the health of the station with a more extensive communications capability than exists through Russian ground stations. The astronauts also conducted a successful test of the videoconferencing capability of the early communications system, which was used by the first crew to permanently occupy the station in November 2000 (Expedition 1). Newman downlinked greetings to controllers in the station flight control room in Houston and to astronaut Bill Shepherd, who commanded the first crew and lived aboard the station with Krikalev and Cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko. Krikalev and Currie replaced a faulty unit in Zarya which controlled the discharging of stored energy from one of the module's six batteries. The battery had not been working properly in its automatic configuration, but the new unit was functioning normally shortly after it was installed. The astronauts also unstowed hardware and logistical supplies stored behind panels in Zarya, relocating the items for use by the Shuttle crew that was to visit the station in May 1999 and by Shepherd's expedition crew. The astronauts also completed their initial outfitting of the station. The hatches to Zarya and Unity were closed before Endeavour undocked from the new station, leaving the new complex to orbit the Earth unpiloted.

Mission timeline

Launch preparations At 12:15 am EST on Monday, 23 June 1997, an Air Force C-5 air cargo plane arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility carrying Unity (Node 1). On 1 February 1998, Endeavour was towed to Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1. On 15 October 1998, Endeavour was moved from Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 to the Vehicle Assembly Building. On 21 October 1998, Endeavour was transported atop the Crawler Transporter to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A.

3–4 December (Flight Day 1, Launch) Space Shuttle Endeavour launched at 3:35:34 am EST from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A. STS-88 was the first shuttle flight to the International Space Station. After launch, the crew opened the shuttle's payload bay doors, deployed the Ku-Band antenna, and activated the shuttle's Hitchhiker payload. The crew also started preparing for the multiple engine firings that will be performed to bring shuttle Endeavour within the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System's reach of the Zarya FGB. At launch, Zarya was 240 statute miles above the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and the module was on its 222nd orbit of the Earth since its launch.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-88

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-88 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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-88 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-88 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-88

In research: STS-88 appears in astronomy 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-88 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-88 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1998 in Florida, December 1998, Human spaceflights to the International Space Station, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-88 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-88 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-88 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-88 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-88 in simple terms?

STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, and took the first American module, the Unity node, to the station.

Why does STS-88 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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-88?

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-88.