STS-117 (ISS assembly flight 13A) was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, launched from pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June 8, 2007. Atlantis lifted off from the launch pad at 19:38 EDT. Damage from a hail storm on February 26, 2007, had previously caused the launch to be postponed from an originally-planned launch date of March 15, 2007. The launch of STS-117 marked the 250th orbital human spaceflight.
Atlantis delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) the second starboard truss segment (the S3/S4 Truss) and its associated energy systems, including a set of solar arrays. During the course of the mission the crew installed the new truss segment, retracted one set of solar arrays, and unfolded the new set on the starboard side of the station. STS-117 also brought Expedition 15 crewmember Clayton Anderson to the station, and returned with ISS crewmember Sunita Williams.
On June 11, 2007, NASA mission managers announced a two-day extension of the mission, adding a fourth extra-vehicular activity (EVA). These two days were inserted into the mission timeline after flight day 8. This possibility had been discussed prior to launch. Because of launch day and thus rendezvous day uncertainty the decision to extend was deferred until after launch. The repair of the gap in the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thermal blanket (heat shielding) was conducted during EVA 3.
STS-117 remains the longest mission for Atlantis because of the cancellation of landing opportunities on June 21, 2007, due to bad weather. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base on June 22, 2007.
Crew
Crew Notes
The initial crew manifest before the Columbia accident was:
Astronaut Mark Polansky was originally slated to pilot this mission, but was moved to STS-116, which he commanded. Also assigned to the flight were Joan Higginbotham and Richard Mastracchio, who were moved to missions STS-116 and STS-118 respectively.
Mission payload
S3/S4 truss segments
For comprehensive description of the S3/S4 truss segment and more information, also see
The STS-117 mission delivered the second starboard truss segment (S3/S4) and associated energy systems to the International Space Station (ISS). Manufactured by the Boeing Company at the Michoud Assembly Facility, S3/S4 is the heaviest station payload the shuttle has ever carried. The main functions of the S3/S4 truss segments are to provide electrical power and data interfaces for station's electronics and convert sunlight to electricity. They also provide active thermal protection to electrical components throughout the space station and allow the connection of platforms to store spare parts. S3/S4 segments were the second starboard addition to the ISS truss structure after the S1 truss was attached during Atlantis STS-112 mission.
Both S3/S4 were handed off to NASA in September 2002. S3/S3 measures long by wide by high and weighs 35,678 lbs (16,183 kilograms). It is made from stainless steel.
During flight day 4 activities, the S3/S4 truss segment was removed from the payload bay of Atlantis using the shuttle's robotic arm and handed off to the station's Canadarm2, where it was maneuvered and mated to the outboard end of the S1 truss.
Starboard 3
The S3 primary structure is made of a hexagonal-shaped stainless steel structure and includes four bulkheads and six longerons, beams that connect the bulkheads. The secondary structure includes brackets, fittings, attach platforms, EVA activity equipment and miscellaneous mechanisms. S3 was delivered to the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 2000.
The major S3 subsystems include the Solar Array Rotary Joint (SARJ) – which contains large bearings, Segment-to-Segment Attach System (SSAS) and Payload Attach System (PAS). The SARJ continuously rotates to keep the Solar Array Wings (SAWs) on S4 and S6 (launched on shuttle mission STS‐119 in March 2009) oriented toward the sun as the ISS orbits the Earth. The S3 also provides a passive attachment point to the S1 segment via the SSAS. The PAS allows platforms to be attached to S3 for the storage of additional science payloads or spare Orbital Replacement units (ORUs).