A robonaut is a humanoid robot , part of a development project conducted by the Dexterous Robotics Laboratory at NASA 's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston , Texas . Robonaut differs from other current space-faring robots in that, while most current space robotic systems (such as robotic arms, cranes and exploration rovers) are designed to move large objects, Robonaut's tasks require more dexterity.
134-520: The core idea behind the Robonaut series is to have a humanoid machine work alongside astronauts . Its form factor and dexterity are designed such that Robonaut "is capable of performing all the tasks required of an EVA-suited crewmember." NASA states, "Robonauts are essential to NASA's future as we go beyond low Earth orbit ", and R2 will provide performance data about how a robot may work side-by-side with astronauts. The latest Robonaut version, R2,
268-1144: A William Shakespeare "action figure" from the English Department of the University of Texas , a stuffed giraffe mascot from the Hermann Children's Hospital at the University of Texas, T-shirts from Lomax Junior High School in La Porte, Texas , a blue Hawaiian shirt from NASA Johnson Space Center 's Education Office, and a shirt from a volunteer fire department . NASA announced the STS-133 crew on September 18, 2009, and training began in October 2009. The original crew consisted of commander Steven Lindsey , pilot Eric Boe , and mission specialists Alvin Drew , Timothy Kopra , Michael Barratt , and Nicole Stott . However, on January 19, 2011, about
402-531: A human mission to Mars . Over the last decade, flight surgeons and scientists at NASA have seen a pattern of vision problems in astronauts on long-duration space missions. The syndrome, known as visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP) , has been reported in nearly two-thirds of space explorers after long periods spent aboard the International Space Station (ISS). On 2 November 2017, scientists reported that significant changes in
536-724: A "spacewalk"), on 18 March 1965, on the Soviet Union's Voskhod 2 mission. This was followed two and a half months later by astronaut Ed White who made the first American EVA on NASA's Gemini 4 mission. The first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, Apollo 8 , included American William Anders who was born in Hong Kong, making him the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968. The Soviet Union, through its Intercosmos program, allowed people from other " socialist " (i.e. Warsaw Pact and other Soviet-allied) countries to fly on its missions, with
670-700: A 72-hour separation between dockings at the International Space Station threatened to delay the launch by at least a day due to the delayed launch of the ESA 's uncrewed Johannes Kepler ATV supply craft. Managers instead decided to press ahead with the countdown allowing for a possible stand down; had docking issues arisen with the ATV, STS-133 would have stood down for 48 hours. The Kepler ATV docked successfully at 10:59 UTC, February 24, 2011. Space Shuttle Discovery successfully lifted off from Kennedy Space Center 's Launch Pad 39A at 16:53:24 EST on February 24, 2011. Liftoff
804-562: A Heat Rejection System Radiator (HRSR) Flight Support Equipment (FSE), which takes up one whole side of the ELC. The other primary ORUs were the ExPRESS Pallet Controller Avionics 4 (ExPCA #4). The HRSR launching on ELC4 was a spare, if needed, for one of the six radiators that are part of the station's external active thermal control system. Discovery carried the humanoid robot Robonaut2 (also known as R2) to
938-761: A Planar Reflector was installed at the request of the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA). Following berthing to the space station, the contents of Leonardo were emptied and moved to appropriate locations on the ISS. Once JAXA's Kounotori 2 (HTV-2) arrived in February 2011, Leonardo' s now-unnecessary launch hardware was transferred to HTV2 for ultimate destruction in Earth's atmosphere. Activities to reconfigure Leonardo following STS-133 spanned multiple station crew increments. The Express Logistics Carrier (ELC)
1072-549: A crewed spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries, e.g. the Soviet-led Interkosmos program. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term spationaut (French: spationaute ) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the Latin word spatium for "space";
1206-403: A deeper and wider range of sensing. It can move its arms up to 2 m/s, has a 40 lb payload capacity, and its hands have a grasping force of roughly 5 lbs. per finger. There are over 350 sensors and 38 PowerPC processors in the robot. Station crew members will be able to operate R2, as will controllers on the ground; both will do so using telepresence . One of the improvements over
1340-529: A horizontal orientation to make repairs. However, later they successfully accessed the area inside the aft compartment, and re-positioned the nut to complete the repairs. The bolting of the orbiter to its ET ('hard mate') was completed early on the morning of September 11, 2010, at 09:27 EDT. The shuttle's 44th rollout to the launch pad was scheduled to begin at 20:00 EDT on September 20, 2010. NASA sent out more than 700 invitations to shuttle workers so they could bring their families to watch Discovery' s journey to
1474-522: A laser rod failure during testing. STS-133 carried the signatures of more than 500,000 students who participated in the 2010 Student Signatures in Space program, which was jointly sponsored by NASA and Lockheed Martin . The students added their signatures to posters in May 2010 as part of the annual Space Day celebration. Through their participation, students also received standards-based lessons that contained
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#17327732415141608-661: A medically healthy environment for astronauts. STS-133 STS-133 ( ISS assembly flight ULF5 ) was the 133rd mission in NASA 's Space Shuttle program ; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station . It was Discovery 's 39th and final mission. The mission launched on February 24, 2011, and landed on March 9, 2011. The crew consisted of six American astronauts , all of whom had been on prior spaceflights, headed by Commander Steven Lindsey . The crew joined
1742-437: A month before launch, it was announced that Stephen Bowen would replace original crew member Tim Kopra, after Kopra was injured in a bicycle accident. All six crew members had flown at least one spaceflight before; five of the crew members, all but commander Steven Lindsey, were part of NASA's Astronaut Group 18 , all being selected in the year 2000. The mission commander, Steven Lindsey, handed over his position as Chief of
1876-625: A researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983. In December 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler and the first journalist in space for Tokyo Broadcasting System , a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $ 12 million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station, although at the time, the term used to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut". Akiyama suffered severe space sickness during his mission, which affected his productivity. The first self-funded space tourist
2010-463: A review of the spacewalk procedures. After the review, Bowen and Drew donned oxygen masks and entered the crew lock of the Quest airlock for the standard pre-spacewalk campout. The airlock was lowered to 10.2 psi for the night. This was done to help the spacewalkers purge nitrogen from their blood and help prevent decompression sickness , also known as the bends. Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew performed
2144-501: A shoulder width of 2 feet 7.4 inches (79.8 cm). R2 is equipped with 54 servo motors and has 42 degrees of freedom. Powered by 38 PowerPC processors, R2's systems run at 120 volts DC. Space Shuttle Discovery also carried the Developmental Test Objective (DTO) 701B payload using Advanced Scientific Concepts, Inc.'s DragonEye 3D Flash LiDAR detection and ranging ( LIDAR ) sensor. The addition of
2278-572: A space theme. Student Signatures in Space has been active since 1997. In that time, nearly seven million student signatures from 6,552 schools were flown on ten Space Shuttle missions. Also carried aboard Discovery were hundreds of flags, bookmarks and patches which were distributed when the shuttle returned to Earth. The mission also flew two small Lego Space Shuttles, in honor of an educational partnership between Lego and NASA. Astronauts also carried personal mementos including medallions with connections to their schools or military careers, as well as
2412-438: A threat, since it was liberated after the shuttle had left Earth's atmosphere. During Discovery 's ascent, NASA managers also reported that they saw three more additional instances of foam liberation. These losses also occurred after aerodynamic sensitive times when debris could seriously damage the shuttle, and so were deemed non-threatening. NASA's engineers accounted for the foam losses to a condition called "cryo-pumping". When
2546-418: A three-dimensional image based on the time of flight of a single laser pulse from the sensor to the target and back. It provides both range and bearing information from targets that can reflect the light back such as the pressurized mating adapter 2 (PMA2) and those on the station's Japanese Kibo laboratory. The DragonEye DTO was mounted onto Discovery 's existing trajectory control system carrier assembly on
2680-584: Is John Glenn , one of the Mercury 7 , who was 77 when he flew on STS-95 . The longest time spent in space was by Russian Valeri Polyakov , who spent 438 days there. As of 2006, the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven, a record held by both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz . The farthest distance from Earth an astronaut has traveled was 401,056 km (249,205 mi), when Jim Lovell , Jack Swigert , and Fred Haise went around
2814-530: Is a steel platform designed to support external payloads mounted to the space station starboard and port trusses with either deep space or Earthward views. On STS-133, Discovery carried the ELC-4 to the station to be positioned on the starboard 3 (S3) truss' lower inboard passive attachment system (PAS). The total weight of the ELC-4 is approximately 8,235 pounds. The Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC-4) carried several Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs). Among these were
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#17327732415142948-863: Is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and developed, although most flights of the aircraft are conducted from Edwards Air Force Base . Astronauts in training must learn how to control and fly the Space Shuttle; further, it is vital that they are familiar with the International Space Station so they know what they must do when they get there. The master's degree requirement can also be met by: Mission Specialist Educators , or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in 2004; as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba , Richard R. Arnold , and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger . Barbara Morgan , selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985,
3082-436: Is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare. A 2006 Space Shuttle experiment found that Salmonella typhimurium , a bacterium that can cause food poisoning , became more virulent when cultivated in space. More recently, in 2017, bacteria were found to be more resistant to antibiotics and to thrive in
3216-522: Is called an astronaut . The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his 1930 short story "The Death's Head Meteor". The word itself had been known earlier; for example, in Percy Greg 's 1880 book Across the Zodiac , "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In Les Navigateurs de l'infini (1925) by J.-H. Rosny aîné , the word astronautique ( astronautics )
3350-592: Is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist. The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from the 1980s. Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness , barotrauma , immunodeficiencies , loss of bone and muscle , loss of eyesight , orthostatic intolerance , sleep disturbances , and radiation injury. A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via
3484-460: Is strictly defined as the navigation of outer space within the local star system , i.e. Solar System . The phrase tàikōng rén ( 太空人 , "spaceman") is often used in Hong Kong and Taiwan . The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China . The word has featured in the Longman and Oxford English dictionaries, and
3618-633: The Ancient Greek ἄστρον ( astron ), meaning 'star', and ναύτης ( nautes ), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft . Although generally reserved for professional space travelers, the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists . "Astronaut" technically applies to all human space travelers regardless of nationality. However, astronauts fielded by Russia or
3752-694: The International Space Station (ISS). The day started with a firing of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engine, called the NC2 burn, to help Discovery catch up to the ISS. Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialist Al Drew began the day performing an inspection of the Re-enforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels with the Orbital Boom Sensor System (OBSS). Lindsey and Boe started
3886-423: The International Space Station (ISS). The microgravity conditions aboard the space station provide an ideal opportunity for robots like R2 to work with astronauts. Although the robot's primary initial task is teaching engineers how dexterous robots behave in space, it may eventually, through upgrades and advancements, assist spacewalking astronauts to perform scientific work once it has been verified as functional on
4020-495: The International Space Station : The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959. Early in the space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven ) had any university degree, in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection
4154-604: The Kármán line , at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 80 kilometres (50 mi) are awarded astronaut wings . As of 17 November 2016 , 552 people from 36 countries have reached 100 km (62 mi) or more in altitude, of whom 549 reached low Earth orbit or beyond. Of these, 24 people have traveled beyond low Earth orbit, either to lunar orbit,
Robonaut - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-693: The Malay term angkasawan (deriving from angkasa meaning 'space') was used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program (note its similarity with the Indonesian term antariksawan ). Plans of the Indian Space Research Organisation to launch its crewed Gaganyaan spacecraft have spurred at times public discussion if another term than astronaut should be used for the crew members, suggesting vyomanaut (from
4422-846: The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which astronauts (including former ISS commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka ) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in medical and high school students. It
4556-474: The People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps astronauts and their foreign counterparts are all officially called hángtiānyuán ( 航天员 , meaning "heaven navigator" or literally " heaven-sailing staff"). Since 1961, 600 astronauts have flown in space. Until 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military or by civilian space agencies. With the suborbital flight of
4690-724: The Sanskrit word vyoman meaning 'sky' or 'space') or gagannaut (from the Sanskrit word gagan for 'sky'). In Finland , the NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra , a Finnish American , has sometimes been referred to as sisunautti , from the Finnish word sisu . Across Germanic languages, the word for "astronaut" typically translates to "space traveler", as it does with German's Raumfahrer , Dutch's ruimtevaarder , Swedish's rymdfarare , and Norwegian's romfarer . As of 2021 in
4824-611: The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. On 30 May 2020, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken became the first astronauts to launch on a private crewed spacecraft, Crew Dragon . The youngest person to reach space is Oliver Daemen , who was 18 years and 11 months old when he made a suborbital spaceflight on Blue Origin NS-16 . Daemen, who was a commercial passenger aboard the New Shepard , broke the record of Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov , who
4958-572: The Soviet Union are typically known instead as cosmonauts (from the Russian "kosmos" (космос), meaning "space", also borrowed from Greek κόσμος ). Comparatively recent developments in crewed spaceflight made by China have led to the rise of the term taikonaut (from the Mandarin "tàikōng" ( 太空 ), meaning "space"), although its use is somewhat informal and its origin is unclear. In China,
5092-648: The Weather Channel , WBZ radio in Boston, Massachusetts , WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia , and WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina . The crew also completed more cargo transfers to and from the ISS. Throughout the day, Drew and Bowen prepared tools that they would use on their spacewalk on Flight Day 5. Later in the day, they were joined by the shuttle crew and ISS commander Kelly and Flight Engineer Nespoli, for
5226-498: The planet Mars , may substantially damage the gastrointestinal tissues of astronauts. The studies support earlier work that found such journeys could significantly damage the brains of astronauts, and age them prematurely. Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the International Space Station (ISS) of five Enterobacter bugandensis bacterial strains, none pathogenic to humans, that microorganisms on ISS should be carefully monitored to continue assuring
5360-543: The " Vomit Comet ," the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a C-9 ) which perform parabolic flights. Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet aircraft out of Ellington Field , due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center . Ellington Field
5494-546: The 100 kilometers (54 nautical miles) line, qualifying him by the international definition of spaceflight. Walker had joined the US Army Air Force but was not a member during his flight. The first people in space who had never been a member of any country's armed forces were both Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov aboard Voskhod 1 . The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg ,
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5628-486: The Arizona desert. In 2006, the automotive company General Motors expressed interest in the project and proposed to team up with NASA. In 2007 a Space Act Agreement was signed that allowed GM and NASA to work together on the next generation of Robonaut. In February 2010, Robonaut 2 (R2) was revealed to the public. R2 is capable of speeds more than four times faster than R1, is more compact, more dexterous, and includes
5762-540: The Astronaut Office position to Peggy Whitson in order to lead the mission. For the first time, two mission crew members were in space when a crew assignment announcement was made, as Nicole Stott and Michael Barratt were aboard the ISS as part of the Expedition 20 crew. During STS-133, Alvin Drew became the last African-American astronaut to fly on the Space Shuttle, as no African-Americans were among
5896-582: The ET near the SRB Thrust Beam where the fracture(s) occurred. External Tank Photogrammetry Team used two full-field Optical Strain systems, specifically configured for the tests by NASA Glenn and Trilion Quality Systems. The Trilion Optical Strain systems (ARAMIS) measured the full-field displacements and strains of the ET from the cryogenic fuel loading during the 6-hour test (see data images). The Trilion Optical Strain cameras were fiber optically linked to
6030-409: The Earth was John Glenn , aboard Friendship 7 on 20 February 1962. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride , during Space Shuttle Challenger 's mission STS-7 , on 18 June 1983. In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space aboard STS-47 . Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to conduct an extravehicular activity (EVA), (commonly called
6164-533: The European Space Agency envisioned recruiting an astronaut with a physical disability, a category they called "parastronauts", with the intention but not guarantee of spaceflight. The categories of disability considered for the program were individuals with lower limb deficiency (either through amputation or congenital), leg length difference, or a short stature (less than 130 centimetres or 4 feet 3 inches). On 23 November 2022, John McFall
6298-401: The ISS's strict flammability requirements. Shielding was added to reduce electromagnetic interference and onboard processors were upgraded to increase R2's radiation tolerance. The original fans were replaced with quieter ones to accommodate the station's restrictive noise environment, and the power system was rewired to run on the station's direct current system. Tests were conducted to make sure
6432-763: The ISS, and was launched with a near-full load of payloads. The construction of the Leonardo MPLM by the Italian Space Agency commenced in April 1996. In August 1998, after the completion of primary construction, Leonardo was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). In March 2001, Leonardo made its first mission on Discovery as part of the STS-102 flight. The liftoff of Leonardo inside Discovery' s payload bay on STS-102 marked
6566-621: The K u band antenna for high-speed communications with Mission Control. While the K u band antenna was being activated, Alvin Drew and Pilot Eric Boe activated the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), also known as the Canadarm . Later in the day, imagery of the External Tank during launch was downlinked for analysis. Flight Day 2 saw the crew of Discovery begin their preparations to dock with
6700-514: The Moon during the Apollo 13 emergency. The first civilian in space was Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6 (she also became the first woman in space on that mission). Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the USSR's Air Force, which did not accept female pilots at that time. A month later, Joseph Albert Walker became the first American civilian in space when his X-15 Flight 90 crossed
6834-555: The OMS engines. Engineers replaced an Air Half Coupling (AHC) flight cap. However, the new cap failed to solve the problem since vapor checks still showed signs of a leak. An aspirator was activated to collect the vapor at the leak-site allowing work to continue in other locations around the aft segment of Discovery . It was believed that the leak was in the crossfeed flange area – a problem with associated seals. On October 18, 2010, after an afternoon review, engineers were asked to double-check
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#17327732415146968-455: The Russian kosmonavt, such as the Polish : kosmonauta (although Poles also used astronauta , and the two words are considered synonyms). Coinage of the term космонавт has been credited to Soviet aeronautics (or " cosmonautics ") pioneer Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974). The first cosmonaut was Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin , also the first person in space. He was part of
7102-588: The SRMS could not reach it due to clearance issues, and it needed to be moved out of the way so that the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) could be removed from the payload bay. After the OBSS handoff, the entire STS-133 crew was joined by ISS Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli for a series of in-flight media interviews. The interviews were conducted with
7236-568: The Space Flight Awareness Award, and Trilion's Tim Schmidt, the Silver Snoopy Award, by astronaut Mike Foreman. The insulation was cut away for additional inspection, revealing two additional 9-inch metal cracks on either side of an underlying structural rib called "stringer S-7-2". NASA managers then decided to cut away additional foam and observed two more cracks on a stringer known as S-6-2 adjacent to
7370-724: The Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), which was being controlled by Boe and Drew, while the SSRMS moved to the Mobile Base System (MBS). Once there, the SSRMS took ELC-4 back from the SSRMS, and installed it at its location on the S3 truss location. ELC-4 was installed in its final location at 03:22 UTC on February 27. While the robotic transfer was going on, Bowen and Lindsey were transferring items that were needed for Flight Day 4 and
7504-474: The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the National Air and Space Museum in northern Virginia. [2] NASA's experience with R2 on the station will help them understand its capabilities for possible deep space missions. In late 2009, a proposed mission called Project M was announced by Johnson Space Center that, if it had been approved, would have had the objective of landing an R2 robot on the Moon within 1,000 days. Astronauts An astronaut (from
7638-483: The TCDT, the crew also received a briefing from NASA engineers, outlining the work that had been carried out on Discovery during the STS-133 processing flow. After successfully completing all the TCDT tasks, the crew returned to the Johnson Space Center on October 15, 2010. Flying aboard NASA T-38 training jets , the six astronauts returned to Kennedy Space Center on October 28, 2010, for final pre-launch preparations. On January 15, 2011, Timothy Kopra, scheduled as
7772-558: The United States, astronaut status is conferred on a person depending on the authorizing agency: On July 20, 2021, the FAA issued an order redefining the eligibility criteria to be an astronaut in response to the private suborbital spaceflights of Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson . The new criteria states that one must have "[d]emonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety" to qualify as an astronaut. This new definition excludes Bezos and Branson. The first human in space
7906-431: The beginning of EVA 1. During the EVA, Bowen and Drew installed a power cable linking the Unity and Tranquility modules in order to provide a contingency power source, should it become required. They then moved a failed ammonia pump, which was replaced in August 2010, from its temporary location to the External Stowage Platform 2 . Later, operations with the SSRMS robotic arm were delayed to due technical problems with
8040-406: The condition of the hardware did not match the observations documented when it was installed on the external tank inside the VAB. On the morning of November 12, teams began installing a new GUCP and completed the GUCP work over the next two days. The new plate was previously fit checked on the external tank at the Michoud Assembly Facility and yielded substantially better concentricity values than
8174-416: The confirmation of a November 1, 2010, target launch date, with fuel reloading into the OMS tanks beginning on the morning of October 24, 2010. On November 2, while readying Discovery for launch, engineers reported an electrical issue on the backup Main Engine Controller (MEC) mounted on Engine No. 3 (SSME-3). Earlier in the morning, engineers said that the problem had been solved, however, another glitch in
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#17327732415148308-535: The control room in the Launch Control Center 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the launch pad, where the data was monitored during the test. Trilion Quality Systems worked with NASA Marshall over the next week to understand the data, compare with ET computer models, allowing NASA to understand the failure modes and to be able implement the repairs. The Optical Strain patterning was still on the ET during launch on February 24, 2011, travelling with it into space. The External Tank Photogrammetry Team was, later that year, awarded
8442-417: The crew and the launch team that simulated the final hours up until launch. During the TCDT, the crew went through a number of exercises that included rescue training and a launch day simulation that included everything that would happen on launch day – except the launch. Commander Steve Lindsey and Pilot Eric Boe also performed abort landings and other flight aspects in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). For
8576-480: The crews of STS-134 and STS-135 . Having flown onboard Atlantis ' STS-132 mission, Bowen became the first and the only NASA astronaut to be launched on two consecutive missions, until Doug Hurley launched aboard Crew Dragon Demo-2 in May 2020, after having previously launched on STS-135 . On October 12, 2010, the STS-133 crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center to conduct the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The TCDT consisted of training for both
8710-456: The day. The hatches were finally opened at 21:16 UTC, and the Expedition 26 crew greeted the crew of STS-133. After the welcome ceremony and safety briefing, the crew's main task of the day was to transfer the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC-4). ELC-4 was taken out of Discovery's payload bay by the Space Station Remote Manipulator (SSRMS), also known as Canadarm2 , which was operated by Nicole Stott and Michael Barratt. The SSRMS handed it to
8844-406: The end of the day, another OMS engine firing, known as the NC3 burn, took place. The orbiter docked to the ISS on Flight Day 3, marking the 13th time Discovery had visited the ISS. The docking occurred on time at 19:14 UTC . A hard mate between the two vehicles was delayed by about 40 minutes because of relative motion between the station and shuttle, thus putting the crew behind the timeline for
8978-463: The external tank and, to a lesser extent, the payload. The launch, initially scheduled for September 2010, was pushed back to October, then to November, then finally to February 2011. STS-133 left Leonardo (named after the famed Italian Renaissance inventor Leonardo da Vinci ), one of the three Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs), on the space station as a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM). PMM Leonardo added much-needed storage space on
9112-419: The external tank for the November 5 launch attempt. The cracks in the tank were the first to be found at the launch pad. In December 2010, with the Shuttle still on the launch pad, a full tanking test was performed to understand that failure modes of the SOFI foam fracturing. The ET Tanking Test involved a full flight loading of the ET (External Tank) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuels, while monitoring
9246-409: The external tank is loaded with liquid hydrogen, the air trapped in the foam first liquifies. During the ride into orbit, as the hydrogen level in the tank drops, it warms up and the liquefied air turns back into a gas. The pressure generated due to the state change of hydrogen can cause parts of foam in the tank to come off. Once on orbit, the crew of STS-133 opened the payload bay doors and activated
9380-517: The first Asian in space when he flew aboard Soyuz 37 . Also in 1980, Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first person of Hispanic and black African descent to fly in space, and in 1983, Guion Bluford became the first African American to fly into space. In April 1985, Taylor Wang became the first ethnic Chinese person in space. The first person born in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry (France), in 1985. In 1985, Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud became
9514-437: The first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, and thus became the first "American cosmonaut". In Chinese, the term Yǔ háng yuán ( 宇航员 , "cosmos navigating personnel") is used for astronauts and cosmonauts in general, while hángtiān yuán ( 航天员 , "navigating celestial-heaven personnel") is used for Chinese astronauts. Here, hángtiān ( 航天 , literally "heaven-navigating", or spaceflight )
9648-551: The first Arab Muslim astronaut in space. In 1988, Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan to reach space, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station. With the increase of seats on the Space Shuttle, the U.S. began taking international astronauts. In 1983, Ulf Merbold of West Germany became the first non-US citizen to fly in a US spacecraft. In 1984, Marc Garneau became the first of eight Canadian astronauts to fly in space (through 2010). In 1985, Rodolfo Neri Vela became
9782-418: The first Mexican-born person in space. In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton to fly in space. In 2002, Mark Shuttleworth became the first citizen of an African country to fly in space, as a paying spaceflight participant. In 2003, Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli to fly in space, although he died during a re-entry accident . On 15 October 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on
9916-543: The first of seven MPLM flights prior to STS-133. With the landing of Discovery after the STS-131 mission, Leonardo was transferred back to the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. Leonardo began receiving modifications and reconfigurations immediately to convert it for permanent attachment to the space station and to facilitate on-orbit maintenance. Some equipment
10050-698: The first person in space twice. Space travelers have spent over 41,790 man-days (114.5-man-years) in space, including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks . As of 2024 , the man with the longest cumulative time in space is Oleg Kononenko , who has spent over 1100 days in space. Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman, at 675 days. In 1959, when both the United States and Soviet Union were planning, but had yet to launch humans into space, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and his Deputy Administrator, Hugh Dryden , discussed whether spacecraft crew members should be called astronauts or cosmonauts . Dryden preferred "cosmonaut", on
10184-507: The first six Soviet citizens, with German Titov , Yevgeny Khrunov , Andriyan Nikolayev , Pavel Popovich , and Grigoriy Nelyubov , who were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961. Valentina Tereshkova was the first female cosmonaut and the first and youngest woman to have flown in space with a solo mission on the Vostok 6 in 1963. On 14 March 1995, Norman Thagard became
10318-444: The first time while in low earth orbit. This was called a "power soak" which is a power system test only with no movement. On October 13, R2 moved for the first time while in space. The conditions aboard the space station provide a proving ground for robots to work shoulder to shoulder with people in microgravity. Once this has been demonstrated inside the station, software upgrades and lower bodies may be added, allowing R2 to move around
10452-475: The gaseous hydrogen from the tank to the flare stack. Controllers decided to stop valve cycling in order to increase the pressure and attempt to force a seal before attempting to complete the fast-fill process. At this stage, the leak spiked and remained at the highest 60,000 ppm level (likely even at a higher value), indicating a serious problem with the GUCP's seal. Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach characterized
10586-434: The grounds that flights would occur in and to the broader cosmos , while the "astro" prefix suggested flight specifically to the stars . Most NASA Space Task Group members preferred "astronaut", which survived by common usage as the preferred American term. When the Soviet Union launched the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin in 1961, they chose a term which anglicizes to "cosmonaut". A professional space traveler
10720-428: The inspection on the starboard wing and nose cap, and continued on with the port wing; the whole survey took about six hours to complete. Drew joined up with Michael Barratt and Steve Bowen to checkout and get their two Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) ready for the two spacewalks that would be conducted during the mission. Later in the day, the crew checked out the rendezvous tools to ensure they were operational. At
10854-465: The interior of the station and perform maintenance tasks, such as vacuuming or cleaning filters. A pair of legs were delivered to the ISS on SpX-3 in April 2014. The battery backpack was planned to be launched on a later flight in Summer/Fall 2014. Further upgrades could be added to allow R2 to work outside in the vacuum of space, where R2 could help spacewalkers perform repairs, make additions to
10988-521: The launch of Apollo 13 . STS-133 was originally manifested for launch on September 16, 2010. In June 2010, the launch date was moved to the end of October 2010 and the mission was set to take place before STS-134, which in turn had been rescheduled to February 2011. STS-133 had the longest vertical flow period (170 days) since STS-35 (185 days). Discovery was moved from its hangar in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to
11122-430: The launch window available in early December would be passed up, with a new target of December 17 set, but cautioned that the launch could slip into February 2011. After reviewing the space station's December traffic model following the realigned Johannes Kepler ATV 's launch date, NASA had identified a potential launch window in mid-/late-December 2010. The December 17, 2010, date was preferred because it would have allowed
11256-447: The lead spacewalker for the mission at the time, was injured in a bicycle accident near his Houston -area home, reportedly breaking his hip . He was replaced by Stephen Bowen on January 19, 2011. The replacement did not affect the targeted launch date. This is to date the closest to a scheduled launch that a Space Shuttle crewmember has been replaced. During the Apollo program , Jack Swigert replaced Ken Mattingly three days prior to
11390-411: The leak as "significant," similar to what was seen on STS-119 and STS-127 , although the rate was higher in magnitude and occurred earlier in the fueling process. After the day required to make the tank safe by purging remaining hydrogen gas with helium gas, NASA engineers prepared for the disconnection of the vent arm and the significant number of lines prior to taking their first look at the GUCP. On
11524-505: The long-duration six person crew of Expedition 26 , who were already aboard the space station. About a month before lift-off, one of the original crew members, Tim Kopra , was injured in a bicycle accident. He was replaced by Stephen Bowen . The mission transported several items to the space station, including the Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo , which was left permanently docked to one of
11658-514: The lunar surface, or, in one case, a loop around the Moon . Three of the 24— Jim Lovell , John Young and Eugene Cernan —did so twice. As of 17 November 2016 , under the U.S. definition, 558 people qualify as having reached space, above 50 miles (80 km) altitude. Of eight X-15 pilots who exceeded 50 miles (80 km) in altitude, only one, Joseph A. Walker , exceeded 100 kilometers (about 62.1 miles) and he did it two times, becoming
11792-432: The mission's first extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk, on Flight Day 5. After waking up at 06:23 EST, the crew immediately began EVA preparations. A conference was held between the crew of the station and Mission Control at about 08:20 EST, followed by further EVA preparation work, including the depressurization of the airlock. Bowen and Drew switched their spacesuits to internal battery power at 10:46 EST, marking
11926-459: The near-weightlessness of space. Microorganisms have been observed to survive the vacuum of outer space. On 31 December 2012, a NASA -supported study reported that human spaceflight may harm the brain and accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease . In October 2015, the NASA Office of Inspector General issued a health hazards report related to space exploration , including
12060-510: The nearby 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on September 9, 2010. The shuttle emerged from OPF-3 at 06:54 EDT and the rollover was done at 10:46 EDT when Discovery came to a rest in the VAB's transfer aisle. The quarter-mile trip between the OPF-3 and VAB was the 41st rollover for Discovery. The rollover was originally planned at 06:30 EDT on September 8, 2010. The move did not commence due to
12194-478: The night of November 9, technicians began disconnecting the GUCP by unhooking and lowering the hydrogen vent line. Teams performed an initial inspection of the flight seal and a quick disconnect prior to sending them to labs for thorough engineering analysis. Engineers reported an unevenly (asymmetrically) compressed internal seal and the quick disconnect hardware also seemed to have a less concentric fit than pre-fueling measurements indicated. Inspections also confirmed
12328-588: The notable exceptions of France and Austria participating in Soyuz TM-7 and Soyuz TM-13 , respectively. An example is Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek , the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States , who flew to space in 1978 on a Soyuz-U rocket. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to travel to space. He was launched aboard Soyuz T-11 , on 2 April 1984. On 23 July 1980, Pham Tuan of Vietnam became
12462-551: The option open for a launch window for 17 December, but a lot of data has to come together to support that". The launch date of February 24, 2011, was officially set after the Flight Readiness Review meeting on February 18, 2011. Reviews of previous problems, including the GUP vent line connection, external tank foam and external tank stringer cracks, were found to be positive. Additionally, flight rules which required
12596-420: The orbiter was rotated vertically. The orbiter was lifted into the high bay where its external tank (ET-137) and boosters were waiting to be mated. During the mating operations, an internal nut pre-positioned inside the aft compartment of the orbiter slipped out of position and fell away inside the compartment. Engineers initially were worried that the orbiter would have to be removed from the ET and placed back in
12730-477: The orbiter's docking system. SpaceX took data in parallel with Discovery' s Trajectory Control Sensor (TCS) system. Both the TCS and DragonEye "looked" at the retroreflectors that are on the station. After the mission, SpaceX compared the data DragonEye collected against the data collected by the TCS to evaluate DragonEye's performance. The sensor was installed onto Discovery two weeks later than planned, following
12864-439: The pad. However, the shuttle began the 3.4-mile trek from the VAB to the pad earlier than planned at about at 19:23 EDT on September 20, 2010. Discovery took about six hours to arrive at Pad 39A. The shuttle was secured on the launch pad by 01:49 EDT the next day. On October 14, 2010, engineers at the launch pad first discovered a small leak in a propellant line for Discovery 's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines. The leak
12998-564: The position and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken trips in space , based on MRI studies . Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated with greater brain changes. Being in space can be physiologically deconditioning on the body. It can affect the otolith organs and adaptive capabilities of the central nervous system . Zero gravity and cosmic rays can cause many implications for astronauts. In October 2018, NASA -funded researchers found that lengthy journeys into outer space , including travel to
13132-459: The previous Robonaut generation is that R2 does not need constant supervision. In anticipation of a future destination in which distance and time delays would make continuous management problematic, R2 was designed to be set to tasks and then carry them through autonomously with periodic status checks. While not all human range of motion and sensitivity has been duplicated, the robot's hand has 12 degrees of freedom as well as 2 degrees of freedom in
13266-487: The privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut . The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary, with some focus on the point where the atmosphere becomes so thin that centrifugal force , rather than aerodynamic force , carries a significant portion of the weight of the flight object. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed
13400-569: The pulsed laser navigation sensor was the third time a Space Shuttle provided assistance to the commercial space company SpaceX , following STS-127 and STS-129 . The DragonEye on STS-133 incorporated several design and software improvements from the version flown on STS-127 to provide increased performance. Its inclusion on STS-133 was part of a final test run ahead of being fully implemented on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft , which had its maiden flight in December 2010. The navigation sensor provides
13534-411: The right OMS crossfeed flange, after the education (a vacuum-related procedure, used to completely clear the plumbing of the toxic MMH) of the plumbing was completed ahead of the schedule by over a day. Later, testing indicated that the new seals were properly seated and holding pressure with no signs of additional seepage. Normal pad operations commenced soon after allowing managers to press forward with
13668-419: The robot could both endure the harsh conditions in space and exist in it without doing damage. R2 also underwent vibration testing that simulated the conditions it would experience during its launch onboard Discovery . The robot weighs 300 pounds (140 kg) and is made out of nickel-plated carbon fiber and aluminum. The height of R2 from waist to head is 3 feet 3.7 inches (100.8 cm), and it has
13802-490: The robot's radiation tolerance, the original fans were replaced with quieter ones to accommodate the station's noise requirements, and the power system was rewired to run on the station's direct current system rather than the alternating current used on the ground. In the design of the R2 robot, a 3D time of flight imager will be used in conjunction with a stereo camera pair to provide depth information and visible stereo images to
13936-462: The shuttle remained on the pad. An environmental enclosure was erected around the known damage site to facilitate the ongoing repairs and eventually to apply fresh foam insulation. On November 18, as part of the repairs, technicians installed new sections of metal, called "doublers" because they are twice as thick as the original stringer metal providing additional strength, to replace the two cracked stringers on Discovery 's external tank. Scanning of
14070-405: The shuttle to carry more stored oxygen to the International Space Station to help it deal with oxygen generation issues, which the crew had dealt with for several months. "What we've told the agency leadership is that clearly we're not ready for the 3 to 7 December window that's coming up next week," John Shannon, NASA's SSP manager, said in a news conference held after the special PCRB. "We'll leave
14204-567: The space station. It was the first humanoid robot in space, and was stowed on board the Leonardo PMM. Once Robonaut2 was unpacked, it began initial operation inside the Destiny module for operational testing, but over time, both its location and its applications could expand. Robonaut2 was initially designed as a prototype to be used on Earth. For its journey to the ISS, R2 received a few upgrades. Outer skin materials were exchanged to meet
14338-552: The spacewalk on Flight Day 5. On Flight Day 4, Stott and Barratt grappled the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) using the Canadarm2 and removed it from the starboard sill of Discovery's payload bay. Once it was grappled and out of the payload bay, the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System grappled the end of the OBSS and took a handoff from the Canadarm2. The OBSS was grappled by the space station arm, because
14472-402: The station or conduct scientific experiments. There were initially no plans to return the launched R2 to earth. NASA announced on 1 April 2018 that R2 would return to Earth in May 2018 with CRS-14 Dragon for repair and eventual relaunch in about a year's time. As of 2018 NASA planned to return R2 for repairs and then relaunch.But as of 2024 it has not been launched into space and is on display at
14606-434: The station's ports. The shuttle also carried the third of four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers to the ISS, as well as a humanoid robot called Robonaut . The mission marked both the 133rd flight of the Space Shuttle program and the 39th and final flight of Discovery , with the orbiter completing a cumulative total of a whole year (365 days) in space. The mission was affected by a series of delays due to technical problems with
14740-448: The stringers on the liquid oxygen/intertank flange was completed on November 23. NASA also performed backscatter scanning of the lower liquid hydrogen/intertank flange stringers on November 29. Program managers identified the analysis and repairs that were required to safely launch the shuttle, and this analysis was reviewed at a special Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) held on November 24. Managers announced at that meeting that
14874-420: The system raised concerns and additional troubleshooting was ordered. Troubleshooting followed and indicated the problem was related to "transient contamination" in a circuit breaker. NASA Test Director Steve Payne, addressing reporters, told that after troubleshooting and power cycles, the controller powered up normally. However, at the same time the problem was thought to be a non-issue, an unexpected voltage drop
15008-449: The system. This allows the R2 to "see", which is one of the basic preconditions to fulfill its tasks. To integrate the various sensor data types in a single development environment, the image processing software Halcon 9.0 from MVTec Software (Munich, Germany [1] ) is used. Robonaut 2 was launched on STS-133 on February 24, 2011, and delivered to the ISS . On August 22, R2 was powered up for
15142-400: The tank to the flare stack, where it was burned off. All had been proceeding to plan with the tank "fast filled" during tanking, until the first leak indication was revealed. Firstly, a 33,000 ppm leak then reduced to a level below 20,000 ppm was recorded. The Launch Commit Criteria limit was 40–44,000 ppm. The leak was only being observed during the cycling of the vent valve to "open" to release
15276-600: The term astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps . By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its predecessor, the Soviet space program ) is called a cosmonaut in English texts. The word is an Anglicization of kosmonavt (Russian: космонавт Russian pronunciation: [kəsmɐˈnaft] ). Other countries of the former Eastern Bloc use variations of
15410-616: The term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. This is the term used by Xinhua News Agency in the English version of the Chinese People's Daily since the advent of the Chinese space program. The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih ( 趙裡昱 ) from Malaysia used it in newsgroups . For its 2022 Astronaut Group ,
15544-403: The torque on six bolts around the suspected leaky flange fitting and tighten if necessary. Subsequent leak tests showed again signs of seepage, and the task of solving the issue required the draining of both the left and right OMS tanks of the shuttle and a unique in-situ repair at the pad to avoid a rollback. On October 23, 2010, engineers completed the removal and replacement of the two seals on
15678-415: The two original cracks. They were found on the far left of removed foam on the flange area between the intertank and the liquid oxygen tank. However, these cracks appeared to have suffered less stress than the others found. No cracks were found in stringers on the right side. NASA suspected the use of a lightweight aluminum-lithium alloy in the tanks contributed to the crack problem. Repairs commenced while
15812-430: The unavailability of fire suppression systems because of a broken water main near the VAB and turn basin that runs out to the shuttle launch pads. The two SRBs were designated as flight set 122 by contractor Alliant Techsystems and were made up from one new segment and remaining segments reused across 54 earlier shuttle missions dating back to STS-1 . Inside the VAB, engineers attached a large sling to Discovery and
15946-461: The wrist. The R2 model also uses touch sensors at the tips of its fingers. R2 was designed as a prototype to be used on Earth, but mission managers were impressed by R2 and chose to send it to the ISS. Various upgrades were made to qualify it for use inside the station. The outer skin materials were exchanged to meet the station's flammability requirements, shielding was added to reduce electromagnetic interference, processors were upgraded to increase
16080-487: Was Dennis Tito on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-3 on 28 April 2001. The first person to fly on an entirely privately funded mission was Mike Melvill , piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a suborbital journey, although he was a test pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist. Jared Isaacman was the first person to self-fund a mission to orbit, commanding Inspiration4 in 2021. Nine others have paid Space Adventures to fly to
16214-456: Was 25 years old when he flew Vostok 2 . Titov remains the youngest human to reach orbit ; he rounded the planet 17 times. Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness and the first person to sleep in space, twice. The oldest person to reach space is William Shatner , who was 90 years old when he made a suborbital spaceflight on Blue Origin NS-18 . The oldest person to reach orbit
16348-443: Was Soviet Yuri Gagarin , who was launched on 12 April 1961, aboard Vostok 1 and orbited around the Earth for 108 minutes. The first woman in space was Soviet Valentina Tereshkova , who launched on 16 June 1963, aboard Vostok 6 and orbited Earth for almost three days. Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on 5 May 1961, on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight aboard Freedom 7 . The first American to orbit
16482-508: Was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) by STS-133 in February 2011. The first US-built robot on the ISS, R2 is a robotic torso designed to assist with crew EVAs and can hold tools used by the crew. However, Robonaut 2 does not have adequate protection needed to exist outside the space station and enhancements and modifications would be required to allow it to move around the station's interior. As of 2018 NASA planned to return R2 for repairs and then relaunch. Robonaut 1 (R1)
16616-466: Was detected after they noticed a fishy smell coming from the aft of the shuttle, thought of as a sign of fuel vapor in the air. Upon inspection, the leak was found at a flange located at the interface where two propellant lines met in Discovery 's aft compartment. The line carried monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) propellant, one of two chemicals (the other is an oxidizer, nitrogen tetroxide ) used to ignite
16750-550: Was initially limited to military pilots. The earliest astronauts for both the US and the USSR tended to be jet fighter pilots, and were often test pilots. Once selected, NASA astronauts go through twenty months of training in a variety of areas, including training for extravehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory . Astronauts-in-training (astronaut candidates) may also experience short periods of weightlessness ( microgravity ) in an aircraft called
16884-534: Was initially set for 16:50:24 EST, but was delayed for 3 minutes by a minor glitch in a computer system used by the Range Safety Officer (RSO) for the Eastern Range . Once Discovery was cleared for launch, it took 8 minutes and 34 seconds to reach orbit. At approximately four minutes into the flight, a piece of foam was seen breaking away from the External Tank. This foam was deemed not to be
17018-542: Was observed. In a Mission Management Team (MMT) meeting held later that day, managers decided to scrub the launch for at least 24 hours to work towards flight rationale. On November 5, 2010, Discovery 's launch attempt, a hydrogen leak was detected at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) during the fueling process. The plate was an attachment point between the external tank and a 17-inch pipe that carried gaseous hydrogen safely away from
17152-456: Was obtained with the old and removed GUCP. Technicians took extra measurements to ensure the best possible alignment of the newly installed GUCP. Teams began installing the flight seal and quick disconnect on November 15. Additional inspection of the tank revealed cracks in foam insulation in the flange between the intertank and liquid oxygen tank. The cracks are believed to have occurred about an hour after super-cold propellants began flowing into
17286-449: Was removed to reduce the overall weight of Leonardo . These removals resulted in a net weight loss of 178.1 lb (80.8 kg). Additional modifications to Leonardo included the installation of upgraded multi-layer insulation (MLI) and Micro Meteoroid Orbital Debris (MMOD) shielding to increase the ability of the PMM to handle potential impacts of micrometeoroids or orbital debris ;
17420-468: Was selected to be the first ESA parastronaut. With the rise of space tourism , NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term " spaceflight participant " to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies. While no nation other than Russia (and previously the Soviet Union), the United States, and China have launched
17554-598: Was the Zero-G Leg, which if Robonaut was working on the space station he would climb using the external handrails and then use his zero-g leg to latch onto the station using a WIF socket. Another was the Robotic Mobility Platform (RMP), developed in 2003, it is a base with two wheels using a Segway PT . And the four wheeled Centaur 1, which was developed in 2006. Robonaut has participated in NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies field trials in
17688-515: Was the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950, and the subsequent founding of the International Astronautical Federation the following year. NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps . The European Space Agency similarly uses
17822-427: Was the first model. The two Robonaut versions (R1A and R1B) had many partners including DARPA . None were flown to space. Other designs for Robonaut propose uses for teleoperation on planetary surfaces, where Robonaut could explore a planetary surface while receiving instructions from orbiting astronauts above. Robonaut B was introduced in 2002, R1B is a portable version of R1. R1 had several lower bodies. One of these
17956-543: Was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied in 1784 to balloonists . An early use of "astronaut" in a non-fiction publication is Eric Frank Russell 's poem "The Astronaut", appearing in the November 1934 Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society . The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community
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