STS-117

2007 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

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Key Takeaways

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.
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.
It was also the heaviest flight of the Space Shuttle.
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.
On June 11, 2007, NASA mission managers announced a two-day extension of the mission, adding a fourth extra-vehicular activity (EVA).

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. It was also the heaviest flight of the Space Shuttle.

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.