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STS-99
Space Shuttle Mission
The
@stro object for the week of 01/31/2000
image
courtesy of NASA/Ball Aerospace
STS-99. The
next Space Shuttle mission, due to launch on 02/09/2000, will be
a special mission dedicated to providing highly accurate topographical
maps of most of the surface of Earth. The Shuttle will be crewed
by Pilot Dominic Gorie, Commander Kevin Kregel, and Mission Specialists
Janice Voss, Janet Kavandi, Gerhard Thiele and Mamoru Mohri.
The mission
is called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, or SRTM. The Shuttle
will orbit the Earth ~176 times utilizing a radar system that employs
interferometry. Radar signals will be fired from the end of a mast
extending from the Shuttle and from inside the Shuttle bay simultaneously,
and interference between the beams will be recorded on-board the
Shuttle. It is this interference that will be used to determine
topographic data. The mast is 200 feet long and will be the longest
rigid structure ever deployed in space.
Data from the
mission, which is sponsored by international and domestic partnerships,
will be analyzed for the next two years and will not be available
for consumption by general public due to security concerns.
| Current
information for STS-99: |
| Orbiter
Vehicle: Endeavor/OV-105 |
| Estimated
Launch Date: February 9, 2000 |
| Estimated
Launch Time: TBA |
| Estimated
Landing Date: February 20, 2000 |
| Estimated
Landing Time: TBA |
| Duration
of Mission: 11 days, 4 hours |
more
info on the SRTM...
Universe
Today coverage of STS-99
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