STS-217
| STS-217 | |||||
Mission insignia | |||||
| Mission statistics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission name | STS-217 | ||||
| Space shuttle | Horizon | ||||
| Launch pad | Kennedy LC-39C | ||||
| Launch date | 24 April, 2017 | ||||
| Landing | 8 May, 2017 | ||||
| Orbital period | 97 min | ||||
| Orbital altitude | 600 kilometers (373 miles) | ||||
| Orbital inclination | 28.5° | ||||
| Related missions | |||||
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STS-217, or HST-SM5 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 5), was the sixth space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which was flown by Space Shuttle Horizon. Launch occurred on 24 April, 2017 at 12:01 pm EST. Landing occurred successfully on 8 May, 2017 at 10:38 am EST.
The mission carried two new instruments to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Advanced Multi-Object Spectrometer and the Advanced Camera for Surveys 2. The mission also replaced the telescope's main computer, a Fine Guidance Sensor and two battery unit modules. The crew also installed new thermal insulation panels. In conjunction with STS-211, which raised Hubble's orbit to 374 miles (601.9 km), the mission was intended to allow the telescope to continue operating until at least 2022.
Contents
Crew
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Roger Mason Fourth spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Sarah Engels Fourth spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Sandra Harris Second spaceflight EV3 | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Yuma Tazuka Fourth spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Ehud Shalom,  IsraelThird spaceflight Lead spacewalker, EV1 | |
| Mission Specialist 4 | Sonya Alvarez Third spaceflight EV2 | |
| Mission Specialist 5 | Ricky L. Wilson First spaceflight EV4 | |
Mission history
Following STS-125 and the subsequent retirement of the NASA Space Shuttle fleet, no additional flights to the Hubble Telescope were planned. NASA's original end of mission plan for the telescope was to retrieve it using Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-144, however this plan was cancelled following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
The International Space Agency had originally planned to recover the telescope in a mission similar to STS-144, and plans were in work to use a modified Space Shuttle orbiter in order to return the telescope for display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. or at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Plans were finalized in 2014 for recovery using a modified version of the Flight Support Structure (FSS) designed to hold the telescope inside of the payload bay during repairs. The modified FSS would have been detachable and discarded, along with the solar arrays. Following a petition from scientists and technicians at the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Johnson Space Center and the McGregor Space Center, and due to the increasing complexity of the mission, the numerous modifications required to the Shuttle in order to allow for the mission, and due to safety concerns, ISA managers officially cancelled the Hubble Recovery Mission on August 23, 2014. The crew and Shuttle assigned to the mission were reassigned to STS-217, which was changed to become the fifth servicing flight to the telescope, and the first ISA flight to it in cooperation with NASA.
Mission payload
| Location | Cargo | Mass |
|---|---|---|
| Bays 1–2 | Orbiter Docking System EMUs 4008, 4012, 2018, 4022 |
1,800 kilograms (4,000 lb) ~480 kilograms (1,060 lb) |
| Bay 3P | Shuttle Power Distribution Unit (SPDU) |
~17 kilograms (37 lb) |
| Bays 4–5 | SLIC/COPE with Advanced Camera for Surveys 2 |
2,990 kilograms (6,590 lb) |
| Bays 7–8 | ORUC COS/RSU/FGS Advanced Multi-Object Spectrometer Fine Guidance Sensor |
3,339 kilograms (7,361 lb) |
| Bay 10P | GABA/MFR | ~50 kilograms (110 lb) |
| Bay 10P | GABA/PFR | ~50 kilograms (110 lb) |
| Bay 11 | HST-FSS/BAPS Berthing and Positioning Sys |
2,177 kilograms (4,799 lb) |
| Bay 12 | MULE RNS, NOBL blankets |
1,409 kilograms (3,106 lb) |
| Starboard Sill | Orbiter Boom Sensor System | ~382 kilograms (842 lb) |
| Port Sill | Canadarm | ~410 kilograms (900 lb) |
| Total: | 13,104 kilograms (28,889 lb) |
The mission replaced two instruments on Hubble with upgraded replacements. The first instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys 2 (ACS2), replaced the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). ACS failed multiple times from 2006-2007 due to electrical system failures. Two of the instrument's channels were returned to service in 2009 following spacewalks performed on STS-125, but the High Resolution Channel (HRC) remained offline. ACS2 was designed as an advanced replacement, utilizing new electrical systems intended to be more reliable than those on ACS and using new sensors and filters to improve the resolution and sensitivity of the telescope. The second instrument, the Advanced Multi-Object Spectrometer (AMOS), replaced the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). NICMOS failed in 2008 following multiple issues with the onboard cooling systems and was largely replaced by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Hubble was never originally designed for near-infrared operations and required onboard cooling systems specifically for NICMOS in order to compensate for the telescope's warm operating environment. The James Webb Space Telescope operates in infrared frequencies at much higher resolution than Hubble, which led designers to abandon IR features for AMOS. The new instrument uses multiple high resolution channels operating from near infrared to ultraviolet frequencies to study objects in unprecedented detail.
The telescope's main hardware was upgraded by replacing a Fine Guidance Sensor which controls the positioning of the telescope, replacing batteries, replacing the onboard computer system with a one based on the RAD750 and installing new insulation blankets.
Shuttle processing
Mission timeline
24 April (Flight day 1, launch)
Extra-vehicular activity
| EVA | Spacewalkers | UTC) | End (UTC) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVA 2 | Sandra Harris Ricky L. Wilson |
29 April 2017 13:22 |
29 April 2017 19:57 |
6 hours, 35 minutes |
| Replaced Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) with Advanced Camera for Surveys 2 and lubricated three of the shroud doors. | ||||
| EVA 3 | Ehud Shalom Sonya Alvarez |
30 April 2017 12:52 |
30 April 2017 21:39 |
8 hours, 47 minutes |
| Began removal of NICMOS Cooling System (NCS), Electronics Support Module (ESM) and external components and stowed them for return. | ||||
| EVA 4 | Sandra Harris Ricky L. Wilson |
1 May 2017 12:45 |
1 May 2017 20:40 |
7 hours, 55 minutes |
| Finished removal of NCS and ESM. Removed NICMOS and replaced with the Advanced Multi-Object Spectrometer (AMOS). | ||||
| EVA 5 | Ehud Shalom Sonya Alvarez |
2 May 2017 12:52 |
2 May 2017 21:12 |
8 hours, 20 minutes |
| Replaced the New Advanced Computer with the Advanced Computer 2 and replaced the first of two battery unit modules. | ||||
| EVA 6 | Sandra Harris Ricky L. Wilson |
3 May 2017 13:10 |
3 May 2017 20:42 |
7 hours, 32 minutes |
| Replaced second battery unit module, replaced Fine Guidance Sensor No. 1, removed insulation panels from bays 1, 3 and 4 and replaced with three New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBLs). | ||||
Wake-up calls
A tradition for American manned spaceflights since the days of Gemini, mission crews are played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
