STS-114
STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Discovery launched at 10:39 EDT (14:39 UTC), July 26, 2005. The launch, 907 days (approx. 29 months) after the loss of Columbia, was approved despite unresolved fuel sensor anomalies in the external tank that had prevented the shuttle from launching on July 13, its originally scheduled date.
Discovery performing the first ever rendezvous pitch maneuver during STS-114 | |
| Names | Space Transportation System-114 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Return To Flight, ISS logistics |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2005-026A |
| SATCAT no. | 28775 |
| Mission duration | 13 days, 21 hours, 32 minutes, 48 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 9,300,000 kilometres (5,800,000 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 219 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Launch mass | 121,483 kilograms (267,824 lb) |
| Landing mass | 102,913 kilograms (226,884 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 7 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July 26, 2005, 14:39:00 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39B |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | August 9, 2005, 12:11:22 UTC |
| Landing site | Edwards Runway 22 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 350 kilometres (220 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 355 kilometres (221 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Period | 91.59 minutes |
| Epoch | July 31, 2005 |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | PMA-2 (Destiny forward) |
| Docking date | July 28, 2005 |
| Undocking date | August 6, 2005 |
| Time docked | 8 days, 19 hours, 54 minutes |
|
Back (L-R): Robinson, Thomas, Camarda, Noguchi Front (L–R): Kelly, Lawrence, Collins | |
The mission ended on August 9, 2005, when Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Poor weather over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida hampered the shuttle from using its primary landing site.
Analysis of the launch footage showed debris separating from the external tank during ascent; this was of particular concern because it was the issue that had set off the Columbia disaster. As a result, NASA decided on July 27 to postpone future shuttle flights pending additional modifications to the flight hardware. Shuttle flights resumed a year later with STS-121 on July 4, 2006.