Spaceflight Now | STS-106 Mission Report

STS-106/2A.2B • Atlantis Launch date: September 8, 2000 Welcome to Spaceflight Now's comprehensive coverage of shuttle mission STS-106, the next flight to the international space station. This is your gateway to extensive, up-to-the-minute coverage and background information -- including detailed timelines, statistical data and realtime updates -- unavailable anywhere else on the world wide web. These pages will be updated daily to reflect the very latest information so be sure to check in often. Comments, suggestions and corrections welcome!
Mission Stories

Atlantis returns home Plunging through a slightly hazy, moon-lit sky, the space shuttle Atlantis glided home today, closing out a trail-blazing flight to outfit the international space station for arrival of its first full-time crew in just six weeks. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER LANDING GROUND TRACKS DEORBIT AND LANDING OPPORTUNITIES VIDEO: ATLANTIS UNDOCKS FROM STATION

Atlantis parts company with new home in space Shuttle Atlantis gently undocked from the international space station Sunday night, slowly backing away after eight successful days joined to the orbiting outpost. The undocking occurred at 11:46 p.m. EDT while the two craft flew 240 miles above Ukraine. Follow the undocking in our Mission Status Center. MISSION STATUS CENTER STATION READY FOR FIRST CREW UNDOCKING PREVIEW STORY VIDEO: ATLANTIS UNDOCKS FROM STATION

Almost time for Atlantis to pull away from station The Atlantis astronauts re-sealed the international space station early Sunday, turning out the lights and closing a series of hatches behind them as they wrapped up six days of work to outfit and activate the orbital outpost. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 17]

Astronauts prepare to bid farewell to space station The Atlantis astronauts have begun their final day of work outfitting and assembling the international space station. The crew will begin shutting internal hatches and turning out the lights shortly after midnight, starting with a Progress supply ship docked to the far end of the lab complex. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 16 PM]

Assembly required: Setting up space treadmill tricky After a bit of a struggle, the Atlantis astronauts successfully assembled a high-tech vibrationless exercise machine aboard the international space station Saturday, setting the stage for a final day of cleanup work before undocking Sunday night. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 16]

Astronauts give up on fixing faulty station battery After more overnight inspections by the Atlantis astronauts, Russian engineers Friday decided to forego any additional work with a balky battery aboard the international space station's command module, deferring further troubleshooting until the lab's first full-time crew arrives in early November. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 15]

Space station hits battery snag as toilet gets installed In what is becoming a fairly common occurrence, engineers in Russia are troubleshooting apparent problems with one of the eight batteries aboard the international space station's new Zvezda command module. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 14] WILCUTT: ZVEZDA NICE PLACE TO LIVE

Hammer, chisel needed for space station battery work Wielding a hammer and chisel, a U.S. astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut resorted to brute force early Wednesday to remove a poorly placed bracket that was blocking access to a space station electronics bay where a battery needed replacement. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 13]

Shuttle crew enters infant space outpost Wearing protective goggles and breathing masks as a precaution, the Atlantis astronauts floated into the international space station's new Zvezda command module for the first time early Tuesday, opening the door to a new era in space exploration. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 12]

Atlantis astronauts take high-flying spacewalk Working up to 11 stories above the shuttle Atlantis's cargo bay, two high-flying spacewalkers hooked up power and data cables between the international space station and its newest module early Monday to accomplish one of the primary goals of the mission. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 11] PREVIEW STORY SPACEWALK TIMELINE DIAGRAM OF SPACEWALK WIRING JOB JAMMED SOLAR ARRAY IMAGES

Atlantis returns to station with flawless docking Streaking through space at five miles per second, the 120-ton shuttle Atlantis gently docked with the 67-ton international space station Sunday, capping a two-day orbital ballet that began with the shuttle's thundering liftoff Friday from the Kennedy Space Center. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 10]

Atlantis heads for late-night space station rendezvous The shuttle Atlantis closed in on the international space station Saturday while the astronauts checked out their rendezvous computers, activated the shuttle's docking system and tested the spacesuits that will be used Monday during a planned spacewalk. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 9] EXPLANATION OF DOCKING SEQUENCE DOCKING TIMELINE

Atlantis rockets into orbit The shuttle Atlantis dodged coastal showers and blasted into orbit Friday, setting off after the international space station and kicking off the most ambitious shuttle launch schedule since the pre-Challenger era. FULL STORY [Posted: Sept. 8] VIDEO VAULT OF LAUNCH MOVIES UPDATED NASA TV SCHEDULE

Mission Preview

Atlantis to begin ambitious station assembly sequence Shuttle Atlantis is poised for blastoff to the international space station Sept. 8 to outfit and activate the growing lab complex, opening a floodgate of backed-up assembly flights and setting the stage for arrival of the station's first full-time crew. Spaceflight Now will provided unrivaled coverage of the mission starting with a four-part preview. PART 1: OPENING STATION FLOODGATES PART 2: LAUNCH TIMED TO CATCH STATION PART 3: SPACEWALK TO WIRE UP MODULES PART 4: MAKING A HOME IN SPACE

Earlier News

Only weather threatening Friday's shuttle launch Engineers are readying the shuttle Atlantis for fueling late tonight and blastoff early Friday on a critical mission to outfit and activate the international space station. With no technical problems at pad 39B, the only question mark is the weather. FULL STORY

Russian economic troubles still cloud space station As NASA gears up to launch the shuttle Atlantis Friday on a space station outfitting mission, the Russian Space Agency is at loggerheads with the Russian Ministry of Finance over funding for nine critical station flights in 2001. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

Lightning bolt strikes shuttle launch pad A bolt of lightning blasted from a thunderstorm cloud Tuesday night and struck the launch pad where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepped for its liftoff Friday. The $2 billion spaceplane was not damaged. FULL STORY

Countdown begins ticking for Friday's shuttle launch Countdown clocks at the Kennedy Space Center began ticking Tuesday toward the shuttle Atlantis's blastoff Friday on a mission to outfit and activate the international space station, paving the way for arrival of the lab's first full-time crew in November. FULL STORY

Shuttle astronauts fly to Florida for Friday's launch The seven-man crew of space shuttle Atlantis traveled to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Monday night from their home base in Houston in preparation for Friday's scheduled blastoff to the international space station. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Crew

Commander: Terrence Wilcutt Pilot: Scott Altman MS1/EV1: Edward Lu MS2/FE/RMS: Richard Mastracchio MS3/IV: Daniel Burbank MS4/EV2: Yuri Malenchenko MS5: Boris Morukov THE CREW - includes full bios

Photo galleries

Launch of Atlantis Space shuttle Atlantis and her seven astronaut crew embark on a supply and equipment delivery mission to the international space station, making the infant outpost a new home in Earth orbit for future residents. PHOTO GALLERY

From hangar to launch pad See the journey of space shuttle Atlantis as it departs the hangar and moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building to join the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. The shuttle stack then tests a new hurricane shelter on the way to launch pad 39B. PHOTO GALLERY

Training Atlantis' astronauts The seven men set to fly into space aboard shuttle Atlantis undergo extensive pre-flight training to prepare them for their mission duties, including spacewalk rehearsals in giant pools and virtual reality courses. PHOTO GALLERY

Practice countdown The astronauts took part in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test at Kennedy Space Center in mid-August, which includes a countdown dress rehearsal and emergency launch pad evacuation training. PHOTO GALLERY

Related stories

NASA opts to leave shuttle hurricane policy unchanged NASA is keeping open the option of putting two shuttles on the Kennedy Space Center's two launch pads at the same time during hurricane season. But such decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, balancing the demands of space station assembly against potential disruptions due to approaching storms. FULL STORY [Posted: Aug. 30]

NASA shortens shuttle launch windows The five-minute launch windows typical of shuttle missions to the international space station likely will be shortened to as little as two-and-a-half minutes for all upcoming flights to improve safety and the odds of carrying out a successful mission. FULL STORY [Posted: Aug. 18]

Next shuttle mission becomes two flights NASA officials have formally approved plans to split the next mission to the International Space Station by space shuttle Atlantis into two voyages. FULL STORY [Posted: Feb. 22]