ISS Adventures: A Kerbalized Recreation of Missions to the International Space Station

[Kuiper_Belt]

The Idea:

The International Space Station is one of humanities greatest achievements. Like many others I love the ISS, mods and Kerbal Space Program, naturally you would mix all 3. A little over a year ago I began an endeavor to accurately construct the ISS in order and document it on reddit. Since then time has passed and I have vastly improved in my ship creation and screenshot taking skills.  I knew when I stopped the first time I'd revisit the idea and now is the time! The goal of this whole thing is to use Kerbal Space Program and a vast library of mods to document every flight to the ISS and its construction in order. Myself@lemon cup and @D0m1nu2 work hard on this project and we're very excited to work on documenting the sheer greatness that surrounds the ISS and it's missions!

My Inspiration:

The idea isn't original and born of several things including another series I created focusing on Shuttle Missions called Shuttle Adventures! These missions are created by not only myself but other like minded Kerbal players. But the Idea isn't mine by any means and I feel inclined to credit those who inspired me, If you like anything I've done you'll certainly enjoy what they've done.

• @Jay The Amazing Toaster with Kānāwai: Ares to Mars 
• Kevin Gustafson and his amazing among other things ISS & Mir documentaries on Youtube
• @winged and his amazing among other things Constellation Mars video
• @Zorg @alberro+and @Pioneer_Stevefor dazzling me with their magnificent screenshots
• @AmateurAstronaut1969 and their fantastic series on the ETS Space Station Freedom
• @Jacktical and their awesome series on the IRL concept of Space Station Freedom that goes by the name of Space Station Liberty
•  @D0m1nu2 and their excellent International Manned Laboratory series, a recreation of International Skylab conducted in RSS!
• @Aviation365 and their wonderful series Go At Throttle Up, an RSS/RO depiction of Shuttle Flights both real and fictional, while obeying Shuttle parameters.
• The progenitor to this series, Shuttle Adventures, An Album of Kerbalized Space Shuttle Missions, containing real, proposed, canceled and other Shuttle related missions. You can find that here:

Mods:

Since the inception of Shuttle Adventures the mod list has grown slowly over time and I've tried to keep up with updating the mod list. that will be include in the spoiler below the list of highlighted mods.

•  @benjee10 With Redirect, Habtech 2, and SOCK
•  @DylanSemrau With Photon Corp
•  @Beale With Tantares
•  @tony48 With KSRSS & KSRSSVE
• And the ReStock team with of course Restock
  Spoiler

  Kerbal Space Program Version 1.12.2 with both DLCs

  ClickThroughBlocker

  Harmony

  KSP API Extensions

  Textures Unlimited

  Toolbar Control

  KSP Recall

  Animated Decouples

  AN-HTV

  ASET

  Atmospheric Autopilot

  ATS

  Aurora Space Center

  B9 Procedural Wings

  B9 Partswitch

  Ballisticfox's TUFX configs (Every One They've made cause they are gorgeous)

  Belle_TU

  Benjee 10 Shared Assets

  Benjee10's Historical Kerbal Suits

  Bluedog_DB + Extra

  Better Time Warp

  Boring Crew Services

  CameraTools

  Coatl Aerospace

  Community Category Kit

  Community Resource Pack

  Conformal Decals

  Contract Packs

  Cormorant Aeronology

  Coriolis Space Systems

  Cryo Tanks

  Cryo Engines

  Custom Prelaunch Checks

  CxAerospace

  DECQ R7

  Deployable Engines

  DMagic Science Animate

  Dynamic Battery Storage

  Distant Object Enhancement

  Dock Rotate

  Docking Port Alignment Indicator

  Dynamic Battery Storage

  Edwards Airforce Base

  Environmental Visual Enhancements Redux

  Engine Lighting Relit

  Eisenhower Astronautics

  Far Future Technologies

  Flag Agency

  FMRS

  Fossil Mechazilla

  FS Hanger Extender

  Fuji

  Gas Giants Enhanced

  GemstoneLV

  H2

  HabTech

  HabTech 2

  HabTech Props

  Heat Control

  Hephaistos

  HyperEdit

  HL20

  HT Robotics

  Integrated Pheonix Industries

  James Webb Space Telescope

  Janitors Closet

  JSI

  Katniss Cape Canaveral (Custom Application to my 25% Scaled Real Solar System Monstrosity  DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS!)

  Kerbal Alarm Clock

  Kerbal Atomics

  Kerbal Construction Time

  Kerbal Engineer

  Kerbal Konstructs

  Kerbal Reusability Expansion

  Kerbinside Remastered

  Kerbolrise

  Kertemis Program

  KK SpaceX Pack

  Knes

  Konstellation Program

  Kopernicus

  Kronometer

  KSC Floodlight

  KSCSwitcher

  KSP Wheel

  Magicore

  Magpie Mods (Nearly all the configs are stripped because it makes stuff look odd)

  Making Alternate History

  MechJeb2

  Mk-2 Expansion

  Mk-33

  Modular Flight Integrator

  Modular Launch Pads

  Modular Manager Watch Dog

  Near Future Props

  Near Future Solar

  Near Future Spacecraft

  Near Future Construction

  Near Future Exploration

  Neist Airliner Parts

  OSSNTR

  Persistent Rotation

  Photon Corp

  Planet Info Plus

  Planet Shine

  Planetside Exploration Technologies

  Plume Party

  Procedural Fairings

  Procedural Fairings For Everything (Removed patch that replaces stock fairings) 

  Procedural Parts

  Project EOC

  Provenance Aerospace

  PVRE 64 (Photo Realistic Visual Enhancement 64K)

  Raster Prop Monitor

  RCS Build Aid

  Realplume (Stock Configs)

  Real Solar System (Scaled to 25% Real Scale, same as 2.5x KSRSS)

  Recovery Controller

  reDirect

  Reentry Particle Effects

  ReStock

  ReStock Plus

  Retractable Lifting Surfaces

  Rocket Motor Menagerie

  RSS Date Time

  RSS Textures

  RSS Tweaks

  SCANsat

  Scatterer

  Science Param Modifier

  Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit

  Sigma Rescale

  Simple Adjustable Farings

  Skyhawk Science System

  Smoke Screen

  SOCK Recolored

  Snacks

  Soyuz_Spacecraft

  Soyuz_Extras

  Space Dust

  Space Shuttle (For Deprecated Crawler and Launch Mount You've got to do some digging to find it)

  Special Delivery

  Stage Recovery

  Starship Expansion Project

  Starship Launch Expansion

  Station Parts Expansion Redux

  SRB Waterfall Effects

  SXT Continued

  System Heat

  Tantares (With both Tantares LV Tantares SP & SAF )

  Tokamak Industries 

  Trajectories

  Transfer Window Planner

  TUFX

  Tundra Exploration

  Tundra Space Center

  Tundra Technologies

  Tweak Scale

  Tweak Scale Companion

  Variant Persist

  UbioZur Welding Continued

  Waterfall

  Waterfall Restock

  WildBlue Decals

  X-20 Moroz

  Ziegler Launch Systems

  KSP Module Manager (Version 4.1.4)

  This is hopefully all of them. Some will overlap if you attempt to match my install because I've listed the entire gamedata folder. If you're new to modding you will definitely make mistakes while trying to install them, don't worry we were there too. All that matters is that you get back up and keep trying but don't be afraid to take a break!  Also, some of the mods use CKAN! This will help you out a lot. Good luck! PS: This list will always be changing..

  

Thanks to those who interact and follow this series! We've been working hard and having a great time making it!

Edited April 23, 2022 by Kuiper_Belt

[Kuiper_Belt]

Zarya November 20, 1998.

Zarya meaning Dawn in English, also known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB is the first module of the ISS. Based on the TKS spacecraft design has 2 solar panels,  Radiators, RCS thrusters, 2 orbital adjustment engines, and other systems making it the life line for the early station. Zarya has 3 docking ports 2 of the probe and drogue variant of docking port one earth facing, one aft facing and one forward facing APAS-95 docking port. The APAS-95 port would dock with PMA-1 attached to the Unity module. Zarya was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81 on a Proton rocket. 

Two weeks after launch STS-88 would launch the Unity module, the first American element of the ISS. In the meantime Zarya would adjust and perfect its orbit in preparation for Unity's arrival.

Up Next: STS-88 & Unity

 

[lemon cup]

Very excited to be a part of this, it's going to be a  rather huge project that I hope can serve as a fun read and also a great learning tool. 

And with that, let's build the ISS!

        STS-88 (Unity) - December 4th, 1998     

Unity, also known as "Node-1" was the first docked module of the ISS. Early designs for Unity as well as some other modules began in the 1980s with the approval of Space Station Freedom, but due to funding challenges and the subsequent morphing of the space station to become an international endeavor, the program was delayed. Eventually plans for the ISS were finalized, and Unity was built by Boeing at Marshall Space Flight Center. Unity has six berthing ports and serves as the main station hub, through which the bulk of power cables, fluid lines, and life support systems are all routed. 

Unity launched with two Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMA 1 and 2) installed to the forward and aft berthing ports for docking to take place between the Space Shuttle and the Zarya FCB. Carried by Endeavour on STS-88, the mission launched at 3:35am from Kennedy Space Center.

The mission launched to match the orbital plane of Zarya at 51.6 degrees. The inclination was selected with consideration to the Russians, as this was the lowest inclination possible when launching from Baikonur without dropping rocket stages on China. 




While on their phasing orbit to reach Zarya, the crew used the CanadArm to grapple Unity and attach it to the Shuttle's docking assembly.




Endeavour was carefully guided above Zarya in order to grapple it with the arm and pull it down onto Unity.



Over the next six days, the crew performed 3 EVAs to connect external lines and fittings between the two modules, as well as deploy antennas and install hardware for future missions. 



On flight day 11, it was time to undock with the newly built station and return home.



As a secondary mission, Endeavour was also carrying two microsats in Hitch-Hiker Cannisters - the U.S. Air Force "MightySat-1" and the Argentinian "SAC-A."



Endeavour landed at KSC on December 15th at 11pm after 13 days in orbit. Its next mission was the STS-99 Radar Mapping mission, which would be Endeavour’s last solo flight, after which the shuttle’s services would be solely devoted to the ISS.


By the conclusion of STS-88, it was known by mission planners that the Zvezda Service Module would be delayed well into the following year, and that at least one Space Shuttle resupply mission would be scheduled in the meantime. 


STS-96 Coming Soon!

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by lemon cup

[Guest]

Nice posts!

I have a new graphics card arriving tomorrow, so i can finally have a high functioning, non-laggy, good looking game, and finally be part of these awesome threads!    

[Kuiper_Belt]

STS-96 May 27, 1999

Since Endeavour left, looming in orbit alone for 167 days, the ISS sat waiting for its next arrival. That arrival would come in the form of Discovery. Carrying the US crane, Orbital Transfer Device, the Russian STRELA crane and cargo for the ISS in the SPACEHAB Double Module, STS-96 would continue to work on the ISS, preparing it for its first permeant crewed missions. 

Space Shuttle Discovery sat at Pad 39-B waiting to lift off at dawn carrying the various Shuttle related experiments and a Satellite to deploy after ISS operations had completed.

After docking the crew spent time moving cargo to and from the ISS and preparing for the only space walk planned for STS-96. Consisting of Tamara Jernigan and Daniel Barry, they were responsible for mounting, among other hardware, STRELA and the OTU to the side of the ISS.

Eventually after the 5 days and 18 hours docked, Discovery departed the ISS. 

After deploying a satellite Discovery began preparing for reentry and landing.

Discovery landed at Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The ISS would remain alone for nearly a year before the next mission.

Up Next, STS-101.

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Kuiper_Belt

[lemon cup]

    
STS-101  -  May 19th, 2000     

By February of the year 2000, the ISS still consisted of just two docked modules, and concerns about the status of the project were mounting. Troubled by funding and technical problems surrounding the Zvezda Service Module, which had already delayed the start of the project, the Russian Space Agency was faced with criticism and threatened with expulsion from the program lest they commit to a successful launch of Zvezda. Despite continued funding challenges, RKK Energia was able to commit to a July 2000 launch. For NASA mission planning, this meant the STS-101 - originally slated for flight after the arrival of Zvezda to facilitate its full connection to the station - would need to be split into two missions: one station-outfitting mission prior to Zvezda docking, and one afterwards (now assigned to STS-106) to fulfill the original mission goals.

Flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-101 carried nearly 1 ton of cargo inside a SPACEHAB Double Logistics Module, including personal clothing, hygiene items, medical and office supplies, and four large bags of water, all to help prepare for the Expedition 1 crew's extended stay later in the year. It also carried replacements for a set of faulty batteries aboard Zarya, which the crew installed. 

STS-101 launched from Cape Canaveral LC-39A just before dawn on May 19th, 2000 with a crew of 7, including Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachyov. 






Atlantis launched into NASA's preferred ISS rendezvous trajectory which took place when Cape Canaveral passed through the ISS' northbound ground track. This allowed the Shuttle to drop boosters into the empty Atlantic Ocean, rather than the vicinity of Cuba.

Atlantis spent two days in orbit solo, before executing a rendezvous with the dual-module ISS. STS-101 was the first Space Shuttle mission to fly with a "glass cockpit" featuring all-electronic LCD displays in place of analogue gauges on the pilot interface. Atlantis received the new displays along with dozens of other upgrades during its 1997-1999 Orbiter Major Maintenance (OMM).

The first day following docking with the ISS, the crew transferred some supplies from the SPACEHAB module and prepared for the mission's only EVA. The next day, astronauts James Voss and Jeffrey Williams exited the Shuttle airlock for a 6 hour 44 minute spacewalk. 





The astronauts first reseated the small US Orbital Crane on PMA-1, then finished assembling the Russian Strela Crane on PMA-2 with parts brought up in the cargo bay. Both cranes were placed during STS-96 nearly a year prior.

After completion of the EVA, the crew spent the following days outfitting the station interior. After almost 6 days at the station, Atlantis undocked to return home.





After landing at KSC, it was discovered that a damaged tile seam allowed super-heated reentry gas to penetrate the left wing. This was Atlantis's second close brush with severe tile damage, and could have resulted in disaster.

Atlantis would need to be quickly processed and re-manifested to fly STS-106 in September, the second half of ISS mission 2A.2. 

 UP NEXT, the arrival of the long-awaited Zvezda Service Module!

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by lemon cup

[Kuiper_Belt]

Zvezda 12 July, 2000

Zvezda meaning "Star" in English was the third module of the ISS. Containing Life Support systems, work areas, and living quarters, Zvezda became the main module of the early station.

Of the design of the Durable Orbital Station or DOS, Zvezda has a storied past in its design, making various appearances as the Salyut's 1, 4, 6, 7 stations and the Mir Core Module. Zvezda has 3 main compartments, The Work, Assembly, and Transfer Compartments. The work compartment was the main area where the crew would live and work and comprised most of the module. The Assembly compartment is surrounding the Aft docking port with various pieces of exposed equipment such as antennae. Finally, the transfer compartment contains 3 docking port in a smaller spherical section. This area can also serve as an airlock and was used once on Expedition 2.

Zvezda had many delays before launch and NASA had significant concerns for the station. Due to economic instability in Russia Zvezda had no backup and if Roscosmos could not deliver Zvezda to the ISS in time or if it were destroyed on launch the station would be in serious trouble. NASA had designed the Interim Control Module if such scenarios occurred. 

After serval delays Zvezda stood on the pad on top of the Proton rocket. This particular rocket is special because it had advertising for Pizza Hut displayed on the side of the rockets fuselage. Zvezda lifted off from Site 81 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

After reaching orbit, Zvezda tweaked its orbit and Rendezvoused with the ISS two weeks later.

Zvezda became the third ISS module on July 26, 2000. After many delays the Station could finally proceed forward with its construction. But first Russia had one more thing they needed to launch to the growing station.

Up Next, Progress M1-3!

[lemon cup]

On 7/19/2021 at 2:49 AM, Kuiper_Belt said:

Zvezda 12 July, 2000

Pizza Hut Proton will rise again...!

I wonder which party was more thrilled about that: the Russian Space Agency for the $1million they got out of the deal, or Pizza Hut for getting to have their company logo painted on the side of an orbital rocket. 

I'll bet the latter. I get the sense "space tourism" seemed like a real growth opportunity to a lot of companies back then.

[lemon cup]

Progress M1-3  -  August 6th, 2000

"Progress" vehicles are a type of unmanned spacecraft designed to deliver supplies to crewed space stations. The design dates back to 1977 when the Soviet Union first began long-duration stays aboard the Salyut 6 station, which required periodic resupply. It is heavily influenced by the venerable Soyuz spacecraft and uses much of the same hardware, as well as the same launch vehicle.

The Progress "M" variant was the 1989-modernized resupply vehicle, used extensively during the Mir program. The "M1" derivative came about in early 2000, which included modifications to hold less cargo in exchange for more fuel. Using the enhanced Soyuz docking port, Progress M1s were able to transfer fuel into the Zvezda module for later use, or directly use the fuel to provide complimentary reboosts while docked.

Progress M1-3 was the first of its kind to visit the ISS. Besides fuel, it also carried several pieces of  equipment which crews would later use to properly outfit the newly-attached Zvezda module (Zvezda was purposely launched with a portion of its internal components missing in order to make weight requirements).  

It launched less than 1 month after Zvezda, at sunset from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 






M1-3 would remain docked to the aft port of Zvezda for nearly 3 months. During this time it would be unloaded by the crews of STS-106 and STS-92.

Up Next, STS-106!

[ItzNicko124]

These missions are looking absolutely fantastic, great job to both Kuiper_Belt and lemon cup. 

Edited July 22, 2021 by ItzNicko124

[lemon cup]

On 7/22/2021 at 7:25 AM, ItzNicko124 said:

These missions are looking absolutely fantastic, great job to both Kuiper_Belt and lemon cup. 

Thank you very much mate! Like Kuiper said we have put a lot of effort into this and are trying to go for a level of detail that really does the ISS justice.
 

For me this has turned into a thoroughly engrossing research project - I have learned a lot already and there’s still tons more! If anything I hope this inspires a few people to do the same. I feel like if you are a spaceflight enthusiast, learning about the ISS is tremendously worthwhile.

[Kuiper_Belt]

STS-106 September 8, 2000

With Progress M1-3 and Zvezda now attached to the orbital outpost, the crew of STS-106 could now make their voyage to the ISS. Due to the delays with Zvezda STS-106 is actually half of the original mission, with STS-101 being the other half. The primary objective of STS-106 was to fully connect and activate Zvezda.  Though attached, Zvezda required electrical and other connection to the rest of the station. In addition to this Zvezda was launched partial empty due to payload weight limitations of the Proton launch vehicle, and the equipment already in Zvezda was in launched stowage conditions and needed to be unpacked.  STS-106 also carried the SPACEHAB double module filled supplies for the station and were transferred over the days the Shuttle was attached.

STS-106 flown by Atlantis had crew of seven, and stood by for launch on Launch Pad 39-B on September 8th 2000, at 8:45 in the morning.

Astronauts Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko conducted a 6 hour space walk with the primary task of making external connections between Zvezda and the rest of the ISS.

After EVA procedures the crew continued work to ready Zvezda and the rest of the ISS for future missions before they departed.

Atlantis landed on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center in the early hours of September 20th. With Zvezda active the ISS is one step closer to being ready to host a permanent crew.

On 7/21/2021 at 9:55 PM, ItzNicko124 said:

These missions are looking absolutely fantastic, great job to both Kuiper_Belt and lemon cup. 

This means a lot ! It's a lot of work and research to get stuff looking right but its definitely worth the time! Thanks again for the kind words and I'm glad you're enjoying it!

With Zvezda, ISS construction could ramp up, and the last piece of the puzzle needed for the start of permanent inhabitation of space would be the Z-1 truss and PMA-3.

Up Next, STS-92!

[lemon cup]

STS-92   -   October 11th, 2000

This flight of Space Shuttle Discovery marked the historic 100th mission of the program, as well as the 4th Space Shuttle flight of the year 2000, and the 5th Shuttle flight in support of the ISS since its construction began. STS-92 served as a vital stepping stone to future expansion of the station.

Its primary cargo was the "Z1 Truss" segment, which contained electrical power connections and the four main Control Moment Gyros for the station. The CMGs are reaction wheels responsible for controlling the attitude and stability of the ISS as it orbits Earth, ensuring that the station is always pointing in the right direction. The Z1 is considered a part of the combined truss structure, which forms the backbone of the station, even though it sits alone and does not physically connect to the subsequent pieces. Nevertheless, its design is loadbearing in nature, as it served as the temporary home for the P6 Solar Array during the early years of construction.

Also carried onboard Discovery was PMA-3, a second docking assembly for use by visiting Shuttles. Attaching to Unity's nadir (bottom) port, this would allow future flights to add segments to parts of the station otherwise inaccessible due to the docking angle. PMA-3 was transported on a Spacelab Pallet, which also included the astronauts' tool kits and additional parts for the Z1 Truss.

STS-92 launched around sunset from LC-39A with a crew of seven.

A series of small orbit-raising maneuvers by Discovery led to a rendezvous and docking with the ISS on flight Day 3.

Early on flight Day 4, before entering the ISS, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata operated the robotic arm to attach the Z1 Truss to Unity's zenith port. Permanent berthing was not accomplished until the next day as the Z1 needed to be further prepped and deployed. 

4 EVAs were conducted by two teams of astronauts. EVAs 1 and 3 were carried out by William McArthur and Leroy Chiao, who deployed the integrated Ku-band antenna on top of Z1. Also referred to as the "SGANT" (Space to Ground Antenna), this allowed the ISS to remain in constant independent communication with mission control by tracking the TDRS satellite array in geosynchronous orbit.

Later in the flight, Peter Wisoff and Michael Lopez-Alegria conducted EVAs to assist in the docking of PMA-3. They also tested the new "SAFER" system, an EVA backpack with emergency thrusters for free-flight in the event of accidental untethering.

After completing the EVA tasks, the crew finished unloading Progress M1-3 and configuring Zvezda. The ISS was now ready to host the first long-duration crew scheduled to arrive in just a couple of short weeks.

Discovery separated from the ISS on October 20th after 7 days of docked operations. At this time the Z1 Truss remained mostly powered down, since it initially required full integration with the Destiny Lab to function. In addition, the CMGs needed more electrical power than what was currently available.

Originally scheduled for landing on October 20th at Cape Canaveral, poor weather conditions eventually delayed the landing and diverted to Edwards Air Force Base on October 24th, 2000 after almost 13 days on-mission.

Up next, the historic arrival of Expedition 1 on Soyuz Tm-31!

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by lemon cup

[pTrevTrevs]

On 7/27/2021 at 2:30 AM, lemon cup said:

STS-92   -   October 11th, 2000

This flight of Space Shuttle Discovery marked the historic 100th mission of the program, as well as the 4th Space Shuttle flight of the year 2000, and the 5th Shuttle flight in support of the ISS since its construction began. STS-92 served as a vital stepping stone to future expansion of the station.

Its primary cargo was the "Z1 Truss" segment, which contained electrical power connections and the four main Control Moment Gyros for the station. The CMGs are reaction wheels responsible for controlling the attitude and stability of the ISS as it orbits Earth, ensuring that the station is always pointing in the right direction. The Z1 is considered a part of the combined truss structure, which forms the backbone of the station, even though it sits alone and does not physically connect to the subsequent pieces. Nevertheless, its design is loadbearing in nature, as it served as the temporary home for the P6 Solar Array during the early years of construction.

Also carried onboard Discovery was PMA-3, a second docking assembly for use by visiting Shuttles. Attaching to Unity's nadir (bottom) port, this would allow future flights to add segments to parts of the station otherwise inaccessible due to the docking angle. PMA-3 was transported on a Spacelab Pallet, which also included the astronauts' tool kits and additional parts for the Z1 Truss.

STS-92 launched around sunset from LC-39A with a crew of seven.

A series of small orbit-raising maneuvers by Discovery led to a rendezvous and docking with the ISS on flight Day 3.

Early on flight Day 4, before entering the ISS, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata operated the robotic arm to attach the Z1 Truss to Unity's zenith port. Permanent berthing was not accomplished until the next day as the Z1 needed to be further prepped and deployed. 

4 EVAs were conducted by two teams of astronauts. EVAs 1 and 3 were carried out by William MacArthur and Leroy Chiao, who deployed the integrated Ku-band antenna on top of Z1. Also referred to as the "SGANT" (Space to Ground Antenna), this allowed the ISS to remain in constant independent communication with mission control by tracking the TDRS satellite array in geosynchronous orbit.

Later in the flight, Peter Wisoff and Michael Lopez-Alegria conducted EVAs to assist in the docking of PMA-3. They also tested the new "SAFER" system, an EVA backpack with emergency thrusters for free-flight in the event of accidental untethering.

After completing the EVA tasks, the crew finished unloading Progress M1-3 and configuring Zvezda. The ISS was now ready to host the first long-duration crew scheduled to arrive in just a few short weeks.

Discovery separated from the ISS on October 20th after 7 days of docked operations. At this time the Z1 Truss remained mostly powered down, since it initially required full integration with the Destiny Lab to function.

Originally scheduled for landing on October 20th at Cape Canaveral, poor weather conditions eventually delayed the landing and diverted to Edwards Air Force Base on October 24th, 2000 after almost 13 days on-mission.

Up next, the historic arrival of Expedition 1 on Soyuz Tm-31!

 

 

 

I once met Bill MacArthur during a visit to Kennedy Space Center. It was really cool to hear him talk about this mission, as well as his visit to Mir when he helped install the Shuttle Docking Module.

[lemon cup]

22 minutes ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I once met Bill MacArthur during a visit to Kennedy Space Center. It was really cool to hear him talk about this mission, as well as his visit to Mir when he helped install the Shuttle Docking Module.

Awesome! I have seen a couple of interviews and post-mission reports. You begin to get an idea of just how deep these astronauts’ knowledge base goes when they talk about the mission highlights. They train for roughly a year for each mission they go on, during which time they become technical experts on every single system they could conceivably need to work with, sometimes down to each individual wire.

I tend to think of astronauts as jack of all trades, masters of all. 

[Kuiper_Belt]

Soyuz TM-31 and Expedition 1, October 31, 2000

The Soyuz spacecraft has a renowned career dating back to the late 1960s. Serving iconic missions such as the Apollo Soyuz Test Project, The Salyut stations and Mir, the legendary itinerary of Soyuz set its sights on the ISS.

Soyuz has 3 main modules, the Descent Module, the Orbital Module, and the Service Module. The crew sit in the Descent Module during ascent and descent and has a heatshield and parachutes for the landing. Once on orbit, the crew have access to the Orbital Module, where there is more space for crew accommodation. The final module the Service Module has fuel the engines and electrical systems including solar panels to help power and maneuver the craft in space. The Orbital and Service modules separate from The Descent Module for reentry.  Soyuz TM is a later iteration of the Soyuz design used prior for the Mir Station.

Soyuz TM-31 was the first Soyuz to visit the ISS and would deliver the crew of Expedition 1, the first of many missions that have the primary goal to permanently inhabit space.  The launch crew of Soyuz TM-31 and Expedition 1 were Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Krikalev and William Shepherd.  Where Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepherd, John Glenn, and Valentina Tereshkova are akin to the explorers who first discovered the new world, I like to think of the crews of Mir-EO-1, and Expedition 1 as the Pilgrims who stayed to help start the colonies in the Americas.

Soyuz TM-31 and the crew stood by at Site 1-5 or Gagarins Start beginning a journey that would become much bigger than them. Everyday since October 31, 2000 several minutes after 07:52 UTC, there have been people in space. Those of you younger that were born after do not know a time where you could look up on a clear night and not say that there are people just like you up there.

After reaching orbit, Soyuz TM-31 coasted for 2 days perfecting its encounter with the ISS. 

On November 2, 2000, the ISS has been inhabited continually. This also marked the beginning of Expedition 1. Their goals were to activate critical systems of the ISS and continue to unpack the cargo brought up to the station on previous missions. During Expedition 1, due to the lack of power generated by the station, Unity was left inactive, unheated and closed off from the rest of the station. 

The ISS now with a permanent crew would begin to await its next visitors.

Up Next, Progress M1-4!

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Kuiper_Belt

[Spaceman.Spiff]

10 minutes ago, Kuiper_Belt said:

 

After reaching orbit

These are gorgeous. 
Great job. 

[lemon cup]

8 hours ago, Kuiper_Belt said:

Everyday since October 31, 2000 several minutes after 07:52 UTC, there have been people in space. Those of you younger that were born after do not know a time where you could look up on a clear night and not say that there are people just like you up there.

This is powerful.

Achieving this goal took many nations working together. We’ll have to do the same thing if we want to achieve more.

[lemon cup]

Progress M1-4  -  November 16th, 2000

The first spacecraft to visit the Expedition 1 crew during their 4-month mission was an unmanned Progress. It brought extra food, water, supplies, and oxygen to the station, as well as equipment to begin the first science experiments aboard the ISS. 

Progress M1-4 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the early morning of November 16th, 2000. 

Upon arrival to the ISS, the vehicle's automated docking system (KURS) failed and Expedition 1 crewmember Yuri Gidzenko had to assume manual remote control. 50 hours after launch from Baikonur, Progress M1-4 was successfully docked to the zenith port of Zarya.

After docking, the Expedition 1 crew would begin unloading the Progress. It would remain at the station for two weeks, at which point it would need to be undocked and flown into a nearby parking orbit to make way for Space Shuttle Endeavour to utilize the nearby PMA-3, located on the bottom of Unity.

Up next, STS-97!

Edited August 1, 2021 by lemon cup

[Mike J]

How'd you get KSCSwitcher to work with KSRSS?

 

[lemon cup]

22 minutes ago, Mike J said:

How'd you get KSCSwitcher to work with KSRSS?

 

If you are using the Gitlab 0.7 "beta" release of KSRSS, in KSP 1.8 - 1.11, KSC Switcher should work for you out of the box. Only issue that I know of with that is if you are using 2.5x rescale, Cape Canaveral will most likely be floating and you have to do a bit of messing around with the config to get it placed right. Other than that KSC Switcher should be fully functional.

[Kuiper_Belt]

STS-97 and The P6 Truss, November 30, 2000

Unity being deactivated unless a shuttle was present at the station signified an issue with the young ISS. It was in need of more power. STS-97 was the answer delivering the first Solar Array Wing or SAWs, the P6 truss segment. Unlike the others, he P6 truss segment was meant to attach to the zenith or space facing side of the Z1 truss. The P6 truss had in addition to the 2 attached solar arrays, 3 radiators to dissipate heat from the station. 

Flown by Endeavour, STS-97 had a crew of 5 with a significant amount of work to do, including but not limited to 3 EVAs. Standing by at Pad 39-B, Endeavour waited for a liftoff at 11:06 PM Eastern on November 30th. This was the final crewed liftoff of the year 2000.

After reaching Orbit and separation, Endeavour immediately began correcting its orbit for rendezvous with the ISS. Though at the Station Progress M 1-4 would be obstructing space needed for Endeavour to dock with PMA-3. As a result, Progress M 1-4 was undocked from the nadir port of Zarya and maintained a close parking orbit approximately a mile away from the orbital outpost allowing Endeavour to proceed.

Meanwhile, Endeavour was still performing course correction and eventually began final approach.

Endeavour docked to PMA-3 on December 2nd at 7:59 UTC. This was the first of 2 times PMA-3 was used for docking by a Shuttle and has only been used to for crew to enter the station 4 times (at the time of writing). Now docked, Joseph Tanner and Carlos Noriega prepared for the EVAs. The objective of all the EVAs included connecting P6 to the Z1 truss and preparing for the arrival of Destiny.  EVA-1 began when the P6 truss was being lifted out of the Payload Bay. The main objective of EVA-1 was to prepare the mounting area for P6 and make the initial connections.

After initial connections had been made, EVA 2 began to connect power cables to Unity and removing launch restraints. Thermal shrouds were also removed so when power began to be generated heat could be dissipated. Finally connections between Unity and PMA-2 were removed to prepare for its relocation.

EVA 3 required the crew to help remedy a faulty solar array wing and  install electrical sensors to study conditions around the station.

After the EVAs, tests were conducted regarding the structural rigidity of the station. The crew would continue to transfer experiments and cargo between the vessels.

After being docked to the ISS for nearly 7 days, Endeavour and her crew undocked and backed away from the ISS. After Endeavour would prepare for reentry.

Endeavour landed December 11th at 7pm Eastern at Runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility. Endeavours next mission would be STS-100 where she would deliver among other things Canadarm 2 to the ISS. 

Work on the Station would continue. On December 26th Progress M 1-4 returned to the Station and redocked to the Zvezda nadir port.

After the installation of the P6 truss, the ISS had a lot more power to spare, and the next component delivered would take great advantage of this surplus.

Up next, STS-98!

Edited August 10, 2021 by Kuiper_Belt
Timeline error.

[ItzNicko124]

STS-97 will be one of my favorites forever, since one of its crew members, Carlos Noriega, became the first Peruvian-born astronaut, he first flew in STS-84.

Edited August 5, 2021 by ItzNicko124

[lemon cup]

On 8/5/2021 at 2:32 AM, ItzNicko124 said:

STS-97 will be one of my favorites forever, since one of its crew members, Carlos Noriega, became the first Peruvian-born astronaut, he first flew in STS-84.

Heh I always get him mixed up with Manuel Noriega... definitely no relation though!

Are you of Peruvian descent, yourself?

On 8/5/2021 at 2:18 AM, Kuiper_Belt said:

Excellent mission, my favorite part about STS-97 is that the P6 Truss practically doubled the apparent size of the ISS at the time, and made it visible from Earth with the naked eye!

http://www.oocities.org/rbt_kraisee/STS97.html - nice article about the mission and also a wild blast from the past - the article exists in it's original form from when it was first posted in the year 2000 

Edited August 6, 2021 by lemon cup

[ItzNicko124]

1 hour ago, lemon cup said:

Are you of Peruvian descent, yourself?

Yes, I am. I currently live in Lima.