Jun 5 2002
From The Space Library
Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-111 launched from NASA's KSC in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 5:22 p.m. (EDT). NASA had originally scheduled the mission to lift off on 30 May but had delayed the launch because of mechanical and weather concerns. The Shuttle's crew included Commander Kenneth D. Cockrell and astronauts Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Valery G. Korzun, [[Paul S. Lockhart], Philippe Perrin, Sergei Y. Treschev, and Peggy A. Whitson. Korzun, Treschev, and Whitson were also members of ISS Expedition 5, which was to remain at the ISS when Endeavour returned to Earth. STS-111 had several objectives. The Shuttle was transporting to the ISS the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), which contained racks for experiments, stowage, and resupply. The crew would also install a component called the Mobile Base System (MB S) to service the ISS's robotic arm. Both the MPLM and the MBS were part of the payload of the mission, also designated ISS Utilization Flight 2. A further objective of the mission was to transport the crew of Expedition 5 to the ISS and to return the members of Expedition 4 to Earth. (NASA, “STS-111 (110),” http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/STS-111/mission-STS-111.html (accessed 17 August 2008); NASA, “STS-111: A New Crew for the International Space Station,” http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/STS-111/ (accessed 17 August 2008).)
NASA announced the release of the first test images from the HST's recently reactivated Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The test images of galaxies in various stages of development included the NGC 4013 and the Cone Nebula galaxies. The NICMOS had remained inactive for three years, until the crew members of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-109 had installed a new cooling system for the instrument on 3 March 2002 as part of HST Servicing Mission 3B. The new NICMOS Cooling System (NCS) had been a joint project of NASA and the U.S. Air Force; NASA's GSFC and the Creare Corporation had built the NCS. (NASA, “Hubble's Infrared Camera Is Back in Business~New Images Released,” news release 02-104, 5 June 2002; NASA, “SM3B,” http://hubble.nasa.gov/missions/sm3b.php (accessed 17 August 2008).)
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