NASA - STS-87NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration› Follow this 
link to Login to MyNASALog In To MyNASA|› Sign Up› More Preferences
HomeNewsNews & FeaturesRecovery InformationShuttle & StationMoon & MarsSolar 
  SystemUniverseAeronauticsEarthTechnologyNASA in Your LifeNASA PeopleNASA 
  HistoryMissionsMissionsMission CalendarLaunch 
  ScheduleMultimediaMultimediaImagesVideoPodcastsNASA TVInteractive Features3D 
  ResourcesRSS FeedsBlogsWorldbook@NASAAbout NASAAbout NASAWhat NASA 
  DoesRecovery InformationNASA LeadershipCareers@NASANASA LocationsNASA 
  CalendarBudget and PerformanceReportsResearch OpportunitiesRequest a NASA 
  SpeakerRequest a NASA 
  ExhibitConnectBlogsRSSTwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickriTunesMore Social Media 
  ...NASA Home    |    Missions    |    Space Shuttle    |    Shuttle Missions   
   |    ArchivesSendBookmarkPrintMissionsMissions HighlightsCurrent 
  MissionsCurrent MissionsSpace ShuttleShuttle MissionsArchivesBehind the 
      ScenesLaunch & LandingMultimediaNews & Media ResourcesVehicle StructurePast 
MissionsFuture MissionsLaunch ScheduleMission CalendarSpace ShuttleMission 
ArchivesText SizeSTS-87 Mission: USMP-4; Spartan 201-04
Space Shuttle: Columbia
Launch Pad: 39B 
Launched: November 19, 1997, 2:46:00 p.m. EST
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landing: December 5, 1997, 7:20:04 a.m. EST
Runway: 33
Rollout Distance: 8,047 feet
Rollout Time: 57 seconds
Revolution: 252
Mission Duration: 15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes, 4 seconds
Orbit Altitude: 150 nautical miles
Orbit Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Miles Traveled: 6.5 million 

Crew Members

                     

Image above: STS-87 Crew photo with Commander Kevin R. Kregel, Pilot Steven W. 
Lindsey, Mission Specialists Winston E. Scott, Kalpana Chawla, Takao Doi and 
Leonid K. Kadenyuk. Image Credit: NASA 

Launch Highlights

 Eighth shuttle flight of 1997 - first time since 1992 eight flights were 
conducted in one year. Sixth on-time liftoff in '97, and all eight flights 
launched on day set in Flight Readiness Review. First use of Pad 39B since 
January following completion of extensive modifications to pad structures.

Mission Highlights

Primary payload of the flight, the U.S. Microgravity Payload-4, performed well. 
Research using other major payload, SPARTAN-201-04 free-flyer, was not 
completed.

SPARTAN deploy delayed one day to Nov. 21 to allow time for companion 
spacecraft, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) already on-orbit, to 
come back on-line. Chawla used orbiter's mechanical arm to release SPARTAN at 
4:04 p.m. Spacecraft failed to execute a pirouette maneuver several minutes 
later, suggesting there was a problem with the attitude control system for fine 
pointing toward solar targets. Chawla then regrappled the SPARTAN, but did not 
receive a firm capture indication. When she backed the arm away once more, a 
rotational spin of about two degrees per second was apparently imparted to the 
satellite. Kregel tried to match the satellite's rotation by firing Columbia's 
thrusters for a second grapple attempt, but this was called off by the flight 
director.

After a plan was formulated to retrieve the free-flyer, Scott and Doi began a 
seven-hour, 43-minute space walk Nov. 24 and captured the SPARTAN by hand at 
9:09 p.m. EST. The two astronauts then completed a series of activities that 
continue preparations for on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station. 
Doi became the first Japanese citizen to walk in space.

USMP-4 research deemed to be highly successful. This fourth flight of the U.S. 
Microgravity Payload focused on materials science, combustion science and 
fundamental physics. Experiments included the Advanced Automated Directional 
Solidification Furnace (AADSF); Confined Helium Experiment (CHeX); Isothermal 
Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE); Materials for the Study of Interesting 
Phenomena of Solidification on Earth and in Orbit (MEPHISTO); Microgravity 
Glovebox Facility (MGBX), featuring several experiments: the Enclosed Laminar 
Flames (ELF), Wetting Characteristics of Immiscibles (WCI) and Particle 
Engulfment and Pushing by a Solid/Liquid Interface (PEP); Space Acceleration 
Measurement System (SAMS); and Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE). 
Highlights included fastest dedritic growth rate ever measured and highest level 
of supercooling ever obtained for pivalic acid, a transparent material used by 
researchers to model metals, in IDGE. With CHeX, the most precise temperature 
measurement ever made in space was achieved.

With MEPHISTO, researchers were able to separate for first time two separate 
processes of solidification. They were also able to measure the speed of smooth 
crystal growth. With AADSF, like MEPHISTO featuring a furnace, allowed growth of 
large, near-perfect crystals of various types of semiconductor materials, as 
well as an exceptionally uniform crystal of mercury-cadmium-telluride.

PEP experiment, conducted with the Glovebox facility, examined the 
solidification of liquid metal alloys. For first time, researchers observed 
large clusters of particles being pushed, forcing them to reassess theories for 
how alloys solidify. ELF, another Glovebox experiment, established first 
probability chart for flame stabilization in microgravity. This was mission's 
only combustion experiment. It focused on laminar gas flows, a key phenomenon in 
the combustion process. Data gathered on-orbit should help refine computer 
simulations studying aircraft engine safety and furnace efficiency.

Other payloads: Get Away Special canister containing four experiments; the 
Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE), featuring a collection of 10 plant 
space biology experiments in the middeck; and several Hitchhiker payloads in the 
payload bay.

Orbiter performance was nominal throughout the mission. 

  NASA's John F. Kennedy Space CenterRelated Sites>  NASA's Orbiter Fleet
  > NASA's Launch Schedule
  > Shuttle Reference Manual
  > Shuttle Archives  › Back To Top NASA HomePage Last Updated:November 23, 2007 
Page Editor:Jeanne Ryba 
NASA Official:Brian DunbarBudgets, Strategic Plans and Accountability 
  ReportsEqual Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No Fear 
  ActInformation-Dissemination Policies and InventoriesFreedom of Information 
  ActPrivacy Policy & Important NoticesNASA Advisory CouncilInspector General 
  HotlineOffice of the Inspector GeneralNASA Communications PolicyContact 
  NASASite MapUSA.govExpectMore.govOpen Government at NASAHelp and Preferences