Spaceflight Now



The Mission




Orbiter: Atlantis
Mission: STS-115
Launch: Sept. 9, 2006
Time: 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT)
Site: Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landing: Sept. 21 @ 6:21 a.m. EDT (1021 GMT)
Site: Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC
Earlier Mission Coverage

Mission Status Center

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Master Flight Plan

NASA TV Schedule

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STS-115 Quick-Look

Launch Windows Chart

Ascent Data Packet

Rendezvous Timeline

Key Personnel List

Shuttle Flight History

Launch/Landing Chart

STS-121 Archive

STS-114 Archive



The Crew




Veteran shuttle commander Brent Jett leads a six-person crew launching aboard Atlantis for the STS-115 mission.

Crew Quick-Look

CDR: Brent Jett

PLT: Chris Ferguson

MS 1: Joe. Tanner

MS 2: Dan Burbank

MS 3: Heide Piper

MS 4: Steve MacLean

Manned Spaceflights

Current Demographics

Projected Demographics

Spacewalk Statistics



Debris analysis update
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: September 11, 2006

NASA's Mission Management Team has refined the timing of a handful of launch debris events noted during the shuttle Atlantis' climb to space Saturday. As mission managers reported Sunday, no impacts occurred during the first 135 seconds of flight, the period when atmospheric density is high enough to give debris enough energy to cause heat shield damage.

Here is the latest MMT summary uplinked to the astronauts by mission control as part of their daily "execute package" of notes and instructions:

"The teams continue to review the ascent imagery data (ET LOX feedline camera, ground cameras, WAVE aircraft video, and debris radar). The preliminary characterization is the debris environment was minimal, which is consistent with the preliminary debris report that you received yesterday during the post insertion timeframe. There was only one event occurring inside the debris sensitive timeframe. That event was a late release of an F4D (thruster jet) Tyvek Cover at (about) 16 secs MET (mission elapsed time) at a velocity of 230 mph."

An attached photo showed the paper cover did not impact the orbiter. Other debris events are as follows (shown in minutes and seconds after launch):

2:50: Debris from ET ice-frost ramp at position Xt 1270

4:05: Possible orbiter debris impacts to belly and wing leading edge glove areas, but no damage visible

4:07: Debris outboard of liquid oxygen feedline; no orbiter impact

5:27: Potential debris impact on right wing, but no signs of visible damage. Wing leading edge sensors did not detect any impacts

5:30: Radar detected a possible debris event, but nothing shows up in the imagery

7:32: Debris seen with possible impact

8:44: Suspected ice hit Atlantis near a nose landing gear door

Spaceflight Now Plus
Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: BRIEFING ON TANK'S PERFORMANCE DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: TANK'S ONBOARD CAMERA LIFTOFF TO SEPARATION PLAY
VIDEO: FLIGHT DIRECTOR EXPLAINS INSPECTIONS PLAY
VIDEO: SUNDAY'S MISSION STATUS BRIEFING DIAL-UP | BROADBAND

VIDEO: LAUNCH OF ATLANTIS! PLAY
VIDEO: SHEDDING FOAM MAY HAVE HIT ATLANTIS PLAY
VIDEO: ONBOARD VIEW OF EXTERNAL TANK SEPARATION PLAY
VIDEO: INSIDE MISSION CONTROL DURING LAUNCH PLAY
VIDEO: STATION CREW TOLD VISITORS EN ROUTE PLAY
VIDEO: HOUSTON RADIOS DEBRIS REPORT TO CREW PLAY
VIDEO: POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE DIAL-UP | BROADBAND
VIDEO: QUICK-LOOK BRIEFING ON DEBRIS DIAL-UP | BROADBAND

LAUNCH REPLAYS:
VIDEO: BEACH MOUND TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: CAMERA IN FRONT OF PAD PLAY
VIDEO: BANANA CREEK VIEWING SITE PLAY
VIDEO: VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING ROOF PLAY
VIDEO: PAD 39B SIDE PERIMETER PLAY
VIDEO: PLAYALINDA BEACH TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: PLAYALINDA BEACH ZOOM PLAY
VIDEO: UCS 23 TRACKER PLAY
VIDEO: UCS 11 TRACKER PLAY

VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST 4 STEVE MACLEAN BOARDS ATLANTIS PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST 3 HEIDE PIPER BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST 2 DAN BURBANK BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: MISSION SPECIALIST 1 JOE TANNER BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: PILOT CHRIS FERGUSON BOARDS PLAY
VIDEO: COMMANDER BRENT JETT BOARDS PLAY

VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS EMERGE FROM CREW QUARTERS PLAY
VIDEO: CREW SUITS UP FOR LAUNCH TO SPACE PLAY
VIDEO: FINAL INSPECTION TEAM CHECKS ATLANTIS PLAY
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS READY FOR SECOND LAUNCH TRY PLAY
MORE: STS-115 VIDEO COVERAGE
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