Satellites have captured the imagination of popular culture ever since Sputnik beeped its way across the sky. At times, they have popped a house full of popcorn in the movie Real Genius; inspired the visual motifs of ‘60s-era diners, motels and gas stations; and menaced the entire planet in many James Bond films.
Satellites also have made our digital age possible, along with a helping hand or two from the Space Shuttle Program. Never was that more apparent than on mission STS-49, the maiden flight of shuttle orbiter Endeavour.
During this nine-day mission, NASA astronauts retrieved an Intelsat VI satellite that had failed to reach its intended orbit. Intelsat is a communications satellite provider founded in 1964 that operates one of the world’s largest fleets of commercial satellites. The VI satellite Intelsat 603 was built by Hughes Aircraft Company and launched in 1990.
During that launch, the upper stage failed to separate from the satellite, leaving the two attached. That meant the perigee kick motor, used to boost the satellite to its proper orbit, could not fire.
Enter STS-49, whose astronaut team went on a record-breaking spacewalk to track down the satellite, attach a new upper stage booster and place it to its proper geosynchronous orbit. Mission specialists Richard Hieb, Thomas Akers and Pierre Thuot spent more than eight hours capturing the wayward satellite and attaching the booster May 13-14, 1992.
It was the first time three astronauts had been on an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) together and stood as the longest duration EVA until STS-102 crewmembers broke it in 2001.
You can see an artifact of this mission up close inside shuttle replica Independence’s payload bay in Independence Plaza. There sits the cradle that carried the booster motor for STS-49’s mission.
It’s one of many artifacts flown in space that you can experience at Space Center Houston, where the thrilling future and inspiring past of space exploration comes alive.
When astronauts exit a spacecraft to do a spacewalk, it's technically called an EVA. EVA stands for extravehicular activity. Astronauts on a spacewalk wear a spacesuit like this one, technically called an Extravehicular Maneuvering Unit (EMU).
During the Space Shuttle Program, astronauts performed spacewalks to repair satellites, test equipment, conduct experiments, and assemble the International Space Station.
EMUs are made in various sizes that are adjusted for each astronaut. The right fit is important because spacewalks can last up to eight hours and can be physically tiring.
This EMU spacesuit is different than the one displayed in Astronaut Gallery in that it includes the Portable Life Support System (PLSS), a lighting and camera system, and a work station.
Some of the parts on this EMU are back-up and training elements (hard upper torso, gloves), while others are mock-ups used in testing and training (lighting and camera system).
SCA RC model
See the dilemma faced by engineers from this new shuttle, which couldn’t fly under its own power. How did the orbiter travel on earth? Thanks to some out-of-the-box thinking by men like John Kiker, the shuttle carrier aircraft program was born. See a model Kiker built and flew at Ellington Field to convince his bosses that mounting a shuttle on an aircraft could work.
The SCA remote control (RC) model on display is one of the actual remote control models used in preparation for the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT). NASA 905’s first shuttle missions were the 1977 ALT designed to learn more about the landing characteristics of the Orbiter and how the mated shuttle and its 747 carrier operated together.
Heat test
Learn about the development process for the orbiter and touch a shuttle tile to learn how these amazing pieces of ceramic worked. Heat one side of a shuttle tile, yet feel how cool it is on the other side.
Stress test
Discover the story of how the Boeing 747 was retrofitted to mate with the shuttle. Do your own stress tests to see which materials can best serve to support the weight as designed.
Mate and demate
The next area of the exhibit follows the retrofitting into flight tests. On Aug. 12, 1977, the shuttle made its first free flight from a ferry flight with NASA 905. Learn how the massive plane flew with the shuttle on its back and even practice mating and detaching the pair in an interactive display.
STEM careers
In the tale end of the plane, Learn more about the great history of innovation and creative thinking that went into the development of the shuttle and shuttle carrier aircraft. That spirit of innovation is alive and well at NASA Johnson Space Center today, where guests can learn about the many careers and disciplines at work there.
Orbiter Access Arm
This is the actual gantry arm from Kennedy space center launch pad 39B.
It was removed in 2009 as that complex was cleared of its towers to support NASA's future Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket.
The end of the access arm features an environmentally clean room ("white room") that mated with the shuttle orbiter and holds six people. The arm remained in the extended position until seven minutes, 24 seconds before launch to serve as an emergency escape route for the flight crew—that’s why the arrows point away from the direction of the orbiter.
Independence Plaza mission patch
Every human mission NASA has flown since Gemini V has its own patch, created by the astronauts venturing into space.
Independence Plaza also has a unique mission patch and logo. The design reflects the remarkable ingenuity and achievement of the Space Shuttle Program and the innovators who conceived of the plan to ferry shuttles on the back of a 747.
The logo has a patriotic flair, with a flag behind NASA 905 and the shuttle replica Independence. On that flag are five grouped stars to denote the orbiters that flew into space and one single star to represent Enterprise, the orbiter that proved our Boeing 747 could carry a shuttle.
