STS-115

STS-115

The ISS above Earth, following the installation of a new truss segment and solar arrays during STS-115
Names	Space Transportation System-115
Mission type	ISS assembly
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2006-036A
SATCAT no.	29391
Mission duration	11 days, 19 hours, 6 minutes, 35 seconds
Distance travelled	7,840,000 kilometres (4,870,000 mi)
Orbits completed	188
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch mass	122,397 kg (orbiter)[1]
Landing mass	90,573 kilograms (199,679 lb)[2]
Crew
Crew size	6
Members	Brent W. Jett Jr. Christopher Ferguson Steven MacLean Daniel C. Burbank Joseph R. Tanner Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
Start of mission
Launch date	September 9, 2006, 15:14:55 (2006-09-09UTC15:14:55Z) UTC
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39B
End of mission
Landing date	September 21, 2006, 10:21:30 (2006-09-21UTC10:21:31Z) UTC
Landing site	Kennedy, SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	157.4 kilometres (97.8 mi)[3]
Apogee altitude	226.6 kilometres (140.8 mi)
Inclination	51.6 degrees
Period	91.6 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking port	PMA-2 (Destiny forward)
Docking date	September 11, 2006, 10:46 UTC
Undocking date	September 17, 2006, 12:50 UTC
Time docked	6 days, 2 hours, 4 minutes
(L-R) Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, Christopher J. Ferguson, Joseph R. Tanner, Daniel C. Burbank, Brent W. Jett Jr., Steven MacLean Space Shuttle program ← STS-121 STS-116 →

STS-115 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the first assembly mission to the ISS after the Columbia disaster, following the two successful Return to Flight missions, STS-114 and STS-121. STS-115 launched from LC-39B at the Kennedy Space Center on September 9, 2006, at 11:14:55 EDT (15:14:55 UTC).

The mission is also referred to as ISS-12A by the ISS program. The mission delivered the second port-side truss segment (ITS P3/P4), a pair of solar arrays (2A and 4A), and batteries. A total of three spacewalks were performed, during which the crew connected the systems on the installed trusses, prepared them for deployment, and did other maintenance work on the station.

STS-115 was originally scheduled to launch in April 2003. The Columbia accident in February 2003 pushed the date back to August 27, 2006, which was again moved back for various reasons, including a threat from Tropical Storm Ernesto and the strongest lightning strike to ever hit an occupied shuttle launchpad.