STS-98

Mission STS-98 is the seventh flight by the U.S. Space Shuttle to the International Space Station, and is designated ISS Flight 5A. Here are the mission stats, directly from NASA:

• Vehicle: Atlantis/OV-104
• Launch Location: Launch Complex 39A
• Target KSC Launch Date/Time: Feb. 7, 2001 at 6:11 p.m. EST
• Target KSC Landing Date/Time: Feb. 18, 2001 at about 12:58 p.m. EST
• Launch Window: less than 5 minutes
• Mission Duration: 10 days, 18 hours and 47 minutes
• Crew: Cockrell, Polansky, Curbeam, Jones, Ivins
• Orbit Altitude and Inclination: 177 nautical miles/51.6 degrees

This ISS flight will deliver the U.S. scientific centerpiece to the station, the U.S. Laboratory Module Destiny. Destiny, aside from being designed for scientific experimentation, also contains electronics and communications gear required to allow NASA's facility at the Johnson Space Center to assume control of ISS operations previously possible only from the Russian Space Agency. The latter has been controlling station operations through the Zvezda module and Soyuz capsules. In addition, this new gear will allow the use of gyroscopic attitude control for the station, using solar power, rather than the use of expendable propellant.

Destiny will be carried into orbit in Atlantis' cargo bay. After being moved out of the cargo bay using the Space Shuttle's remote manipulator system (`robotic arm'), it will be mated with the Station at the Unity module. Three spacewalks will be required in order to complete mating Destiny to the station; astronauts from Atlantis will perform them from the orbiter.