Assembly Flight 2A

STS-88

	Overview This view of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, shown here with its cargo bay doors open, illustrates the launch configuration of Node 1 and other payloads in the cargo bay. Mission Data Launch Date: Dec 3, 1998 1st USA ISS Assembly Flight Launch Site: KSC, Pad 39B Orbiter: Endeavour, 13th flight Orbit: 230 statute miles Inclination: 51.6 degrees Duration: 11 days (estimated)
The crew, trainers, mission planners and flight controllers for Space Shuttle mission STS-88 have already begun a year of training at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, to prepare for the task of starting the largest, international cooperative space venture in history. The Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled for a launch in December 1998 to carry Unity Node and two mating adapters into orbit, the first U.S.-built components of the International Space Station. Endeavour's launch will follow the launch of the first element of the station – Zarya (Functional Cargo Block, or FGB as it is known by a Russian acronym) – by only about two weeks. Zarya will be boosted into orbit by a Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan. Funded by the U.S. but built by Boeing and the Russian Space Agency, Zarya is a self-supporting, active vehicle that will provide propulsive control capability and power for the early station. After it achieves orbit, it will await the arrival of Endeavour and Unity, the main connecting point for later U.S. station modules and components.	Rendezvous with Zarya The shuttle's rendezvous with Zarya begins with a precisely timed launch. Three Spacewalks Two crewmembers will conduct three EVAs to connect power and data transmission cables on the Station. The Crew A five-member crew is already in training for this challenging mission.

Curator: Kim Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: Kelly Humphries | Updated 12/7/98
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