STS-72

STS-72

Endeavour captures the Space Flyer Unit
Mission type	Satellite retrieval Research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1996-001A
SATCAT №	23762
Mission duration	8 days, 22 hours, 01 minutes, 47 seconds
Distance travelled	6,000,000 kilometres (3,700,000 mi)
Orbits completed	142
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch mass	112,182 kilograms (247,319 lb)
Landing mass	98,549 kilograms (217,263 lb)
Payload mass	6,510 kilograms (14,350 lb)
Crew
Crew size	6
Members	Brian Duffy Brent W. Jett Leroy Chiao Winston E. Scott Koichi Wakata Daniel T. Barry
Start of mission
Launch date	11 January 1996, 09:41:00.072 (1996-01-11UTC09:41Z) UTC
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39B
End of mission
Landing date	20 January 1996, 07:41:41 (1996-01-20UTC07:41:42Z) UTC
Landing site	Kennedy SLF Runway 15
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	185 kilometres (115 mi)
Apogee	470 kilometres (290 mi)
Inclination	28.45 degrees
Period	91.1 min
Left to right - Seated: Jett, Duffy; Standing: Scott, Chiao, Wakata, Barry Space Shuttle program ← STS-74 STS-75 →

Left to right - Seated: Jett, Duffy; Standing: Scott, Chiao, Wakata, Barry

STS-72 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission to capture and return to Earth a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit (SFU). The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 11 January 1996.

STS-72, the 74th flight of the Space Shuttle program and the 10th of the orbiter Endeavour was launched at 4:41AM EST January 11, 1996 after a brief hold at the T-5 minute mark due to communication issues. The nighttime launch window was in support of the mission's primary objective, the capture and return to Earth of a Japanese microgravity research spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit (SFU). The 3,577 kilograms (7,886 lb) SFU was launched by Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on 18 March 1995 aboard a Japanese H-II rocket (HII-3), and spent ten months in orbit conducting automated research in materials science, biology, engineering, and astronomy. Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata operated the orbiter's remote manipulator system arm on flight day three to pluck SFU from orbit. Both of the satellites's solar arrays had to be jettisoned prior to retrieval when sensors indicated improper latching following their retraction. This jettison procedure had been incorporated in preflight training as a contingency in the event of such an occurrence. The canisters housing the arrays were jettisoned 12 minutes apart as Endeavour and the SFU traveled across Africa on the thirtieth orbit of the mission. The contingency procedure delayed the capture of the satellite by about an hour and half. Once in Endeavour's payload bay, the satellite's internal batteries were bypassed following connection of a remotely operated electrical cable to the side of the satellite.