STS-77
Endeavour launches from LC-39B, beginning STS-77
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| Mission type | Microgravity research |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1996-032A |
| SATCAT no. | 23870 |
| Mission duration | 10 days, 40 minutes, 10 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 6,600,000 kilometres (4,100,000 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 161 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Launch mass | 115,456 kilograms (254,537 lb) |
| Landing mass | 92,701 kilograms (204,371 lb) |
| Payload mass | 12,233 kilograms (26,969 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members |
John H. Casper Curtis L. Brown, Jr. Andrew S. Thomas Daniel W. Bursch Mario Runco, Jr. Marc Garneau |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 19 May 1996, 10:30:00.066 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39B |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 29 May 1996, 11:09:18 UTC |
| Landing site | Kennedy SLF Runway 33 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 278 kilometres (173 mi) |
| Apogee | 287 kilometres (178 mi) |
| Inclination | 39.0 degrees |
| Period | 90.1 min |
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 Left to right - Seated: Brown, Casper; Standing, Bursch, Runco, Garneau, Thomas |
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STS-77 was the 77th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission began from launch pad 39B from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 19 May 1996 lasting 10 days and 40 minutes and completing 161 revolutions before landing on runway 33.
NASA's flight of shuttle Endeavour was devoted to opening the commercial space frontier. During the flight the crew performed microgravity research aboard the commercially owned and operated SPACEHAB module. The mission also deployed and retrieved the Spartan-207/IAE (Inflatable Antenna Experiment) satellite and rendezvoused with a test satellite. A suite of four technology experiments known as the Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS) also flew in the Shuttle's payload bay.
The SPACEHAB single module carried nearly 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) of experiments and support equipment for 12 commercial space product development payloads in the areas of biotechnology, electronic materials, polymers and agriculture as well as several experiments for other NASA payload organizations. One of these, the Commercial Float Zone Facility (CFZF) was developed through international collaboration between the U.S., Canada, and Germany. It heated various samples of electronic and semiconductor material through the float-zone technique. Another facility on SPACEHAB was the Space Experiment Facility (SEF) which grew crystals by vapor diffusion.
The Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Spartan-207 satellite was used to deploy and test the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) which laid the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures. It tested the performance of a large inflatable antenna during a ninety-minute mission. The antenna structure was then jettisoned and the SPARTAN-207 spacecraft recovered at mission end.
Inside Endeavour's cargo bay the four TEAMS experiments operated throughout the mission. They included the Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE) to determine to what accuracy the GPS system can supply attitude information to a space vehicle; the Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE) to test improved methods for in-space refueling; the Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE) to evaluate the performance of liquid metal heat pipes in microgravity conditions, and the Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS) payload to demonstrate the technology of the principle of aerodynamic stabilization in the upper atmosphere. Cameras on the shuttle recorded the PAMS satellite as it was deployed and tracked its movements.
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