STS-99
Endeavour's payload bay, with the SRTM payload
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| Mission type | Radar imaging |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2000-010A |
| SATCAT no. | 26088 |
| Mission duration | 11 days, 5 hours, 39 minutes, 41 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 6,540,000 kilometers (4,060,000 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Launch mass | 116,376 kilograms (256,565 lb) |
| Landing mass | 102,363 kilograms (225,672 lb) |
| Payload mass | 13,154 kilograms (29,000 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members |
Kevin R. Kregel Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie Gerhard P.J. Thiele Janet L. Kavandi Janice E. Voss Mamoru Mohri |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 11 February 2000, 17:43 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 22 February 2000, 23:23 UTC |
| Landing site | Kennedy SLF Runway 33 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 224 kilometres (139 mi) |
| Apogee | 242 kilometres (150 mi) |
| Inclination | 57.0 degrees |
| Period | 89.2 minutes |
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 Left to right - Front: Mohri, Thiele; Back: Voss, Kregel, Gorie, Kavandi |
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STS-99 was a Space Shuttle mission using Endeavour, that launched on 11 February 2000 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The primary objective of the mission was the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) project. This was also the last solo flight of Endeavour; all future flights for Endeavour became devoted to the International Space Station.
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. Its objective was to obtain the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth. SRTM consisted of a specially modified radar system that flew onboard Endeavour during its 11-day mission. This radar system gathered around 8 terabytes of data to produce high-quality 3-D images of the Earth's surface.
SRTM used C-band and X-band interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) to acquire topographic data of Earth's land mass (between 60°N and 56°S). It produced digital topographic map products which met Interferometric Terrain Height Data (ITHD)-2 specifications (30 meter x 30 meter spatial sampling with 16 meter absolute vertical height accuracy, 10 meter relative vertical height accuracy and 20 meter absolute horizontal circular accuracy). The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Besides contributing to the production of better maps, these measurements could lead to improved water drainage modeling, more realistic flight simulators, better locations for cell phone towers, and enhanced navigation safety.
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission mast was deployed successfully to its full length, and the antenna was turned to its operation position. After a successful checkout of the radar systems, mapping began at 00:31 EST, less than 12 hours after launch. Crewmembers split into two shifts so they could work around the clock, and began mapping an area from 60 degrees north to 56 degrees south. Data was sent to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for analysis, and early indications showed the data to be of excellent quality.
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