Mission STS-115
Mission description
Text version
This patch commemorates mission STS-115. It highlights Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Steve MacLean's spacewalk as well as his becoming the first Canadian to officially operate Canadarm2 and the Mobile Base System
in space. The patch was designed by graphic arts students of York University Graham Huber, Peter Hui, Gigi Lui.
The sunburst illustrates the importance of the mission's primary objective: the successful installation and activation of the solar arrays.
The Canadian maple leaf rising from behind the Earth emphasizes Canada's role as one of the 15 nations building the Space Station.
The orange star over astronaut MacLean symbolizes the evolutionary role of the Space Station in providing a unique orbiting science laboratory that will act as a stepping stone for possible future destinations in space such as the planet Mars, its moons, or a nearby asteroid.
Patch STS-115. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)
Launch
Date: September 9, 2006
Time: 11:15 p.m. ET
Site: Kennedy Space Center
Landing
Date: September 21, 2006
Time: 6:21 a.m. ET
Site: Kennedy Space Center
Mission duration: 11 days 19 h 06 min
Flight number: STS-115
Orbiter vehicle: Atlantis
Payloads: P3/P4 Truss Segments
During 12 days in space, Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean and his crewmates successfully resumed the assembly of the International Space Station. Launching aboard Shuttle Atlantis, they delivered and installed new truss segments and solar arrays, doubling the power capacity of the orbiting laboratory.
During this mission, Steve MacLean became the first Canadian to operate Canadarm2 for an official task in space and the second Canadian to perform a spacewalk.
Mission STS-115 crew
From left to right. Front row: Brent Jett and Christopher Ferguson. Back row: Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joseph Tanner, Daniel Burbank and Steve MacLean. (Credit: NASA)