Success
STS-116
Human Exploration
United Space Alliance(USA)Commercial
Space Shuttle
LEOorbit
STS-116 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery lifted off on 9 December 2006 at 20:47:35 EST. A previous launch attempt on 7 December had been canceled due to cloud cover. It was the first night launch of a space shuttle since STS-113 in November 2002. The mission is also referred to as ISS-12A.1 by the ISS program. The main goals of the mission were delivery and attachment of the International Space Station's P5 truss segment, a major rewiring of the station's power system, and exchange of ISS Expedition 14 personnel.
Sunday, December 10, 2006 at 1:47 AM
Replay
Mission details
The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the sixteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and utilization, and responsibilities for crew rotation and resupply of the International Space Station. It was conceived in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, during the Space Station Freedom project as it was originally called.
Nov 20, 1998 — ongoing
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011.
Apr 12, 1981 — Jul 8, 2011
Orbital Attempt
#4,809
USA Mission
#33
Pad Launch
#56
Location Launch
#134
Designator
2006-055
Launch Window
NET
Dec 10, 2006, 1:47 AM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Space Shuttle Specs
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.
Length
56.1 m
Diameter
8 m
Launch Mass
2,030 t
Thrust
28,200 kN
LEO Capacity
27,500 kg
Launch Cost
$450M
Reusable
Yes
Maiden Flight
1981
Fastest Turnaround
15d 18h
Total Launches
135
Successful
133
Failed
2
Consecutive Success
22
Maiden flight: Apr 12, 1981
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Dec 9, 2006, 8:47 PM
Total Launches
281
Total Landings
0
Coordinates
28.5242, -80.6508
United Space Alliance
United Space Alliance (USA) is a spaceflight operations company. USA is a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), equally owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Founded
1995
Total Launches
51
Successful
50
Failed
1
Pending
0
Consecutive Success
22