Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver

The R-bar pitch maneuver (RPM), popularly called the rendezvous pitch maneuver, was a maneuver performed by the space shuttle as it rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS) prior to docking. The shuttle performed a backflip that exposed its heat-shield to the crew of the ISS that made photographs of it. Based on the information gathered during the rendezvous pitch maneuver, the mission team could decide that the orbiter was not safe for re-entry. They may have then decided either to wait on the ISS for a rescue mission or attempt extra-vehicular activity to repair the heat shield and secure the safe re-entry of the orbiter. This was a standard procedure for all space shuttles docking to the International Space Station after the Columbia accident, caused by a damaged heat shield.