Contingency Missions
STS-300 was the designation for the Space Shuttle Launch on Need (LON) missions to be launched on short notice for STS-114 and STS-121, in the event that the shuttle became disabled or damaged and could not safely return to Earth. After STS-121, the rescue flight for STS-115, if needed, would have been STS-301. After STS-115, the rescue mission designations were based on the corresponding regular mission that would be replaced should the rescue mission be needed. For example, the STS-116 rescue mission was branded STS-317, because the normal mission scheduled after STS-116 was STS-117. Should the rescue mission have been needed, the crew and vehicle for STS-117 would assume the rescue mission profile and become STS-317. All potential rescue missions were to be launched with a crew of four, and would return with ten or eleven crew members, depending on the number of crew launched on the rescued shuttle. Missions were expected to last approximately eleven days. None of the planned contingency missions was ever flown.
No contingency mission was planned for STS-135, the final shuttle mission. Instead, NASA planned to effect any required rescues one-by-one, using Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
| Year | Contingency mission | Supported mission | Year | Contingency mission | Supported mission | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | STS-300 Atlantis | STS-114 Discovery | 2007 | STS-320 Atlantis | STS-120 Discovery | |
| 2006 | STS-300 Atlantis | STS-121 Discovery | 2008 | STS-323 Discovery | STS-122 Atlantis | |
| STS-301 Discovery | STS-115 Atlantis | STS-324 Discovery | STS-123 Endeavour | |||
| 2007 | STS-317 Atlantis | STS-116 Discovery | STS-326 Endeavour | STS-124 Discovery | ||
| STS-318 Endeavour | STS-117 Atlantis | 2009 | STS-400 Endeavour | STS-125 Atlantis | ||
| STS-322 Discovery | STS-118 Endeavour | 2011 | STS-335 Atlantis | STS-134 Endeavour |
Read more about this topic: Space Shuttle Missions
Famous quotes containing the words contingency and/or missions:
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—Joseph Heller (b. 1923)