STS-99

Mission Profile

Overview

STS-99 flew the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, the most ambitious Earth-mapping effort of its time. Endeavour deployed a 60-metre mast tipped with a second radar antenna so that, working with the antenna in the payload bay, it could capture interferometric radar swaths and build the first near-global three-dimensional topographic map of Earth. Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri, on his second flight, served as a mission specialist operating the radar and Earth-observation tasks alongside ESA's Gerhard Thiele. The international crew worked two shifts to keep the radar running continuously, ultimately mapping about 80% of Earth's land surface between 60 north and 56 south. The resulting elevation dataset became a foundational global resource for science, mapping, navigation and defence for decades afterward.

Crew

Key Milestones

1. 2000-02-11

   Endeavour launches from KSC LC-39A with the SRTM payload

2. 2000-02-11

   The 60-metre radar mast is deployed from the payload bay

3. 2000-02-12

   Continuous interferometric radar mapping of Earth's landmass begins

4. 2000-02-21

   Mapping concludes after covering more than 99% of the planned area

5. 2000-02-22

   Endeavour lands at Kennedy Space Center, Runway 33

Key Achievements

• Produced the first near-global 3D topographic map of Earth

• Deployed the longest rigid structure (60 m mast) flown in space at the time

• Mapped roughly 80% of Earth's land surface in about ten days

• Mamoru Mohri's second spaceflight, representing Japan's NASDA

Related Missions

Sources

1. NASA – STS-99 mission archive
2. NASA JPL – Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
3. Wikipedia – STS-99