STS-116

Mission Profile

Overview

STS-116, an ISS assembly mission named "Celsius" by ESA, carried Christer Fuglesang into orbit as the first Swedish citizen in space, honoring the legacy of 18th-century Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. Launched on Discovery, the crew of seven delivered and installed the P5 truss segment, then carried out one of the most demanding rewiring jobs in station history, reconfiguring the ISS electrical power system across four spacewalks, three of them with Fuglesang taking part. When a solar array stubbornly refused to retract, ground teams and crew improvised, and astronauts manually coaxed the panel's folds into place. The mission rotated the Expedition crew, leaving Sunita Williams aboard the station and bringing ESA's Thomas Reiter home. Commanded by Mark Polansky, STS-116 was the last shuttle to fly from historic Launch Complex 39B before it was handed over for the Constellation program.

Crew

Key Milestones

1. 2006-12-09

   Discovery launches at night from LC-39B, the last Shuttle to use that pad

2. 2006-12-11

   P5 truss segment handed off and installed on the ISS

3. 2006-12-14

   Fuglesang's first spacewalk; major rewiring of the station power system begins

4. 2006-12-18

   Crew manually coaxes a stuck solar array to retract during an unplanned EVA

5. 2006-12-22

   Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center; Thomas Reiter returns, Sunita Williams stays

Key Achievements

• Carried Christer Fuglesang, the first Swedish citizen in space

• Delivered and installed the ISS P5 truss segment

• Completed a major rewiring of the station's electrical power system over four EVAs

• Last Space Shuttle launch from Launch Complex 39B

Related Missions

Sources

1. ESA: Sweden's first astronaut Christer Fuglesang reaches orbit
2. Wikipedia: STS-116