149 - STS-72 - Endeavour's Hitchhiker (SFU, OAST-Flyer)

December 23, 2021·36 min·3 clips

JP exposes how podcast platforms are secretly inserting ads into his show without his permission.

This episode details the 1996 Space Shuttle Endeavour mission STS-72, which retrieved a Japanese satellite and tested new spacewalking tools. Host JP provides a technical narrative of the flight. The mission's primary objectives were to retrieve the Space Flyer Unit (SFU) and conduct the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology Flyer (OAST-Flyer) experiment. The crew, commanded by Brian Duffy, deployed and later recaptured the OAST-Flyer satellite to test a new solar array design. They successfully used the shuttle's robotic arm to grapple the Japanese SFU satellite, which had been in orbit for ten months. Two spacewalks, or EVAs, were performed by astronauts Leroy Chiao and Daniel Barry to evaluate assembly techniques for the future International Space Station. The first EVA tested tools and procedures for connecting large station modules. The second EVA involved handling large, simulated station components in the shuttle's payload bay. A notable moment was the crew's improvised use of a standard socket wrench to manually crank the SFU satellite's solar array into its stowed position. The mission also carried a student experiment that studied the effects of microgravity on Japanese tree frogs. The OAST-Flyer's new solar array, called the "SAW" for Solar Array Wing, was a lightweight, flexible design intended for future spacecraft. The retrieval of the SFU marked a significant international collaboration, returning Japanese microgravity research samples to Earth. The host emphasizes that the mission's EVA rehearsals directly informed the assembly sequence for the International Space Station's first elements. The episode's tone is educational and detailed, focusing on engineering and mission operations. The style is a straightforward, single-narrator presentation of historical facts and technical descriptions. Listeners interested in the specifics of Shuttle operations and pre-ISS technology demonstrations will find this episode engaging. Those seeking high-drama narrative or contemporary space news might find it too focused on a single, technical past mission.

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