The main purpose of
STS-110 was to attach the stainless steel
S0 Truss segment to the
International Space Station (ISS) to the
Destiny Laboratory Module. It forms the backbone of the station to which the S1 and P1 truss segments were attached (on the following missions
STS-112 and
STS-113, respectively). STS-110 also delivered the Mobile Transporter (MT), which is an (1,950 lb) assembly that glides down rails on the station integrated trusses. The MT was designed and manufactured by Astro Aerospace in Carpinteria, CA. During the next shuttle mission,
STS-111, the
Mobile Base System (MBS) was mounted to the MT. This
Mobile Servicing System (MSS) allows the Canadarm2 to travel down the length of the installed truss structure.
Flight Day 1: Launch After a launch scrub on 4 April 2002 due to a hydrogen leak,
Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully launched on 8 April 2002, from
Launch Complex 39B. The countdown on 8 April encountered an unscheduled hold at the T−5-minute mark due to data dropouts in a backup
Launch Processing System. The Launch Processing System team reloaded the required data and the countdown resumed. Liftoff occurred with 11 seconds remaining in the launch window. STS-110 was the first shuttle mission to feature the upgrade Block II
main engines, which featured an "improved fuel pump...a stronger integral shaft/disk, and more robust bearings". The intent of the upgrade was to increase the flight capacity of the engines, while increasing reliability and safety. With the launch of Atlantis, mission specialist
Jerry Ross became the first human to have traveled to space seven times.
Crew seat assignments Spacewalks == Media ==