Three Crew Members Capture Intelsat VI
Three crewmembers of mission STS-49 hold onto the 4.5 ton International Telecommunications Organization Satellite (INTELSAT) VI after a six- handed "capture" was made minutes earlier during the mission's third extravehicular activity (EVA). From left to right: Mission Specialists Richard J. Hieb, Thomas D. Akers, and Pierre J. Thuot. The three prepare to attach the capture bar which is tethered to Hieb. Thuot is positioned on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, from which he had made two earlier unsuccessful grapple attempts on two- person EVA sessions. Ground controllers and crewmembers agreed that a third attempt, using three mission specialists in the payload bay (PLB) was the effort needed to accomplish the capture feat. Behind the three astronauts is the vertical perigee stage which was attached to the Intelsat VI to boost it from the incorrect orbit it had been left in by a booster failure. The unprecedented 3 person EVA made a success out of the STS-49 mission's goal of finishing the delivery of Intelsat VI to the correct orbit.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: S49-91-026
Date: May 13, 1992
Three Crew Members Capture Intelsat VI
Three crewmembers of mission STS-49 hold onto the 4.5 ton International Telecommunications Organization Satellite (INTELSAT) VI after a six- handed "capture" was made minutes earlier during the mission's third extravehicular activity (EVA). From left to right: Mission Specialists Richard J. Hieb, Thomas D. Akers, and Pierre J. Thuot. The three prepare to attach the capture bar which is tethered to Hieb. Thuot is positioned on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm, from which he had made two earlier unsuccessful grapple attempts on two- person EVA sessions. Ground controllers and crewmembers agreed that a third attempt, using three mission specialists in the payload bay (PLB) was the effort needed to accomplish the capture feat. Behind the three astronauts is the vertical perigee stage which was attached to the Intelsat VI to boost it from the incorrect orbit it had been left in by a booster failure. The unprecedented 3 person EVA made a success out of the STS-49 mission's goal of finishing the delivery of Intelsat VI to the correct orbit.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: S49-91-026
Date: May 13, 1992