STS-97
P6 Truss and the Station's First Large U.S. Solar Arrays
STS-97 carried the P6 Integrated Truss Segment and its solar arrays to the ISS, dramatically increasing the electrical power available to the growing orbital laboratory.
Mission type
Crewed Space Shuttle assembly mission
Launch
November 30, 2000
Mission end / docking
December 11, 2000
Launch vehicle / spacecraft
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Objective
What this ISS mission set out to accomplish
Increase station electrical-generation and energy-storage capability by delivering the P6 truss with photovoltaic arrays, batteries, and associated power-distribution hardware.
This record treats STS-97 as an assembly or station-support mission rather than as a satellite engineering page, keeping the mission objective separate from the hardware-level ISS engineering record.
Flight and rendezvous
How the mission reached and worked at the station
STS-97 launched on November 30, 2000 using Space Shuttle Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center, Launch Pad 39B.
P6 was launched as a large integrated package in Endeavour's payload bay. Robotic operations and spacewalks attached the truss, connected utilities, and deployed the long photovoltaic wings.
Hardware and assembly
What was delivered, installed, or reconfigured
Primary hardware or assembly focus: P6 Integrated Truss Segment, solar arrays, batteries, and power hardware.
Installation record: P6 truss installed in December 2000. This is the engineering connection between the mission story and the interactive International Space Station breakdown.
Outcome
What changed on the International Space Station
The new arrays provided the power needed for the expanding U.S. segment and became a major early milestone in the station's eventual full truss-and-solar-array architecture.
The documented result makes STS-97 part of the larger ISS assembly chain, where individual missions progressively added structure, power, laboratories, robotics, thermal control, logistics, and crew-support systems.
Continue exploring
Follow the connected story
Open the International Space Station engineering page
See the station modules, truss systems, solar arrays, robotics, and launch/install history in the interactive engineering experience.
Browse launch records
Compare this mission with other launches and ISS assembly flights.
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Explore other TransitSatellite mission stories.