Editing Susan Helms (section)

==Spaceflight experience==
[[File:SJHelms.jpg|thumb|right|NASA portrait of Helms]]
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Helms became an astronaut in July 1991. She flew on [[STS-54]] (1993), [[STS-64]] (1994), [[STS-78]] (1996), [[STS-101]] (2000) and served aboard the [[International Space Station]] as a member of the ''ISS [[Expedition 2]]'' crew (2001). A veteran of five space flights, Helms logged 5,064 hours in space, including an [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]] of 8 hours and 56 minutes (world record at the time).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/helms_susan.pdf |publisher=NASA| title=SUSAN J. HELMS (LIEUTENANT GENERAL, USAF) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER) |date=September 2012 |access-date=March 12, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/helms_susan.htm|title=Astronaut Biography: Susan Helms|first=Joachim|last=Becker|website=Spacefacts.de|access-date=11 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060317-12669.html|title=United States Department of Defense|website=Defenselink.mil|access-date=11 April 2018}}</ref>

[[STS-54]] ''[[Space Shuttle Endeavour|Endeavour]]'', January 13–19, 1993. The primary objective of this mission was the deployment of a $200-million NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F). A diffuse X-ray spectrometer (DXS) carried in the payload bay, collected over 80,000 seconds of quality X-ray data that will enable investigators to answer questions about the origin of the Milky Way galaxy. The crew demonstrated the physics principles of everyday toys to an interactive audience of elementary school students across the United States. A highly successful [[extra-vehicular activity]] (EVA) resulted in many lessons learned that will benefit International Space Station assembly. Mission duration was 5 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, 17 seconds.

[[File:Helms.window.jpg|thumb|left|Helms views the topography of a point on Earth from the nadir window of the ISS.]]
[[STS-64]] ''[[Space Shuttle Discovery|Discovery]]'', September 9–20, 1994. On this flight, Helms served as the flight engineer for orbiter operations and the primary RMS operator aboard [[Space Shuttle]]. The major objective of this flight was to validate the design and operating characteristics of Lidar in Space Technology Experiment (LITE) by gathering data about the Earth's troposphere and stratosphere. Additional objectives included the deploy and retrieval of [[SPARTAN-201]], a free-flying satellite that investigated the physics of the [[solar corona]], and the testing of a new EVA maneuvering device. The Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment (SPIFEX) was used to collect extensive data on the effects of jet thruster impingement, in preparation for proximity tasks such as space station docking. Mission duration was 10 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes.

[[STS-78]] ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'', June 20 to July 7, 1996, Helms was the payload commander and flight engineer aboard ''Columbia'', on the longest Space Shuttle mission to date (later that year the STS-80 mission broke its record by nineteen hours). The mission included studies sponsored by ten nations and five space agencies, and was the first mission to combine both a full microgravity studies agenda and a comprehensive life science investigation. The Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission served as a model for future studies on board the International Space Station. Mission duration was 16 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes.

[[STS-101]] ''[[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]'', May 19–29, 2000, was a mission dedicated to the delivery and repair of critical hardware for the International Space Station. Helms’s prime responsibilities during this mission were to perform critical repairs to extend the life of the Functional Cargo Block (FGB). In addition, she had prime responsibility of the onboard computer network and served as the mission specialist for rendezvous with the ISS. Mission duration was 9 days, 20 hours and 9 minutes.

[[Expedition 2]] March 8 to August 22, 2001, was a mission to the International Space Station and Helms was a member of the second crew to inhabit the International Space Station Alpha. The ''Expedition 2'' crew (two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut) launched on March 8, 2001, on board [[STS-102]] ''Discovery'' and successfully docked with the station on March 9, 2001. The ''Expedition 2'' crew installed and conducted tests on the Canadian-made Space Station Robotic arm (SSRMS), conducted internal and external maintenance tasks (Russian and American), in addition to medical and science experiments. During her stay on board, Helms installed the airlock (brought up on the [[STS-104]] mission) using the SSRM. She and her crewmates also performed a 'fly around' of the Russian ''[[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]]'' spacecraft and welcomed the visiting Soyuz crew that included the first [[Space tourism|space tourist]], [[Dennis Tito]]. On March 11 she performed a world-record 8 hour and 56 minute spacewalk to install hardware to the external body of the laboratory module, that stood until 17 December 2024, when [[Cai Xuzhe]] broke the record with [[Song Lingdong]] for the longest spacewalk in human history, of 9 hours and 6 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Andrew |date=2024-12-17 |title=Shenzhou-19 astronauts complete record-breaking 9-hour spacewalk |url=https://spacenews.com/shenzhou-19-astronauts-complete-record-breaking-9-hour-spacewalk/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}</ref> Helms spent a total of 163 days aboard the space station. She returned to Earth with the [[STS-105]] crew aboard ''Discovery'' on August 22, 2001.