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STS-29
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Crew(total flights to date in parentheses)
Mission parameters- Mass:
- Orbiter liftoff: 116,281 kg
- Orbiter landing: 88,353 kg
- Payload: 17,280 kg
- Perigee: 297 km
- Apogee: 308 km
- Inclination: 28.5°
- Period: 90.6 min
Mission highlightsThe Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Pad B, Launch
Complex 39, KSC, at 9:57 a.m. EST on March 13, 1989. Launch was
originally scheduled for Feb. 18, but was postponed to allow for
replacement of suspect liquid oxygen turbopumps on the three main
engines. The new target date of March 11 could not be made because of
the failure of a master event controller when it was powered up
during prelaunch checkout. The controller was replaced. On the
rescheduled launch day of March 13, liftoff was held at T-9 minutes
for nearly two hours because of ground fog and high upper winds. A
waiver was approved for orbiter wing loads. This was the eighth
flight of Discovery and the 28th Space Shuttle mission.
The primary payload was the third and final component of the
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) constellation in
geosynchronous orbit. The three on-orbit satellites were stationed
over the equator at about 22,300 miles above Earth; two of them 130
degrees apart and a third located between them as an on-orbit spare.
On Flight Day 1, one of three cryogenic hydrogen tanks which
supply the fuel cells that produce electricity exhibited erratic
pressure fluctuations. It was deactivated while engineers studied the
problem, and the crew was told to conserve electrical power. The tank
was reactivated on Flight Day 3, March 15, and operated successfully.
Landing occurred March 18, 1989, on orbit 80, one orbit earlier
than planned, in order to avoid possible excessive wind buildup
expected at the landing site. Touchdown was on Runway 22 at Edwards
AFB, CA, at 9:35 a.m. EST. Total mission elapsed time was 4 days, 23
hours, and 39 minutes.
Payload and Experiments. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
(TDRS-D), which became TDRS-4 in space, and its attached Inertial
Upper Stage (IUS), were deployed from the payload bay less than six
hours after launch, at 3:12 a.m. EST. First-stage orbit burn of the
IUS took place an hour later, and the second burn to circularize the
orbit occurred at 12 hours, 30 minutes, mission elapsed time. It was
stationed at 41 degrees west longitude.
There were eight secondary payloads, including two Shuttle
Student Involvement Program experiments. One student experiment,
using four live rats with tiny pieces of bone removed, was to test
whether the environmental effects of space flight inhibit bone
healing. The other student experiment was to fly 32 chicken eggs to
determine the effects of space flight on fertilized chicken embryos.
One experiment, mounted in the payload bay, was only termed
"partially successful." The Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator
Element, a potential cooling system for Space Station Freedom,
operated continuously for less than 30 minutes under powered
electrical loads. The failure was blamed on faulty design of the
equipment, especially the manifold section.
All other experiments operated successfully. Crystals were obtained from all the proteins in the Protein Crystal Growth experiment. The Chromosomes and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX), a life sciences experiment, was designed to show the effects of microgravity on root development. The IMAX (70 mm) camera was used to film a variety of scenes, including the effects of floods, hurricanes, fires and volcanic eruptions on Earth.
Primary payload, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-4 (TDRS-4) attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), became third TDRS deployed. After deployment, IUS propelled satellite to geosynchronous orbit. Secondary payloads: Orbiter Experiments Autonomous Supporting Instrumentation System-1 (OASIS-1); Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Experiment (SHARE); Protein Crystal Growth (PCG); Chromosomes and Plant Cell Division (CHROMEX); two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments; and Air Force experiment using orbiter as calibration target for ground-based experiment for Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) in Hawaii. Crew also photographed Earth with a hand-held IMAX camera.
See also
External links
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