STS-31: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

All Topics

STS-31

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

	STS-31
	Home Discussion
	Topics STS-31 Topic Home Crew (total flights to date in parentheses) Loren J. Shriver (2) Commander Charles F. Bolden, Jr.Charles F. Bolden, Jr. Maj. Gen. Charles Frank "Charlie" Bolden, Jr., USMC, is a retired U.S.... (2), Pilot Steven A. Hawley (3), Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless IIBruce McCandless II Captain Bruce McCandless II is a former naval aviator with the United States Navy and NASA astronaut.... (2), Mission Specialist Kathryn D. SullivanKathryn D. Sullivan Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan, Ph.D. became the first American woman to walk in space when she performed an EVA during Space Shuttl... (2), Mission Specialist Mission parameters MassMass Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it is equivalent to.... : Orbiter Liftoff: 117,586 kg Orbiter Landing: 85,947 kg Payload: 11,878 kg Perigee: 585 km Apogee: 615 km InclinationInclination Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.... : 28.5° PeriodOrbital period The orbital period is the time it takes a planet to make one full orbit.... : 96.7 min Mission highlights Launched April 24, 1990, 8:33:51 a.m. EDT. Launch scheduled for April 18, then April 12, then April 10, following Flight Readiness Review (FRR). First time date set at FRR was earlier than that shown on previous planning schedules. Launch April 10 scrubbed at T-4 minutes due to faulty valve in auxiliary power unit (APU) number one. APU replaced and payload batteries recharged. Countdown briefly halted at T-31 seconds when computer software failed to shut down a fuel valve line on ground support equipment. Engineers ordered valve to shut and countdown continued. Launch Weight: 249,109 lb (112,994 kg). STS-31 was the tenth launch of the Shuttle Discovery. On board were Charles Bolden, Loren ShriverLoren Shriver Loren James Shriver, is a retired NASA astronaut, aviator, and a retired US Air Force Colonel.... , Bruce McCandlessBruce McCandless II Captain Bruce McCandless II is a former naval aviator with the United States Navy and NASA astronaut.... , Steven HawleyFacts About Steven Hawley Steven Alan Hawley is a NASA mission-specialist astronaut, who has made 5 spaceflights so far. ... , and Kathryn D. SullivanKathryn D. Sullivan Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan, Ph.D. became the first American woman to walk in space when she performed an EVA during Space Shuttl... . The primary payload was the Hubble Space TelescopeHubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope in orbit around the Earth.... (HST), deployed in a 380 statute mile (612 km) orbit. The shuttle's orbit in this mission was its second highest orbit up to that date, in order that the HST could be released near to its operational altitude well outside of the atmosphereEarth's atmosphere Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity.... . Discovery orbited the earth 80 times during the mission. The main purpose of this mission was to deploy the Hubble Space TelescopeHubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope in orbit around the Earth.... (HST) astronomical observatory. It was designed to operate above the earth's turbulent and obscuring atmosphere to observe celestial objects at ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelengths. This was a joint NASA-ESA effort. The rest of the mission was devoted to photography and onboard experiments. To launch HST into an orbit that guaranteed longevity, Discovery soared to 600 km - the highest shuttle altitude ever at the time. The record height permitted the crew to photograph earth's large scale geographic features not apparent from lower orbits. Motion pictures were recorded by two IMAX cameras, and the results appeared in the IMAX film Destiny in SpaceDestiny in Space *Destiny in Space* is a 1994 IMAX movie.... . Experiment activity included a biomedical technology study, advanced materials research; particle contamination and ionizing radiation measurements; and student science project studying zero gravity effects on electronic arcs. Discovery’s reentry from its higher than usual orbit required a deorbit burn of 4 min 58 s, the longest in shuttle history up to that time. Secondary payloads: IMAXIMAX IMAX is a film format created by Canadian IMAX Corporation, that has the capacity to display images of far greater size and ... Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) to document operations outside crew cabin and hand-held IMAX camera for use inside crew cabin; Ascent Particle Monitor (APM) to detect particulate matter in payload bay; Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) to provide data on growing protein crystals in microgravity; RadiationRadiation Radiation in Physics is the process of emitting energy in the form of waves or particles.... Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) to measure gamma rayGamma ray Gamma rays are an energetic form of electromagnetic radiation produced by radioactive decay or other nuclear or subatomic p... levels in crew cabin; Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) to determine porosity control in microgravity environment; Shuttle Student involvement program (SSIP) experiment to study effects of near-weightlessness on electrical arcs, and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment. April 29, 1990, 6:49:57 a.m. PDT, Runway 22, Edwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Ant... , CA. Rollout distance: 8,874 feet (2,705 m). Rollout time: 61 seconds. First use of carbon brakes at landing. Orbiter returned to KSC on May 7, 1990. Landing Weight: 189,118 lb (85,782 kg). See also Space scienceSpace science Space science, or the space sciences, are fields of science that are concerned with the study or utilization of outer space.... Space shuttleSpace Shuttle NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System , is the United States government's current manned... List of space shuttle missionsList of space shuttle missions -\|\|}This is a list of missions flown by space shuttles.... List of human spaceflights chronologicallyList of human spaceflights chronologically Some debate exists over the definition of space, and hence that of spaceflight.... External links br clear=all>