STS-44

STS-44

Atlantis deploys a DSP satellite
Mission type Satellite deployment
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID 1991-080A
SATCAT № 21795
Mission duration 6 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes, 44 seconds
Distance travelled 4,651,112 kilometers (2,890,067 mi)
Orbits completed 110
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch mass 117,766 kilograms (259,630 lb)
Landing mass 87,919 kilograms (193,828 lb)
Payload mass 20,240 kilograms (44,620 lb)
Crew
Crew size 6
Members Frederick D. Gregory
Terence T. Henricks
James S. Voss
F. Story Musgrave
Mario Runco, Jr.
Thomas J. Hennen
Start of mission
Launch date 24 November 1991, 23:44:00 (1991-11-24UTC23:44Z) UTC
Launch site Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Landing date 1 December 1991, 22:34:12 (1991-12-01UTC22:34:13Z) UTC
Landing site Edwards Runway 5
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 363 kilometers (226 mi)
Apogee 371 kilometers (231 mi)
Inclination 28.5 degrees
Period 91.9 minutes


Left to right - Seated: Hendricks, Gregory, Musgrave; Standing: Voss, Hennen, Runco


Space Shuttle program
 STS-48 STS-42

STS-44 was a Space Shuttle mission using Atlantis that launched on 24 November 1991. It was a U.S. Department of Defense space mission.

Crew

Position Astronaut
Commander Frederick D. Gregory
Third spaceflight
Pilot Terence T. Henricks
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 James S. Voss
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 F. Story Musgrave
Fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3 Mario Runco, Jr.
First spaceflight
Payload Specialist 1 Thomas J. Hennen
First spaceflight

Backup crew

Position Astronaut
Payload Specialist 1 Michael E. Belt
First spaceflight

Crew seating arrangements

Seat[1] Launch Landing
Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck.
S1 Gregory Gregory
S2 Henricks Henricks
S3 Voss Runco
S4 Musgrave Musgrave
S5 Runco Voss
S6 Hennen Hennen

Mission highlights

The launch was on 24 November 1991 at 6:44:00 pm EST. A launch set for 19 November was delayed due to replacement and testing of a malfunctioning redundant inertial measurement unit on the Inertial Upper Stage booster attached to the Defense Support Program satellite. The launch was reset for 24 November and was delayed by 13 minutes to allow an orbiting spacecraft to pass and to allow external tank liquid oxygen replenishment after minor repairs to a valve in the liquid oxygen replenishment system in the mobile launcher platform. Launch weight was 117,766 kilograms (259,630 lb).

The mission was dedicated to the Department of Defense. The unclassified payload included a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite and attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), deployed on flight day one. Cargo bay and middeck payloads included the Interim Operational Contamination Monitor (IOCM), Terra Scout, Military Man in Space (M88-1), Air Force Maui Optical System (AMOS), Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM), Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III), Visual Function Tester-1 (VFT-1), Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI), Bioreactor Flow, Particle Trajectory experiment, and Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, a series of investigations in support of Extended Duration Orbiter.

The landing was on 1 December 1991 at 2:34:44 pm PST, Runway 5, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The rollout distance was 11,191 feet (3,411 m), and the rollout time was 107 seconds. The landing weight was 193,825 pounds (87,918 kg). The landing was originally scheduled for Kennedy Space Center on 4 December, but the ten-day mission was shortened and the landing rescheduled following the 30 November on-orbit failure of one of three orbiter inertial measurement units. The lengthy rollout was due to minimal braking for test. Atlantis returned to Kennedy on 8 December. This was also the final shuttle landing on a dry lake bed runway.

See also

References

  1. "STS-44". Spacefacts. Retrieved 26 February 2014.

External links

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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