NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was designed to provide long-term data on the space environment. LDEF was released from STS 41-C in April 1984 for a planned one year mission before retrieval by another Shuttle mission. Its planned retrieval was postponed by the loss of the Challenger in 1986. It was finally retrieved by STS-32 in January 1990 and returned to Earth. At the time of its retrieval LDEF was about one month away from re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. Many of the experiments were enhanced by the extended stay in space.

British military communications; 6 deg E. Military communications. Expected life approx 7 years. Owner/operator: Ministry of Defence, Main Building, Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 6 deg E in 1990; 29 deg E in 1991; 65 deg E in 1991; 34 deg W in 1992-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 34.01 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 63.46W drifting at 4.595W degrees per day.

Japanese domestic communications; 154 deg E. Domestic communications. Launching organization Martin Marietta. Launch time 0007 GMT. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 154 deg E in 1990-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 154.04 deg E drifting at 0.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 116.78W drifting at 6.255W degrees per day.

Manned five crew. Deployed Leasat 5, retrieved LDEF. Night landing. Payloads: Deployment of Syncom IV-5, retrieval of Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA)-3, Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) III-2, Latitude/Longitude Locator (L3), American Flight Echocardiograph (AFE), Characterization of Neurospora Circadian Rhythms in Space (CNCR)-01, Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS)-4, Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE), IMAX, Interim Operational Contamination Monitor (lOCM).

Deployed from STS 32 1/10/89; 177 deg W; leased to U.S. government. The Leasat series was developed as a commercial venture to provide dedicated communications services to the U. S. military. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 178 deg E in 1990; 72 deg E in 1990-1997; 77 deg E in 1997-1998; 155 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 155.70 deg E drifting at 0.023 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 100.05E drifting at 0.003E degrees per day. Additional Details: here....

"Let It Snow" Parody with a message to the crew in the lyrics of"Bring her home" meaning the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Written and recorded by"The Prox Ops Boys", Dave Thompson, Mark Schrock, Brian Bertrand, Steve Walker, Ted Rickerl, and Greg Schrage. From the Mission Operations Directorate's Orbit Dynamics (aka Prox Ops) Office

"Notre Dame Victory March" for pilot Jim Wetherbee, graduate of Notre Dame. Sung by quartet of JSC Mission Operations Directorate personnel, all Notre Dame graduates ( Lead: Mark Ferring, class of '80. Tenor: Chris McKenna, class of '84. Baritone: Pete Hasbrook, class of '85. Bass: Fisher Reynolds, class of '82) CAPCOM: Ken Bowersox

"Danny Boy" - part of a three-part wakeup call in honor of Shuttle Commander Dan Brandenstein's 47th birthday including: a trombone and piano ensemble playing"Danny Boy" performed by Martin and Radomski; Boston Celtics basketball forward Larry Bird offering congratulations to the crew and birthday wishes to Brandenstein; and Astronaut Office personnel singing"Happy Birthday".

The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.

Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Reported to the Johnson Space Center in late July 1990 to begin their year long training. Chosen from 1945 qualified applicants, then 106 finalists screened between September and November 1989.

University of Surrey experimental satellite. The first of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd's modular microsatellites. Launched on the Ariane ASAP; carried an operational store and forward communications payload with extensive radiation monitoring experiments for SatelLife and Data Trax Inc (USA). Still operational in 2000. Owner/operator University of Surrey, Dept of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH.

Technology demonstration mission carrying transponder, solar cell, CCD camera technology experiments. Customer: University of Surrey/European Space Agency. Launched alongside UoSAT-3, the microsatellite operated perfectly for 2 days before a failure occured in the downlink. Owner/operator University of Surrey, Dept of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH. Box shaped 350 x 350 x 650 mm. Four solar panels and 6 m gravity gradient boom.

MUSES-A was renamed Hiten after launch. It developed of lunar swingby techniques for future missions and ejected a lunar orbiter. Launching organization ISAS. On 1990 Jan 25: Period 6.665 days, inclination 30.63 deg, 262.49 x 286182.72 km. On 1992 Feb 17: Period 4.53 days, inclination 38.90 deg, perilune 2289.67 km, apolune 49013.93 km.

National operational communications satellite. Designation 1990-2. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 98 deg E in 1990-1998. As of 4 September 2001 located at 52.36 deg E drifting at 0.045 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 96.88E drifting at 0.061W degrees per day.

Manned two crew. Mir Expedition EO-06. Docked with Mir. Transported to the Mir orbital station a crew comprising the cosmonauts A Y Solovyov and A N Balandin to conduct an extensive programme of geophysical and astrophysical research, experiments on biology and biotechnology and work on space materials science.

Low-power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment for SDIO. Research and exploration of the upper atmosphere and outer space. The McDonnell Douglas Corporation has provided the following information for its launch of the Losat spacecraft on 14 Feb 1990: LACE spacecraft (Losat-L), launch time 1615:00.626 GMT, ETR Launch Complex 17. Programmed orbital parameters 95.6 min, apogee 551 km, inc. 43.1 deg. Evaluate laser beam distortion in space.

Relay Mirror Experiment; also known as Losat-R. RME validated stabilization, tracking, and pointing technologies for Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) missions through a credible demonstration of a space-based relay mirror system. The Wideband Angular Vibration Experiment (WAVE) measured low-level angular vibrations affecting performance of acquisition, tracking, and pointing systems. The experiment demonstrated that a laser beam can be accurately relayed from the earth to an orbiting satellite 450 kilometers away and then back to a 3-meter target on the ground. It achieved relay beam pointing accuracy which was 16 times better than the technical requirement. WAVE demonstrated the capability to discern platform disturbance amplitudes of a few nanoradians at discrete frequencies and is therefore a candidate to fulfill similar requirements for future ATP experiments.

Stationed at 70 deg E. Provision of telephone and telegraph radiocommunications and television broadcasting. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 70 deg E in 1990-1995; 170 deg W in 1995-1997 As of 5 September 2001 located at 171.03 deg W drifting at 0.038 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 31.27W drifting at 0.005W degrees per day.

Civilian navigation satellite. Positioned in plane 14 of constellation. Maritime navigation. Signals at 150,00 MHz and 400.00 MHz. Carried COSPAR/SARSAT search and rescue package. Location of vessels in the Soviet merchant marine and fishing fleet; work within the international space search and rescue system for locating vessels and aircraft in distress (COSPAS-SARSAT).

Manned five crew. Deployed a classified payload. Landed at: Runway 23 dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, . Landing Speed: 368 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 494.00 m. Landing Rollout: 2,407.00 m. Payloads: DoD Mission - Record altitude (through 5/93).

Deployed from STS-36 February 28, 1990. Said to be designated 'Misty', and believed to be the first maneouvering stealth satellite. Barely visible, it was rediscovered by amateur observors in October 1990, with a ground track that repeated every nine days. It maneouvered again in early November 1990, changing its inclination by 1.2 degrees and entering a lower orbit with a three-day repeating ground track. Amateurs again found it in 1996 and 1997 in a 66.2 degree orbit with a 99.4 minute period. The decay date for the active satellite is believed to refer instead to debris; the actually satellite was probably deorbited after 1997, perhaps after USA 144 (Misty 2?) was put into operation.

38 C-band and 10 Ku-band transponders. Placed in unusable low earth orbit after second stage separation failure. In May 1992 shuttle STS-49 snared the satellite, and in three EVA's the crew attached a new perigee boost motor, which then reboosted the satellite to geosynchrounous orbit. Positioned at 34 deg W in 1992-1997; 24 deg W in 1997-2001. Later assigned to Intelsat spin-off New Skies, which positioned it at 340º East, from where it provided C-band coverage of the entire Atlantic region, including virtually all of Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the eastern half of North America. As an inclined orbit satellite, IS-603 was best suited for voice/data trunking and video contribution, but could also be used for carrier-scale IP services, notably network bridging and expansion. It supplemented the prime Atlantic region coverage provided by the station-kept NSS 7 satellite, located at 338º East. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 19.96W drifting at 0.012W degrees per day.

It is commonly thought that he was killed by the Israelis, concerned not so much by the supergun work but rather dynamics research Bull was doing to improve Iraqi ballistic missiles. Three weeks later British Customs seized the final eight sections of the Babylon Gun.

First commercial Chinese launch; Stationed at 105 deg E; formerly Westar 6 (retrieved by STS-51A and refurbished). Fixed-satellite telecommunication services and transmission of television signals. Operational life about 10 years. Orbital position 105.5E. Owner/operator: Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co, Ltd. 23-24/F, East Exchange Tower, 38-40 Leighton Rd, Hong K ong. Telex 68345 ASAT HX Fax 852 576 4111. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg E in 1990-1999; 122 deg E in 1999-2000. As of 3 September 2001 located at 121.97 deg E drifting at 0.009 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 23.96E drifting at 3.706W degrees per day.

Polar Orbiting Geomagnetic Survey satellite designed to measure the Earth's magnetic field vector as a function of position. Data from the experiment was used to improve Earth navigation systems, and was stored in an experimental solid state recorder. Six low cost ground stations were designed, built and located around the world to operate the spacecraft flown on this mission.

250 orbits. In addition to Russian materials science experiments, Foton 6 carried out the French Gezon experiment using the Russian Zona-4M electric furnace (Foton spacecraft have also flown the Zona 1, Zona 4, Splav 2, and Konstanta 2 electric furnaces as well as the Kashtan electrophoresis unit). Foton 6, which also carried the European Biopan life sciences experiments, was successfully recovered on the 15th day.

Refurbished Palapa B2 retrieved by STS-51A; 107.7 deg E. Communication services for Indonesia, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Papua New Guinea. Launch time 2227:59.719 Z. Launch complex 17, ETR. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 108 deg E in 1990-1999 As of 29 August 2001 located at 42.49 deg E drifting at 0.002 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 163.55E drifting at 2.663W degrees per day.

Deployed HST (Hubble Space Telescope). Payloads: Deployment of Hubble Space Telescope, IMAX camera in payload bay and in crew compartment, Protein Crystal Growth III-03, Investigation Into Polymer Membrane Process-ing- 01, Air Force Maui Optical Site-05, Radiation Monitoring Equipment III-01, Student Experiment 82-16, and Ascent Particle Monitor 01.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir; last of original design Progress spacecraft. Conducted fifth and final test of Buran ejection seat during ascent to orbit. The K-36M.11F35 seat was installed in an 'experimental droppable compartment' installed in place of the Launch Escape Tower engine on top of the shroud. Docked with Mir on 7 May 1990 22:45:03 GMT. Undocked on 27 May 1990 07:08:58 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 27 May 1990 12:27:30 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.31 days. Total docked time 19.35 days.

Also carried German microgravity experiment. Investigation of the natural resources of the Earth in the interests of various branches of the national economy of the USSR; solution of problems relating to ecology and international cooperation. In accordance with a commercial agreement, apparatus belo nging to the Federal Republic of Germany is also being carried for the purpose of conducting biotechnological experiments.

Mir module; materials processing laboratory. Docked with Mir. Kristall: Mass: 19,500 kg. Mass on docking 17,200 kg. Length: 11. 9 m or 13. 73 m?. Solar array span 36 m. Diameter: 4. 35 m. Payload: 7,000 kg. Two compartments. Instrument-Payload Compartment contains food containers, and industrial processing units Krater 3, Optizon 1, Zona 02, and Zona 03. 0. 8 m hatch leads to Junction-Docking compartment. This contains spherical universal docker with two APAS-89 androgynous docking units. These will be used to dock with Buran shuttle and 1,000 kg X-ray telescope to be delivered by Buran in 1991. Third opening houses earth observation cameras.
Launch originally planned for 30 March 1990. Delayed to April 18, then further delayed due to computer chip problems.
Launched 31 May 1990 12:33 GMT. Docking scheduled June 6 at 12:36 but delayed due to problem with one of Kristall's orientation engines. Docking successful 10 June at 12:47. On June 11 moved to side port. Work within module began 15 June.
Spektr: Late 1991 launch. Remote sensing work. Occupies port opposite Kvant 2. Before this occurs Kristall solar arrays will be relocated to Kvant.
Officially: Specialized module. Experimental-industrial production of semi-conducting materials; refinement of biologically active substances for the production of new medicinal preparations. Cultivation of crystals of different albumine compositions and hybridizatio n of cells. Conduct of astrophysical and technical experiments.

Also performed Indian domestic communications tasks; 83.1 E. Operational multi-purpose satellite for telecommunications, meteorological imaging and data relay, radio and television programme distribution and direct television broadcasting for community reception. Orbital position 83 deg E. Also registered as 1990-5 1A in ST/SG/SER.E/250 by the United States, with category B and orbital parameters 1426.3 min, 35768 x 35811 km x 0.2 deg. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 83 deg E in 1990-1999; 74 deg E in 1999-2000 As of 5 September 2001 located at 73.85 deg E drifting at 0.000 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 71.63E drifting at 0.039E degrees per day.

Stationed at 90 deg E. Provision of telephone and telegraph communications and transmission of television programmes, continuation of work in the context of the 'Intercosmos' programme for the development of new frequency ranges and the creation of long-range systems of space c ommunications jointly with the Byelorussian SSR, GDR, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 90 deg E in 1990; 14 deg W in 1990-1995; 26 deg E in 1995-1998; 96 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 77.53 deg E drifting at 0.186 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 83.10E drifting at 0.160E degrees per day.

International communications; 63 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 38 deg W in 1990; 27 deg W in 1990-1992; 60 deg E in 1992-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 60.04 deg E drifting at 0.000 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 61.81E drifting at 6.628W degrees per day.

Spacecraft mission was research in the field of high-energy (gamma/x-ray) astrophysics conducted jointly with France and Poland. The satellite was based on the Soyuz manned spacecraft and had an extremely long gestation - conceived in 1965, authorised in 1976, scheduled originally for launch in 1984, but further severe technical delays resulted in a 1990 launch.

Stationed at 80 deg E. Relaying of telegraph and telephone information. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 80 deg E in 1990-1994 As of 29 August 2001 located at 71.92 deg E drifting at 0.041 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 79.57E drifting at 0.022W degrees per day.

French DBS; 19 deg W. Direct broadcasting satellite. Registration 1990-2-B. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg W in 1990-1997; 36 deg E in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 62.59 deg E drifting at 6.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 98.15W drifting at 5.991W degrees per day.

West German DBS; 28.5 deg E. Communications satellite, position 28.5E Ariane 4 flight no 37. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 28 deg E in 1990-1999 As of 30 August 2001 located at 32.30 deg E drifting at 0.451 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 128.29W drifting at 2.623W degrees per day.

Manned two crew. Docked with Mir. Mir Expedition EO-07. Transported to the Mir manned orbital station the crew consisting of the cosmonauts G M Manakov and G M Strekalov for the purpose of carrying out a programme of geophysical and astrophysical research, biological and biotechnological experiments, and work on space-materials science.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Delivered cables for rewiring operations and equipment for Soyuz TM-11 Japanese journalist flight. Docked with Mir on 17 Aug 1990 05:26:13 GMT. Undocked on 17 Sep 1990 12:42:43 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 20 Sep 1990 11:42:49 GMT. Total free-flight time 5.02 days. Total docked time 31.30 days.

UK DBS; 31 deg W. Direct broadcasting system. Expected operational life 12.5 yr. Owner/operator: British Sky Broadcasting Ltd, 6 Centaurs Business Park, Grant Way, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 5QD. Sold on-orbit in 1992 to Telenor Norway and redesignated Thor 1. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 50 deg W in 1990; 31 deg W in 1991-1992; 1 deg W in 1992-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 0.72 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 61.51W drifting at 3.830W degrees per day.

Japanese DBS; 110 deg E. Continuation of broadcasting services by BS-2; accommodations to increasing and diversifying demands for broadcasting; establishment of common technology necessary for broadcasting satellite. Launching organization NASDA. Launch time 0905 GMT. BS-3a 'Yuri -3a'. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 110 deg E in 1990-1998 As of 2 September 2001 located at 84.62 deg E drifting at 5.278 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 83.70W drifting at 5.275W degrees per day.

UK military communications; 1 deg W. United Kingdom military communications satellite. Owner/operator: UK Ministry of Defence. Expected operational life 10 years. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 1 deg W in 1990-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 0.97 deg W drifting at 0.002 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 1.27W drifting at 0.000W degrees per day.

Stationed at 13 deg E. Telecommunications satellite. Registered by France in ST/SG/SER.E/234 and 239 until EUTELSAT can register the satellite. EUTELSAT is the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 13 deg E in 1990-1998; 48 deg E in 1999. As of 26 August 2001 located at 48.45 deg E drifting at 0.011 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 6.45E drifting at 3.328W degrees per day.

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Included first Progress recoverable capsule for return of 150 kg of payload to earth. Docked with Mir on 29 Sep 1990 12:26:50 GMT. Undocked on 28 Nov 1990 06:15:46 GMT. After deorbit burn, capsule separated for reentry with an expected landing in Kazakhstan at 28 Nov 1990 11:04:05 GMT. However the recoverable capsule's beacon signal was never received after reentry. All experimental data and materials in capsule lost. Total free-flight time 2.28 days. Total docked time 59.74 days.

Manned five crew. Deployed Ulysses spacecraft. Payloads: Deploy Ulysses, Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet, Intelsat Solar Array Coupon, Solid-Surface Combustion Experiment, Investigations Into Polymer Membrane Processing, Chromo-some and Plant Cell Division in Space, Physiological Systems Experiment, Voice Command System, Radiation Monitoring Equipment III, Air Force Maui Optical Site.

Deployed from STS 41 10/6/90; solar research. Ulysses is a scientific spacecraft, within the framework of the international solar/polar mission. It will be the first spacecraft to fly over the poles of the sun. Frequency 2111.6073/2293.1481 MHz, 8408.2099 MHz., interplanetary trajectory i nto a polar flyby over the sun. Designator ESA/90/01. Also registered by the United States in ST/SG/SER.E/250, orbital data are taken from that document.

"Rise and Shine, Discovery!" written and performed by Boeing Aerospace & Electronics Co. Employees as a tribute to the successful deployment of the Ulysses probe, using a Boeing built booster. Sung by the Boeing Employees Choir. Michael Kysar, Boeing Choir Director, and Gloria Ball, choir member, collaborated on words and music. It includes the refrain: Sailing along, sailing along, flying to explore the galaxy.

Stationed at 99 deg W. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 97 deg W in 1990; 99 deg W in 1991-1994; 95 deg W in 1994-1995; 74 deg W in 1995-1999 As of 1 September 2001 located at 74.05 deg W drifting at 0.010 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 74.06W drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

Geostationary at 99 deg W. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 91 deg W in 1990-1991; 99 deg W in 1991-1993; 103 deg W in 1993-1994; 74 deg W in 1994-1998; 99 deg W in 1998-1999; 91 deg W in 2000.; 74 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 73.96 deg W drifting at 0.015 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 14.62E drifting at 1.829W degrees per day.

Mobile communications; 64.5 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 65 deg E in 1990-1996; 179 deg E in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 178.97 deg E drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 143.50E drifting at 0.015W degrees per day.