STS-41
Spacecraft · USA
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads
Credit: NASA
Deployed Ulysses spacecraft.
NASA Official Mission Narrative
Mission Name: STS-41 (36)
DISCOVERY (11)
Pad 39-B (15)
36th Shuttle mission
11th Flight OV-103
Crew:
Richard N. Richards (2), Commander
Robert D. Cabana (1), Pilot
William M. Shepherd (2), Mission Specialist 1
Bruce E. Melnick (1), Mission Specialist 2
Thomas D. Akers (1), Mission Specialist 3
Milestones:
OPF - May 8, 1990
VAB - Aug. 27, 1990
PAD - Sept. 4, 1990
Payload:
ULYSSES,SSBUV-02,ISAC
Mission Objectives:
Launch:
October 6, 1990, 7:47:15 a.m. EDT. Liftoff occurred 12 minutes after two-and-a-half-hour launch window opened at 7:35 a.m. EDT, Oct.6. Heaviest payload to date. Launch Weight: 259,593 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 160nm
Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Orbits: 66
Duration: 4 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes, 4 seconds.
Distance: 1,707,445 miles
Hardware:
SRB: BI-040
SRM: 360Q013
ET : 39/LWT-32
MLP : 2
SSME-1: SN-2011
SSME-2: SN-2031
SSME-3: SN-2107
Landing:
October 10, 1990, 6:57:18 a.m. PDT, Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 8,276 feet. Rollout time: 49 seconds (braking test). Orbiter returned to KSC Oct. 16,1990. Landing Weight: 196,869 lbs.
Mission Highlights:
Primary payload, ESA-built Ulysses spacecraft to explore polar regions of Sun, deployed. Two upper stages, Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and a mission-specific Payload Assist Module-S (PAM-S), combined together for first time to send Ulysses toward out-of- ecliptic trajectory. Other payloads and experiments: Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment; INTELSAT Solar Array Coupon (ISAC); Chromosome and Plant Cell Division Experiment (CHROMEX); Voice Command System (VCS); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE); Radiation Monitoring Experiment III (RME III); Shuttle Student involvement Program (SSIP) and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.
More at: STS-41.
Related
- Family
- Manned spaceflight
- Country
- USA
- Spacecraft
- Discovery
- Projects
- STS
- Launch Sites
- Cape Canaveral
- Agency
- NASA, NASA Houston
Photo Gallery
STS-41
Credit: www.spacefacts.de
STS-41
Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads
Credit: NASA
STS-41
STS-41 Discovery, OV-103, lifts off from KSC Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39
Credit: NASA
STS-41
STS-41 external tank (ET) falls back to Earth after release from OV-103
Credit: NASA
STS-41
STS-41 crewmembers conduct DSO 0472 Intraocular Pressure on OV-103's middeck
Credit: NASA
STS-41
STS-41 ISAC deployed on remote manipulator system (RMS) lower arm boom
Credit: NASA
STS-41
Ulysses spacecraft and its upper stage system are deployed during STS-41
Credit: NASA
STS-41
Ulysses spacecraft and its upper stage system are deployed during STS-41
Credit: NASA
STS-41
Ulysses spacecraft and its upper stage system are deployed during STS-41
Credit: NASA
Chronology
6 events
1990 October 6
11:47 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.- STS-41 - .
Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Akers,
Cabana,
Melnick,
Richards,
Shepherd.
Payload: Discovery F11 / Ulysses [IUS + PAM-S]. Mass: 22,140 kg (48,810 lb). Nation: USA.
Related Persons: Akers,
Cabana,
Melnick,
Richards,
Shepherd.
Agency: NASA Houston.
Program: STS.
Class: Manned.
Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-41.
Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle.
Spacecraft: Discovery.
Duration: 4.09 days. Decay Date: 1990-10-10 . USAF Sat Cat: 20841 . COSPAR: 1990-090A. Apogee: 307 km (190 mi). Perigee: 300 km (180 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 90.60 min.
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.
1990 October 7
- STS-41 - Wakeup Song: Rise and Shine, Discovery! - .
Flight: STS-41.
"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.
1990 October 8
- STS-41 - Wakeup Song: Semper Paratus - . Flight: STS-41. "Semper Paratus" (Always Ready) by The Coast Guard Band in honor of Bruce Melnick, the first Coast Guard member to fly in space..
1990 October 9
- STS-41 - Wakeup Song: Fanfare for the Common Man - . Flight: STS-41. "Fanfare for the Common Man" written by Aaron Copland ,one of copilot Robert Cabana's favorites, followed by: The University of Missouri Fight Song, to pay homage to commander Richard Searfoss' alma mater. CAPCOM: Story Musgrave.
1990 October 10
- STS-41 - Wakeup Song: The Highwayman - . Flight: STS-41. "The Highwayman" by The Highwaymen (Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash). For Thomas Akers, a fan of country music..