STS-29

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STS-29

COSPAR ID	1989-021A
SATCAT no.	19882
End of mission

STS-29 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission to insert a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into Earth's orbit. It was the third mission after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on March 13, 1989.

(total flights to date in parentheses)

• Michael L. Coats (2), Commander
• John E. Blaha (1), Pilot
• James P. Bagian (1), Mission Specialist 1
• James F. Buchli (3), Mission Specialist 2
• Robert C. Springer (1), Mission Specialist 3

• 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

The 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. A US Air Force experiment using orbiter as calibration target for ground-based experiment for Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) in Hawaii.

• 
  Liftoff of STS-29.
• 
  External Tank
• 
  Closeup of deployment.
• 
  Lake Natron, Tanzania

• Space science
• Space shuttle
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of human spaceflights chronologically

• NASA mission summary
• STS-29 Video Highlights