STS-31 (35)

DISCOVERY (10)

Pad 39-B (14)

35th Shuttle mission

10th Flight OV-103

Crew:

Loren J. Shriver (2), Commander

Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (2), Pilot

Steven A. Hawley (3), Mission Specialist 1

Bruce McCandless II (2), Mission Specialist 2

Kathryn D. Sullivan (2), Mission Specialist 3

Milestones:

OPF - Dec. 5, 1989

VAB - March 5, 1990

PAD - March 15, 1990

Payload:

HST,IMAX-04,APM-01

Mission Objectives:

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Launch:

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 lbs.

Orbit:

Altitude: 330nm

Inclination: 28.45 degrees

Orbits: 80

Duration: 5 days, 1 hour, 16 minutes, 6 seconds.

Distance: 2,068,213 miles

Hardware:

SRB: BI-037

SRM: 360Q/W010

ET : 34/LWT-27

MLP : 2

SSME-1: SN-2011

SSME-2: SN-2031

SSME-3: SN-2107

Landing:

April 29, 1990, 6:49:57 a.m. PDT, Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 8,874 feet. Rollout time: 61 seconds. First use of carbon brakes at landing. Orbiter returned to KSC on May 7,1990. Landing Weight: 189,118 lbs.

Mission Highlights:

Primary payload, Hubble Space Telescope, deployed in a 380- statute-mile orbit. Secondary payloads: IMAX 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; Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) to measure gamma ray 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.

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