STS-37 (39)

Atlantis (8)

Pad 39-B (17)

39th Shuttle mission

8th Flight OV-104

Extended mission

Crew:

Steven R. Nagel (3), Commander

Kenneth D. Cameron (1), Pilot

Jerry L. Ross (3), Mission Specialist 1

Jay Apt (1), Mission Specialist 2

Linda M. Godwin (1), Mission Specialist 3

Milestones:

OPF - Nov. 20, 1990

VAB - March 8,1991

PAD - March 15,1991

Payload:

GRO,CETA,APM-02

Mission Objectives:

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Launch:

April 5, 1991, 9:22:44 a.m. EST. Launch set for 9:18 a.m., April 5th. Was briefly delayed due to low-level clouds in area. Launch Weight: 255,824 lbs.

Orbit:

Altitude: 248nm

Inclination: 28.45 degrees

Orbits: 93

Duration: 5 days, 23 hours, 32 minutes, 44 seconds.

Distance: 2,456,263 miles

Hardware:

SRB: BI-042

SRM: 360L014

ET : 37/LWT-30

MLP : 1

SSME-1: SN-2019

SSME-2: SN-2031

SSME-3: SN-2107

Landing:

April 11, 1991, 6:55:29 a.m. PDT, Runway 22, Edwards AFB, Calif. Rollout distance: 6,364 feet. Rollout time: 56 seconds. Landing originally scheduled for April 10, but delayed one day due to weather conditions at Edwards and KSC. Orbiter returned to KSC April 18,1991. Landing Weight: 190,098 lbs.

Mission Highlights:

Primary payload, Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), deployed on flight day three. GRO high-gain antenna failed to deploy on command; finally freed and manually deployed by Ross and Apt during unscheduled contingency space walk, first since April 1985. Following day, two astronauts performed first scheduled space walk since November 1985 to test means for astronauts to move themselves and equipment about while maintaining planned Space Station Freedom. GRO science instruments were Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) and Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSEE). Secondary payloads included Crew and Equipment Translation Aids (CETA), which involved scheduled six-hour space walk by astronauts Ross and Apt (see above); Ascent Particle Monitor (APM); Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment II (SAREX II); Protein Crystal Growth (PCG); Bioserve/instrumentation Technology Associates Materials Dispersion Apparatus (BIMDA); Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME Ill); and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.

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