STS-29 was the 28th NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Discovery inserted a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into Earth orbit. It was the third shuttle mission following the Challenger disaster in 1986, and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on March 13, 1989. STS-29R was the eighth flight of Discovery and the 28th Space Shuttle mission overall; its planned predecessor, STS-28, was delayed until August 1989.

The mission was technically designated STS-29R as the original STS-29 designator belonged to STS-61-A, the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. Official documentation and paperwork for that mission contained the designator STS-29 when it was allocated to Space Shuttle Columbia and later as STS-30 when allocated to Challenger. As STS-51-L was designated STS-33, future flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 designators would require the R in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data from one mission to another.

Crew

Prior to the Challenger disaster, this mission was slated to launch in June 1986 as STS-61-H with Columbia as the spacecraft. Anna L. Fisher was originally assigned to be as mission specialist, which would have been her second spaceflight. Fisher chose to leave from NASA in order to be with her family and was replaced by rookie James P. Bagian. This mission would include payload specialists from Indonesia and the United Kingdom, however, they did not have a chance to fly again.

Crew seat assignments

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! Seat

! Launch

! Landing

|rowspan=8| 150px<br />Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.<br />Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.

|-

! 1

|colspan=2| Coats

|-

! 2

|colspan=2| Blaha

|-

! 3

| Springer

| Bagian

|-

! 4

|colspan=2| Buchli

|-

! 5

| Bagian

| Springer

|-

! 6

|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| Unused

|-

! 7

|colspan=2 style="background-color:lightgray"| Unused

|}

Mission summary

Discovery lifted off from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:57:00 a.m. EST on March 13, 1989. The launch was originally scheduled for February 18, 1989, but was postponed to allow for the replacement of faulty liquid oxygen turbopumps on the three main engines. The amended target date of March 11, 1989, was postponed by 1 day, because of the failure of a master event controller (MEC); #2 when it was powered up during prelaunch checkout, as well as an additional day to replace a faulty fuel preburner oxidizer valve (FPOV).

Discovery landed on March 18, 1989, after orbit 80, one orbit earlier than planned, in order to avoid possible excessive wind buildup expected at the landing site. The shuttle touched down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 9:35:51 a.m. EST. The total mission duration was 4 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, and 52 seconds.

One experiment, mounted in the payload bay, was only termed "partially successful". The Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Element (SHARE), a potential cooling system for the planned Space Station Freedom, operated continuously for less than 30 minutes under powered electrical loads. The failure was blamed on the 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 (PCG) 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. An IMAX (70 mm) camera was used to film a variety of scenes for the 1990 IMAX film Blue Planet, including the effects of floods, hurricanes, wildfires and volcanic eruptions on Earth. A ground-based U.S. Air Force experiment used the orbiter as a calibration target for the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) in Hawaii.

Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Flight Day

! Song

! Artist/Composer

|-

| Day 2

| "I Got You (I Feel Good)"

| James Brown

|-

| Day 3

| "Marine Corps Hymn"

|

|-

| Day 4

| "Theme from Star Trek: TOS"

| Alexander Courage

|-

| Day 5

| "Heigh-Ho"

| Song from the Walt Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

|-

| Day 6

| "What a Wonderful World"

| Louis Armstrong

|}

<gallery>

Image:STS-29 Launch.jpg|Liftoff of STS-29

Image:STS-29 External Tank.jpg|The External Tank after separation

Image:1989 s29 TDRS-D deployment.jpg|Closeup shot of the deployment of TDRS-D

Image:EFS highres STS029 STS029-92-38.jpg|Lake Natron, Tanzania, imaged from orbit.

</gallery>

See also

  • List of human spaceflights
  • List of Space Shuttle missions

References

  • NASA mission summary
  • STS-29 Video Highlights