STS-26 (26)

DISCOVERY (7)

Pad 39-B (7)

26th Shuttle mission

7th Flight OV-103

Crew:

Frederick H. Hauck (3), Commander

Richard O. Covey (2), Pilot

John M. Lounge (2), Mission Specialist 1

George D. Nelson (3), Mission Specialist 2

David C. Hilmers (2), Mission Specialist 3

Milestones:

OPF - Oct. 30, 1986

VAB - June 21, 1988

PAD - July 4, 1988

Payload:

TRDS-C, PVTOS, PCG, IRCFE, ARC, IFE, MLE, PPE, ELRAD, ASDF, SSIP(x2), OASIS-I

Mission Objectives:

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Launch:

September 29, 1988,11:37:00 a.m. EDT. Launch delayed one hour, 38 minutes to replace fuses in cooling system of two of crew's flight pressure suits, and due to lighter than expected upper atmospheric winds. Suit repairs successful and countdown continued after waiver of wind condition constraint. Launch Weight: 254,606 lbs.

Orbit:

Altitude: 203nm

Inclination: 28.5degrees

Orbits: 64

Duration: Four days, one hour, zero minutes, 11 seconds.

Distance: 1,680,000 miles

Hardware:

SRB: BI-029

SRM: 360L001

ET : 28/LWT-21

MLP : 2

SSME-1: SN-2019

SSME-2: SN-2022

SSME-3: SN-2028

Landing:

October 3, 1988, 9:37:11 a.m. PDT, Runway 17, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 7,451 feet. Rollout time: 49 seconds. Orbiter returned to KSC Oct. 8,1988. Landing Weight: 194,184 lbs.

Mission Highlights:

Primary payload, NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-3 (TDRS-3) attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), became second TDRS deployed. After deployment, IUS propelled satellite to geosynchronous orbit. Secondary payloads: Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids (PVTOS); Protein Crystal Growth (PCG); Infrared Communications Flight Experiment (IRCFE); Aggregation of Red Blood Cells (ARC); Isoelectric Focusing Experiment (IFE); Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE); Phase Partitioning Experiment (PPE); Earth-Limb Radiance Experiment (ELRAD); Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF) and two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments. Orbiter Experiments Autonomous Supporting Instrumentation System-I (OASIS-I) recorded variety of environmental measurements during various inflight phases of orbiter. Ku-band antenna in payload bay deployed; however, dish antenna command and actual telemetry did not correspond. Also, orbiter cabin Flash Evaporator System iced up, raising crew cabin temperature to mid-80s.

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