 Discovery deploys theHubble Space Telescope. | |
| Names | Space Transportation System-31 STS-31R |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Hubble Space Telescope deployment |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1990-037A |
| SATCATno. | 20579 |
| Mission duration | 5 days, 1 hour, 16 minutes, 6 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 3,328,466 km (2,068,213 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 80 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Launch mass | 117,586 kg (259,233 lb) |
| Landing mass | 85,947 kg (189,481 lb) |
| Payload mass | 11,878 kg (26,187 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 5 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 24, 1990, 12:33:51 (1990-04-24UTC12:33:51Z) UTC (8:33:51 am EDT) |
| Launch site | Kennedy,LC-39B |
| Contractor | Rockwell International |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | April 29, 1990, 13:49:57 (1990-04-29UTC13:49:58Z) UTC (6:49:57 am PDT) |
| Landing site | Edwards, Runway 22 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 613 km (381 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 615 km (382 mi) |
| Inclination | 28.45° |
| Period | 96.70 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| |
 STS-31 mission patch  From left:Bolden,Hawley,Shriver,McCandless andSullivan Hubble Space Telescope missions | |
STS-31 was the 35th mission ofNASA'sSpace Shuttle program and the tenth flight of theSpace ShuttleDiscovery. The primary purpose of this mission was the deployment of theHubble Space Telescope (HST) intolow Earth orbit.Discovery lifted off fromLaunch Complex 39B on April 24, 1990, fromKennedy Space Center,Florida.
Following the Challenger accident clarification was required on mission numbering. AsSTS-51-L was also designated STS-33, future flights with the previousSTS-26 throughSTS-33 designators would require theR in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data from one mission to another.[citation needed]
Discovery's crew deployed the Hubble Space Telescope on April 25, 1990, and then spent the rest of the mission tending to various scientific experiments in the Shuttle's payload bay as well as operating a set ofIMAX cameras to record the mission.Discovery's launch marked the first time since January 1986 that two Space Shuttles had been on the launch pad at the same time –Discovery on 39B andColumbia on 39A.
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Loren Shriver Second spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Charles Bolden Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Bruce McCandless II Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer | Steven Hawley Third spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Kathryn D. Sullivan Second spaceflight | |
| Seat[1] | Launch | Landing |  Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shriver | ||
| 2 | Bolden | ||
| 3 | McCandless | Sullivan | |
| 4 | Hawley | ||
| 5 | Sullivan | McCandless | |
| 6 | Unused | ||
| 7 | Unused | ||
This mission was originally to be flown in August 1986 asSTS-61-J usingAtlantis, but was postponed due to theChallenger disaster.John W. Young was originally assigned to command this mission,[2] which would have been his seventh spaceflight, but was reassigned to an administrative position and was replaced byLoren J. Shriver in 1988.[3]
STS-31 was launched on April 24, 1990, at 12:33:51 UTC (8:33:51 am EDT, local time at the launch site). A launch attempt on April 10, 1990, was scrubbed at T−4 minutes for a faulty valve inauxiliary power unit (APU) number one. The APU was eventually replaced, and the Hubble Space Telescope's batteries were recharged. On launch day, the countdown was briefly halted at T−31 seconds whenDiscovery's computers failed to shut down a fuel valve line on ground support equipment. Engineers manually commanded the valve to close and the countdown continued.[4]
The main purpose of this mission was to deploy Hubble. It was designed to operate above the Earth's turbulent and obscuring atmosphere to observe celestial objects atultraviolet,visible andnear-infraredwavelengths. The Hubble mission was a joint NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) effort going back to the late 1970s.[5] The rest of the mission was devoted to photography and onboard experiments. To launch HST into an orbit that guaranteed longevity,Discovery entered an orbit of around 613 × 615 km (381 × 382 mi). At one point during the mission,Discovery briefly reached anapogee of 621 km (386 mi), the highest altitude ever reached by a Shuttle orbiter.[6] The record height also permitted the crew to photograph Earth's large-scale geographic features not apparent from lower orbits. Motion pictures were recorded by two IMAX cameras, and the results appeared in the 1994 IMAX filmDestiny in Space.[7] Experiments on the mission included a biomedical technology study, advanced materials research, particle contamination and ionizing radiation measurements, and a student science project studying zero-gravity effects on electronic arcs.Discovery's reentry from its higher-than-usual orbit required a deorbit burn of 4 minutes and 58 seconds, the longest in Shuttle history up to that time.[8]Discovery orbited theEarth 80 times during the mission.[8]
During the deployment of Hubble, one of the observatory's solar arrays stopped as it unfurled. While ground controllers searched for a way to command HST to unreel thesolar array, Mission Specialists McCandless and Sullivan began preparing for a contingencyspacewalk in the event that the array could not be deployed through ground control. The array eventually came free and unfurled through ground control while McCandless and Sullivan were pre-breathing inside the partially depressurized airlock.[9]
Secondary payloads included theIMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) to document operations outside the crew cabin and a handheld IMAX camera for use inside the orbiter. Also included were the Ascent Particle Monitor (APM) to detect particulate matter in the payload bay; a Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment to provide data on growingprotein crystals inmicrogravity,Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) to measuregamma ray levels in the crew cabin; Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) to determine porosity control in the microgravity environment, and anAir Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.[8]
The mission marked the flight of an 5 kg (11 lb)human skull, which served as the primary element of "Detailed Secondary Objective 469", also known as the In-flight Radiation Dose Distribution (IDRD) experiment. This joint NASA/DoD experiment was designed to examine the penetration ofradiation into the human cranium during spaceflight. The female skull was seated in a plastic matrix, representative of tissue, and sliced into ten layers. Hundreds of thermo-luminescentdosimeters were mounted in the skull's layers to record radiation levels at multiple depths. This experiment, which also flew onSTS-28 andSTS-36, was located in the shuttle's mid-deck lockers on all three flights, recording radiation levels at different orbital inclinations.[10]
Discovery landed on Runway 22 atEdwards Air Force Base inCalifornia on April 29, 1990, at 13:49:57 UTC (6:49:57 am PDT, local time at the landing site). The landing had a rollout distance of 2,705 m (8,875 ft), took 61 seconds, and marked the first use of carbon brakes on a shuttle.Discovery was returned to Kennedy Space Center after STS-31 on May 7, 1990.[11]
| Attempt | Planned | Result | Turnaround | Reason | Decision point | Weather go (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 Apr 1990, 8:47:00 am | Scrubbed | — | Technical | (T−4:00) | Faulty valve in auxiliary power unit.[4] | |
| 2 | 24 Apr 1990, 8:33:51 am | Successful | 13 days 23 hours 47 minutes | Countdown was held at T−0:31 when a fuel valve line on ground support equipment failed to shut automatically. The valve was shut manually and the countdown was resumed.[4] |
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during theProject Gemini, which was first used to wake up a flight crew duringApollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.[12]
| Flight Day | Song | Artist/Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | "Space is Our World" | Private Numbers |
| Day 3 | "Shout" | Otis Day and the Knights |
| Day 4 | "Kokomo" | Beach Boys |
| Day 5 | "Cosmos" | Frank Hayes |
| Day 6 | "Rise and Shine" | Raffi |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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