STS-31

Deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA Official Mission Narrative

Mission Name: 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:

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.