Sts-44

STS-44

Atlantis deploys a DSP satellite
Mission type	Satellite deployment
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1991-080A
SATCAT №	21795
Mission duration	6 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes, 44 seconds
Distance travelled	4,651,112 kilometers (2,890,067 mi)
Orbits completed	110
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch mass	117,766 kilograms (259,630 lb)
Landing mass	87,919 kilograms (193,828 lb)
Payload mass	20,240 kilograms (44,620 lb)
Crew
Crew size	6
Members	Frederick D. Gregory Terence T. Henricks James S. Voss F. Story Musgrave Mario Runco, Jr. Thomas J. Hennen
Start of mission
Launch date	24 November 1991, 23:44:00 (1991-11-24T23:44Z) UTC
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Landing date	Did not recognize date. Try slightly modifying the date in the first parameter. UTC
Landing site	Edwards Runway 5
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	363 kilometers (226 mi)
Apogee	371 kilometers (231 mi)
Inclination	28.5 degrees
Period	91.9 minutes
Left to right - Seated: Hendricks, Gregory, Musgrave; Standing: Voss, Hennen, Runco Space Shuttle program ← STS-48 STS-42 →

STS-44 was a Space Shuttle mission using Atlantis that launched on 24 November 1991. It was a U.S. Department of Defense space mission.

Crew

Backup crew

Crew seating arrangements

Seat[1]	Launch	Landing	Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck.
S1	Gregory	Gregory
S2	Henricks	Henricks
S3	Voss	Runco
S4	Musgrave	Musgrave
S5	Runco	Voss
S6	Hennen	Hennen

Mission highlights

The launch was on 24 November 1991 at 6:44:00 pm EST. A launch set for 19 November was delayed due to replacement and testing of a malfunctioning redundant inertial measurement unit on the Inertial Upper Stage booster attached to the Defense Support Program satellite. The launch was reset for 24 November and was delayed by 13 minutes to allow an orbiting spacecraft to pass and to allow external tank liquid oxygen replenishment after minor repairs to a valve in the liquid oxygen replenishment system in the mobile launcher platform. Launch weight was 117,766 kilograms (259,630 lb).

The mission was dedicated to the Department of Defense. The unclassified payload included a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite and attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), deployed on flight day one. Cargo bay and middeck payloads included the Interim Operational Contamination Monitor (IOCM), Terra Scout, Military Man in Space (M88-1), Air Force Maui Optical System (AMOS), Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM), Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III), Visual Function Tester-1 (VFT-1), Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI), Bioreactor Flow, Particle Trajectory experiment, and Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, a series of investigations in support of Extended Duration Orbiter.

The landing was on 1 December 1991 at 2:34:44 pm PST, Runway 5, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The rollout distance was 11,191 feet (3,411 m), and the rollout time was 107 seconds. The landing weight was 193,825 pounds (87,918 kg). The landing was originally scheduled for Kennedy Space Center on 4 December, but the ten-day mission was shortened and the landing rescheduled following the 30 November on-orbit failure of one of three orbiter inertial measurement units. The lengthy rollout was due to minimal braking for test. Atlantis returned to Kennedy on 8 December.

See also

• Space science
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of human spaceflights chronologically
• Nikon NASA F4

References

1. ^ "STS-44". Spacefacts. Retrieved 26 February 2014. 

External links

• NASA mission summary
• STS-44 Video Highlights

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.