STS-38

Mission emblem

Mission dates

Mission:

STS-38

COSPAR-ID :

1990-097A

Crew:

5

Begin:

November 15, 1990, 23:48:15 UTC

Starting place:

Kennedy Space Center , LC-39A

Landing:

November 20, 1990, 21:42:42 UTC

Landing place:

Kennedy Space Center, Lane 33

Flight duration:

4d 21h 54min 27s

Earth orbits:

79

Rotation time :

88.6 min

Orbit inclination :

28.4 °

Apogee :

221 km

Perigee :

215 km

Covered track:

3.2 million km

Payload:

USA 67

Team photo

v. l. No. Charles Gemar, Frank Culbertson, Robert Springer, Richard Covey, Carl Meade

◄ Before / After ►

STS-41

STS-35

STS-38 ( english S pace T ransportation S ystem) is a mission designation for the US Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) of NASA . The launch took place on November 15, 1990. It was the 37th space shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the space shuttle Atlantis.

team

Richard Covey (3rd space flight), commander
Frank Culbertson (1st spaceflight), pilot
Robert Springer (2nd spaceflight), mission specialist
Carl Meade (1st spaceflight), mission specialist
Charles Gemar (1st spaceflight), mission specialist

Mission overview

STS-38 was a US Department of Defense mission . The payload was therefore subject to confidentiality.

According to Aviation Week , STS-38 launched a secret Magnum ELINT spy satellite (ELectronic INTelligence) in geosynchronous orbit. Identical satellites were therefore also launched by STS-51-C and STS-33 . The satellite was used to monitor the Gulf War in 1990.

According to Aviation Week , the shuttle was initially in a 204x519 km orbit with an inclination angle of 28.45 ° to the equator . The orbit was adjusted by three burners from the main engine during the first four orbits of the earth. This created a circular orbit.

The satellite was deployed during the seventh orbit, and by means of the inertial upper stage , it brought itself into the planned geosynchronous orbit during the eighth orbit. Officially, the US Air Force only announced that the payload was successfully launched and stationed in orbit.

Nov. 15, 1990 at 6:48:13 pm EST. The launch was originally planned for July 1990. Refueling tests were carried out on the Atlantis on June 29 and July 13 and 25 due to a hydrogen leak found on the Columbia shuttle during the countdown to STS-35 . This confirmed the existence of the leak. The problem could not be solved on site, so the Atlantis was brought back to the construction hall on August 9th. Since the Columbia (mission STS-35) was transported to the launch pad at the same time, the Atlantis had to spend about a day unprotected in the open. She suffered minor damage during a thunderstorm.

After the repair, the shuttle was prepared for take-off again. An error during the work again caused minor damage that could be repaired on site. On October 12th, the Atlantis rolled to launch pad 39A. Forty short tests on the tank were carried out on October 24th, and no major leaks were discovered. The start was therefore set for November 9th. Due to payload problems, the date has been postponed to November 15th. The start could be carried out in the planned time window (6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.). The total weight at the start was kept secret.

On November 20, 1990, 4:42:42 PM EST, Atlantis landed on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The run-out distance was 2753 meters, the run-out time 57 seconds. The mission had been extended by one day due to poor weather conditions (cross winds) at the originally planned landing site at Edwards Air Force Base , California . Persistently poor conditions led to the landing being relocated to Florida. This was the first landing of the Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center, also the first landing of a shuttle there since 1985. The landing weight was 86.7 t.