STS-34 (31)

Atlantis (5)

Pad 39-B (12)

31st Shuttle mission

5th Flight OV-104

Crew:

Donald E. Williams (2), Commander

Michael J. McCulley (1), Pilot

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz (2), Mission Specialist 1

Shannon W. Lucid (2), Mission Specialist 2

Ellen S. Baker (1), Mission Specialist 3

Launch:

October 18, 1989, 12:53:40 p.m. EDT. Launch set for Oct. 12 rescheduled due to faulty main engine controller on number two main engine. Launch set for Oct. 17 rescheduled due to weather constraints for a return-to-launch-site landing at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. Launch Weight: 257,569 lbs.

Landing:

October 23, 1989, 9:33:00 a.m. PDT, Runway 23, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 9,677 feet. Rollout time: 60 seconds. Orbiter returned to KSC Oct. 29, 1989. Landing Weight: 195,954 lbs.

Mission Highlights:

Primary payload, Galileo/Jupiter spacecraft and attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), deployed six hours, 30 minutes into flight. IUS stages fired, placing Galileo on trajectory for six-year trip to Jupiter via gravitational boosts from Venus and Earth and possible observational brushes with asteroids Gaspra and Ida. Secondary payloads included Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment carried in cargo bay, and in crew cabin, Growth Hormone Crystal Distribution (GHCD); Polymer Morphology (PM), Sensor Technology Experiment (STEX); Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE); IMAX camera; Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiment that investigated ice crystal formation in zero gravity; and ground-based Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment