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STS-39
1991 American crewed spaceflight for the Department of Defense / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
STS-39 was the twelfth mission of the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, and the 40th orbital shuttle mission overall. The primary purpose of the mission was to conduct a variety of payload experiments for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
Quick Facts Names, Mission type ...
![]() The Critical ionization velocity (CIV) experiment in Discovery's payload bay | |
Names | Space Transportation System-39 |
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Mission type | U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Research |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1991-031A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 21242 |
Mission duration | 8 days, 7 hours, 22 minutes, 23 seconds |
Distance travelled | 5,584,423 km (3,470,000 mi) |
Orbits completed | 134 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Discovery |
Launch mass | 112,207 kg (247,374 lb) |
Landing mass | 102,755 kg (226,536 lb) |
Payload mass | 5,663 kg (12,485 lb) |
Crew | |
Crew size | 7 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | April 28, 1991, 11:33:14 UTC |
Rocket | Space Shuttle Discovery |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | Rockwell International |
End of mission | |
Landing date | May 6, 1991, 18:55:37 UTC |
Landing site | Kennedy Space Center, SLF Runway 15 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 248 km (154 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 263 km (163 mi) |
Inclination | 57.01° |
Period | 89.60 minutes |
Instruments | |
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![]() STS-39 mission patch ![]() Charles L. Veach, Michael Coats, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Donald R. McMonagle, L. Blaine Hammond, Richard Hieb, Guion Bluford |
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