STS-31

USA

Manned Flight n°: 133

Earth orbit Flight n°: 130

USA manned Flight n°: 66

Launch, orbit & landing data:

Designation	20579 / 90037A
Launch date - time	24 Apr 1990 - 12:33:52 UT
Launch site	KSC, LC39B
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle
Orbiter	Discovery OV-103 (#10)
Primary payload	Hubble Space Telescope
Mass (kg)
Flight Crew	Shriver, Bolden, McCandless Hawley, Sullivan
Call Sign
Earth orbit on :
- Perigee / Apogee	km
- Inclination	°
- Period	min
Landing date - time	29 Apr 1990 - 13:49:57 UT
Landing location	Edwards AFB, Runway 22
Flight Duration (d:hr:min)
Nbr orbits

Flight Crew

Nr.	Surname	Given name	Job	Duration
1	Bolden	Charles	Commander
2	Hawley	Steven	Flight engineer
2	Mc Candless	Bruce	Flight engineer
2	Shriver	Loren	Flight engineer
2	Sullivan	Kathryn	Flight engineer

Mission details:

Apr 01, 1990: Discovery is on pad 39B, ready for launch of mission STS-31 on Apr 12. The Hubble Space Telescope was moved to the pad on Mar 25.
The launch of orbiter Discovery and the Hubble Space Telescope was scrubbed at T-4min on Apr 10, 1990 due to a problem with APU 1. The APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) exhibited erratic behaviour during startup. The launch may be attempted again on Apr 11.
The launch of orbiter Discovery and the Hubble Space Telescope has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Apr 24.
Discovery was launched on Apr 24, 1990 from Complex 39B.
The Hubble Space Telescope was released into orbit by the orbiter Discovery at 19:38 UTC on Apr 25, 1990. Deployment was 1 orbit late because of solar panel problems. McCandless and Sullivan began EVA preps and waited in the airlock, which was depressurized to 5 psi, but the EVA was cancelled when the final attempt to command the starboard array open was successful.

Duration: 5.05 days.Payload: Discovery F10 / Hubble Space Telescope. Mass: 13,005 kg. Perigee: 585 km. Apogee: 615 km. Inclination: 28.5 deg. Period: 96.7 min.

STS-31 - STS-31 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B - Credit: NASA.

Deployed HST (Hubble Space Telescope). Payloads: Deployment of Hubble Space Telescope, IMAX camera in payload bay and in crew compartment, Protein Crystal Growth III-03, Investigation Into Polymer Membrane Process-ing- 01, Air Force Maui Optical Site-05, Radiation Monitoring Equipment III-01, Student Experiment 82-16, and Ascent Particle Monitor 01.

STS-31 - STS-31 crew monitors Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from OV-103's flight deck - Credit: NASA. 56,223 bytes. 576 x 576 pixels.

Orbits of Earth: 76. Distance traveled: 3,328,466 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 112,993 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 85,780 kg. Payload to Orbit: 13,005 kg. Payload Returned: 2,162 kg. Landed at: Concrete runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, Cali. Landing Speed: 328 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 393 m. Landing Rollout: 2,704 m.

STS-31 - STS-31 MS Sullivan wearing EMU prepares for contingency EVA in OV-103 airlock - Credit: NASA. 52,576 bytes. 624 x 624 pixels.

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

STS-31 - STS-31 Mission Specialist (MS) Sullivan dons EMU in OV-103's airlock - Credit: NASA. 48,221 bytes. 608 x 608 pixels.

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

STS-31 - Hubble Space Telescope (HST) above OV-103's PLB during STS-31 deployment - Credit: NASA. 71,484 bytes. 626 x 626 pixels.

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.

STS-31 - Hubble Space Telescope Deploy, Eastern Cuba, Haiti - Credit: NASA. 54,660 bytes. 413 x 413 pixels.

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.

STS-31 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is grappled by RMS - Credit: NASA.

STS-31 - STS-31 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) drifts away from OV-103's RMS - Credit: NASA.

STS-31 - STS-31 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is released by RMS over Andes Mountains - Credit: NASA.

STS-31 - Sunglint and Florida Peninsula, USA - Credit: NASA.

STS-31 - Thunderstorm, Texas Gulf Coast, USA - Credit: NASA.

STS-31 - Eastern Egypt, Red Sea and Saudi Arabia - Credit: NASA.

STS-31 - West Coast, United States and Mexico - Credit: NASA.

Ref.: #1, #7(JR33-36), #8 - update: 08.09.11

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