STS-41

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  20841 / 90090A Launch date - time  06 Oct 1990 - 11:47:16 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39B Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle Orbiter  Discovery OV-103 (#11) Primary payload  Ulysses Mass (kg)   Flight Crew  Richards, Cabana, Shepherd Melnick, Akers Call Sign   Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee   km    - Inclination  °    - Period   min Landing date - time  10 Oct 1990 - 13:57:19 UT Landing location  Edwards AFB, Runway 22 Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  4d:02h:10m Nbr orbits

Flight Crew

Mission details:

• Jun 05, 1990: Launch of STS-35 has been rescheduled for August 9. A fuelling test revealed a leak in the seal between the orbiter and the External Tank; repairs will require restacking of the Shuttle in the VAB. The stack was rolled back to the VAB on Jun 12. The STS-41 SRB stack was rolled out to pad 39B to make room for it.
• Sep 04, 1990: Discovery has been mated with the STS-41 stack and will be rolled out to LC39B on Sep 04 for the Ulysses mission.
• Discovery landed on Oct 10, 1990 on Runway 22 at Edwards, successfully completing mission STS-41, launched on Oct 6. The ESA Ulysses probe is in solar orbit on its way to Jupiter. The PAM-S final stage, and the second stage of the IUS, as well as associated adapters, also are in solar orbit.

STS-41 - Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads - Credit: NASA. 45,938 bytes. 619 x 619 pixels.

Manned five crew. Deployed Ulysses spacecraft. Payloads: Deploy Ulysses, Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet, Intelsat Solar Array Coupon, Solid-Surface Combustion Experiment, Investigations Into Polymer Membrane Processing, Chromo-some and Plant Cell Division in Space, Physiological Systems Experiment, Voice Command System, Radiation Monitoring Equipment III, Air Force Maui Optical Site.

STS-41 - Rare view of two space shuttles on adjacent KSC Launch Complex (LC) 39 pads - Credit: NASA. 58,761 bytes. 614 x 614 pixels.

STS-41 - STS-41 Discovery, OV-103, lifts off from KSC Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39 - Credit: NASA. 15,126 bytes. 407 x 407 pixels.

Mission Name: STS-41 (36)
DISCOVERY (11)
Pad 39-B (15)
36th Shuttle mission
11th Flight OV-103

Crew:
Richard N. Richards (2), Commander
Robert D. Cabana (1), Pilot
William M. Shepherd (2), Mission Specialist 1
Bruce E. Melnick (1), Mission Specialist 2
Thomas D. Akers (1), Mission Specialist 3

STS-41 - STS-41 external tank (ET) falls back to Earth after release from OV-103 - Credit: NASA. 35,132 bytes. 605 x 605 pixels.

Payload:
ULYSSES,SSBUV-02,ISAC
Mission Objectives:

Launch:
October 6, 1990, 7:47:15 a.m. EDT. Liftoff occurred 12 minutes after two-and-a-half-hour launch window opened at 7:35 a.m. EDT, Oct.6. Heaviest payload to date. Launch Weight: 259,593 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 160nm
Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Orbits: 66
Duration: 4 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes, 4 seconds.
Distance: 1,707,445 miles

STS-41 - STS-41 crewmembers conduct DSO 0472 Intraocular Pressure on OV-103's middeck - Credit: NASA. 43,695 bytes. 618 x 618 pixels.

Landing:
October 10, 1990, 6:57:18 a.m. PDT, Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 8,276 feet. Rollout time: 49 seconds (braking test). Orbiter returned to KSC Oct. 16,1990. Landing Weight: 196,869 lbs.

STS-41 - STS-41 ISAC deployed on remote manipulator system (RMS) lower arm boom - Credit: NASA. 51,920 bytes. 582 x 582 pixels.

STS-41 - Ulysses spacecraft and its upper stage system are deployed during STS-41 - Credit: NASA.

STS-41 - Ulysses spacecraft and its upper stage system are deployed during STS-41 - Credit: NASA.

STS-41 - Ulysses spacecraft and its upper stage system are deployed during STS-41 - Credit: NASA.