Manned Flight n°: 132 |
Earth orbit Flight n°: 129 |
USA manned Flight n°: 65 |
Launch, orbit & landing data:
| Designation | 20512 / 90019A |
| Launch date - time | 28 Feb 1990 - 07:50:22 UT |
| Launch site | KSC, LC39A |
| Launch vehicle |
Space Shuttle |
| Orbiter | Atlantis OV-104 (#6) |
| Primary payload | KH-11/1 (USA-53) |
| Mass (kg) | |
| Flight Crew | Creighton, Casper, Mullane
Hilmers, Thuot |
| Call Sign | |
| Earth orbit on : |
| - Perigee / Apogee | km |
| - Inclination | 62.0° |
| - Period | min |
| Landing date - time | 04 Mar 1990 - 18:08:44 UT |
| Landing location | Edwards AFB, Runway 23 |
| Flight Duration (d:hr:min) | 4d 10h 18m |
| Nbr orbits | 72 |
|
|
Crew
| Nr. |
Surname |
Given name |
Job |
Duration |
| 1 |
Creighton |
John Oliver |
CDR |
4d 10h 18m |
| 2 |
Casper |
John Howard |
PLT |
4d 10h 18m |
| 3 |
Mullane |
Richard Michael |
MSP |
4d 10h 18m |
| 4 |
Hilmers |
David Carl |
MSP |
4d 10h 18m |
| 5 |
Thuot |
Pierre Joseph |
MSP |
4d 10h 18m |
Mission details:
Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Edwards
AFB; sixth mission dedicated to Department of Defense; deploying of
reconnaissance satellite AFP-731 (KH-12; USA-53); later on, the satellite
failed and crashed down to Earth.
Atlantis returned to KSC aboard the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on
Mar 13, 1990. It is due to fly another DoD mission in July.
Payload: Atlantis F06 / KH-12 1. Perigee: 198 km. Apogee: 204 km. Inclination: 62.0 deg. Period: 88.5 min.
 |
STS-36 - STS-36 Atlantis, OV-104, rollout is framed in a VAB door
opening at KSC - Credit: NASA. |
Manned five crew. Deployed a classified payload. Landed at: Runway 23 dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, . Landing Speed: 368 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 494.00 m. Landing Rollout: 2,407.00 m. Payloads: DoD Mission - Record altitude (through 5/93).
 | STS-36 - Aerial view of STS-36 Atlantis, OV-104, at KSC LC Pad 39A with T-38A inflight - Credit: NASA. |
NASA Official Mission NarrativeMission Name: STS-36 (34)
Atlantis (6)
Pad 39-A (38)
34th Shuttle mission
6th Flight OV-104
4th Night launch
 | STS-36 - STS-36 Atlantis, OV-104, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39A into darkness - Credit: NASA. |
Crew:
John O. Creighton (2), Commander
John H. Casper (1), Pilot
Richard M. Mullane (3), Mission Specialist 1
David C. Hilmers (3), Mission Specialist 2
Pierre J. Thuot (1), Mission Specialist 3
 | STS-36 - STS-36 Commander Creighton skis on the middeck of Atlantis, OV-104 - Credit: NASA. |
Milestones:
OPF - Oct. 30, 1989
VAB - Jan. 19, 1990
PAD - Jan. 25, 1990 Payload:
DoD(6)
Mission Objectives:
 | STS-36 - STS-36 Pilot Casper reaches for laptop computer on OV-104's flight deck - Credit: NASA. 55,960 bytes. 619 x 619 pixels. |
Launch:
February 28, 1990, 2:50:22 a.m. EST. Launch set for Feb. 22 postponed to Feb 23, Feb. 24, and Feb. 25 due to illness of the crew commander and weather conditions. First time since Apollo 13 in 1970 that manned space mission was affected by illness of crew member. Launch set for Feb. 25 scrubbed due to malfunction of range safety computer. Launch set for Feb. 26 scrubbed due to weather conditions. (Note: external tank loaded only for launch attempts on Feb. 25 and 26, and launch on Feb. 28.) Launch Feb. 28 set for classified window lying within launch period extending from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. EST. Launch Weight: Classified.
Orbit:
Altitude: 132
Inclination: 62.0 degrees
Orbits: 72
Duration: 4 days, 10 hours, 18 minutes, 22 seconds.
Distance: 1,920,000 miles (approx)
 | STS-36 - STS-36 Mission Specialist Hilmers with AEROLINHOF camera on aft flight deck - Credit: NASA. 59,929 bytes. 607 x 607 pixels. |
Hardware:
SRB: BI-036
SRM: 360L009
ET : 33/LWT-26
MLP : 1
SSME-1: SN-2019
SSME-2: SN-2030
SSME-3: SN-2027
 | STS-36 - STS-36 onboard view of the "Bonner Sphere", a neutron flux experiment - Credit: NASA. |
Landing:
March 4, 1990, 10:08:44 a.m. PST, Runway 23, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 7,900 feet. Rollout time: 53 sec. Orbiter returned to KSC on March 13,1990. Landing Weight: 187,200 lbs.
 | STS-36 - Aral Sea, North End, Kazakhstan, CIS - Credit: NASA. |
Mission Highlights:
Sixth mission dedicated to Department of Defense.
 |
STS-36 - Open Ocean, Sunglint and Clouds - Credit: NASA.
|
 |
STS-36 - STS-36 night Earth observation of New York City,
New York - Credit: NASA. |
 |
STS-36 - STS-36 Atlantis, OV-104, glides above EAFB Runway 23
prior to landing - Credit: NASA. |
|
Ref.: #1, #7(JR33), #8, #16 - update: 19.03.06
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