STS-43

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  21638 / 91054A Launch date - time  02 Aug 1991 - 15:02:00 UT Launch site  KSC, LC39A Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle Orbiter  Atlantis OV-104 (#9) Primary payload  TDRS-5 Mass (kg)  16935 kg Flight Crew  Blaha, Baker, Lucid, Low, Adamson Call Sign   Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee   km    - Inclination  28.45°    - Period   min Landing date - time  11 Aug 1991 - 12:23:25 UT Landing location  KSC, Runway 15 Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  8d 21h 21m Nbr orbits  142

Crew

Mission details:

Manned five crew. Deployed TDRS 5 satellite. Payloads: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)-E/lnertial Upper Stage (lUS), Space Station Heatpipe Advanced Radiator Element (SHARE)-ll, Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument 03, Optical Communications Through the Shuttle Window (OCTW), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) Calibration Test, Auroral Photography Experiment (APE)-B, Bioserve-lnstrumentation Technology Associates Materials Dispersion Apparatus (BlMDA)-02, Investigations Into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP)-03, Protein Crystal Growth Ill Block Il, Space Acceleration Measure-ment System (SAMS), Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE)-02, Tank Pressure Control Experiment (TPCE).

Orbits of Earth: 142. Distance traveled: 5,955,216 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 117,653 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 89,235 kg. Payload to Orbit: 21,265 kg. Payload Returned: 4,192 kg. Landed at: Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Landing Speed: 376 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 605 m. Landing Rollout: 3,014 m.

Mission Name: STS-43 (42)
Atlantis (9)
Pad 39-A (41)
42nd Shuttle mission
9th Flight OV-104
Scheduled KSC landing
8th KSC landing

Crew:
John E. Blaha (3), Commander
Michael A. Baker (1), Pilot
Shannon W. Lucid (3), Mission Specialist 1
James C. Adamson (2), Mission Specialist2
G. David Low (2), Mission Specialist 3

Milestones:
OPF - April 19,1991
VAB - June 19,1991
PAD - June 25,1991

Payload:
TDRS-E,SSBUV-03,SHARE-II,OCTW-01,TPCE
Mission Objectives:

Launch:
August 2,1991, 11:01:59 a.m. EDT. Launch originally set for July 23, but was moved to July 24 to allow time to replace a faulty integrated electronics assembly that controls orbiter/external tank separation. Mission postponed again about five hours before liftoff on July 24 due to a faulty main engine controller on number three main engine. Controller replaced and retested; launch reset for Aug. 1. Liftoff set for 11:01 a.m. delayed due to cabin pressure vent valve reading and postponed at 12:28 p.m. due to unacceptable return-to-launch site weather conditions. Launch reset for Aug. 2. Launch Weight: 259,374 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 174nm
Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Orbits: 142
Duration: 8 days, 21 hours, 21 minutes, 25 seconds.
Distance: 3,700,400 miles

Hardware:
SRB: BI-045
SRM: 360L017
ET : 47/LWT-40
MLP : 1
SSME-1: SN-2024
SSME-2: SN-2012
SSME-3: SN-2028

Landing:
August 11, 1991, 8:23:25 a.m. EDT, Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Rollout distance: 9,890 feet. Rollout time: 60 seconds. First landing scheduled at KSC since 61-C in January 1986 (which was diverted to Edwards). Landing Weight: 196,088 lbs.

Mission Highlights:
Primary payload, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-5 (TDRS-5) attached to an inertial Upper Stage (I US), deployed about six hours into flight, and IUS propelled satellite into geosynchronous orbit; TDRS-5 becomes fourth member of orbiting TDRS cluster. Secondary payloads were Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Element II (SHARE II); Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultra-Violet (SSBUV) instrument; Tank Pressure Control Equipment (TPCE) and Optical Communications Through Windows (OCTW). Other experiments included Auroral Photography Experiment (APE-B) Protein Crystal Growth Ill (PCG Ill); Bioserve / Instrumentation Technology Associates Materials Dispersion Apparatus (BIMDA); Investigations Into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE); Ultraviolet Plume imager (UVPI); and the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.