STS-30

STS-30
	Magellan and its IUS in the payload bay of Atlantis
Names	Space Transportation System-30; STS-30R
Mission type	Magellan spacecraft deployment
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1989-033A
SATCAT no.	19968
Mission duration	4 days, 0 hours, 56 minutes, 27 seconds (achieved)
Distance travelled	2,377,800 km (1,477,500 mi)
Orbits completed	65
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch mass	118,441 kg (261,118 lb)
Landing mass	87,296 kg (192,455 lb)
Payload mass	20,833 kg (45,929 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	David M. Walker ; Ronald J. Grabe ; Mark C. Lee ; Norman Thagard ; Mary L. Cleave ;
Start of mission
Launch date	May 4, 1989, 18:46:59 UTC
Rocket	Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	May 8, 1989, 19:43:26 UTC
Landing site	Edwards Air Force Base,; Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	361 km (224 mi)
Apogee altitude	366 km (227 mi)
Inclination	28.45°
Period	91.80 minutes
Instruments
	Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA); Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE);
	; STS-30 mission patch; ; Ronald J. Grabe, David M. Walker, Norman Thagard, Mary L. Cleave, Mark C. Lee Space Shuttle program ← STS-29 (28) STS-28 (30) →

Last updated March 21, 2024

STS-30 was the 29th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth mission for Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the fourth shuttle launch since the Challenger disaster and the first shuttle mission since the disaster to have a female astronaut on board. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on May 4, 1989, and landed four days later on May 8, 1989. During the mission, Atlantis deployed the Venus-bound Magellan probe into orbit.

The mission was officially designated STS-30R as the original STS-30 designator belonged to STS-61-A, the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. Official documentation for that mission contained the designator STS-30 throughout. As STS-51-L was designated STS-33, future flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 designators would require the R in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data from one mission to another.

Crew


Position	Astronaut
Commander	David M. Walker Second spaceflight
Pilot	Ronald J. Grabe Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Mark C. Lee First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	Norman Thagard Third spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	Mary L. Cleave Second and last spaceflight

Crew seating arrangements

Seat^[1]	Launch	Landing	Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck.
S1	Walker	Walker
S2	Grabe	Grabe
S3	Lee	Cleave
S4	Thagard	Thagard
S5	Cleave	Lee

Shuttle processing

Atlantis spent three months in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) after returning to the Kennedy Space Center at the end of STS-27.^[2] During this period technicians got to work removing and replacing all of the damaged Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles that Atlantis sustained during her prior flight. They also took detailed inspections of the shuttle while simultaneously preparing Atlantis for STS-30R. The shuttle was rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building and mated with ET-29 and an SRB set on March 11, 1989. Eleven days later on March 22, 1989, Atlantis was rolled out to launch pad 39B.^[3]

Mission summary

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, at 14:46:59 EDT on May 4, 1989.^[3] The primary payload, the Magellan spacecraft with its attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), was successfully deployed later that day.^[4]Magellan was the first American planetary mission in 11 years.

The launch was originally scheduled for April 28, 1989, the first day of a 31-day launch period when Earth and Venus were properly aligned. However, the liftoff was scrubbed at T-31 seconds because of a problem with the liquid hydrogen recirculation pump on Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) No. 1, and a vapor leak in the liquid hydrogen recirculation line between the orbiter and external tank (ET).^[4] On the rescheduled liftoff date of May 4, 1989, the launch was again delayed until the final five minutes of the launch window due to cloud cover and excessive crosswinds at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).^[4] Good landing conditions were required at the SLF in case of a Return To Launch Site (RTLS) abort early in the flight.

The only major glitch during the flight occurred on May 7, 1989, when one of the four general-purpose computers programmed to operate the orbiter failed.^[5] The shuttle crew replaced the computer, part of a redundant set, with a backup one. It was the first time a computer had been replaced while in orbit.^[5] The glitch had no impact on the crew's safety or the primary objectives of the mission, although some of the activities involved in conducting experiments had to be canceled while the crew was replacing the computer. There also was no impact to the mission when one of the three thrusters on Atlantis' aft right-hand Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod failed during ascent.^[6]

However, the STS-30 crew experienced several minor annoyances. A Hasselblad camera used to photograph sites on Earth had to be stowed for the remainder of the mission after a shutter stuck during the crew's third day in space. The Text and Graphics Systems (TAGS), a device to send images and graphics to the orbiter from Mission Control Center, had to be turned off on Flight Day 2 because of a paper jam. Commander Walker and Pilot Grabe had problems with a device used to take measurements of central venous pressure to determine the effects of microgravity on the cardiovascular system. On the second full day in space, the water dispensing system in the galley malfunctioned, causing some difficulties for the crew in preparing meals.

Atlantis touched down at Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, California, on May 8, 1989, at 15:43:27 EDT. Minutes before landing, the runway had to be switched from 17 to 22 due to high crosswinds. The mission lasted a total of 4 days, 0 hours, 56 minutes, and 28 seconds.

Payload and experiments

The Magellan spacecraft was deployed from the shuttle's payload bay six hours and 14 minutes into the mission.^[6] Two successive IUS propulsion burns placed the spacecraft on its trajectory to Venus about an hour later. Magellan arrived at Venus in August 1990 and began a 243-day mission of mapping the planet's surface with radar.

Three mid-deck experiments were included on the mission. All had flown before. Mission Specialist Cleave used a portable laptop computer to operate and monitor the Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA).^[6] An 8 mm (0.31 in) video camcorder, flown for the first time on the Shuttle, provided the opportunity for the crew to record and downlink on-orbit activities such as the FEA, which was a joint endeavor between Rockwell International and NASA. Payload bay video cameras were used to record storm systems from orbit as part of the Mesoscale Lightning Experiment.^[6]

Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to awaken a flight crew during Apollo 15.^[7] Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.


Flight Day	Song	Artist/Composer
Day 2	Theme from the film "Superman"
Day 3	Anchors Aweigh The Wild Blue Yonder Colorado State University Fight Song Florida State University Fight Song
Day 4	"Gonna Fly Now" - Theme from Rocky	Bill Conti
Day 5	"A Hard Day's Night"	The Beatles

Gallery

The Magellan probe being tested at Kennedy Space Center.
The probe imaged aboard Atlantis.
Magellan in its stowed position.
Magellan passes overhead.
Thunderstorms imaged from orbit.
Ocean waves off the coast of Mexico imaged from orbit.

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References

↑ Becker, Joachim. "Spaceflight mission report: STS-30". SPACEFACTS. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
↑ "STS-30 Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. April 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
1 2 "STS-30 Atlantis, OV-104, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B". NASA. May 4, 1989. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
1 2 3 Legler, Robert D.; Floyd V., Bennett (September 2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary" (PDF). Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program Office. NASA. pp. 2–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
1 2 Neumann, Peter G. (1994). Computer-Related Risks. Addison-Wesley Professional. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-321-70316-3.
1 2 3 4 Office of Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance (August 25, 1989). "Misson Safety Evaluation Report for STS-30 - Postflight Edition" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
↑ Fries, Colin (March 13, 2015). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). History Division. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

External links

NASA mission summary Archived December 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
STS-30 Video Highlights Archived October 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Spacefacts_STS-30-1] Becker, Joachim. "Spaceflight mission report: STS-30". SPACEFACTS. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2014.

[STS-30_Press_Kit-2] "STS-30 Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. April 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[39B-3] 1 2 "STS-30 Atlantis, OV-104, lifts off from KSC LC Pad 39B". NASA. May 4, 1989. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[STIsummary-4] 1 2 3 Legler, Robert D.; Floyd V., Bennett (September 2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary" (PDF). Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program Office. NASA. pp. 2–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[Neumann-5] 1 2 Neumann, Peter G. (1994). Computer-Related Risks. Addison-Wesley Professional. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-321-70316-3.

[MSER_STS-30-6] 1 2 3 4 Office of Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance (August 25, 1989). "Misson Safety Evaluation Report for STS-30 - Postflight Edition" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[Wakeup_Calls-7] Fries, Colin (March 13, 2015). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). History Division. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

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v t e Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104)
Completed flights	STS-51-J STS-61-B STS-27 STS-30 STS-34 STS-36 STS-38 STS-37 STS-43 STS-44 STS-45 STS-46 STS-66 STS-71 STS-74 STS-76 STS-79 STS-81 STS-84 STS-86 STS-101 STS-106 STS-98 STS-104 STS-110 STS-112 STS-115 STS-117 STS-122 STS-125 STS-129 STS-132 STS-135
Status	Retired
On display	Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Merritt Island, Florida

v t e ← 1988 Orbital launches in 1989 1990 →
January	Kosmos 1987, Kosmos 1988, Kosmos 1989 Kosmos 1990 Kosmos 1991 Gorizont No.29L Kosmos 1992 Intelsat VA F-15 Kosmos 1993
February	Progress 40 Kosmos 1994, Kosmos 1995, Kosmos 1996, Kosmos 1997, Kosmos 1998, Kosmos 1999 Kosmos 2000 Kosmos 2001 Kosmos 2002 USA-35 Molniya-1 No.84 Kosmos 2003 Akebono Kosmos 2004 Meteor-2 No.22
March	Kosmos 2005 JCSAT-1, Meteosat 4 STS-29 (TDRS-4) Kosmos 2006 Progress 41 Kosmos 2007 Kosmos 2008, Kosmos 2009, Kosmos 2010, Kosmos 2011, Kosmos 2012, Kosmos 2013, Kosmos 2014, Kosmos 2015 USA-36
April	Tele-X Kosmos 2016 Kosmos 2017 Gran' No.33L Kosmos 2018 Foton No.5L
May	STS-30 (Magellan) Kosmos 2019 USA-37 Kosmos 2020 Kosmos 2021 Resurs-F1 No.45, Pion 1, Pion 2 Kosmos 2022, Kosmos 2023, Kosmos 2024
June	Kosmos 2025 Superbird-A, DFS Kopernikus 1 Kosmos 2026 Molniya-3 No.45 Okean-O1 No.4 USA-38 Kosmos 2027 USA-39 Kosmos 2028 Globus No.11 Resurs-F1 No.46
July	Nadezhda No.403 Kosmos 2029 Gorizont No.27L Olympus F1 Kosmos 2030 Resurs-F1 No.47, Pion 3, Pion 4 Kosmos 2031 Kosmos 2032 Kosmos 2033 Kosmos 2034
August	Kosmos 2035 STS-28 (USA-40, USA-41) TV-SAT 2, Hipparcos Resurs-F2 No.4 USA-42 Kosmos 2036 Progress M-1 Marco Polo 1 Kosmos 2037
September	USA-43, USA-44 Himawari 4 Soyuz TM-8 USA-45 Resurs-F1 No.48 Kosmos 2038, Kosmos 2039, Kosmos 2040, Kosmos 2041, Kosmos 2042, Kosmos 2043 Kosmos 2044 Kosmos 2045 USA-46 Molniya-1 No.69 Kosmos 2046 Interkosmos 24, Magion 2 Gorizont No.31L
October	Kosmos 2047 Kosmos 2048 STS-34 (Galileo) USA-47 Meteor-3 No.4 Intelsat VI F-2
November	Kosmos 2049 COBE STS-33 (USA-48) Kosmos 2050 Kosmos 2051 Kvant 2 Molniya-3 No.46 Kosmos 2052
December	Granat USA-49 Gran' No.36L Progress M-2 Kosmos 2053 Kosmos 2054
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).