STS-44

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Mission Insignia

Image:Sts-44-patch.jpg
Mission Statistics
Mission:	STS-44
Shuttle:	Atlantis
Launch Pad:	39-A
Launch:	November 24, 1991, 6:44:00 p.m. EST.
Landing:	December 1, 1991, 2:34:12 p.m. PST, Runway 5. Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Duration:	6 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes, 44 seconds.
Orbit Altitude:	197 nautical miles (365 km)
Orbit Inclination:	28.5 degrees
Distance Traveled:	2,890,067 miles (4,651,112 km)
Crew photo
Image:Sts-44-crew.GIF
Previous mission: STS-48	Next mission: STS-42

1 Crew
2 Mission parameters
3 Mission highlights
4 See also
5 External links

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Crew

Frederick D. Gregory (flew on STS-51-B, STS-33 & STS-44), Commander
Terence T. Henricks (flew on STS-44, STS-55, STS-70' & STS-78), Pilot
F. Story Musgrave (flew on STS-6, STS-51-F, STS-33, STS-44, STS-61 & STS-80), Mission Specialist
Mario Runco, Jr. (flew on STS-44, STS-54 & STS-77), Mission Specialist
James S. Voss (flew on STS-44, STS-53, STS-69, STS-101 & ISS Expedition 2), Mission Specialist
Thomas J. Hennen (flew on STS-44), Payload Specialist

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Mission parameters

Mass:
- Orbiter landing with payload: 87,919 kg
- Payload: 20,240 kg
Perigee: 363 km
Apogee: 371 km
Inclination: 28.5°
Period: 91.9 min

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Mission highlights

Launch: November 24, 1991, 6:44:00 p.m. EST. Launch set for November 19 delayed due to malfunctioning redundant inertial measurement unit on Inertial Upper Stage booster attached to Defense Support Program satellite. Unit replaced and tested. Launch reset for November 24, delayed 13 minutes to allow an orbiting spacecraft to pass and to allow external tank liquid oxygen replenishment after minor repairs to valve in the liquid oxygen replenishment system in the mobile launcher platform. Launch weight: 259,629 lb (117,766 kg).

Dedicated Department of Defense mission. Unclassified payload included Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite and attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), deployed on flight day one. Cargo bay and middeck payloads: Interim Operational Contamination Monitor(IOCM); Terra Scout; Military Man in Space (M88-1); Air Force Maui Optical System (AMOS); Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM); Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM); Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III); Visual Function Tester-1 (VFT-1); Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI). Bioreactor Flow and Particle Trajectory experiment; and Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, a series of investigations in support of Extended Duration Orbiter.

Landing: December 1, 1991, 2:34:44 p.m. PST, Runway 5, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 11,191 feet. Rollout time: 107 seconds. Landing originally scheduled for KSC on December 4, but ten day mission shortened and landing rescheduled following November 30 on-orbit failure of one of three orbiter inertial measurement units. Lengthy rollout due to minimal braking for test. Orbiter returned to KSC on December 8. Landing weight: 193,825 lb (87,918 kg).

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