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STS-28
STS-28 was the 30th NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to United States Department of Defense (DoD) purposes, and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission launched on August 8, 1989, and traveled during 81 orbits of the Earth, before landing on runway 17 of Edwards Air Force Base, California, on August 13, 1989. STS-28 was also ''Columbia''s first flight since January 1986, when it had flown STS-61-C, the mission directly preceding the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, ''Challenger'' disaster of STS-51-L. The mission details of STS-28 are classified information in the United States, classified, but the payload is widely believed to have been the first SDS-2 relay communications satellite. The altitude of the mission was between and . The mission was officially designated STS-28R as the original STS-28 designator belonged to STS-51-J, the 21st Space Shuttle mission. Official docume ...
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Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the Columbia Rediviva, first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, and the Columbia (personification), female personification of the United States, ''Columbia'' was the first of five Space Shuttle orbiters to fly in space, debuting the Space Shuttle, Space Shuttle launch vehicle on STS-1, its maiden flight on April 12, 1981 and becoming the first spacecraft to be re-used after its first flight when it launched on STS-2 on November 12, 1981. As only the second full-scale orbiter to be manufactured after the Approach and Landing Tests, Approach and Landing Test vehicle ''Space Shuttle Enterprise, Enterprise'', ''Columbia'' retained unique external and internal features compared to later orbiters, such as test instrumentation and distinctive black Chine (aeronautics), chines. In addition to a heavier aft fuselage and the retention of an inter ...
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David Leestma
David Cornell Leestma (born May 6, 1949) is a former American astronaut and retired Captain (naval), Captain in the United States Navy. Personal data Born May 6, 1949, in Muskegon, Michigan. He and his wife have six children. He enjoys golfing, tennis, aviation, and fishing. Education Graduated from Tustin High School in Tustin, California, in 1967; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1971, and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1972. Organizations Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA); Life Member, Association of Naval Aviation. Special honors The Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation (VX-4), National Defense Servi ...
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SDS-2
The Satellite Data System (SDS) is a system of United States military satellite, military communications satellites. At least three generations have been used: SDS-1 from 1976 to 1987; SDS-2 from 1989 to 1996; SDS-3 from 1998 to the present. It is believed that these satellites were known by the code name ''Quasar''. The first generation was named simply 'SDS', the second generation was named 'Quasar' and the third generation each had their own designations. Orbital characteristics SDS satellites have a highly elliptical orbit, going from about 300 kilometers at Apsis, perigee to roughly 39,000 km at Apsis, apogee in order to allow communications with Geographical pole, polar stations that cannot contact geosynchronous satellites. The high apogee meant that the polar regions were visible for long amounts of time, and only two satellites were required in order to achieve constant communications ability. In addition, two geostationary satellites appear to be part of the s ...
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STS-30
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 Crew seat assignments Shuttle processing Atlantis spent three months in the Orbiter Processing Fac ...
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Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) is the second of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The pad, along with Launch Complex 39A, was first designed for the Saturn V launch vehicle, which at the time was the United States' most powerful rocket. Typically used to launch NASA's crewed spaceflight missions since the late 1960s, the pad is currently configured for use by the agency's Space Launch System rocket, a Shuttle-derived launch vehicle which is currently used in the Artemis program and subsequent Moon to Mars campaigns. The pad had also been leased by NASA to aerospace company Northrop Grumman, for use as a launch site for their Shuttle-derived OmegA launch vehicle, for National Security Space Launch flights and commercial launches, before the OmegA program was cancelled. History Apollo program In 1961, President Kennedy proposed to Congress the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. Congre ...
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STS-34
STS-34 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using ''Atlantis''. It was the 31st shuttle mission overall, and the fifth flight for ''Atlantis''. STS-34 launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 18, 1989, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 23, 1989. During the mission, the Jupiter-bound ''Galileo'' probe was deployed into space. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission summary ''Atlantis'' lifted off from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 12:53:40 EDT on October 18, 1989. It carried the Jupiter-bound ''Galileo'' spacecraft in its cargo bay. The countdown was delayed at T-minus 5 minutes for 3 minutes and 40 seconds to update the onboard computer for a change in the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site. The TAL site was changed from Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco, to Zaragoza Air Base, Spain, because of heavy rain at Ben Guerir. The launch was originally targeted for October 12, 1989, the first day of a 41-day laun ...
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Space Transportation System
The Space Transportation System (STS), also known internally to NASA as the Integrated Program Plan (IPP), was a proposed system of reusable crewed spacecraft, space vehicles envisioned in 1969 to support extended operations beyond the Apollo program (NASA appropriated the name for its Space Shuttle Program, the only component of the proposal to survive Congressional funding approval). The purpose of the system was two-fold: to reduce the cost of spaceflight by replacing the existing method of launching space capsule, capsules on expendable rockets with reusable spacecraft; and to support ambitious follow-on programs including permanent orbiting space stations around Earth and the Moon, and a human landing mission to Mars. In February 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed a Space Task Group headed by Vice President Spiro Agnew to recommend human space projects beyond Apollo. The group responded in September with the outline of the STS, and three different program levels of e ...
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STS-26
STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was declared the "Return to Flight" mission, being the first mission after the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster of January 28, 1986. It was the first mission since STS-9 to use the original Space Transportation System (STS) numbering system, the first to have all its crew members wear pressure suits for launch and landing since STS-4, and the first mission with bailout capacity since STS-4. STS-26 was also the first U.S. space mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11, with all of its crew members having flown at least one prior mission. The mission is technically designated STS-26R, as the original STS-26 designation previously belonged to STS-51-F (also known as Spacelab-2). Likewise all flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 desig ...
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STS-51-J
STS-51-J was NASA's 21st Space Shuttle mission and the maiden flight of Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 3, 1985, carrying a payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 7, 1985. Crew Backup crew Crew seat assignments Mission summary STS-51-J launched on October 3, 1985, at 15:15:30 UTC (11:15:30 a.m. EDT), from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The launch was delayed by 22 minutes and 30 seconds due to a problem with a main engine liquid hydrogen prevalve close remote power controller; the controller was showing a faulty "on" indication. The mission was the second shuttle flight totally dedicated to deploying a United States Department of Defense payload, after STS-51-C. Its cargo was classified, but it was reported that twoUSA-11anUSA-12 DSCS-III (Defense Satellite Communications System) satellites were launched into geostati ...
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Communications Satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Radio receiver, receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently. The radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by Line-of-sight propagation, line of sight and so are obstructe ...
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Classified Information In The United States
The United States government classification system is established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic of classified information beginning in 1951. Issued by President Barack Obama in 2009, Executive Order 13526 replaced earlier executive orders on the topic and modified the regulations codified to 32 C.F.R. 2001. It lays out the system of classification, declassification, and handling of national security information generated by the U.S. government and its employees and contractors, as well as information received from other governments. The desired degree of secrecy about such information is known as its sensitivity. Sensitivity is based upon a calculation of the damage to national security that the release of the information would cause. The United States has three levels of classification: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. Each level of classification indicates an increasing degree of sensitivity. Thus, if one holds ...
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STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the disastrous 25th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the final flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. It was planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six days and performing a routine satellite deployment. The mission never achieved orbit; a structural failure during its ascent phase 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B on January 28, 1986, destroyed the orbiter and killed all seven crew members—Commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik and Ronald E. McNair, and Payload Specialists Gregory B. Jarvis and S. Christa McAuliffe. Immediately after the failure, President Ronald Reagan convened the Rogers Commission to determine the cause of the explosion. The failure of an O-ring seal on the starboard Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was determined to have caused the shuttle to break up ...
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