STS-41
Encyclopedia
STS-41 was the eleventh mission of the Space Shuttle
Discovery
. The four-day mission with a primary objective to launch the Ulysses
probe as part of the "International Solar Polar Mission".
Primary payload, ESA-built Ulysses
spacecraft to explore polar regions of Sun
, deployed. Two upper stages, Inertial Upper Stage
(IUS) and a mission-specific Payload Assist Module
-S (PAM-S), combined together for first time to send Ulysses toward out-of- ecliptic trajectory. Other payloads and experiments: Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment; INTELSAT Solar Array Coupon (ISAC); Chromosome and Plant Cell Division Experiment (CHROMEX); Voice Command System (VCS); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE); Radiation Monitoring Experiment III (RME III); Shuttle Student involvement Program (SSIP) and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.
Six hours after Discoverys launch, the Ulysses spacecraft was deployed from the payload bay. Ulysses, a joint project between the European Space Agency and NASA, was the first spacecraft to study the Sun's polar regions. Its voyage to the Sun began with a sixteen month trip to Jupiter
where the planet's gravitational energy was used to fling Ulysses southward out of the orbital plane of the planets and on toward a solar south pole passage in 1994. The spacecraft crossed back over the orbital plane and made a solar north pole passage in 1995. By the time Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base
, Ulysses had already traversed one million miles (1.6 Gm) on its five year mission.
With the Ulysses spacecraft on its way, the STS-41 crew began an ambitious schedule of science experiments. Flowering plant samples were grown in the CHROMEX-2 module in a Kennedy Space Center
and State University of New York at Stony Brook
experiment. An earlier version of the experiment (March 1989) revealed chromosome damage in root tip cells but no damage to control plants on Earth. By studying plant samples carried on Discovery, researchers hoped to determine how the genetic material in the root cells respond to microgravity. The information gained will be important to future space travelers
on long-term expeditions, to researchers on the planned Space Station Freedom
, and may contribute to advances in intensive farming practices on Earth.
Understanding fire behavior in microgravity is part of the continuing research to improve Space Shuttle safety. In a specially designed chamber, called the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment, a strip of paper was burned and filmed to gain an understanding of the development of flame and its movement in the absence of convection currents. This experiment was sponsored by the Lewis Research Center and Mississippi State University
.
Atmospheric ozone depletion is an environmental problem of worldwide concern. NASA's
NIMBUS-7 satellite and NOAA's TIROS
satellites provide daily
data to permit researchers to detect ozone trends. The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument, from the Goddard Space Flight Center
, carried an ozone detector instrument identical to those on the satellites. By comparing Discoverys measurements with coordinated satellite observations, scientists can now calibrate their satellite instruments to insure the most accurate readings possible.
In 1990, a commercial expendable launch vehicle stranded an INTELSAT
communication satellite in low orbit. Before STS-41, NASA was evaluating a possible Shuttle rescue mission in 1992. In preparation for this rescue, solar arrays, similar to those on the satellite, were exposed to the conditions of low orbit to determine if they were in any way altered by the atomic oxygen present. The returned arrays were closely examined it was found that the INTELSAT's arrays were not significantly damaged. Based on this finding, NASA went ahead and carried out STS-49
in 1992.
Until STS-41, previous research had shown that during the process of adapting to
microgravity, animals and humans experience loss of bone mass, cardiac deconditioning
, and, after prolonged periods (>30 days), develop symptoms similar to that of terrestrial disuse osteoporsis. The goal of the STS-41 Physiological Systems Experiment, sponsored the Ames Research Center and Pennsylvania State University
's Center for Cell Research, was to determine if pharmacological treatments would be effective in reducing or eliminating some of these disorders. Proteins, developed by Genentech
of San Francisco, California, were administered to eight rats during the flight while another eight rats accompanying them on the flight did not receive the treatment.
The Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing experiment was conducted to determine the role convection currents play in membrane formation. Membranes are used in commercial applications for purification of medicines, kidney dialysis, and water desalination. This experiment was sponsored in part by the Battelle Advanced Materials Center for the Commercial Development of Space in Columbus, OH.
During open periods in the STS-41 crew schedule, the astronauts video taped a number of demonstrations as part of an effort to create an educational video tape for the middle school level students. The tape was later distributed nationwide through NASA's Teacher Resource Center network.
Additional crew activities included experimenting with a voice command system to control onboard television cameras and monitoring ionizing radiation exposure to the crew within the orbiter cabin.
On 10 October 1990, at 6:57:18 am PDT, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base
, CA on runway 22. Rollout distance was 8276 feet (2,522.5 m) and the rollout time was 49 seconds (braking test). Discovery was returned to Kennedy Space Center on 16 October 1990.
. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
. The four-day mission with a primary objective to launch the Ulysses
Ulysses probe
Ulysses is a decommissioned robotic space probe that was designed to study the Sun as a joint venture of NASA and the European Space Agency . The spacecraft was originally named Odysseus, because of its lengthy and indirect trajectory to near Solar distance...
probe as part of the "International Solar Polar Mission".
Crew
Mission parameters
- MassMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
:- Orbiter Liftoff: 117749 kilogram
- Orbiter Landing: 89298 kilogram
- Payload: 28451 kilogram
- PerigeePerigeePerigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
: 300 kilometres (162 nmi) - Apogee: 307 kilometres (165.8 nmi)
- InclinationInclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
: 28.5° - PeriodOrbital periodThe orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
: 90.6 min
Mission highlights
6 October 1990, 7:47:15 am EDT. Liftoff occurred 12 minutes after two-and-a-half-hour launch window opened at 7:35 am EDT, 6 October. Heaviest payload to date. Launch Weight: 259,593 lb (117.749 Mg) .Primary payload, ESA-built Ulysses
Ulysses probe
Ulysses is a decommissioned robotic space probe that was designed to study the Sun as a joint venture of NASA and the European Space Agency . The spacecraft was originally named Odysseus, because of its lengthy and indirect trajectory to near Solar distance...
spacecraft to explore polar regions of Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, deployed. Two upper stages, Inertial Upper Stage
Inertial Upper Stage
The Inertial Upper Stage , originally known as the Interim Upper Stage, is a two-stage solid-fueled booster rocket developed by the U.S...
(IUS) and a mission-specific Payload Assist Module
Payload Assist Module
frame|PAM-D with the [[Phoenix |Phoenix]] spacecraft. The [[Star 48|Star 48-B]] engine is shown being spun, fired, [[Yo-yo de-spin|yo-yo de-spun]] and jettisoned.thumb|SBS-3 satellite with PAM-D stage inside the space shuttle...
-S (PAM-S), combined together for first time to send Ulysses toward out-of- ecliptic trajectory. Other payloads and experiments: Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment; INTELSAT Solar Array Coupon (ISAC); Chromosome and Plant Cell Division Experiment (CHROMEX); Voice Command System (VCS); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE); Radiation Monitoring Experiment III (RME III); Shuttle Student involvement Program (SSIP) and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
where the planet's gravitational energy was used to fling Ulysses southward out of the orbital plane of the planets and on toward a solar south pole passage in 1994. The spacecraft crossed back over the orbital plane and made a solar north pole passage in 1995. By the time Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, Ulysses had already traversed one million miles (1.6 Gm) on its five year mission.
With the Ulysses spacecraft on its way, the STS-41 crew began an ambitious schedule of science experiments. Flowering plant samples were grown in the CHROMEX-2 module in a Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
and State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
experiment. An earlier version of the experiment (March 1989) revealed chromosome damage in root tip cells but no damage to control plants on Earth. By studying plant samples carried on Discovery, researchers hoped to determine how the genetic material in the root cells respond to microgravity. The information gained will be important to future space travelers
on long-term expeditions, to researchers on the planned Space Station Freedom
Space Station Freedom
Space Station Freedom was a NASA project to construct a permanently manned Earth-orbiting space station in the 1980s. Although approved by then-president Ronald Reagan and announced in the 1984 State of the Union Address, Freedom was never constructed or completed as originally designed, and after...
, and may contribute to advances in intensive farming practices on Earth.
Understanding fire behavior in microgravity is part of the continuing research to improve Space Shuttle safety. In a specially designed chamber, called the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment, a strip of paper was burned and filmed to gain an understanding of the development of flame and its movement in the absence of convection currents. This experiment was sponsored by the Lewis Research Center and Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
.
Atmospheric ozone depletion is an environmental problem of worldwide concern. NASA's
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
NIMBUS-7 satellite and NOAA's TIROS
TIROS
TIROS, or Television Infrared Observation Satellite, is a series of early weather satellites launched by NASA, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth. This initial remote-sensing effort was significant because it enabled Earth...
satellites provide daily
data to permit researchers to detect ozone trends. The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument, from the Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
, carried an ozone detector instrument identical to those on the satellites. By comparing Discoverys measurements with coordinated satellite observations, scientists can now calibrate their satellite instruments to insure the most accurate readings possible.
In 1990, a commercial expendable launch vehicle stranded an INTELSAT
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
communication satellite in low orbit. Before STS-41, NASA was evaluating a possible Shuttle rescue mission in 1992. In preparation for this rescue, solar arrays, similar to those on the satellite, were exposed to the conditions of low orbit to determine if they were in any way altered by the atomic oxygen present. The returned arrays were closely examined it was found that the INTELSAT's arrays were not significantly damaged. Based on this finding, NASA went ahead and carried out STS-49
STS-49
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.35°*Period: 90.6 min-Space walks:* Thuot and Hieb – EVA 1*EVA 1 Start: 10 May 1992 – 20:40 UTC...
in 1992.
Until STS-41, previous research had shown that during the process of adapting to
microgravity, animals and humans experience loss of bone mass, cardiac deconditioning
Deconditioning
Deconditioning is adaptation of an organism to less demanding environment, or, alternatively, the decrease of physiological adaptation to normal conditions...
, and, after prolonged periods (>30 days), develop symptoms similar to that of terrestrial disuse osteoporsis. The goal of the STS-41 Physiological Systems Experiment, sponsored the Ames Research Center and Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
's Center for Cell Research, was to determine if pharmacological treatments would be effective in reducing or eliminating some of these disorders. Proteins, developed by Genentech
Genentech
Genentech Inc., or Genetic Engineering Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology corporation, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. Trailing the founding of Cetus by five years, it was an important step in the evolution of the biotechnology industry...
of San Francisco, California, were administered to eight rats during the flight while another eight rats accompanying them on the flight did not receive the treatment.
During open periods in the STS-41 crew schedule, the astronauts video taped a number of demonstrations as part of an effort to create an educational video tape for the middle school level students. The tape was later distributed nationwide through NASA's Teacher Resource Center network.
Additional crew activities included experimenting with a voice command system to control onboard television cameras and monitoring ionizing radiation exposure to the crew within the orbiter cabin.
On 10 October 1990, at 6:57:18 am PDT, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, CA on runway 22. Rollout distance was 8276 feet (2,522.5 m) and the rollout time was 49 seconds (braking test). Discovery was returned to Kennedy Space Center on 16 October 1990.
Wake-up calls
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
. Each track is specially chosen, often by their 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 | Played for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 |
Rise and Shine, Discovery! | a group of Boeing Boeing The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001... employees |
Ulysses (spacecraft) |
| Day 3 |
Semper Paratus Semper paratus Semper Paratus is the motto of a number of different organizations:-Canada:* The Windsor Regiment , an armoured regiment* The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry , an infantry regiment... |
The Coast Guard Band | Bruce Melnick |
| Day 4 |
Fanfare for the Common Man Fanfare for the Common Man Fanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice... |
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"... |
|
| Day 5 |
The Highwayman | The Highwaymen |
See also
- Space scienceSpace scienceThe term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
- Space shuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of human spaceflights chronologically