Human Spaceflights

International Flight-No. 132

STS-41

Discovery (11)

USA

STS-41 patch Patch STS-41 Ulysses

hi res version (981 KB)

 

Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  06.10.1990
Launch time:  11:47 UT
Launch site:  Cape Canaveral (KSC)
Launch pad:  39-B
Altitude:  296 km
Inclination:  28,45°
Landing date:  10.10.1990
Landing time:  13:57 UT
Landing site:  Edwards AFB

walkout photo

STS-41 crew

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alternate crew photo

Crew

No.   Surname Given names Job Flight No. Duration Orbits
1 USA  Richards  Richard Noel "Dick"  CDR 2 4d 02h 10m  66 
2 USA  Cabana  Robert Donald  PLT 1 4d 02h 10m  66 
3 USA  Melnick  Bruce Edward "Mel"  MSP 1 4d 02h 10m  66 
4 USA  Shepherd  William McMichael  MSP 2 4d 02h 10m  66 
5 USA  Akers  Thomas Dale  MSP 1 4d 02h 10m  66 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Richards
2  Cabana
3  Melnick
4  Shepherd
5  Akers
Space Shuttle cockpit
Landing
1  Richards
2  Cabana
3  Akers
4  Shepherd
5  Melnick

Flight

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Edwards AFB.

Deploying ESA-built Ulysses spacecraft to explore polar regions of the sun. It was the heaviest payload to date. Launch Weight: 259,593 lb (117.749 Mg) .

Several secondary payloads and experiments as a bone loss experiment with rats. Other payloads and experiments: Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment; INTELSAT Solar Array Coupon (ISAC); Chromosome and Plant Cell Division Experiment (CHROMEX), in which flowering plant samples were grown; 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.

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.

Photos / Drawings

Space Shuttle Ulysses
Ulysses STS-41 and STS-35 on launch pad
STS-41 launch Ulysses deployment
traditional in-flight photo STS-41 STS-41 landing

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Last update on March 14, 2010.

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