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Mission: | STS-28 |
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| Launch pad: | 39-B |
| Launch: | August 8 1989 , 8:37:00 a.m. EDT. |
| Landing: | August 13 1989 , 6:37:08 a.m. PDT, Runway 17, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. |
| Duration: | 5 days, 1 hour, 0 minutes, 8 seconds. |
| Orbit altitude: | Classified (although based on distance traveled and number of orbits, this would be between 220 and 380 km) |
| Orbit inclination: | 57.0 degrees |
| Distance traveled: | 2,100,000 miles (3,400,000 km) |
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:
STS-30 |
:
STS-34 |
- 19,600? kg Payload Advanced KH-11 photo-reconnaissance satellite
- 289 km
- 306 km
- 57.0°
- 90.5 min
Fourth mission dedicated to
United States Department Of Defense , and first flight of ''
Columbia '' since mission
STS-61-C . Due to the nature of this mission, details are classified. Believed to have deployed two satellites, possibly including one second-generation
Satellite Data System relay.
It has been reported that STS-28 also deployed an Advanced KH-11 photo-reconnaissance satellite that used an all-digital imaging system to return pictures. The satellite was placed into a low earth orbit with
a high-inclination to the equator to allow coverage of most of the Earth's surface. The KH-11 series is a digital imaging photo-
reconnaissance satellite with both visual and infrared sensors.
The pioneering Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (OV-102), the first operational reusable spaceship in NASA's fleet, lifted off from Pad B, Launch Complex 39, KSC, on
1986 . Landing was at Edwards AFB, CA, at 9:37 p.m. EDT. The mission lasted for 5 days and 1 hour.
During the flight, the crew shut down a thruster in the reaction control system (RCS) because of indications of a leak. Also, an RCS heater malfunctioned.
Post-flight analysis of STS-28 discovered unusual heating of the thermal protection system (TPS) during re-entry. A detailed report (
{Link without Title} identified protruding gap filler as the likely cause. This filler material is the same material which was removed during a
Spacewalk on the
STS-114 Return to Flight mission in 2005.
