#sts-28

"STS-28 Columbia arrives at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex Pad 39B. View taken from ground level, shows OV-102 with external tank (ET) and solid rocket boosters (SRBs) mounted atop mobile launcher platform and the fixed service structure (rotating service structure (RSS) retracted) alongside. Catwalk at the 195 ft level is in place. Crawler transporter remains in position under mobile launcher platform. Spotlights and floodlights illuminate the launch complex against the darkness of the night."

Date: July 15, 1989

"Inside KSC's giant vehicle assembly building, Space Shuttle Columbia is mated to two solid rocket boosters (SRB) and an external fuel tank as preparations continue for an early September launch. The mission is scheduled as a DOD-devoted flight, set for launch early next month."

Date: July 12, 1989

"Following rollover from the Orbiter Processing Facility, the orbiter Columbia is prepared for mating with the ET/SRB stack in the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle as work continues toward an early August launch of Space Shuttle Mission STS-28. STS-28 is a Department of Defense dedicated mission."

Date: July 3, 1989

Space Shuttle Columbia arrives at Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) entrance after its roll over from the orbiter maintenance and refurbishment facility. At the OPF, OV-102 will be processed for the STS-28 Department of Defense (DOD) dedicated mission. Technicians monitor OV-102 as it is towed via its landing gear by a ground handling vehicle. View looks from the aft section of OV-102 forward. Orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods and space shuttle main engines (SSMEs) have been removed. Protective covers are visible on SSME ports and dome heatshield.

Date: January 23, 1989

NASA ID: S89-28090, NIX-S89-28109

Space Shuttle Columbia being moved from the Orbiter Modification and Refurbishment Facility to OPF bay 2 for Return to Flight modifications and to reinstall tiles.

Date: November 8, 1988

Space Shuttle Columbia at Kennedy Space Flight Center, Florida.

Photographed by MASTER Sergeant (MSGT) Wayne W. Specht.

Date: October 18, 1989

Space Shuttle Columbia lands at Edwards Air Force Base following STS-28. The landing marked a successful end to a five-day DOD-devoted mission. Onboard the spacecraft were Astronauts Brewster H. Shaw Jr., Richard N. Richards, David C. Leestma, James C. Adamson and Mark N. Brown.

Date: August 13, 1989

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This orbiter tribute of space shuttle Columbia, or OV-102, hangs in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tribute features Columbia, the “first of the fleet," rising above Earth at the dawn of the Space Shuttle Program. Columbia's accomplishments include the launch and deployment of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory on STS-93, the first shuttle landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on STS-3, the first deployment of commercial satellites and the first four-member crew during STS-5, the first Spacelab mission and first six-member crew on STS-9, the first female commander, Eileen Collins, on STS-93, as well as several laboratory missions with international partners. Crew-designed patches for each of Columbia’s missions lead from Earth toward a remembrance of the STS-107 crew, which was lost during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003. Five orbiter tributes are on display in the firing room, representing Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Endeavour and Discovery."

Date: July 29, 2010