#sts-29

"The STS-29 Space Shuttle Discovery mission approaches for a landing at NASA's then Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards AFB, California, early Saturday morning, 18 March 1989. Touchdown was at 6:35:49 a.m. PST and wheel stop was at 6:36:40 a.m. on runway 22. Controllers chose the concrete runway for the landing in order to make tests of braking and nosewheel steering. The STS-29 mission was very successful, completing the launch a Tracking and Data Relay communications satellite, as well as a range of scientific experiments. Discovery's five man crew was led by Commander Michael L. Coats, and included pilot John E. Blaha and mission specialists James P. Bagian, Robert C. Springer, and James F. Buchli."

Date: March 18, 1989

"STS-29 Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)/ IUS deployment from Discovery, OV-103, payload bay.

Onboard view shows Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay with tracking and data relay satellite D (TDRS-D) in stowed, pre-deployment position. In this head-on view, TDRS-D stowed components including single access #1 and #2, solar cell panels, SGL, S-Band omni antenna, and C-Band antenna are visible. TDRS-D rests in airborne support equipment (ASE) forward cradle and aft frame tilt actuator (AFTA). Discovery's aft bulkhead and orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods are visible in the background.

Crewmembers were Astronauts Michael L. Coats, John E. Blaha, James F. Buchli, Robert C. Springer and James P. Bagian."

Date: March 13, 1989

"Five astronauts launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on March 13, 1989 at 9:57 am (EST) for the STS-29 mission. Included were James P. Bagian, mission specialist 1; Robert C. Springer, mission specialist 3; James F. (Jim) Buchli, mission specialist 2; John E. Blaha, pilot; and Michael L. Coats, commander. The mission’s primary payload was the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-4 (TDRS-4)."

Date: March 13, 1989

"STS-29 Discovery, OV-103, lands on Edwards AFB concrete runway 22

Discovery's main landing gear touches down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California following a successful five-day mission in Earth orbit. Onboard the spacecraft were Astronauts Michael L. Coats, John E. Blaha, James F. Buchli, Robert C. Springer and James P. Bagian. Wheels came to a stop at 6:36:40 a.m. (PST), March 18, 1989."

Date: March 18, 1989

"This STS-29 mission onboard photo depicts the External Tank (ET) falling toward the ocean after separation from the Shuttle orbiter Discovery. The giant cylinder, higher than a 15-story building, with a length of 154-feet (47-meters) and a diameter of 27,5-feet (8.4-meters), is the largest single piece of the Space Shuttle. During launch, the ET also acts as a backbone for the orbiter and solid rocket boosters. In separate, internal pressurized tank sections, the ET holds the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer for the Shuttle's three main engines. During launch, the ET feeds the fuel under pressure through 17-inch (43.2-centimeter) ducts which branch off into smaller lines that feed directly into the main engines. Some 64,000 gallons (242,260 liters) of fuel are consumed by the main engines each minute. Machined from aluminum alloys, the Space Shuttle's ET is the only part of the launch vehicle that currently is not reused. After its 526,000 gallons (1,991,071 liters) of propellants are consumed during the first 8.5 minutes of flight, it is jettisoned from the orbiter and breaks up in the upper atmosphere, its pieces falling into remote ocean waters."

Date: March 13, 1989