STS-29

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title: "STS-29" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["space-shuttle-missions", "edwards-air-force-base", "spacecraft-which-reentered-in-1989", "spacecraft-launched-in-1989", "march-1989"] description: "1989 American crewed spaceflight to deploy TDRS-4" topic_path: "general/space-shuttle-missions" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-29" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1989 American crewed spaceflight to deploy TDRS-4 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox spaceflight"]

Field	Value
name	STS-29
names_list	Space Transportation System-29
STS-29R
image	Earth through the bay door2.jpg
image_caption	TDRS-D being deployed on Flight Day 1 of the mission.
mission_type	TDRS-D deployment
operator	NASA
mission_duration
distance_travelled	3200000 km
orbits_completed	80
spacecraft
launch_mass	116281 kg
landing_mass	88353 kg
payload_mass	17280 kg
crew_size	5
crew_members
launch_date	UTC (9:57amEST)
launch_site	Kennedy, LC-39B
launch_contractor	Rockwell International
landing_date	UTC (6:35:50amPST)
landing_site	Edwards, Runway22
orbit_reference	Geocentric orbit
orbit_regime	Low Earth orbit
orbit_periapsis	297 km
orbit_apoapsis	308 km
orbit_inclination	28.45°
orbit_period	90.60 minutes
apsis	gee
instruments
insignia	Sts-29-patch.png
insignia_caption	STS-29 mission patch
crew_photo	STS-29_crew.jpg
crew_photo_caption	Back row: Bagian, Springer and Buchli
Front row: Blaha and Coats
programme	Space Shuttle program
previous_mission	STS-27
next_mission	STS-30 (29)
::

| name = STS-29 | names_list = Space Transportation System-29 STS-29R | image = Earth through the bay door2.jpg | image_caption = TDRS-D being deployed on Flight Day 1 of the mission. | mission_type = TDRS-D deployment | operator = NASA | mission_duration = | distance_travelled = 3200000 km | orbits_completed = 80 | spacecraft = | launch_mass = 116281 kg | landing_mass = 88353 kg | payload_mass = 17280 kg | crew_size = 5 | crew_members = | launch_date = UTC (9:57amEST) | launch_site = Kennedy, LC-39B | launch_contractor = Rockwell International | landing_date = UTC (6:35:50amPST) | landing_site = Edwards, Runway22 | orbit_reference = Geocentric orbit | orbit_regime = Low Earth orbit | orbit_periapsis = 297 km | orbit_apoapsis = 308 km | orbit_inclination = 28.45° | orbit_period = 90.60 minutes | apsis = gee | instruments = | insignia = Sts-29-patch.png | insignia_caption = STS-29 mission patch | crew_photo = STS-29_crew.jpg | crew_photo_caption = Back row: Bagian, Springer and Buchli Front row: Blaha and Coats | programme = Space Shuttle program | previous_mission = STS-27 | next_mission = STS-30 (29)

STS-29 was the 28th NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Discovery inserted a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into Earth orbit. It was the third shuttle mission following the Challenger disaster in 1986, and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on March 13, 1989. STS-29R was the eighth flight of Discovery and the 28th Space Shuttle mission overall; its planned predecessor, STS-28, was delayed until August 1989.

The mission was technically designated STS-29R as the original STS-29 designator belonged to STS-61-A, the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. Official documentation and paperwork for that mission contained the designator STS-29 when it was allocated to Space Shuttle Columbia and later as STS-30 when allocated to Challenger. As STS-51-L was designated STS-33, future flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 designators would require the R in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data from one mission to another.

Crew

| terminology = Astronaut

| position1 = Commander | crew1_up = Michael Coats | flights1_up = Second

| position2 = Pilot | crew2_up = John E. Blaha | flights2_up = First

| position3 = Mission Specialist 1 | crew3_up = Robert C. Springer | flights3_up = First

| position4 = Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer | crew4_up = James Buchli | flights4_up = Third

| position5 = Mission Specialist 3 | crew5_up = James P. Bagian | flights5_up = First

Crew seat assignments

::data[format=table] | last1=Becker|first1=Joachim|title=Spaceflight mission report: STS-29|url=http://spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-29.htm|publisher=SPACEFACTS|access-date=February 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217202822/http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-29.htm|archive-date=February 17, 2020|url-status=live}} | Launch | Landing | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | [[File:Space Shuttle seating plan.svg|150px]] Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. | | | | | | | | | | | Coats | | | | | | | | | | | Blaha | | | | | | | | | | | Springer | Bagian | | | | | | | | | | Buchli | | | | | | | | | | | Bagian | Springer | | | | | | | | | | Unused | | | | | | | | | | | Unused | | | | | | | | | | ::

Mission summary

Discovery lifted off from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:57:00 a.m. EST on March 13, 1989. The launch was originally scheduled for February 18, 1989, but was postponed to allow for the replacement of faulty liquid oxygen turbopumps on the three main engines. The amended target date of March 11, 1989, was postponed by 1 day, because of the failure of a master event controller (MEC); #2 when it was powered up during prelaunch checkout, as well as an additional day to replace a faulty fuel preburner oxidizer valve (FPOV). On the rescheduled launch day of March 13, 1989, the launch was delayed for nearly two hours because of ground fog and high upper winds. A waiver was approved for the orbiter's wing loads.

The primary payload was TDRS-D, the third and final component of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) constellation in geosynchronous orbit. The three on-orbit satellites were stationed over the equator at about 35900 km above Earth; two of them were positioned 130° apart, while the third was located between them as an on-orbit spare.

On Flight Day 1, one of three cryogenic hydrogen tanks which supplied shuttle's electricity-generating fuel cells exhibited erratic pressure fluctuations. It was deactivated while engineers studied the problem, and the crew was told to conserve electrical power. The tank was reactivated on Flight Day 3, March 15, 1989, and operated successfully thereafter.

Discovery landed on March 18, 1989, after orbit 80, one orbit earlier than planned, in order to avoid possible excessive wind buildup expected at the landing site. The shuttle touched down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 9:35:51 a.m. EST. The total mission duration was 4 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, and 52 seconds.

Payload and experiments

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/TDRS_horizon.jpg" caption="[[TDRS-4]] after deployment"] ::

The mission's primary payload was TDRS-D, which became TDRS-4 after deployment, and its attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). The satellite was deployed from the shuttle's payload bay less than six hours after launch, at 3:12 a.m. EST. The first-stage orbit burn of the IUS took place an hour later, and the second burn to circularize the orbit occurred 12 hours and 30 minutes into the mission. The satellite was stationed at 41.0° West longitude.

Discovery also carried eight secondary payloads, including two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments. One student experiment, using four live rats with tiny pieces of bone removed from their bodies, was to test whether the environmental effects of space flight inhibit bone healing. The other student experiment was to fly 32 chicken eggs to determine the effects of space flight on fertilized chicken embryos.

One experiment, mounted in the payload bay, was only termed "partially successful". The Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Element (SHARE), a potential cooling system for the planned Space Station Freedom, operated continuously for less than 30 minutes under powered electrical loads. The failure was blamed on the faulty design of the equipment, especially the manifold section.

All other experiments operated successfully. Crystals were obtained from all the proteins in the Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment. The Chromosomes and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX), a life sciences experiment, was designed to show the effects of microgravity on root development. An IMAX (70 mm) camera was used to film a variety of scenes for the 1990 IMAX film Blue Planet, including the effects of floods, hurricanes, wildfires and volcanic eruptions on Earth. A ground-based U.S. Air Force experiment used the orbiter as a calibration target for the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) in Hawaii.

Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

::data[format=table]

Flight Day	Song	Artist/Composer
Day 2	"I Got You (I Feel Good)"	James Brown
Day 3	"Marine Corps Hymn"
Day 4	"Theme from Star Trek: TOS"	Alexander Courage
Day 5	"Heigh-Ho"	Song from the Walt Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Day 6	"What a Wonderful World"	Louis Armstrong
::

Gallery

Image:STS-29 Launch.jpg|Liftoff of STS-29 Image:STS-29 External Tank.jpg|The External Tank after separation Image:1989 s29 TDRS-D deployment.jpg|Closeup shot of the deployment of TDRS-D Image:EFS highres STS029 STS029-92-38.jpg|Lake Natron, Tanzania, imaged from orbit.

References

References

1. (March 1989). "STS-29 Press Kit". NASA.
2. (March 14, 1989). "Space Shuttle Launched, Puts Satellite in Orbit". Los Angeles Times.
3. "Spaceflight mission report: STS-29". SPACEFACTS.
4. (2012). "Celebrating 30 Years of the Space Shuttle". NASA.
5. (September 2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary". NASA.
6. (May 8, 1989). "Misson Safety Evaluation Report for STS-29 - Postflight Edition". NASA.
7. Brown, Robert W.. (1990). "NASA's Educational Programs". Government Information Quarterly.
8. (January 11, 1990). "28th Aerospace Sciences Meeting". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
9. (March 18, 1989). "Astronauts Play Film Makers for IMAX 'Blue Planet'". Los Angeles Times.
10. (1990). "Photometric analysis of a space shuttle water venting". NASA.
11. Fries, Colin. (March 13, 2015). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls". NASA.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::