STS-36
The launch of STS-36 on 28 February 1990
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| Mission type | Satellite deployment |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1990-019A |
| SATCAT № | 20512 |
| Mission duration | 4 days, 10 hours, 18 minutes, 22 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 2,957,913 kilometres (1,837,962 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 72 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Atlantis |
| Payload mass | 19,600 kilograms (43,200 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 5 |
| Members |
John O. Creighton John H. Casper Pierre J. Thuot David C. Hilmers Richard M. Mullane |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 February 1990, 07:50:22 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 4 March 1990, 18:08:44 UTC |
| Landing site | Edwards Runway 23 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 198 kilometres (123 mi) |
| Apogee | 204 kilometres (127 mi) |
| Inclination | 62.0 degrees |
| Period | 88.5 min |
|
 Left to right: Thuot, Casper, Creighton, Mullane, Hilmers |
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STS-36 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Atlantis carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (believed to have been a Misty reconnaissance satellite) into orbit. STS-36 was the 34th shuttle mission overall, the sixth flight for Atlantis, and the fourth night launch of the shuttle program. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 28 February 1990, and landed on 4 March.
Atlantis launched on the STS-36 mission on 28 February 1990 at 2:50:22 EST. The launch was originally set for 22 February 1990, but was postponed repeatedly due to the illness of the crew commander and poor weather conditions. This was the first time since Apollo 13 in 1970 that a manned space mission was affected by the illness of a crew member. The first rescheduled launch attempt, set for 25 February 1990, was scrubbed due to a range safety computer malfunction. Another attempt, set for 26 February 1990, was scrubbed due to weather conditions. The successful launch on 28 February 1990 was set for a classified launch window, lying within a launch period extending from 00:00 to 04:00 EST. The launch weight for this mission was classified.
The launch trajectory was unique to this flight, and allowed the mission to reach an orbital inclination of 62°, the deployment orbit of its payload — the normal maximum inclination for a shuttle flight was 57°. This so-called "dog-leg" trajectory saw Atlantis fly downrange on a normal launch azimuth, and then maneuver to a higher launch azimuth once out over the water. Although the maneuver resulted in a reduction of vehicle performance, it was the only way to reach the required deployment orbit from Kennedy Space Center (originally, the flight had been slated to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, until the shuttle launch facilities there were mothballed in 1989). Flight rules that prohibited overflight of land were suspended, with the trajectory taking the vehicle over or near Cape Hatteras, Cape Cod, and parts of Canada. The payload was considered to be of importance to national security, hence the suspension of normal flight rules.
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