STS-59
Endeavour in orbit with SIR-C in its payload bay
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| Mission type | Radar imaging |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1994-020A |
| SATCAT № | 23042 |
| Mission duration | 11 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, 30 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 7,571,762 kilometers (4,704,875 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 183 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Endeavour |
| Payload mass | 12,490 kilograms (27,540 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members |
Sidney M. Gutierrez Kevin P. Chilton Linda M. Godwin Jay Apt Michael R. Clifford Thomas D. Jones |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 April 1994, 11:05 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 20 April 1994, 16:55 UTC |
| Landing site | Edwards Runway 22 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 194 kilometres (121 mi) |
| Apogee | 204 kilometres (127 mi) |
| Inclination | 57 degrees |
| Period | 88.4 min |
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 Left to right - Standing: Chilton, Gutierrez; Seated: Godwin, Jones, Apt, Clifford |
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STS-59 Shuttle mission was a Space Shuttle program mission that took place in 1994. The launch was chronicled by the 1994 Discovery Channel special about the Space Shuttle Program.
Endeavour began its sixth mission on the morning of 9 April 1994 with an on-time launch at 7:05 am Eastern time. Soon after, the six astronauts began activating the sensitive radar equipment in the payload bay that would be operated around the clock during the next ten days.
By 8 pm, the Space Radar Laboratory-1 experiments of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth were all activated and began their study of the earth's ecosystem.
STS-59 ground controllers finished activating the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) and began processing its first images of the earth, while engineers working with the X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (X-SAR) worked their way through some initial activation problems.
Meanwhile, the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite (MAPS) instrument took data on the carbon monoxide content and distribution in the atmosphere since shortly after launch.
During the initial activation of the X-SAR, controllers reported they were unable to fully power up the amplifier that provides power to the radar. The problem was in the low voltage circuit internal to the power amplifier. Engineers were not immediately able to explain the problem, so they turned off the power amplifier for about three hours. The problem was traced to an oversensitive protection circuit, a type of circuit breaker. The radar lab engineers bypassed the protection circuit and turned on the instrument at about 4:20 pm Saturday. It worked without incident, completing 100 percent of its scheduled observations overnight.
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