STS-29

Key takeaways

STS-29 belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect STS-29 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-29 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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

Prior to the Challenger disaster, this mission was slated to launch in June 1986 as STS-61-H with Columbia as the spacecraft. Anna L. Fisher was originally assigned to be as mission specialist, which would have been her second spaceflight. Fisher chose to leave from NASA in order to be with her family and was replaced by rookie James P. Bagian. This mission would include payload specialists from Indonesia and the United Kingdom, however, they did not have a chance to fly again.

Crew seat assignments

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 35,900 km (22,300 mi) 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

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.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-29

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-29 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to STS-29 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about STS-29 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of STS-29

In research: STS-29 appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses STS-29 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: STS-29 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Edwards Air Force Base, March 1989, Space Shuttle missions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-29 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study STS-29 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-29 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain STS-29 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-29 in simple terms?

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.

Why does STS-29 matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study STS-29?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on STS-29.