physics

STS-44

STS-44 is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand STS-44 rather than just read about it. In short: STS-44 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Atlantis that launched on November 24, 1991. It was a U.S.

Key takeaways

STS-44 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-44 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-44 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-44 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Atlantis that launched on November 24, 1991. It was a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) space mission.

Crew

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

The launch was on November 24, 1991, at 23:44:00 UTC. A launch set for November 19, 1991, was delayed due to replacement and testing of a malfunctioning redundant inertial measurement unit on the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster attached to the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite. The launch was reset for November 24 and was delayed by 13 minutes to allow an orbiting spacecraft to pass and to allow external tank liquid oxygen replenishment after minor repairs to a valve in the liquid oxygen replenishment system in the mobile launcher platform. Launch weight was 117,766 kilograms (259,630 lb). The mission was dedicated to the Department of Defense. The unclassified payload included a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite, DSP-16 attached to Inertial Upper Stage (IUS-14), deployed on flight day one. Cargo bay and middeck payloads included the Interim Operational Contamination Monitor (IOCM), Terra-Scout, Military Man in Space (M88-1), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM), Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME III), Visual Function Tester (VFT-1), Bioreactor Flow, and Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, a series of investigations in support of Extended Duration Orbiter. The Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI) experiment was located on board the previously launched LACE satellite, and could've been pointed at Atlantis on-orbit to observe the shuttle's thruster firings. However, no opportunities or intersections occurred during this mission. The landing was on December 1, 1991, at 22:34:44 UTC, Runway 5, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The rollout distance was 3,411 m (11,191 ft), and the rollout time was 107 seconds. The landing weight was 87,918 kg (193,826 lb). The landing was originally scheduled for Kennedy Space Center on December 4, 1991, but the ten-day mission was shortened and the landing rescheduled following the November 30, 1991, on-orbit failure of one of three orbiter inertial measurement units. The lengthy rollout was due to minimal braking for test. Atlantis returned to Kennedy on December 8, 1991. This was also the final shuttle landing on a dry lake bed runway.

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.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-44

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-44 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-44 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-44 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-44

In research: STS-44 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-44 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-44 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Department of Defense Space Shuttle missions, Edwards Air Force Base, Space Shuttle missions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-44 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.

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How to study STS-44 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-44 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-44 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-44 in simple terms?

STS-44 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Atlantis that launched on November 24, 1991. It was a U.S.

Why does STS-44 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-44?

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-44.