STS-30

STS-30
Magellan and its IUS in the payload bay of Atlantis
NamesSpace Transportation System-30
STS-30R
Mission typeMagellan spacecraft deployment
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1989-033A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.19968
Mission duration4 days, 56 minutes, 27 seconds
Distance travelled2,377,800 km (1,477,500 mi)
Orbits completed65
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Atlantis
Launch mass118,441 kg (261,118 lb)
Landing mass87,296 kg (192,455 lb)
Payload mass20,833 kg (45,929 lb)
Crew
Crew size5
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateMay 4, 1989, 18:46:59 (May 4, 1989, 18:46:59) UTC (2:46:59 pm EDT)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39B
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateMay 8, 1989, 19:43:26 (May 8, 1989, 19:43:26) UTC (12:43:26 pm PDT)
Landing siteEdwards, Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude361 km (224 mi)
Apogee altitude366 km (227 mi)
Inclination28.45°
Period91.80 minutes
Instruments
  • Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA)
  • Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE)

STS-30 mission patch

From left: Grabe, Walker, Thagard, Cleave and Lee
← STS-29 (28)
STS-28 (30) →

STS-30 was the 29th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth mission for Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the fourth shuttle launch since the Challenger disaster and the first shuttle mission since the disaster to have a female astronaut on board. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on May 4, 1989, and landed four days later on May 8, 1989. During the mission, Atlantis deployed the Venus-bound Magellan probe into orbit.

The mission was officially designated STS-30R as the original STS-30 designator belonged to STS-61-A, the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. Official documentation for that mission contained the designator STS-30 throughout. 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.