 Discovery prepares to deploy the TDRS-G satellite | |
| Names | Space Transportation System-70 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Satellite deployment |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1995-035A |
| SATCAT no. | 23612 |
| Mission duration | 8 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, 05 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 6,000,000 kilometres (3,700,000 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 143 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Payload mass | 20,159 kilograms (44,443 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 5 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July 13, 1995, 13:41:55.078 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy, LC-39B |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | July 22, 1995, 12:02 UTC |
| Landing site | Kennedy, SLF Runway 33 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 257 kilometres (160 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 257 kilometres (160 mi) |
| Inclination | 28.45 degrees |
| Period | 90.5 min |
 Left to right: Kregel, Currie, Henricks; Weber, Thomas | |
STS-70 was the 21st flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and the last of 7 shuttle missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). This was the first shuttle mission controlled from the new mission control center room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.[1]
STS-70 was also the first flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine, designed to improve both engine performance and safety. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 13, 1995, only six days after the landing of sister ship Atlantis, marking the fastest turnaround between flights in the history of the program.
- ^ STS-70 Status Report # 1, p.1, MCC,1995