STS-26

STS-26
TDRS-C and its IUS in the payload bay of Discovery
NamesSpace Transportation System-26
STS-26R
Mission typeReturn to Flight and
TDRS-C deployment
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1988-091A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.19547Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration4 days, 1 hour, 11 seconds
Distance travelled2,703,000 km (1,680,000 mi)
Orbits completed64
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Discovery
Launch mass115,487 kg (254,605 lb)
Landing mass88,078 kg (194,179 lb)
Payload mass21,082 kg (46,478 lb)
Crew
Crew size5
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateSeptember 29, 1988, 15:37:00 (September 29, 1988, 15:37:00) UTC (11:37 am EDT)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39B
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateOctober 3, 1988, 16:37:11 (October 3, 1988, 16:37:11) UTC (9:37:11 am PDT)
Landing siteEdwards, Runway 17
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude301 km (187 mi)
Apogee altitude306 km (190 mi)
Inclination28.45°
Period90.60 minutes
Instruments
  • Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF)
  • Aggregation of Red Blood Cells (ARC)
  • Earth-Limb Radiance Experiment (ELRAD)
  • Isoelectric Focusing Experiment (IFE)
  • Infrared Communications Flight Experiment (IRCFE)
  • Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE)
  • Orbiter Experiments Autonomous Supporting Instrumentation System (OASIS)
  • Phase Partitioning Experiment (PPE)
  • Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids (PVTOS-2)
  • Protein Crystal Growth (PCG)
  • Two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP)
  • Voice Control Unit (VCU)

STS-26 mission patch

Back row: Lounge, Hilmers and Nelson
Front row: Covey and Hauck
← STS-51-L (25)
STS-27 →

STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter Discovery. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was declared the "Return to Flight" mission, being the first mission after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of January 28, 1986. It was the first mission since STS-9 to use the original Space Transportation System (STS) numbering system, the first to have all its crew members wear pressure suits for launch and landing since STS-4, and the first mission with bailout capacity since STS-4. STS-26 was also the first U.S. space mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11, with all of its crew members having flown at least one prior mission.

The mission is technically designated STS-26R, as the original STS-26 designation previously belonged to STS-51-F (also known as Spacelab-2). Likewise all flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 designations would require the R in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data between the old and new flight designations.[1]

  1. ^ Jenkins, Dennis R. (2016). "Chapter 18 - Destiny Fulfilled - The Intended Purpose". Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon - 1972-2013. Vol. III: The Flight Campaign. Forest Lake, Minnesota: Specialty Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-1580072496.