EC92-05165-3
The Space Shuttle Endeavour concludes mission STS-49 at Edwards, CA. The planned 7-day mission was extended two days to allow extra time to rescue the Intelsat VI satellite and complete Space Station assembly techniques originally planned. After a perfect rendezvous in orbit and numerous attempts to grab the satellite the space walking astronauts rescued it by hand on the third space walk. The three astronauts, on a record space walk, took hold of the satellite and directed it to the shuttle where a booster motor was attached to launch it to its proper orbit. Commander Dan Brandenstein and Pilot Kevin Chilton brought Endeavours’s record setting maiden voyage to a perfect landing at Edwards with the first deployment of a drag chute on a shuttle mission.
Shuttle Crew:Commander Daniel C. Brandenstein, Pilot Kevin P. Chilton, Mission Specialists Pierre J. Thuot, Kathryn C. Thornton, Richard J. Hieb, Thomas D. Akers, and Bruce E. Melnick.1992
NASA / Photo