STS-31

Occurred 35 years ago

The 35th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, Discovery launched on April 24, 1990 to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.

orbiter

Discovery

mission duration

5 days, 1 hours, 16 minutes

Launch

April 24, 1990

Landing

April 29, 1990

The STS-31 crew of five included (left to right) Charles F. Bolden, pilot; Steven A. Hawley, mission specialist; Loren J. Shriver, commander; Bruce McCandless, mission specialist; and Kathryn D. Sullivan, mission specialist. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990 at 8:33:51am (EDT), the primary payload was the Hubble Space Telescope. This was the first flight to use carbon brakes at landing.

NASA

STS-31 Mission Facts

Mission: Hubble Space Telescope Deploy
Space Shuttle: Discovery
Launch Pad: 39B
Launch Weight: 249,109 pounds
Launched: April 24, 1990, 8:33:51 a.m. EDT
Landing Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Landing: April 29, 1990, 6:49:57 a.m. PDT
Landing Weight: 189,118 pounds
Runway: 22
Rollout Distance: 8,874 feet
Rollout Time: 61 seconds
Revolution: 80
Mission Duration: 5 days, 1 hour, 16 minutes, 6 seconds
Returned to KSC: May 7, 1990
Orbit Altitude: 330 nautical miles
Orbit Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Miles Traveled: 2.1 million

Crew

Loren J. Shriver, Commander

Charles F. Bolden Jr., Pilot

Steven A. Hawley, Mission Specialist

Bruce McCandless II, Mission Specialist

Kathryn D. Sullivan, Mission Specialist

Launch Highlights

The launch was scheduled for April 18, then April 12, then April 10, following the Flight Readiness Review (FRR). The first date set at FRR was earlier than that shown on previous planning schedules. The launch scheduled for April 10 was scrubbed at T-4 minutes due to a faulty valve in auxiliary power unit (APU) number one. The APU was replaced and payload batteries recharged. Countdown briefly halted at T-31 seconds when computer software failed to shut down a fuel valve line on ground support equipment. Engineers ordered valve to shut and countdown continued.

Mission Highlights

The primary payload, Hubble Space Telescope, deployed in a 380-statute-mile orbit. Secondary payloads: IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) to document operations outside crew cabin and hand-held IMAX camera for use inside crew cabin; Ascent Particle Monitor (APM) to detect particulate matter in payload bay; Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) to provide data on growing protein crystals in microgravity; Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) to measure gamma ray levels in crew cabin; Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) to determine porosity control in microgravity environment; Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiment to study effects of near-weightlessness on electrical arcs, and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.

Deployment detail

Hubble Space Telescope

Launched on April 24, 1990 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope was just beginning its three decades of unprecedented exploration.

Explore Deployment Details

View of the Hubble Space Telescope being prepared for deployment from the Discovery orbiter (STS-31)

In this photograph, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was being deployed on April 25, 1990. The photograph was taken by the IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) mounted in a container on the port side of the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery (STS-31 mission). The purpose of the HST, the most complex and sensitive optical telescope ever made, is to study the cosmos from a low-Earth orbit for 15 years or more.

NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Lockheed Corporation.