Product Description

STS-30 was the 29th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth mission for Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the 4th 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 4 May 1989, and landed four days later on 8 May. During the mission, Atlantis deployed the Venus-bound Magellan probe into orbit. The launch scheduled for April 28 was scrubbed at T-31 seconds due to a problem with the liquid hydrogen recirculation pump on the number one main engine and a vapor leak in a four-inch liquid hydrogen recirculation line between the orbiter and the external tank. The repairs were made and launch was reset for May 4. Liftoff was delayed until the last five minutes of a 64 minute window opening at 1:48 a.m. EDT due to cloud cover and high winds at KSC shuttle runway, violating return-to-launch-site limits.

Mission Highlights

The primary payload, a Magellan/Venus radar mapper spacecraft and attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), was deployed six hours, 14 minutes into flight. The IUS first and second stage fired as planned, boosting the Magellan spacecraft on a proper trajectory for a 15-month journey to Venus.

Secondary payloads were: Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE), microgravity research with Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA), and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.

One of five General Purpose Computers (GPC) failed and had to be replaced with a sixth onboard hardware spare. This is the first time a GPC was switched on orbit.

This decal has a adhesive backing covered with peal off paper & Measures 4″ from top tip to bottom.