The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis, in many ways the middle-child orbiter of the Space Shuttle Program \u2013 in many ways the one vehicle that has consistently represented the spirit and determination of the Shuttle Program. Over her 25 and a half year, 33 mission career, the Shuttle orbiter Atlantis has ingrained herself into our hearts and family and has demonstrated time and time again a determination to never give up and always do exactly what we ask of her.<\/p>\n
Atlantis: the first last orbiter of the Shuttle fleet:<\/p>\n
Construction of the 4th and originally final Space Shuttle orbiter for NASA\u2019s fleet began on January 29, 1979 when NASA awarded the contract to build OV-104 (Orbiting Vehicle 104) to Rockwell International \u2013 the same company that received the contracts to build Enterprise (OV-101), Columbia (OV-102), Challenger (OV-099), and Discovery (OV-103).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A3.jpg\" "\\"A3\\"")
Start of structural assembly of OV-104\u2019s crew module began on March 30, 1980. Over a year and a half later, engineers began assembling the various manufactured components that would eventually comprise the new orbiter\u2019s aft fuselage on November 23, 1981 \u2013 just a few days after the completion of the second flight of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP).<\/p>\n
In June 1983, the new orbiter\u2019s tell-tale Delta wings arrived on-dock at her Palmdale, CA construction facility after shipment from the Grumman manufacturing facility in New York.<\/p>\n
Seven months later, on December 2, 1983, engineers at Palmdale began final assembly of OV-104\u2019s constituent parts \u2013 a procedure which was complete on April 10, 1984.<\/p>\n
After an additional full year of end-to-end testing of all of her systems, construction was complete, and on April 6, 1985 the new Space Shuttle orbiter ATLANTIS was rolled out of her construction facility for her first moment in the public eye.<\/p>\n
The 4th operational orbiter of NASA\u2019s fleet, Shuttle Atlantis was named, like her sisters, after previous Earth-bound vessels of exploration. However, unlike her three operational sisters to come before her, Atlantis was named after only one ship and is the only Shuttle orbiter named after a 20th century Earth-bound sailing ship. Atlantis is also the only Shuttle orbiter named after an Earth-bound American research vessel, and is the ONLY Shuttle orbiter named after a still-in-service research vehicle.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A4.jpg\" "\\"A4\\"")
Specifically, the orbiter Atlantis takes her name from the 1930-1966 two-mastered boat that served as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
That Atlantis, built in Denmark, carried 17 crewmembers and five scientists who worked in two on-board laboratories, examining water samples and marine life. The crew of this Atlantis also used the first electronic sounding devices to map the ocean floor.<\/p>\n
Spaceflight news subscription (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n In 1966, this Atlantis was transferred from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to Argentina\u2019s CONICET, where she was renamed El Austral and registered under the Argentine National Registry of Ships. <\/p>\n By this point, the Atlantis, now El Austral, had completed nearly 300 scientific campaigns and spent a yearly average of 260 days at sea \u2013 solidifying her place as one of the most premiere scientific research vessels in history.<\/p>\n After service under the name El Austral, the vessel was removed from service but not retired. An extensive refit and refurbishment was then undertaken and the Atlantis\u2019s\/El Austral\u2019s name changed to Dr. Bernardo Houssay \u2013 the man who first procured her delivery to CONICET from Woods Hole.<\/p>\n And perhaps in one of the most fitting twists of history, the newly restored Dr. Bernado Houssay was re-launched from her refit in the first step to put her back into full active service on June 29, 2011 \u2013 just 9 days before Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch on her retirement flight for the Space Shuttle Program.<\/p>\n Three days after Shuttle Atlantis\u2019s rollout ceremony at Palmdale, she was transported overland to Edwards Air Force Base, CA where final preparations were made for her cross-country ferry flight \u2013 culminating in delivery to the Kennedy Space Center on April 13, 1985: 4 years and one day after the very first Shuttle flight.<\/p>\n Few could have expected on the day of Atlantis\u2019s delivery to Kennedy that she would not only ALWAYS call the Kennedy Space Center home (even in her pending retirement), but also that she would be selected as the vehicle to fly the upcoming final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.<\/p>\n Upon delivery to the Kennedy Space Center, Atlantis weighed a total of 151,315 lbs \u2013 3.5 tons lighter than her eldest sister Columbia.<\/p>\n After being demated and removed from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, orbiter Atlantis was rolled from the Shuttle Landing Facility into an OPF on April 14, 1985 for initial receiving inspections and \u201cdummy\u201d Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) and Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod removal.<\/p>\n On May 10, Atlantis was moved into the VAB for storage in order to make room in one of the two OPFs for one of her sister orbiters.<\/p>\n On May 28, she was moved back into an OPF where receiving inspections continued and maiden voyage processing began. Atlantis was once again moved to the VAB for storage on July 18. She was returned to an OPF on July 30 where full-up pre-mission processing for her maiden voyage continued.<\/p>\n As is customary with any new Space Shuttle orbiter, Atlantis spent her first week at the launch pad being prepared for her Flight Readiness Firing (FRF).<\/p>\n On September 5, 1985, the launch control team convened and performed the standard wet countdown dress rehearsal \u2013 which culminated in the 20-second firing of Atlantis\u2019s three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs).<\/p>\n The FRF was a complete success and no issues were detecting, allowing NASA managers to certify Atlantis\u2019s Main Propulsion System (MPS) for flight.<\/p>\n With this test complete, preparations began in earnest for Atlantis\u2019s launch on the STS-51J mission. At the standard Flight Readiness Review (FRR), Shuttle managers formally set Atlantis\u2019s launch date for October 3 at 10:53 EDT.<\/p>\n The countdown for STS-51J began right on time and encountered no issues to speak of. On Oct. 3, the launch control team began loading of the ET with 536,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2).<\/p>\n During the final part of the countdown, a main engine LH2 prevalve close remote power controller indicated a faulty \u2018on\u2019 condition.<\/p>\n Liftoff of Atlantis on STS-51J marked her official entrance as an operational orbiter into the Space Shuttle Program and the first time that a Space Shuttle orbiter launched on her maiden voyage on the very first launch attempt.<\/p>\n STS-51J was the first flight of Atlantis, the 21st overall flight of the Space Shuttle Program, the 33rd space launch conducted from launch pad 39A (an ironic twist as Atlantis will end her career with 33 missions to her name), and the second completely classified Department of Defense (DoD) flight for the Space Shuttle Program.<\/p>\n After deploying her classified DoD payload, Atlantis returned to Earth, landing at Edwards Air Force Base, CA at 13:00.08 EDT on runway 23 on October 7.<\/p>\n Atlantis was returned to the Kennedy Space Center on October 12 and moved directly into an OFP where post-flight deservicing and pre-flight processing took place simultaneously.<\/p>\n After only 26 days in the OPF, a record fast processing flow and one that was never attempted again in the history of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis was rolled to the VAB on November 7 and mated with her ET and SRB stack for STS-61B.<\/p>\n The entire 61B stack was rolled out to launch pad 39A on November 12, and after a flawless pad flow and countdown, Atlantis lifted off on her 2nd mission on November 26, 1985 at 07:29.00 EST.<\/p>\n STS-61B also marked the first flight of astronaut Jerry Ross who would go on to fly five of his record seven Shuttle missions on Atlantis. The mission also carried the only person of Mexican nationality to fly in space to date.<\/p>\n After safely reaching orbit, Atlantis\u2019s seven-member crew successfully deployed three communications satellites for Mexico (MORE LOS-B), Australia (AUSSAT-2), and Americom (SATCOM KU-2).<\/p>\n The crew also performed two spacewalks during the mission to test the assembly of erectable structures in microgravity. These two experiments were the Experimental Assembly of Structures in Extravehicular Activity and Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structure.<\/p>\n Middeck payloads on this flight included the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System, Diffusive Mixing of Organic Solutions, Morelos Payload Specialist Experiments, and Orbiter Experiments.<\/p>\n One Getaway Special canister stored in Atlantis\u2019s payload bay carried a Canadian student experiment involving the fabrication of mirrors in microgravity and whether they have a higher performance than ones manufactured on Earth.<\/p>\n Atlantis also carried with her on STS-61B a checkered racing flag for NASCAR. The flag is now on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.<\/p>\n After 6 days 21 hours 4 minutes and 49 seconds, Atlantis landed safely on concrete runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, CA on December 3 at 16:33.49 EST. Rollout distance on landing was 10,759 feet lasting 78 seconds.<\/p>\n Atlantis was returned to the Kennedy Space Center on December 7 and moved into an OPF to begin processing for her next mission in 1986.<\/p>\n Sadly, before Atlantis could complete processing for this mission, her sister Challenger was lost during the launch of the STS-51L mission on January 28, 1986.<\/p>\n In the resulting stand-down following the loss of Challenger, NASA greatly revamped its safety culture, mandating widespread and sweeping safety changes and upgrades to the Space Shuttle fleet.<\/p>\n As part of these changes and re-certification of parts of the Shuttle Program, Atlantis was mated to an ET\/SRB set in October 1986 and rolled out to Pad-B on October 9 to fit check a new weather protection system.<\/p>\n During her time at the pad, countdown procedure certifications\/tests and emergency egress training\/rescue with a mock flight crew was conducted on November 18th (countdown) and Nov. 19th and 20th (emergency rescue).<\/p>\n STS-135 Specific Articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/sts-135\/<\/p>\n Atlantis was then rolled back to the VAB on November 22, 1986 and returned to an OPF for post-Challenger safety upgrades on March 20, 1987.<\/p>\n Safety upgrades and pre-mission processing proceeded through 1987 and 1988. Following the successful Return to Flight STS-26 mission by sister Discovery in September\/October 1988, Atlantis was moved to the VAB on Oct. 22 and mated to a redesigned\/safety-improved SRB\/ET stack.<\/p>\n Liftoff of Atlantis and the STS-27 mission occurred at 09:30.34 EST on December 2, 1988. It was the 3rd flight of Atlantis, the 3rd Shuttle mission dedicated completely to a classified DoD mission, the 3rd Shuttle launch from Pad-B, the 27th overall Shuttle mission, the 8th space launch from Pad-B, and the second and final Shuttle launch of 1988.<\/p>\n However, Atlantis\u2019s classified payload turned out to be the least-important or concerning part of the STS-27 mission.<\/p>\n During standard post-launch imagery review, it was discovered that portions of ablative insulation on the right hand Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) nose cone had liberated 85 seconds after liftoff and impacted the right hand side of the Atlantis, causing significant Thermal Protection System (TPS) damage.<\/p>\n Further compounding the problem was the fact that the crew was unable to transmit images of the damage to the ground via normal channels because of the classified nature of the mission. Instead, the crew was forced to use a slow, encrypted transmission system that likely degraded the black and white images further and thus prevented ground engineers from realizing the true extent of the damage.<\/p>\n From the images transmitted, it was determined that the damage was no more severe than on previous missions.<\/p>\n Upon landing on December 6, 1988 at 18:36.11 EST at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, over 700 TPS tiles were found to be damage, and one tile was completely missing.<\/p>\n To date, Atlantis is the most-damaged launch\/entry vehicle to successfully return to Earth.<\/p>\n Atlantis was returned to the Kennedy Space Center on December 13 and moved into an OPF on Dec. 14. Once there, technicians got to work removing and replacing all of the damaged TPS tiles and taking detailed inspections of Atlantis while simultaneously preparing her for her next mission: STS-30.<\/p>\n After three months in the OPF, Atlantis was rolled over to the VAB and mated with ET-29 and an SRB set on March 11. Eleven days later on March 22, Atlantis was rolled out to launch pad 39B.<\/p>\n The launch attempt on April 28 proceeded smoothly until the T-31sec mark when the Ground Launch Sequencer refused to hand-off control of the count to Atlantis\u2019s five General Purpose Computers (GPCs) due to a problem with the LH2 recirculation pump on SSME #1 and a vapor leak in the four-inch LH2 recirculation line between Atlantis and her ET.<\/p>\n The launch was scrubbed, repairs were made, and the launch reset for May 4 at 13:48 EDT.<\/p>\n On May 4, launch was delayed until the final five minutes of the launch window due to cloud cover and wind constraints at the Shuttle Landing Facility for RTLS (Return To Launch Site) abort consideration.<\/p>\n At 14:48.59 EDT on May 4, 1989, Space Shuttle Atlantis thundered off Pad-B to begin the STS-30 mission \u2013 the first inter-planetary probe deployment mission in Shuttle history and the first manned mission in history to deploy an inter-planetary probe.<\/p>\n The Magellan spacecraft mapped over 90% of Venus\u2019s surface and was the first inter-planetary probe launched by NASA since the Pioneer Orbiter (also to Venus) in 1978.<\/p>\n The Magellan craft created the first (and currently best) near-photographic quality, high resolution radar map of Venus. Magellan\u2019s mission lasted until October 11, 1994 when its orbit was purposefully lowered to deorbit the craft into Venus\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n Other experiments carried by Atlantis on STS-30 \u2013 all of which had flown before \u2013 included the Mesoscale Lightning Experiment, the microgravity research with Fluids Experiment Apparatus, and the Air Force Maui Optical Site experiment.<\/p>\n During the mission, one of Atlantis\u2019s five GPCs failed, necessitating its replacement with an on-board hardware spare. This marked the first time that a GPC was switched during orbital operations.<\/p>\n She then spent the next three months processing for a nearly identical mission: STS-34 and the deployment of the Galileo inter-planetary probe to Jupiter.<\/p>\n Atlantis was moved to the VAB on August 21 and out to Pad-B on August 29, 1989 for an October 12 launch. The Galileo probe was installed into her payload bay in September.<\/p>\n On October 12, launch was delayed due to a faulty Main Engine Controller on SSME-2. The launch was reschedule for Oct. 17 but was scrubbed on this day due to RTLS weather constraints at the Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n Launch on Oct. 18 occurred at 12:53.40 EDT after a 3-minute 40-second hold at T-5mins to update Atlantis\u2019s onboard computers for a change in the TAL (Transoceanic Abort Landing) site from Ben Guerir, Morocco to Zaragoza, Spain. The mission was the 31st of the Space Shuttle Program and the fifth for Atlantis.<\/p>\n Among the Galileo probe\u2019s numerous successes and milestones were: first asteroid flyby, discovery of the first asteroid moon, first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and an outer planet, and first spacecraft to launch another satellite (or probe) into Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n Galileo spent 14 years in space and 8 years orbiting Jupiter before it was purposefully deorbited on September 21, 2003 to avoid any chance of it accidentally contaminating Jupiter\u2019s moons.<\/p>\n Aside from Galileo, Atlantis also carried the following experiments on STS-34: a Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet experiment, a Growth Hormone Crystal Distribution experiment, a Polymer Morphology experiment, the Sensor a Technology Experiment, a Mesoscale Lightning Experiment, a Shuttle Student Involvement Program experiment that investigated ice crystal formation in zero gravity, and the ground-based Air Force Maui Optical Site experiment.<\/p>\n During the mission, medical doctor Ellen Baker tested the effectiveness of anti-motion sickness medication in space and conducted monitoring experiments on her veins and arteries in her retinal wall to study a possible relationship between cranial pressure and motion sickness.<\/p>\n She was returned to KSC on Oct. 29 and moved into an OPF on Oct. 30. Two and half months later, she was moved to the VAB and mated with an ET\/SRB stack on January 19. The entire STS-36 stack was rolled out to Pad-A on January 25, 1990.<\/p>\n Launch was originally scheduled for February 22 but was delayed to Feb. 23, Feb. 24, and Feb. 25 due to an illness by one of her crewmembers and poor weather conditions.<\/p>\n This was the first time since Apollo 13 that a crewmember\u2019s illness affected a mission.<\/p>\n No attempt was made to launch on Feb. 27.<\/p>\n On Feb. 28, the launch countdown was uneventful and Atlantis lifted off at 02:50.22 EST on her 6th mission, the 6th Shuttle mission dedicated to the DoD, and the 4th night launch of the Shuttle Program.<\/p>\n This was the only Space Shuttle mission to be flown at an orbital inclination greater than 57-degrees \u2013 the standard maximum orbital inclination from Kennedy to ensure that the Space Shuttle does not fly over populated land masses during the launch sequence.<\/p>\n This special trajectory involved launching Atlantis onto an initial 57-degree inclination orbit through SRB powered flight. After SRB separation, Atlantis\u2019s three Main Engines gimbaled, altering Atlantis\u2019s trajectory into a 62-inclination to the equator. The resulting maneuver carried significant vehicle performance hits for Atlantis as well as a hit to the total payload weight she could successfully lift to orbit on that mission.<\/p>\n This is the only instance of a Space Shuttle launching in a dog-legged trajectory, and the classified \u201cimportant to National Security\u201d payload was the only reason the land overflight rules were suspended for STS-36. The payload remains officially classified to this date.<\/p>\n Post-flight inspections revealed drops of hydraulic fluid near the right main landing gear wheel well, the LH2 17-inch disconnect, and the Main Engines. All hydraulic operations were nominal throughout the hydraulic-active portions of the flight.<\/p>\n Atlantis was returned to Kennedy and then moved into an OPF on March 14 where she began processing for STS-38.<\/p>\n On June 8, she was moved to the VAB and mated with ET-40 and an SRB stack. The entire STS-38 stack was moved to the launch pad on June 18 for an originally intended July launch date.<\/p>\n However, an LH2 leak found on sister Columbia during the STS-35 countdown coupled with a concern that the leak problem might not be contained to Columbia and her ET prompted NASA to order three Tanking Tests on Atlantis and the STS-38 stack.<\/p>\n These tests took place on June 29, July 13, and July 25 of 1990 and confirmed a LH2 leak on the ET-side of the ET\/Orbiter 17-inch quick disconnect umbilical and propellant line.<\/p>\n This created a once-in-a-program photo op \u2013 for which Atlantis has been a part of two of three once-in-a-program photo ops \u2013 of two fully stacked Space Shuttles side by side on the crawler way.<\/p>\n However, during her wait outside, Atlantis received minor hail damage from a passing thunderstorm. Once back in the VAB, Atlantis was demated from her tank and returned to the OPF for repairs on August 15.<\/p>\n On Oct. 2, she was once again moved to the VAB and mated with her STS-38 ET\/SRB stack. During lifting operations in the VAB, a work platform inside Atlantis that should have been removed before OPF rollout fell and caused minor damage.<\/p>\n After the damage was repaired, Atlantis\/STS-38 was rolled out to Pad-A on October 12, 1990. A mini-Tanking Test on October 24 confirmed no excessive leakage of LH2 between the Orbiter and the ET. A subsequent Flight Readiness Review set the launch date for November 9, but a payload problem postponed launch until November 15.<\/p>\n The mission remains classified to this day.<\/p>\n Landing on November 19 was waved-off due to crosswind violations at Edwards Air Force Base. On November 20, landing was diverted from Edwards, and at 16:42.42 EST, Atlantis glided to a picture-perfect landing at the Kennedy Space Center. <\/p>\n It was Atlantis\u2019s first-ever KSC landing and the first End Of Mission landing at KSC since April 1985 and the 6th overall KSC landing.<\/p>\n Later that day, Atlantis was moved into an OPF where she underwent four months of processing for STS-37. On March 8, she was moved to the VAB, and the entire STS-37 stack was moved to LC-39B on March 15.<\/p>\n The Flight Readiness Review set the mission\u2019s launch date for April 5, 1991 at 09:18 EST. Liftoff was delayed 4mins 44secs due to low-level cloud cover. At 09:22.44 EST April 5, 1991, Atlantis lifted off on her 8th flight and the 39th mission of the Space Shuttle Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis, in many ways the middle-child orbiter of the Space Shuttle Program \u2013 in many ways the one vehicle that has consistently represented the spirit and determination of the Shuttle Program. Over her 25 and a half year, 33 mission career, the Shuttle orbiter Atlantis has ingrained herself into our hearts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3660,9173],"class_list":["post-40411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-atlantis","tag-feature"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A5.jpg\" "\\"A5\\"")
To this day, the Atlantis\/El Austral\/Dr. Bernardo Houssay is the most-traveled sea fairing vessel in the world \u2013 with more scientific research-based miles to her name than any other ship in history.<\/p>\nSee Also<\/h4>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A62.jpg\" "\\"A6\\"")
On August 12, Atlantis was moved to the VAB, connected to the hoisting\/mating crane, lifted up, and mated to External Tank 25 (ET-25). Eighteen days later, on August 30, Atlantis and the STS-51J stack was rolled out to launch pad 39A, where final pre-launch processing began.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A71.jpg\" "\\"A7\\"")
The launch team quickly worked through this issue, and at 11:15.30 EDT on October 3, 1985 \u2013 just 22mins 30secs after the originally targeted launch time \u2013 the Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on her maiden voyage to the cheers of a gathered crowd at Kennedy and in Titusville.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A8.jpg\" "\\"A8\\"")
While classified at the time, Atlantis was launched into a 28.5-degree inclination orbit.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A9.jpg\" "\\"A9\\"")
STS-61B was the 23rd Space Shuttle mission, the second night launch of the Shuttle Program, and the 9th and final flight of 1985. It was also the quickest turnaround of a Shuttle orbiter from launch to launch in history \u2013 just 54 days between Atlantis\u2019s launch on STS-51J and her launch on STS-61B.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A10.jpg\" "\\"A10\\"")
An IMAX camera flew in Atlantis\u2019s payload bay to document the satellite deployments and EVAs (spacewalks) on this mission.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A111.jpg\" "\\"A11\\"")
The mission landed one orbit earlier than planned due to lighting concerns at Edwards.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A12.jpg\" "\\"A12\\"")
Atlantis and the STS-27 stack was rolled out to launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on November 2. On December 1, the launch was scrubbed due to unacceptable cloud cover and out-of-limit winds at the Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A14.jpg\" "\\"A14\\"")
During the mission, the crew used Atlantis\u2019s Shuttle Remote Manipulator System robot arm to inspect the damage. However, limited resolution and range of the cameras from the damage locations made it extremely difficult to determine the full extent of the damage. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A13.jpg\" "\\"A13\\"")
Luckily, and perhaps the only thing that prevented a burn through at the area of the missing TPS tile and the loss of Atlantis and her flight crew was the fact that the missing tile was located over a dense aluminum mounting plate for the L-band antenna \u2013 which provided some degree of \u201cadded\u201d protection against a burn through.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A15.jpg\" "\\"A15\\"")
There, the interplanetary probe Magellan was installed into Atlantis\u2019s payload bay and the launch date set for April 28, 1989.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A16.jpg\" "\\"A16\\"")
Inserted into a 28.8-degree inclination orbit, Atlantis successfully deployed the Magellan probe to Venus on FD-1 (Flight Day 1) of the mission.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A17.jpg\" "\\"A17\\"")
After 4 days, Atlantis touched down safely on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, CA at 15:43.27 EDT on May 8. She was returned to the Kennedy Space Center on May 15 and moved into an OPF on May 16.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A18.jpg\" "\\"A18\\"")
After attaining a 34.3-degree 185nm orbit, Atlantis deployed the Galileo probe 6 hours 30mins into the flight \u2013 sending the probe on its way to Jupiter.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A19.jpg\" "\\"A19\\"")
After 4days 23hours 39mins and 20seconds in space, Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base at 12:33.00 EDT on Oct. 23 \u2013 two orbits earlier than planned because of expected high winds at the time of the originally planned landing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A21.jpg\" "\\"A21\\"")
Launch on February 25 was scrubbed because of a malfunctioning Range Safety computer. Launch was reset for Feb. 26 but was once again scrubbed due to poor weather conditions.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A20.jpg\" "\\"A20\\"")
Given the classified nature of the STS-36 payload and the need to place the payload into a 62-degree inclination orbit (an inclination above the maximum 57-degree inclination allowed for KSC launches), special waivers were processed to accomplish land overflight during launch and a special launch trajectory was developed to minimize Atlantis\u2019s land overflight during ascent.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A22.jpg\" "\\"A22\\"")
The mission proved successful and Atlantis returned safely to Earth 4-days later, landing at Edwards Air Force Base, CA on March 4.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A23.jpg\" "\\"A23\\"")
Since the issue could not be repaired at the launch pad, Atlantis\/STS-38 was rolled back on August 9 to the VAB \u2013 the 5th rollback of a Space Shuttle stack in Program history. However, all the VAB high bays capable of receiving a Shuttle orbiter were full and Atlantis was forced to wait outside the VAB for a full day before her sister Columbia vacated the VAB during her re-rollout for launch on STS-35.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/A24.jpg\" "\\"A24\\"")
Atlantis lifted off on her 7th flight and the 7th Shuttle mission dedicated to the DoD on Nov. 15, 1990 at 18:48.13 EST. At liftoff, STS-38 was the 37th Space Shuttle mission and the 5th night launch of the Space Shuttle.<\/p>\n