![]() ![]() Two minor problems occurred during the flight. The orbiter sustained only minor Space Shuttle thermal protection system tile damage, and the redesigned post- Challenger solid rocket boosters showed no signs of leakage or overheating at any of the joints. The primary payload for the STS-26 mission, TDRS-C, was successfully deployed, and 11 scheduled mid-deck scientific and technological experiments were carried out. The shuttle crew, all veteran astronauts, included Commander Frederick H. It was quickly determined that the cabin pressure had been increased slightly by the activation of the oxygen systems in the crew's flight suits, and the launch was conducted without further delay. At T-1:30, it was proposed that the launch be delayed at T-0:31 due to a cabin air pressure issue. The suits were repaired, and a waiver was issued for the wind conditions after officials determined there was a sufficient safety margin for wind loads on the orbiter's wing leading edges. The launch was delayed by one hour and thirty-eight minutes due to unseasonable and unusual light winds, and the need to replace fuses in the cooling systems of two crew members' flight suits. EDT on September 29, 1988, 975 days after the Challenger disaster. Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, at 11:37:00 a.m. He also would have been the CAPCOM operator for the canceled STS-61-F mission during launch and landing.ĭiscovery lifts off from KSC, the first shuttle mission after the Challenger disaster Bridges never flew again after the Challenger disaster, but would eventually become the director of Langley Research Center (LRC).Ĭovey was the CAPCOM operator during the STS-51-L launch who uttered the words, " Challenger, go at throttle up", shortly after which the orbiter disintegrated. Hauck, Lounge and Hilmers were all assigned to that flight, with Roy D. Ulysses was eventually launched on STS-41. The crew roster for STS-26 was based on the original crew assignment for STS-61-F, which would have launched the Ulysses probe from Challenger in 1986. 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. The mission is technically designated STS-26R, as the original STS-26 designation previously belonged to STS-51-F (also known as Spacelab-2). space mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11, with all of its crew members having flown at least one prior mission. 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 declared the "Return to Flight" mission, being the first mission after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of January 28, 1986. ![]() The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter Discovery. ![]()
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