yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (02/28/89)
- 17 - A team of industry, university and government research investigators will explore the potential advantages of using protein crystals grown in space to determine the complex, three- dimensional structure of specific protein molecules. Knowing the precise structure of these complex molecules provides the key to understanding their biological function and could lead to methods of altering or controlling the function in ways that may result in new drugs. It is through sophisticated analysis of a protein in crystalized form that scientists are able to construct a model of the molecular structure. The problem is that protein crystals grown on Earth are often small and flawed. Protein crystal growth experiments flown on four previous Space Shuttle missions have already shown promising evidence that superior crystals can be obtained in the microgravity environment of space flight. To further develop the scientific and technological foundation for protein crystal growth in space, NASA's Office of Commercial Programs and the Microgravity Science and Applications Division are co-sponsoring the STS-29 experiments being managed through the Marshall Space Flight Center. During the flight, 60 different crystal growth experiments will be conducted simultaneously using 19 different proteins. The experiment apparatus, first flown aboard Discovery on STS-26, fits into one of the Shuttle orbiter's middeck lockers. Shortly after achieving orbit, a mission specialist astronaut will initiate the crystal growing process which will continue for several days. The experiment apparatus differs from previous protein crystal payloads in that it provides temperature control and automation of some processes. After Discovery's landing, the experiment hardware and protein crystals will be turned over to the investigating team for analysis. Lead investigator for the research team is Dr. Charles E. Bugg of the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Bugg is director of the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, a NASA-sponsored Center for the Commercial Development of Space located at UAB. Flying crystal growth experiments through their affiliation with the UAB Center for Commercial Development of Space are Dupont; Eli Lilly & Company; Kodak; Merck Institute for Therapuetic Research; Schering-Plough Corp.; Smith, Kline and French; Upjohn; and Biocryst Limited. - more - - 18 - STUDENT EXPERIMENTS Chicken Embryo Development in Space, SE83-9 This experiment, proposed by John C. Vellinger, formerly of Jefferson High School, Lafayette, Ind., will determine the effects of spaceflight on the development of fertilized chicken embryos. Vellinger is now a senior at Purdue University studying mechanical engineering. The experiment is to fly 32 chicken eggs -- 16 fertilized two days prior to launch and the other 16 fertilized 9 days prior to launch -- to see if any changes in the developing embryo can be attributed to weightlessness. All 32 eggs will be placed in an incubator box, designed by Vellinger and flown aboard Discovery, while an identical group of 32 eggs will remain on Earth as a control group. Throughout the mission, Vellinger will attend to the earthbound eggs much as a mother hen would, turning them five times a day to counter the effects of Earth's gravity on the yolk. Upon return to Earth, the spaceflight group will be returned to Vellinger, who will open and examine 16 of them. At the same time he will open and examine half the control group eggs. The examinations are intended to identify any statistically significant differences in cartilage, bone and digit structures, muscle system, nervous system, facial structure and internal organs. The other half of the eggs (16 spaceflight and 16 control) will be hatched at 21 days and their weight, growth rate and reproductive rate will be studied. Vellinger's goal is to determine whether a chicken embryo can develop normally in a weightless environment. The scientific team supporting Vellinger includes: Dr. Cesar Fermin, Tulane University; Dr. Patricia Hester, Purdue University; Dr. Michale Holick, Boston University; Dr. Ronald Hullinger, Purdue University; and Dr. Russell Kerschmann, University of Massachusetts. Stanley W. Poelstra of Jefferson High School is Vellinger's student advisor. Dr. Lisbeth Kraft, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., is the NASA technical advisor. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Louisville, is sponsoring the experiment. The Effects of Weightlessness on the Healing Bone, SE82-8 This is an experiment proposed by Andrew I. Fras, formerly of Binghamton High School, N.Y., to establish whether the environmental effects of spaceflight inhibit bone healing. Fras is now attending Brown University's Medical School. - more - - 19 - Observations of rats from previous space flights, as well as non-weight bearing bone studies in gravity using rats, have shown that minerals, calcium in particular, are lost from the body, resulting in a condition similar to osteoporosis. Calcium is the main mineral needed in bone formation. This experiment will fly four Long Evans rats where a minutely small piece of bone will be removed by a veterinarian from a non-weight bearing bone. The effects of weightlessness on the origin, development and differentiation of the osteoblasts (bone cells) and their production of callus will be studied. A matched control group will be Earth-based. Fras, working with scientists and researchers at Orthopaedic Hospital and University of Southern California, will attempt to determine whether bone healing in the rat is impeded by the loss of calcium and the absence of weight bearing during space flight. Andrew Fras is the only student to win the NASA/National Science Teachers Association's Space Science Student Involvement Program twice. His first project, "The Effect of Weightlessness on the Aging of Brain Cells," flew on STS 51-D in 1985. Fras' student advisor is Howard I. Fisher of Binghamton High School. Orthopaedic Hospital/University of Southern California, Los Angeles, is sponsoring the experiment and providing advice, direction and scientific monitoring; the advisors are Dr. June Marshall and Dr. Augusto Sarmiento. Dr. Emily Holton, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., is serving as the NASA technical advisor. IMAX The IMAX project is a collaboration between NASA and the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum to document significant space activities using the IMAX film medium. This system, developed by the IMAX Systems Corp., Toronto, Canada, uses specially-designed 70mm film cameras and projectors to record and display very high definition large- screen color motion picture images. IMAX cameras previously have flown on Shuttle missions 41-C, 41-D and 41-G to document crew operations in the payload bay and the orbiter's middeck and flight deck along with spectacular views of space and Earth. Film from those missions form the basis for the IMAX production, "The Dream is Alive." On STS 61- B, an IMAX camera, mounted in the payload bay, recorded extravehicular activities in the EASE/ACCESS space construction demonstrations. The IMAX camera will be used to gather material on the use of observations of the Earth from space for a new IMAX film to succeed "The Dream is Alive." - more - - 20 - AIR FORCE MAUI OPTICAL SITE CALIBRATION TEST The Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) tests allow ground- based electro-optical sensors located on Mt. Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, to collect imagery and signature data of the orbiter during cooperative overflights. The scientific observations made of the orbiter, while performing reaction control system thruster firings, water dumps or payload bay light activation, are used to support the calibration of the AMOS sensors and the validation of spacecraft contamination models. The AMOS tests have no payload unique flight hardware and only require that the orbiter be in predefined attitude operations and lighting conditions. The AMOS facility was developed by Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) through its Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y., and is administered and operated by the AVCO Everett Research Laboratory in Maui. The principal investigator for the AMOS tests on the Space Shuttle is from AFSC's Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. A co- principal investigator is from AVCO. Flight planning and mission support activities for the AMOS test opportunities are provided by a detachment of AFSC's Space Division at Johnson Space Center, Houston. Flight operations are conducted at JSC Mission Control Center in coordination with the AMOS facilities located in Hawaii. ORBITER EXPERIMENTS AUTONOMOUS SUPPORTING INSTRUMENTATION Special instrumentation to record the environment experienced by Discovery during the STS-29 mission is mounted in the orbiter payload bay. Called OASIS, the instrumentation is designed to collect and record a variety of environmental measurements during various in- flight phases of the orbiter. The primary device is a large tape recorder mounted on the aft port side of the orbiter. The OASIS recorder can be commanded from the ground to store information at a low, medium or high data rate. After Discovery's mission is over, the tapes will be removed for analysis. The information will be used to study the effects on the orbiter of temperature, pressure, vibration, sound, acceleration, stress and strain. It also will be used to assist in the design of future payloads and upper stages. OASIS is about desk-top size, approximately 4 feet in length, 1 foot in width, 3 feet in depth and weighs 230 pounds. - more - - 21 - The OASIS data is collected from 101 sensors mounted along the sills on either side of the payload bay, on the airborne support equipment of the Inertial IUS and on the tape recorder itself. These sensors are connected to accelerometers, strain gauges, microphones, pressure gauges and various thermal devices on the orbiter. OASIS was launched aboard Discovery on STS-26 in September 1988. Upon return to KSC, the OASIS recorder was removed from the payload bay and the tape analyzed. Use of this data improved efficiency in turnaround of the IUS airborne support equipment for Discovery's STS-29 mission. As more OASIS data is collected, it will be increasingly beneficial for future IUS flights on the Space Shuttle. On STS-29 launch day, the system will be turned on 9 minutes before Discovery's liftoff to begin recording at high speed to recover high fidelity data. Following the first burn of the orbital maneuvering system, the recorder will be switched to the low data rate and will be commanded again to high speed for subsequent OMS burns. Different data rates are to be commanded from the ground at various times during the on-orbit operations. If tape remains, the recorder will operate during descent. NASA is flying OASIS aboard Discovery in support of the IUS program office of the Air Force Space Division. The system was developed by Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Company under a NASA contract. Development was sponsored by the Air Force Space Division. STS-29 PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHTS VEHICLE/PAYLOAD WEIGHT (Pounds) Discovery Orbiter (Empty) 176,019 TDRS-D/IUS 43,212 OASIS I 223 CHROMEX 92 IMAX 276 IUS Support Equipment 204 PCG 81 SHARE 637 SSIP (2) 128 Orbiter and Cargo at SRB Ignition 263,289 Total Vehicle at SRB Ignition 4,525,139 Orbiter Landing Weight 194,616 - more - - 22 - SPACEFLIGHT TRACKING AND DATA NETWORK Although primary communications for most activities on STS- 29 will be conducted through the orbiting Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS-1 and TDRS-3), NASA Spaceflight Tracking and Data Relay Network (STDN)-controlled ground stations will play a key role in several mission activities. In addition, the stations, along with the NASA Communications Network (NASCOM), at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., will serve as backups for communications with Space Shuttle Discovery should a problem develop in the satellite communications. Three of the 14 stations serve as the primary communications focal point during the launch and ascent phase of the Shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. They are Merritt Island and Ponce de Leon in Florida and Bermuda downrange from the launch site. For the first minute and 20 seconds, all voice, telemetry and other communications from the Shuttle are relayed to the mission managers at Kennedy and at Johnson Space Center, Houston, by way of the Merritt Island facility. At 1 minute, 20 seconds, the communications are picked up from the Shuttle and relayed to KSC and JSC from the Ponce de Leon facility, 30 miles north of the launch pad. This facility provides the communications for 70 seconds, or during a critical period when exhaust energy from the solid rocket motors "blocks out" the Merritt Island antennas. The Merritt Island facility resumes communications to and from the Shuttle after those 70 seconds and maintains them until 6 minutes, 30 seconds after launch when communications are "switched over" to Bermuda. Bermuda then provides the communications until 8 minutes, 45 seconds after liftoff when the TDRS-1 (East) satellite acquires the Shuttle. Another critical point in the mission is deployment of TDRS- D from the orbiter. Ground stations at Canberra, Australia; Goldstone, Calif.; Hawaii; and Guam provide the communications for the crucial time the satellite is being transferred to geosynchronous orbit, 22,300 miles above Earth. Another time the ground stations will play a key role is during the landing. The facilities at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility and the Goldstone Deep Space Network stations provide primary communications for the Shuttle during its approach and landing at nearby Edwards Air Force Base. - more - - 23 - More than 1,500 persons will maintain the stations on a 24- hour basis during the 5-day mission. In addition to the 14 ground stations, there are six major computing interfaces located at the Network Control Center and the Flight Dynamics Facility, both at Goddard; Western Space and Missile Center, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; Air Force Satellite Control Facility, Colorado Springs; White Sands Missile Range, N.M.; and the Eastern Space and Missile Center, Fla. The Merritt Island station provides the data to KSC and JSC during pre-launch testing and the terminal countdown. In addition to Merritt Island, Ponce de Leon and Bermuda, which provide S-band communications during launch and ascent, C-band facilities at Bermuda; Antigua; Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base, both in Florida; and Wallops Flight Facility, Va., provide tracking data, both high and low speed, to KSC and JSC. S-band systems carry radio frequency transmissions of command and telemetry. C-band stations provide radar (skin) tracking for orbit determination. Ultra high frequency air/ground (UHF A/G) stations provide astronaut voice communications with the ground. NASA plans to close some of its stations as the satellite tracking system becomes more operational. Stations at Santiago, Chile, and Guam are expected to cease operations on June 30, and Hawaii and Ascension will stop operations Sept. 30, 1989. Currently, Yarragadee, Australia, is part of NASA's laser network and will be available for use in an emergency during NASA missions as a backup to TDRS-West (TDRS-3). Closing of the stations is expected to provide savings of approximately $30 million a year. MCC REAL TIME DATA SYSTEM (RTDS) The real time data system is an intelligent, real-time assistant to the flight controllers in the Mission Control Center, Johnson Space Center, during a Shuttle mission. Flight controller expertise is represented in the form of algorithms and expert systems. The expert systems monitor performance of various Shuttle systems. RTDS runs on MASSCOMP mini-computers which have multiple processors. During a mission, the expert systems process Shuttle downlink data and display the results to flight controllers. Information is presented to the flight controllers through familiar graphs and schematics, indicating anomalies through color highlights, text messages and tones. RTDS is significant because much of the monitoring work traditionally done by the flight controller and other staff can now be off-loaded to the expert system, leaving the flight controller free to perform other tasks. - more - - 24 - RTDS was used during STS-26 to aid flight controllers in monitoring Shuttle main engine performance during the critical ascent phase and the deployment of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. Based on the success of RTDS during the STS-26 mission, the system has been expanded and incorporated into other Shuttle flight control disciplines. During STS-29, RTDS will be used to aid the integrated communications officer, booster, mechanical, manipulator and crew systems flight controllers. RTDS displays have been installed into and around the consoles of these three flight control disciplines, providing the information to perform certain flight control tasks. Additionally, the electronic analog of certain cockpit instruments, such as the attitude and direction indicator, are being modeled on the RTDS displays to give flight control personnel an understanding of the information available to the astronauts flying in the Shuttle. RTDS represents the first operational use of real-time expert system technologies for manned spacecraft monitoring and as such, has provided a hands-on understanding of these technologies. The system will be expanded on future flights to include additional controller functions. - more - - 25 - CREW BIOGRAPHIES MICHAEL L. COATS, 43, captain, USN, is mission commander. Born in Sacramento, Calif., he considers Riverside, Calif., his hometown. Coats is a member of the astronaut class of 1978. Coats was pilot of the 14th Space Shuttle mission (41- D) launched Aug. 30, 1984 marking orbiter Discovery's maiden flight. The 41-D crew earned the nickname "Icebusters" because of their successful removal of hazardous ice particles from the orbiter using the remote manipulator system. The flight included several "firsts:" The first time three communications satellites were deployed during one mission; the first "frisbee" satellite deployment; and the first time a commercial payload specialist flew aboard the Shuttle. Coats has logged more than 144 hours in space. He earned a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1968, a M.S. degree in administration of science and technology from George Washington University in 1977, and a M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1979. Coats became a naval aviator in September 1969 and served 25 months as an A-7E pilot aboard the USS Kittyhawk. During that time, he flew 315 combat missions in Southeast Asia. Coats, in 1974, attended test pilot training. Following his training, he was project officer and the test pilot for the A-7 and A-4 aircraft at the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate and served as a flight instructor at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School from April 1976 to May 1977. He has logged more than 4,700 hours flying time and 400 carrier landings in 22 different types of aircraft. JOHN E. BLAHA, 46, colonel, USAF, is pilot. He was born in San Antonio, Texas. Blaha, making his first flight, is a member of the astronaut class of 1980. He has been an ascent, orbit, planning and entry capsule communicator (CAPCOM) in the Mission Control Center for seven Shuttle flights. Blaha was lead CAPCOM for the STS 41-D and STS 41-G missions. He served as the astronaut office representative of the Space Shuttle ascent/abort reassessment team and the orbital maneuvering system/reaction control system reassessment group. Blaha earned a B.S. degree in engineering science from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1965 and a M.S. degree in astronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1966. He received his pilot wings in 1967. He then served as an operational pilot flying A-37, F-4, F-102 and F-106 aircraft and completed 361 combat missions in Southeast Asia. - more - - 26 - Blaha attended the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1971 and later served as an instructor pilot at the test pilot school. He served as a test pilot working with the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom for 3 years. Blaha also has worked for the Assistant Chief of Staff, Studies and Analyses at USAF Headquarters in the Pentagon. He has logged 4,300 hours of flying time in 32 different aircraft. JAMES F. BUCHLI, 43, colonel, USMC, is mission specialist one (MS-1). Although born in New Rockford, N.D., Buchli considers Fargo, N.D., his hometown. He is a member of the astronaut class of 1978. Buchli was a mission specialist on STS 51-C launched on Jan. 24, 1985. The first Department of Defense mission included deployment of a modified inertial upper stage from the Space Shuttle Discovery. He next flew Oct. 30, 1985 as a mission specialist on STS 61-A, the West German Spacelab D1 mission. That mission was the first to carry eight crewmembers, the largest crew to fly in space and the first in which payload activities were controlled from outside the United States. Buchli has logged a total of 243 hours in space. He earned a B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967 and a M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering systems from the University of West Florida in 1975. Following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy and his commission in the USMC, Buchli served for 1 year in the Republic of Vietnam. He then completed naval flight officer training and was assigned to Marine fighter/attack squadrons in Hawaii, Japan and Thailand. He has logged 3,500 hours flying time, 3,300 hours in jet aircraft. ROBERT C. SPRINGER, 46, colonel, USMC, is mission specialist two (MS-2). Although born in St. Louis, he considers Ashland, Ohio, his hometown. Springer is a member of the astronaut class of 1980 and will be making his first space flight. He has worked in the Mission Control Center as a CAPCOM for seven flights and was responsible for Astronaut Office coordination of design requirements reviews and design certification reviews, part of the total recertification and reverification of the National Space Transportation System prior to STS-26's return to flight. Springer earned a B.S. degree in naval science from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1964 and a M.S. in operations research and systems analysis from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1971. - more - - 27 - After receiving a USMC commission, Springer received his aviator wings in August 1966 and was assigned to VMFA-513 at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C., where he flew F-4 aircraft. He then served in Southeast Asia where he flew F-4s and completed 300 combat missions. In June 1968, Springer served as an advisor to the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in Vietnam and flew 250 combat missions in 01 "Bird Dogs" and UH1 "Huey" helicopters. Springer attended Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and in 1975 graduated from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md. He has served as a test pilot for more than 20 different fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and performed the first flights in the AHIT helicopter. Springer has logged more than 3,500 hours flying time, including 3,000 hours in jet aircraft. JAMES P. BAGIAN, M.D., 36, is mission specialist three (MS- 3). This will be his first space flight. Born in Philadelphia, he is a member of the astronaut class of 1980. Bagian participated in the planning and provision of emergency medical and rescue support for the first six Shuttle flights and has participated in the verification of Space Shuttle flight software. In 1986, Bagian became an investigator for the 51-L accident board and has been responsible for the development of the pressure suit and other crew survival equipment astronauts now use on Shuttle missions. He earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University in 1973 and a doctorate in medicine from Thomas Jefferson University in 1977. Bagian worked as a process engineer for the 3M Company in 1973 and later as a mechanical engineer at the U.S. Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Md. He worked as a flight surgeon and research medical officer at the Johnson Space Center in 1978 while completing his studies at the USAF Flight Surgeons School and USAF School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. An active participant in the mountain rescue community, Bagian has a private pilot's license and has logged more than 1,000 hours flying time in propeller and jet aircraft, helicopters and gliders. - more - - 28 - SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT NASA HEADQUARTERS Dr. James C. Fletcher Administrator Dale D. Myers Deputy Administrator RADM Richard H. Truly Associate Administrator for Space Flight George W. S. Abbey Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight Arnold D. Aldrich Director, National Space Transportation Program Richard H. Kohrs Deputy Director, NSTS Program (located at Johnson Space Center Robert L. Crippen Deputy Director, NSTS Operations (located at Kennedy Space Center) David L. Winterhalter Director, Systems Engineering and Analyses Gary E. Krier Acting Director, Operations Utilization Joseph B. Mahon Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Flight (Flight Systems) Charles R. Gunn Director, Unmanned Launch Vehicles and Upper Stages George A. Rodney Associate Administrator for Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance Robert O. Aller Associate Administrator for Operations Eugene Ferrick Director, Space Network Division Robert M. Hornstein Director, Ground Network Division JOHNSON SPACE CENTER Aaron Cohen Director Paul J. Weitz Deputy Director Richard A. Colonna Manager, Orbiter and GFE Projects - more - - 29 - Donald R. Puddy Director, Flight Crew Operations Eugene F. Kranz Director, Mission Operations Henry O. Pohl Director, Engineering Charles S. Harlan Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Forrest S. McCartney Director Thomas E. Utsman Deputy Director; Director, Shuttle Management and Operations Robert B. Sieck Launch Director George T. Sasseen Shuttle Engineering Director John J. Talone STS-29 Flow Director James A. Thomas Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance John T. Conway Director, Payload Management and Operations MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER James R. Thompson Jr. Director Thomas J. Lee Deputy Director William R. Marshall Manager, Shuttle Projects Office Dr. J. Wayne Littles Director, Science and Engineering Alexander A. McCool Director, Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance Gerald W. Smith Manager, Solid Rocket Booster Project Joseph A. Lombardo Manager, Space Shuttle Main Engine Project Jerry W. Smelser Acting Manager, External Tank Project - more - - 30 - AMES RESEARCH CENTER Dr. Dale L. Compton Acting Director Victor L. Peterson Acting Deputy Director AMES-DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY Martin A. Knutson Site Manager Theodore G. Ayers Deputy Site Manager Thomas C. McMurtry Chief, Research Aircraft Operations Division Larry C. Barnett Chief, Shuttle Support Office GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER Dr. John W. Townsend Director Gerald W. Longanecker Director, Flight Projects Robert E. Spearing Director, Operations and Data Systems Daniel A. Spintman Chief, Networks Division Vaughn E. Turner Chief, Communications Division Dr. Dale W. Harris TDRS Project Manager Charles M. Hunter TDRS Deputy Project Manager Gary A. Morse Network Director CONTACTS Sarah Keegan/Barbara Selby Office of Space Flight Headquarters, Washington, D.C. (Phone: 202/453-2352) Geoffrey Vincent Office of Space Operations Headquarters, Washington, D.C. (Phone: 202/453-8400) Lisa Malone Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (Phone: 407/867-2468) Kyle Herring Johnson Space Center, Houston (Phone: 713/483-5111) Jerry Berg Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. (Phone: 205/544-0034) Nancy Lovato Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif. (Phone: 805/258-8381) Jim Elliott Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. (Phone: 301/286-6256) CONTENTS GENERAL RELEASE............................................1 GENERAL INFORMATION........................................3 QUICK LOOK FACTS...........................................4 STS-29 MISSION OBJECTIVES..................................4 LAUNCH PREPARATION, COUNTDOWN AND LIFTOFF..................5 MAJOR COUNTDOWN MILESTONES.................................7 TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS..............................9 ABORT MODES...............................................10 SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES...............................10 LANDING AND POST-LANDING OPERATIONS.......................11 TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE.........................12 INERTIAL UPPER STAGE......................................14 SECONDARY PAYLOADS:.......................................15 Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Element......15 Chromex................................................16 Protein Crystal Growth Experiment......................16 Student Experiments....................................18 IMAX......................................................19 AMOS......................................................20 OASIS INSTRUMENTATION.....................................20 STS-29 CARGO CONFIGURATION................................20b PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHT SUMMARY........................21 SPACEFLIGHT TRACKING AND DATA NETWORK.....................22 MCC REAL TIME DATA SYSTEM.................................23 CREW BIOGRAPHIES..........................................25 SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT..........................28