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ArchivesText SizeSTS-36 Mission: Department of Defense
Space Shuttle: Atlantis
Launch Pad: 39A 
Launch Weight: Classified
Launched: February 28, 1990, 2:50:22 a.m. EST
Landing Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Landing: March 4, 1990, 10:08:44 a.m. PST
Landing Weight: 87,200 pounds
Runway: 23 
Rollout Distance: 7,900 feet
Rollout Time: 53 seconds
Revolution: 72
Mission Duration: 4 days, 10 hours, 18 minutes, 22 seconds
Returned to KSC: March 13, 1990
Orbit Altitude: 132 nautical miles
Orbit Inclination: 62 degrees
Miles Traveled: 1.9 million 

Crew Members

                    

Image above: STS-36 Crew photo with Commander John O. Creighton, Pilot John H. 
Casper, Mission Specialists Richard M. Mullane, David C. Hilmers and Pierre J. 
Thuot. Image Credit: NASA 

Launch Highlights

 The launch set for February 22 was postponed to February 23, February 24, and 
February 25 due to illness of the crew commander and weather conditions. It was 
the first time since Apollo 13 in 1970 that a manned space mission was affected 
by the illness of a crew member. The launch was set for February 25 and scrubbed 
due to a malfunction of a range safety computer. The launch was reset for 
February 26 and scrubbed again due to weather conditions (Note: external tank 
loaded only for launch attempts on February 25 and 26, and launch on February 
28). The launch on February 28 was set for a classified window lying within a 
launch period extending from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. EST.

Mission Highlights

Sixth mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. 

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