STS-30

STS-30

Magellan and its IUS in the payload bay of Atlantis
Names	Space Transportation System-30 STS-30R
Mission type	Magellan spacecraft deployment
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1989-033A
SATCAT no.	19968
Mission duration	4 days, 56 minutes, 27 seconds
Distance travelled	2,377,800 km (1,477,500 mi)
Orbits completed	65
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch mass	118,441 kg (261,118 lb)
Landing mass	87,296 kg (192,455 lb)
Payload mass	20,833 kg (45,929 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	David M. Walker Ronald J. Grabe Mark C. Lee Norman Thagard Mary L. Cleave
Start of mission
Launch date	May 4, 1989, 18:46:59 (May 4, 1989, 18:46:59) UTC (2:46:59 pm EDT)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39B
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	May 8, 1989, 19:43:26 (May 8, 1989, 19:43:26) UTC (12:43:26 pm PDT)
Landing site	Edwards, Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	361 km (224 mi)
Apogee altitude	366 km (227 mi)
Inclination	28.45°
Period	91.80 minutes
Instruments
Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA) Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE)
STS-30 mission patch From left: Grabe, Walker, Thagard, Cleave and Lee Space Shuttle program ← STS-29 (28) STS-28 (30) →

STS-30 was the 29th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth mission for Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the fourth 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 May 4, 1989, and landed four days later on May 8, 1989. During the mission, Atlantis deployed the Venus-bound Magellan probe into orbit.

The mission was officially designated STS-30R as the original STS-30 designator belonged to STS-61-A, the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. Official documentation for that mission contained the designator STS-30 throughout. As STS-51-L was designated STS-33, future flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 designators would require the R in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data from one mission to another.