1991-040A
The next mission for Columbia was the first Spacelab Life Sciences mission. STS-40 took off on 1991 Jun 5. Launch was successful, but after payload bay door opening video of loose thermal blankets and minor damage to the payload bay door seal at the rear of the Orbiter caused some concern. Eventually analysts concluded that the loose material wasn't a problem.
A 1 hour 25 min launch delay curtailed the first day's experiments on cardiovascular and metabolic measurements. Human vestibular experiments began on Jun 7, and continued on Jun 8 with use of the rotating chair and on Jun 11 with the rotating dome apparatus. Jun 12 saw some Earth observations.
Columbia returned to Earth on Jun 14. Because of a concern about the payload bay door seal, the port door was closed first, at 1125, and the seal was observed from the Spacelab module. The starboard door was closed 25 minutes later.
| STS-40 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Feb 9 | Processing | OPF/1 | |
| 1991 Apr 26 | Rollover | VAB/3 | |
| 1991 Apr 26 | ET mate | VAB/3 | |
| 1991 May 2 | Rollout | LC39B | |
| 1991 Jun 5 | 1324:51 | Launch | LC39B |
| 1326:55 | SRB sep | ||
| 1333:21 | MECO | 88.22? 76 x 287 x 39.0 | |
| 1333:40 | ET Sep | ||
| 1407:09 | OMS 2 2:04 60m/s | 90.30 279 x 298 x 39.0 | |
| 1409:13 | OMS 2 CO | ||
| 1500 | PLBD open | ||
| 1991 Jun 7 | 90.27 278 x 296 x 39.0 | ||
| 1991 Jun 11 | 90.22 278 x 292 x 39.0 | ||
| 1991 Jun 12 | 0300 | 90.18 277 x 289 x 39.0 | |
| 1991 Jun 14 | 1125 | PLBD port door close | 90.16 276 x 288 x 39.0 |
| 1149 | PLBD stbd door close | ||
| 1437:36 | OMS DO (2:50) 87m/s | ||
| 1440:26 | OMS DO CO | 87.21 -15 x 287 x 39.0 | |
| 1507:49 | Entry | ||
| 1521 | 66 km alt | ||
| 1539:11 | Landing | RW22 EAFB | |
| 1539:26 | NGTD | ||
| 1540:02 | Wheels stop | ||
| 1991 Jun 19 | 1430 | SCA takeoff | EAFB |
| 1725 | SCA landing | Biggs AAF TX | |
| 1991 Jun 20 | 1200 | SCA takeoff | Biggs AAF TX |
| 1250 | SCA landing | Kelly AFB TX | |
| 1355 | SCA takeoff | Kelly AFB TX | |
| 1640 | SCA landing | Columbus AFB MS | |
| 1991 Jun 21 | 1125 | SCA takeoff | Columbus AFB MS |
| 1450 | SCA landing | KSC SLF | |
| Major Mod | OPF/2 | ||
| 1991 Aug 7 | Major Mod | OPF/3 | |
| 1991 Aug 9 | 1700 | SCA takeoff | KSC |
| 2045 | SCA landing | MacDill AFB | |
| 1991 Aug 12 | 1430 | SCA takeoff | MacDill AFB |
| 1615 | SCA landing | Kelly AFB TX | |
| 1991 Aug 13 | 1020 | SCA takeoff | Kelly AFB TX |
| 1525 | SCA landing | Palmdale, CA | |
| 1991 Aug 14 | Major Mod at Rockwell | Palmdale | |
| 1992 Feb 5 | Complete Mod | Palmdale | |
| 1992 Feb 9 | 1245 | SCA takeoff | Palmdale |
| 1710 | SCA landing | Ellington Field, TX | |
| 2105 | SCA takeoff | Ellington Fld, TX | |
| 2330 | SCA landing | KSC | |
| 1992 Feb 10 | 0600 | Processing for STS-50 | OPF |
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