Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Discovery (STS-29) launched 1989

Back row, L-R: James Bagian, Robert Springer, James Buchli. 
Front row, L-R: John Blaha, Michael Coats

Mission patch


Discovery (STS-29), launched March 13, 1989, was the twenty-eighth overall space shuttle mission, since the previous mission (STS-28) was delayed until August of that year. Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Coats, Pilot John Blaha, mission specialists Robert Springer, James Buchli and James Bagian. 

What?  They couldn't find a commander and another mission specialist with the initials "J. B."?

The mission included two Shuttle Student Involvement Program experiments.  One used four live rats with tiny pieces of bone removed from them to see how environmental effects of space flight affected bone healing.  The second involved 32 chicken eggs to see how space flight affected fertilized chicken embryos.

No word on the success of those experiments.

They returned to Earth March 18.

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