The Galileo probe to Jupiter wa launched from the Space Shuttle Atlantis, October 18, 1989, a mere 6 hours after take-off. The STS-34 mission crew consisted of Commander Donald Williams, Pilot Michael McCulley, Shannon Lucid(!), Franklin Chang-Diaz (remember him?) and Ellen Baker.
Galileo became the first spacecraft to orbit and fly into the atmosphere of an outer planet.
Ellen Baker, a medical doctor, studied the effectiveness of anti-motion sickness medication in space. I'm sure some of those early cosmonauts wished they had some of that.
The wake-up calls included Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Centerfield by John Fogerty, Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band and the OU Fight Song (Shannon!).
The original date of the launch was scheduled for October 12, which was the first day of the optimum window to launch a spacecraft directly to Jupiter, but they had to replace a faulty main engine controller on Engine No. 2. The date was re-set to October 17, but the crew wanted to get Billy Joel's new album Storm Front, which was released that day, so they took off on October 18.
(Not really)
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