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Mission: Department of Defense
Space Shuttle: Atlantis
Launch Pad: 39B 
Launch Weight: Classified
Launched: Dec. 2, 1988, 9:30:34 a.m. EST
Landing Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Landing: Dec. 6, 1988, 3:36:11 p.m. PST
Landing Weight: 190,956 pounds
Runway: 17 
Rollout Distance: 7,123 feet
Rollout Time: 43 seconds
Revolution: 68
Mission Duration: 4 days, 9 hours, 5 minutes, 37 seconds
Returned to KSC: Dec. 13, 1988
Orbit Altitude: Classified
Orbit Inclination: 57 degrees
Miles Traveled: 1.8 million 

Crew Members

                   

Image above: STS-27 Crew photo with Commander Robert L. Gibson, Pilot Guy S. Gardner, Mission Specialists Richard Mullane, Jerry L. Ross and William M. Shepherd . Image Credit: NASA 

Launch Highlights

The launch set for December 1 during a classified window lying within a launch period between 6:32 a.m. and 9:32 a.m., was postponed due to unacceptable cloud cover and wind conditions and reset for the same launch period on December 2.


Mission Highlights

Third mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. 

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S88-45002 (August 1988) --- These five astronauts will fly aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis for the STS-27 mission. They are (seated left to right) astronauts Guy S. Gardner, Robert L. Gibson and Jerry L. Ross; and (standing, left to right) William M. Shepherd and Richard M. (Mike) Mullane. Gibson is commander; Gardner, pilot; and the other three will serve as mission specialists.

S88-27505 (3 Feb. 1988) --- Astronauts William M. Shepherd (standing) and Jerry L. Ross, both STS-27 mission specialists, get in some training time on the flight deck of the Shuttle Mission Simulator in the Jake Garn Mission Simulation and Training Facility at the Johnson Space Center.

S86-38627 (9 Oct. 1986) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis is rolled out to Launch Pad 39-B in the early morning of Oct. 9, 1986. Atlantis is scheduled to remain at Pad B for seven weeks where it will support checkout of new weather protection structures, a variety of special measurements, launch team proficiency exercises and emergency egress simulations. The 4.2 mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad is the first for the shuttle fleet since the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in January of this year.

S88-53088 (2 Dec. 1988) --- The STS-27 crew strides down the ramp from the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center to grab a van that will take the crew members to Launch Complex 39 for the December 2, 1988 liftoff of Atlantis. Astronaut Robert L. Gibson, commander, waves to well-wishers (out of frame). He is followed by astronaut Guy S. Gardner, pilot, along with the flight's three mission specialists -- astronauts William M. Shepherd, Richard M.(Mike) Mullane and Jerry L. Ross.

S88-55870 (2 December 1988) --- The space shuttle Atlantis and its five-man crew of astronauts are launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B at 9:30 a.m. (EST), Dec. 2, 1988. Onboard the Department of Defense – dedicated mission are astronauts Robert L. Gibson, Guy S. Gardner, Jerry L. Ross, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and Williams M. Shepherd.

S27-S-003 (2 December 1988) --- The space shuttle Atlantis and its five-man crew of astronauts are launched from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39B at 9:30 a.m. (EST), Dec. 2, 1988. Onboard the Department of Defense -- dedicated mission are astronauts Robert L. Gibson, Guy S. Gardner, Jerry L. Ross, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and Williams M. Shepherd.

STS027-S-006 (2 December 1988) --- A good portion of the Kennedy Space Center launch complex 39 and the Atlantic Ocean form the backdrop for the beginning stages of Atlantis' return trip to space. The scene was captured with a hand-held 70mm camera aimed through the windows of a NASA shuttle training aircraft piloted by astronaut Daniel C. Brandenstein, chief of Johnson Space Center's astronaut office. Launch occurred at 9:30:34 a.m. (EST), Dec. 2, 1988.

STS027-11-012 (2-6 Dec. 1988) --- The crew members for the STS-27 space flight pose on the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis with a football free-floating in the foreground. Left to right are astronauts Robert L. Gibson, commander; Richard M. (Mike) Mullane, Jerry L. Ross and William M. Shepherd, mission specialists; and Guy S. Gardner, pilot. The football was later presented to the National Football League (NFL) at halftime of the Super Bowl in Miami.

S27-15-022d (2-6 Dec. 1988)-- Astronaut Robert L. Gibson at the commander's station on the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-27.

STS027-S-014 (6 December 1988) --- A 70mm camera records the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis on Rogers Dry Lake Bed near the Dryden Flight Research Facility in California. The wheels of the vehicle came to a stop at 3:36:53 p.m. (PST), marking the completion of a successful mission which involved five veteran NASA astronauts. Onboard for the four-day flight were astronauts Robert L. Gibson, Guy S. Gardner, Jerry L. Ross, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and William M. Shepherd.

STS027-S-012 (6 December 1988) --- A 70mm camera records the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis on Rogers Dry Lake Bed near the Dryden Flight Research Facility in California. The wheels of the vehicle came to a stop at 3:36:53 p.m. (PST), marking the completion of a successful mission which involved five veteran NASA astronauts. Onboard for the four-day flight were astronauts Robert L. Gibson, Guy S. Gardner, Jerry L. Ross, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and William M. Shepherd.

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Frams von STS-27 Atlantis Mission NASA-Video:

Quelle: NASA