Ulysses was launched aboard STS-41, on Ocotober 6, 1990.

Crew:

• Richard N. Richards, Commander
• Robert D. Cabana, Pilot
• William M. Shepherd, Mission Specialist 1
• Bruce E. Melnick, Mission Specialist 2
• Thomas D. Akers, Mission Specialist 3
  

Payload:

• Ulysses
• SSBUV-02
• ISAC

Mission Highlights:

Primary payload, ESA-built Ulysses spacecraft to explore polar regions of Sun, deployed. Two upper stages, Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and a mission-specific Payload Assist Module-S (PAM-S), combined together for first time to send Ulysses toward out-of- ecliptic trajectory. Other payloads and experiments: Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment; INTELSAT Solar Array Coupon (ISAC); Chromosome and Plant Cell Division Experiment (CHROMEX); Voice Command System (VCS); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE); Radiation Monitoring Experiment III (RME III); Shuttle Student involvement Program (SSIP) and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.

Milestones:

• OPF - May 8, 1990
• VAB - August 27, 1990
• PAD - September 4, 1990

Visit the STS-41 Webpage at Kennedy Space Center.

Shuttle mission STS-41 images >>