Mark Hess

Headquarters, Washington, D.C. January 29, 1990

(Phone: 202/453-4164) 1 P.M. EST

RELEASE: 90-15

NASA RELEASES JANUARY 1990 PAYLOAD FLIGHT ASSIGNMENTS MANIFEST

NASA today issued its January 1990 Payload Flight

Assignments manifest for both the Space Shuttle and expendable
launch vehicles (ELV). NASA plans 64 Space Shuttle and 30 ELVs
missions through September 1995.

The most significant change to the manifest is the movement

of the Gamma Ray Observatory from its June launch date into a
November flight period aboard Atlantis. Ulysses, a joint
ESA/NASA mission to send a spacecraft around the Sun's poles,
must be launched during a 19-day launch window that opens Oct. 5,
1990, to avoid waiting 13 months before another launch
opportunity opens.

On a calendar year basis, there are nine Space Shuttle

launches planned in 1990, including STS-32 which was just
completed, eight in 1991, 12 in 1992, 13 in 1993 and 11 in 1994
and 1995.

Remaining Shuttle launches in 1990 include a dedicated DOD

mission aboard Atlantis on Feb. 22; launch of the Hubble Space
Telescope aboard Discovery on April 18; the May 9 launch of
Columbia with the Astro-1 payload; another dedicated DOD mission
in July aboard Atlantis; the Spacelab Life Sciences-1 mission on
Aug. 29 aboard Columbia; the Ulysses launch on Oct. 5; the Nov. 1
launch of Gamma Ray Observatory aboard Atlantis and the
International Microgravity Laboratory flight on Dec. 12 aboard
Columbia.

The 64 flights carried in the Shuttle manifest have Columbia

and Discovery each making 16 missions, Atlantis flying 17 times,
and Endeavour being launched 12 times. Six of Columbia's
missions, beginning with the March launch of the U.S.
Microgravity Laboratory-1 mission, will be extended duration,
lasting 13 or 16 days.

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 - 2 -

The first flight of Orbiter Vehicle 105, Endeavour, will be

February 1992 carrying the Geostar and Eureca spacecraft. First
element launch of Space Station Freedom is carried on the
manifest for March 1995 aboard Endeavour.

- end -

TO: MDS/PRA Group

1615 L Street, N.W. - Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20036

DATE & TIME: JANUARY 29, 1990. 3:00 P.M.

ORDERED BY: Edward Campion

NASA Headquarters/LMD
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20546 PHONE: 202/453-8400

PROJECT TITLE: Release No: 90-15

PRINT ORDER: 2200

PRINTING: Camera Ready, lst pg on NASA logo, other pages plain

ENCLOSE & MAIL: Release of 2 pages

MAIL DATE: JANUARY 30, 1990

EXTRA COPIES: Deliver specified quanities to locations below:

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