View source for STS-90

{{Multiple issues|{{More footnotes|date=May 2008}}{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}}}{{Short description|1998 American crewed spaceflight and final flight of Spacelab}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = STS-90 
| names_list            = [[Space Transportation System]]-90
| image                 = Sunrise over Spacelab.jpg
| image_caption         = Spacelab Module LM2 in ''Columbia'''s payload bay, serving as the Neurolab
| insignia              = Sts-90-patch.svg

| spacecraft            = {{OV|102}}
| mission_type          = Bioscience research
| operator              = [[NASA]]
| COSPAR_ID             = <!-- Wikidata -->
| SATCAT                = <!-- Wikidata -->
| orbits_completed      = 
| distance_travelled    = {{convert|10000000|km}}
| mission_duration      = 15 days, 21 hours, 50 minutes, 58 seconds
| launch_mass           = 
| landing_mass          = {{convert|105462|kg}}
| payload_mass          = {{convert|10788|kg}}

| launch_site           = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B|LC-39B]]
| launch_date           = {{Start date text|April 17, 1998, 18:19|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC

| landing_date          = {{End date text| May 3, 1998, 16:09|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC
| landing_site       = Kennedy, [[Shuttle Landing Facility|SLF&nbsp;Runway&nbsp;33]]

| crew_size             = 7
| crew_members          = {{Unbulleted list|[[Richard A. Searfoss]]|[[Scott D. Altman]]|[[Dafydd Williams]]|[[Kathryn P. Hire]]|[[Richard M. Linnehan]]|[[Jay C. Buckey]]|[[James A. Pawelczyk]]}}
| crew_photo            = STS-90 crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption    = Left to right – Front row: Altman, Searfoss; Back row: Pawelczyk, Linnehan, Hire, Williams, Buckey

| apsis                 = gee
| orbit_epoch           = 
| orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Low Earth orbit|Low Earth]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|247|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|274|km}}
| orbit_period          = 89.7 min
| orbit_inclination     = 39.0 degrees

| programme             = [[Space Shuttle program]]
| previous_mission      = [[STS-89]]
| next_mission          = [[STS-91]]
}}
'''STS-90''' was a 1998 [[Space Shuttle]] mission flown by the [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']]. The 16-day mission marked the last flight of the [[European Space Agency]]'s [[Spacelab]] laboratory module,<ref name="NASA">{{Cite web |title=STS-90 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-90/ |access-date=June 17, 2024 |website=NASA}}</ref> which had first flown on ''Columbia'' on [[STS-9]], and was also the last daytime landing for ''Columbia''.

==Crew==
{{Spaceflight crew
|terminology       = Astronaut
|position1         = Commander
|crew1_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Richard A. Searfoss]]
|flights1_up       = Third and last
|position2         = Pilot
|crew2_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Scott D. Altman]]
|flights2_up       = First 
|position3         = Mission Specialist 1
|crew3_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Richard M. Linnehan]]
|flights3_up       = Second
|position4         = Mission Specialist 2<br>Flight Engineer
|crew4_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Kathryn P. Hire]]
|flights4_up       = First
|position5         = Mission Specialist 3
|crew5_up          = {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Dafydd Williams]]
|flights5_up       = First
|agency5_up        = [[Canadian Space Agency|CSA]]
|position6         = Payload Specialist 1
|crew6_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Jay C. Buckey]]
|flights6_up       = Only
|position7         = Payload Specialist 2
|crew7_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[James A. Pawelczyk]]
|flights7_up       = Only
}}

===Backup crew===
{{Spaceflight crew
|terminology       = Astronaut
|position1         = Payload Specialist 1
|crew1_up          = {{flagicon|USA}} Alexander W. Dunlap
|flights1_up       = First
|position2         = Payload Specialist 2
|crew2_up          = {{flagicon|JPN|1947}} [[Chiaki Mukai]]
|flights2_up       = Second
|agency2_up        = [[Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency|JAXA]]
}}

=== Crew seat assignments ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Seat<ref name="spacefacts">{{Cite web |title=STS-90 |url=http://spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-90.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520023309/http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-80.htm |archive-date=May 20, 2018 |access-date=January 3, 2018 |publisher=Spacefacts}}</ref>
! Launch
! Landing
|rowspan=8| [[File:Space Shuttle seating plan.svg|150px]]<br />Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.<br />Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
|-
! 1
|colspan=2| Searfoss
|-
! 2
|colspan=2| Altman
|-
! 3
|Williams
|Linnehan
|-
! 4
|colspan=2| Hire
|-
! 5
|Linnehan
|Williams
|-
! 6
|colspan=2| Buckey
|-
! 7
|colspan=2| Pawelczyk
|}
==Mission highlights==
{{LaunchAttempt
| date1           = 1998-04-16 2:19 PM
| result1         = Scrubbed
| reason1         = Technical
| decision_date1  = 1998-04-16 08:15
| weathergo1      = 100<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harwood |first=William |date=April 15, 1998 |title=Animals loaded aboard shuttle for research flight |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/STS-90_Archive.txt |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=CBS News}}</ref>
| notes1          = Network signal processor problem.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 16, 1998 |title=April 16, 1998 Space Shuttle Status Report |url=http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/stsstat/1998/apr/4-16-98s.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990224160522/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/stsstat/1998/apr/4-16-98s.htm |archive-date=February 24, 1999 |access-date=March 17, 2025 |website=pao.ksc.nasa.gov}}</ref>
| date2           = 1998-04-17 2:19 PM
| result2         = Success
| weathergo2      = 90<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harwood |first=William |date=April 17, 1998 |title=Shuttle Columbia rockets into orbit |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/STS-90_Archive.txt |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=CBS News}}</ref>
}}
Neurolab was a [[Spacelab]] module mission focusing on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. The goals of Neurolab were to study basic research questions and to increase the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for neurological and behavioral changes in space. Specifically, experiments would study the adaptation of the vestibular system and space adaptation syndrome, the adaptation of the central nervous system and the pathways which control the ability to sense location in the absence of gravity, and the effect of microgravity on a developing nervous system. The science lead was [[Mary Anne Frey]].

The mission was a joint venture of six space agencies and seven U.S. research agencies. Investigator teams from nine countries would conduct 31 studies in the microgravity environment of space. Other agencies participating in the mission included six institutes of the [[National Institutes of Health]], the [[National Science Foundation]], and the [[Office of Naval Research]], as well as the space agencies of Canada, France, Germany, and Japan, and the [[European Space Agency]].<ref name="NASA" />

Neurolab's 26 experiments targeted one of the most complex and least understood parts of the human body – the nervous system. Primary goals were to conduct basic research in neurosciences and expand understanding of how the nervous system develops and functions in space. Test subjects were rats, mice, crickets, snails, two kinds of fish and the crew members themselves. Cooperative effort of NASA, several domestic partners and the space agencies of Canada (CSA), France (CNES) and Germany (DLR), as well as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). Most experiments conducted in pressurized Spacelab long module located in ''Columbia'''s payload bay. This was the 16th and last scheduled flight of the ESA-developed Spacelab module although Spacelab pallets would continue to be used on the [[International Space Station]].

Research conducted as planned, with the exception of the Mammalian Development Team, which had to reprioritize science activities because of the unexpected high mortality rate of neonatal rats on board.

Other payloads included the Shuttle Vibration Forces experiment, the Bioreactor Demonstration System-04, and three Get-Away Special (GAS) canister investigations.

STS-90 was the first mission to make an [[Orbital Maneuvering System]] (OMS) assist burn during the ascent.

Three of the seven STS-90 crew (Williams, Pawelczyk and Buckey) appeared on the Canadian television series ''[[Popular Mechanics for Kids]]''. Working with engineers on the ground a week into the flight, the on-orbit crew used aluminum tape to bypass a suspect valve in the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System that had threatened to cut short the mission.

Mission Management Team considered, but decided against, extending the mission one day because the science community indicated an extended flight was not necessary and weather conditions were expected to deteriorate after planned landing on Sunday, May 3.

STS-90 Mission Specialist [[Kathryn Hire]] was Kennedy Space Center's first employee to be chosen as an astronaut candidate.<ref name="NASA" />

STS-90 was the second shuttle flight where a bat was observed landing on the External Tank (the first being [[STS-72]]'''<ref name="O'neil">{{cite web |author=O'neil |first=Ian |date=March 17, 2009 |title=The Discovery Bat's Fate is Confirmed |url=http://www.universetoday.com/2009/03/17/the-discovery-bats-fate-is-confirmed/ |access-date=March 18, 2009 |website=universetoday.com}}</ref>'''), but it flew away just after main engine start.<ref name="launchbat">{{Cite web |author=Siceloff |first=Steven |date=March 17, 2009 |title=Bat Hung onto Shuttle During Liftoff |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts119/launchbat.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320072426/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts119/launchbat.html |archive-date=March 20, 2009 |access-date=March 19, 2009 |publisher=NASA}}</ref><ref name="cnn1">{{cite news |date=March 18, 2009 |title=Space shuttle Discovery blasts off with bat stowaway |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/03/18/bat.shuttle/index.html |access-date=March 25, 2009 |work=CNN}}</ref> Another bat was observed landing on the External Tank during [[STS-119]], but remained on the tank during liftoff.<ref name="launchbat" />

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
*[[List of human spaceflights]]
*[[List of Space Shuttle missions]]
*[[Outline of space science]]

==References==
{{Include-NASA}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|STS-90}}
* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-90/mission-sts-90.html NASA mission summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115142707/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-90/mission-sts-90.html |date=November 15, 2016 }}
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle90.htm STS-90 Video Highlights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224646/http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle90.htm |date=December 2, 2013 }}

{{Space Shuttle Columbia}}
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{{Orbital launches in 1998}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sts-090}}
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1998]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle missions]]