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
Rollout Distance: 7,123 feet
Rollout Time: 43 seconds
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
Image above: STS-27 Crew photo with Commander Robert L. Gibson, Pilot Guy S. Gardner, Mission Specialists
Jerry L. Ross and William M. Shepherd
. Image Credit: NASA
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.
Third mission dedicated to the Department of Defense.
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center