STS-27R was the 27th NASA Space Shuttle mission, and the third flight of Space Shuttle "Atlantis". Launching on 2 December 1988 on a four-day mission, it was the second shuttle flight after the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster of January 1986. STS-27R carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense, ultimately determined to be a Lacrosse surveillance satellite. The vessel's heat shielding was substantially damaged during lift-off, and crew members thought that they would die during reentry. This was a situation that was similar to the one that would prove fatal 15 years later on STS-107. Compared to the damage that "Columbia" sustained on STS-107, "Atlantis" experienced more extensive damage. However, this was over less critical areas and the missing tile was over an antenna which gave extra protection to the spacecraft structure (and not part of a wing as cited initially). The mission landed successfully, although intense heat damage needed to be repaired.