STS-44
STS-44 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using "Atlantis" that launched on 24 November 1991. It was a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) space mission. Mission highlights. The launch was on 24 November 1991 at 23:44:00 UTC. A launch set for 19 November 1991 was delayed due to replacement and testing of a malfunctioning redundant inertial measurement unit on the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster attached to the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite. The launch was reset for 24 November and was delayed by 13 minutes to allow an orbiting spacecraft to pass and to allow external tank liquid  oxygen replenishment after minor repairs to a valve in the liquid oxygen replenishment system in the mobile launcher platform. Launch weight was . The mission was dedicated to the Department of Defense. The unclassified payload included a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite, DSP-16 attached to Inertial Upper Stage (IUS-14), deployed on flight day one. Cargo bay and middeck payloads included the Interim Operational Contamination Monitor (IOCM), Terra-Scout, Military Man in Space (M88-1), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM), Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME III), Visual Function Tester (VFT-1), Ultraviolet  Plume Instrument (UVPI), Bioreactor Flow, and Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, a series of investigations in support of Extended Duration Orbiter. The landing was on 1 December 1991 at 22:34:44 UTC, Runway 5, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The rollout distance was , and the rollout time was 107 seconds. The landing weight was . The landing was originally scheduled for Kennedy Space Center on 4 December 1991, but the ten-day mission was shortened and the landing rescheduled following the 30 November 1991 on-orbit failure of one of three orbiter inertial measurement units. The lengthy rollout was due to minimal  braking for test. "Atlantis" returned to Kennedy on 8 December 1991. This was also the final shuttle landing on a dry lake bed runway. Wake-up calls. NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.