To The Galileo Mission Contents PageAt 9:54 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), on October 18, the Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched (see photo) under a sky filled with puffy, white cumulus clouds. The Galileo spacecraft, destined for Jupiter, began its six-year journey.
At the Kennedy Space Center and at JPL, flight team members and their families (see photo) nervously watched the launch. Applause erupted at the moment of lift-off and again as the Solid Rocket Boosters separated from the Shuttle. As the mission progressed, tension was visibly released.
It seemed as though Galileo was fated to be delayed. Worries over whether Hurricane Hugo would come onshore at the Kennedy Space Center (see photo) mounted until, at the last moment, the destructive force of the storm swept north of the launch site. Engineers relaxed as the decision to leave Atlantis and Galileo on the launch pad proved to be well-founded.
As the first day of the launch period approached, excitement mounted on both coasts as the long awaited day neared. On Monday night, October 9, technicians discovered a glitch in the Shuttle's second main engine controller. The decision was made the next day to replace the faulty computer, thereby delaying the scheduled October 12 launch until sometime the following week.
The new lift-off date of October 17 looked good all around. The Shuttle was performing well, Galileo was nestled in its payload bay, and the astronauts boarded Atlantis. As time passed, however, the clouds began to multiply. Countdown continued until the last possible second, when the Launch Director scrubbed the launch because of the inclement weather. Weather conditions around the globe can affect the Shuttle's lift-off because, if the Shuttle needed to return to the Earth shortly after launch it could do so at several sites: Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain; Banjul, The Gambia; Edwards Air Force Base, California; White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico; or at KSC itself. Because of the inclement weather at the Cape, that landing site was not available and the launch was delayed again.
As the Galileo team looked forward to launch the next day, disaster struck northern California. A 7.1 earthquake, centered just 15 miles south of Sunnyvale, caused evacuation of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) control center there which was crucial to mission operations. The crew recovered as the night progressed and JPL was receiving the required data as launch neared.
Even as the moment of final launch approached, the clouds looked ominous over the Kennedy Space Center. However, at last, nature cooperated and STS Mission 34 was underway.
At about 4:15 p.m. PDT, Mission Specialist Shannon Lucid initiated Galileo's deployment. As deployment finished, STS-34 Commander Donald E. Williams declared, "Galileo is on its way to another world. It's in the hands of the best flight controllers in this world -- fly safely."
One hour later, the IUS rocket ignited, propelling Galileo toward its first encounter, Venus. As the second stage of the IUS fell away from the spacecraft, Galileo was finally on its own, its destiny in the hands of the flight team.
It seemed to be a mission of accomplishment in the face of adversity. Even after deploying the spacecraft, the landing proved to be a concern. Heavy winds were forecast for the California desert, and so the landing time was accelerated by two orbits (three hours). An hour or two before landing, the fog was rolling off the hills into the dry lake bed. Then, the skies cleared just before the Shuttle was scheduled to land. As the Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down in a picture perfect landing at Edwards Air Force Base, the crowds cheered. It was a strange blend of viewers -- Galileo flight team members, reporters, a host of people (some of whom had retired years ago) who had at some time helped to design and construct Galileo, and, most importantly, the American public who paid for the mission.
The Acting Associate Administrator for Space Flight summed up the feelings of many, "Galileo is on its long, multi-year odyssey to Jupiter. Before, we have gotten a fleeting glimpse (of Jupiter). This time we will be stopping. This is the real crowning accomplishment of this mission, to get Galileo on its way."
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