STS-28

STS-28 was a classified Department of Defense Space Shuttle mission flown by Columbia. NASA lists the flight as Columbia's first mission after STS-61-C and the fourth shuttle mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39B on August 8, 1989, with Brewster Shaw as commander and Richard Richards as pilot. Mission specialists Mark Brown, James Adamson, and David Leestma completed the five-person crew. Because of the classified payload, public mission details remain limited, but NASA records the flight duration as 5 days, 1 hour, and 8 seconds. Columbia landed on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base on August 13, 1989, after 81 revolutions and about 2.1 million miles traveled.