STS-44

STS-44 was a November-December 1991 Space Shuttle Atlantis mission dedicated to the U.S. Department of Defense. Its unclassified primary payload was a Defense Support Program satellite with an attached Inertial Upper Stage, deployed on the first flight day. The mission also carried secondary military, medical, radiation, and observation experiments, including Terra Scout, operated by U.S. Army payload specialist Thomas Hennen. Frederick Gregory commanded the six-person crew, with Terence Henricks as pilot; Story Musgrave, James Voss, and Mario Runco Jr. as mission specialists; and Hennen as payload specialist. Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A on November 24 and landed on Runway 5 at Edwards Air Force Base on December 1 after 6 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes, and 44 seconds.