Ladies and Gentlemen:
I wanted to give some offical feedback on my impressions of STS-27. Because of the classified nature of the mission I cannot give out certain details, Those of you that have completed it yourselves can refer to your mission briefs for reference.
Although one of the shortest shuttle flight Ive commanded, It was certainly one of the most exciting and the sense of accomplishment was unmatched by any other. Once in orbit the crew and I got started early on Flt day 1, We were on schedule and everything was looking good. We thought we had completed the mission objectives and was in " Full retreat mode" with Atlantis when Houston informed us to return to our "area of operation" for some "unexpected event". (nice touch there, boys)
NASA training paid off here, I had a well trained crew and we were ready. Upon returning to our "operating area", We found we lost
ORB UNL function with the RMS. The crew worked for and thirty minutes troubleshooting the joystick, Switches, and software but the problem hasnt been identified as of this interview. The decision was made to complete the contingency operation with RMS in
SINGLE mode. This added
two hours to the entire operation. We completed our tasks without further incident and we finally got conformation from ground that we were good to go.
On Flt days 2, and 3, The crew conducted secondary experiments, Took photographs, And generally enjoyed the benefits of weightlessness. Flt day 4 was De-orbit and return day, Which came way too quick. The crew was hoping for a weather wave-off but the weather at the Cape was picture perfect as usual. Landing was nominal, nothing special to report with that. Atlantis performed first rate, More than we could of ask. Im sure the RMS
ORB UNL situation will be rectified before the next flight......
For as short as it was that was one fun mission. Not sure if it really went that way for real but STS-27 SSM2207 style is gonna be a all-time favorite of mine. Well done ground crew!
USA~Driver
