STS-27
Space Shuttle Atlantis / OV-104
Lockheed Space Operations Company
Rocket Launch Video
Crew

Robert L. Gibson
- Birthday: 10/30/1946
- Role: Commander
- Nationality: United States of America
- First Flight: 02/03/1984
- Last Flight: 06/27/1995
Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson is a former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and a r...

Guy Gardner
- Birthday: 01/06/1948
- Role: Pilot
- Nationality: United States of America
- First Flight: 12/02/1988
- Last Flight: 12/02/1990
Guy Spence Gardner is a United States Air Force officer and a former astronaut. He holds the rank of Colonel. He flew as pilo...

Mike Mullane
- Birthday: 09/10/1945
- Role: Mission Specialist
- Nationality: United States of America
- First Flight: 08/30/1984
- Last Flight: 02/28/1990
Richard Michael "Mike" Mullane is an engineer and aircraft pilot, a retired USAF officer. and a former NASA astrona...

William Shepherd
- Birthday: 07/26/1949
- Role: Mission Specialist
- Nationality: United States of America
- First Flight: 12/02/1988
- Last Flight: 10/31/2000
William McMichael "Bill" Shepherd is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean, and mechanical engineer, and N...

Jerry L. Ross
- Birthday: 01/20/1948
- Role: Mission Specialist
- Nationality: United States of America
- First Flight: 11/27/1985
- Last Flight: 04/08/2002
Jerry Lynn Ross is a retired United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of seven Space Shut...
Mission
STS-27
- Type: Government/Top Secret
- Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
- Launch Cost: $450,000,000
STS-27 was the twenty-seventh and the third for Atlantis. It carried a classified payload for the Department of Defence. The heat shielding was substantially damaged during lift-off, impacting the right wing. The crew narrowly survived re-entry with a steal bar taking the brunt of the heat before beginning to burn through the aluminum structure.
Location
Launch Complex 39B
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida
Launch Complex 39B has witnessed the launch of 58 rockets, including 57 orbital launch attempts. While Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 266 rocket launches.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).
Rocket
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.