Wednesday, October 28, 2026

1989-05-04 · 37 years ago

Magellan — launch

Date in UTC

The Magellan spacecraft was a 1,035-kilogram (2,282 lb) robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989. Its mission objectives were to map the surface of Venus by using synthetic-aperture radar and to measure the planetary gravitational field. The Magellan probe was the first interplanetary mission to be launched from the Space Shuttle, the first one to use the Inertial Upper Stage booster, and the first spacecraft to test aerobraking as a method for circularizing its orbit. Magellan was the fifth successful NASA mission to Venus, and it ended an eleven-year gap in U.S. interplanetary probe launches. Beginning in the late 1970s, scientists advocated for a radar mapping mission to Venus.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_(spacecraft). Related NASA reference: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/magellan/. Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

Category
Launches and Flight Tests
Type
Orbital launch
Subjects
Space transportation
Mission
Magellan
Organization
NASA Johnson Space Flight Center
Participants
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Vehicle
Space Shuttle
Location
NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Country
US
Outcome
Successful

Context and qualifications

Launch code: DS. Source references: STSJSC; -.

Sources and attribution

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