STS-80 Flight Day 7

Abstract

On this seventh day of the STS-80 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Kenneth D. Cockrell, Pilot Kent V. Rominger, Mission Specialists, Tamara E. Jernigan, Thomas D. Jones, and F. Story Musgrave, retrieve the Wake Shield Facility, completing a successful mission by the free-flying satellite, which was able to grow all seven of its planned thin semi-conductor films over a period of three days. Cockrell flawlessly takes the shuttle to within 35 feet of the satellite and Jones latches the mechanical arm onto the Wake Shield, as the shuttle flies 220 miles above South America.