40th Space Shuttle Mission

12th Flight of Discovery Crew:

Michael L. Coats, Commander

L. Blaine Hammond, Jr., Pilot

Guion S. Bluford, Jr., Mission Specialist

Richard J. Hieb, Mission Specialist

Gregory J. Harbaugh, Mission Specialist

Donald R. McMonagle, Mission Specialist

Charles Lacy Veach, Mission Specialist

This was the eight dedicated Department of Defense Mission in the Space Shuttle program. Unclassified payloads included Air Force Program-675 (AFP-675), Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS), Critical Ionization Velocity (CIV), Chemical Release Observation (CRO), Shuttle Pallet Satellite-II (SPAS-II) experiments and Space Test Payload-1 (STP-1).