Editing Galileo project (section)

==Launch==
{{main|STS-34}}
[[File:STS-34 Launch 1.jpg|thumb|right|Launch of [[STS-34]] with ''Galileo'' on board|alt=refer to caption]]
[[STS-34]] was the mission designated to launch ''Galileo'', scheduled for October 12, 1989, in the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Jeffrey |last=Carr |id=88-049 |date=November 10, 1988 |title=Four New Shuttle Crews Named (STS-32, STS-33, STS-34, STS-35) |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83140main_1988.pdf |access-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802220724/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83140main_1988.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2022 }}</ref> The spacecraft was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center by a high-speed truck convoy that departed JPL in the middle of the night. There were fears that the trucks might be hijacked by anti-nuclear activists or terrorists after the plutonium, so the route was kept secret from the drivers beforehand, and they drove through the night and the following day and only stopped for food and fuel.{{sfn|Meltzer|2007|p=69}}

Last-minute efforts by three environmental groups (the [[Christic Institute]], the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice and the [[Foundation on Economic Trends]]) to halt the launch were rejected by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|District of Columbia Circuit]] on technical grounds rather than the merits of the case, but in a concurring opinion, Chief Justice [[Patricia Wald]] wrote that while the legal challenge was not [[frivolous litigation|frivolous]], there was no evidence of the plaintiffs' claim that NASA had acted improperly in compiling the mission's environmental assessment. On October 16, eight protesters were arrested for trespassing at the Kennedy Space Center; three were jailed and the remaining five released.<ref name="Galileo Launch Nears">{{cite news |title=Galileo Launch Nears |first=Kathy |last=Sawyer |date=October 17, 1989 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/17/galileo-launch-nears/d61c4140-7588-4637-b1c1-6b3ce69ac473/ |access-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827224401/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/17/galileo-launch-nears/d61c4140-7588-4637-b1c1-6b3ce69ac473/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Helen |last=Gavaghan |date=March 3, 1990 |title=Protest groups move to halt space mission... |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |issn=0262-4079 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12517060-100-protest-groups-move-to-halt-space-mission/ |access-date=May 14, 2024 |archive-date=May 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514210946/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12517060-100-protest-groups-move-to-halt-space-mission/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Federal judge [[Oliver Gasch]] ruled on October 21 that the launch was in the public interest, as canceling it would cost the public $164 million and increased knowledge of the Solar system.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Green Light for Galileo |date=October 21, 1989 |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |issn=0262-4079 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12416871-200-green-light-for-galileo/ |access-date=May 14, 2024 |archive-date=May 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514210947/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12416871-200-green-light-for-galileo/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The launch was twice delayed; first by a faulty main engine controller that forced a postponement to October 17, and then by inclement weather, which necessitated a postponement to the following day,<ref name="STS-34" /> but this was not a concern since the launch window extended until November 21.<ref name="Galileo Launch Nears" /> ''Atlantis'' finally lifted off at 16:53:40 [[UTC]] on October 18, and went into a {{convert|213|mi|order=flip|sp=us|adj=on}} orbit.<ref name="STS-34">{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-34.html |title=Mission Archives: STS-34 |publisher=NASA |date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=January 7, 2017 |archive-date=October 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011184151/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-34.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Galileo'' was successfully deployed at 00:15 UTC on October 19.{{sfn|Meltzer|2007|p=78}} Following the IUS burn, the ''Galileo'' spacecraft adopted its configuration for solo flight, and separated from the IUS at 01:06:53 UTC on October 19.<ref name="PDS" /> The launch was perfect, and ''Galileo'' was soon headed towards Venus at over {{convert|9000|mph|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=Galileo Travels 292,500 Miles Toward Venus |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/20/galileo-travels-292500-miles-toward-venus/0ca00a5a-a443-4cc2-85ac-817b9514941b/ |access-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828014426/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/20/galileo-travels-292500-miles-toward-venus/0ca00a5a-a443-4cc2-85ac-817b9514941b/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Atlantis'' returned to Earth safely on October 23.<ref name="STS-34"/>