[1] It was the third shuttle mission following the Challenger disaster in 1986, and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on March 13, 1989.

[2] STS-29R was the eighth flight of Discovery and the 28th Space Shuttle mission overall; its planned predecessor, STS-28, was delayed until August 1989.

[4] The launch was originally scheduled for February 18, 1989, but was postponed to allow for the replacement of faulty liquid oxygen turbopumps on the three main engines.

The primary payload was TDRS-D, the third and final component of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) constellation in geosynchronous orbit.

On Flight Day 1, one of three cryogenic hydrogen tanks which supplied shuttle's electricity-generating fuel cells exhibited erratic pressure fluctuations.

Discovery also carried eight secondary payloads, including two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments.

The Chromosomes and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX), a life sciences experiment, was designed to show the effects of microgravity on root development.