Once the Atlantis was safely in orbit, the astronauts opened the cargo bay doors and deployed the 7,700-pound Magellan spacecraft.

Flight Virtually Trouble-Free After a nearly perfect launching Thursday, the five astronauts had deployed a $100 million communications satellite.

After the spacecraft was sent aloft Thursday, the astronauts deployed an advanced communications satellite, which has now reached its planned orbit 22,300 miles above the Equator.

One of the experiments is scheduled to take place on Monday, when the astronauts deploy a retrievable Spartan satellite that carries the inflatable antenna experiment.

Civilian experts and industry analysts agree that the five astronauts will deploy a reconnaissance satellite that is intended to take photographs over a wide area of the globe, especially the Soviet Union.

The 5 astronauts carried out a number of experiments and deployed several satellites.

Government sources said the astronauts deployed a satellite on Friday to spy on Iraq by either photographic surveillance or electronic eavesdropping.

A8 Day 2 of Glenn's World Tour John Glenn and the other astronauts aboard Discovery deployed a small communications satellite and conducted various experiments.

After the new module docks with Mir, a spacewalking astronaut will deploy the ladder, which is to extend about 20 feet from Mir to the Soyuz craft.

Rogallo designed his flexible wing to allow the astronauts to deploy it like a parachute at subsonic speeds during reentry, then glide their capsule to a specified touchdown point.