STS-32 was the thirty-third mission of the shuttle program and ninth of Columbia. It was the first use of Launch Pad 39A and also marked the first use of the Mobile Launcher Platform No. 3 (MLP-3) in the shuttle program. This was the longest flight of the shuttle program lasting nearly 11 days. Its primary missions were to deploy a defence 10 satellite and retrieved NASAs Long Duration Exposure Facility.