STS-42

USA


Manned Flight n°: 147

Earth orbit Flight n°: 144

USA manned Flight n°: 76


Launch, orbit & landing data:

Designation 21846 / 92002A
Launch date - time 22 Jan 1992 - 14:52:33 UT
Launch site KSC, LC39A
Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle
Orbiter Discovery OV-103 (#14)
Primary payload Spacelab-IML-1, GBA-3
Mass (kg) 
Flight Crew Grabe, Oswald, Thagard, Readdy
Hilmers, Bondar, Merbold
Call Sign 
Earth orbit on :
   - Perigee / Apogee  km
   - Inclination 57.0°
   - Period  min
Landing date - time 30 Jan 1992 - 16:07:18 UT
Landing location Edwards AFB, Runway 22
Flight Duration (d:hr:min) 8d 01h 14m
Nbr orbits 129

Crew

Nr. Surname Given name Job Duration
1  Grabe  Ronald John  CDR 8d 01h 14m 
2  Oswald  Stephen Scot  PLT 8d 01h 14m 
3  Thagard  Norman Earl  MSP 8d 01h 14m 
4  Hilmers  David Carl  MSP 8d 01h 14m 
5  Readdy  William Francis  MSP 8d 01h 14m 
6  Bondar  Roberta Lynn  PSP 8d 01h 14m 
7  Merbold  Ulf Dietrich  PSP 8d 01h 14m 

Carter Manley replaced by ***, after his death in the crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 in Brunswick.

Mission details:

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Edwards AFB; first flight of International Microgravity Laboratory IML-1, to explore the complex effects of weightlessness on living organism and materials processing; the crew performed 55 experiments on the areas of life sciences, low gravity materials processing and fluid-physics; Oswald made a film from the surface of Africa and Europe; this film should be used for the movie "Destiny in Space".

Duration: 8.05 days. Payload: Discovery F14 / GBA-3. Mass: 13,001 kg. Perigee: 291 km. Apogee: 307 km. Inclination: 57.0 deg. Period: 90.5 min.

Manned seven crew. Carried International Microgravity Laboratory-1. Payloads: International Microgravity Laboratory (lML)-1, getaway special (GAS) bridge with 10 getaway specials, IMAX camera, Gelation of Sols: Applied Microgravity Research (GOSAMR)-1, Investigations Into Polymer Mem-brane Processing (IPMP), Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME)-lll, Student Experiment 81-09: Convection in Zero Gravity, Student Experiment 83-02: Capillary Rise of Liquid Through Granular Porous Media.

Orbits of Earth: 129. Distance traveled: 5,407,122 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 110,402 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 98,888 kg. Payload to Orbit: 13,001 kg. Payload Returned: 13,001 kg. Landed at: Concrete runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, Cali. Landing Speed: 368 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 864 m. Landing Rollout: 2,990 m.



NASA Official Mission Narrative

Mission Name: STS-42 (45)
Discovery (14)
Pad 39-A (44)
45th Shuttle Mission
14th Flight OV-103

Crew:
Ronald J. Grabe (3), Commander
Stephen S. Oswald (1), Pilot
Norman E. Thagard (4) , Mission Specialist 1
David C. Hilmers (4), Mission Specialist 2
William F. Readdy (1), Mission Specialist 3
Roberta L. Bondar (1), Payload Specialist 1 (Canada)
Ulf D. Merbold (2), Payload Specialist 2 (ESA/Germany)

Milestones:
OPF: 9/27/91
VAB: 12/12/91
PAD: 12/19/91

Payload:
IML-01,IMAX-05,GAS(x10),SSIP(x2),GOSAMR,IPMP,
Mission Objectives:

Launch:
Jan. 22, 1992, 9:52:33 a.m. EST. Launch delayed one hour due to weather constraints. Launch Weight: 243,396 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 163nm
Inclination: 57.0 degrees
Orbits: 129
Duration: 8 days, 1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds.
Distance: 2,921,153 miles

Hardware:
SRB: BI-O48
SRM: 360L/Q020
ET : 52/LWT-45
MLP : 3
SSME-1: SN-2026
SSME-2: SN-2022
SSME-3: SN-2027

Landing:
Jan. 30, l992, 8:07:17 a.m. PST Runway 22, Edwards AFB, Calif., Rollout distance: 9,811 feet. Mission extended one day for continued scientific experimentation. Orbiter returned to KSC on Feb. 16, 1992. Landing Weight: 218,016 lbs.

Mission Highlights:
Carried into orbit the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module, to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness on living organisms and materials processing. The international crew, divided into Red and Blue teams, conducted experiments on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and the effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs and bacteria. Low gravity materials processing experiments included crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodine and a virus. Other payloads included 10 Get Away Special (GAS) canisters, a number of middeck payloads and two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments. Middeck payloads included Gelation of SOLS: Applied microgravity research (GOSAMR), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) and the Radiation Monitoring Experiment (RME-III).


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