Columbia's payload bay, with the LAGEOS 2 satellite being deployed.
| |
| Names | Space Transportation System-52 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Microgravity research LAGEOS 2 satellite deployment |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1992-070A  |
| SATCAT no. | 22194 |
| Mission duration | 9 days, 20 hours, 56 minutes, 13 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 6,645,026 km (4,129,028 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 159 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Columbia |
| Launch mass | 113,460 kg (250,140 lb) |
| Landing mass | 97,574 kg (215,114 lb)[1] |
| Payload mass | 8,078 kg (17,809 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members |
|
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 22, 1992, 17:09:39 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Space Shuttle Columbia |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B |
| Contractor | Rockwell International |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | November 1, 1992, 14:05:52 UTC |
| Landing site | Kennedy Space Center, SLF Runway 33 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[2] |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 300 km (190 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 302 km (188 mi) |
| Inclination | 28.45° |
| Period | 90.60 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| |
 STS-52 mission patch  Back: Baker, Wetherbee, MacLean Front: Veach, Jernigan, Shepherd
← STS-47 (50)
STS-53 (52) →
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STS-52 was a Space Transportation System (NASA Space Shuttle) mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, and was launched on October 22, 1992.[3]
| Position | Astronaut [4] | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Jim WetherbeeSecond spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Michael A. Baker Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Charles L. Veach Second and last spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | William Shepherd Third spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Tamara E. Jernigan Second spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 |  Steve MacLean, CSAFirst spaceflight | |
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Payload Specialist 1 | Bjarni Tryggvason, CSA First spaceflight | |
Primary mission objectives were deployment of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite 2 (LAGEOS-2) and operation of the U.S. Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1). LAGEOS 2, a joint effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), was deployed on day 2 and boosted into an initial elliptical orbit by ASI's Italian Research Interim Stage (IRIS). The spacecraft's apogee kick motor later circularized LAGEOS 2 orbit at its operational altitude of 5,900 km (3,700 mi). The USMP-1, activated on day one, included three experiments mounted on two connected Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS) mounted in the orbiter's cargo bay. USMP-1 experiments were: Lambda Point Experiment; Matériel pour l'Étude des Phénomènes Intéressant la Solidification sur eT en Orbite (MEPHISTO),[5] sponsored by the French agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES); and Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS).[3]
Secondary payloads: (1) Canadian experiment (CANEX-2), located in both the orbiter's cargo bay and middeck and which consisted of Space Vision System (SVS); Materials Exposure in Low-Earth Orbit (MELEO); Queen's University Experiment in Liquid-Metal Diffusion (QUELD); Phase Partitioning in Liquids (PARLIQ); Sun Photospectrometre Earth Atmosphere Measurement-2 (SPEAM-2); Orbiter Glow-2 (OGLOW-2); and Space Adaptation Tests and Observations (SATO).[6] A small, specially marked satellite, the Canadian Target Assembly (CTA), was deployed on day nine, to support SVS experiments. (2) ASP, featuring three independent sensors mounted on a Hitchhiker plate in the cargo bay - Modular Star Sensor (MOSS), Yaw Earth Sensor (YES) and Low Altitude Conical Earth Sensor (LACES), all provided by the European Space Agency (ESA).[7]
Other middeck payloads: Commercial Materials Dispersion Apparatus Instrument Technology Associates Experiments; Commercial Protein Crystal Growth experiment; Chemical Vapor Transport Experiment Heat Pipe Performance Experiment (CVTEHPPE); Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE) (involving 12 rodents); and Shuttle Plume Impingement Experiment (SPIE). The orbiter also was used as a reference point for calibrating an Ultraviolet Plume Instrument on an orbiting Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) satellite.[8]
The Tank Pressure Control Experiment/Thermal Phenomena (TPCE/TP) was contained in a Getaway Special (GAS) canister in the orbiter's cargo bay.[9]
Some of the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry were also carried aboard the orbiter for the duration of the mission.[10]
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. A special musical track is chosen for each day in space, often by the astronauts' families, to have a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or in reference to the day's planned activities.[11]
| Day | Song | Artist/Composer | Played For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | Wake Up Columbia | Crow Carroll | |
| Day 3 | Shake, Rattle and Roll | Big Joe Turner | Deployment of LAGEOS-II |
| Day 5 | The World is Waiting for the Sunrise | Les Paul and Mary Ford | |
| Day 6 | Birthday | The Beatles | Mike Baker's 39th Birthday |
| Day 7 | "Hawaiian music" | ||
| Day 8 | Mack the Knife | Bobby Darin | |
| Day 9 | Bang the Drum | Todd Rundgren | |
| Day 10 | Monster Mash | Bobby "Boris" Picket | To celebrate Halloween |
| Day 11 | Notre Dame Victory March | JSC employees & Notre Dame grads | James Wetherbee |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
...Columbia also carried to space ashes of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry
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Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102)
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Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). | |
