STS-42: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Mission Insignia
Mission Statistics
Mission:	STS-42
Shuttle:	Discovery
Launch Pad:	39-A
Launch:	Jan. 22, 1992, 9:52:33 a.m. EST.
Landing:	Jan. 30, l992, 8:07:17 a.m. PST Runway 22, Edwards AFB, Calif
Duration:	8 days, 1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds.
Orbit Altitude:	163 nautical miles (302 km)
Orbit Inclination:	57.0 degrees
Distance Traveled:	2,921,153 miles (4,701,140 km)
Crew photo

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)

• Mass:
  • Orbiter landing with payload: 98,545 kg
  • Payload: 13,066 kg
• Perigee: 291 km
• Apogee: 307 km
• Inclination: 57.0°
• Period: 90.5 min

Launch: January 22, 1992, 9:52:33 a.m. EST. Launch delayed one hour due to weather constraints. Launch Weight: 243,396 lbs.

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).

Landing: January 30, l992, 8:07:17 a.m. PST, Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, CA., Rollout distance: 9,811 feet. Mission extended one day for continued scientific experimentation. Orbiter returned to KSC on February 16, 1992. Landing Weight: 218,016 lbs.

• Space science
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• List of human spaceflights chronologically