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STS-52

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STS-52
Columbia's payload bay, with the LAGEOS 2 satellite being deployed.
NamesSpace Transportation System-52
Mission typeLAGEOS 2 satellite deployment
Microgravity research
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1992-070A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.22194Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration9 days, 20 hours, 56 minutes, 13 seconds
Distance travelled6,645,026 km (4,129,028 mi)
Orbits completed159
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Columbia
Launch mass113,460 kg (250,140 lb)
Landing mass97,574 kg (215,114 lb)[1]
Payload mass8,078 kg (17,809 lb)
Crew
Crew size6
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateOctober 22, 1992, 17:09:39 (October 22, 1992, 17:09:39) UTC (1:09:39 pm EDT)[2]
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39B
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateNovember 1, 1992, 14:05:53 (November 1, 1992, 14:05:53) UTC (9:05:53 am EST)
Landing siteKennedy, SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[2]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude300 km (190 mi)
Apogee altitude302 km (188 mi)
Inclination28.45°
Period90.60 minutes
Instruments
  • Canadian experiment (CANEX-2)
  • Chemical Vapor Transport Experiment Heat Pipe Performance Experiment (CVTEHPPE)
  • Lambda Point Experiment
  • Low Altitude Conical Earth Sensor (LACES)
  • Materials Exposure in Low-Earth Orbit (MELEO)
  • Matériel pour l'Étude des Phénomènes Intéressant la Solidification sur eT en Orbite (MEPHISTO)
  • Modular Star Sensor (MOSS)
  • Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS)
  • Orbiter Glow (OGLOW-2)
  • Phase Partitioning in Liquids (PARLIQ)
  • Queen's University Experiment in Liquid-Metal Diffusion (QUELD)
  • Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE)
  • Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS)
  • Space Adaptation Tests and Observations (SATO)
  • Shuttle Plume Impingement Experiment (SPIE)
  • Sun Photospectrometre Earth Atmosphere Measurement (SPEAM-2)
  • Space Vision System (SVS)
  • Tank Pressure Control Experiment/Thermal Phenomena (TPCE/TP)
  • Yaw Earth Sensor (YES)

STS-52 mission patch

Back: Baker, Wetherbee and MacLean
Front: Veach, Jernigan and Shepherd
← STS-47 (50)
STS-53 (52) →

STS-52 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, launched on October 22, 1992.[3]

Crew

Position Astronaut [4]
Commander United States Jim Wetherbee
Second spaceflight
Pilot United States Michael A. Baker
Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 United States Charles L. Veach
Second and last spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2
Flight Engineer 		United States William Shepherd
Third spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3 United States Tamara E. Jernigan
Second spaceflight
Payload Specialist 1 Canada Steve MacLean, CSA
First spaceflight
Backup crew
Position Astronaut
Payload Specialist 1 Canada Bjarni Tryggvason, CSA

Crew seat assignments

Seat[5] Launch Landing
Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.
Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
1 Wetherbee
2 Baker
3 Veach Jernigan
4 Shepherd
5 Jernigan Veach
6 MacLean
7 Unused

Mission highlights

Liftoff

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),[6] 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).[7] 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).[8]

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.[9]

The Tank Pressure Control Experiment/Thermal Phenomena (TPCE/TP) was contained in a Getaway Special (GAS) canister in the orbiter's cargo bay.[10]

Some of the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry were also carried aboard the orbiter for the duration of the mission.[11]

Wake-up calls

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.[12]

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

See also

References

  1. ^ Rumerman, Judy A. (2009). "3B". NASA Historical Data Book (PDF). Vol. VII. NASA History Division. pp. 435–437. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ a b "STS-52 Space Shuttle Mission Report" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. December 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b Ryba, Jeanne (March 31, 2010). "STS-52". Space Shuttle – Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "STS-52 Press Kit" (PDF). JSC History Collection. NASA. October 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "STS-52". Spacefacts. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Chen, Adam (2012). Wallack, William; George, Gonzalez (eds.). Celebrating 30 years of the space shuttle (PDF). NASA. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-16-090202-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Chowdhury, Abul A. (October 6, 2020). "STS-52". Life Sciences Data Archive. NASA. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Aceti, R.; Trischberger, M.; Underwood, P. J.; Pomilia, A.; Cosi, M.; Boldrini, F. (October 1, 1993). "Attitude Sensor Package" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "1981-1999 Space Shuttle Mission Chronology" (PDF). NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Dumoulin, Jim (June 29, 2001). "STS-52". Kennedy Space Center's Science, Technology and Engineering Homepage. NASA. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Goodman, Rebecca (October 23, 2012). "This Week @ NASA, 23 October 2012". NASA Podcasts. NASA. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021. ...Columbia also carried to space ashes of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry
  12. ^ Fries, Colin (March 13, 2015). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA History Division. NASA. pp. 24–25. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
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