STS-52

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STS-52
Sts052-80-030 lrg.jpg
Columbia's payload bay, with the LAGEOS 2 satellite being deployed.
Names Space Transportation System-52
Mission type LAGEOS 2 satellite deployment
Microgravity research
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID 1992-070A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 22194 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Mission duration9 days, 20 hours, 56 minutes, 13 seconds
Distance travelled6,645,026 km (4,129,028 mi)
Orbits completed159
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Space 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 site Kennedy, LC-39B
Contractor Rockwell 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 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
  • 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-patch.png
STS-52 mission patch
Sts-52 crew.jpg
Back: Baker, Wetherbee and MacLean
Front: Veach, Jernigan and Shepherd
  STS-47 (50)
STS-53 (52) 

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

Contents

Crew

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

Crew seat assignments

Seat [5] LaunchLanding Space Shuttle seating plan.svg
Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.
Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
1Wetherbee
2Baker
3VeachJernigan
4Shepherd
5JerniganVeach
6MacLean
7Unused

Mission highlights

Liftoff Columbia 180 Turn and Burn - GPN-2000-001875.jpg
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]

DaySongArtist/ComposerPlayed For
Day 2Wake Up ColumbiaCrow Carroll
Day 3Shake, Rattle and RollBig Joe TurnerDeployment of LAGEOS-II
Day 5The World is Waiting for the SunriseLes Paul and Mary Ford
Day 6BirthdayThe BeatlesMike Baker's 39th Birthday
Day 7"Hawaiian music"
Day 8Mack the KnifeBobby Darin
Day 9Bang the DrumTodd Rundgren
Day 10Monster MashBobby "Boris" PicketTo celebrate Halloween
Day 11Notre Dame Victory MarchJSC employees & Notre Dame gradsJames Wetherbee

See also

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References

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