Template:Infobox spaceflight STS-53 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in support of the United States Department of Defense. The mission was launched on 2 December 1992 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Crew[]
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | David M. Walker Third spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Robert D. Cabana Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Guion S. Bluford Fourth and Last spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Michael R. Clifford First spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | James S. Voss Second spaceflight | |
Mission highlights[]
Discovery carried a classified primary payload for the United States Department of Defense, two unclassified secondary payloads and nine unclassified middeck experiments.
Discovery's primary payload, USA-89 NSSDC ID 1992-086B is also known as "DoD-1", and was the shuttle's last major payload for the Department of Defense. The satellite was the third launch of a Satellite Data System-2 military communications satellite, after USA-40 on STS-28 and STS-38's deployment of USA-67.
Secondary payloads contained in or attached to Get Away Special (GAS) hardware in the cargo bay included the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS) and the combined Shuttle Glow Experiment/Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment (GCP).
Middeck experiments included Microcapsules in Space (MIS-l); Space Tissue Loss (STL); Visual Function Tester (VFT-2); Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM); Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME-III); Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment (FARE); Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES); Battlefield Laser Acquisition Sensor Test (BLAST); and the Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS).
Mission insignia[]
The five stars and three stripes of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.
See also[]
- List of human spaceflights
- List of Space Shuttle missions
- Nikon NASA F4
- Outline of space science
- Space Shuttle
External links[]
This article incorporates http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/policies.html#Guidelines public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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