Engineering:STS-52
 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-52 was a Space Transportation System (NASA Space Shuttle) mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, and was launched on October 22, 1992.[3]
Crew
| 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 | |
Backup crew
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Payload Specialist 1 | Bjarni Tryggvason, CSA First spaceflight | |
Mission highlights
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]
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.[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 |
See also
References
- ↑ Rumerman, Judy A. (2009). "3B". NASA Historical Data Book. VII. NASA History Division. pp. 435–437. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4012v7ch3b.pdf. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "STS-52 Space Shuttle Mission Report". NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. December 1992. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19930016804/downloads/19930016804.pdf. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ryba, Jeanne (March 31, 2010). "STS-52". Space Shuttle - Mission Archives. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-52.html.
- ↑ "STS-52 Press Kit". JSC History Collection. NASA. October 1992. https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/shuttle_pk/pk/Flight_051_STS-052_Press_Kit.pdf.
- ↑ Chen, Adam (2012). Wallack, William; George, Gonzalez. eds. Celebrating 30 years of the space shuttle. NASA. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-16-090202-4. https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/656773main_ShuttleRetrospectiveBook-ebook.pdf. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- ↑ Chowdhury, Abul A. (October 6, 2020). "STS-52". Life Sciences Data Archive. NASA. https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/113.
- ↑ Aceti, R.; Trischberger, M.; Underwood, P. J.; Pomilia, A.; Cosi, M.; Boldrini, F. (October 1, 1993). "Attitude Sensor Package". NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19940014699/downloads/19940014699.pdf.
- ↑ "1981-1999 Space Shuttle Mission Chronology". NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/167382main_Volume1R.pdf.
- ↑ Dumoulin, Jim (June 29, 2001). "STS-52". Kennedy Space Center's Science, Technology and Engineering Homepage. NASA. https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-52/mission-sts-52.html.
- ↑ Goodman, Rebecca (October 23, 2012). "This Week @ NASA, 23 October 2012". NASA Podcasts. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/TWAN_10_19_12.html. "...Columbia also carried to space ashes of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry"
- ↑ Fries, Colin (March 13, 2015). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls". NASA History Division. NASA. pp. 24–25. https://history.nasa.gov/wakeup%20calls.pdf.
External links
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