STS-42

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-42
insignia = Sts-42-patch.png shuttle = Discovery
launch_pad = 39-A
launch = 1992-01-22 9:52:33 EST
(1992-01-22 14:52:33 UTC)
landing = 1992-01-30 8:07:17 PST
(1992-01-30 16:07:17 UTC)
duration = 8 days, 1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds.
altitude = 163 nautical miles (302 km)
inclination = 57.0 degrees
orbits = 129
distance = 2,921,153 miles (4,701,140 km)
crew_photo = Sts-42.jpg
crew_caption =
previous = STS-44
next = STS-45

STS-42 was a Space Shuttle "Discovery" mission with the Spacelab module. Liftoff which was originally scheduled for 8:45 EST(13:45 UTC) January 22, 1992, but the launch was delayed due to weather constraints. "Discovery" successfully lifted off an hour later at 9:52 EST (14:52 UTC). The main goal of the mission was to study the effects of microgravity on a variety of organisms. The shuttle landed at 8:07 PST (16:07 UTC) on January 30, 1992 on Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

STS-42 was the first of two flights in 1992 of "Discovery", the second of which occurred during STS-53, which launched on December 2, 1992. The mission was also the last mission of the Space Shuttle "Discovery" to have a seven-member crew until STS-82, which was launched on February 11, 1997.

Crew

The crew of STS-42 included West Germany's first astronaut, Ulf Merbold, and Canada's first woman astronaut, Roberta Bondar. In order to allow around-the-clock monitoring of experiments, the astronauts were divided into a red team and a blue team.
*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 - flag|Canada CSA
*Ulf Merbold (2), Payload Specialist 2 - flag|Germany ESA

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission. Colors correspond to the team the astronaut was a part of.

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter at launch:" 110,400 kg cite web| url = http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-42/mission-sts-42.html| title = STS-42| accessdate = 2006-01-05| author = Jim Dumoulin| date = 2001-06-29| publisher = NASA]
**"Orbiter landing with payload:" 98,890 kg
**"Payload:" 13,066 kg
*Perigee: 291 km
*Apogee: 307 km
*Inclination: 57.0°
*Period: 90.5 min

Mission highlights

Launch: January 22, 1992, 9:52:33 a.m. EST. Launch delayed one hour due to weather constraints. Launch Weight: 243,396 lb (110.403 Mg).

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, 1992, 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 lb (98.890 Mg).

Trivia

*During the STS-42 mission, Super Bowl XXVI was played in Minneapolis, MN between the Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills. The pre-game show included a live downlink from "Discovery", where three of the crew demonstrated that a traditional pre-game coin toss would not work in space. Their solution was to do a 'human coin toss'. Crew member Roberta Bondar was used as the 'coin' as she curled into a ball and was slowly spun and pushed toward the ceiling. Whatever end of her body touched the ceiling first would be 'heads' or 'tails'. In this case, her rear touched the ceiling first which was considered to be a call of 'tails'.
**The actual coin toss was conducted by NFL Hall of Famer Chuck Noll in which the Redskins won and elected to receive.
*With the launch of STS-42, Canada sent its first woman astronaut, Roberta Bondar, into space.
*An IMAX camera was carried on the mission, and film from mission eventually appeared in the IMAX movie Destiny in Space.
*The mission was the seventh Spacelab mission.
*The landing was the 35th landing at Edwards Air Force Base
*At its completion, it was the eighth longest Space Shuttle mission.
*STS-42 marked the seventh time a Space Shuttle mission was extended.

Mission insignia

The four stars in the lower blue field and two stars in the upper blue field of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence. The single gold star above the horizon on the right is in honor of astronaut astronaut Manley "Sonny" Carter, who was killed in the crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 in Brunswick, Georgia while on a commercial airplane traveling for NASA. Carter was originally assigned as a mission specialist on STS-42 at the time of his death.

ee also

*Space science
*Space Shuttle
*List of space shuttle missions
*List of human spaceflights chronologically

References

External links

* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-42/sts-42-info.html NASA mission summary]
* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-42/sts-42-press-kit.txt STS-42 Press Kit]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle45.htm STS-42 Video Highlights]