STS-55

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-55
insignia = Sts-55-patch.png shuttle = Columbia
launch_pad = 39-A
launch = April 26, 1993, 10:50 a.m. EDT
landing = May 6, 1993, 10:30 a.m. EDT. Edwards AFB Runway 22
duration = 9 days, 23 hours, 39 minutes, 59 seconds
altitude = 163 nautical miles (302 km)
inclination = 28.45 degrees
orbits = 160
distance = 4,164,183 miles (6,701,603 km)
crew_photo = Sts-55_crew.jpg
crew_caption =
previous = STS-56
next = STS-57 STS 55 Space Transportation System was the 55th overall flight of the US Space Shuttle and the 14th flight of Columbia. This flight was a multinational Spacelab flight involving 88 experiments from eleven different nations. The experiments ranged from biology sciences to simple earth observations.

Crew

*Commander: Steven R. Nagel (4)
*Pilot: Terence T. Henricks (2)
*Mission Specialist 1: Jerry L. Ross (4)
*Mission Specialist 2: Charles J. Precourt (1)
*Mission Specialist 3: Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. (1)
*Payload Specialist 1: Dr. Ulrich Walter (1) - flag|Germany DFVLR
*Payload Specialist 2: Hans Schlegel (1) - flag|Germany DFVLR

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter landing with payload:" 103,191 kg
**"Payload:" 11,539 kg
*Perigee: 304 km
*Apogee: 312 km
*Inclination: 28.5°
*Period: 90.7 min

Mission highlights

"Columbia" carried to orbit the second reusable German Spacelab on the STS-55 mission and demonstrated the shuttle's ability for international cooperation, exploration, and scientific research in space. The Spacelab Module and an exterior experiment support structure contained in "Columbia"’s payload bay comprised the Spacelab D-2 payload. (The first German Spacelab flight, D-1, flew Shuttle mission 61-A in October 1985.) The U.S. and Germany gained valuable experience for future space station operations.

The D-2 mission, as it was commonly called, augmented the German microgravity research program started by the D-1 mission. The German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR) had been tasked by the German Space Agency (DARA) to conduct the second mission. DLR, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and agencies in France and Japan contributed to D-2's scientific program. Eleven nations participated in the experiments. Of the 88 experiments conducted on the D-2 mission, four were sponsored by NASA. The crew worked in two shifts around-the-clock to complete investigations into the areas of fluid physics, materials sciences, life sciences, biological sciences, technology, Earth observations, atmospheric physics, and astronomy. Many of the experiments advanced the research of the D-1 mission by conducting similar tests, using upgraded processing hardware, or implementing methods that take full advantage of the technical advancements since 1985. The D-2 mission also contained several new experiments which were not previously flown on the D-1 mission.

The D-2 Mission conducted 88 experiments to study life sciences, material sciences, technology applications, Earth observations, astronomy, and atmospheric physics. It surpassed the 365th day in space for the Space Shuttle fleet and the 100th day of flight time in space for "Columbia", the fleet's oldest Orbiter on its fourteenth flight.

D-2 marked the first tele-robotic capture of a free floating object by flight controllers in Germany. The crew conducted the first intervenus saline solution injection in space as part of an experiment to study the human body's response to direct fluid replacement as a countermeasure for amounts lost during space flight. They also successfully completed an in-flight maintenance procedure for collection of orbiter waste water, which allowed the mission to continue.

STS-55 crewmembers participated in two amateur radio experiments, SAREX II from the United States and the German SAFEX. These experiments allowed students and amateur radio operators from around the world to talk directly with the Space Shuttle in orbit and participated in a SpaceMedicine conference with the Mayo Clinic.

Launch

"Columbia" was initially scheduled to launch in late February however this date slipped to early March due to concerns with the tip-seal retainers in the main engines' oxidizer turbopumps. All three turbopumps were replaced at the pad but later inspection revealed the retainers to be in good condition.

Further delays were caused by the burst of a hydraulic flex hose in the aft compartment during the Flight Readiness Test. The lines were removed and inspected and three replacements were installed.

The launch attempt on March 22 was aborted automatically at T-3 seconds when computers detected an incomplete ignition of the number three SSME. The problem was traced to a leak in the liquid oxygen preburner check valve. All three SSMEs were replaced as a precaution.

Another launch attempt on April 24 was scrubbed due to a possible faulty reading with one of the inertial measurement units. [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-55.html]

The final launch attempt was successful with liftoff at 10:50 a.m. EDT on April 26, 1993.

ee also

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

External links

* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-55/mission-sts-55.html NASA mission summary]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle55.htm STS-55 Video Highlights]