STS-42

STS-42

Spacelab Module LM2 inDiscovery's payload bay, serving as theInternational Microgravity Laboratory(IML).
Names	Space Transportation System-42
Mission type	International Microgravity Laboratory-1
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1992-002A
SATCATno.	21846
Mission duration	8 days, 1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds
Distance travelled	4,701,140 km (2,921,150 mi)
Orbits completed	129
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space ShuttleDiscovery
Launch mass	110,400 kg (243,400 lb)
Landing mass	98,924 kg (218,090 lb)
Payload mass	13,066 kg (28,806 lb)
Crew
Crew size	7
Members	Ronald J. Grabe Stephen S. Oswald Norman Thagard William F. Readdy David C. Hilmers Roberta Bondar Ulf Merbold
Start of mission
Launch date	January 22, 1992, 14:52:33(January 22, 1992, 14:52:33)UTC(9:52:33amEDT)
Launch site	Kennedy,LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	January 30, 1992, 16:07:17(January 30, 1992, 16:07:17)UTC (8:07:17amPDT)
Landing site	Edwards,Runway22
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	291 km (181 mi)
Apogee altitude	307 km (191 mi)
Inclination	57.00°
Period	90.50 minutes
STS-42 mission patch From left:Oswald,Bondar,Thagard,Grabe,Hilmers,MerboldandReaddy Space Shuttle program

STS-42was aNASASpace ShuttleDiscoverymission with theSpacelabmodule. Liftoff was originally scheduled for 8:45EST(13:45UTC) on January 22, 1992, but the launch was delayed due to weather constraints.Discoverysuccessfully lifted off an hour later at 9:52:33 EST (14:52:33 UTC).The main goal of the mission was to study the effects ofmicrogravityon a variety oforganisms.The shuttle landed at 8:07:17PST(16:07:17 UTC) on January 30, 1992, on Runway 22,Edwards Air Force Base,California.STS-42 was the first of two flights in 1992 ofDiscovery,the second of which occurred duringSTS-53,which launched on December 2, 1992. The mission was also the last mission of the Space ShuttleDiscoveryto have a seven-member crew untilSTS-82,which was launched on February 11, 1997.

Crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Ronald J. Grabe Third spaceflight
Pilot	Stephen S. Oswald First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Norman Thagard Fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer	William F. Readdy First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	David C. Hilmers Fourth and last spaceflight
Payload Specialist 1	Roberta Bondar,CSA Only spaceflight
Payload Specialist 2	Ulf Merbold,ESA Second spaceflight
Member of Blue Team Member of Red Team

The astronauts were divided into a red team and a blue team to allow around-the-clock monitoring of experiments.

The crew of STS-42 included the first non-American astronauts on a shuttle mission since theChallengerdisaster,Ulf D. MerboldandRoberta Bondar.Merbold wasWest Germanyfirst astronaut and was making his second flight on the shuttle. Bondar wasCanada's first female astronaut.

Mary L. Cleavewas originally selected to fly as Mission Specialist 3 for this mission but withdrew herself for personal reasons. She was replaced byManley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr.,who died seven months prior to the launch in a plane crash. David Hilmers was then chosen to replace him.

Crew seat assignments

Seat	Launch	Landing	Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
1	Grabe
2	Oswald
3	Thagard	Hilmers
4	Readdy
5	Hilmers	Thagard
6	Bondar
7	Merbold

Mission highlights

Discoverylifts off at the start of STS-42.

STS-42 was launched on January 22, 1992, 9:52:33 a.m.EST.The launch was delayed by one hour due to weather constraints. The launch weight was 243,396 lb (110,403 kg).

Discoverycarried into orbit theInternational Microgravity Laboratory-1(IML-1), a pressurized crewedSpacelabmodule, to explore in depth the complex effects ofweightlessnessonliving organismsand 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 ofmicrogravityon other life forms such asshrimpeggs,lentilseedlings,fruit flyeggs andbacteria.Low gravity materials processing experiments includedcrystal growthfrom a variety of substances such asenzymes,mercury,iodineand avirus.Otherpayloadsincluded 10Get Away Special(GAS) canisters, a number of middeck payloads, two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments, and anAustraliandevelopedultraviolet telescopeEndeavour.Middeck payloads included Gelation of SOLS: Applied Microgravity Research (GOSAMR), Investigations intoPolymer MembraneProcessing (IPMP) and the Radiation Monitoring Experiment (RME-III).

The mission landed on January 30, 1992, 8:07:17 a.m.PST,Runway 22,Edwards Air Force Base,California,after being extended by a day for continued scientific experimentation. The rollout distance was 9,811 ft (2,990 m). The orbiter returned toKennedy Space Centeron February 16, 1992. The landing weight was 218,016 lb (98,890 kg).

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 ofastronautManley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr.,who was killed in the crash ofAtlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311inBrunswick, Georgiawhile on a commercial airplane traveling for NASA. Carter was originally assigned as a mission specialist on STS-42 at the time of his death.

See also

• List of human spaceflights
• List of Space Shuttle missions
• Destiny in Space,1994 documentary primarily focused on STS-42
• Nikon NASA F4
• Outline of space science
• Space Shuttle

External links

• NASA mission summaryArchivedMarch 4, 2016, at theWayback Machine
• STS-42 Press KitArchivedMarch 9, 2012, at theWayback Machine
• STS-42 Video HighlightsArchivedJuly 12, 2012, at theWayback Machine