sts-54

Mission Insignia

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Mission Statistics
Mission:	STS-54
Shuttle:	Endeavour
Launch Pad:	39-B
Launch:	Jan. 13, 1993, 8:59.30 a.m. EST.
Landing:	Jan. 19, 1993, 8:37.47 a.m. EST, KSC Runway 33
Duration:	5 days 23 hours 38 minutes 19 seconds
Orbit Altitude:	165 nautical miles (306 km)
Orbit Inclination:	28.45 degrees
Distance traveled:	2,500,000 miles (4,000,000 km)
Crew photo
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Crew

John H. Casper (2), Commander
Donald R. McMonagle (2), Pilot
Mario Runco, Jr.(2), Mission Specialist 1
Gregory J. Harbaugh (2), Mission Specialist 2
Susan J. Helms (1), Mission Specialist 3

Mission Parameters

Mass:

Orbiter landing with payload: 92,988 kg
Payload: 18,559 kg

Perigee: 302 km
Apogee: 309 km
Inclination: 28.5
Period: 90.6 min

Space walks

Harbaugh and Runco - EVA 1
EVA 1 Start: January 17, 1993
EVA 1 End: January 17, 1993
Duration: 4 hours, 28 minutes

Mission Highlights

The primary payload was the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) which was deployed on day one of the mission. It was later successfully transferred to its proper orbit by the Inertial Upper Stage booster. Also carried into orbit in the payload bay was a Hitchhiker experiment called the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS). This instrument collected data on X-ray radiation from diffuse sources in deep space. Other middeck payloads to test the effects of microgravity included the Commercial General Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGPA) for-life sciences research; the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space Experiment (CHROMEX) to-study plant growth; the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE) to examine the skeletal system and the adaptation of bone to space flight; the Space Acceleration Measurement Equipment (SANS) to measure and record the microgravity acceleration environment of middeck experiments; and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) to measure the rate of flame spread and temperature of burning filter paper. Also, on day five, mission specialists Mario Runco and Greg Harbaugh spent nearly 5 hours in the open cargo bay performing a series of space-walking tasks designed to increase NASAs knowledge of working in space. They tested their abilities to move about freely in the cargo bay, climb into foot restraints without using their hands and simulated carrying large objects in the microgravity environment.