STS-45

STS-45 was a 1992 spaceflight using Space Shuttle Atlantis.

STS-45
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	STS-45
Space shuttle	Atlantis
Launch pad	39-A
Launch date	24 March 1992, 8:13 am EST
Landing	2 April 1992, 6:23 am EST, Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center
Mission duration	8/22:09:28
Number of orbits	143
Orbital altitude	296 kilometres (160 nmi)
Orbital inclination	57.0 degrees
Distance traveled	5,211,340 kilometres (3,238,180 mi)
Crew photo
Related missions
Previous mission Subsequent mission STS-42 STS-49

Crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Charles F. Bolden, Jr. Third spaceflight
Pilot	Brian Duffy First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Kathryn D. Sullivan Third spaceflight Payload Commander
Mission Specialist 2	David C. Leestma Third spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	Colin M. Foale First spaceflight
Payload Specialist 1	Byron K. Lichtenberg Second spaceflight
Payload Specialist 2	Dirk D. Frimout, ESA First spaceflight

Mission parameters

• Mass:
  • Orbiter landing with payload: 93,009 kilograms (205,050 lb)
  • Payload: 9,947 kilograms (21,930 lb)
• Perigee: 282 kilometres (175 mi)
• Apogee: 294 kilometres (183 mi)
• Inclination: 57.0°
• Period: 90.3 min

Mission highlights

View of Atlantis's payload bay

Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the conclusion of STS-45 mission.

Launch: 24 March 1992, 8:13 am EST. Launch originally scheduled for 23 March, but was delayed one day because of higher-than-allowable concentrations of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the orbiter's aft compartment during tanking operations. During troubleshooting, the leaks could not be reproduced, leading engineers to believe that they were the result of plumbing in the main propulsion system not thermally conditioned to the supercold propellants. Launch was rescheduled for 24 March. Launch weight: 105,982 kilograms (233,650 lb).

Carried first Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-1) on Spacelab pallets mounted in orbiter's cargo bay. The non-deployable payload, equipped with 12 instruments from the United States, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Japan, conducted studies in atmospheric chemistry, solar radiation, space plasma physics and ultraviolet astronomy. ATLAS-1 instruments were: Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS); Grille Spectrometer; Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS); Imaging Spectrometric Observatory (ISO); Atmospheric Lyman-Alpha Emissions (ALAE); Atmospheric Emissions Photometric Imager (AEPI); Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SEPAC); Active Cavity Radiometer (ACR); Measurement of Solar Constant (SOLCON); Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC); Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM); and Far Ultraviolet Space Telescope (FAUST). Other payloads included Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment, one Get Away Special (GAS) experiment and six mid-deck experiments.

Landing: 2 April 1992, 6:23 am EST, Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center. Rollout distance 2,812 metres (9,226 ft). Mission extended one day to continue science experiments. Landing Weight: 93,005 kilograms (205,040 lb).

See also

• Space science
• Space shuttle
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of human spaceflights chronologically
• Nikon NASA F4

External links

• NASA mission summary
• STS-45 Video Highlights