STS-53

STS-53
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	STS-53
Space shuttle	Discovery
Launch pad	39-A
Launch date	2 December 1992, 13:24:00 UTC
Landing	9 December 1992, 20:43.17 UTC, Runway 22, Edwards AFB, California
Mission duration	7/07:19:17
Number of orbits	116
Orbital altitude	322 kilometres (174 nmi)
Orbital inclination	57 degrees
Distance traveled	4,800,000 kilometres (3,000,000 mi) approx.
Crew photo
Related missions
Previous mission Subsequent mission STS-52 STS-54

STS-53 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in support of the United States Department of Defense. The mission was launched on 2 December 1992 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	David M. Walker Third spaceflight
Pilot	Robert D. Cabana Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Guion S. Bluford Fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	James S. Voss Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	Michael R. Clifford First spaceflight

Mission parameters

• Mass:
  • Orbiter landing with payload: 87,565 kilograms (193,050 lb)
  • Payload: 11,860 kilograms (26,100 lb)
• Perigee: 365 kilometres (227 mi)
• Apogee: 376 kilometres (234 mi)
• Inclination: 57.0°
• Period: 92.0 min

Mission highlights

Discovery carried a classified primary payload for the United States Department of Defense, two unclassified secondary payloads and nine unclassified middeck experiments.

Discovery's primary payload, USA-89 NSSDC ID 1992-086B is also known as "DoD-1", and was the shuttle's last major payload for the Department of Defense. The satellite was the second launch of a Satellite Data System-2 military communications satellite, after USA-40 on STS-28.

Secondary payloads contained in or attached to Get Away Special (GAS) hardware in the cargo bay included the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS) the combined Shuttle Glow Experiment/Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment (GCP).

Middeck experiments included Microcapsules in Space (MIS-l); Space Tissue Loss (STL); Visual Function Tester (VFT-2); Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM); Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME-III); Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment (FARE); Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES); Battlefield Laser Acquisition Sensor Test (BLAST); and the Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS).

Mission insignia

The five stars and three stripes of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.

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-53 Video Highlights