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

Contents

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

Mission highlights

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

External links