This week in 1994, the space shuttle Columbia launched on mission STS-62 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Primary payloads consisted of the U.S. Microgravity Payload-2 — USMP-2 — and the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-2 payload, better known as OAST-2. USMP-2 was a package of microgravity experiments for Spacelab, a reusable laboratory that flew in the shuttle cargo bay, and included five experiments investigating materials processing and crystal growth in microgravity. OAST-2 featured six experiments focusing on space technology and spaceflight. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center developed and managed Spacelab and USMP-2, while Marshall’s Spacelab Mission Operations Control Center commanded and monitored the instruments and analyzed the data. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall serves as “science central” for the International Space Station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory’s scientific experiments.
The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving the agency’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage.
Image Credit: (NASA)