STS-50

Occurred 32 years ago

The primary payload was the United States Microgravity Laboratory-I (USML-1), a manned Spacelab module with a connecting tunnel to the orbiter crew compartment.

orbiter

Columbia

mission duration

13 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes

Launch

June 25, 1992

Landing

July 9, 1992

Seven members of the STS-50 crew pose for crew portrait in front of Columbia space shuttle.

The STS-50 crew portrait includes (from left to right): Ellen S. Baker, mission specialist; Kenneth D. Bowersox, pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar, payload commander; Richard N. Richards, commander; Carl J. Meade, mission specialist; Eugene H. Trinh, payload specialist; and Lawrence J. DeLucas, payload specialist. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on June 25, 1992 at 12:12:23 pm (EDT), the primary payload for the mission was the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory-1 (USML-1) featuring a pressurized Spacelab module.

NASA

STS-50 Mission Facts

Mission: USML-1
Space Shuttle: Columbia
Launch Pad: 39A
Launch Weight: 257,265 pounds
Launched: June 25, 1992, 12:12:23 p.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landing: July 9, 1992, 7:42:27 a.m. EDT
Landing Weight: 228,127 pounds
Runway: 33
Rollout Distance: 10,674 feet
Rollout Time: 59 seconds
Revolution: 221
Mission Duration: 13 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes, 04 seconds
Orbit Altitude: 160 nautical miles
Orbit Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Miles Traveled: 5.8 million

Crew

Richard N. Richards, Commander
Kenneth D. Bowersox, Pilot
Bonnie J. Dunbar, Mission Specialist
Ellen S. Baker, Mission Specialist
Carl J. Meade, Mission Specialist
Lawrence J. DeLucas, Payload Specialist
Eugene H. Trinh, Payload Specialist

Mission Highlights

The primary payload was the United States Microgravity Laboratory-I (USML-1), a manned Spacelab module with a connecting tunnel to the orbiter crew compartment. USML-1 was a national effort to advance microgravity research in a broad number of disciplines. The 13 day mission, the first Extended Duration Orbiter flight and the longest space shuttle mission to date, also provided new information on the effects of long-term human stay in space. Experiments conducted were: Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF), Drop Physics Module (DPM), Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE), Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG), Protein Crystal Growth (PCG), Glovebox Facility (GBX), Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS), Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (GBA), Astroculture-1 (ASC), Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project (EDOMP), and Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE).

Secondary experiments included Investigation in Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment II (SAREX-II), and Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI).