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STS-50 (U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1) was a United States Space Shuttle mission, the 12th mission of the Columbia orbiter.Columbia landed at Kennedy Space Center for the first time ever due to bad weather at Edwards caused by the remnants of Hurricane Darby. more...
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Crew
Commander: Richard N. Richards (3);
Pilot: Kenneth D. Bowersox (1);
Payload Commander: Bonnie J. Dunbar (3);
Mission Specialist 2: Ellen S. Baker (2);
Mission Specialist 3: Carl J. Meade (2);
Payload Specialist 1: Lawrence J. DeLucas (1);
Payload Specialist 2: Eugene H. Trinh (1)
Alternate Payload Specialist: Joseph M. Prahl (not flown);
Alternate Payload Specialist: Albert Sacco (not flown);
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Mission parameters
Mass:
Orbiter landing with payload: 103,814 kg;
Payload: 12,101 kg;
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Perigee: 302 km;
Apogee: 309 km;
Inclination: 28.5°;
Period: 90.6 min;
Mission highlights
The U.S. Microgravity Laboratory 1 was a spacelab mission, with experiments in material science, fluid physics and biotechnology. It was the first flight of a Space Shuttle with the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) hardware, allowing longer flight durations.
Primary payload, U.S. Microgravity Laboratory-1 (USML- 1), made its first flight; featured pressurized Spacelab module. USML-1 first in planned series of flights to advance U.S. microgravity research effort in several disciplines. Experiments conducted were: Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF); Drop Physics Module (DPM); Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiments (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); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE).
Secondary experiments were: Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment II (SAREX II); and Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI).
Major mission accomplishments
Completed first dedicated United States Micro-gravity Laboratory flight laying the ground work for Space Station Freedom science operations.;
Completed 31 microgravity experiments in five basic areas: fluid dynamics, crystal growth, combustion science, biological science, and technology demonstration.;
Introduced several new microgravity experiment facilities for multiple users and multiple flights (including the Crystal Growth Furnace, Drop Physics Module, and the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment).;
Demonstrated the efficiency of interactive science operations between crewmembers and scientists on the ground for optimizing science return.;
Completed longest period of protein crystal growth in Space Shuttle program.;
Conducted iterative crystal growing experiments where chemical compositions were altered based upon microscopic observations of growth processes.;
Completed longest Space Shuttle mission (13 days 19 hours 30 minutes) and the first Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) flight of the Space Shuttle Program.;
Demonstrated versatility of the new Glovebox facility for crewmember interaction with multiple experiments for maximum science.;
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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