 Components of theATLAS-1 laboratory in the payload bay ofAtlantis | |
| Names | Space Transportation System-45 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ATLAS-1 astronomy research |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1992-015A |
| SATCATno. | 21915 |
| Mission duration | 8 days, 22 hours, 9 minutes, 27 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 5,211,340 km (3,238,180 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 143 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Atlantis |
| Launch mass | 105,982 kg (233,650 lb) |
| Landing mass | 93,009 kg (205,050 lb) |
| Payload mass | 9,947 kg (21,929 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 7 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 24, 1992, 13:13:39 (1992-03-24UTC13:13:39Z) UTC (8:13:39 am EST) |
| Launch site | Kennedy,LC-39A |
| Contractor | Rockwell International |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | April 2, 1992, 11:23:06 (1992-04-02UTC11:23:07Z) UTC (6:23:06 am EST) |
| Landing site | Kennedy,SLF Runway 33 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 282 km (175 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 294 km (183 mi) |
| Inclination | 57.00° |
| Period | 90.30 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| |
 STS-45 mission patch  Standing:Lichtenberg,Foale,Leestma,Sullivan andFrimout Seated:Duffy andBolden | |
STS-45 was a 1992NASASpace Shuttle mission using theSpace Shuttle Atlantis. Its almost nine-day scientific mission was with a non-deployable payload of instruments. It was the 46th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th forAtlantis.
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Charles Bolden Third spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Brian Duffy First spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Kathryn D. Sullivan Third and last spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer | David Leestma Third and last spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | / Michael FoaleFirst spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 |  Dirk Frimout,ESAOnly spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Byron K. Lichtenberg Second and last spaceflight | |
| Member of Blue Team Member of Red Team The astronauts were divided into a red team and a blue team to allow around-the-clock monitoring of experiments. | ||
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Payload Specialist 1 | Michael L. Lampton | |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Charles R. Chappell | |
| Seat[1] | Launch | Landing |  Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bolden | ||
| 2 | Duffy | ||
| 3 | Sullivan | Foale | |
| 4 | Leestma | ||
| 5 | Foale | Sullivan | |
| 6 | Frimout | ||
| 7 | Lichtenberg | ||
| Attempt | Planned | Result | Turnaround | Reason | Decision point | Weather go (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 Mar 1992, 8:01:00 am | Scrubbed | — | Technical | 23 Mar 1992, 3:01 am | High concentrations of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.[2] | |
| 2 | 24 Mar 1992, 8:33:39 am | Success | 1 day 0 hours 33 minutes | T−9 minute hold extended due to weather concerns.[2] |
Atlantis was launched on March 24, 1992, at 8:13 a.m. EST. The launch was originally scheduled for March 23, 1992, but was delayed by one day because of higher-than-allowable concentrations ofliquid hydrogen andliquid oxygen in theorbiter's aft compartment during tanking operations.[3] 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 cryogenic propellants; the launch was rescheduled for March 24, 1992.Atlantis weighed 105,982 kg (233,650 lb) at launch.[4]: 2 [2]
STS-45 carried the firstAtmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-1) experiments, placed onSpacelab pallets mounted in the orbiter's payload bay. The non-deployable payload, equipped with 12 instruments from theUnited States,France,Germany,Belgium,Switzerland, theNetherlands andJapan, conducted studies in atmospheric chemistry, solar radiation, space plasma physics and ultraviolet astronomy. ATLAS-1 instruments included the 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;[5] Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM); and Far Ultraviolet Space Telescope (FAUST). Other payloads included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment, aGet Away Special (GAS) experiment and six mid-deck experiments.
The mission was extended by a day in order to continue science experiments. The landing occurred on April 2, 1992, 6:23 a.m. EST, on Runway 33 of theShuttle Landing Facility, located at theKennedy Space Center. The rollout distance was 2,812 m (9,226 ft) andAtlantis weighed 93,005 kg (205,041 lb) on landing.
The mission insignia covers all aspects of the flight, by featuring Earth and the Sun, and the orbiter on high inclination, as to illustrate the high importance of the mission. The names of all flying members are included in the band, separated by stars. In the 'ring' at the bottom right, a single star is included, separating the unmentioned names of the alternate mission specialists, who are therefore indirectly included; a first and unique tribute to a support crew.Dirk Frimout is the first Belgian citizen to fly into space, and the only one to fly on a Space Shuttle (the other isFrank De Winne (who flies to theInternational Space Station viaSoyuz as mission commander), as the Space Shuttle program was terminated at the time of the latter's flight), but to keep the focus on the mission, no national flag is added nor the customary logo of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA), but the mission main objective, ATLAS, is included below instead.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Space ShuttleAtlantis (OV-104) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Completed flights | .jpg) | |
| Status |
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| On display | ||
