STS-53

**STS-53**
Organization	NASA-Office of Space Flight (United States),Department of Defense-Department of the Air Force (United States)
Mission type	Earth Science,Human Crew
Launch date	December 2, 1992
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, United States
COSPAR ID	1992-086A
Inclination	57 degrees
Experiments	Here
Alternate Names	STS 53/DoD 1,STS/DoD 1,22259
Additional Information	Here
PDMP Information	Here
Telecommunications Information	Here
Data Collection	Here
Payload Mass Up	11868 kg
Payload Mass Down	2341.36 kg
Orbiter	Discovery
Lift Off Mass	2,048,473.64 kg
Orbiter Weight at Liftoff	110,887.27 kg
Orbiter Weight at Landing	87,825.00 kg
Landed	Concrete runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Orbits of Earth	116
Orbital Altitude	200 nautical miles (230 statute miles)

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Crew

Commander: David M. Walker
Pilot: Robert D. Cabana
- Mission Specialist 1: Guion S. Bluford
- Mission Specialist 2: James S. Voss
- Mission Specialist 3: Michael Richard "Rich" V. Clifford

Mission

The STS-53 Space Shuttle "Discovery" mission is a dedicated Department of Defense (DoD) mission and carried the DoD-1 classified payload. In addition, several non-classified DoD experiments were carried out. The Space Shuttle "Discovery" had been completely refurbished and modified. The secondary unclassified experiments include: (1) Shuttle Glow (GLO), to investigate Shuttle/space environment interactions; (2) Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment (CRYOHP), a joint DoD and NASA Hitchhiker experiment to test advanced technology to regect excess heat generated by infrared sensors; (3) Orbital Debris Radar Calibration System (ODERACS), an experiment which will release 6 calibrated spheres into orbit in order to provide a source for fine-tuning ground-based radar facilities around the world; (4) Battlefield Laser Acquisition Sensor Test (BLAST), an Army space project to demonstrate the use of spaceborne laser receivers to detect laser energy from ground test locations; (5) Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense System (CLOUDS), a meteorological experiment to quantify the variation in apparent cloud cover as a function of orbital view angle; (6) Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM), an experiment designed to collect cosmic ray energy loss spectra, neutron fluxes, and induced radioactivity; (7) Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Equipment (FARE), an experimen t to investigate the dynamics of fluid transfer in space; (8) Hand-held, earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES), a Naval Research Lab (NRL) experiment to enable a Shuttle astrionaut to point a camera at an Earth feature, record the image and determine the latitude and longitude of the feature; (10) Microencapsulation In Space (MIS), designed to incresae the knowledge of microencapsulated drug technology; (11) Radiation Monitoring Equipment -III (RME-III), an instrument to measure the exposure to ionizing radiation on the Shuttle; (12) Space Tissue Loss (STL), to study the effects of space on fragile life systems; and (13) Visual Function Tester - Model II (VFT-2), a series of vision performance experiments in space.

Payload

Department of Defense (DOD)1; Glow Experiment/Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment Payload (GCP); Battlefield Laser Acquisition Sensor Test (BLAST); Cloud Logic To Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS) 1A; Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM); Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Equipment (FARE); Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES); Microencapsulation in Space (MIS)-1; Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME) III; Spare Tissue Loss (STL); Visual Function Tester (VFT)2; and Orbital Debris Radar Calibration System (ODERACS). The ODERACS payload was unable to be deployed because of payload equipment malfunction.

Mission patch: