1992, STS-50 Space Shuttle Lands
On This day during on July 9, 1992, STS-50 (Columbia 13), space shuttle landed at Kennedy Space Center.
STS-50 Space Shuttle
The STS-50 was a United States Space Shuttle mission and it is the 12th mission of the Columbia orbiter. Columbia 13 launch during on June 25, 1992 at Kennedy Space Center. Meanwhile, it became the first flight of a Space Shuttle with the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) hardware, allowing longer flight duration’s.
However, it was a space lab mission, with experiments in material science, fluid physics and biotechnology.
Further, Space Shuttle Columbia rocketed to orbit for the longest Shuttle flight in history. Meanwhile, Columbia orbit almost 14 days.
The STS-50 crewed by 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) and Eugene H. Trinh (Payload Specialist).
Major mission accomplishments
- Meanwhile, STS-50 completed first dedicated United States Micro-gravity Laboratory flight laying the groundwork for Space Station Freedom science operations.
- Completed 31 micro gravity experiments in five basic areas, likewise : fluid dynamics, crystal growth, combustion science, biological science, and technology demonstration.
- Introduced several new micro gravity experiment facilities for multiple users and multiple flights (including the Crystal Growth Furnace, Drop Physics Module, and the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment).
- Further, demonstrated the efficiency of interactive science operations between crew members 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.
