STS-53

STS-53

Launch of Discovery for a Department of Defense (DoD) mission
Names	Space Transportation System-53
Mission type	Satellite deployment
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1992-086A
SATCAT no.	22259
Mission duration	7 days, 7 hours, 19 minutes, 17 seconds
Distance travelled	4,800,000 km (3,000,000 mi)
Orbits completed	116
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch mass	110,655 kg (243,953 lb)
Landing mass	87,565 kg (193,048 lb)
Payload mass	11,860 kg (26,150 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	David M. Walker Robert D. Cabana Guion Bluford Michael R. Clifford James S. Voss
Start of mission
Launch date	December 2, 1992, 13:24:00 UTC
Rocket	Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	December 9, 1992, 20:43:17 UTC
Landing site	Edwards Air Force Base Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	365 km (227 mi)
Apogee altitude	376 km (234 mi)
Inclination	57.00°
Period	92.00 minutes
Instruments
Battlefield Laser Acquisition Sensor Test (BLAST) Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS) Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM) Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment (FARE) Get Away Special (GAS) Shuttle Glow Experiment/Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment (GCP) Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES) Microcapsules in Space (MIS-l) Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME-III) Space Tissue Loss (STL) Visual Function Tester (VFT-2)
STS-53 mission patch Back: Walker, Cabana, Clifford Front: Bluford, Voss Space Shuttle program ← STS-52 STS-54 →

STS-53 was a NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission in support of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The mission was launched on December 2, 1992, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This was also the last mission to have been operated via MCR-2 in JSC. Afterwards the room was restored entirely to its Apollo era appearance.