STS-54

STS-54

Endeavour deploys the TDRS-F satellite
Mission type	Satellite deployment Technology
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1993-003A
SATCAT №	22313
Mission duration	5 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, 19 seconds
Distance travelled	4,000,000 kilometers (2,500,000 mi)
Orbits completed	96
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Endeavour
Landing mass	92,988 kilograms (205,003 lb)
Payload mass	18,559 kilograms (40,916 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	John H. Casper Donald R. McMonagle Mario Runco, Jr. Gregory J. Harbaugh Susan J. Helms
Start of mission
Launch date	13 January 1993, 13:59:30 (1993-01-13UTC13:59:30Z) UTC
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39B
End of mission
Landing date	19 January 1993, 13:37:47 (1993-01-19UTC13:37:48Z) UTC
Landing site	Kennedy SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	302 kilometres (188 mi)
Apogee	309 kilometres (192 mi)
Inclination	28.45 degrees
Period	90.6 min
Left to right: Runco, Casper, McMonagle, Helms, Harbaugh Space Shuttle program ← STS-53 STS-56 →

Left to right: Runco, Casper, McMonagle, Helms, Harbaugh

STS-54 was a Space Transportation System (NASA Space Shuttle) mission using orbiter Endeavour. This was the third flight for Endeavour and was launched on 13 January 1993.

The primary payload was the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) which was deployed on day one of the mission. It was later successfully transferred to its proper orbit by the Inertial Upper Stage booster.

Also carried into orbit in the payload bay was a Hitchhiker experiment called the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS). This instrument collected data on X-ray radiation from diffuse sources in deep space.

Other middeck payloads to test the effects of microgravity included the Commercial General Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGPA) for-life sciences research; the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space Experiment (CHROMEX) to-study plant growth; the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE) to examine the skeletal system and the adaptation of bone to space flight; the Space Acceleration Measurement Equipment (SAMS) to measure and record the microgravity acceleration environment of middeck experiments; and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) to measure the rate of flame spread and temperature of burning filter paper.

Also, on day five, mission specialists Mario Runco and Gregory J. Harbaugh spent nearly 5 hours in the open cargo bay performing a series of space-walking tasks designed to increase NASA's knowledge of working in space. They tested their abilities to move about freely in the cargo bay, climb into foot restraints without using their hands and simulated carrying large objects in the microgravity environment.