STS-78

STS-78

Columbia launches on mission STS-78
Mission type	Bioscience research Microgravity research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1996-036A
SATCAT №	23931
Mission duration	16 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes, 30 seconds
Distance travelled	11,000,000 kilometres (6,800,000 mi)
Orbits completed	271
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Columbia
Payload mass	9,649 kilograms (21,272 lb)
Crew
Crew size	7
Members	Terence T. Henricks Kevin R. Kregel Richard M. Linnehan Susan J. Helms Charles E. Brady, Jr. Jean-Jacques Favier Robert Brent Thirsk
Start of mission
Launch date	20 June 1996, 14:49:00.0075 (1996-06-20UTC14:49Z) UTC
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39B
End of mission
Landing date	7 July 1996, 12:37:30 (1996-07-07UTC12:37:31Z) UTC
Landing site	Kennedy SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	246 kilometres (153 mi)
Apogee	261 kilometres (162 mi)
Inclination	39.0 degrees
Period	89.6 minutes
Left to right - Seated: Henricks, Kregel; Standing, Favier Linneham, Helms, Brady, Thirsk Space Shuttle program ← STS-77 STS-79 →

Left to right - Seated: Henricks, Kregel; Standing, Favier Linneham, Helms, Brady, Thirsk

STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project. The mission used the Space Shuttle Columbia, which lifted off successfully from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39-B on 20 June 1996.

During the 16-day, 21-hour mission, the crew of Columbia assisted in the preparations for the International Space Station by studying the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body in readiness for ISS Expeditions, and also carried out experiments similar to those now being carried out on the orbital station.

Following launch, Columbia climbed to an altitude of 278 kilometers (173 mi) with an orbital inclination of 39° to the Earth's equator to allow the seven-member flight crew to maintain the same sleep rhythms they were accustomed to on Earth and to reduce vibrations and directional forces that could have affected on-board microgravity experiments.

Once in orbit, the crew entered the 40 foot (13 m) long pressurised Spacelab module to commence over 40 science experiments to take place during the mission. Not only did these experiments make use of the module’s laboratory, but also employed lockers in the middeck section of the Shuttle. Thirteen of the experiments were dedicated to studying the effects of microgravity on the human body, whilst another six studied the behaviour of fluids and metals in the almost weightless environment and the production of metallic alloys and protein crystals. The crew also carried out the first ever comprehensive study of sleep patterns in microgravity, research into bone and muscle loss in space, and in-flight fixes to problem hardware on the Bubble, Drop and Particle Unit (BDPU), designed to study fluid physics.