STS-53

Int. Designation	1992-086A
Launched	2 December 1992
Launch Site	Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landed	9 December 1992
Landing Site	Runway 22, Edwards AFB, California
Launch Vehicle	OV-103 Discovery/ET-49/SRB BI-055/SSME #1 2024; #2 2012; #3 2017
Duration	7 days 7 hrs 19 min 47 sec
Call sign	Discovery
Objective	Deployment of classified DoD payload (DOD-1); operation of two secondary and nine mid-deck experiments

Flight Crew

WALKER, David Mathiesan, USN, commander, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS 51-A (1984); STS-30 (1989)

CABANA, Robert Donald, USMC, pilot, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS-41 (1990)

BLUFORD Jr., Guion Stewart, USAF, mission specialist 1, 4th mission Previous missions: STS-8 (1983); STS 61-A (1985); STS-39 (1991)

VOSS, James Shelton, US Army, mission specialist 2, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS-44 (1991)

CLIFFORD, Michael Richard Uram, US Army, mission specialist 3

Flight Log

STS-53 was Discovery’s 15th mission, its first since STS-42 the previous year. During the intervening 23 months, 78 major modifications had been made to the orbiter while still at KSC. These included the addition of a drag parachute for landing and the capability of redundant nose wheel steering. The launch was delayed by one hour 25 minutes to allow the sunlight to melt ice on the ET that had accumulated thanks to overnight temperatures of —4°C.

The initial activity after reaching orbit was the deployment of a military satellite on FD 1. The satellite remains classified, although the payload was later identified as the third Advanced Satellite Data Systems Intelligence Relay Satellite. Once that deployment had been completed, the remainder of the mission became declassified. The crew continued with their experiment programme of two cargo bay and nine mid­deck experiments, most of which were instigated by the Defense Department Space Test Program Office, headquartered at Los Angeles AFB in California.

The experiment payload on Discovery included the Shuttle Glow Experiment/ Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment, which measured and recorded electrically charged

The end of one phase of Shuttle operations as Discovery lands on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB, signalling the final flight of dedicated DoD Shuttle missions. Almost eight years earlier in January 1985, the Discovery orbiter completed the first dedicated DoD mission STS 51-C landing at Kennedy

particles as they struck the tail of the orbiter. The second part of this experiment provided research into the use of super-cold LO pipelines for spacecraft cooling. Also in the payload bay was the NASA Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS) experiment, designed to improve the accuracy of ground-based radars in detection, identification and tracking of orbital space debris. In the mid-deck, the Microcapsule in Space and Space Tissue Loss experiments were devoted to medical research, while the Vision Function Test measured the changes in astronauts’ vision that might occur in the microgravity environment. The Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM) recorded levels of radiation inside the mid-deck, as did the Radiation Monitoring Experiment. There was a joint USN, US Army and NASA experiment for the crew to locate 25 preselected ground sites with a one nautical mile accuracy. This was an evaluation of detecting laser beams from space and the use of such beams in ground-to-spacecraft communications. Other experiments included a photographic assessment of cloud fields for DoD systems, while the Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment studied the motion of liquids in microgravity during simulated refuelling of propellant tanks with distilled water. There were also seven medical tests, including a re-flight of the rowing machine rather than the treadmill for physical exercise.

This crew dubbed themselves “the Dogs of War Crew’’, as they represented all four branches of the US armed forces. Their training team had been called “Bad Dog’’

and these combined to have the STS-53 crew become known as the “Dog Crew” (and they often quipped that they were “working like dogs” throughout their mission). Walker was known as “Red Dog”, Cabana was known as “Mighty Dog” and Clifford, being the rookie, was known as “Puppy Dog”. Bluford became “Dog Gone” and Voss became “Dog Face”. The crew mascot was known as “Duty Dog” and a stowaway that looked over the crew during the mission (a rubber dog mask hung over an orange launch and entry suit) was known as “Dog Breath”.

The landing was originally scheduled for KSC but was diverted to Edwards due to clouds in the vicinity of the SLF. Following the landing, a small leak was detected in the forward thrusters, delaying the egress of the crew until fans and winds dissipated the leaking gas.

Milestones

156th manned space flight

82nd US manned space flight

52nd Shuttle mission

15th flight of Discovery

10th and final dedicated DoD Shuttle mission