Encyclopedia Astronautica
STS-47

STS-47
Credit: NASA

Manned seven crew. Carried Spacelab-J with microgravity and biology experiments. Payloads: Spacelab-J, nine getaway special canister experiments, Israel Space Agency Investigation About Hornets (ISAIAH), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II, Solid Surface Combus-tion Experiment (SSCE).

Orbits of Earth: 127. Distance traveled: 5,328,412 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 110,863 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 99,483 kg. Payload to Orbit: 12,772 kg. Payload Returned: 12,772 kg. Landed at: Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Landing Speed: 391 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 749 m. Landing Rollout: 2,611 m.

NASA Official Mission Narrative

Mission Name: STS-47 (50)
Endeavour (2)
Pad 39-B (21)
50th Shuttle Mission
2nd Flight of OV-105
KSC Landing (12)

Crew:
Robert L. Gibson (4), Commander
Curtis L. Brown (1), Jr, Pilot
Mark C. Lee (2), Payload Commander
N. Jan Davis (2), Mission Specialist
Jay Apt (2), Mission Specialist
Mae C. Jemison (1), Mission Specialist
Mamoru Mohri (1), Payload Specialist

Milestones:
OPF-3 - 5/31/92
VAB - 8/17/92
PAD - 8/25/92

Payload:
SPACELAB-J,GAS-BRIDGE,ISAIAH,SSCE,SAREX-II,AMOS,UVPI
Mission Objectives:

Launch:
Sept. 12, 1992, 10:23:00.0680 a.m. EDT. (First on-time Shuttle launch since STS-6lB in November l985). Launch Weight: 258,679 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 166nm
Inclination: 57.0 degrees
Orbits: 126
Duration: 7 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds.
Distance: 3,271,844 miles

Hardware:
SRB: BI-053
SRM: 360L/W026
ET : 49/LWT-42
MLP : 2
SSME-1: SN-2026
SSME-2: SN-2022
SSME-3: SN-2029

Landing:
Sept. 20, 1992, 8:53:24 a.m. EDT, Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, FL. Rollout distance: 8,567 feet. Mission extended one day for extended scientific experimentation. Landing Weight: 218,854 lbs.

Mission Highlights:
Spacelab-J -- a joint NASA and National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) mission utilizing a manned Spacelab module -- conducted microgravity investigations in materials and life sciences. The international crew, consisting of the first Japanese astronaut to fly aboard the Shuttle, the first African-American woman to fly in space and the first married couple to fly on the same space mission, was divided into red and blue teams for around the clock operations. Spacelab-J included 24 materials science and 2O life sciences experiments, of which 35 were sponsored by NASDA, 7 by NASA and two collaborative efforts.
Materials science investigations covered such fields as biotechnology, electronic materials, fluid dynamics and transport phenomena, glasses and ceramics, metals and alloys, and acceleration measurements. Life sciences included experiments on human health, cell separation and biology, developmental biology, animal and human physiology and behavior, space radiation, and biological rhythms. Test subjects included the crew, Japanese koi fish (carp), cultured animal and plant cells, chicken embryos, fruit flies, fungi and plant seeds, and frogs and frog eggs.
Twelve Get Away Special (GAS) canisters (10 with experiments, 2 with ballast) were carried in the payload bay. Middeck experiments were: Israeli Space Agency Investigation About Hornets (ISAIAH), Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX II), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), and Ultraviolet Plume Imager (UVPI).

AKA: Endeavour.
First Launch: 1992.09.12.
Last Launch: 1992.09.20.
Duration: 7.94 days.

• Gibson Gibson, Robert Lee 'Hoot' (1946-) American test pilot astronaut. Flew on STS-41-B, STS-61-C, STS-27, STS-47, STS-71. Flew combat missions over Vietnam. Was married to astronaut Rhea Seddon. More...

• Mohri Mohri, Mamoru (1948-) Japanese chemist mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-47, STS-99. NASDA; Spacelab-J specialist. More...

• Apt Apt, Dr Jerome J III 'Jay' (1949-) American physicist mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-37, STS-47, STS-59, STS-79. More...

• Lee Lee, Mark Charles (1952-) American engineer mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-30, STS-47, STS-64, STS-82. Was married to astronaut Jan Davis, part of first married couple to fly in space together. More...

• Davis Davis, Dr Nancy Jan (1953-) American engineer mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-47, STS-60, STS-85. Engineer, was married to astronaut Mark Lee, part of first married couple to fly in space together. More...

• Brown Brown, Curtis Lee Jr 'Curt' (1956-) American test pilot astronaut. Flew on STS-47, STS-66, STS-77, STS-85, STS-95, STS-103. Flew in space six times. More...

• Jemison Jemison, Dr Mae Carol (1956-) African-American physician mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-47. Physician. First African-American woman to fly in space. More...

• USA USA More...

• Endeavour American manned spaceplane. 25 launches, 1992.05.07 to 2011.05.16. Built as a replacement after the loss of the Challenger; named after the first ship commanded by James Cook. More...

• Manned spaceflight Category of spacecraft. More...

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• STS The Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) was conceived originally as a completely reusable system that would provide cheap, routine access to space and replace all American and civilian military launch vehicles. Crippled by technological overreach, political compromise, and budget limitations, it instead ended up costing more than the expendable rockets it was to have replaced. STS sucked the money out of all other NASA projects for half a century. The military abandoned its use after the Challenger shuttle explosion in the 1980's. More...

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• STS-47 - . Call Sign: Endeavour. Crew: Apt; Brown; Davis; Gibson; Jemison; Lee; Mohri. Payload: Endeavour F02 / Spacelab-J. Mass: 12,772 kg (28,157 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Apt; Brown; Davis; Gibson; Jemison; Lee; Mohri. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-47. Spacecraft: Endeavour. Duration: 7.94 days. Decay Date: 1992-09-20 . USAF Sat Cat: 22120 . COSPAR: 1992-061A. Apogee: 310 km (190 mi). Perigee: 297 km (184 mi). Inclination: 57.0000 deg. Period: 90.60 min. Manned seven crew. Carried Spacelab-J with microgravity and biology experiments. Payloads: Spacelab-J, nine getaway special canister experiments, Israel Space Agency Investigation About Hornets (ISAIAH), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II, Solid Surface Combus-tion Experiment (SSCE).

• Landing of STS-47 - . Return Crew: Apt; Brown; Davis; Gibson; Jemison; Lee; Mohri. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Apt; Brown; Davis; Gibson; Jemison; Lee; Mohri. Program: Spacelab. Flight: STS-47. Summary: STS-47 landed at 12:55 GMT. .