NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

STS-55

Launch Time
Mon Apr 26, 1993 14:50 UTC

Rocket

Space Shuttle Columbia
NASA
Status: Retired
Price: $450.0 million
Liftoff Thrust: 30,250 kN
Payload to LEO: 27,500 kg
Payload to GTO: 3,810 kg
Stages: 2
Strap-ons: 2
Rocket Height: 56.1 m

Vehicles

Edwards Runway 22

OV-102

Flight #14
186 day turnaround

Mission Details

STS-55

Columbia carried to orbit the second reusable German Spacelab on the STS-55 mission and demonstrated the shuttle's ability for international cooperation, exploration, and scientific research in space. The Spacelab Module and an exterior experiment support structure contained in Columbia’s payload bay comprised the Spacelab D-2 payload. (The first German Spacelab flight, D-1, flew Shuttle mission 61-A in October 1985.) The U.S. and Germany gained valuable experience for future space station operations.

Total Mass: 11,539.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit

Location

LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA

Stats

1993

27th orbital launch attempt

Space Shuttle

55th mission
3rd mission of 1993
54th successful mission
30th consecutive successful mission