Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing on
Edwards
AFB. The launch
was delayed one hour due to weather constraints.
Manley L.
Carter, was originally assigned to fly as a Mission
Specialist for this mission, but died 7 months prior the launch.
First
flight of International Microgravity Laboratory
IML-1.
This was a pressurized manned Spacelab module, to explore in depth the complex
effects of weightlessness on living organisms and materials processing. The
international crew, divided into Red (
Hilmers,
Readdy and
Merbold) and Blue (
Grabe,
Oswald,
Thagard and
Bondar) teams, conducted experiments on the human nervous
system's adaptation to low gravity and the effects of microgravity on other
life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs and bacteria.
Low gravity materials processing experiments included crystal growth from a
variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodine and a virus. Other
payloads included 10 Get Away Special (GAS) canisters, a number of middeck
payloads and two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments.
Middeck payloads included Gelation of SOLS: Applied microgravity research
(GOSAMR), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) and the
Radiation Monitoring Experiment (RME-III).
The crew explored the complex
effects of weightlessness on living organism and materials processing.They
performed 55 experiments on the areas of life sciences, low gravity materials
processing and fluid-physics.
Oswald made a film from the surface of Africa and Europe;
this film should be used for the movie "Destiny in Space".
To complete
all scientific experiments the mission was extended one day.
