Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing on Cape
Canaveral (
KSC).
Three launch attempts failed on July 17, 1993, on July 24, 1993 and on August
12, 1994 due to technical reasons, each time after the crew had boarded the
spacecraft. On August 12, 1993, the count reached the T-3 second mark, at which
point the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) had ignited. A shutdown was then
triggered by faulty fuel flow sensors in one of the SSMEs.
The
ACTS
was deployed on flight day 1. The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite
(
ACTS),
a significant activity of the
NASA
Space Communications Program, provided for the development and flight test of
high risk, advanced communications satellite technology. Using multiple spot
beam antennas and advanced on-board switching and processing systems,
ACTS
pioneered new initiatives in communications satellite technology.
NASA
Glenn Research Center was responsible for the development, management, and
operation of
ACTS
as part of a long legacy of experimental communications satellites. This
satellite served as a test bed for advanced experimental communications
satellite concepts and technology. Its Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS) upper stage
fired on time 45 minutes after deployment and boosted the satellite to
geosynchronous altitude on the first day of the mission.
Another payload
on this mission was the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet
Spectrometer (
ORFEUS)
telescope mounted on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (
ORFEUS)
payload carrier.
ORFEUS
was designed to provide information on how stars are born and how they die,
while studying gaseous interstellar clouds. It was released on September 13,
1993 and it was the fourth flight of the
SPAS platform.
Also in the cargo bay was the Limited Duration Space Environment Candidate
Materials Exposure (LDCE) experiment.
EVA by
Newman and
Walz on
16.09.1993 (7h 5m), to evaluate tools, tethers and a foot restraint platform.
As the two astronauts were cleaning up, a balky tool box lid slowed them down
when they had to pry it free and close it for Discovery'’s trip home. The
toolbox lid stretched the spacewalk by about 45 minutes over what had been
planned.
The
ORFEUS/
SPAS platform was
retrieved after six days in free flight in a maximum distance about 65
kilometers to the orbiter.
