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 one. 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.

An EVA was performed by James Newman and Carl Walz on September 16, 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.