Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC);
landing on Cape Canaveral (
KSC).
The primary payload was the fifth
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (
TDRS-F) which was deployed on day one of the mission.
It was later successfully transferred to its proper orbit by the Inertial Upper
Stage booster. Also carried into orbit in the payload bay was a Hitchhiker
experiment called the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (
DXS).
This instrument collected data on X-ray radiation from diffuse sources in deep
space.
Other middeck payloads to test the effects of microgravity
included the Commercial General Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGPA) for-life
sciences research; the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space Experiment
(CHROMEX) to study plant growth; the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent
Experiment (PARE) to examine the skeletal system and the adaptation of bone to
space flight; the Space Acceleration Measurement Equipment (SANS) to measure
and record the microgravity acceleration environment of middeck experiments;
and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) to measure the rate of flame
spread and temperature of burning filter paper. Also a new onboard-toilet was
tested.
While an
EVA
by Gregory
Harbaugh and Mario
Runco
on January 17, 1993 (4h 18m) the astronauts performed a series of spacewalking
tasks, including testing abilities of free moving, climbing into foot
restraints without using their hands and more.