Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing on
Edwards
AFB.
Primary payload was the LIDAR In-Space Technology Experiment (
LITE).
LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging, a type of optical radar using
laser pulses instead of radio waves to study Earth's atmosphere.
The
crew of Discovery deployed the satellite
SPARTAN-201
and retrieved it after a a two days freeflight.
SPARTAN-201
was designed to collect data about the acceleration and velocity of the solar
wind and to measure aspects of sun's corona.
EVA by
Meade
and
Lee
on 16.09.1994 (6h 51m) to evaluate the Simplified Aid for
EVA Rescue (
SAFER). It was
designed for use in event crew member becomes untethered while conducting an
EVA. Operations
with
SAFER
marked the first untethered
EVA since
1984.
Middeck experiments included: Biological Research in Canister
(BRIC) experiment to investigate effects of spaceflight on plant specimens;
Military Application of Ship Tracks (MAST) to take high-resolution imagery of
ship tracks and to analyze wake formation and dissipations; Solid Surface
Combustion Experiment (SSCE) to supply information on flame propagation over
fuels in space; Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) to measure
ionizing radiation; Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment II (SAREX II) to
demonstrate feasibility of short-wave radio contacts between orbiter and
ground-based amateur radio operators; and Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS)
test, which required no onboard hardware.
The mission extended one day
due of bad weather.