Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Edwards AFB.

The 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 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.

The only EVA in this mission was performed by Carl Meade and Mark Lee on September 16, 1994 (6h 51m) to evaluate the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER). It was designed for use in the event a 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 was extended one day due of bad weather.