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STS-62 Mission: USMP-2; OAST-2
Space Shuttle: Columbia
Launch Pad: 39B 
Launch Weight: 4,519,319 pounds
Launched: March 4, 1994; 8:53:00 a.m. EST
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Landing: March 18, 1994 at 8:09:41 a.m. EST
Runway: 33 
Rollout Distance: 10,151 feet
Rollout Time: 55 seconds
Revolution: 224
Mission Duration: 13 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 41 seconds
Orbit Altitude: 163 nautical miles
Orbit Inclination: 39 degrees
Miles Traveled: 5.8 million 

Crew Members

                    

Image above: STS-62 Crew photo with Commander John H. Casper, Pilot Andrew M. 
Allen and Mission Specialists Pierre J. Thuot, Charles D. Gemar and Marsha S. 
Ivins. Image Credit: NASA 

Launch Highlights

 The launch originally set for March 3 was postponed at the T-11 hour mark due 
to predicted unfavorable weather in the KSC area. The countdown March 4 
proceeded smoothly. The only deviation to normal operating procedures was a 
delay in deploying the solid rocket booster recovery ships because of high seas. 
Recovery ships left port on launch day, and recovered the boosters and their 
parachutes on March 6.

Mission Highlights

Primary payloads were U.S. Microgravity Payload-2 (USMP- 2) and Office of 
Aeronautics and Space Technology-2 (OAST- 2). USMP-2 included five experiments 
investigating materials processing and crystal growth in microgravity, while 
OAST-2 featured six experiments focusing on space technology and spaceflight. 
Both payloads were located in the payload bay, activated by crew and operated by 
teams on the ground. USMP-2 experiments received emphasis at beginning of 
flight; later in mission Columbia's orbit lowered about 20 nautical miles to 
facilitate OAST-2 experiments.

Crew worked with experiments located both in middeck and payload bay. These 
included Dexterous End Effector (DEE), a new magnetic end effector and grapple 
fixture design being tested for use on remote manipulator system arm; Shuttle 
Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/A (SSBUV/A) and Limited Duration Space Environment 
Candidate Material Exposure (LDCE), all in payload bay. Middeck experiments were 
Advanced Protein Crystal Growth; Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE); 
Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing 
Apparatus (CGBA); Middeck 0- Gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE); Bioreactor 
Demonstration Systems (BDS); Auroral Photography Experiment (APE-B). Air Force 
Maui Optical Site Calibration Test (AMOS) requires no onboard hardware.

Crew also conducted number of biomedical activities aimed at better 
understanding and countering effects of prolonged spaceflight. 

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