STS-42

STS-42 was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Discovery in January 1992. The primary payload was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1).

Mission Overview

The mission's main objective was to conduct experiments in microgravity. IML-1, housed within the Spacelab module in Discovery's payload bay, contained experiments from various countries, focusing on materials science, fluid physics, and life sciences. These experiments investigated the effects of near-weightlessness on materials and living organisms.

Crew

The crew of STS-42 consisted of:

• Ronald J. Grabe (Commander)
• Stephen S. Oswald (Pilot)
• Norman E. Thagard (Mission Specialist 1)
• William F. Readdy (Mission Specialist 2)
• David C. Hilmers (Mission Specialist 3)
• Roberta Bondar (Payload Specialist 1, representing Canada)
• Ulf Merbold (Payload Specialist 2, representing the European Space Agency)

Mission Highlights

The mission was considered highly successful due to the number and quality of scientific results obtained from the IML-1 experiments. Roberta Bondar became the first Canadian woman in space, and Ulf Merbold made his second spaceflight. The mission demonstrated international collaboration in space exploration and research.

Mission Duration

STS-42 lasted approximately eight days, one hour, fifteen minutes, and thirty seconds. Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.