STS-56 Mission Patch

STS-56: 54th Space Shuttle Mission, 16th Flight of Discovery 

Crew:

Kenneth D. Cameron, Commander
Stephen S. Oswald, Pilot
C. Michael Foale, Mission Specialist
Kenneth D. Cockrell, Mission Specialist
Ellen Ochoa, Mission Specialist

The primary payload of the flight was the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-2 (ATLAS-2), designed to collect data on relationship between sun’s energy output and Earth’s middle atmosphere and how these factors affect ozone layer. Included six instruments mounted on Spacelab pallet in cargo bay, with seventh mounted on wall of bay in two Get Away Special canisters. Atmospheric instruments were Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment; Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS); and Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/A (SSBUV/A) spectrometer (on cargo bay wall). Solar science instruments were Solar Spectrum Measurement (SOLSPEC) instrument; Solar Ultraviolet Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM); and Active Cavity Radiometer (ACR) and Solar Constant (SOLCON) experiments.