STS-65 is a Space Shuttle program mission.

Space Shuttle program
Mission Insignia
Mission Statistics
Mission:	STS-65
Shuttle:	Columbia
Launch Pad:	39-A
Launch:	July 8, 1994 12:43:01 a.m. EDT.
Landing:	July 23, 1994 6:38:01 a.m. EDT KSC Runway 33
Duration:	14 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes
Orbit Altitude:	160 nautical miles (296 km)
Orbit Inclination:	28.45 degrees
Distance Traveled:	6,143,000 miles (9,886,200 km)
Crew photo
Previous Mission: STS-59	Next Mission: STS-64

Crew

• Robert D. Cabana (3), Commander
• James D. Halsell (1), Pilot
• Richard J. Hieb (3), Payload Commander
• Carl E. Walz (2), Mission specialist 2
• Leroy Chiao (1), Mission Specialist 3
• Donald A. Thomas (1), Mission Specialist 4
• Chiaki Naito-Mukai (1), Payload Specialist 1 - Japan
  • Jean-Jacques Favier (0), Alternate Payload Specialist (CNES)

Mission Parameters

• Mass: 10,811 kg payload
• Perigee: 300 km
• Apogee: 304 km
• Inclination: 28.4°
• Period: 90.5 min

Mission Highlights

The International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) is the second in a series of Spacelab (SL) flights designed to conduct research in a microgravity environment. The IML concept enables a scientist to apply results from one mission to the next and to broaden the scope and variety of investigations between missions. Data from the IML missions contributes to the research base for the space station.

As the name implies, IML-2 is an international mission. Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA), Canada, France, Germany and Japan are all collaborating with NASA on the IML-2 mission to provide the worldwide science community with a variety of complementary facilities and experiments. These facilities and experiments are mounted in twenty 19" racks in the IML 2 Module.

Research on IML-2 is dedicated to microgravity and life sciences. Microgravity science covers a broad range of activities from undestanding the fundamental physics involved in material behavior to using those effects to generate materials that cannot otherwise be made in the gravitational environment of the Earth. In life sciences research, a reduction of gravitation's effect allows certain characteristics of cells and organisms to be studied in isolation. These reduced gravitational effects also pose poorly understood occupational health problems for space crews ranging from space adaptation syndrome to long-term hormonal changes. On IML-2, the microgravity science and life sciences experiments are complementary in their use of SL resources. Microgravity science tends to draw heavily on spacecraft power while life sciences places the greatest demand on crew time.

Life Sciences Experiments and facilities on IML-2 include: Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit (AAEU) in Rack 3, Biorack (BR) in Rack 5, Biostack (BSK) in Rack 9, Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Program (EDOMP) and Spinal Changes in Microgravity (SCM) in the Center Isle, Lower Body Negative Pressure Device (LBNPD), Microbial Air Sampler (MAS), Performance Assessment Workstation (PAWS) in the middeck, Slow Rotating Centrifuge Microscope (NIZEMI) in Rack 7, Real Time Radiation Monitoring Device (RRMD) and the Thermoelectric Incubator (TEI) both in Rack 3.

Microgravity experiments and facilities on IML-2 include: Applied Research on Separation Methods (RAMSES) in Rack 6, Bubble, Drop and Particle Unit (BDPU) in Rack 8, Critical Point Facility (CPF) in Rack 9, Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (TEMPUS) in Rack 10, Free Flow Electrophoresis Unit (FFEU) in Rack 3, Large Isothermal Furnace (LIF) in Rack 7, Quasi Steady Acceleration Measurement (QSAM) in Rack 3, Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) in the Center Isle, and Vibration Isolation Box Experiment System (VIBES) in Rack 3.

Other payloads on this mission are: Advanced Protein Crystalization Facility (APCF), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) Calibration Test, Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), Military Application of Ship Tracks (MAST), Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-II (SAREX-II). Columbia is also flying with an Extended Duration Orbiter (ED0) pallet and no RMS Arm was installed. This is also the 1st flight of the payload bay door torque box modification on Columbia and the 1st flight of new OI-6 main engine software.

Related articles

• Space science
• Space shuttle
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of human spaceflights chronologically

External links

• NASA mission summary