STS-42

Ronald J. Grabe

• Birthday: 06/13/1945
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 10/03/1985
• Last Flight: 06/21/1993

Ronald John Grabe is a former NASA astronaut.

He has earned the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, the Ai...

Stephen S. Oswald

• Birthday: 06/30/1951
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 01/22/1992
• Last Flight: 03/02/1995

Stephen Scot Oswald is a former NASA astronaut.

Roberta Bondar

• Birthday: 12/04/1945
• Role: Payload Specialist
• Nationality: Canada
• First Flight: 01/22/1992
• Last Flight: 01/22/1992

Roberta Bondar (born December 4, 1945) is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. Following more ...

Ulf Merbold

• Birthday: 06/20/1941
• Role: Payload Specialist
• Nationality: Germany
• First Flight: 11/28/1983
• Last Flight: 10/03/1994

Dr. Ulf Dietrich Merbold (born June 20, 1941) is the first West German citizen and second German native (after Sigmund Jähn)...

William F. Readdy

• Birthday: 01/24/1952
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 01/22/1992
• Last Flight: 09/16/1996

William Francis Readdy is a former Associate Administrator of the Office of Space Flight, at NASA Headquarters.
...

David Hilmers

• Birthday: 01/28/1950
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 10/03/1985
• Last Flight: 01/22/1992

David Carl Hilmers is a former NASA astronaut. Hilmers was selected a NASA astronaut in July 1980, and completed the initial ...

Norman E. Thagard

• Birthday: 07/03/1943
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 06/18/1983
• Last Flight: 03/14/1995

Norman Earl Thagard (born July 3, 1943), (Capt, USMC, Ret.), is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer an...

Mission

STS-42

• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $450,000,000

STS-42 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission with the Spacelab module. The main goal of the mission was to study the effects of microgravity on a variety of organisms.

Location

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 199 rockets, including 198 orbital launch attempts. While Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 257 rocket launches.

The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).

Rocket

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.

Learn more about the Space Shuttle