STS-53Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 Lockheed Space Operations Company Launch Status Success Wed · Dec 2nd, 1992 8:24 AM EST Watch Online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUhGSZyoVJs Crew Guion Bluford Mission Specialist Status: Retired 11/22/1942 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., Ph.D. is an American aerospace engineer, retired U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, who was the first African American in space.[1] Before becoming an astronaut, he was an officer in the U.S. Air Force, where he remained while assigned to NASA, rising to the rank of Colonel. He participated in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992. In 1983, as a member of the crew of the Orbiter Challenger on the mission STS-8, he became the first African American in space as well as the second person of African ancestry in space, after Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez. David M. Walker Commander Status: Deceased 5/20/1944 - 4/23/2001 Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration David Mathieson "Dave" Walker was an American naval officer and aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s. Robert D. Cabana Pilot Status: Retired 1/23/1949 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Robert Donald Cabana is the director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, a former NASA astronaut, and a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights. He is also a former naval flight officer and naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps. James S. Voss Mission Specialist Status: Retired 3/3/1949 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration James Shelton Voss is a retired United States Army Colonel and NASA astronaut. During his time with NASA, Voss flew in space five times on board the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. He also served as deputy of Flight Operations for the Space Station Program Mission Integration and Operations Office. While participating in ISS Expedition 2, he and Susan Helms conducted an 8-hour and 56 minute spacewalk, the longest to date. Michael R. Clifford Mission Specialist Status: Retired 10/13/1952 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Michael Richard Uram "Rich" Clifford is a former United States Army officer and NASA astronaut. Clifford is considered a Master Army Aviator and has logged over 3,400 hours flying in a wide variety of fixed and rotary winged aircraft. Clifford retired from the U.S. Army at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He has logged over 12 hours of spacewalk time over three Space Shuttle missions. He is also one of the first people to conduct a spacewalk while docked to an orbiting space station. The spacewalk was conducted during STS-76, while docked at the Russian space station Mir. Mission STS-53 Type: Government/Top Secret STS-53 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in support of the United States Department of Defense. The mission was launched on 2 December 1992 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Location Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA 182 launches have been at this location. Rocket Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 Length: 38.1 meters Diameter: 8.4 meters First Launched: August 30, 1984 Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the orbiters from NASA’s Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 rocket has been launched a total of 38 times with 38 successful and 0 failed launches. Agency Lockheed Space Operations Company Type: Commercial Abbreviation: LSOC Administration: Founded: Launchers: Spacecraft: Country: USA View Rocket Launch Schedule