science

STS-52

STS-52 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand STS-52 rather than just read about it. In short: STS-52 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, launched on October 22, 1992. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission highlights Primary mission objectives were deployment of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite 2 (LAGEOS-2) and operation of the U.S.

Key takeaways

STS-52 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect STS-52 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of STS-52 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

STS-52 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, launched on October 22, 1992.

Crew

Crew seat assignments

Mission highlights

Primary mission objectives were deployment of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite 2 (LAGEOS-2) and operation of the U.S. Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1). LAGEOS 2, a joint effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), was deployed on day 2 and boosted into an initial elliptical orbit by ASI's Italian Research Interim Stage (IRIS). The spacecraft's apogee kick motor later circularized LAGEOS 2 orbit at its operational altitude of 5,900 km (3,700 mi). The USMP-1, activated on day one, included three experiments mounted on two connected Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS) mounted in the orbiter's cargo bay. USMP-1 experiments were: Lambda Point Experiment; Matériel pour l'Étude des Phénomènes Intéressant la Solidification sur eT en Orbite (MEPHISTO), sponsored by the French agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES); and Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS). Secondary payloads: (1) Canadian experiment (CANEX-2), located in both the orbiter's cargo bay and middeck and which consisted of Space Vision System (SVS); Materials Exposure in Low-Earth Orbit (MELEO); Queen's University Experiment in Liquid-Metal Diffusion (QUELD); Phase Partitioning in Liquids (PARLIQ); Sun Photospectrometre Earth Atmosphere Measurement-2 (SPEAM-2); Orbiter Glow-2 (OGLOW-2); and Space Adaptation Tests and Observations (SATO). A small, specially marked satellite, the Canadian Target Assembly (CTA), was deployed on day nine, to support SVS experiments. (2) ASP, featuring three independent sensors mounted on a Hitchhiker plate in the cargo bay – Modular Star Sensor (MOSS), Yaw Earth Sensor (YES) and Low Altitude Conical Earth Sensor (LACES), all provided by the European Space Agency (ESA). Other middeck payloads: Commercial Materials Dispersion Apparatus Instrument Technology Associates Experiments; Commercial Protein Crystal Growth experiment; Chemical Vapor Transport Experiment Heat Pipe Performance Experiment (CVTEHPPE); Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE) (involving 12 rodents); and Shuttle Plume Impingement Experiment (SPIE). The orbiter also was used as a reference point for calibrating an Ultraviolet Plume Instrument on an orbiting Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) satellite. The Tank Pressure Control Experiment/Thermal Phenomena (TPCE/TP) was contained in a Getaway Special (GAS) canister in the orbiter's cargo bay. Some of the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry were also carried aboard the orbiter for the duration of the mission.

Wake-up calls NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. A special musical track is chosen for each day in space, often by the astronauts' families, to have a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or in reference to the day's planned activities.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with STS-52

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what STS-52 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to STS-52 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about STS-52 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of STS-52

In research: STS-52 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses STS-52 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: STS-52 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Space Shuttle missions, Spacecraft launched in 1992, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for STS-52 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study STS-52 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what STS-52 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain STS-52 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is STS-52 in simple terms?

STS-52 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, launched on October 22, 1992. Crew Crew seat assignments Mission highlights Primary mission objectives were deployment of the Laser Geodynamics Satellite 2 (LAGEOS-2) and operation of the U.S.

Why does STS-52 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study STS-52?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on STS-52.