STS-55

STS-55 was Space Shuttle Columbia's April-May 1993 D-2 Spacelab mission, the second Spacelab flight under German mission management. Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A on April 26, 1993, with Steven Nagel commanding, Terence Henricks as pilot, Jerry Ross, Charles Precourt, and Bernard Harris as NASA mission specialists, and Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel as German payload specialists. The crew operated around the clock in split shifts while carrying out a broad international research program. NASA's mission account describes work in materials science, life sciences, robotics, technology applications, Earth observations, astronomy, and atmospheric physics, including the ROTEX robotics experiment and Spacelab medical studies. Harris, a physician, set up an intravenous line on Schlegel as part of an investigation into fluid replacement during adaptation to weightlessness. Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base on May 6, 1993, after 9 days, 23 hours, 39 minutes, and 59 seconds in space.