STS-64

STS-64 was Discovery's September 1994 Space Shuttle mission carrying the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment, the SPARTAN-201 solar-science free flyer, and several Shuttle technology and life-science investigations. NASA lists Richard Richards as commander, L. Blaine Hammond Jr. as pilot, and Jerry Linenger, Susan Helms, Carl Meade, and Mark Lee as mission specialists. Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B on September 9, 1994, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on September 20 after an 11-day mission. LITE used laser pulses from orbit to study clouds, aerosols, dust, pollution, and other atmospheric structures, giving researchers an early space-based demonstration of lidar for Earth science. The crew also deployed and retrieved SPARTAN-201, which observed the solar corona and solar wind, and used a Remote Manipulator System extension experiment to study plume effects from Shuttle thrusters. STS-64 also included the first untethered U.S. EVA since 1984. Mark Lee and Carl Meade tested the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue, a compact backpack intended to help a spacewalker recover if separated from structure or tethers. Creating this mission links Richard Richards' final Shuttle command and Susan Helms' second Shuttle mission, and fills a missing production node for Hammond, Linenger, Meade, and Lee.