STS-56

STS-56
	Components of the ATLAS-2 laboratory in the payload bay of Discovery
Names	Space Transportation System-56
Mission type	Scientific research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1993-023A
SATCAT no.	22621
Mission duration	9 days, 6 hours, 8 minutes, 19 seconds
Distance travelled	6,202,407 km (3,853,997 mi)
Orbits completed	148
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Discovery
Landing mass	93,683 kg (206,536 lb)
Payload mass	7,026 kg (15,490 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	Kenneth D. Cameron; Stephen S. Oswald; Michael Foale; Kenneth Cockrell; Ellen Ochoa;
Start of mission
Launch date	April 8, 1993, 05:29:00 UTC (1:29 am EDT)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39B
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	April 17, 1993, 11:37:19 UTC (7:37:19 am EDT)
Landing site	Kennedy, SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Periapsis altitude	291 km (181 mi)
Apoapsis altitude	299 km (186 mi)
Inclination	57.00°
Period	90.40 minutes
Instruments
	Active Cavity Radiometer (ACR); Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS); Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS); Commercial Materials dispersion apparatus Instrumentation technology associates Experiment (CMIX); Cosmic Ray Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM); Get Away Special (GAS); Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES); Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS); Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE); Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME III); Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX II); Solar Spectroscopy Instrument (SOLSPEC); Solar Ultraviolet Experiment (SUVE); Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV/A); Solar Constant (SOLCON); Space Tissue Loss (STL-1); Solar Ultraviolet Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM);
	; STS-56 mission patch; ; Standing: Cockrell, Foale, Ochoa; Seated: Oswald, Cameron Space Shuttle program ← STS-54 (53) STS-55 (55) →

STS-56 was a NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform special experiments. It was Discovery's 16th flight. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 8, 1993.