This is a Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) onboard photograph of the United States Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1) in the cargo bay. The USMP program is a series of missions developed by NASA to provide scientists with the opportunity to conduct research in the unique microgravity environment of the Space Shuttle's payload bay. The USMP-1 mission was designed for microgravity experiments that do not require the hands-on environment of the Spacelab. Science teams on the ground would remotely command and monitor instruments and analyze data from work stations at NASA's Spacelab Mission Operation Control facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The USMP-1 payload carried three investigations: two studied basic fluid and metallurgical processes in microgravity, and the third would characterize the microgravity environment onboard the Space Shuttle. The three experiments that made up USMP-1 were the Lambda Point Experiment, the Space Acceleration Measurement System, and the Materials for the Study of Interesting Phenomena of Solidification Earth and in Orbit (MEPHISTO). The three experiments were mounted on two cornected Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS) mounted in the orbiter's cargo bay. The USMP program was managed by the MSFC and the MPESS was developed by the MSFC.

The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) thunders off Launch Pad 39B, embarking on a 10-day flight and carrying a crew of six who will deploy the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS). LAGEOS is a spherical passive satellite covered with reflectors which are illuminated by ground-based lasers to determine precise measurements of the Earth's crustal movements. The other major payload on this mission is the United States Microgravity Payload 1 (USMP-1), where experiments will be conducted by crew members while in low earth orbit (LEO).

The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) thunders off Launch Pad 39B, embarking on a 10-day flight and carrying a crew of six who will deploy the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS). LAGEOS is a spherical passive satellite covered with reflectors which are illuminated by ground-based lasers to determine precise measurements of the Earth's crustal movements. The other major payload on this mission is the United States Microgravity Payload 1 (USMP-1), where experiments will be conducted by crew members while in low earth orbit (LEO).

The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) thunders off Launch Pad 39B, embarking on a 10-day flight and carrying a crew of six who will deploy the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS). LAGEOS is a spherical passive satellite covered with reflectors which are illuminated by ground-based lasers to determine precise measurements of the Earth's crustal movements. The other major payload on this mission is the United States Microgravity Payload 1 (USMP-1), where experiments will be conducted by crew members while in low earth orbit (LEO).

Five NASA astronauts and one Canadian payload specialist composed the STS-52 crew. Pictured on the back row, left to right, are Michael A. Baker, pilot; James B. Wetherbee, commander; and Steven G. Maclean, payload specialist. On the front row, left to right, are mission specialists Charles (Lacy) Veach, Tamara Jernigan, and William Shepherd. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on October 22, 1992 at 1:09:39 p.m. (EDT), the crew’s primary objectives were the deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (LAGEOS II) and operation of the U.S. Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1).

Aligned straight on with the red approach lights, the Orbiter Columbia (STS-52) glides toward Runway 33 of Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility. The six member crew successfully completed deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS), which is a spherical passive satellite covered with reflectors which are illuminated by ground-based lasers to determine precise measurements of the Earth's crustal movements. The crew also completed a series of materials processing experiments in the microgravity environment aboard the United States Microgravity Payload 1 (USMP-1) carried in the orbiter's cargo bay.

STS052-S-001 (July 1992) --- The insignia, designed by the STS-52 crew members, features a large gold star to symbolize the crew's mission on the frontiers of space. A gold star is often used to symbolize the frontier period of the American West. The red star in the shape of the Greek letter lambda represents both the laser measurements to be taken from the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (LAGEOS II) and the Lambda Point Experiment, which is part of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-1). The LAGEOS II is a joint Italian\United States satellite project intended to further our understanding of global plate tectonics. The USMP-1 is a microgravity facility which has French and United States experiments designed to test the theory of cooperative phase transitions and to study the solid\liquid interface of a metallic alloy in the low gravity environment. The Remote Manipulator System (RMS) and maple leaf are emblematic of the Canadian payload specialist who will conduct a series of Canadian flight experiments (CANEX-2), including the Space Vision System test. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

STS052-S-051 (22 Oct 1992) --- This distant 70mm image shows the Space Shuttle Columbia clearing the tower at Launch Pad 39B, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), on its way toward a ten-day Earth-orbital mission with a crew of five NASA astronauts and a Canadian payload specialist. Liftoff occurred at 1:09:39 p.m. (EDT), October 22, 1992. Crew members are astronauts James D. Wetherbee, Michael A. Baker, Tamara E. Jernigan, Charles L. (Lacy) Veach and William M. Shepherd, along with payload specialist Steven G. MacLean. Payloads onboard include the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS II), which will be deployed early in the mission, a series of Canadian experiments, and the United States Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1).

STS052-S-053 (22 Oct. 1992) --- This low-angle 35mm image shows the space shuttle Columbia on its way toward a ten-day Earth-orbital mission with a crew of five NASA astronauts and a Canadian payload specialist. Liftoff occurred at 1:09:39 p.m. (EDT), Oct. 22, from Kennedy Space Center?s (KSC) Launch Pad 39B. Crew members onboard are astronauts James D. Wetherbee, Michael A. Baker, Tamara E. Jernigan, Charles L. (Lacy) Veach and William M. Shepherd, along with payload specialist Steven G. MacLean. Payloads onboard include the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS II), which will be deployed early in the mission, a series of Canadian experiments, and the United States Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1). Photo credit: NASA

STS052-71-057 (22 Oct-1 Nov 1992) --- This 70mm frame, photographed with a handheld Hasselblad camera aimed through Columbia's aft flight deck windows, captures the operation of the Space Vision System (SVS) experiment above the cargo bay. Target dots have been placed on the Canadian Target Assembly (CTA), a small satellite, in the grasp of the Canadian-built remote manipulator system (RMS) arm. SVS utilized a Shuttle TV camera to monitor the dots strategically arranged on the satellite, to be tracked. As the satellite moved via the arm, the SVS computer measured the changing position of the dots and provided real-time television display of the location and orientation of the CTA. This type of displayed information is expected to help an operator guide the RMS or the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) of the future when berthing or deploying satellites. Also visible in the frame is the U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-01).