On this day in 1992, the Shuttle Atlantis launched to space for STS-45.
The 46th space shuttle mission and the 11th mission for Atlantis, STS-45 carried a payload of scientific experiments on the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-1) platform. ATLAS-1 carried 12 instruments from several participating countries, including France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Japan.
The nine-day mission was dedicated entirely to the operation of these experiments, which included studies in atmospheric chemistry, solar radiation, space plasma physics and ultraviolet astronomy. The mission was even extended by a day to pack in as much experimentation as possible.
Mission and payload specialists included Michael Foale and Dirk Frimout, astrophysicists from Europe that were instrumental in carrying out the flight’s scientific mission. The Shuttle commander was Charles Bolden, who would go on to become the Administrator of NASA.
