# STS-53

STS-53 was a NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission in support of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It was Discovery's 15th flight. The mission was launched on December 2, 1992, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This was also the last mission to have been operated via MCR-2 in JSC. Afterwards the room was restored entirely to its Apollo era appearance.

## Crew

| Position | Astronaut | Astronaut |
| Commander | David M. Walker Third spaceflight | David M. Walker Third spaceflight |
| Pilot | Robert D. Cabana Second spaceflight | Robert D. Cabana Second spaceflight |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Guion Bluford Fourth and last spaceflight | Guion Bluford Fourth and last spaceflight |
| Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer | James S. Voss Second spaceflight | James S. Voss Second spaceflight |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Michael R. Clifford First spaceflight | Michael R. Clifford First spaceflight |

### Crew seat assignments

| Seat | Launch | Landing | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 1 | Walker | Walker | | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 2 | Cabana | Cabana | | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 3 | Bluford | Clifford | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 4 | Voss | Voss | | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 5 | Clifford | Bluford | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 6 | Unused | Unused | | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
| 7 | Unused | Unused | | Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |

## Mission highlights

Discovery carried a classified primary payload (DOD-1) for the United States Department of Defense (DoD), two unclassified secondary payloads and nine unclassified middeck experiments.
Discovery's primary payload, USA-89 (1992-086B) is also known as "DoD-1", and was the shuttle's last major payload for the Department of Defense. The satellite was the third launch of a Satellite Data System-2 (SDS 2-3) military communications satellite, after USA-40 on STS-28 and STS-38's deployment of USA-67.
Secondary payloads contained in or attached to Get Away Special (GAS) hardware in the cargo bay included the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS) satellites and the combined Shuttle Glow Experiment/Cryogenic Heat Pipe Experiment (GCP).
Middeck experiments included Microcapsules in Space (MIS-l); Space Tissue Loss (STL); Visual Function Tester (VFT-2); Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor (CREAM); Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME-III); Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment (FARE); Hand-held, Earth-oriented, Real-time, Cooperative, User-friendly, Location-targeting and Environmental System (HERCULES); Battlefield Laser Acquisition Sensor Test (BLAST); and the Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS).

## Mission insignia

The five sides represent the Pentagon, the Department of Defense headquarters. The five stars and three stripes of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.