September 12 - 18, 1991
Discovery

Crew & Mission

(STS048-21-004 - 18 September 1991) --- STS-48 crewmembers pose for their traditional onboard (inflight) portrait on the middeck of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. Wearing their crew t-shirts are: (in the front - left to right) Pilot Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr, Commander John O. Creighton, Mission Specialist (MS) James F. Buchli and (in the back - left to right) MS Mark N. Brown and MS Charles D. Gemar. Buchli holds onto the open airlock hatch. Displayed behind the crewmembers is the Middeck Zero ("0") Gravity Dynamics Experiment 01 (MODE-01) structural test article (STA).

The Artwork

(STS048-S-001 - July 1991) --- Designed by the astronaut crewmembers, the STS 48 patch represents the Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery in orbit about the Earth after deploying the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) depicted in block letter style. The stars are those in the Northern Hemisphere as seen in the fall and winter when UARS will begin its study of Earth's atmosphere. The color bands on Earth's horizon, extending up to the UARS spacecraft, depict the study of Earth's atmosphere. The triangular shape represents the relationship among the three atmospheric processes that determine upper atmospheric structure and behavior: chemistry, dynamics and energy. In the words of the crewmembers, "This continuous process brings life to our planet and makes our planet unique in the solar system."

Related & Souvenir