Mission STS-85
Mission description
Text version
A Viking ship, a space shuttle and a dragon highlight this flight patch for Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason, who was on board Space Shuttle Discovery during Mission STS-85.
Discovery is the theme for this emblem. As payload specialist, Bjarni's first priority was to test Canadian scientific hardware and techniques that could enhance the success of the International Space Station (ISS) (ISS), the world's foremost microgravity laboratory for fluid physics and material science. The Microgravity Vibration Isolation Mount (MIM) is one such technology that let scientists explore the behaviour of materials and fluids in near-perfect weightlessness and that was later adapted for use on the ISS.
The desire to explore is an ancient reflex that in modern times is expressed through our space flights. The Viking ship with shuttle prow and Canadian maple leaf sail celebrates the discovery of Bjarni's adopted land by his Icelandic forefathers. The seven stars, one for each Canadian flight, lead to the Space Station in the distance. The lurking dragon-shape embedded in the heavens evokes a Norse representation of the dangers of the unknown. With courage, we are beginning to explore this great ocean of mystery beyond Earth.
The patch was designed by Canadian artist Warren Oddsson with assistance from Paul Fjeld.
Patch STS-85. (Credit: Canadian Space Agency)
Launch
Date: August 7, 1997
Time: 10:41:00 a.m. EDT
Site: Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Landing
Date: August 19, 1997
Time: 07:07:59 a.m. EDT
Site: Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Mission duration: 11 days 20 h 28 min 07 s
Flight number: STS-85
Orbiter vehicle: Discovery
Payloads: Microgravity Vibration Isolation Mount (MIM), Technology Applications and Science-01 (TAS-01), International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker-02 (IEH-02), Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (SEH), Ultraviolet Spectrograph Telescope for Astronomical Research (UVSTAR).
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason was the Payload Specialist during STS-85, a mission dedicated to space science and hardware-testing for application on the International Space Station (ISS).
Tryggvason successfully operated a Canadian technology he helped to develop: the Microgravity Vibration Isolation Mount (MIM). Designed to isolate payloads from vibrations, this technology would later be adapted for the Canadian Microgravity Vibration Isolation Subsystem (MVIS) currently installed on the ISS.
During STS-85, the Canadarm deployed and retrieved the CRISTA-SPAS payload, which consisted of three telescopes and four spectrometers to measure trace gases in the Earth's middle atmosphere.
Mission STS-85 crew
From left to right. Back row: Robert L. Curbeam, Jr, Stephen K. Robinson, N. Jan Davis and Bjarni Tryggvason.
Front row: Curtis L. Brown, Jr and Kent V. Rominger. (Credit: NASA)