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Space Exploration

Discovery Returns from an Atmospheric Research Mission

On September 26, 1991, space shuttle Discovery returned to Kennedy Space Center after the STS-48 mission.

On September 26, 1991, the space shuttle Discovery returned to Kennedy Space Center, bringing the STS-48 mission to an end.

Space shuttle Discovery during the STS-48 mission
Discovery returned to Kennedy Space Center on September 26, 1991. · [Add credit after selecting an image]

Studying Earth's atmosphere

During the mission, Discovery deployed the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The observatory was designed to investigate Earth's upper atmosphere, including the protective ozone layer.

Why it matters

STS-48 connected human spaceflight with research about our own planet. The shuttle delivered a scientific observatory to orbit and then returned its crew to Earth.

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