Space Shuttle Projects

The STS-64 patch depicts the Space Shuttle Discovery in a payload-bay-to-Earth attitude with its primary payload, Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE-1) operating in support of Mission to Planet Earth. LITE-1 is a lidar system that uses a three-wavelength laser, symbolized by the three gold rays emanating from the star in the payload bay that form part of the astronaut symbol. The major objective of the LITE-1 is to gather data about the Earth's troposphere and stratosphere, represented by the clouds and dual-colored Earth limb. A secondary payload on STS-64 is the free-flier SPARTAN 201 satellite shown on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm post-retrieval. The RMS also operated another payload, Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment (SPIFEX). A newly tested extravehicular activity (EVA) maneuvering device, Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER), represented symbolically by the two small nozzles on the backpacks of the two untethered EVA crew men. The names of the crew members encircle the patch: Astronauts Richard N. Richards, L. Blaine Hammond, Jr., Jerry M. Linenger, Susan J. Helms, Carl J. Meade and Mark C. Lee. The gold or silver stars by each name represent that person's parent service.