WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

During STS-39 mission operations, the Shuttle Pallet Satellite II (SPAS-II) / Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) spacecraft is released by the Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, remote manipulator system (RMS) end effector. SPAS-II/IBSS drifts away from the end effector over the cloud-covered surface of the Earth. Components visible on the spacecraft include the grapple fixture, the longeron trunnion, scuff plate, cryostat, and Arizona Imager/Spectrograph (AIS) (in shadows). SPAS-II is a Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) payload.