SPARTAN-201
Deployment of SPARTAN
Spartan 201-04 was a Solar Physics Spacecraft designed to perform remote sensing of the hot outer layers of the sun's atmosphere or solar corona. It was expected to be deployed on orbit 18 and retrieved on orbit 52. The objective of the observations was to investigate the mechanisms causing the heating of the solar corona and the acceleration of the solar wind that originates in the corona. Two primary experiments were the Ultraviolet Coronal Spectrometer from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the White Light Coronograph (WLC) from the High Altitude Observatory. Spartan 201 had three secondary experiments. The Technology Experiment Augmenting Spartan (TEXAS) was a Radio Frequency (RF) communications experiment that provided flight experience for components baselined on future Spartan missions, and a real-time communications and control link with the primary Spartan 201 experiments. This link was used to provide a fine-pointing adjustment to the WLC based on solar images downlinked in real-time. The Video Guidance Sensor (VGS) Flight Experiment was a laser guidance system that tested a key component of the Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) system

The Spartan Auxiliary Mounting Plate (SPAM) was a small equipment mounting plate that provided a mounting location for small experiments or auxiliary equipment of the Spartan Flight Support Structure (SFSS) It was a honeycomb plate using an experimental silicon carbide aluminum face sheet material with an aluminum core.

STS-87 flew the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4), Spartan-201, Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment (OARE), TEVA Demonstration Flight Test 5 (EDFT-05), the Shuttle Ozone Limb Sending Experiment (SOLSE), the Loop Heat Pipe (LHP), the Sodium Sulfur Battery Experiment (NaSBE), the Turbulent GAS Jet Diffusion (G-744) experiment, and the Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera/Sprint (AERCam Sprint) experiment. Mid-deck experiments included the Middeck Glovebox Payload (MGBX) and the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE).
The United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) was a Spacelab project managed by Marshall Space Flight Centre, Huntsville, Alabama. The complement of microgravity research experiments was divided between two Mission-Peculiar Experiment Support Structures (MPESS) in the payload bay. The extended mission capability offered by the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) kit provides an opportunity for additional science gathering time.

There have been a number of accomplishments during this mission to include: Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace, Confined Helium Experiment, Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment, Space Acceleration Measurement System, Orbital Acceleration Research Experiment, Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment, Loop Heat Pipe, Sodium Sulfur Battery Experiment, Turbulent Gas Jet Diffusion Flames, Get Away Special, Extended Duration Orbiter, Middeck Glove Box, Collaborative Ukraine Experiment, Autonomous EVA Robotic Camera.

A comic character in space
The mission marked a lesser-known first for having a comic book character being created for a space-going mission, the first to actually fly into space, and the first to safely return to Earth. The sponsor and manager of the Enclosed Laminar Flames experiment, Lewis Stocker, noticed the experiment's abbreviation as ELF and, being an avowed reader of the comic book series Elfquest, asked the series' creators Richard and Wendy Pini to create a logo. Originally, he hoped the series' own stargazer, Skywise, could be used, but to avoid copyright issues, a unique character was created to accompany the experiment insignia, whose name was dubbed Starfire.