STS-93 was the first mission in space shuttle history to be commanded by a woman, Eileen Collins. This was the shortest scheduled mission since 1990.

On the first day of the scheduled five-day mission, the Chandra X-ray Observatory was deployed from Columbia's payload bay. Chandra's two-stage Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propelled the observatory into a transfer orbit of 205 miles by 44,759 miles in altitude.

Following the second IUS burn, Chandra's solar arrays were deployed and the IUS separated from the observatory as planned.

During the rest of the mission secondary payloads and experiments were activated. The Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System (SWUIS) was used aboard Columbia to capture ultraviolet imagery of Earth, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter.

Astronauts monitored several plant growth experiments and collected data from a biological cell culture experiment. They used the exercise treadmill and the Treadmill Vibration Information System to measure vibrations and changes in microgravity levels caused by on-orbit workouts. High Definition Television equipment was tested for future use on both the shuttle and the International Space Station to conform to evolving broadcasting industry standards for television products.