STS-51-B
Encyclopedia
STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of NASA
's Space Shuttle
program, and the seventh flight of Space Shuttle Challenger
. The launch of Challenger on 29 April 1985 was delayed by 2 minutes and 18 seconds, due to a launch processing failure. Challenger was initially rolled out to the pad to launch on the STS-51-E mission. The shuttle was rolled back when a timing issue emerged with the TDRS-B
satellite. When STS-51-E was canceled, Challenger was remanifested with the STS-51-B payloads.
(KSC)'s launchpad 39-A at 12:02 pm EDT on 29 April 1985. The crew members included Robert F. Overmyer
, commander; Frederick D. Gregory
, pilot; Don L. Lind
, Norman E. Thagard and William E. Thornton
, mission specialists; and Lodewijk van den Berg
, of EG&G Energy Management, Inc., and Taylor G. Wang, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
, both payload specialists. STS-51-B was the second flight of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s
modular Shuttle-borne research facility.
STS-51-B was the second flight of the European Space Agency
's Spacelab
, and the first with the Spacelab module in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab's capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity were successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of the orbiter proved quite stable, allowing the delicate experiments in materials processing and fluid mechanics to proceed normally. The crew operated around the clock in two 12-hour shifts. Two squirrel monkey
s and 24 rats were flown in special cages, the second time American astronauts flew live non-human mammal
s aboard the shuttle. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center.
On the mission, Spacelab carried 15 primary experiments, of which 14 were successfully performed. Two Getaway Special
experiments required that they be deployed from their canisters, a first for the program. These were NUSAT (Northern Utah Satellite) and GLOMR (Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite). NUSAT deployed successfully, but GLOMR did not deploy, and was returned to Earth
.
Challenger landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base
at 12:11 pm EDT on 6 May 1985, after a mission lasting 7 days, 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
, Overmyer discovered that a problem with the shuttle's O-rings, similar to that which led to the disaster, had emerged during the launch of STS-51-B. Morton Thiokol engineers told Lind after the mission that "you came within three-tenths of one second of dying."
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
program, and the seventh flight of Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
. The launch of Challenger on 29 April 1985 was delayed by 2 minutes and 18 seconds, due to a launch processing failure. Challenger was initially rolled out to the pad to launch on the STS-51-E mission. The shuttle was rolled back when a timing issue emerged with the TDRS-B
TDRS-B
TDRS-B was an American communications satellite, which was to have formed part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was destroyed when the disintegrated 73 seconds after launch....
satellite. When STS-51-E was canceled, Challenger was remanifested with the STS-51-B payloads.
Crew
Backup crew
Mission parameters
- MassMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
:- Orbiter liftoff: 246880 lbs
- Orbiter landing: 212465 lbs
- Payload: 34415 lbs
- PerigeePerigeePerigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
: 215 miles (346 km) - Apogee: 219 miles (352.4 km)
- InclinationInclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
: 57.0° - PeriodOrbital periodThe orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
: 91.5 min
Mission summary
Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space CenterKennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
(KSC)'s launchpad 39-A at 12:02 pm EDT on 29 April 1985. The crew members included Robert F. Overmyer
Robert F. Overmyer
Robert Franklyn Overmyer, Colonel, United States Marine Corps, Ret. was an American test pilot and NASA astronaut. He was born in Lorain, Ohio, but considered Westlake, Ohio his hometown.-Early life:...
, commander; Frederick D. Gregory
Frederick D. Gregory
Frederick Drew Gregory is a former NASA astronaut and former NASA Deputy Administrator. He also served briefly as NASA Acting Administrator in early 2005, covering the period between the departure of Sean O'Keefe and the swearing in of Michael Griffin.-Personal data:Gregory was born on January 7,...
, pilot; Don L. Lind
Don L. Lind
Don Leslie Lind is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut.-Education:Lind attended Midvale Elementary School and graduated from Jordan High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors in physics from the University of Utah in 1953...
, Norman E. Thagard and William E. Thornton
William E. Thornton
William Edgar Thornton is a former NASA Astronaut. Thornton was born in Faison, North Carolina, and is married with two sons to the former Elizabeth Jennifer Fowler of Hertfordshire, England.-Education:...
, mission specialists; and Lodewijk van den Berg
Lodewijk van den Berg
Lodewijk van den Berg is a Dutch American chemical engineer, specializing in crystal growth, who flew on a 1985 Space Shuttle Challenger mission as a Payload Specialist....
, of EG&G Energy Management, Inc., and Taylor G. Wang, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
, both payload specialists. STS-51-B was the second flight of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
modular Shuttle-borne research facility.
STS-51-B was the second flight of the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
's Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
, and the first with the Spacelab module in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab's capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity were successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of the orbiter proved quite stable, allowing the delicate experiments in materials processing and fluid mechanics to proceed normally. The crew operated around the clock in two 12-hour shifts. Two squirrel monkey
Squirrel monkey
The squirrel monkeys are the New World monkeys of the genus Saimiri. They are the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae.Squirrel monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America in the canopy layer. Most species have parapatric or allopatric ranges in the Amazon, while S...
s and 24 rats were flown in special cages, the second time American astronauts flew live non-human mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s aboard the shuttle. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center.
On the mission, Spacelab carried 15 primary experiments, of which 14 were successfully performed. Two Getaway Special
Getaway Special
Getaway Special was a NASA program that offered interested individuals, or groups, opportunities to fly small experiments aboard the Space Shuttle...
experiments required that they be deployed from their canisters, a first for the program. These were NUSAT (Northern Utah Satellite) and GLOMR (Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite). NUSAT deployed successfully, but GLOMR did not deploy, and was returned to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
Challenger landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
at 12:11 pm EDT on 6 May 1985, after a mission lasting 7 days, 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Connection to the Challenger disaster
While participating in the investigation into the destruction of Challenger during STS-51-L in 1986Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
, Overmyer discovered that a problem with the shuttle's O-rings, similar to that which led to the disaster, had emerged during the launch of STS-51-B. Morton Thiokol engineers told Lind after the mission that "you came within three-tenths of one second of dying."
See also
- SpaceflightSpaceflightSpaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
- Space Shuttle programSpace Shuttle programNASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
- Space Shuttle Challenger disasterSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of human spaceflights chronologically