STS-51-B

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STS-51-B
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	STS-51-B
Space shuttle	Challenger
Launch pad	39-A
Launch date	April 29, 1985, 16:02:18 UTC
Landing	May 6, 1985, 16:11:04 UTC Edwards AFB, Runway 17
Mission duration	7d/00:08:46
Number of orbits	111
Orbital altitude	411 km
Orbital inclination	57.0°
Distance traveled	4,651,621 km
Crew photo
L-R: (sitting): Overmyer, Gregory (standing): Lind, Wang, Thagard, Thornton, van den Berg
Related missions
Previous mission Next mission STS-51-D STS-51-G

STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of Challenger.

[edit] Crew

[edit] Backup crew

[edit] Mission parameters

• Mass:
  • Orbiter liftoff: 111,676 kg
  • Orbiter landing: 96,097 kg
  • Payload: 11,061 kg
• Perigee: 346 km
• Apogee: 353 km
• Inclination: 57.0°
• Period: 91.5 min

[edit] Mission highlights

The Orbiter Challenger lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:02 p.m. EDT on April 29, 1985. This was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab, the first in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab 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 monkeys and 24 rodents were flown in special cages, the first time American astronauts flew live non-human mammals aboard. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center. Challenger landed at Edwards AFB. Wheel motion stopped at 12:11 p.m. EDT on May 6, 1985, after a mission duration of 7 days, 0 hours and 8 minutes.

The crew members were 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 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, payload specialists. Payload and Experiments. Five basic discipline areas: materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics. and astronomy main mission objective with Spacelab-3 was to provide high quality microgravity environment for delicate materials processing and fluid experiments. Spacelab 3 carried a large number of experiments, including 15 primary ones, of which 14 were successfully performed. There were five basic discipline areas: materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics, and astronomy—with numerous experiments in each. Two Getaway Special experiments required that they be deployed from their canisters, a "first" in this 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.

[edit] See also

• Space science
• Space shuttle
• List of space shuttle missions
• List of human spaceflights chronologically

[edit] External links

• NASA mission summary
• STS-51B Video Highlights