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Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace ShuttleLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
STS-41-B
Launched
February 3, 1984
Summary
STS-41-B launched on a Lockheed Space Operations Company Space Shuttle from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on February 3, 1984. It was Lockheed Space Operations Company's 1st launch, 1st this year and humanity's 2,786th orbital launch attempt. It was the 10th Space Shuttle flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Challenger (STS 41-B), one of 23 catalogued objects, reached a 310 × 319 km orbit inclined 28.4°. 5 crew members flew: Vance D. Brand, Bruce McCandless II, Robert L. Gibson, Ronald McNair and Robert L. Stewart. The spacecraft was Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099). 23 objects from this launch are catalogued, 4 of them payloads.
- Watch
- STS-41B launch & first KSC landing (2-3-84)3210andLiftoff
- Vehicle
- Space Shuttle · Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace Shuttle
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 10th Space Shuttle flight · 1st this yearLockheed Space Operations Company's 1st launch1st this yearhumanity's 2,786th orbital launch attempt11th orbital launch attempt this year
Crew
Vance D. BrandCommander · NASA · age 52 · 3rd flight
Bruce McCandless IIMission Specialist · NASA · age 46 · first flight
Robert L. GibsonPilot · NASA · age 37 · first flight
Ronald McNairMission Specialist · NASA · age 33 · first flight
Robert L. StewartMission Specialist · NASA · age 41 · first flight
Spacecraft
Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099)
Space Shuttle Challenger (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was the second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program to be put into service, after Columbia. Challenger was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, in Downey, California. Its maiden flight, STS-6, began on April 4, 1983. The orbiter was launched and landed nine times before breaking apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission, STS-51-L, on January 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members, including a civilian school teacher. It was the first of two shuttles to be destroyed in flight, the other being Columbia, in 2003. The accident led to a two-and-a-half-year grounding of the shuttle fleet; flights resumed in 1988, with STS-26 flown by Discovery. Challenger was replaced by Endeavour, which was built from structural spares ordered by NASA in the construction contracts for Discovery and Atlantis.
- Destination: Low Earth Orbit
- Mission length: 7 days 23 hours
Space Shuttle Challenger successfully landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility after this mission.
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Challenger (STS 41-B) · NORAD 14681 · 1984-011 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 23 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 1984-011A
- Epoch
- 1984-02-03 13:41:55 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.88174877 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.000643
- Inclination
- 28.45°
- Ascending node
- 175.0484°
- Arg. of perigee
- 275.4873°
- Mean anomaly
- 84.5003°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 8.2977e-7
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
23 catalogued: 4 payloads, 17 debris, 2 components
- Challenger (STS 41-B) · NORAD 14681 · landed February 11, 1984
- Westar 6 · NORAD 14688
- IRT · NORAD 14689 · re-entered February 11, 1984
- Palapa B2 · NORAD 14692
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
STS-41-B was the tenth Space Shuttle mission and the fourth of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It deployed 2 communication satellites and inluded the first untethered spacewalk. It was also the first shuttle mission to land at Kennedy Space Center.
Pad
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
22nd launch from Launch Complex 39A, 1st this year · 27th from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
224 launches from this pad · 283 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
66 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did STS-41-B launch?
STS-41-B launched on February 3, 1984. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch STS-41-B?
Coverage: STS-41B launch & first KSC landing (2-3-84). Watch the replay
What rocket launched STS-41-B?
Space Shuttle, flown by Lockheed Space Operations Company. Space Shuttle spec sheet
Where did STS-41-B launch from?
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.
What orbit did STS-41-B reach?
Challenger (STS 41-B), one of 23 catalogued objects, reached a 310 × 319 km orbit inclined 28.4°.
How many satellites did STS-41-B launch?
4 payloads from this launch are catalogued (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is STS-41-B part of?
Space Shuttle. About Space Shuttle