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Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace ShuttleLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
STS-51-B
Launched
April 29, 1985
Summary
STS-51-B launched on a Lockheed Space Operations Company Space Shuttle from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on April 29, 1985. It was Lockheed Space Operations Company's 8th launch, 3rd this year and humanity's 2,939th orbital launch attempt. It was the 17th Space Shuttle flight and the 3rd this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Challenger (STS 51-B), one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 354 × 361 km orbit inclined 57.0°. 7 crew members flew: Don L. Lind, William E. Thornton, Robert F. Overmyer, Frederick D. Gregory, Norman E. Thagard, Lodewijk van den Berg and Taylor Gun-Jin Wang. The spacecraft was Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099). 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, all of them payloads.
- Watch
- STS-51-B Launch CNN Coveragezellco321
- Vehicle
- Space Shuttle · Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace Shuttle
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 17th Space Shuttle flight · 3rd this yearLockheed Space Operations Company's 8th launch3rd this yearhumanity's 2,939th orbital launch attempt35th orbital launch attempt this year
Crew
Don L. LindMission Specialist · NASA · age 54 · first flight
William E. ThorntonMission Specialist · NASA · age 56 · 2nd flight
Robert F. OvermyerCommander · NASA · age 48 · 2nd flight
Frederick D. GregoryPilot · NASA · age 44 · first flight
Norman E. ThagardMission Specialist · NASA · age 41 · 2nd flight
Lodewijk van den BergPayload Specialist · NASA · age 53 · first flight
Taylor Gun-Jin WangPayload Specialist · NASA · age 44 · 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
Space Shuttle Challenger successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base after this mission.
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Challenger (STS 51-B) · NORAD 15665 · 1985-034 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- STS 51B
- Object ID
- 1985-034A
- Epoch
- 1985-04-29 15:55:36 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.72999999 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.000465
- Inclination
- 57°
- Ascending node
- 357.8685°
- Arg. of perigee
- 270°
- Mean anomaly
- 90.0536°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0.0002173
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
2 catalogued: 2 payloads; none still in orbit
- Challenger (STS 51-B) · NORAD 15665 · landed May 6, 1985
- Nusat · NORAD 15666 · re-entered December 15, 1986
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
STS-51-B was the seventeenth flight of the shuttle program and the seventh for Space Shuttle Challenger. It was the second flight for SpaceLab.
Pad
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
29th launch from Launch Complex 39A, 3rd this year · 34th from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
224 launches from this pad · 283 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
17 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did STS-51-B launch?
STS-51-B launched on April 29, 1985. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch STS-51-B?
Coverage: STS-51-B Launch CNN Coverage. Watch the replay
What rocket launched STS-51-B?
Space Shuttle, flown by Lockheed Space Operations Company. Space Shuttle spec sheet
Where did STS-51-B launch from?
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.
What orbit did STS-51-B reach?
Challenger (STS 51-B), one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 354 × 361 km orbit inclined 57.0°.
How many satellites did STS-51-B launch?
2 payloads from this launch are catalogued, none of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is STS-51-B part of?
Space Shuttle. About Space Shuttle