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Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace ShuttleLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
STS-51-C
Launched
January 24, 1985 · 19:50 UTC
Summary
STS-51-C launched on a Lockheed Space Operations Company Space Shuttle from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on January 24, 1985 at 19:50 UTC. It was Lockheed Space Operations Company's 6th launch, 1st this year and humanity's 2,914th orbital launch attempt. It was the 15th Space Shuttle flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Discovery (STS 51-C), one of 4 catalogued objects, reached a 335 × 344 km orbit inclined 28.4°. 5 crew members flew: Ken Mattingly, Loren Shriver, James Buchli, Ellison Onizuka and Gary Payton. The spacecraft was Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103). 4 objects from this launch are catalogued, 2 of them payloads.
- Watch
- STS-51C launch DiscoveryLuis Moreno
- Vehicle
- Space Shuttle · Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace Shuttle
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Government/Top Secret · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 15th Space Shuttle flight · 1st this yearLockheed Space Operations Company's 6th launch1st this yearhumanity's 2,914th orbital launch attempt10th orbital launch attempt this year
Crew
Ken MattinglyCommander · NASA · age 48 · 3rd flight
Loren ShriverPilot · NASA · age 40 · first flight
James BuchliMission Specialist · NASA · age 39 · first flight
Ellison OnizukaMission Specialist · NASA · age 38 · first flight
Gary PaytonPayload Specialist · USAF · age 36 · first flight
Spacecraft
Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103)
Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger. It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. It also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis.
- Destination: Low Earth Orbit
- Mission length: 3 days 1 hour
Space Shuttle Discovery successfully landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility after this mission.
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Discovery (STS 51-C) · NORAD 15496 · 1985-010 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 4 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 1985-010A
- Epoch
- 1985-01-24 19:31:54 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.79222434 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.000691
- Inclination
- 28.443°
- Ascending node
- 253.6922°
- Arg. of perigee
- 278.498°
- Mean anomaly
- 81.4845°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0.0000011021
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
4 catalogued: 2 payloads, 2 components; 3 still in orbit
- Discovery (STS 51-C) · NORAD 15496 · landed January 27, 1985
- USA 8 · NORAD 15543 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
STS-51-C was the fifteenth flight of the shuttle program and third for the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was the first space shuttle mission dedicated to the United States Department of Defense and therefore, the mission details remain classified.
Pad
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
27th launch from Launch Complex 39A, 1st this year · 32nd from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Local pad time at liftoff: Jan 24, 2:50 PM EST, in daylight
224 launches from this pad · 283 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
77 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did STS-51-C launch?
STS-51-C launched on January 24, 1985 at 19:50 UTC.
Where can I watch STS-51-C?
Coverage: STS-51C launch Discovery. Watch the replay
What rocket launched STS-51-C?
Space Shuttle, flown by Lockheed Space Operations Company. Space Shuttle spec sheet
Where did STS-51-C launch from?
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA. Liftoff was Jan 24, 2:50 PM EST local time at the pad.
What orbit did STS-51-C reach?
Discovery (STS 51-C), one of 4 catalogued objects, reached a 335 × 344 km orbit inclined 28.4°.
How many satellites did STS-51-C launch?
2 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 1 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is STS-51-C part of?
Space Shuttle. About Space Shuttle