Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace ShuttleLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

STS-51-F

Name: STS-51-F launch
Start: 1985-07-29T21:00:00.000Z
Location: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launched

July 29, 1985 · 21:00 UTC

Launch Successful

Summary

STS-51-F launched on a Lockheed Space Operations Company Space Shuttle from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on July 29, 1985 at 21:00 UTC. It was Lockheed Space Operations Company's 10th launch, 5th this year and humanity's 2,968th orbital launch attempt. It was the 19th Space Shuttle flight and the 5th this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Challenger (STS 51-F), one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 206 × 273 km orbit inclined 49.5°. 7 crew members flew: Karl Henize, Anthony W. England, Story Musgrave, C. Gordon Fullerton, Roy D. Bridges Jr., Loren Acton and John-David F. Bartoe. The spacecraft was Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099). 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, all of them payloads.

Watch: NASA STS-51F space shuttle launch, SSME shutdown and mid-ascent Abort To Orbit (ATO) - July 29, 1985Matthew Travis
Vehicle: Space Shuttle · Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace Shuttle
Booster: No booster details on record.
Mission: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Milestone: 19th Space Shuttle flight · 5th this yearLockheed Space Operations Company's 10th launch5th this yearhumanity's 2,968th orbital launch attempt64th orbital launch attempt this year

Crew

7 people

Karl HenizeMission Specialist · NASA · age 58 · first flight
Anthony W. EnglandMission Specialist · NASA · age 43 · first flight
Story MusgraveMission Specialist · NASA · age 49 · 2nd flight
C. Gordon FullertonCommander · NASA · age 48 · 2nd flight
Roy D. Bridges Jr.Pilot · NASA · age 42 · first flight
Loren ActonPayload Specialist · LMT · age 49 · first flight
John-David F. BartoePayload Specialist · USN · age 40 · 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 22 hours

Space Shuttle Challenger successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base after this mission.

Flight preview

Orbit: as tracked

49.5°Inclination

206 × 273 kmPerigee × apogeefrom mean elements

89.2 minPeriodfrom mean elements

155.5°Ascending node

15053 d agoElement epoch1985-07-29 21:35 UTC · stale

Challenger (STS 51-F) · NORAD 15925 · 1985-063 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects

Show the numbers

Object: STS 51F
Object ID: 1985-063A
Epoch: 1985-07-29 21:35:06 UTC
Mean motion: 16.15243454 rev/day
Eccentricity: 0.0050772
Inclination: 49.4969°
Ascending node: 155.5144°
Arg. of perigee: 335.8433°
Mean anomaly: 181.9471°
Element set: 999
Rev at epoch: 0
B*: 0.00024499

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

Challenger (STS 51-F) · NORAD 15925 · landed August 6, 1985
PDP · NORAD 15929

Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org

About this launch

STS-51-F was the nineteenth flight of the shuttle program and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. It flew in orbit for 8 days performing science in Spacelab 2.

Pad

Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

31st launch from Launch Complex 39A, 5th this year · 36th from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Local pad time at liftoff: Jul 29, 5:00 PM EDT, in daylight

224 launches from this pad · 283 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

42 days after the previous launch from this pad

All launches from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA Open in maps

Questions

When did STS-51-F launch?

STS-51-F launched on July 29, 1985 at 21:00 UTC.

Where can I watch STS-51-F?

Coverage: NASA STS-51F space shuttle launch, SSME shutdown and mid-ascent Abort To Orbit (ATO) - July 29, 1985. Watch the replay

What rocket launched STS-51-F?

Space Shuttle, flown by Lockheed Space Operations Company. Space Shuttle spec sheet

Where did STS-51-F launch from?

Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA. Liftoff was Jul 29, 5:00 PM EDT local time at the pad.

What orbit did STS-51-F reach?

Challenger (STS 51-F), one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 206 × 273 km orbit inclined 49.5°.

How many satellites did STS-51-F launch?

2 payloads from this launch are catalogued (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).

Which program is STS-51-F part of?

Space Shuttle. About Space Shuttle