![[AUTO] Space Shuttle - image](/media?u=https%3A%2F%2Fthespacedevs-prod.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2Fspace_shuttle_image_20230422074810.jpeg&w=1600)
Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace ShuttleLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
STS-61-A
Launched
October 30, 1985
Summary
STS-61-A launched on a Lockheed Space Operations Company Space Shuttle from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on October 30, 1985. It was Lockheed Space Operations Company's 13th launch, 8th this year and humanity's 3,012th orbital launch attempt. It was the 22nd Space Shuttle flight and the 8th this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Challenger (STS 61-A), one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 327 × 339 km orbit inclined 57.0°. 8 crew members flew: Reinhard Furrer, Henry 'Hank' Hartsfield, Ernst Messerschmid, Wubbo Ockels, Steven R. Nagel, Guion Bluford, James Buchli and Bonnie J. Dunbar. The spacecraft was Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099). 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, all of them payloads.
- Watch
- CNN Coverage of The STS-61-A Launchzellco321
- Vehicle
- Space Shuttle · Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace Shuttle
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 22nd Space Shuttle flight · 8th this yearLockheed Space Operations Company's 13th launch8th this yearhumanity's 3,012th orbital launch attempt108th orbital launch attempt this year
Crew
Reinhard FurrerPayload Specialist · DLR · age 44 · first flight
Henry 'Hank' HartsfieldCommander · NASA · age 51 · 3rd flight
Ernst MesserschmidPayload Specialist · DLR · age 40 · first flight
Wubbo OckelsPayload Specialist · ESA · age 39 · first flight
Steven R. NagelPilot · NASA · age 39 · 2nd flight
Guion BlufordMission Specialist · NASA · age 42 · 2nd flight
James BuchliMission Specialist · NASA · age 40 · 2nd flight
Bonnie J. DunbarMission Specialist · NASA · age 36 · 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 61-A) · NORAD 16230 · 1985-104 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- STS 61A
- Object ID
- 1985-104A
- Epoch
- 1985-10-30 16:54:47 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.81578235 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0008976
- Inclination
- 56.9998°
- Ascending node
- 193.9017°
- Arg. of perigee
- 296.0155°
- Mean anomaly
- 63.9993°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0.00025592
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 61-A) · NORAD 16230 · landed November 6, 1985
- GLOMR · NORAD 16231 · re-entered December 26, 1986
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
STS-61-A was the twenty-second space shuttle flight and ninth for Space Shuttle Challenger. It was a scientific spacelab mission funded entirely by West Germany. The payload operations were controlled from the German Space Operations Center as opposed to the regular NASA centers.
Pad
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
34th launch from Launch Complex 39A, 8th this year · 39th from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
224 launches from this pad · 283 from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
27 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did STS-61-A launch?
STS-61-A launched on October 30, 1985. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch STS-61-A?
Coverage: CNN Coverage of The STS-61-A Launch. Watch the replay
What rocket launched STS-61-A?
Space Shuttle, flown by Lockheed Space Operations Company. Space Shuttle spec sheet
Where did STS-61-A launch from?
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.
What orbit did STS-61-A reach?
Challenger (STS 61-A), one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 327 × 339 km orbit inclined 57.0°.
How many satellites did STS-61-A launch?
2 payloads from this launch are catalogued, none of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is STS-61-A part of?
Space Shuttle. About Space Shuttle