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Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace ShuttleLaunch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
STS-61-B
Launched
November 27, 1985
Summary
STS-61-B launched on a Lockheed Space Operations Company Space Shuttle from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA on November 27, 1985. It was Lockheed Space Operations Company's 14th launch, 9th this year and humanity's 3,017th orbital launch attempt. It was the 23rd Space Shuttle flight and the 9th this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Atlantis (STS 61-B), one of 8 catalogued objects, reached a 360 × 366 km orbit inclined 28.5°. 7 crew members flew: Rodolfo Neri Vela, Brewster H. Shaw, Bryan D. O'Connor, Mary L. Cleave, Jerry L. Ross, Sherwood C. Spring and Charles D. Walker. The spacecraft was Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104). 8 objects from this launch are catalogued, 5 of them payloads.
- Watch
- CNN Coverage of The STS-61-B Launchzellco321
- Vehicle
- Space Shuttle · Lockheed Space Operations CompanySpace Shuttle
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 23rd Space Shuttle flight · 9th this yearLockheed Space Operations Company's 14th launch9th this yearhumanity's 3,017th orbital launch attempt113th orbital launch attempt this year
Crew
Rodolfo Neri VelaPayload Specialist · NASA · age 33 · first flight
Brewster H. ShawCommander · NASA · age 40 · 2nd flight
Bryan D. O'ConnorPilot · NASA · age 39 · first flight
Mary L. CleaveMission Specialist · NASA · age 38 · first flight
Jerry L. RossMission Specialist · NASA · age 37 · first flight
Sherwood C. SpringMission Specialist · NASA · age 41 · first flight
Charles D. WalkerPayload Specialist · NASA · age 37 · 3rd flight
Spacecraft
Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104)
Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV‑104) is a Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985, Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J from 3 to 7 October 1985. Atlantis embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on 8 July 2011. STS-134 by Endeavour was expected to be the final flight before STS-135 was authorized in October 2010. STS-135 took advantage of the processing for the STS-335 Launch On Need mission that would have been necessary if STS-134's crew became stranded in orbit. Atlantis landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on 21 July 2011. By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km) or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
- Destination: Low Earth Orbit
- Mission length: 6 days 21 hours
Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base after this mission.
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Atlantis (STS 61-B) · NORAD 16273 · 1985-109 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 8 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- STS 61B
- Object ID
- 1985-109A
- Epoch
- 1985-11-27 01:13:00 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.70950126 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0004595
- Inclination
- 28.4679°
- Ascending node
- 262.1551°
- Arg. of perigee
- 277.37°
- Mean anomaly
- 329.4582°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 1
- B*
- 0.00025731
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
8 catalogued: 5 payloads, 3 components; 4 still in orbit
- Atlantis (STS 61-B) · NORAD 16273 · landed December 3, 1985
- Morelos 2 · NORAD 16274
- Aussat K2 · NORAD 16275
- Satcom K2 · NORAD 16276 · in orbit
- OET · NORAD 16277
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
STS-61-B was the twenty-third space shuttle mission and the second for the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The shuttle was launched for Kennedy Space Center and the shuttle deployed three communicates satellites. It also tested techniques for constructing structures in orbit. This mission marked the quickest turnaround of a shuttle, just 54 days elapsed beetween this launch and Atlantis' previous mission.
Pad
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
35th launch from Launch Complex 39A, 9th this year · 40th 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-B launch?
STS-61-B launched on November 27, 1985. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch STS-61-B?
Coverage: CNN Coverage of The STS-61-B Launch. Watch the replay
What rocket launched STS-61-B?
Space Shuttle, flown by Lockheed Space Operations Company. Space Shuttle spec sheet
Where did STS-61-B launch from?
Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.
What orbit did STS-61-B reach?
Atlantis (STS 61-B), one of 8 catalogued objects, reached a 360 × 366 km orbit inclined 28.5°.
How many satellites did STS-61-B launch?
5 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 1 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is STS-61-B part of?
Space Shuttle. About Space Shuttle