STS-51-B

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-51-B
insignia = Sts-51-b-patch.png shuttle = Challenger
launch_pad = 39-A
launch = April 29, 1985, 16:02:18 UTC
landing = May 6, 1985, 16:11:04 UTC
Edwards AFB, Runway 17
duration = 7d/00:08:46
altitude = 411 km
inclination = 57.0°
orbits = 111
distance = 4,651,621 km
crew_photo = STS-51-B_crew.jpg
crew_caption = L-R: (sitting): Overmyer, Gregory (standing): Lind, Wang, Thagard, Thornton, van den Berg
previous = STS-51-D
next = STS-51-G

STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of "Challenger".

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.

*Robert F. Overmyer (2) - Commander
*Frederick D. Gregory (1) - Pilot
*Don L. Lind (1) - Mission Specialist
*Norman E. Thagard (2) - Mission Specialist
*William E. Thornton (2) - Mission Specialist
*Lodewijk van den Berg (1) - Payload Specialist
*Taylor G. Wang (1) - Payload Specialist

Backup crew

*Mary Johnston - Payload Specialist
*Eugene H. Trinh - Payload Specialist

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter liftoff:" 111,676 kg
**"Orbiter landing:" 96,097 kg
**"Payload:" 11,061 kg
*Perigee: 346 km
*Apogee: 353 km
*Inclination: 57.0°
*Period: 91.5 min

Mission highlights

The Orbiter "Challenger" lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:02 p.m. EDT on April 29, 1985. This was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab, the first in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity were successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of the orbiter proved quite stable, allowing the delicate experiments in materials processing and fluid mechanics to proceed normally. The crew operated around the clock in two 12-hour shifts. Two monkeys and 24 rodents were flown in special cages, the first time American astronauts flew live non-human mammals aboard. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center. "Challenger" landed at Edwards AFB. Wheel motion stopped at 12:11 p.m. EDT on May 6, 1985, after a mission duration of 7 days, 0 hours and 8 minutes.

The crew members were Robert F. Overmyer, commander; Frederick D. Gregory, pilot; Don L. Lind, Norman E. Thagard and William E. Thornton, mission specialists; and Lodewijk van den Berg, of EG&G Energy Management, Inc., and Taylor G. Wang, of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, payload specialists. Payload and Experiments. Five basic discipline areas: materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics. and astronomy main mission objective with Spacelab-3 was to provide high quality microgravity environment for delicate materials processing and fluid experiments. Spacelab 3 carried a large number of experiments, including 15 primary ones, of which 14 were successfully performed. There were five basic discipline areas: materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics, and astronomy—with numerous experiments in each. Two Getaway Special experiments required that they be deployed from their canisters, a "first" in this program. These were NUSAT (Northern Utah Satellite) and GLOMR (Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite). NUSAT deployed successfully, but GLOMR did not deploy and was returned to Earth.

ee also

* Space science
* Space shuttle
* List of space shuttle missions
* List of human spaceflights chronologically

External links

* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-b/mission-51-b.html NASA mission summary]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle17.htm STS-51B Video Highlights]