STS-61-A

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-61-A
insignia = STS-61-a-patch.png shuttle = Challenger
launch_pad = 39A
launch = October 30, 1985, 17:00:00 UTC
landing = November 6, 1985, 17:44:51 UTC
duration = 7d/00:44:51
altitude = 207 nautical miles
inclination = 57°
orbits = 112
distance =
crew_photo = STS-61-A_crew.jpg
crew_caption = Back L-R: Nagel, Bluford, Messerschmid, OckelsFront L-R: Furrer, Dunbar, Buchli, Hartsfield
previous = STS-51-J
next = STS-61-B

STS-61-A was the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. It was a scientific Spacelab mission booked by Germany - hence the payload name D-1 (for "Deutschland 1"). It was also the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle "Challenger". STS-61-A holds the record for the largest crew, eight people, aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.

Crew

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

*Henry W. Hartsfield (3) - Commander
*Steven R. Nagel (2) - Pilot
*Bonnie J. Dunbar (1) - Mission Specialist
*James F. Buchli (2) - Mission Specialist
*Guion S. Bluford (2) - Mission Specialist
*Reinhard Furrer (1) - Payload Specialist - flag|West Germany DLR
*Ernst Messerschmid (1) - Payload Specialist - flag|West Germany DLR
*Wubbo Ockels (1) - Payload Specialist - flag|Netherlands ESA

Backup crew

*Ulf Merbold - Payload Specialist - flag|West Germany ESA

Mission parameters

*Mass:
**"Orbiter liftoff:" 110,568 kg
**"Orbiter landing:" 97,144 kg
**"Payload:" 14,451 kg
*Perigee: 319 km
*Apogee: 331 km
*Inclination: 57.0°
*Period: 91.0 min

Mission highlights

The Orbiter "Challenger" lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC,at noon EST on October 30, 1985. This was the first Space Shuttle mission largely financed and operated by another nation, West Germany. Itwas also the first Space Shuttle flight to carry a crew of eight. Theprimary mission was to operate a series of experiments, almost all relatedto functions in microgravity, in Spacelab D-1, the fourth flight of aSpacelab. Two other mission assignments were to deploy the Global LowOrbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR) out of a Getaway Special canisterin the cargo bay, and operate five materials processing experimentsmounted in the cargo bay on a separate device called the German UniqueSupport Structure.
NASA operated the Space Shuttle, and was responsible for overallsafety and control functions throughout the flight. West Germany wasresponsible for the scientific research carried out during the seven-daymission. To fulfill this function German scientific controllers on theground worked closely with the personnel in orbit, operating out of theGerman Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, WestGermany. The orbiting crew divided into two teams, and operated 24-h aday. Communications were very good throughout the mission and the groundand orbital crews were able to interact regularly. The overall system ofone Center controlling spacecraft operations and a second controllingexperiment functions worked very smoothly in practice.

The GLOMR satellite was successfully deployed during themission. The five experiments mounted on the separate structure behindthe Spacelab module obtained good data. Orbiter "Challenger" landed onRunway 17 at Edwards AFB on November 6, 1985. The wheels stopped rolling at 12:45 p.m. EST, after a mission duration of 7 days, 0 h, and 45 min. The crew members were Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., commander; Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli and Guion S. Bluford, mission specialists; and Ernst Messerschmid and Reinhard Furrer, West Germany, along with Wubbo Ockels, European Space Agency, payload specialists, encompassed some 75 numbered experiments, most of which were performed more than once. Some of these experiments had predecessorswhich had returned data obtained on earlier flights. This made it possible to prepare experiment regimens that were 'second generation' with respect to technical concept and experiment installation. Almost all of them took advantage of the microgravity environment to perform work not possible, or very much more difficult to do, on Earth. The major area of concentration was materials science, in which West Germany has a well developed expertise.

The primary areas of experiment concentration were: fluid physics, with experiments in capillarity, Marangoni convection, diffusion phenomena, and critical point; solidification experiments; single crystal growth; composites; biological, including cell functions, developmental processes, and the ability of plants to perceive gravity; medical, including the gravitational perceptions of humans, and their adaptation processes in space; and speed-time interaction studies of people working in space.

One equipment item of unusual interest was the VestibularSled, an ESA contribution consisting of a seat for a test subject thatcould be moved backward and forward with precisely controlledaccelerations and stops, along rails fixed to the floor of the Spacelabaisle. By taking detailed measurements on a human strapped into the seat,scientists gained data on the functional organization of the humanvestibular and orientation systems, and the vestibular adaptationprocesses under microgravity. The acceleration experiments by the sledriders were combined with thermal stimulations of the inner ear andoptokinetic stimulations of the eye.

Overall, this was the most comprehensive series of experimentsto date on materials processing in space and associated human activities,adding a rich store to humanity's knowledge. The data that was gainedwill require years of analysis.

Dedicated German Spacelab (D-1) mission conducted in long module configuration, which featured Vestibular Sled designed to give scientists data on functional organization of human vestibular and orientation systems. Spacelab D-1 encompassed 75 numbered experiments, most performed more than once. Mission included basic and applied microgravity research in fields of materials science, life sciences and technology, and communications and navigation. Though orbiter controlled from Johnson Space Center, scientific operations controlled from German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich. Other objectives: Global Low Orbiting Message Relay (GLOMR) satellite deployed from Get Away Special canister.

This was the Shuttle "Challenger"'s last successful mission before the STS-51-L disaster.

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/61-a/mission-61-a.html NASA mission summary]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle22.htm STS-61A Video Highlights]