STS-51-B was the 17th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the seventh flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. The launch of Challenger on April 29, 1985, was delayed by 2 minutes and 18 seconds, due to a launch processing failure. Challenger was initially rolled out to the pad to launch on the STS-51E mission. The shuttle was rolled back when a timing issue emerged with the TDRS-B satellite. When STS-51E was canceled, Challenger was remanifested with the STS-51-B payloads. The shuttle landed successfully on May 6, 1985, after a week-long mission.
![]() Overmyer, Lind, van den Berg, and Thornton in Spacelab Module LM1 during flight | |
Names | Space Transportation System-17 Spacelab 3 |
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Mission type | Microgravity research |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1985-034A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 15665 |
Mission duration | 7 days, 0 hour, 8 minutes, 46 seconds (achieved) |
Distance travelled | 4,651,621 km (2,890,383 mi) |
Orbits completed | 111 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Challenger |
Launch mass | 111,980 kg (246,870 lb) |
Landing mass | 96,373 kg (212,466 lb) |
Payload mass | 15,610 kg (34,410 lb) |
Crew | |
Crew size | 7 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | April 29, 1985, 16:02:18 UTC |
Rocket | Space Shuttle Challenger |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | Rockwell International |
End of mission | |
Landing date | May 6, 1985, 16:11:04 UTC |
Landing site | Edwards Air Force Base, Runway 17 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 346 km (215 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 352 km (219 mi) |
Inclination | 57.00° |
Period | 91.50 minutes |
![]() STS 51-B mission patch ![]() (Sitting): Robert F. Overmyer, Frederick D. Gregory (Standing): Don L. Lind, Taylor G. Wang, Norman E. Thagard, William E. Thornton, Lodewijk van den Berg Space Shuttle program |
Position | Astronaut | |
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Commander | Robert F. Overmyer ![]() Second and last spaceflight | |
Pilot | Frederick D. Gregory ![]() First spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 1 | Don L. Lind ![]() Only spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 2 | Norman E. Thagard ![]() Second spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 3 | William E. Thornton ![]() Second and last spaceflight | |
Payload Specialist 1 | Lodewijk van den Berg ![]() Only spaceflight | |
Payload Specialist 2 | Taylor G. Wang ![]() Only spaceflight |
Position | Astronaut | |
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Payload Specialist 1 | Mary Helen Johnston ![]() First spaceflight | |
Payload Specialist 2 | Eugene H. Trinh ![]() First spaceflight |
Seat[1] | Launch | Landing | ![]() Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck. |
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S1 | Overmyer | Overmyer | |
S2 | Gregory | Gregory | |
S3 | Lind | Lind | |
S4 | Thagard | Thagard | |
S5 | Thornton | Thornton | |
S6 | van den Berg | van den Berg | |
S7 | Wang | Wang |
The mission insignia features the Challenger with her payload doors open, to show the onboard Spacelab 3. The orbiter rides over the American flag. The seven crewmembers are represented by the 7 stars on the patch, that indirectly refer to the Mercury Seven as a nod to their legacy. Behind the orbiter, the contours of Pegasus can be seen, as a reference to the European Space Agency (ESA). The white board surrounding it all has the appearance of a space suit helmet, with the names of the two respective teams grouped around them on a round band encircling the insignia , and the two mission specialists on an added section below. To further create some sort of contrast, the team colors are reprised for each member's name.
Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC)'s launch pad 39A at 12:02:18 p.m. EDT on April 29, 1985. The crew members included 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 the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), both payload specialists.[2] Average age of 48.6 was the oldest for an American space mission.[3] Similar to the previous Spacelab mission (STS-9), the crew was divided roughly in half to cover 12-hour shifts, with Overmyer, Lind, Thornton and Wang forming the Gold team, and Gregory, Thagard and van den Berg as the Silver team.
STS-51-B was the second flight of the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Spacelab pressurized module, and the first with the Spacelab module in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab's 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 squirrel monkeys and 24 rats were flown in special cages,[4] the second time American astronauts flew live non-human mammals aboard the shuttle. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center.
On the mission, Spacelab carried 15 primary experiments, of which 14 were successfully performed. Two Getaway Special (GAS) experiments required that they be deployed from their canisters, a first for the 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.
Challenger landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base at 12:11:04 p.m. EDT on May 6, 1985, after a mission lasting 7 days, 0 hour, 8 minutes, and 46 seconds.
While participating in the investigation into the destruction of Challenger during STS-51L in 1986, Overmyer discovered that a problem with the shuttle's O-rings, similar to that which led to the disaster, had emerged during the launch of STS-51B. Morton-Thiokol engineers told Lind after the mission that "you came within three-tenths of one second of dying".[5] It was the problem with the O-rings on the left solid rocket motor (SRM) on this launch (SRM-16A) that prompted Roger Boisjoly to write a memo to Bob Lund about the potential for the O-rings to cause catastrophic failure.[6]
Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) | ||
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← 1984 · Orbital launches in 1985 · 1986 → | |
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Sakigake | Kosmos 1616 | Kosmos 1617 · Kosmos 1618 · Kosmos 1619 · Kosmos 1620 · Kosmos 1621 · Kosmos 1622 | Molniya-3 No.36 | Kosmos 1623 | Kosmos 1624 | Gorizont No.21L | Kosmos 1625 | Kosmos 1626 | STS-51-C (USA-8) | Kosmos 1627 | Kosmos 1628 | Meteor-2 No.13 | USA-9 | Arabsat-1A · Brasilsat A1 | Kosmos 1629 | Kosmos 1630 | Kosmos 1631 | Kosmos 1632 | Kosmos 1633 | Geosat | Kosmos 1634 | Kosmos 1635 · Kosmos 1636 · Kosmos 1637 · Kosmos 1638 · Kosmos 1639 · Kosmos 1640 · Kosmos 1641 · Kosmos 1642 | Ekran No.28L | Intelsat VA F-10 | Kosmos 1643 | Kosmos 1644 | STS-51-D (Anik C1 · Leasat 3) | Unnamed | Kosmos 1645 | Kosmos 1646 | Kosmos 1647 | Kosmos 1648 | Prognoz 10 | STS-51-B (Nusat) | GStar-1 · Telecom 1B | Kosmos 1649 | Kosmos 1650 · Kosmos 1651 · Kosmos 1652 | Kosmos 1653 | Kosmos 1654 | Molniya-3 No.39 | Kosmos 1655 | Kosmos 1656 | Soyuz T-13 | Kosmos 1657 | Kosmos 1658 | Kosmos 1659 | Kosmos 1660 | STS-51-G (Morelos 1 · Arabsat-1B · Telstar 3D · SPARTAN-101) | Kosmos 1661 | Kosmos 1662 | Progress 24 | Kosmos 1663 | Unnamed | Kosmos 1664 | Intelsat VA F-11 | Giotto | Kosmos 1665 | Kosmos 1666 | Kosmos 1667 | Kosmos 1668 | Molniya-3 No.37 | Kosmos 1669 | STS-51-F (PDP) | Kosmos 1670 | Kosmos 1671 | Transit-O 24 · Transit-O 30 | Kosmos 1672 · Kosmos 1672 | Kosmos 1673 | Kosmos 1674 | Gran' No.26L | Kosmos 1675 | Kosmos 1676 | Suisei | Molniya-1 No.61 | Kosmos 1677 | STS-51-I (Aussat A1 · ASC-1 · Leasat 4) | Unnamed | Kosmos 1678 | Kosmos 1679 | Kosmos 1680 | Kosmos 1681 | ECS-3 · Spacenet 3 | Soyuz T-14 | Kosmos 1682 | Kosmos 1683 | Kosmos 1684 | Kosmos 1685 | Kosmos 1686 | Intelsat VA F-12 | Kosmos 1687 | Kosmos 1688 | Kosmos 1689 | Molniya-3 No.38 | STS-51-J (USA-11 · USA-12) | USA-10 | Kosmos 1690 · Kosmos 1695 · Kosmos 1692 · Kosmos 1693 · Kosmos 1694 · Kosmos 1691 | Kosmos 1696 | Fanhui Shi Weixing 8 | Kosmos 1697 | Kosmos 1698 | Molniya-1 No.73 | Unnamed | Meteor-3 No.2 | Kosmos 1699 | Kosmos 1700 | Molniya-1 No.56 | STS-61-A (GLOMR) | Kosmos 1701 | Kosmos 1702 | Gran' No.28L | Kosmos 1703 | STS-61-B (Morelos 2 · Aussat A2 · Satcom K2 · OEX · EASE/ACCESS) | Kosmos 1704 | Kosmos 1705 | Kosmos 1706 | Kosmos 1707 | USA-13 · USA-14 | Kosmos 1708 | Kosmos 1709 | Molniya-3 No.40 | Kosmos 1710 · Kosmos 1711 · Kosmos 1712 | Meteor-2 No.14 | Kosmos 1713 | Kosmos 1714 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |