STS-51-L
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For more on the accident, see Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
| Mission statistics | |
|---|---|
| Mission name: | STS-51-L
<tr><th>Shuttle:</th><td>Challenger</td></tr><tr><th>Number of crew members:</th><td>7</td></tr> |
| Launch: | 16:38 GMT (11:38am EST) |
| Landing: | Scheduled for February 3 1986 12:12 p.m. EST (17:12 GMT) |
| Duration: | 1 min 13 Seconds 6 d 34 min planned |
| Previous mission | Next mission |
|---|---|
| STS-61-C | STS-26 |
STS-51-L was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Challenger, launched January 28, 1986. The seven-member crew was killed after a vehicle breakup which occurred 73 seconds after lift-off because of an O-ring seal failure in the booster system. Since it was near the Max Q region of the ascent phase, the vehicle quickly disintegrated and the entire crew was killed. It was also the 25th Shuttle mission and the tenth (and final) Challenger mission.
Contents |
[edit] Crew
- Commander (CDR): Francis "Dick" Scobee - piloted Challenger mission STS-41-C, which successfully deployed one satellite and repaired another.
- Pilot (PLT): Michael J. Smith (first flight) - veteran of the Vietnam War, earning numerous decorations for combat including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy test pilot.
- Mission Specialist 1: Judith Resnik - mission specialist on the maiden voyage of Discovery, STS-41-D.
- Mission Specialist 2: Ellison Onizuka - Air Force flight test engineer, Eagle Scout, also flew on STS-51-C on Discovery, the first space shuttle mission for the Department of Defense.
- Mission Specialist 3: Dr. Ronald McNair - staff physicist at the Hughes Research Laboratories, also flew on STS-41-B
- Payload Specialist 1: Gregory Jarvis - Air Force captain and member of staff for Hughes Aircraft
- Payload Specialist 2: Christa McAuliffe - selected to be the first schoolteacher to go into space.
[edit] Mission objectives
- Deployment of Tracking Data Relay Satellite-2 (TDRS-2)
- Flying of Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203)/Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable, a free-flying module designed to observe tail and coma of Halley's comet with two ultraviolet spectrometers and two cameras.
- Fluid Dynamics Experiment (FDE)
- Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program (CHAMP)
- Phase Partitioning Experiment (PPE)
- Three Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments
- Two lessons for the Teacher in Space Project (TISP).
None of the mission objectives were accomplished.
[edit] Mission parameters
- Mass:
- Orbiter Liftoff: 121 778 kg
- Orbiter Landing: 90 584 kg (planned)
- Payload: 21 937 kg
- Perigee: ~285 km (planned)
- Apogee: ~295 km (planned)
- Inclination: 28.45° (planned)
- Period: ~90.4 min (planned)
- Duration: 6 days 0 hours 34 minutes (planned)
[edit] Insignia
The STS-51-L crewmembers designed this insignia to represent their participation in NASA's mission aboard Challenger, depicted launching from Florida and soaring into space to carry out a variety of goals. Among the prescribed duties of the five astronauts and two payload specialists will be observation and photography of Halley's Comet, backdropped against the U.S. flag in the insignia. Surnames of the crewmembers encircle the scene, with the payload specialists being recognized below. Surname of the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, is followed by a symbolic apple.
[edit] Special note
STS-51-L was the special designation for STS-33. This mission is not related to the current STS-33.
[edit] See also
|
| Image:Challenger flight 51-l crew.jpg | ||||
| Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) |
|---|
| STS-6 | STS-7 | STS-8 | STS-41-B | STS-41-C | STS-41-G | STS-51-B | STS-51-F | STS-61-A | STS-51-L |
| Status: Out of service - destroyed 01/28/86 (STS-51L) |
es:STS-51-L he:STS-51-L ja:STS-51L pl:STS-51-L sk:STS-51-L fi:STS-51-L zh:STS-51-L
