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STS-51-B

STS-51-B
STS-51B launch.jpg
Challenger launches on STS-51-B
Mission type Microgravity research
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID 1985-034A
SATCAT № 15665
Mission duration 7 days, 8 minutes, 46 seconds
Distance travelled 4,651,621 kilometres (2,890,383 mi)
Orbits completed 111
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Space Shuttle Challenger
Launch mass 111,980 kilograms (246,880 lb)
Landing mass 96,373 kilograms (212,465 lb)
Payload mass 15,610 kilograms (34,415 lb)
Crew
Crew size 7
Members Robert F. Overmyer
Frederick D. Gregory
Don L. Lind
Norman E. Thagard
William E. Thornton
Lodewijk van den Berg
Taylor G. Wang
Start of mission
Launch date April 29, 1985, 16:02:18 (1985-04-29UTC16:02:18Z) UTC
Launch site Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Landing date May 6, 1985, 16:11:04 (1985-05-06UTC16:11:05Z) UTC
Landing site Edwards Runway 17
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 346 kilometres (215 mi)
Apogee 352 kilometres (219 mi)
Inclination 57.0 degrees
Period 91.5 minutes
Epoch May 1, 1985

Sts-51-b-patch.png STS-51-B crew.jpg
L-R: (sitting): Overmyer, Gregory
(standing): Lind, Wang, Thagard, Thornton, van den Berg


Space Shuttle program
← STS-51-D STS-51-G

Sts-51-b-patch.png STS-51-B crew.jpg
L-R: (sitting): Overmyer, Gregory
(standing): Lind, Wang, Thagard, Thornton, van den Berg

STS 51-B was the seventeenth 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-51-E mission. The shuttle was rolled back when a timing issue emerged with the TDRS-B satellite. When STS-51-E was canceled, Challenger was remanifested with the STS-51-B payloads. The shuttle landed successfully on May 6, 1985, after a week-long mission.

Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC)'s launch pad 39A at 12:02 pm 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, both payload specialists. Similar to the previous Spacelab mission, 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.


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