STS-61-A
Challenger during the launch of STS-61A
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| Mission type | Microgravity research |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1985-104A |
| SATCAT no. | 16230 |
| Mission duration | 7 days, 44 minutes, 51 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 4,682,148 kilometers (2,909,352 mi) |
| Orbits completed | 112 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Challenger |
| Launch mass | 110,568 kilograms (243,761 lb) |
| Landing mass | 97,144 kilograms (214,166 lb) |
| Payload mass | 14,451 kilograms (31,859 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 8 |
| Members |
Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. Steven R. Nagel Bonnie J. Dunbar James F. Buchli Guion S. Bluford Reinhard Furrer Ernst Messerschmid Wubbo Ockels |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 30, 1985, 17:00:00 UTC |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | November 6, 1985, 17:44:51 UTC |
| Landing site | Edwards Runway 17 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 319 kilometers (198 mi) |
| Apogee | 331 kilometers (206 mi) |
| Inclination | 57.0 degrees |
| Period | 91.0 minutes |
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 Back L-R: Nagel, Bluford, Messerschmid, Ockels Front L-R: Furrer, Dunbar, Buchli, Hartsfield |
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STS-61-A (also known as D-1) was the 22nd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. It was a scientific Spacelab mission, funded and directed by West Germany – hence the non-NASA designation of D-1 (for Deutschland-1). STS-61-A was the ninth and final successful flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. STS-61-A holds the current record for the largest crew - eight people - aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.
The mission carried the NASA/ESA Spacelab module into orbit with 76 scientific experiments on board, and was declared a success. Payload operations were controlled from the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, West Germany, instead of from the regular NASA control centers.
Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Pad A of Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:00 EST on October 30, 1985. This was the first Space Shuttle mission largely financed and operated by another nation, West Germany. It was also the only shuttle flight to launch with a crew of eight. The crew members included 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 of West Germany, along with first Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels of the European Space Agency (ESA), all payload specialists.
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