STS-51-I
Encyclopedia
STS-51-I was the twentieth mission of NASA
's Space Shuttle
program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery
. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellite
s into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center
, Florida
, on 27 August 1985, and landed seven days later at Edwards Air Force Base
, California
.
front reached the launch pad area.
The five-man STS 51-I crew included Joe H. Engle, commander; Richard O. Covey
, pilot; and James van Hoften
, John M. Lounge
, and William F. Fisher, mission specialists. Their primary mission was to deploy three commercial communications satellites and retrieve and repair the SYNCOM
IV-3 satellite, which had been deployed during the STS 51-D mission in April 1985, but had malfunctioned. In addition, a mid-deck materials processing experiment, the Physical Vapor Transport Organic Solid Experiment (PVTOS), was flown aboard Discovery.
The three communications satellites were AUSSAT-l, a multi-purpose spacecraft owned by Australia
; ASC-l, owned and operated by the American Satellite Co.; and SYNCOM IV-4, leased to the Department of Defense
by its builder, Hughes Co. Both AUSSAT-l and ASC-l were deployed on the day of the launch, 27 August. SYNCOM IV-4 was deployed two days later. All three achieved their planned geosynchronous orbits and became operational.
On the fifth day of the mission, astronauts Fisher and van Hoften began repair efforts on the malfunctioning SYNCOM IV-3, following a successful rendezvous maneuver by Discovery. The effort was slowed by a problem in the Remote Manupulator System elbow joint. After a second EVA by Fisher and van Hoften, the satellite's control lever was repaired, permitting commands from the ground to activate the spacecraft's systems and eventually send it into its proper geosynchronous orbit. The two EVAs lasted a total of 11 hours and 27 minutes.
Discovery landed on Runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base
at 6:16 am PDT on 3 September 1985. The flight lasted a total of 7 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes and 42 seconds, completing 111 orbits of the Earth.
. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, on 27 August 1985, and landed seven days later at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Crew
Mission parameters
- MassMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
:- Orbiter Liftoff: 262309 lbs
- Orbiter Landing: 196674 lbs
- Payload: 65635 lbs
- PerigeePerigeePerigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...
: 220 miles (354.1 km) - Apogee: 289 miles (465.1 km)
- InclinationInclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
: 28.5° - PeriodOrbital periodThe orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
: 92 min
Spacewalks
- Fisher and van Hoften – EVA 1
- EVA 1 Start: 31 August 1985
- EVA 1 End: 31 August 1985
- Duration: 7 hours, 20 minutes
- Fisher and van Hoften – EVA 2
- EVA 2 Start: 1 September 1985
- EVA 2 End: 1 September 1985
- Duration: 4 hours, 26 minutes
Mission summary
Discovery launched at 6:58 am EDT on 27 August 1985. Two earlier launch attempts, one on 24 August and another on 25 August, were scrubbed – the first because of poor weather, and the second because the backup orbiter computer failed and had to be replaced. The successful launch on 27 August took place just as an approaching stormThunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
front reached the launch pad area.
The five-man STS 51-I crew included Joe H. Engle, commander; Richard O. Covey
Richard O. Covey
Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut.Born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he considers Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to be his hometown...
, pilot; and James van Hoften
James van Hoften
James Dougal Adrianus "Ox" van Hoften is a former NASA Astronaut.-Personal data:Van Hoften was born June 11, 1944, in Fresno, California. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He considers Burlingame, California, to be his hometown. ...
, John M. Lounge
John M. Lounge
John Michael "Mike" Lounge was an American engineer, a US Navy officer, a Vietnam war veteran, and a NASA astronaut. A veteran of three space shuttle flights, Lounge logged over 482 hours in space...
, and William F. Fisher, mission specialists. Their primary mission was to deploy three commercial communications satellites and retrieve and repair the SYNCOM
Syncom
Syncom started as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites, all of which were developed and manufactured by Hughes Space and Communications...
IV-3 satellite, which had been deployed during the STS 51-D mission in April 1985, but had malfunctioned. In addition, a mid-deck materials processing experiment, the Physical Vapor Transport Organic Solid Experiment (PVTOS), was flown aboard Discovery.
The three communications satellites were AUSSAT-l, a multi-purpose spacecraft owned by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
; ASC-l, owned and operated by the American Satellite Co.; and SYNCOM IV-4, leased to the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
by its builder, Hughes Co. Both AUSSAT-l and ASC-l were deployed on the day of the launch, 27 August. SYNCOM IV-4 was deployed two days later. All three achieved their planned geosynchronous orbits and became operational.
On the fifth day of the mission, astronauts Fisher and van Hoften began repair efforts on the malfunctioning SYNCOM IV-3, following a successful rendezvous maneuver by Discovery. The effort was slowed by a problem in the Remote Manupulator System elbow joint. After a second EVA by Fisher and van Hoften, the satellite's control lever was repaired, permitting commands from the ground to activate the spacecraft's systems and eventually send it into its proper geosynchronous orbit. The two EVAs lasted a total of 11 hours and 27 minutes.
Discovery landed on Runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
at 6:16 am PDT on 3 September 1985. The flight lasted a total of 7 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes and 42 seconds, completing 111 orbits of the Earth.
Wake-up calls
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.
| Flight Day | Song | Artist/Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia".... |
|
| Day 3 | "Over the Rainbow Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie... " |
Judy Garland Judy Garland Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage... |
| Day 4 | "I Saw the Light I Saw the Light "I Saw the Light" is a 1948 gospel song written and first performed by Hank Williams, not to be confused with the hit song by Todd Rundgren or the No. 1 country hit by Wynonna Judd.... " |
Willie Nelson Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized... |
| Day 5 | "I Get Around I Get Around "I Get Around" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for The Beach Boys. The song features Love on lead vocal for the verse, and Wilson for the chorus. It is noteworthy for its back-to-front structure - it starts with a chorus and has two short verses... " |
Beach Boys |
| Day 6 | "Lucky Old Sun Lucky Old Sun Lucky Old Sun is the thirteenth studio album released by country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released on October 14, 2008 as the first release for Blue Chair Records, Chesney's personal division of the BNA Records label... " |
Willie Nelson Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized... |
| Day 7 | "Stormy Weather" | Willie Nelson Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized... |
| Day 8 | "Living in the USA Living in the USA Living In The USA is a 1978 album by American singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt. The album was Ronstadt's third No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and was the first album in history to ship Double Platinum... " |
Linda Ronstadt Linda Ronstadt Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden... |
See also
- Space explorationSpace explorationSpace exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
- Space Shuttle programSpace Shuttle programNASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
- Space Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle DiscoverySpace Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of human spaceflights chronologically