STS-61-A
Encyclopedia
STS-61-A 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 last successful mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger
, which was destroyed during STS-51-L
in 1986. STS-61-A currently holds the 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.
, Florida
, at 12:00 EST on 30 October 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 Wubbo Ockels
of the European Space Agency
(ESA), all payload specialists.
The primary task of STS-61-A was to conduct a series of experiments, almost all related
to functions in microgravity, in Spacelab
D-1, the fourth flight of a
Spacelab orbital laboratory module. Two other mission assignments were to deploy the Global Low
Orbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR) out of a Getaway Special
canister
in the cargo bay, and to operate five materials processing experiments, which were
mounted in the orbiter's payload bay on a separate device called the German Unique
Support Structure. The experiments included investigations into fluid physics, with experiments in capillarity, Marangoni convection
, diffusion phenomena, and critical points; solidification experiments; single crystal growth; composites; biological studies, including cell functions, developmental processes, and the ability of plants to perceive gravity; medical experiments, including the gravitational perceptions of humans, and their adaptation processes in space; and speed-time interaction studies of people working in space.
One equipment item of unusual interest was the Vestibular
Sled, an ESA contribution consisting of a seat for a test subject that
could be moved backward and forward with precisely controlled
accelerations and stops, along rails fixed to the floor of the Spacelab
aisle. By taking detailed measurements on a human strapped into the seat,
scientists gained data on the functional organization of the human
vestibular
and orientation systems, and the vestibular adaptation
processes under microgravity. The acceleration experiments by the sled
riders were combined with thermal stimulations of the inner ear and
optokinetic stimulations of the eye.
NASA
operated the shuttle, and was responsible for overall
safety and control functions throughout the flight. West Germany was
responsible for the scientific research carried out during the seven-day
mission. To fulfill this function, German scientific controllers on the
ground worked closely with the personnel in orbit, operating out of the
German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen
, near Munich
, West
Germany. The orbiting crew was divided into two teams, working in shifts to ensure laboratory work was performed 24 hours a day. Communications were optimal throughout the mission and the ground
and orbital crews were able to interact regularly. The overall system of
one control center controlling spacecraft operations and a second controlling
experiment functions worked smoothly in practice.
The GLOMR satellite was successfully deployed during the
mission, and the five experiments mounted on the separate structure behind
the Spacelab module obtained useful data. Challenger landed, for what was to be the last time, on
Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base
on 6 November 1985. The wheels stopped rolling at 12:45 pm EST, after a mission duration of 7 days and 45 minutes.
STS-61-A marked the final successful mission of Space Shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed with all hands on board
during the launch of the STS-51-L
mission on 28 January 1986.
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 program
Space Shuttle program
NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
. It was a scientific Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
mission, funded and directed by West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
– hence the non-NASA designation of D-1 (for Deutschland
Deutschland
Deutschland is the German language word for Germany.Deutschland may also refer to:, a blockade-breaking German cargo submarine used during World War I, first of the 1930s Panzerschiffe , later renamed Lützow; involved in the 1937 Deutschland incident, a steamship wrecked in 1875 and commemorated in...
-1). STS-61-A was the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
, which was destroyed during STS-51-L
STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
in 1986. STS-61-A currently holds the record
Spaceflight records
This is a list of spaceflight records. Most of these records relate to human spaceflights, but some unmanned and canine records are included.-First independent human spaceflight by country:-Ten longest human space flights:...
for the largest crew, eight people, aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.
The mission carried the NASA/ESA
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
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
Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 kilometers from the city center of Munich....
, West Germany, instead of from the regular NASA control centers.
Crew
Backup 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: 110568 kilograms (243,760.7 lb)
- Orbiter landing: 97144 kilograms (214,165.9 lb)
- Payload: 14451 kilograms (31,859 lb)
- 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"...
: 319 kilometres (198.2 mi) - Apogee: 331 kilometres (205.7 mi)
- 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...
: 57.0° - 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...
: 91.0 min
Mission summary
Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Pad A of Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space CenterKennedy 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...
, at 12:00 EST on 30 October 1985. This was the first 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...
mission largely financed and operated by another nation, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. 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
Steven R. Nagel
Steven Ray Nagel is a retired Colonel in the USAF and a former NASA astronaut.-Personal data:Born October 27, 1946, in Canton, Illinois. Married to fellow astronaut Linda M. Godwin of Houston, Texas. Two daughters. His hobbies include sport flying and music. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ivan R....
, pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar
Bonnie J. Dunbar
Bonnie Jeanne Dunbar is a former NASA astronaut. She retired from NASA in September 2005. She then served as president and CEO of The Museum of Flight until April of 2010. She is now a consultant.-Early life:...
, James F. Buchli and Guion S. Bluford, mission specialists; and Ernst Messerschmid and Reinhard Furrer of West Germany, along with Wubbo Ockels
Wubbo Ockels
Prof. Dr. Wubbo Johannes Ockels is a Dutch physicist and a former ESA astronaut. In 1985 he participated in a flight on a space shuttle , making him the first Dutch citizen in space. He was not the first Dutch-born astronaut, as he is preceded by the naturalized American Lodewijk van den Berg, who...
of the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(ESA), all payload specialists.
The primary task of STS-61-A was to conduct a series of experiments, almost all related
to functions in microgravity, in Spacelab
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
D-1, the fourth flight of a
Spacelab orbital laboratory module. Two other mission assignments were to deploy the Global Low
Orbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR) out of a Getaway Special
Getaway Special
Getaway Special was a NASA program that offered interested individuals, or groups, opportunities to fly small experiments aboard the Space Shuttle...
canister
in the cargo bay, and to operate five materials processing experiments, which were
mounted in the orbiter's payload bay on a separate device called the German Unique
Support Structure. The experiments included investigations into fluid physics, with experiments in capillarity, Marangoni convection
Marangoni effect
The Marangoni effect is the mass transfer along an interface between two fluids due to surface tension gradient...
, diffusion phenomena, and critical points; solidification experiments; single crystal growth; composites; biological studies, including cell functions, developmental processes, and the ability of plants to perceive gravity; medical experiments, including the gravitational perceptions of humans, and their adaptation processes in space; and speed-time interaction studies of people working in space.
One equipment item of unusual interest was the Vestibular
Sled, an ESA contribution consisting of a seat for a test subject that
could be moved backward and forward with precisely controlled
accelerations and stops, along rails fixed to the floor of the Spacelab
aisle. By taking detailed measurements on a human strapped into the seat,
scientists gained data on the functional organization of the human
vestibular
Vestibular
The Vestibular is a competitive examination and is the primary and widespread system used by Brazilian universities to select their students. The Vestibular usually takes place from November to January, right before the start of school year in February or March, although certain universities hold...
and orientation systems, and the vestibular adaptation
processes under microgravity. The acceleration experiments by the sled
riders were combined with thermal stimulations of the inner ear and
optokinetic stimulations of the eye.
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...
operated the shuttle, and was responsible for overall
safety and control functions throughout the flight. West Germany was
responsible for the scientific research carried out during the seven-day
mission. To fulfill this function, German scientific controllers on the
ground worked closely with the personnel in orbit, operating out of the
German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen
Oberpfaffenhofen is a village which is part of the municipality of Weßling in the district of Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 kilometers from the city center of Munich....
, near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, West
Germany. The orbiting crew was divided into two teams, working in shifts to ensure laboratory work was performed 24 hours a day. Communications were optimal throughout the mission and the ground
and orbital crews were able to interact regularly. The overall system of
one control center controlling spacecraft operations and a second controlling
experiment functions worked smoothly in practice.
The GLOMR satellite was successfully deployed during the
mission, and the five experiments mounted on the separate structure behind
the Spacelab module obtained useful data. Challenger landed, for what was to be the last time, on
Runway 17 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...
on 6 November 1985. The wheels stopped rolling at 12:45 pm EST, after a mission duration of 7 days and 45 minutes.
STS-61-A marked the final successful mission of Space Shuttle Challenger, which was destroyed with all hands on board
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
during the launch of the STS-51-L
STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
mission on 28 January 1986.
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 ChallengerSpace Shuttle ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
- Space Shuttle Challenger disasterSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
- SpacelabSpacelabSpacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of human spaceflights chronologically