![]() Overmyer, Lind, van den Berg, and Thornton in Spacelab Module LM1 during flight | |
Names | Space Transportation System-17 Spacelab 3 |
---|---|
Mission type | Microgravity research |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1985-034A |
SATCAT no. | 15665![]() |
Mission duration | 7 days, 8 minutes, 46 seconds |
Distance travelled | 4,651,621 km (2,890,383 mi) |
Orbits completed | 111 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Challenger |
Launch mass | 111,980 kg (246,870 lb) |
Landing mass | 96,373 kg (212,466 lb) |
Payload mass | 15,610 kg (34,410 lb) |
Crew | |
Crew size | 7 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | April 29, 1985, 16:02:18 UTC (12:02:18 pm EDT) |
Launch site | Kennedy, LC-39A |
Contractor | Rockwell International |
End of mission | |
Landing date | May 6, 1985, 16:11:04 UTC (9:11:04 am PDT) |
Landing site | Edwards, Runway 17 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 346 km (215 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 352 km (219 mi) |
Inclination | 57.00° |
Period | 91.50 minutes |
![]() STS 51-B mission patch ![]() Standing: Lind, Wang, Thagard, Thornton and van den Berg Sitting: Overmyer and Gregory |
STS-51-B was the 17th flight of the NASA 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.