Michael J. Smith
American - (NASA)
Lost In Flight
Date of Birth: April 30, 1945
Date of Death: Jan. 28, 1986
Michael John Smith was an American astronaut—pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission. All seven crew members died.
Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-51-L
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Jan. 28, 1986, 4:38 p.m.
Status: Failure
Mission:
The tenth mission for Challenger, STS-51-L was scheduled to deploy the second in a series of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, carry out the first flight of the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203) / Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable in order to observe Halley's Comet, and carry out several lessons from space as part of the Teacher in Space Project and Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP).
Low Earth OrbitThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Long March 8
G60 Polar Group 05
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technolo…
Long March 3
TJSW-15
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaChinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.
Starship
Flight 8
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USAEighth test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.
Ariane 62
CSO-3
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French GuianaThe CSO-3 (Composante Spatiale Optique-3 satellite is the third of three new-generation high-resolution optical imaging satellites for the French mil…
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 12-20
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
