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 6
PRSC-EO3
Launch Complex 16 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaOptical Earth observation satellite for the Pakistan government's SUPARCO.
Long March 2D
4 x SatNet test satellites
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaOfficially described as "Satellite-Internet Technology Demonstration Satellites". Probably 4 test satellites for the Chinese state-owned LEO commu…
Angara 1.2
Kosmos (Unknown Payload)
35/1 - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian FederationUnknown satellite(s) for the Russian military.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 17-14
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Electron
Kakushin Rising (JAXA Rideshare)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandJAXA-manifested rideshare of eight separate spacecraft that includes educational small sats, an ocean monitoring satellite, a demonstration satellite…
