Watch the Launch

STS-3

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Test Flight

Low Earth Orbit Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

STS-3 was the third flight of the Space Shuttle program. It flew in orbit for 8 days. This mission involved extensive orbital endurance testing of Columbia and also included multiple scientific experiments.

Space Shuttle

Family:
Configuration:

The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    56.1 m
  • Diameter
    8.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    2030.0 T
  • Thrust
    28200.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Space Shuttle
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Space Shuttle
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $450000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    27500.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Space Shuttle Columbia


In-active Human Rated Crew On-board: 2 Crew Capacity: 7 Payload Capacity: 27500 kg
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Serial Number: OV-102

Space Shuttle Columbia (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.

Space Shuttle Details

Crew


Jack R. Lousma

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Feb. 29, 1936
Age: 90

C. Gordon Fullerton

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Deceased

Date of Birth: Oct. 11, 1936
Date of Death: Aug. 21, 2013

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA)

Administrator: Jared Isaacman Founded: 1958 Successes: 122 Failures: 20 Pending: 5

Agency Type:

The 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.

INFO WIKI

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A


Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
In Flight
4 hours, 12 minutes ago
Meridian-M No.21L
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Meridian is a series of communications satellite for military and civilian use.


Tianlong-3
Failure
6 hours, 23 minutes ago
Demo Flight
Tianlong-3 Launch Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 rocket.


Falcon 9
Success
22 hours, 45 minutes ago
Starlink Group 10-58
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Space Launch System (SLS)
Success
1 day, 12 hours ago
Artemis II
Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Artemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon …


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-44
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 23 hours ago
Transporter 16 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Kinetica 2
Success
3 days, 23 hours ago
Demo Flight (Qingzhou Prototype Spacecraft)
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch and mission of CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 rocket, with 3 spacecraft on board: * New March 02 (Qingzhou space station cargo resupply …


Electron
Success
6 days, 1 hour ago
Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

The European Space Agency (ESA)'s LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing) demonstrator mission will feature a 10-satellite const…


Long March 2C/YZ-1S
Success
1 week ago
Shiyan 33
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese satellite reported to be for "space environment research" purposes. Actual usage not known.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 17-17
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.