STS-40 was the eleventh launch of Columbia and carried the Spacelab module for Spacelab Life Sciences 1 (SLS-1), the fifth Spacelab mission and the first dedicated to biology. It was also the first mission to carry three women crew members.
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.
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
Date of
Birth: Sept. 6, 1946
Age: 78
Date of
Birth: June 27, 1951
Age: 73
Date of
Birth: June 9, 1946
Age: 78
Date of
Birth: Dec. 21, 1945
Date of Death:
Feb. 4, 2021
Date of
Birth: Feb. 22, 1952
Age: 73
Date of
Birth: Nov. 8, 1947
Age: 77
Date of
Birth: May 7, 1959
Age: 65
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 WIKINS-31 is the 11th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 31st in its history.
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Ninth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to…
Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.
Soyuz MS-27 will carry two cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome i…
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Satellite be used as calibration target for ground based orbital objects surveillance services such as atmospheric space environment study and orbita…