Watch the Launch

STS-78

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission:

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

STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project. The mission used the Space Shuttle Columbia, which lifted off successfully from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39-B on 20 June 1996.

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: 7 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


Terence Henricks

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: July 5, 1952
Age: 72

Kevin R. Kregel

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Sept. 16, 1956
Age: 68

Charles E. Brady Jr.

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Deceased

Date of Birth: Aug. 12, 1951
Date of Death: July 23, 2006

Jean-Jacques Favier

Payload Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( CNES )

Status: Deceased

Date of Birth: April 13, 1949
Date of Death: March 19, 2023

Robert Thirsk

Payload Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( CSA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Aug. 17, 1953
Age: 71

Richard M. Linnehan

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Sept. 19, 1957
Age: 66

Susan Helms

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Feb. 26, 1958
Age: 66

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA)

Administrator: Bill Nelson Founded: 1958 Successes: 121 Failures: 20 Pending: 6

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 39B


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 12 hours ago
Starlink Group 9-6
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 5 hours ago
BlueBird Block 1
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

First five satellites for SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
5 days, 22 hours ago
Soyuz MS-26
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Soyuz MS-26 will carry two cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome i…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Polaris Dawn
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

First mission of the privately funded Polaris program. The goal of this mission, lasting up to five days in orbit, is to fly higher than previous Dra…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
NROL-113
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Third batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to…


Long March 6
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Geely Constellation Group 03
Launch Complex 16 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

10 LEO communications satellites for Chinese car manufacturer Geely Automotive for testing autonomous driving/inter-vehicle communication services. T…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 8-11
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Vega
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Sentinel-2C
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Sentinel-2C is the third satellite in the Sentinel-2 constellation, which is designed to provide high-resolution optical imagery for land services.


Long March 4B
Success
2 weeks ago
Yaogan 43 Group 02
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 43 Group 02 is a group of Chinese military “remote sensing” satellites of unknown purposes.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 9-5
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.