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STS-51

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Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Communications

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

STS-51 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission that launched the Advanced 10 Technology Satellite (ACTS) in September 1993. The flight also featured the deployment and retrieval of the SPAS-ORFEUS satellite and its IMAX camera, which captured spectacular footage of Discovery in space. A spacewalk was also performed during the mission to evaluate tools and techniques for the STS-61 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission later that year.

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 Discovery


In-active Human Rated Crew On-board: 5 Crew Capacity: 7 Payload Capacity: 27500 kg
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Serial Number: OV-103

Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger. It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. It also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis.

Space Shuttle Details

Crew


Frank L. Culbertson Jr.

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: May 15, 1949
Age: 75

William F. Readdy

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Jan. 24, 1952
Age: 72

Carl E. Walz

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Sept. 6, 1955
Age: 69

Daniel W. Bursch

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: July 25, 1957
Age: 67

James H. Newman

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

Status: Retired

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

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


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
2 days, 12 hours ago
Kosmos 2579 (Bars-M No. 6)
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Bars-M is the second incarnation of the Bars project, which was started in the mid 1990ies to develop a success…


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 23 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-13
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 8 hours ago
Starlink Group 9-9
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2
Success
3 days, 23 hours ago
Shenzhou 19
Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Eighth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-8
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
NROL-167
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

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


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 6-61
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


New Shepard
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
NS-27
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

Twenty-seventh flight of New Shepard,flying unmanned as a test for the newest booster.


Long March 2
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Yaogan 43 Group 03
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 43 Group 03 is a group of Chinese military “remote sensing” satellites of unknown purposes.


Long March 6
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Tianping-3
Launch Complex 16 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 satellites be used as calibration targets for ground based orbital objects surveillance services such as atmospheric space environment study and or…