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STS-61

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Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Astrophysics

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

STS-61 was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission launched on 2 December 1993 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission restored the spaceborne observatory's vision, marred by spherical aberration, with the installation of a new main camera and a corrective optics package. This correction occurred more than three and a half years after the Hubble was launched aboard STS-31 in April 1990. The flight also brought instrument upgrades and new solar arrays to the telescope.

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 Endeavour


In-active Human Rated Crew On-board: 7 Crew Capacity: 7 Payload Capacity: 27500 kg
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Serial Number: OV-105

Space Shuttle Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th and final mission, STS-134, in May 2011. STS-134 was expected to be the final mission of the Space Shuttle program, but with the authorization of STS-135, Atlantis became the last shuttle to fly. The United States Congress approved the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace Challenger, which was lost in 1986. Structural spares built during the construction of Discovery and Atlantis were used in its assembly. NASA chose, on cost grounds, to build Endeavour from spares rather than refitting Enterprise.

Space Shuttle Details

Crew


Richard O. Covey

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Aug. 1, 1946
Age: 78

Ken Bowersox

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Nov. 14, 1956
Age: 68

Claude Nicollier

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Sept. 2, 1944
Age: 80

Kathryn C. Thornton

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Aug. 17, 1952
Age: 72

Thomas Akers

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: May 20, 1951
Age: 73

Jeffrey Hoffman

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Nov. 2, 1944
Age: 80

Story Musgrave

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

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Aug. 19, 1935
Age: 89

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

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