STS-61-A

'STS-61-A' was the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. It was a scientific Spacelab mission booked by Germany - hence the payload name D-1 (for ''Deutschland 1''). It was also the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. STS-61-A holds the record for the largest crew, eight people, aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.

Contents

Crew

Mission parameters

Mission highlights

See also

External links

Crew

''(total flights to date in parentheses)''

★ Henry W. Hartsfield (3), Commander

★ Steven R. Nagel (2), Pilot

★ Bonnie J. Dunbar (1), Mission Specialist 1

★ James F. Buchli (2), Mission Specialist 2

★ Guion S. Bluford (2), Mission Specialist 3

★ Reinhard Furrer (1), Payload Specialist 1 - Germany

★ Ernst Messerschmid (1), Payload Specialist 2 - Germany

★ Wubbo Ockels (1), Payload Specialist 3 - ESA Netherlands

★ Alternate Mission Specialist: Claude Nicollier (1)

★ Alternate Payload Specialist: Ulf Merbold (2)

Mission parameters

★ 'Mass:'

★
★ ''Orbiter liftoff:'' 110,568 kg

★
★ ''Orbiter landing:'' 97,144 kg

★
★ ''Payload:'' 14,451 kg

★ 'Perigee:' 319 km

★ 'Apogee:' 331 km

★ 'Inclination:' 57.0°

★ 'Period:' 91.0 min

Mission highlights

The Orbiter ''Challenger'' lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC,
at noon EST on October 30, 1985. This was the first Space Shuttle
mission largely financed and operated by another nation, West Germany. It
was also the first Space Shuttle flight to carry a crew of eight. The
primary mission was to operate a series of experiments, almost all related
to functions in microgravity, in Spacelab D-1, the fourth flight of a
Spacelab. Two other mission assignments were to deploy the Global Low
Orbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR) out of a Getaway Special canister
in the cargo bay, and operate five materials processing experiments
mounted in the cargo bay on a separate device called the German Unique
Support Structure.
NASA operated the Space Shuttle, and was responsible for overall
safety and control functions throughout the flight. West Germany was
responsible for the scientific research carried out during the seven-day
mission. To fulfill this function German scientific controllers on the
ground worked closely with the personnel in orbit, operating out of the
German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, West
Germany. The orbiting crew divided into two teams, and operated 24-h a
day. Communications were very good throughout the mission and the ground
and orbital crews were able to interact regularly. The overall system of
one Center controlling spacecraft operations and a second controlling
experiment functions worked very smoothly in practice.
The GLOMR satellite was successfully deployed during the
mission. The five experiments mounted on the separate structure behind
the Spacelab module obtained good data. Orbiter ''Challenger'' landed on
Runway 17 at Edwards AFB on November 6, 1985. The wheels stopped rolling at 12:45 p.m. EST, after a mission duration of 7 days, 0 h, and 45 min. The crew members were Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., commander; Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli and Guion S. Bluford, mission specialists; and Ernst Messerschmid and Reinhard Furrer, West Germany, along with Wubbo Ockels, European Space Agency, payload specialists, encompassed some 75 numbered experiments, most of which were performed more than once. Some of these experiments had predecessors
which had returned data obtained on earlier flights. This made it possible to prepare experiment regimens that were 'second generation' with respect to technical concept and experiment installation. Almost all of them took advantage of the microgravity environment to perform work not possible, or very much more difficult to do, on Earth. The major area of concentration was materials science, in which West Germany has a well developed expertise.
The primary areas of experiment concentration were: fluid physics, with experiments in capillarity, Marangoni convection, diffusion phenomena, and critical point; solidification experiments; single crystal growth; composites; biological, including cell functions, developmental processes, and the ability of plants to perceive gravity; medical, including the gravitational perceptions of humans, and their adaptation processes in space; and speed-time interaction studies of people working in space.
One equipment item of unusual interest was the Vestibular
Sled, an ESA contribution consisting of a seat for a test subject that
could be moved backward and forward with precisely controlled
accelerations and stops, along rails fixed to the floor of the Spacelab
aisle. By taking detailed measurements on a human strapped into the seat,
scientists gained data on the functional organization of the human
vestibular and orientation systems, and the vestibular adaptation
processes under microgravity. The acceleration experiments by the sled
riders were combined with thermal stimulations of the inner ear and
optokinetic stimulations of the eye.
Overall, this was the most comprehensive series of experiments
to date on materials processing in space and associated human activities,
adding a rich store to humanity's knowledge. The data that was gained
will require years of analysis.
Dedicated German Spacelab (D-1) mission conducted in long module configuration, which featured Vestibular Sled designed to give scientists data on functional organization of human vestibular and orientation systems. Spacelab D-1 encompassed 75 numbered experiments, most performed more than once. Mission included basic and applied microgravity research in fields of materials science, life sciences and technology, and communications and navigation. Though orbiter controlled from Johnson Space Center, scientific operations controlled from German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich. Other objectives: Global Low Orbiting Message Relay (GLOMR) satellite deployed from Get Away Special canister.
This was the Shuttle ''Challenger's last successful mission before the STS-51-L disaster.

See also

★ Space science

★ Space shuttle

★ List of space shuttle missions

★ List of human spaceflights chronologically

External links

★ NASA mission summary