STS-51-A

STS-51-A
Dale A. Gardner poses in front of a camera with a "For Sale" sign in his hand, jokingly referring to the two broken satellites (Palapa B2 and Westar 6) the crew was sent out on EVA to pick up and return to Earth.
NamesSpace Transportation System-14
Mission typeCommunications satellites deployment
Communications satellites retrieval
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1984-113A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.15382Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration7 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes, 56 seconds
Distance travelled5,293,786 km (3,289,406 mi)
Orbits completed127
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Discovery
Launch mass119,442 kg (263,325 lb)
Landing mass94,123 kg (207,506 lb)
Payload mass17,375 kg (38,305 lb)
Crew
Crew size5
Members
EVAs2
EVA duration
  • 11 hours, 42 minutes
  • 1st EVA: 6 hours
  • 2nd EVA: 5 hours, 42 minutes
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 8, 1984, 12:15:00 (November 8, 1984, 12:15:00) UTC (7:15 am EST)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateNovember 16, 1984, 11:59:56 (November 16, 1984, 11:59:56) UTC (6:59:56 am EST)
Landing siteKennedy, SLF Runway 15
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[1]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude332 km (206 mi)
Apogee altitude354 km (220 mi)
Inclination28.45°
Period90.40 minutes
Instruments
Diffused Mixing of Organic Solutions (DMOS)

STS-51-A mission patch

From left: Gardner, Walker, Fisher, Hauck and Allen
← STS-41-G (13)
STS-51-C (15) →

STS-51-A (formerly STS-19) was the 14th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the second flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 8, 1984, and landed just under eight days later on November 16, 1984.

STS-51-A marked the first time a shuttle deployed two communications satellites, and retrieved from orbit two other communications satellites. The Canadian Anik D2 and Syncom IV-1 satellites were both successfully deployed by the crew of Discovery. Palapa B2 and Westar 6, meanwhile, had been deployed during the STS-41-B mission earlier in the year, but had been placed into improper orbits due to the malfunctioning of their kick motors; they were both safely recovered and returned to Earth during STS-51-A.

  1. ^ "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 23, 2014.