STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of Challenger.
The Orbiter Challenger lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:02 p.m. EDT on April 29, 1985. This was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab, the first in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity were successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of...
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STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of Challenger.
The Orbiter Challenger lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:02 p.m. EDT on April 29, 1985. This was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab, the first in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity were successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of the orbiter proved quite stable, allowing the delicate experiments in materials processing and fluid mechanics to proceed normally. The crew operated around the clock in two 12-hour shifts. Two monkeys and 24 rodents were flown in special cages, the second time American astronauts flew live non-human mammals aboard the shuttle. The crew members in orbit were supported 24 hours a day by a temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center. Challenger landed at Edwards AFB. Wheel motion stopped at 12:11 p.m. EDT on...
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