STS-51-I
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox spaceflight
STS-51-I was the 20th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 27, 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on September 3, 1985.
CrewEdit
SpacewalksEdit
- EVA 1
- Personnel: Fisher and van Hoften
- Date: August 31, 1985 (≈12:10–19:10 UTC)<ref name="spacefacts" />
- Duration: 7 hours, 20 minutes
- EVA 2
- Personnel: Fisher and van Hoften
- Date: September 1, 1985 (≈12:10–16:30 UTC)<ref name="spacefacts" />
- Duration: 4 hours, 26 minutes
Crew seat assignmentsEdit
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Launch | Landing | File:Space Shuttle seating plan.svg Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engle | |||
| 2 | Covey | |||
| 3 | van Hoften | Fisher | ||
| 4 | Lounge | |||
| 5 | Fisher | van Hoften | ||
| 6 | Unused | |||
| 7 | Unused | |||
LaunchEdit
Mission summaryEdit
Discovery launched at 6:58 a.m. EDT on August 27, 1985. Two earlier launch attempts, one on August 24 and another on August 25, were scrubbed – the first because of poor weather,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the second because the backup orbiter computer failed and had to be replaced.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The successful launch on August 27, 1985, took place just as an approaching storm front reached the launch pad area.
The five-man STS-51-I crew included Joe H. Engle, commander; Richard O. Covey, pilot; and James D. A. van Hoften, John M. Lounge, and William F. Fisher, mission specialists. Their primary mission was to deploy three commercial communications satellites and retrieve and repair the Syncom IV-3 (Leasat-3) satellite, which had been deployed during the STS-51-D mission in April 1985, but had malfunctioned. In addition, a mid-deck materials processing experiment, the Physical Vapor Transport Organic Solid Experiment (PVTOS), was flown aboard Discovery.
The three communications satellites were Aussat-1, a multi-purpose spacecraft owned by Australia; ASC-1, owned and operated by the American Satellite Corporation (ASC); and Syncom IV-4 (Leasat-4), leased to the Department of Defense (DoD) by its builder, Hughes Space and Communications. Both Aussat-1 and ASC-1 were deployed on the day of the launch, August 27, 1985. Syncom IV-4 (Leasat-4) was deployed two days later. All three achieved their planned geosynchronous orbits and became operational.
On the fifth day of the mission, astronauts Fisher and van Hoften began repair efforts on the malfunctioning Syncom IV-3, following a successful rendezvous maneuver by Discovery. The effort was slowed by a problem with the Remote Manipulator System (Canadarm) elbow joint. After a second EVA by Fisher and van Hoften, the satellite's control lever was repaired, permitting commands from the ground to activate the spacecraft's systems and eventually send it into its proper geosynchronous orbit. The two EVAs lasted a total of 11 hours and 46 minutes.
Discovery landed on Runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base at 6:16 a.m. PDT on September 3, 1985. The flight lasted a total of 7 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes and 42 seconds, during which the shuttle completed 112 orbits of the Earth.
Mission insigniaEdit
The insignia depicts an American bald eagle, trailing red and white stripes, and pushing a boundary layer forward. The 19 stars, along with the eagle, are references to the 20th shuttle mission (with the eagle representing the orbiter and thus being the 20th "star"). Lining the patch are the surnames of the crew members.
Wake-up callsEdit
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.<ref name="chronology">Template:Cite news Template:PD-notice</ref>
| Flight Day | Song | Artist/Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | "Waltzing Matilda"<ref>Chosen to waken the crew as they passed over Australia.</ref> | Banjo Paterson |
| Day 3 | "Over the Rainbow" | Judy Garland |
| Day 4 | "I Saw the Light" | Willie Nelson |
| Day 5 | "I Get Around" | Beach Boys |
| Day 6 | "Lucky Old Sun" | Willie Nelson |
| Day 7 | "Stormy Weather"<ref>Chosen due to Hurricane Elena, which had been observed earlier from Discovery.</ref> | Willie Nelson |
| Day 8 | "Living in the USA" | Linda Ronstadt |
GalleryEdit
- STS-51-I Launch.jpg
Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery
- STS-51-I AUSSAT 1 deployment.jpg
Deployment of Aussat-1
- STS-51-I ASC-1 deployment.jpg
Deployment of ASC-1
- STS-51-I SYNCOM IV-4 deployment.jpg
Deployment of Syncom IV-4 (Leasat-4)
- Space Shuttle Discovery Lands at Edwards Air Force Base.jpg
Space Shuttle Discovery Landing
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Space Shuttle Discovery Template:All U.S. Space Shuttle Missions Template:Orbital launches in 1985