Skip to content
STS-51-D
EntityQ754929· pop 29· linked from 237 articles

STS-51-D was the 16th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on April 12, 1985, was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery zone. STS-51-D was the third shuttle mission to be extended.

Key facts

Spaceflight.name
STS-51-D
Spaceflight.names_list
Space Transportation System-16
Spaceflight.image
STS-51-D Syncom IV-3 activation effort.jpg
Spaceflight.image_caption
The crew attempt to activate Syncom IV-3 via a "flyswatter" device attached to Discovery Canadarm
Spaceflight.mission_type
Communications satellite deployment
Spaceflight.operator
NASA
Spaceflight.orbits_completed
110
Spaceflight.crew_size
7
Spaceflight.crew_EVAs
1
Spaceflight.crew_EVA_duration
3hours, 6minutes
Spaceflight.launch_date
UTC (8:59:05amEST)
Spaceflight.launch_site
Kennedy, LC-39A
Spaceflight.launch_contractor
Rockwell International
Spaceflight.landing_date
UTC (8:54:28amEST)
Spaceflight.landing_site
Kennedy, SLF Runway 33
Spaceflight.orbit_reference
Geocentric orbit
Spaceflight.orbit_regime
Low Earth orbit
Spaceflight.orbit_inclination
28.45°

via Wikipedia infobox

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections
Contents
  • Crew
  • Spacewalk
  • Crew seat assignments
  • Mission summary
  • Wake-up calls
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

STS-51-D was the 16th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on April 12, 1985, was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery zone. STS-51-D was the third shuttle mission to be extended.

On April 19, 1985, after a week-long flight, Discovery conducted the fifth shuttle landing at KSC. The shuttle suffered extensive brake damage and a ruptured tire during landing. This forced shuttle landings to be done at Edwards Air Force Base, California for the next five years until the development and implementation of nose wheel steering made landings at KSC more feasible.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “STS-51-D” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)