STS-51-G

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STS-51-G
Mission insignia
Sts-51-g-patch.png
Mission statistics
Mission name STS-51-G
Space shuttle Discovery
Launch pad LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Launch date 17 June 1985, 11:33:00 UTC
Landing 24 June 1985, 13:11:52 UTC
Runway 23, Edwards AFB
Mission duration 7 days, 1 hour, 38 minutes, 52 seconds
Number of orbits 112
Orbital altitude 209 nautical miles (387 km)
Orbital inclination 28.45°
Distance traveled 2,916,127 miles (4,693,051 km)
Crew photo
Portrait of STS 51-G crew.jpg

Back L-R: Nagel, Lucid, Fabian, Al-Saud, Baudry,

Front L-R: Brandenstein, Creighton
Related missions
Previous mission Subsequent mission
STS-51-B STS-51-B STS-51-F STS-51-F

STS-51-G was the eighteenth flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fifth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 17 June 1985. Sultan Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia was on board as a payload specialist; Al Saud became the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first member of a royal family to fly into space.[1]

Contents

[edit] Crew

Position Astronaut
Commander Daniel C. Brandenstein
Second spaceflight
Pilot John O. Creighton
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Shannon W. Lucid
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 John M. Fabian
Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3 Steven R. Nagel
First spaceflight
Payload Specialist 1 Patrick Baudry, CNES
Only spaceflight
Payload Specialist 2 His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Salman Al Saud
Only spaceflight
Al Saud became the first member of royalty to fly into space,
as well as the first Arab and the first Muslim.

[edit] Backup crew

Position Astronaut
Payload Specialist 1 Jean-Loup Chrétien, CNES
Payload Specialist 2 Abdulmohsen Al-Bassam

[edit] Mission parameters

  • Mass:
    • Orbiter Liftoff: 256,524 pounds (116,357 kg)
    • Orbiter Landing: 204,169 pounds (92,610 kg)
    • Payload: 38,096 pounds (17,280 kg)
  • Perigee: 219.5 miles (353.3 km)
  • Apogee: 220.5 miles (354.9 km)
  • Inclination: 28.5°
  • Period: 91.8 min

[edit] Mission summary

Discovery lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 7:33 am EDT on 17 June 1985. The mission's crew members included Daniel C. Brandenstein, commander; John O. Creighton, pilot; Shannon W. Lucid, Steven R. Nagel, and John M. Fabian, mission specialists; and Patrick Baudry, of France, and Prince Sultan Salman Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, both payload specialists.

STS-51-G carried three communications satellites as its primary cargo. These were Arabsat 1-B (Arab Satellite Communications Organization); Morelos I (Mexico); and Telstar 3-D (AT&T). All three successfully utilized PAM-D booster stages to achieve geosynchronous transfer orbits after being deployed from Discovery.

Also carried was the Spartan 1 carrier module, designed to be deployed from the orbiter and fly free in space before being retrieved. Spartan 1 included 300 pounds (140 kg) of astronomy experiments. It was deployed and operated successfully, independent of the orbiter, before being retrieved. Discovery furthermore carried an experimental materials-processing furnace, several French biomedical experiments, and six Getaway Special experiments, which were all successfully performed, although the GO34 Getaway Special shut down prematurely.

The mission's final payload element was a High Precision Tracking Experiment (HPTE) for the Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed "Star Wars"); the HTPE failed to deploy properly during its first try on the mission's 37th orbit, because the orbiter was not at the correct attitude. It was successfully deployed on orbit 64.

Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base at 9:12 am EDT on 24 June 1985, after a mission duration of 7 days, one hour, 38 minutes and 52 seconds.

[edit] Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Gemini program, 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.[2]

Flight Day Song Artist/Composer
Day 2 "I Feel the Earth Move" Carole King
Day 3 "Proud Mary" Creedence Clearwater Revival
Day 4 "Sailing" Christopher Cross
Day 5 "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" Neil Diamond
Day 6 "Wedding March" Felix Mendelssohn

[edit] Gallery

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ A prince in space at Saudi Aramco World, January/February 1986, p20-29
  2. ^ Fries, Colin (25 June 2007). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. http://history.nasa.gov/wakeup%20calls.pdf. Retrieved 13 August 2007. 

[edit] External links

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