Discovery lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 7:33 am EDT on June 17, 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.
Pages within this section: USA Shuttle Mission Flights
STS-51g
Pages within this section:
The Space Shuttle Missions
Astronauts:
STS-51g
Command Pilot:
Pilot:
51d
M
8
SM
Sub-Menu
menu
-
51f
51g
51i
51j
51l
52
53
(Only Space Flight)
STS-51-G carried three communications satellites as its primary cargo. These were Arabsat-1B (Arab Satellite Communications Organization); Morelos I (Mexico); and Telstar 3D (AT&T Corporation). 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 140 kilograms (300 lb) 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 HPTE 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 June 24, 1985, after a mission duration of 7 days, one hour, 38 minutes and 52 seconds.
