STS-51G

USA

Manned Flight n°: 107

Earth orbit Flight n°: 104

USA manned Flight n°: 49

Launch, orbit & landing data:

Designation 15823 / 85048A
Launch date - time 17 Jun 1985 - 11:33:00 UT
Launch site KSC, LC39A
Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle
Orbiter Discovery OV-103 (#5)
Primary payload Arabsat 1B/Telstar 3-D/Morelos 1
Mass (kg) 
Call Sign 
Earth orbit on :
   - Perigee / Apogee  km
   - Inclination 28.45°
   - Period  min
Landing date - time 24 Jun 1985 - 13:11:52 UT
Landing location Edwards AFB, Runway 23
Flight Duration  7d 01h 38m
Nbr orbits 112

7 astronauts

Flight Crew

Nr. Surname Given name Job Duration
1  Brandenstein  Daniel Charles  CDR 7d 01h 38m 
2  Creighton  John Oliver  PLT 7d 01h 38m 
3  Lucid  Shannon Matilda Wells  MSP 7d 01h 38m 
4  Fabian  John McCreary  MSP 7d 01h 38m 
5  Nagel  Steven Ray  MSP 7d 01h 38m 
6  Baudry  Marie-Patrick Pierre Roger  PSP 7d 01h 38m 
7  Al-Saud  Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz  PSP 7d 01h 38m 

Mission details:

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Edwards AFB; deploying of three communications satelites Morelos-1 (Mexico), Arabsat-1B (ASCO) and Telstar-3D (AT&T); deploying and retrieving of US-platform SPARTAN 1-01 for astronomical studies; six Get Away Special canisters with experiments in Earth observation, medicine, biology, astronomy; two French biomedical experiments; SDI-experiment called High Precision Tracking Experiment.
17 June 1985 11:31 GMT. LV Configuration: STS-25 (51-G). Spacecraft: Discovery. Payload: Discovery F05 / Morelos 1[PAM-D] / Telstar 303. Mass: 20,174 kg. Perigee: 358 km. Apogee: 369 km. Inclination: 28.5 deg. Period: 91.8 min.
STS-51-G STS-51-G - Astronaut John Creighton poses with onboard GRID computer - Credit: NASA.

Deployed and retrieved Spartan 1; launched Morelos 1, Arabsat 1B, Telstar 3D.Payloads: Shuttle Pointed Autono-mous Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN)-1; Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF); High Precision Tracking Experiment (HPTE); Orbiter Experiments (OEX); French Echocardiograph Experiment (FEE) and French Pocket Experiment (FPE).

STS-51-G STS-51-G - Spartan 1 satellite moves away from orbiter over ocean - Credit: NASA.
Orbits of Earth: 111. Distance traveled: 4,693,051 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 116,310 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 92,607 kg. Payload to Orbit: 20,174 kg. Payload Returned: 9,818 kg. Landed at: Runway 23 dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, . Landing Speed: 366 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 340 m. Landing Rollout: 2,265 m.
STS-51-G STS-51-G - Arabsat communications satellite deploying from Discovery's payload bay - Credit: NASA.
NASA Official Mission Narrative

Mission Name: 51-G (18)
DISCOVERY (5)
Pad 39-A (30)
18th Shuttle mission
5th Flight OV-103

Crew:
Daniel C. Brandenstein (2), Commander
John O. Creighton (1), Pilot
Shannon W. Lucid (1), Mission Specialist 1
John M. Fabian (2), Mission Specialist 2
Steven R. Nagel (1), Mission Specialist 3
Patrick Baudry (1), Payload Specialist 1
Sultan Salman Al-Saud (1), Payload Specialist 2

STS-51-G STS-51-G - Astronaut Shannon Lucid monitors payload bay activities - Credit: NASA.
Milestones:
OPF - April 19, 1985
VAB - May 29, 1985
PAD - June 4,1985

Payload:
MORELOS-A,ARABSAT-1B,TELSTAR-3D,SPARTAN-1,FEE,FPE,ADSF
Mission Objectives:

Launch:
Jun. 17,1985,7:33:00 a.m, EDT. Launch proceeded as scheduled with no delays. Launch Weight: 256,524 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 209nm
Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Orbits: 112
Duration: Seven days, one hour, 38 minutes, 52 seconds.
Distance: 2,916,127 miles

STS-51-G STS-51-G - Payload specialists Baudry and Al-Saud conduct Postural experiment - Credit: NASA.
Hardware:
SRB: BI-019
SRM: M018(HPM)
ET : 20/LWT-13
MLP : 1
SSME-1: SN-2109
SSME-2: SN-2018
SSME-3: SN-2012

Landing:
June 24, 1985, 6:11:52 a.m. PDT, Runway 23, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 7,433 feet. Rollout time: 42 seconds. Orbiter returned to KSC June 28, 1985. Landing Weight: 204,169 lbs

STS-51-G STS-51-G - Wadi Habawnah, Saudi Arabia - Credit: NASA.
Mission Highlights:
Three communications satellites, all attached to Payload Assist Module-D (PAM-D) motors, were deployed: MORE LOS-A, for Mexico; ARABSAT-A, for Arab Satellite Communications Organization; and TELSTAR-3D, for AT&T. Also flown: deployable/retrievable Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-1); six Get Away Special canisters; Strategic Defense Initiative experiment called the High Precision Tracking Experiment (HPTE); a materials processing furnace called Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF); and two French biomedical experiments.
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