Space Shuttle Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-L on January 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members. The accident led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet, with missions resuming in 1988 with the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-26. Challenger itself was replaced by the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which first launched in 1992. Endeavour was constructed from spare parts originally meant for Challenger and the other shuttles in the fleet.
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Last updated: 03/15/11 at 02:23 PM
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STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on January 28, 1986 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission ended in disaster with the destruction of Challenger 73 seconds after lift-off and the death of all seven crewmembers. The Rogers Commission determined the cause was due to the failure of an O-ring seal on one of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-51-L
STS-61-A (also known as D-1) was the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. It was a scientific Spacelab mission funded and controlled by West Germany - hence the non-NASA name of D-1 (for Deutschland 1). It was also the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. STS-61-A holds the record for the largest crew, eight people, aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing. The Space Shuttle mission carried the NASA/ESA Spacelab module with 76 experiments, and was declared a success.[1] Payload operations were controlled from the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany instead of the regular NASA centers.[2] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-61-A
STS-51-F (Spacelab 2) was the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger, and the nineteenth shuttle flight. While the primary payload was Spacelab-2, the payload with most publicity was the Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation, which was an experiment where both Coca-Cola and Pepsi tried to make their drinks available to astronauts. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-51-F
STS 51-B was the seventeenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of Challenger. The launch of Challenger was delayed 2 minutes 18 seconds due to a launch processing failure. Challenger was initially rolled out to the pad to launch on the STS-51E mission. The shuttle was rolled back when there was a timing issue with the TDRS-B satellite. When STS-51E was canceled Challenger was remanifested with the STS-51B payloads. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-51-B
STS 41-G marked the 13th flight of a space shuttle and the sixth flight of Challenger. It conducted the second landing at Kennedy Space Center. It was the first shuttle mission to carry a crew of seven, including the first crew with two women (Sally Ride and Kathryn Sullivan), the first American EVA involving a woman (Sullivan), and the first Canadian astronaut (Marc Garneau). STS-41-G was the second shuttle mission to have the IMAX camera on board to document the flight. Film from the mission (including Sullivan and Leestma's EVA) appeared in the IMAX movie The Dream is Alive. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-41-G
STS-41-C was the 11th space shuttle mission and the fifth for Challenger. The launch was the first direct ascent trajectory for a Shuttle mission. The mission was extended one day due to problems capturing the Solar Max satellite, and the landing was at Edwards Air Force Base instead of Kennedy Space Center as planned. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-41-C
STS-41-B was the tenth space shuttle mission, and the fourth flight for Challenger. Following STS-9, the flight numbering system for Space Shuttle missions was changed. Thus, the next flight, instead of being designated STS-11, became STS 41-B. STS-10 was cancelled due to payload delays. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-41-B
STS-8 was a Space Shuttle mission carried out in August
STS-7 was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Challenger, launched 18 June 1983. This was the seventh space shuttle mission, and was the second mission for the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was also the first American mission to have a female astronaut. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-7
STS-6 was a Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA using Space Shuttle Challenger. Launched 4 April 1983, STS-6 was the sixth space shuttle mission and the first of the ten missions flown on Challenger. The mission took off from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39-A, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base. This was the first mission the Extravehicular Mobility Unit was used. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-6
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