View source for Engineering:STS-61-A

{{Short description|1985 American crewed spaceflight funded and directed by West Germany}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = STS-61-A
| names_list         = [[Astronomy:Space Transportation System|Space Transportation System]]-22<br/>[[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab D-1]]
| image              = STS-61-A crew in Spacelab D-1.jpg
| image_caption      = Guion Bluford, [[Biography:Reinhard Furrer|Reinhard Furrer]], and [[Biography:Ernst Messerschmid|Ernst Messerschmid]] in [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab Module]] LM2, serving as the Spacelab D1 laboratory.
| image_size         = 300px

| mission_type       = [[Physics:Micro-g environment|Microgravity research]]
| operator           = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] / [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]] (West Germany)
| COSPAR_ID          = 1985-104A
| SATCAT             = 16230
| mission_duration   = 7 days, 0 hour, 44 minutes, 51 seconds (achieved)

| distance_travelled = {{cvt|4682148|km}}
| orbits_completed   = 112

| spacecraft         = {{OV|099}}
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|110568|kg}}
| landing_mass       = {{cvt|97144|kg}}
| payload_mass       = {{cvt|14451|kg}}

| crew_size          = 8
| crew_members       = {{Unbulleted list|Henry W. Hartsfield Jr.|Steven R. Nagel|Bonnie J. Dunbar|James Buchli|Guion Bluford|[[Biography:Reinhard Furrer|Reinhard Furrer]]|[[Biography:Ernst Messerschmid|Ernst Messerschmid]]|Wubbo Ockels}}

| launch_date        = October 30, 1985, 17:00:00 [[Physics:Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]
| launch_rocket      = [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']]
| launch_site        = Kennedy Space Center, [[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Company:Rockwell International|Rockwell International]]

| landing_date       = November 6, 1985, 17:44:51 UTC
| landing_site       = [[Organization:Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards Air Force Base]],<br/>Runway 17

| orbit_reference    = [[Astronomy:Geocentric orbit|Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime       = [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis    = {{cvt|319|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{cvt|331|km}}
| orbit_inclination  = 57.00°
| orbit_period       = 91.00 minutes
| apsis              = gee

| instruments        = 

| insignia           = STS-61-a-patch.png
| insignia_caption   = STS-61-A mission patch
| insignia_size      = 200px

| crew_photo         = STS-61-A_crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = Back: Steven R. Nagel, Guion Bluford, [[Biography:Ernst Messerschmid|Ernst Messerschmid]], Wubbo Ockels<br/>Front: [[Biography:Reinhard Furrer|Reinhard Furrer]], Bonnie J. Dunbar, James Buchli, Henry W. Hartsfield Jr.
| crew_photo_size    = 300px

| programme          = '''[[Engineering:Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle program]]'''
| previous_mission   = [[Engineering:STS-51-J|STS-51-J]] (21)
| next_mission       = [[Engineering:STS-61-B|STS-61-B]] (23)
}}

'''STS-61-A''' (also known as '''Spacelab D-1''') was the 22nd mission of [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s [[Engineering:Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle program]]. It was a scientific [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab]] mission, funded and directed by West Germany – hence the non-NASA designation of D-1 (for '''Deutschland-1'''). STS-61-A was the ninth and last successful flight of [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] before the [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|disaster]]. STS-61-A holds the current record for the largest crew—eight people—aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.

The mission carried the NASA/[[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] (ESA) Spacelab module into orbit with 76 scientific experiments on board, and was declared a success.<ref name=tfld1>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/German-run+shuttle+mission+successful-a04023813|title=German-run shuttle mission successful – Free Online Library|publisher=Thefreelibrary.com|date=November 16, 1985|access-date=May 18, 2011}}</ref> Payload operations were controlled from the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, West Germany, instead of from the regular NASA control center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://space.about.com/od/challengermissions/p/sts61amission.htm|title=STS-61A Space Shuttle Challenger Mission|publisher=Space.about.com|access-date=May 18, 2011|archive-date=July 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075415/http://space.about.com/od/challengermissions/p/sts61amission.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was the first spaceflight to include multiple crewmembers from any single country other than the {{wipe|United States}} or [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]].

== Crew ==
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology = Astronaut

| position1   = Commander
| crew1_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Henry W. Hartsfield Jr. [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights1_up = Third and last

| position2   = Pilot
| crew2_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Steven R. Nagel [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights2_up = Second

| position3   = RMS Specialist
| crew3_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Bonnie J. Dunbar [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights3_up = First

| position4   = Flight Engineer
| crew4_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} James Buchli [[Image:Solid red.svg|8px|Member of Red Team]]
| flights4_up = Second

| position5   = (Science) Mission Specialist
| crew5_up    = {{Flagicon|USA}} Guion Bluford [[Image:Solid red.svg|8px|Member of Red Team]]
| flights5_up = Second

| position6   = Payload Specialist 1 
| crew6_up    = {{Flagicon|FRG}} [[Biography:Reinhard Furrer|Reinhard Furrer]] [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights6_up = Only
| agency6_up  = [[Organization:German Aerospace Center|DLR]]

| position7   = Payload Commander 
| crew7_up    = {{Flagicon|FRG}} [[Biography:Ernst Messerschmid|Ernst Messerschmid]] [[Image:Solid red.svg|8 px|Member of Red Team]]
| flights7_up = Only
| agency7_up  = [[Organization:German Aerospace Center|DLR]]

| position8   = Payload Specialist 2 
| crew8_up    = {{Flagicon|NLD}} Wubbo Ockels [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8 px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights8_up = Only
| agency8_up  = [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]]
}}

=== Backup crew ===
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology = Astronaut

| position8   = Payload Specialist 3
| crew8_up    = {{Flagicon|FRG}} Ulf Merbold [[Image:Solid blue.svg|8px|Member of Blue Team]]
| flights8_up = Second
| agency8_up  = [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]]
}}

=== Crew seating arrangements ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Seat<ref name=spacefacts>{{cite web|title=STS-61A|url=http://spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-61a.htm|publisher=Spacefacts|access-date=February 26, 2014}}</ref> 
! Launch
! Landing
| rowspan="9" style="text-align: center;" | [[File:STS 61A seating plan.svg|150px]]<br /> Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck. Seat 8 is located directly ahead of Seat 5.<ref name=spacefacts/>
|-
! S1
| Hartsfield
| Hartsfield
|-
! S2
| Nagel
| Nagel
|-
! S3
| Dunbar
| Bluford
|-
! S4
| Buchli
| Buchli
|-
! S5
| Bluford
| Dunbar
|-
! S6
| Furrer
| Furrer
|-
! S7
| Messerschmid
| Messerschmid
|-
! S8
| Ockels
| Ockels
|}

== Mission summary ==
[[File:Grand Canyon autumn STS61A-48-91.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|The Grand Canyon from orbit]]

Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' lifted off from [[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|Launch Complex 39A]] at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:00 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] on October 30, 1985. This was the first Space Shuttle mission largely financed and operated by another nation, West Germany. It was also the only Shuttle flight to launch with a crew of eight. The crew members included Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., commander; Steven R. Nagel, pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli and Guion S. Bluford, mission specialists; and Ernst Messerschmid and Reinhard Furrer of West Germany, along with first Dutch astronaut Wubbo J. Ockels of the European Space Agency (ESA), all payload specialists.

The primary task of STS-61-A was to conduct a series of experiments, almost all related to functions in [[Physics:Micro-g environment|microgravity]], in Spacelab D-1, the third flight of a Spacelab orbital laboratory module. Two other mission assignments were to deploy the Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR) out of a [[Astronomy:Getaway Special|Getaway Special]] (GAS) canister in the cargo bay, and to operate five materials processing experiments, which were mounted in the orbiter's payload bay on a separate device called the German Unique Support Structure. The experiments included investigations into [[Physics:Fluid mechanics|fluid physics]], with experiments in [[Physics:Capillary action|capillarity]], [[Physics:Marangoni effect|Marangoni convection]], diffusion phenomena, and critical points; solidification experiments; single [[Physics:Crystal growth|crystal growth]]; composites; biological studies, including cell functions, developmental processes, and the ability of plants to perceive gravity; medical experiments, including the gravitational perceptions of humans, and their adaptation processes in space; and speed-time interaction studies of people working in space.

One equipment item of unusual interest was the [[Biology:Vestibular system|Vestibular Sled]], an ESA contribution consisting of a seat for a test subject that could be moved backward and forward with precisely controlled accelerations and stops, along rails fixed to the floor of the Spacelab aisle. By taking detailed measurements on a human strapped into the seat, scientists gained data on the functional organization of the human vestibular and orientation systems, and the vestibular adaptation processes under microgravity. The acceleration experiments by the sled riders were combined with thermal stimulations of the inner ear and optokinetic stimulations of the eye.

NASA operated the Space Shuttle, and was responsible for overall safety and control functions throughout the flight. West Germany was responsible for the scientific research carried out during the seven-day mission. To fulfill this function, German scientific controllers on the ground worked closely with the personnel in orbit, operating out of the German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen, near [[Place:Munich|Munich]], West Germany. The orbiting crew was divided into two teams, working in shifts to ensure laboratory work was performed 24 hours a day. Communications were optimal throughout the mission and the ground and orbital crews were able to interact regularly. The overall system of one control center controlling spacecraft operations and a second controlling experiment functions worked smoothly in practice.

[[File:Clearwater NASA.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Earth:Clearwater Lakes|Clearwater Lakes]] in Quebec, {{wipe|Canada}} (meteorite impact craters) as seen during the mission.]]

The GLOMR satellite was successfully deployed during the mission, and the five experiments mounted on the separate structure behind the Spacelab module obtained useful data. ''Challenger'' landed, for what was to be the last time, on Runway 17 at [[Organization:Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards Air Force Base]] on November 6, 1985. The wheels stopped rolling at 12:45 p.m. EST, after a mission duration of 7 days, 0 hour, 44 minutes, and 51 seconds.

STS-61-A marked the last successful mission of Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', which would be [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|destroyed with all hands on board]] during the launch of the [[Engineering:STS-51-L|STS-51-L]] mission on January 28, 1986.

== Records ==
STS-61-A with its crew of 8 set a record as the highest number of people in space on a single spacecraft.<ref name="science.ksc.nasa.gov">{{cite web|title=SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION SUMMARIES |url=https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/stsover-missions.html|website=science.ksc.nasa.gov|access-date=December 17, 2017}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The first seven-person Shuttle mission had been [[Engineering:STS-41-G|STS-41-G]] in October 1984.<ref name="science.ksc.nasa.gov"/>

STS-61-A was not the first Space Shuttle flight of an ESA astronaut or a West German citizen, as Ulf Merbold, who also served as the backup on this mission, had previously flown on the [[Engineering:STS-9|STS-9]] mission in 1983,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Astronauts/Ulf_Merbold|title=Ulf Merbold|last=esa}}</ref> but Wubbo Ockels became the first Dutch citizen in space.

Guion S. Bluford at the time was already the first African-American in space, having previously flown on [[Engineering:STS-8|STS-8]]. With STS-61-A he became the first African-American to fly in space twice.<ref name="space.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/25602-guion-bluford-biography.html|title=Guion Bluford: First African-American in Space|publisher=Space.com|date=February 8, 2017}}</ref> He would later go on to fly on [[Engineering:STS-39|STS-39]] in 1991 and on [[Engineering:STS-53|STS-53]] in 1992. Bluford was a member of the U.S. astronaut class of 1978.<ref name="space.com"/>

== Mission insignia ==
The insignia was chosen by the eight members of the STS-61A/D1 Spacelab mission to represent the record-sized Space Shuttle crew. Crewmembers surnames surround the colorful patch scene depicting ''Challenger'' carrying a long science module and an international crew from [[Earth:Europe|Europe]] and the United States, and as the module is primarily part of the German contribution to the mission, the German flag and the mission suffix D-1 are prominently depicted. As to further distinguish Ockels, being the first Dutch citizen to fly into space, gets attributed an ESA logo to his name, instead of the more traditional addition of the respective non-US members being attributed with their respective nation's flags, as the patch already was that elaborately showing such.

== See also ==
* [[Astronomy:List of human spaceflights|List of human spaceflights]]
* [[Engineering:List of Space Shuttle missions|List of Space Shuttle missions]]
* [[Astronomy:Space exploration|Space exploration]]
* [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]
* [[Engineering:Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle program]]
* [[Astronomy:Spacelab|Spacelab]]
* [[Engineering:List of Space Shuttle crews|List of Space Shuttle crews]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/61-a/mission-61-a.html NASA mission summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215182557/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/61-a/mission-61-a.html |date=February 15, 2013 }}
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle22.htm STS-61A Video Highlights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928051405/http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle22.htm |date=September 28, 2013 }}
* [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/German-run+shuttle+mission+successful-a04023813 German-run Shuttle mission successful]

{{Space Shuttle Challenger}}
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[[Category:Space Shuttle missions]]

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