STS-51

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Mission emblem
Mission emblem STS-51
Mission dates
Mission: STS-51
COSPAR-ID : 1993-058A
Crew: 5
Begin: September 12, 1993, 11:45:00  UTC
Starting place: Kennedy Space Center , LC-39B
Number of EVA : 1
Landing: September 22, 1993, 07:56:11 UTC
Landing place: Kennedy Space Center, Lane 15
Flight duration: 9d 20h 11min 11s
Earth orbits: 157
Track height: 296 km
Orbit inclination : 28.45 °
Covered track: 6.5 million km
Payload: ACTS , ORFEUS SPAS
Team photo
v. l. No. Frank Culbertson, Daniel Bursch, Carl Walz, William Readdy, James Newman
v. l. No. Frank Culbertson, Daniel Bursch, Carl Walz, William Readdy, James Newman
◄ Before / After ►
STS-57 STS-58

STS-51 ( english S pace T ransportation S ystem ) was a name given to a mission of the US Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) of NASA . The launch took place on September 12, 1993. It was the 57th space shuttle mission and the 17th flight of the space shuttle Discovery.

team

Mission history

Start attempts and start

What was special about this mission was the fact that the crew was already on board the space shuttle at the time of the three aborted take-offs and then had to leave it again.

  • The first attempt to start on July 17, 1993 had to be aborted due to a problem with a pyrotechnic controller in one of the solid fuel boosters .
  • The second attempt to start on July 24th had to be canceled due to another defect in the right SRB.
  • The third attempt to start on August 12th was initially successful until the three main engines ignited . Three seconds before take-off, the engines had to be switched off and take-off aborted. The fuel flow meter on one of the engines was defective. This so-called RSLS (Redundant Set Launch Sequencer) abort is carried out automatically if the monitoring computer detects a technical fault in the engines during ignition.
  • The fourth attempt at take-off on September 12 was finally successful and the Discovery took off at 11:45 UTC on its 17th flight.

Mission overview

Deployment of the ACT satellite

The main objective of the mission was to deploy the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ORFEUS) mounted on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) . The latter was equipped with US and German scientific experiments, including one ultraviolet - spectrometer . There was also an IMAX film camera on it, which was used to shoot scenes for the movie Destiny in Space .

The ACT satellite was an experimental communications satellite. After the launch on the first day of flight, it was transported to geostationary orbit using the Orbital Sciences Corporation's Transfer Orbit Stage . This was preceded by a delay as there were communication problems between the Johnson Space Center and the shuttle half an hour before the scheduled launch . This was addressed by changing the frequency of the S-band communication unit.

Newman and Walz during the EVA

On September 16, mission specialists Newman and Walz carried out a seven-hour spacecraft mission . They tested various tools, brackets and footrests that the astronauts were supposed to use during the maintenance mission of the Hubble space telescope in December. Since the crew was faster than planned, additional tests could be carried out. However, a tool box could not be closed as intended, so that the EVA had to be extended by 45 minutes and thus lasted seven hours and five minutes.

Various biological and materials research experiments were also carried out inside the cabin. Among other things, an ergometer mounted on the lower deck of the Discovery was used to investigate the effect of gravity on human muscle cells. In preparation for future missions to space stations, a fuel cell was switched off for testing purposes and then restarted.

After six days, the free-flying ORFEUS pallet, which had moved up to around 65 km from the Discovery in between, was captured with the help of the Canadarm robotic arm and stowed in the payload bay. Then all parts that were not required were stowed in the cabin and the orbiter was prepared for landing.

After 158 orbits the Earth, the Discovery landed on September 22nd at 07:56:11 UTC on the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first night landing of a space shuttle at this landing site.

See also

Web links

Commons : STS-51  - album with pictures, videos and audio files