| Names | Space Transportation System |
|---|---|
| Mission type | TDRS-D satellite deployment (planned) |
| Operator | NASA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Challenger (planned) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members | Loren J. Shriver Bryan D. O'Connor Mark C. Lee Sally K. Ride William Frederick Fisher Robert Wood |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July 15, 1986 (planned)[1] Not launched |
| Rocket | Space ShuttleChallenger |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center,LC-39A |
| Contractor | Rockwell International |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 285 km (177 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 295 km (183 mi) |
| Inclination | 28.45° |
| Period | 90.40 minutes |
 Space Shuttle patch Cancelled Shuttle missions | |
STS-61-M was a proposedNASASpace Shuttle program mission, planned for July 1986 but canceled following theSpace ShuttleChallenger disaster (STS-51-L).
The payload manifest was to have beenTDRS-D,INSAT-1C, and EOS-1 (Electrophoresis Operations in Space).[1] EOS-1 was a payload developed byMcDonnell Douglas that would have demonstrated theproduction in space of ultra-pureerythropoietin through electrophoresis.[2] Robert Wood, a McDonnell Douglas engineer, was assigned as the payload specialist for EOS-1 with fellow engineerCharles D. Walker assigned as his backup.[3]
If flown, this would have been Sally Ride's third spaceflight. After theChallenger disaster, Ride was named to theRogers Commission investigating the disaster and left NASA afterwards in 1987.[4]
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Loren J. Shriver Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Bryan D. O'Connor Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Mark C. Lee Would have been first spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Sally K. Ride Would have been third spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | William F. Fisher Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 | Robert Wood Would have been first spaceflight | |
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Payload Specialist 1 | Charles D. Walker Would have been fourth spaceflight | |
Space ShuttleChallenger (OV-099) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Flights | .jpg) | |
| Status |
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| Related |
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