| Names | Space Transportation System |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Galileo spacecraft deployment |
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | 4 days, 1 hour, 11 minutes (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Atlantis (planned) |
| Launch mass | 116,831 kg (257,568 lb) |
| Landing mass | 88,881 kg (195,949 lb) |
| Payload mass | 22,064 kg (48,643 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 4 (planned) |
| Members | David M. Walker Ronald J. Grabe Norman E. Thagard James D. A. "OX" van Hoften |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 May 1986, 20:21:00UTC (planned) -Never launched |
| Rocket | Space ShuttleAtlantis |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center,LC-39A |
| Contractor | Rockwell International |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 24 May 1986, 21:32:00 UTC (planned) |
| Landing site | Kennedy Space Center |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 298 km (185 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 307 km (191 mi) |
| Inclination | 34.30° |
| Period | 90.60 minutes |
STS-61-G mission patch David M. Walker,Ronald J. Grabe,Norman E. Thagard,James D. A. "OX" van Hoften Cancelled Shuttle missions | |
STS-61-G was aNASASpace Shuttle mission planned to launch on 20 May 1986, usingAtlantis. The main objective of this mission was to launch theGalileo spacecraft towardJupiter using theCentaur-G upper stage. It was canceled after theSpace ShuttleChallenger disaster.
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | David M. Walker Would have been second space mission | |
| Pilot | Ronald J. Grabe Would have been second space mission | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Norman E. Thagard Would have been third space mission | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | James D. A. "OX" van Hoften Would have been third space mission | |
John M. Fabian was scheduled to fly as Mission Specialist 1 on his third trip to space, but he took advice from his wife who had earlier told him that "his marriage had a two-flight limit", he soon resigned from this mission.[1] His replacement was Norman E. Thagard.[2] Most of the crew sans van Hoften flew onSTS-30 in May 1989, withMary L. Cleave taking the place of van Hoften and the addition of rookieMark C. Lee.Galileo was launched onSTS-34 in October 1989, using theInertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster instead of the Centaur-G (which was canceled in 1986).