STS-7

STS-7

Challenger as photographed by the SPAS-1 satellite on June 22, 1983
Names	Space Transportation System-7
Mission type	Communications satellites deployment Microgravity research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1983-059A
SATCAT no.	14132
Mission duration	6 days, 2 hours, 23 minutes and 59 seconds
Distance travelled	3,570,000 km (2,220,000 mi)
Orbits completed	97
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Challenger
Launch mass	113,025 kg (249,177 lb)
Landing mass	92,550 kg (204,040 lb)
Payload mass	16,839 kg (37,124 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	Robert Crippen Frederick Hauck John M. Fabian Sally Ride Norman Thagard
Start of mission
Launch date	June 18, 1983, 11:33:00 (June 18, 1983, 11:33:00) UTC (7:33 am EDT)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	June 24, 1983, 13:56:59 (June 24, 1983, 13:56:59) UTC (6:56:59 am PDT)
Landing site	Edwards, Runway 15
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	299 km (186 mi)
Apogee altitude	307 km (191 mi)
Inclination	28.30°
Period	90.60 minutes
Instruments
Getaway Special (GAS) canisters
STS-7 mission patch From left: Ride, Fabian, Crippen, Thagard and Hauck Space Shuttle program ← STS-6 STS-8 →

STS-7 was NASA's seventh Space Shuttle mission, and the second mission for the Space Shuttle Challenger. During the mission, Challenger deployed several satellites into orbit. The shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 18, 1983, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on June 24, 1983. STS-7 carried Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut.