STS-51-D

STS-51-D
	The crew attempt to activate Syncom IV-3 via a "flyswatter" device attached to Discovery's Canadarm
Names	Space Transportation System-16
Mission type	Communications satellite deployment
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1985-028A
SATCAT no.	15641
Mission duration	6 days, 23 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds (achieved)
Distance travelled	4,650,658 km (2,889,785 mi)
Orbits completed	110
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch mass	113,802 kg (250,890 lb)
Landing mass	89,818 kg (198,015 lb)
Payload mass	13,039 kg (28,746 lb)
Crew
Crew size	7
Members	Karol J. Bobko; Donald E. Williams; Margaret Rhea Seddon; S. David Griggs; Jeffrey A. Hoffman; Charles D. Walker; Jake Garn;
EVAs	1
EVA duration	3 hours, 6 minutes
Start of mission
Launch date	April 12, 1985, 13:59:05 UTC
Rocket	Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	April 19, 1985, 13:54:28 UTC
Landing site	Kennedy Space Center,; SLF Runway 33
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	300 km (190 mi)
Apogee altitude	452 km (281 mi)
Inclination	28.45°
Period	94.40 minutes
Instruments
	American Flight Echo-cardiograph (AFE); Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES-III); Getaway specials (GASs)Phase Partitioning Experiments (PPE);
	; STS 51-D mission patch; ; Back row: S. David Griggs, Charles D. Walker, Jake Garn; Front row: Karol J. Bobko, Donald E. Williams, Rhea Seddon, Jeffrey A. Hoffman Space Shuttle program ← STS-51-C (15) STS-51-B (17) →

STS-51-D was the 16th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fourth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery.^[2] The launch of STS-51-D from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on April 12, 1985, was delayed by 55 minutes, after a boat strayed into the restricted Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) recovery zone. STS-51-D was the third shuttle mission to be extended.

On April 19, 1985, after a week-long flight, Discovery conducted the fifth shuttle landing at KSC. The shuttle suffered extensive brake damage and a ruptured tire during landing. This forced all subsequent shuttle landings to be done at Edwards Air Force Base, California, until the development and implementation of nose wheel steering made landings at KSC more feasible.

^ "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
^ "STS-51D Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved December 16, 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[satcat-1] "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 24, 2014.

[press_kit-2] "STS-51D Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved December 16, 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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