Challenger STS 61-A / Spacelab D1 - Screenshots

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September 9, 1995 - Almost ten years after STS 61-A / Spacelab D1

German astronaut Reinhard Furrer died in a plane crash during an air show near Berlin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Furrer

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For L2 members here is a link to STS-61A High Res. photos:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=13708.msg296484#msg296484

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For those of you who enjoyed the press articles in my recent presentations of shuttle missions I want to add the following. Since it was Challenger’s last successful flight I think they are sort of a missing link between the 51-F thread and a four-part 51-L documentation I am preparing for you right now. (Of course 61-B and 61-C presentations will be coming up before that.) 


May 1: Experiments assembled in West Germany arrived at Kennedy Space Center for flight aboard the next Spacelab mission - the first manned spaceflight whose primary mission will not be directed by the United States or the Soviet Union. Mission Control for Spacelab D-1 activity during the October, 1985, flight will be from the German Space Operations Center in the town of Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich.

"I consider the cooperation of Europe - in particular between the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany - as an especially good example of cooperation between partners," said Dr. Albert Probst, parliamentary state secretary of West Germany's Ministry of Research and Technology, who spoke to NASA officials at KSC. (TODAY, May 2, 1985)

Payload racks for the Spacelab D1 mission were delivered to Kennedy Space Center from Bremen, West Germany, by a USAF Lockheed C-5A and will be processed for an October 16 launch in the orbiter Columbia. The D1 mission is a dedicated German flight, and the payload was integrated and checked out by MBB/ERNO in Bremen. It consists of experiments in the disciplines of botany, biology, life sciences, medicine, materials boundary layer effects and navigation. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, May 6, 1985)

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October 18: The mock launch countdown at Kennedy Space Center for liftoff of the shuttle Challenger went so well the eight crew members had a hard time keeping their thoughts earthbound afterward. "I wished it had been today," said Henry Hartsfield, the mission commander of the October 30 flight. He said the test went smoothly except for an "anomaly" in the display panel; NASA said later that the problem would not affect the flight.

The mission - Spacelab D-1 - has the largest crew ever, five Americans and three Germans. Hartsfield and pilot Steven Nagel will fly the orbiter; the NASA mission specialists are Guion Bluford, Bonnie Dunbar and James Buchli. Payload specialist Reinhard Furrer and Ernst Messerschmid of Germany and Wubbo Ockels of the Netherlands will provide the international members of the crew. The shuttle payload will be controlled from an operations center at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, near Munich. (FLORIDA TODAY, p. 4A, Oct. 19, 1985)

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October 27: The largest shuttle crew ever - five Americans, two West Germans and one Dutchman - arrived at Kennedy Space Center amidst thundershowers today. ,The bird's in good shape, and I can assure you of one thing: The crew is ready to go," Cmdr. Hank Hartsfield said. "I'm still trying to figure out if we're a gaggle or a herd," said mission specialist Bonnie Dunbar. "But let's go." For a complete crew listing see story of Oct. 18. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 28, 1985)

October 28: The countdown for the weeklong flight of STS 61-A began at 6 a.m. and continued smoothly as the record eight-member crew spent a light day preparing for the flight. West Germany has booked the entire shuttle mission for $64 million, sponsoring 76 experiments valued at $175 million. Most are housed in Spacelab, a 23-foot laboratory in Challenger's cargo bay where scientific research will be conducted around the clock. This will be the first time a manned space mission has been managed by a country other than the United States or the Soviet Union, but despite the precedent, only 50 foreign journalists have asked to cover the launch, half the number who came to Kennedy Space Center for the first Spacelab launch in 1983. The weather forecast calls for good visibility, although there remains a chance of rain in the area. (THE ORLANDO SENTINEL, Oct. 29, 1985)

October 29: NASA's Teacher in Space Sharon Christa McAuliffe (Concord, N.H.) and her backup teachernaut Barbara Morgan (McCall, Idaho) took their first up-close look at the shuttle Challenger perched on its pad and ready for a noon launch October 30.

"Amazing," said McAuliffe, who spoke briefly during a photo session at LC 39A. "Especially with the superstructure. We've seen the mock-ups and everything, but we're only used to seeing the cargo bay. But to see the superstructure and the tank...it's unbelievable." McAuliffe is scheduled to fly on the January 1986 mission. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 30, 1985)

"Challenger and the cargo and the crew all seem ready to go," NASA shuttle chief Jesse Moore said. "We're a little bit concerned about the weather." Air Force weather officer Lt. Francine Lockwood said rain showers were likely throughout the noon-to-3 p.m. launch window, as a result of Hurricane Juan's remnants being close to Florida. NASA will not launch shuttles through rain or high winds. If the liftoff is cancelled Oct. 30, it will be rescheduled for Oct. 31. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 30, 1985)

Princess Margriet Francisca of the Netherlands and her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, toured Kennedy Space Center in advance of their countryman's launch into space aboard the shuttle October 30. The princess said through her spokesman that her visit was intended as moral support for Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels. In addition to the princess and her husband, other VIP's expected to view the launch of STS 61-A were Italian aerospace executive Renato Honifacio; actor Kirby Grant, known as television's "Sky King" in the late 1950s; Hermann Oberth, a 91-year-old German astronautics pioneer; and a handful of current and former German government officials. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 30, 1985)

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October 30: Kirby Grant, television's "Sky King," was killed in an auto accident at 8:00 a.m. four miles west of Titusville, Florida, on Highway 50. Grant, 73, of Winter Springs, had received an official invitation to attend Challenger's liftoff and was en route to Kennedy Space Center at the time of the accident. Traveling alone in his car, Grant was pronounced dead on arrival at Jess Parrish Memorial Hospital in Titusville. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, two sons and a daughter. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 31, 1985)

Challenger lifted off right on schedule at noon; rain that had threatened to delay the launch never materialized to mar the start of NASA's 22nd shuttle mission 61-A. A balky electrical power cell on board Challenger had raised some concern - someone on the launch pad forgot to close a circuit breaker. Otherwise the launch was by the book. Flight director Gary Coen, speaking from Mission Control in Houston, said neither the fuel cell problem nor a glitch in one of the steering rocket systems would seriously hamper the flight. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 31, 1985)

Challenger (STS 61-A) experienced reaction control system and fuel cell problems shortly after its noon liftoff. Neither was expected to affect mission duration. Just after launch, a helium pressure regulator in the right-hand RCS pod fuel feed system failed in the closed position. Both fuel and oxidizer tanks have two legs in the propellant feed system, called A and B, and both must operate on the same leg. The crew was instructed to close the A leg and operate on B. When the system began to lose pressure the instrutions were to close B and open A. When this was accomplished, pressure became normal. The effect of the problem was that the right-hand pod lost its redundancy. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, Nov. 4, 1985)

Professor Hermann Oberth, the 91-year-old German mentor of rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun, was on hand for the launch of Challenger and described it as "a wonderful achievement. This is the first step we are sure we have to take to go from Earth to the space station and back." After an orbiting space station, Oberth said, a base on the moon should be space technology's next major step. Oberth saw his last launch from KSC in 1969 when Apollo 11 lifted off. He watched that launch with yon Braun who attributed much of rocketry's development to Oberth's theories and designs. Born in Transylvania (now part of Romania) in 1894, Oberth was inspired by the visionary science fiction author Jules Verne, and in 1923 wrote "The Rocket Into Interplanetary Space." In it he predicted rockets could leave the Earth's atmosphere and humans could live in space without risk. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 31, 1985)

Teachernauts Christa McAuliffe and backup Barbara Morgan saw their first shuttle launch together at Kennedy Space Center. "The whole thing is so gorgeous!" McAuliffe said after the mission bearing Germany's Spacelab D-1 lifted off. "I didn't expect myself to be as excited as I was. A reporter told me I was jumping up and down," she said. Barbara Morgan had tears in her eyes as she watched. -95-McAuliffe and Morgan are representatives of the country's 2-1/2 million teachers whose roles already have been enhanced through the national attention the teacher in space program has received, McAuliffe said. (FLORIDA TODAY, Oct. 31, 1985)

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November 6: Challenger (61-A) landed smoothly at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and paved the way for a return to Kennedy Space Center landings in December. "I talked to Commander Hartsfield, and he said it responded very well," NASA shuttle chief Jesse Moore reported at a press conference. Hartsfield, using a new system of nose-wheel steering thatroutes his manual commands through the shuttle general purpose computer, veered the 100-ton orbiter about 20 feet off the centerline, then back, proving the system works. "I'll say the bottom line today is that we're planning on flying into the Cape in late December," Moore said. A final decision on KSC landings will be made in about a week, he said. (FLORIDA TODAY, Nov. 7, 1985)

November 7: Challenger is in "excellent" shape following its smooth landing Nov. 6 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, a NASA spokesman said. "Processing is proceeding as normals" said Nancy Lovato, a public information officer at NASA's Ames-Dryden facility in Edwards. Only 18 heat-resistant tiles were damaged on re-entry after the 3-million-mile trip, Lovato said. A dozen of the tiles needing replacement are located on the shuttle's underside, while six additional damaged tiles need replacing elsewhere. Challenger is tentatively scheduled for return to KSC Nov. 11. "They're doing de-servicing now, and making good time," Lovato said. (FLORIDA TODAY, Nov. 8, 1985)

Following their week in space aboard Challenger, five space shuttle scientists - Bonnie Dunbar, Guion Bluford, Ernst Messerschmid, Reinhard Furrer and Wubbo Ockels - flew to Kennedy Space Center for two weeks of medical tests. Doctors hope the results will help track the causes of the temporary spacesickness that afflicts nearly half of the astronauts early in flight - none seriously. The crew members will be tested in a specially equipped laboratory where among other things, they will be spun on rotating chairs, subjected to dizziness on a tilting table in a tilting room and accelerated on a sled. They often will be blindfolded and numerous blood samples will be taken.

Doctors want to compare the responses from the ground tests with the responses from the same tests in weightlessness and others made before the flight. Degrees of dizziness, balance, speed of reorientation, blood pressure and blood samples will be compared. Eye movement reactions to the tests are another comparison. The target of the investigation is the inner ear system. Scientists believe it and the eyes get conflicting impressions of what's going on, confusing the brain and triggering the sickness. (THE ORLANDO SENTINEL, Nov. 8, 1985)

November 12: Meanwhile the shuttle Challenger returned to Kennedy Space Center on November 11 in the early afternoon aboard its 747 carrier plane. (THE ORLANDO SENTINEL, Nov. 13, 1985)

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Challenger’s Final Landing | STS-61A Slow-Motion Touchdown at Edwards AFB (1985)

Apr 13, 2025
Watch the slow-motion, high-resolution landing of Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-61A, captured at Edwards Air Force Base. This historic mission, also known as Spacelab D-1, was NASA’s first with a fully international crew and the first to carry eight astronauts. Challenger touched down on Runway 17 at 203 knots (233 mph) on November 6, 1985, marking a smooth conclusion to the science-focused flight.

Video courtesy NASA/National Archives.

Challenger STS-61A Astronaut Crew:
Commander:  Hank Hartsfield
Pilot: Steve Nagel
Mission Specialist 1:  Bonnie Dunbar
Mission Specialist 2:  James Buchli
Mission Specialist 3: Guion Bluford
Payload Specialist 1: Reinhard Furrer
Payload Specialist 2: Ernst Messerschmid
Payload Specialist 3: Wubbo Ockels

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Challenger’s Final Landing | STS-61A Slow-Motion Touchdown at Edwards AFB (1985)

Apr 13, 2025
Watch the slow-motion, high-resolution landing of Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-61A, captured at Edwards Air Force Base. This historic mission, also known as Spacelab D-1, was NASA’s first with a fully international crew and the first to carry eight astronauts. Challenger touched down on Runway 17 at 203 knots (233 mph) on November 6, 1985, marking a smooth conclusion to the science-focused flight.

Video courtesy NASA/National Archives.

Challenger STS-61A Astronaut Crew:
Commander:  Hank Hartsfield
Pilot: Steve Nagel
Mission Specialist 1:  Bonnie Dunbar
Mission Specialist 2:  James Buchli
Mission Specialist 3: Guion Bluford
Payload Specialist 1: Reinhard Furrer
Payload Specialist 2: Ernst Messerschmid
Payload Specialist 3: Wubbo Ockels