STS-61-E was a NASA Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on 6 March 1986 using Columbia. It was canceled after the Challenger disaster.
Crew
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Jon A. McBride Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Richard N. Richards Would have been first spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Jeffrey A. Hoffman Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | David C. Leestma Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Robert A. Parker Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 | Samuel T. Durrance Would have been first spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Ronald A. Parise Would have been first spaceflight | |
Mission objectives
Columbia was to carry the ASTRO-1 observatory, which would be used to make astronomical observations including observations of Halley's Comet. ASTRO-1 consisted of three ultraviolet telescopes mounted on two Spacelab pallets, controlled by the Instrument Pointing System (IPS) which was first tested on STS-51-F.[1]
After the Challenger disaster, the flight was remanifested as STS-35 and several crew members were replaced. Both Richards and Leestma were reassigned to STS-28 while McBride left NASA in 1989. Vance D. Brand replaced McBride as the commander while Guy S. Gardner and John M. Lounge replaced Richards and Leestma, respectively.
See also
References
- ^ Evans, Ben (2005). Space Shuttle Columbia: Her Missions and Crews. Springer Science + Business Media. p. 99. ISBN 0-387-21517-4.
Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) | ||
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