The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

KSC, theChallengerwas forced to divert to Edwards
Air Force Base after six days.
STS-8 lifted off on August 30, performing the
shuttle’s first night launch. The crew included the
first African American astronaut, Guion Stewart
Bluford, Jr. A Payload Test Article was used to assess
the RMS arm’s ability to handle massive objects. An
Indian communications satellite was dispatched to
geosynchronous orbit. After six days,Challenger
landed at night at Edwards Air Force Base.
On November 28, Spacelab 1 launched aboard
Columbia.The European Space Agency (ESA) built
and provided Spacelab to NASA in exchange for

sending astronauts into space. The pressurized mod-

ule housed insideColumbia’s payload bay allowed sci-

entists to perform research programs. Ten days after

launch, after seventy-two separate science projects

concluded,Columbialanded at Edwards Air Force

Base. STS-9 marked John Young’s last command.

1984 Missions Challenger’s STS 41-B flight began

on February 3, 1984, and included two satellite de-

ployments and tests of a Manned Maneuvering Unit

(MMU) that could independently take astronauts

several hundred feet away from the shuttle. During

two EVAs, the MMU was put through its paces. Astro-

The Eighties in America Space shuttle program
899

Mission Name Dates Astronauts

STS 51-JAtlantis October 3-7, 1985 Joseph H. Engle, Richard O. Covey, James D. A. van

Hoften, John M. Lounge, and William F. Fisher

STS 61-AChallenger October 30-November 6,

1985

Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., Steven R. Nagel, James F.

Buchli, Guion S. Bluford, Bonnie J. Dunbar,

Reinhard Furrer, Ernst Messerschmid, and Wubbo J.

Ockels

STS 61-BAtlantis November 26-December 3,

1985

Brewster H. Shaw, Jr., Bryan D. O’Connor, Mary L.

Cleave, Sherwood C. Spring, Jerry L. Ross, Rodolfo

Neri Vela, and Charles D. Walker

STS 61-CColumbia January 12-18, 1986 Robert L. Gibson, F. Bolden, Jr., Franklin R. Chang-

Diaz, Steven A. Hawley, George D. Nelson, Robert J.

Cenker, and Congressman Bill Nelson.

STS 51-LChallenger January 28, 1986 Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik,

Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald E. McNair, Gregory B.

Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe

STS-26Discovery September 29-October 3,

1988

Frederick H. Hauck, Richard O. Covey, John M.

Lounge, George D. Nelson, and David C. Hilmers

STS-27Atlantis December 2-6, 1988 Robert L. Gibson, Guy S. Gardner, Richard Mullane,

Jerry L. Ross, and William M. Shepherd

STS-29Discovery March 13-18, 1989 Michael L. Coats, John E. Blaha, James P. Bagian,

James F. Buchli, and Robert C. Springer

STS-30Atlantis May 4-8, 1989 David M. Walker, Ronald J. Grabe, Norman E.

Thagard, Mary L. Cleave, and Mark C. Lee

STS-28Columbia August 8-13, 1989 Brewster H. Shaw, Richard N. Richards, James C.

Adamson, David C. Leestma, and Mark N. Brown

STS-34Atlantis October 18-23, 1989 Donald E. Williams, Michael J. McCulley, Franklin R.

Chang-Diaz, Shannon W. Lucid, and Ellen S. Baker

STS-33Discovery November 22-27, 1989 Frederick D. Gregory, John E. Blaha, F. Story

Musgrave, Manley L. Carter Jr., and Kathryn C.

Thornton

Source:National Aeronautics and Space Administration.