Summary
| Mission type | Satellite deployment |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 7 |
| Members | Robert L. Crippen Guy S. Gardner Richard M. Mullane Jerry L. Ross Dale A. Gardner Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. Brett Watterson |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 15 July 1986 Not launched |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-6 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing site | Vandenberg Runway 12 |
 Front row (l to r): Guy Gardner, Mike Mullane, Jerry Ross, and Dale Gardner. Back row (l to r): Pete Aldridge, Jr, Robert Crippen, and Brett Watterson | |
STS-62-A was a planned Space Shuttle mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload (Teal Ruby) into polar orbit. It was expected to use Discovery. It would have been the first crewed launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and the first crewed mission to go into polar orbit. The mission designation, 62-A, meant: 6=fiscal year 1986, 2=Vandenberg (1=Kennedy Space Center), and A=first flight in that fiscal year.
Crew
| Position[1] | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Robert L. Crippen Would have been fifth spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Guy S. Gardner Would have been first spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Richard M. Mullane Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Jerry L. Ross Would have been second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Dale A. Gardner Would have been third spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 | Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. Would have been first spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Brett Watterson, MSE Would have been first spaceflight | |
Post-Challenger accident
The destruction of Challenger and subsequent halt of the Space Shuttle Program led to the cancellation of the mission.
Guy Gardner, Jerry Ross, and Mike Mullane were members of the second post-Challenger mission STS-27—a classified mission for the DoD—during which the Lacrosse-1 radar reconnaissance spacecraft was allegedly deployed.[2][3]
References
- ^ "85-0025 Crews for First Vandenberg Mission, DoD Flight Named" (PDF) (Press release). NASA Johnson Space Center News. 15 February 1985.
- ^ Jenkins, Dennis R. (2001). Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System The First 100 Missions. Saint Paul: Voyageur Press. p. 329. ISBN 0-9633974-5-1..
- ^ "NASA National Space Science Data Center – Lacrosse 1 Details". Retrieved 11 February 2008. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
External links
- STS-62-A mission patch draft designs
- Article on the Teal Ruby satellite that would have been STS-62-A's payload
- National Museum of the United States Air Force page on Teal Ruby
Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Completed flights |  | |
| Status |
| |
| On display | ||
| Related |
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