Space Shuttle Challenger

• Space Shuttles

  Enterprise *Columbia *Challenger *Discovery *Atlantis *Endeavour

Shuttle Orbiter Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-99) was a Space Shuttle orbiter. Challenger was the second shuttle orbiter to be placed into service (after Columbia) and was constructed using a body frame (STA-099) that had initially been produced for use as a test article. Its maiden voyage was on April 4, 1983, and made eight subsequent round trips to low earth orbit before it was destroyed during the launch of its tenth mission, mission 51-L, on January 28, 1986. It is one of two space shuttles destroyed in an accident during a mission, the other being the Space Shuttle Columbia. The collected debris of the vessel are currently stored in decommissioned missile silos at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Challenger was refitted for flight after it was discovered it was cheaper to rebuild STA-099 than to refit OV-101 Space Shuttle Enterprise to be space ready. Originally Challenger was not meant for spaceflight.

Table of contents

1 Flights 2 Related articles 3 Bibliography 4 External links

Flights

Space Shuttle Challenger flew 10 flights, spent 62.41 days in space, completed 995 orbits, and flew 25,803,940 miles (41,527,416 km) in total, including its final mission.

Date	Designation	Notes
1983 April 4	STS-6	Deployed TDRS-1. First spacewalk during a space shuttle mission.
1983 June 18	STS-7	Sally Ride becomes first American woman in space. Deployed 2 communications satellites.
1983 August 30	STS-8	Guion Bluford becomes first African-American in space First shuttle night launch and night landing. Deployed Insat-1B.
1984 February 3	STS-41-B	First untethered spacewalk. Deployed 2 communications satellites, unsuccessfully.
1984 April 6	STS-41-C	Solar Max service mission.
1984 October 5	STS-41-G	First mission to carry two women. Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes first American woman to make a spacewalk. Deployed Earth Radiation Budget Satellite.
1985 April 29	STS-51-B	Carried Spacelab-3
1985 July 29	STS-51-F	Carried Spacelab-2
1985 October 30	STS-61-A	Carried German Spacelab D-1
1986 January 28	STS-51-L	Shuttle destroyed during launch and all seven astronauts on board killed.

Related articles

• Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
• Shuttle Buran
• List of space shuttle missions
• Rendez-vous Houston

Bibliography

• Vaughan, D. (1996) The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture and Deviance at NASA ISBN 0226851761

External links

• Orbiter Vehicles
• Shuttle Orbiter Challenger (OV-99)
• Rogers Commission Report
• Astronautix on Challenger
• Video of Challenger Accident

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