STS-51C
STS-51C was the third flight of Space Shuttle Discovery and the first Shuttle mission dedicated to Department of Defense operations. Thomas Mattingly, Loren Shriver, Ellison Onizuka, James Buchli, and Gary Payton launched from Launch Complex 39A on January 24, 1985, deployed a classified Department of Defense payload, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on January 27.
Identity
- Aliases
- STS 51-CSTS 51C51-CDepartment of Defense mission
- Name
- STS-51C
- Slug
- sts-51c
- Status
- completed
Details
- Description
- STS-51C was the third flight of Space Shuttle Discovery and the first Shuttle mission dedicated to Department of Defense operations. Thomas Mattingly, Loren Shriver, Ellison Onizuka, James Buchli, and Gary Payton launched from Launch Complex 39A on January 24, 1985, deployed a classified Department of Defense payload, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on January 27.
- End Date
- 1985-01-27
- Landing Site Id
- qh72f27pr779q3gv90hccsf0jn7kp5p2
- Launch Site Id
- qh7cnwfj9c6qprkty6jm2dztrs85kq8a
- Outcome
- Successful classified Department of Defense Shuttle mission.
- Program
- Space Shuttle
- Start Date
- 1985-01-24
- Vehicle Family Ids
- nd7sxcspb3czhd8b3vfx56eekh85ksae
- Vehicle Id
- nh7sqgw278t33khbw4fyehw80s85kp3n
Links
- Official Url
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-51c/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- 6/30/2026, 5:00:39 AM
- Image
- Download
- Updated Time
- 6/30/2026, 5:00:39 AM
Other
- Affiliations
- Organization Id
- vh76vnx3yy1vy23j7zc3wk80wx7nhx5f
- Role
- Operator
- Crew
- Astronaut Id
- td7fz9753x89jgw69gqqq2h3zn86nn0t
- Role
- Commander
- Astronaut Id
- td7adcserwesb09zr47qne1m0989m0vs
- Role
- Pilot
- Astronaut Id
- td7e73s21z49x6cz6a23hs5xss89nabq
- Role
- Mission Specialist
- Astronaut Id
- td7f1z6ht19g5v4fwnxs80j9cx7nnkaq
- Role
- Mission Specialist
- Astronaut Id
- td75garbekxee79d0y5y2x7zq189nnpg
- Role
- Payload Specialist