STS-51L
STS-51L was intended to be the 25th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B on January 28, 1986, carrying Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Teacher in Space participant S. Christa McAuliffe. The mission was to deploy the TDRS-B communications satellite and fly the Spartan-Halley astronomy payload. About 73 seconds after liftoff, a failed right solid rocket booster field-joint seal allowed hot gases to damage the external tank and its attachment structure. The vehicle broke apart under severe aerodynamic loads, and Challenger and all seven crew members were lost.
Alerts are unavailable because this mission is no longer active.
Identity
- Aliases
- STS-51-LSTS 51-LSTS 51LChallenger STS-51L
- Name
- STS-51L
- Status
- failed
Details
- Astronauts
- Description
- STS-51L was intended to be the 25th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B on January 28, 1986, carrying Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Teacher in Space participant S. Christa McAuliffe. The mission was to deploy the TDRS-B communications satellite and fly the Spartan-Halley astronomy payload. About 73 seconds after liftoff, a failed right solid rocket booster field-joint seal allowed hot gases to damage the external tank and its attachment structure. The vehicle broke apart under severe aerodynamic loads, and Challenger and all seven crew members were lost.
- Destination
- Intended low Earth orbit for TDRS-B deployment and Spartan-Halley astronomy; no orbit achieved after Challenger was lost 73 seconds after liftoff
- End Date
- 1986-01-28
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Failure — Challenger and all seven crew members were lost 73 seconds after liftoff.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1986-01-28
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-51l/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 8, 2026 at 04:23:06 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 22, 2026 at 03:57:16 UTC
- Image
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Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
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- Vehicles