flown missionFailure

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-51-L

Lockheed Space Operations CompanyLaunch Complex 39B — Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Either the launch vehicle did not reach orbit, or the payload(s) failed to separate.

mission

Name
STS-51-L
Type
Human Exploration
Target orbit
Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

The tenth mission for Challenger, STS-51-L was scheduled to deploy the second in a series of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, carry out the first flight of the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203) / Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable in order to observe Halley's Comet, and carry out several lessons from space as part of the Teacher in Space Project and Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP).

schedule

NET (no earlier than)
Window opens
Window closes
Last updated
Fail reason
During the ascent phase, 73 seconds after liftoff, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic structural failure resulting in the loss of crew and vehicle. The Rogers Commission later determined the cause of the accident to have been the failure of the primary and secondary (backup) O-ring seals on Challenger's right Solid Rocket Booster.

vehicle & provider

Rocket
Space Shuttle
Provider
Lockheed Space Operations Company
Type
Commercial
Country
USA

webcasts

launch site

Pad
Launch Complex 39B
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Country
USA
Timezone
America/New_York