STS-51-J (Atlantis)
STS-51-J (Atlantis)
Launch Date
October 3, 1985
Craft
Space Shuttle
Status
Past
Crew
5
STS-51-J (Atlantis)
STS-51-J (Atlantis)
Launch Date
October 3, 1985
Craft
Space Shuttle
Status
Past
Crew
5
Overview
The maiden flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis. This was a classified Department of Defense mission.
Crafts
Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The first reusable launch and landing spacecraft, the Space Shuttle began a new chapter of human space exploration. It launched like a rocket but landed on a runway like a plane. Shuttle crews deployed dozens of commercial satellites and two interplanetary probes to Venus and Jupiter. The Shuttle served as a mini space station and hosted hundreds of biomedical, psychological, physiological, materials science, and physics experiments that have directly benefited life on Earth. The five flight-worthy Shuttles -- Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour -- flew 135 missions over 30 years. The Shuttles helped construct the Russian Mir space station and brought nearly 80% of the International Space Station to orbit. Shuttles also deployed and serviced the Hubble Space Telescope.