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Michael J. Smith

American - (NASA)

Lost In Flight

Date of Birth: April 30, 1945
Date of Death: Jan. 28, 1986


Michael John Smith was an American astronaut—pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission. All seven crew members died.

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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Jan. 28, 1986, 4:38 p.m.
Status: Failure
Mission:

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).

Low Earth Orbit
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Acting Administrator: James Free

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
Soyuz MS-27
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Soyuz MS-27 will carry two cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome i…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 4 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-11
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days ago
Starlink Group 6-72
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 11-13
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 6
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Tianping-3A-02
Launch Complex 16 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Satellite be used as calibration target for ground based orbital objects surveillance services such as atmospheric space environment study and orbita…