Watch the Launch

STS-85

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Low Earth Orbit Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

STS-85 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform multiple space science packages. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 7 August 1997.

Space Shuttle

Family:
Configuration:

The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    56.1 m
  • Diameter
    8.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    2030 T
  • Thrust
    28200 kN
Family
  • Name
    Space Shuttle
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Space Shuttle
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $450000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    27500 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Space Shuttle Discovery


In-active Human Rated Crew On-board: 6 Crew Capacity: 7 Payload Capacity: 27500 kg
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Serial Number: OV-103

Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. Discovery became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by Columbia and Challenger. It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. It also carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour and then Atlantis.

Space Shuttle Details

Crew


Curtis Brown

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: March 11, 1956
Age: 68

Kent Rominger

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Aug. 7, 1956
Age: 67

Bjarni Tryggvason

Payload Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( CSA )

Status: Deceased

Date of Birth: Sept. 21, 1945
Date of Death: April 6, 2022

Jan Davis

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Nov. 1, 1953
Age: 70

Robert Curbeam

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: March 5, 1962
Age: 62

Stephen Robinson

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( NASA )

Status: Retired

Date of Birth: Oct. 26, 1955
Age: 68

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA)

Administrator: Bill Nelson Founded: 1958 Successes: 115 Failures: 20 Pending: 6

Agency Type:

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.

INFO WIKI

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 10 hours ago
NROL-186
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Second batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office t…


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 2 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-3
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon Heavy
Success
5 days, 16 hours ago
GOES-U
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) is the fourth of the next generation of geostationary weather satellites, known as t…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 9-2
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 10-2
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM)
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) is a French/Chinese planned small X-ray telescope satellite under development by China National Space Admin…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Astra 1P/SES-24
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

ASTRA 1P, a classic wide-beam satellite, will support SES’s prime TV neighbourhood and enable content owners, private and public broadcasters across …


Electron
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
No Time Toulouse (Kinéis 1-5)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

First batch of five satellites for the French Kinéis IoT constellation designed to operate with 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg each.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 9-1
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


SpaceShipTwo
Success
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Galactic 07
Spaceport America - Air launch to Suborbital flight

Seventh commercial Virgin Galactic mission.