STS-62-A
| Mission type | Satellite deployment |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 7 |
| Members |
Robert L. Crippen Guy S. Gardner Richard M. Mullane Jerry L. Ross Dale A. Gardner Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. Brett Watterson |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date |
15 July 1986 Not launched |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-6 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing site | Vandenberg Runway 12 |
  Front row (l to r): Guy Gardner, Mike Mullane, Jerry Ross, and Dale Gardner. Back row (l to r): Pete Aldridge, Jr, Robert Crippen, and Brett Watterson | |
STS-62-A was a planned Space Shuttle mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload (Teal Ruby) into polar orbit. It was expected to use Discovery. It would have been the first manned launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and the first manned mission to go into polar orbit. The mission designation, 62-A, meant: 6=fiscal year 1986, 2=Vandenberg (1=Kennedy Space Center), and A=first flight in that fiscal year.
Crew
| Position[1] | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Robert L. Crippen Fifth spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Guy S. Gardner First spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Richard M. Mullane Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Jerry L. Ross Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Dale A. Gardner Third spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 | Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. First spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Brett Watterson, MSE First spaceflight | |
Post-Challenger accident
The destruction of Challenger and subsequent halt of the Space Shuttle Program led to the cancellation of the mission.
Guy Gardner, Jerry Ross, and Mike Mullane were members of the second post-Challenger mission STS-27—a classified mission for the DoD—during which the Lacrosse-1 radar reconnaissance spacecraft was allegedly deployed.[2][3]
References
- ↑ "85-0025 Crews for First Vandenberg Mission, DoD Flight Named" (PDF) (Press release). NASA Johnson Space Center News. 15 February 1985. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
- ↑ Jenkins, Dennis R. (2001). Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System The First 100 Missions. Saint Paul: Voyageur Press. p. 329. ISBN 0-9633974-5-1..
- ↑ "NASA National Space Science Data Center – Lacrosse 1 Details". Retrieved 11 February 2008.