Space Shuttle Missions Canceled Or Remanifested Following STS-51L
By Cliff Lethbridge
The following is a rarely seen list of Space Shuttle missions that were intended to follow STS-51L. It was originally published by NASA in the NASA Mixed Fleet Flight Manifest released in November, 1985. Of particular interest are the number of military and commercial missions planned, the large number of missions planned and missions scheduled for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. That launch site was scrapped in the wake of the Challenger tragedy.
It is interesting to compare this list to the list of missions that actually flew, as many of these previously planned missions did. Other missions, including “Journalist In Space”, for example, were completely abandoned.
It is also interesting to note that the cryptic Space Shuttle mission numbering system enacted after STS-9 and employing a set of numbers and letters would have continued after STS-51L, and was ultimately replaced by a chronological (STS-26, STS-27, STS-28, etc.) system.
The cryptic numbering system was originally intended to designate the scheduled launch year, the scheduled launch site (1 for the Kennedy Space Center or 2 for Vandenberg Air Force Base) and the scheduled chronological order of each mission according to the Space Shuttle mission manifest.
Specifically, STS-51L designated the following:
STS = Space Transportation System,
5 = the 5th year of the Space Shuttle program, the first year of which was 1981. In the case of STS-51L, the mission was targeted for 1985, the fifth calendar year of the Space Shuttle program,
1 = Kennedy Space Center launch site,
L = the 12th Space Shuttle mission manifested by NASA for flight in 1985.
This cryptic numbering system proved to be confusing to the public, and the numbers and letters often did not reflect the year or flight sequence of the actual mission. For example, STS-51L was not actually the 12th Space Shuttle mission of 1985, it was the second Space Shuttle mission of 1986.
The chronological numbering system introduced after STS-51L not only alleviated the relative confusion of the previous numbering system, it also greatly aided the public in keeping track of the large number of safe Space Shuttle flights that have followed the Challenger tragedy. Of course, the consecutive numbering system can prove just as confusing because the actual flight order of missions rarely matches the mission numbers as manifested.
STS-61E — Columbia
Target Launch Date: March 6, 1986
Target Landing Date: March 15, 1986
Assigned Crew:
Jon A. McBride, Commander
Richard N. Richards, Pilot
Robert A.R. Parker, Mission Specialist
David C. Leetsma, Mission Specialist
Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Mission Specialist
Samuel T. Durrance, Payload Specialist
Ronald A. Parise, Payload Specialist
Primary Payload: ASTRO-1
STS-62A — Discovery
Target Launch Date: March 20, 1986
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew:
Robert L. Crippen, Commander
Guy S. Gardner, Pilot
Dale A. Gardner, Mission Specialist
Jerry L. Ross, Mission Specialist
Richard M. Mullane, Mission Specialist
Edward C. Aldridge, Jr., Payload Specialist
Bret Watterson, Payload Specialist
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
Note: STS-62A was scheduled to have been the first Space Shuttle
mission launched from SLC-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
STS-61F — Challenger
Target Launch Date: May 15, 1986
Target Landing Date: May 19, 1986
Assigned Crew:
Frederick H. Hauck, Commander
Roy D. Bridges, Pilot
David C. Hilmers, Mission Specialist
John M. Lounge, Mission Specialist
Primary Payload: Ulysses
STS-61G — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: May 20, 1986
Target Landing Date: May 24, 1986
Assigned Crew:
David M. Walker, Commander
Ronald J. Grabe, Pilot
Norman E. Thagard, Mission Specialist
James D. Van Hoften, Mission Specialist
Primary Payload: Galileo
STS-61H — Columbia
Target Launch Date: June 24, 1986
Target Landing Date: July 1, 1986
Assigned Crew:
Michael L. Coats, Commander
John E. Blaha, Pilot
Anna L. Fisher, Mission Specialist
James F. Buchli, Mission Specialist
Robert C. Springer, Mission Specialist
Pratiwi Sudarmono, Payload Specialist, Indonesia
Nigel Wood, Payload Specialist
Primary Payloads: WESTAR VI-S, PALAPA B-3, SKYNET-4A
STS-61M — Challenger
Target Launch Date: July 22, 1986
Target Landing Date: July 27, 1986
Assigned Crew:
Loren J. Shriver, Commander
Bryan D. O’Connor, Pilot
Sally K. Ride, Mission Specialist
William F. Fisher, Mission Specialist
Mark C. Lee, Mission Specialist
Robert Wood, Payload Specialist
Primary Payloads: EOS-1, TDRS-4
STS-61J — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: August 18, 1986
Target Landing Date: August 23, 1986
Assigned Crew:
John W. Young, Commander
Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Pilot
Kathryn Sullivan, Mission Specialist
Steven Hawley, Mission Specialist
Bruce McCandless, Mission Specialist
Primary Payload: Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
STS-61N — Columbia
Target Launch Date: September 4, 1986
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-61I — Challenger
Target Launch Date: September 27, 1986
Target Landing Date: October 1, 1986
Assigned Crew:
Donald E. Williams, Commander
Michael J. Smith, Pilot
James P. Bagian, Mission Specialist
Bonnie J. Dunbar, Mission Specialist
Manley L. “Sonny” Carter, Mission Specialist
Indian Payload Specialist, Not Announced
Journalist In Space, Not Announced
Primary Payloads: LDEF-1 (Retrieval), INSAT 1-C
STS-62B — Discovery
Target Launch Date: September 29, 1986
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
Note: September 29, 1986 targeted launch date was for planning purposes only.
Discovery could not have been launched while another Space Shuttle (STS-61I) was in orbit.
STS-61K — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: October 27, 1986
Target Landing Date: November 3, 1986
Assigned Crew:
Vance D. Brand, Commander
S. David Griggs, Pilot
Robert L. Stewart, Mission Specialist
Owen K. Garriott, Mission Specialist
Claude Nicollier, Mission Specialist
Michael Lampton, Payload Specialist
Byron K. Lichtenberg, Payload Specialist
Primary Payload: EOM-1/2
STS-61L — Columbia
Target Launch Date: November 6, 1986
Target Landing Date: November 13, 1986
Assigned Crew:
John H. Konrad, Payload Specialist
All Other Crew Members Not Announced
Primary Payloads: MSL-3, GSTAR-III, SYNCOM IV-5
STS-71B — Challenger
Target Launch Date: December 6, 1986
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-71A — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: January 12, 1987
Target Landing Date: January 19, 1987
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: ASTRO-2, one DOD Payload
STS-71C — Columbia
Target Launch Date: January 27, 1987
Target Landing Date: February 3, 1987
Assigned Crew:
Peter Longhurst, Payload Specialist
All Other Crew Members Not Announced
Primary Payload: SHEAL-1, ASC-2, SKYNET-4B, SPARTAN-2
STS-71D — Challenger
Target Launch Date: February 16, 1987
Target Landing Date: February 23, 1987
Assigned Crew:
Robert Wood, Payload Specialist
All Other Crew Members Not Announced
Primary Payloads: EOS-2, TDRS-3
STS-71E — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: March 16, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: SLS-1
STS-72A — Discovery
Target Launch Date: March 18, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: SRL-2, PL OPPTY
Note: March 18, 1987 targeted launch date was for planning purposes only.
Discovery could not have been launched while another Space Shuttle (STS-71E) was in orbit.
STS-71F — Columbia
Target Launch Date: March 24, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: MSL-5, two DOD Payloads
STS-71G — Challenger
Target Launch Date: April 14, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: MSL-4, SSBUV-1, EOIM-III, HS 376-R, one DOD Payload
STS-71H — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: May 18, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-71I — Columbia
Target Launch Date: May 27, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: IML-1
STS-71J — Challenger
Target Launch Date: June 9, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: LDEF-2 (Deployment)
STS-71K — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: July 15, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: MSL-7, INTELSAT VI-1, one DOD Payload
STS-71L — Columbia
Target Launch Date: August 4, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: MSL-6, SSBUV-2, SPARTAN-3, two DOD Payloads
STS-71M — Challenger
Target Launch Date: August 18, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: ASTRO-3, CRRES
STS-71N — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: September 17, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-71O — Columbia (note: STS-71 is followed by letter “O”)
Target Launch Date: September 28, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: SUNLAB-1, ROSAT
STS-81A — Challenger
Target Launch Date: October 21, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-81B — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: November 9, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: MSL-8, SPARTAN 205, STC DBS-A, RCA 4001
STS-81C — Columbia
Target Launch Date: November 16, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: SSBUV-3, SBS-6, PL OPPTY, one DOD Payload
STS-81D — Challenger
Target Launch Date: December 22, 1987
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: GALAXY KU-1, two DOD Payloads
STS-81E — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: January 25, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-81F — Columbia
Target Launch Date: February 2, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: EOM-3, STC DBS-B, one DOD Payload
STS-81G — Challenger
Target Launch Date: February 23, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: SPACELAB J
STS-81H — Columbia
Target Launch Date: March 24, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: MSL-9, SPARTAN 206, EURECA, one DOD Payload
STS-82A — Discovery
Target Launch Date: April 1, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-81I — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: April 6, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: VRM
STS-81J — Challenger
Target Launch Date: May 4, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-81K — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: June 8, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: SSBUV-4, GRO, one DOD Payload
STS-81L — Columbia
Target Launch Date: June 14, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: SPARTAN 211, MSL-10, PL OPPTY, one DOD Payload
STS-82B — Discovery
Target Launch Date: July 15, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payloads: COBE, PL OPPTY
STS-81M — Challenger
Target Launch Date: July 20, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: SLS-2
STS-81N — Atlantis
Target Launch Date: August 10, 1988
Target Landing Date: Not Announced
Assigned Crew: Not Announced
Primary Payload: Department of Defense (DOD) Payload
STS-81N was the last mission included in the November, 1985 Space Shuttle launch manifest.
It is interesting to note that STS-26, the first Space Shuttle mission after the Challenger tragedy, was launched on September 29, 1988. This was one month after the last scheduled Space Shuttle mission included in the November, 1985 Space Shuttle launch manifest.