STS-51B

STS-51B First operational flight for laboratory development by the European Space Agency. Of the 15 experiments scheduled aboard Spacelab 3, 14 were successful. First time animals were flown with flight crew. Two monkeys and 24 rodents were observed during mission for effects of weightlessness. Mission's main objective was to provide high quality microgravity environment for delicate materials processing and fluid experiments. Landed at Edwards Air Force Base, CA on May 6 at 12:11 PM EDT. Flight duration seven days plus eight minutes. Space Shuttle Challenger traveled 2.89 million miles in 111 orbits.

Launch Date: April 29, 1985 at 12:02 PM EDT Launch Vehicle: Challenger Crew: Commander: Robert F. Overmyer, Pilot:Fredrick D. Gregory, Mission Specialists: Don L. Lind, Norman E. Thagard, William E. Thornton, Payload Specialists: Lodewijk van den Berg, Taylor G. Wang

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