STS-8

Richard H. Truly

• Birthday: 11/12/1937
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 11/12/1981
• Last Flight: 08/30/1983

Richard Harrison Truly is a retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, a former fighter pilot, former astronaut for both...

Daniel Brandenstein

• Birthday: 01/17/1943
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 08/30/1983
• Last Flight: 05/07/1992

Daniel Charles Brandenstein is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United Space Alliance. He is a for...

Dale Gardner

• Birthday: 11/08/1948
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 08/30/1983
• Last Flight: 11/08/1984

Dale Allan Gardner was a NASA astronaut who flew two Space Shuttle missions during the early 1980s.

William E. Thornton

• Birthday: 04/14/1929
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 08/30/1983
• Last Flight: 04/29/1985

William Edgar Thornton is a former NASA astronaut.

Guion Bluford

• Birthday: 11/22/1942
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 08/30/1983
• Last Flight: 12/02/1992

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., Ph.D. is an American aerospace engineer, retired U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, and for...

Mission

STS-8

• Type: Communications
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $450,000,000

STS-8 was the third mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. It deployed an Indian 10 and Weather satellite. It was the first night launch and night landing of the Shuttle program. It also carried the first African-American astronaut; Guion Bluford.

Location

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 199 rockets, including 198 orbital launch attempts. While Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 257 rocket launches.

The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).

Rocket

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle

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.

Learn more about the Space Shuttle