STS-51-A

Frederick “Rick” Hauck

• Birthday: 04/11/1941
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 06/18/1983
• Last Flight: 09/29/1988

Frederick Hamilton “Rick” Hauck is a retired Captain in the United States Navy, a former fighter pilot and NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle mission STS-7 and commanded STS-51-A and STS-26.

David M. Walker

• Birthday: 05/20/1944
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/08/1984
• Last Flight: 09/07/1995

David Mathieson “Dave” Walker was an American naval officer and aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s.

Anna Lee Fisher

• Birthday: 08/24/1949
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/08/1984
• Last Flight: 11/08/1984

Anna Lee Fisher (née Tingle) is an American chemist, emergency physician, and a former NASA astronaut. Formerly married to fellow astronaut Bill Fisher, and the mother of two children, in 1984 she became the first mother in space.[4] Fisher was formerly the oldest active American astronaut.[5] During her career at NASA, she has been involved with three major programs: the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and the Orion project.

Dale Gardner

• Birthday: 11/08/1948
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• 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.

Joseph P. Allen

• Birthday: 06/27/1937
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/11/1982
• Last Flight: 11/08/1984

Joseph Percival “Joe” Allen IV, Ph.D. is a former NASA astronaut. He logged more than 3,000 hours flying time in jet aircraft.

Allen is married to the former Bonnie Jo Darling of Elkhart, Indiana. Their children are David Christopher, born September 1968 and Elizabeth Darling, born May 1972.

STS-51-A

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

STS-51-A was the fourteenth flight of the Space Shuttle program and second flight for the Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission lasted 8 days and deployed a number of 10 satellites.

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 174 rockets, including 173 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 232 rocket launches.

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.