STS-51-CSpace Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 Lockheed Space Operations Company Launch Status Success Thu · Jan 24th, 1985 8:04 AM EST Watch Online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCu49EzCLys Crew Ken Mattingly Commander Status: Retired 3/17/1936 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II better known as Ken Mattingly, is a former American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and astronaut who flew on the Apollo 16, STS-4 and STS-51-C missions. He had been scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but was held back due to concerns about a potential illness (which he did not contract). He later flew as Command Module Pilot for Apollo 16, making him one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Loren Shriver Pilot Status: Retired 9/23/1944 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Loren James Shriver is a former NASA astronaut, aviator, and a retired US Air Force Colonel. Ellison Onizuka Mission Specialist Status: Lost In Flight 6/24/1946 - 1/28/1986 Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ellison Shoji Onizuka (鬼塚 承次 Onizuka Shōji) was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, on which he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. He was the first Asian American and the first person of Japanese ancestry to reach space. James Buchli Mission Specialist Status: Retired 6/20/1945 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration James Frederick Buchli is a retired United States Marine aviator and former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions. Gary Payton Payload Specialist Status: Retired 6/20/1948 - Nationality: American Type: Government Agency: United States Air Force Colonel Gary Eugene Payton, USAF, (born June 20, 1948) is an American former astronaut. Payton flew on the STS-51-C mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in January 1985 which launched and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. STS-51C was the first dedicated Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission. Payton traveled over 1.2 million miles in 48 Earth orbits, and logged more than 73 hours in space. Mission STS-51-C Type: Government/Top Secret STS-51-C was the fifteenth flight of the shuttle program and third for the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was the first space shuttle mission dedicated to the United States Department of Defense and therefore, the mission details remain classified. Location Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA 182 launches have been at this location. Rocket Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 Length: 38.1 meters Diameter: 8.4 meters First Launched: August 30, 1984 Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the orbiters from NASA’s Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 rocket has been launched a total of 38 times with 38 successful and 0 failed launches. Agency Lockheed Space Operations Company Type: Commercial Abbreviation: LSOC Administration: Founded: Launchers: Spacecraft: Country: USA View Rocket Launch Schedule