STS-49

Daniel Brandenstein

• Birthday: 01/17/1943
• Role: Commander
• 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...

Kevin P. Chilton

• Birthday: 11/03/1954
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 05/07/1992
• Last Flight: 03/22/1996

Kevin Patrick "Chilli" Chilton is an American mechanical engineer, and former United States Air Force four-star Gen...

Bruce E. Melnick

• Birthday: 12/05/1949
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 10/06/1990
• Last Flight: 05/07/1992

Bruce Edward Melnick is a former American astronaut and retired United States Coast Guard officer. Following retirement from ...

Pierre J. Thuot

• Birthday: 05/19/1955
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 02/28/1990
• Last Flight: 03/04/1994

Pierre Joseph Thuot is a retired United States Navy Captain and NASA astronaut. He went into space three times, spending over...

Richard Hieb

• Birthday: 09/21/1955
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 04/28/1991
• Last Flight: 07/08/1994

Richard James Hieb is a former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three space shuttle missions. He was a mission specialist on S...

Kathryn C. Thornton

• Birthday: 08/17/1952
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 11/23/1989
• Last Flight: 10/20/1995

Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut with over 975 hours in space, including 21...

Thomas Akers

• Birthday: 05/20/1951
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: United States of America
• First Flight: 10/06/1990
• Last Flight: 09/16/1996

Thomas Dale Akers is a former American astronaut in NASA's Space Shuttle program.

Mission

STS-49

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

STS-49 was the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The primary goal of its nine-day mission was to retrieve an Intelsat VI satellite (Intelsat 603, which failed to leave low earth orbit two years before), attach it to a new upper stage, and relaunch it to its intended geosynchronous orbit. After several attempts, the capture was completed with a three-person extra-vehicular activity (EVA).

Location

Launch Complex 39B

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida

Launch Complex 39B has witnessed the launch of 58 rockets, including 57 orbital launch attempts. While Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 266 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