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STS-51-F (Spacelab 2) was the nineteenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the eighth flight of Challenger.

1 Crew

• Commander: C. Gordon Fullerton(2)
• Pilot: Roy D. Bridges, Jr. (1)
• Mission Specialist 1: F. Story Musgrave(2)
• Mission Specialist 2: Anthony W. England(1)
• Mission Specialist 3: Karl G. Henize(1)
• Payload Specialist 1: Loren W. Acton(1)
• Payload Specialist 2: John-David F. Bartoe(1)
  • Alternate Payload Specialist 1: George W. Simon (not flown)
  • Alternate Payload Specialist 2: Diane K. Prinz (not flown)

2 Mission Parameters

• Mass:
  • Orbiter Liftoff: 114,590 kg
  • Orbiter Landing: 98,307 kg
  • Payload: 15,603 kg
• Perigee: 203 km
• Apogee: 337 km
• InclinationInclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit and is the angular distance of the orbital plane from the plane of the reference (usually planet's equator or the ecliptic), stated in degrees.: 49.5°
• PeriodA period is an arbitrary interval of time. The word is applied to many different concepts: generally, in science, the time taken for one complete cycle of an alternating quantity. The period of oscillation of a wave is the time taken for the wave to compl: 89.9 min

3 Mission Highlights

Primary payload was SpacelabSpacelab is a microgravity laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle. It consists of a large cylindrical main laboratory that is flown in the rear of the Space Shuttle cargo bay, connected to the crew compartment by a long tube. The laboratory had-2. Despite abort-to-orbit, which required mission replanning, mission declared success. Special part of modular Spacelab system, the Igloo, located at head of three-pallet train, provided on-site support to instruments mounted on pallets. Main mission objective was to verify performance of Spacelab systems and determine interface capability of orbiter, and measure environment induced by spacecraft. Experiments covered life sciences, plasma physics, astronomy, High-Energy astrophysics, solar physics , atmospheric physics and technology research .

The flight marked the first time the ESA Instrument Pointing System (IPS) was tested in orbit. This unique experiment pointing enstrument was designed with an accuracy of one arc second. Initially, some problems were experienced when it was commanded to track the Sun. A series of software fixes were made and the problem was corrected.

The payload with the most publicity probably was the Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation - an experiment where both Coca-Cola as well as Pepsi tried to make their drinks available to astronauts. Both fizzed excessively in microgravity.