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STS-61-E was a NASA Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on 6 March 1986 using Columbia. It was canceled after the Challenger disaster.

Crew

Position Astronaut
Commander Jon A. McBride
Would have been second space mission
Pilot Richard N. Richards
Would have been first space mission
Mission Specialist 1 Jeffrey A. Hoffman
Would have been second space mission
Mission Specialist 2 David C. Leestma
Would have been second space mission
Mission Specialist 3 Robert A. Parker
Would have been second space mission
Payload Specialist 1 Samuel T. Durrance
Would have been first space mission
Payload Specialist 2 Ronald A. Parise
Would have been first space mission

Backup crew

Position Astronaut[1]
Payload Specialist Kenneth H. Nordsieck

Mission objectives

Columbia was to carry the ASTRO-1 observatory, which would be used to make astronomical observations including observations of Halley’s Comet. ASTRO-1 consisted of three ultraviolet telescopes mounted on two Spacelab pallets, controlled by the Instrument Pointing System (IPS) which was first tested on STS-51-F.[2]

After the Challenger disaster, the flight was remanifested as STS-35 and several crew members were replaced. Both Richards and Leestma were reassigned to STS-28 while McBride left NASA in 1989. Vance D. Brand replaced McBride as the commander while Guy S. Gardner and John M. Lounge replaced Richards and Leestma, respectively.

See also

References

  1. ^ “STS-61E”. Spacefacts. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  2. ^ Evans, Ben (2005). Space Shuttle Columbia: Her Missions and Crews. Springer Science + Business Media. p. 99. ISBN 0-387-21517-4.