STS-62-A
Encyclopedia
STS-62-A was a planned Space Shuttle
mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload (Teal Ruby) into polar orbit. It was expected to use Discovery
. It would have been the first manned launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base
, California. The mission designation, 62-A, meant: 6=fiscal year 1986, 2=Vandenberg (1=Kennedy Space Center
), and A=first flight in that fiscal year.
and subsequent halt of the Space Shuttle Program led to the cancellation of the mission.
G. Gardner, Ross and Mullane were members of the second post-Challenger mission STS-27
—a classified mission for the DoD—during which the Lacrosse-1
radar reconnaissance spacecraft was allegedly deployed.
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload (Teal Ruby) into polar orbit. It was expected to use Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
. It would have been the first manned launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, California. The mission designation, 62-A, meant: 6=fiscal year 1986, 2=Vandenberg (1=Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
), and A=first flight in that fiscal year.
Crew
Post-Challenger accident
The destruction of ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
and subsequent halt of the Space Shuttle Program led to the cancellation of the mission.
G. Gardner, Ross and Mullane were members of the second post-Challenger mission STS-27
STS-27
STS-27 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, the 27th shuttle mission overall and the third flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Launching on 2 December 1988 on a four-day mission, it was the second shuttle flight after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986. STS-27 carried a classified payload for...
—a classified mission for the DoD—during which the Lacrosse-1
Lacrosse (satellite)
For the 2009 Lunar Impactor Mission designed to crash into the moon, see LCROSS.Lacrosse and Onyx are the code names for the United States' National Reconnaissance Office terrestrial radar imaging reconnaissance satellite. While not officially confirmed by the NRO or anybody in the U.S...
radar reconnaissance spacecraft was allegedly deployed.