STS-51-J (Atlantis)

 1985-092A

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The first mission of Atlantis left pad 39A on Oct 3, 1985. Mission 51-J was a classified Department of Defense mission and few details were released at the time. The main payload was a pair of DSCS III military communications satellites mounted on a single IUS solid booster. The payload was deployed early on Oct 4; Atlantis backed away and the IUS first stage fired an hour later. Atlantis remained in orbit for three more days, landing at Edwards on Oct 7. The crew carried out a number of mid-deck experiments for the Space Test Program. 

STS 51-J
Date	Time	Event	Orbit
1985 Apr 6		Rollout	Rockwell Palmdale
1985 Apr 9		Tow to EAFB
1985 Apr 12		SCA takeoff	EAFB
		SCA landing	Ellington AFB TX
1985 Apr 13		SCA takeoff	Ellington AFB
		SCA landing	KSC SLF
1985 Apr 14		Tow to OPF	OPF/1
1985 May 10		Storage	VAB/2
1985 May 28		Tow to OPF	OPF/2
1985 Jun 18		Storage	VAB/2
1985 Jul 13		Tow to OPF	OPF/1
1985 Aug 12		Tow to VAB	VAB/3
1985 Aug 12		ET mate
1985 Aug 30		Rollout	LC39A
1985 Sep 12	1950	FRF (0:20)	LC39A
1985 Oct 3	1515:30	Launch from KSC LC39A
	1517:34	SRB sep
	1524:02	MECO
	1524:20	ET sep	? 60? x 470? x 28.5
	1557:55	OMS 2	94.05 469 x 476 x 28.5
	1602:07	OMS 2 CO
	1638	ET-25 breakup at 65 km
	1648:19	PLBD open
	2111		94.07 470 x 476 x 28.5
1985 Oct 4	0148?	DSCS/IUS deploy
	0203:24	OMS-3 sep
	0203:45	OMS-3 CO
	0203		94.53 475 x 515 x 28.5
1985 Oct 5			94.53 476 x 515 x 28.5
1985 Oct 7	0500	94.55 478 x 515 x 28.5
	1228:49	PLBD L close
	1322:31	PLBD R close
	1600:37	OMS deorbit
	1630:21	Entry interface
	1700:08	Landed RW23 EAFB
	1700:15	NGTD
	1701:13	Wheels stop
1985 Oct 11	1355	SCA takeoff	EAFB
	1625	SCA landing	Kelly AFB TX
	1845	SCA takeoff
	2210	SCA landing	KSC SLF
1985 Oct 12	0250	Tow to OPF/1