35 Years Ago: STS-51J — The First Flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis

Space Shuttle Atlantis, named after the two-masted research vessel used by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution between 1930 and 1966, was the fourth space-qualified orbiter to join the fleet. In its construction and use of advanced technologies, Atlantis was very similar to its sister ship Discovery that joined the fleet a year earlier.

Atlantis rolled out of Rockwell International’s plant in Palmdale, California, on March 6, 1985, and arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 12 after a cross-country ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base in California atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747. After ground processing, workers mated Atlantis to its External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and rolled it out to Launch Pad 39A on Aug. 29. 

Left: Space Shuttle Atlantis rolls out of Rockwell’s Palmdale facility. Right: Atlantis, atop the SCA, lands at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Credits: NASA

Commander Karol J. “Bo” Bobko, a veteran of STS-6 (the first flight of space shuttle Challenger) and STS-51D, Pilot Ronald J. Grabe, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart and David C. Hilmers, and William A. Pailes, a Department of Defense (DoD) manned spaceflight engineer, were assigned to Atlantis’  first flight, designated STS-51J. Grabe, Hilmers, and Pailes were making their first flight, while Stewart had tested the Manned Maneuvering Unit during his first mission, STS-41B. The flight was a classified DoD mission, so few details on the crew’s on-orbit activities are known. In 1998, the department declassified the primary payloads, identifying them as a pair of third-generation Defense Space Communications Satellites (DCSC-III) and releasing photographs of their deployment from the shuttle’s payload bay atop an Inertial Upper Stage. 

Left: STS-51J crew patch. Right: STS-51J crew photo. From front row left are Robert L. Stewart, Karol J. Bobko, and Ronald J. Grabe; from back row left are David C. Hilmers and William A. Pailes. Credits: NASA

As required before the first launch of an orbiter, engineers successfully completed the Flight Readiness Firing, an 18-second test of Atlantis’ main engines on Sept. 12. Four days later, the five-member crew successfully completed the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, a final dress rehearsal of the countdown — right up to the moment of engine ignition. Space Shuttle Enterprise arrived at Kennedy on Sept. 20 and was put on display next to the Saturn V rocket outside the VAB, in time not only for Kennedy’s open house the next day, but also for Atlantis’  launch, making for a great foreground in liftoff photographs.

Left: Atlantis after arriving at Launch Pad 39A. Right: Flight Readiness firing. Credits: NASA

Left: Launch of Atlantis on the STS-51J mission. Right: View of Atlantis during the ascent, with Space Shuttle Enterprise and a Saturn V rocket on display near the VAB. Credits: NASA

On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis roared off its launch pad on a pillar of flame and, within eight minutes, was in orbit around Earth. In keeping with an agreement between NASA and the DoD, media coverage of the mission stopped at that point. It is believed that the crew deployed the two DCSC-III satellites atop their Inertial Upper Stage on the first day in space. The DoD and NASA released very few photographs from the mission, other than the usual crew photos and Earth observation images.

 Three views of the deployment from Atlantis’ payload bay of the two satellites atop the Inertial Upper Stage. Credits: NASA

 Left: In-flight photo of the STS-51J crew in the shuttle’s middeck. Clockwise from top: Hilmers, Bobko, Pailes, Stewart, and Grabe. Middle: Pailes with a camera for Earth observations. Right: View of Houston from STS-51J. Credits: NASA

On Oct. 7, 1985, the astronauts closed Atlantis’  payload bay doors in preparation for re-entry. They fired the shuttle’s orbital maneuvering engines to slow the vehicle’s velocity and begin the descent back to Earth. Bobko guided Atlantis to a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base, completing a flight of four days, one hour, and 45 minutes. The crew had traveled 1.7 million miles and completed 64 orbits around the planet. The first flight of Atlantis completed the original four-orbiter shuttle fleet of reusable vehicles.

Left: Commander Bobko prepares for Atlantis’ re-entry. Right: Space shuttle Atlantis makes a perfect landing at Edwards Air Force Base to end the STS-51J mission. Credits: NASA

Read commander Bobko’s recollections of the STS-51J mission in his oral history with the Johnson History Office.