View source for STS-61-H

{{Short description|Canceled Space Shuttle mission}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = STS-61-H
| names_list         = [[Space Transportation System]]
| image              = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_size         = 300px

| mission_type       = [[Communications satellite|Communications satellites deployment]] (planned)
| operator           = [[NASA]]
| COSPAR_ID          = 
| SATCAT             = 
| mission_duration   = 7 days, 7 hours, 51 minutes, 51 seconds (planned)

| spacecraft         = {{OV|102}} (planned)
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|1217990|kg}}
| landing_mass       = {{cvt|90584|kg}}
| payload_mass       = {{cvt|21937|kg}}

| crew_size          = 7 (planned)
| crew_members       = [[Michael Coats|Michael L. Coats]]<br/>[[John E. Blaha]]<br/>[[Robert C. Springer]]<br/>[[Anna Lee Fisher|Anna L. Fisher]]<br/>[[James Buchli|James F. Buchli]]<br/>[[Pratiwi Sudarmono]]<br/>[[Nigel R. Wood]]

| launch_date        = 24 June 1986, 13:09:00 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] (planned)
| launch_rocket      = [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']]
| launch_site        = [[Kennedy Space Center]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B|LC-39B]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Rockwell International]]

| landing_date       = 1 July 1986, 21:00:51 UTC (planned)
| landing_site       = [[Kennedy Space Center]],<br/>Runway 15

| orbit_reference    = [[Geocentric orbit]] (planned)
| orbit_regime       = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis    = {{cvt|285|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{cvt|295|km}}
| orbit_inclination  = 28.45°
| orbit_period       = 90.40 minutes
| apsis              = gee

| instruments        = 

| insignia           = Shuttle Patch.png
| insignia_caption   = Space Shuttle patch
| insignia_size      = 200px

| crew_photo         = STS-61-H crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = Back row: [[Anna Lee Fisher|Anna L. Fisher]], [[Robert C. Springer]], [[James Buchli|James F. Buchli]]<br/>Front row: [[John E. Blaha]] and [[Michael Coats|Michael L. Coats]]
| crew_photo_size    = 300px

| programme          = '''[[Space Shuttle program]]'''
| previous_mission   = [[STS-51-L]] (25)
| next_mission       = [[STS-26]]
| programme2         = Cancelled Shuttle missions
| previous_mission2  = [[STS-61-G]]
| next_mission2      = [[STS-62-A]]
}}

'''STS-61-H''' was a [[NASA]] [[Space Shuttle]] mission planned to launch on 24 June 1986 using [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']]. However, it was canceled after the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster |''Challenger'' disaster]].

== Crew ==
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology = Astronaut

| position1   = Commander
| crew1_up    = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Michael Coats|Michael L. Coats]]
| flights1_up = Would have been second

| position2   = Pilot
| crew2_up    = {{flagicon|USA}} [[John E. Blaha]]
| flights2_up = Would have been first

| position3   = Mission Specialist 1
| crew3_up    = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Robert C. Springer]]
| flights3_up = Would have been first

| position4   = Mission Specialist 2
| crew4_up    = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Anna Lee Fisher|Anna L. Fisher]]
| flights4_up = Would have been second

| position5   = Mission Specialist 3
| crew5_up    = {{flagicon|USA}} [[James Buchli|James F. Buchli]]
| flights5_up = Would have been third

| position6   = Payload Specialist 1
| crew6_up    = {{flagicon|IDN}} [[Pratiwi Sudarmono]]
| flights6_up = Would have been first

| position7   = Payload Specialist 2
| crew7_up    = {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel R. Wood]]
| flights7_up = Would have been first
}}

=== Backup crew ===
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology = Astronaut

| position6   = Payload Specialist 1
| crew6_up    = {{flagicon|IDN}} [[Taufik Akbar]]
| flights6_up = Would have been first

| position7   = Payload Specialist 2
| crew7_up    = {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Richard Farrimond|Richard A. Farrimond]]
| flights7_up = Would have been first
}}

== Crew notes ==
Before Buchli was assigned to STS-61-H, [[Norman Thagard|Norman E. Thagard]] was the potential Mission Specialist 3 for this flight.

== Mission objectives ==
The main task of the mission was to bring two commercial satellites into orbit – [[Palapa|Palapa B3]] and [[Westar|Westar-6S]], and military communication satellite - [[Skynet (satellite)|Skynet-4A]], The [[United Kingdom|British Skynet]] and the [[Indonesia]]n Palapa were supposed to be accompanied by an astronaut from the two countries.

After the ''Challenger'' disaster, the deployment of commercial satellites by the Space Shuttle was stopped, and for several years no international astronauts were nominated. Thus, neither the British nor the Indonesian payload specialists got a second chance for a spaceflight. The NASA crew however stayed together and participated in a 56-hour-long simulated mission known as STS-61-M(T) in 1987. The crew finally flew on [[STS-29]], with Anna L. Fisher being replaced by [[James P. Bagian]].

[[Skynet (satellite)|Skynet 4A]] was launched on 1 January 1990 with a [[Titan (rocket family)|Titan III]], Westar-6S was renamed [[Galaxy (satellite)|Galaxy-6]] and launched on 12 October 1992 by an [[Ariane 4 |Ariane 44L]]. Palapa-B3 was renamed to [[Agila-1|Palapa B2P]] and was launched on 20 March 1987 with a [[Delta (rocket family)|Delta-3920]].

== See also ==
* [[Cancelled Space Shuttle missions]]
* [[STS-29]]

== References ==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* http://www.mach25.nl/~jacques/shuttle/STS61H.html

{{Space Shuttle Columbia}}
{{All U.S. Space Shuttle Missions}}

[[Category:Cancelled Space Shuttle missions]]