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ArchivesText SizeSTS-61B Mission: MORELOS-B; AUSSAT-2; SATCOM KU-2
Space Shuttle: Atlantis
Launch Pad: 39A 
Launch Weight: 261,455 pounds
Launched: November 26, 1985, 7:29:00 p.m. EST
Landing Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Landing: December 3, 1985, 1:33:49 p.m. PST
Landing Weight: 205,732 pounds
Runway: 22 
Rollout Distance: 10,759 feet
Rollout Time: 78 seconds
Revolution: 109
Mission Duration: 6 days, 21 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds
Returned to KSC: December 7, 1985
Orbit Altitude: 225 nautical miles
Orbit Inclination: 57 degrees
Miles Traveled: 2.8 million 

Crew Members

                    

Image above: STS-61B Crew photo with Commander Brewster H. Shaw, Jr., Pilot 
Bryan D. O'Connor, Mission Specialists Mary L. Cleave, Sherwood C. Spring, Jerry 
L. Ross and Payload Specialists Rodolfo Neri Vela and Charles D. Walker. Image 
Credit: NASA 

Mission Highlights

 Three communications satellites were deployed: MORE LOS-B (Mexico), AUSSAT-2 
(Australia) and SATCOM KU-2 (RCA Americom). MORELOS-B and AUSSAT-2 were attached 
to the Payload Assist Module-D motors, SATCOM KU-2 to a PAM-D2 designed for 
heavier payloads. Two experiments were conducted to test assembling erectable 
structures in space: Experimental Assembly of Structures in Extravehicular 
Activity (EASE) and Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space 
Structure (ACCESS). The experiments required two space walks by Spring and Ross 
lasting five hours, 32 minutes, and six hours, 38 minutes, respectively. Middeck 
payloads: Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES); Diffusive Mixing of 
Organic Solutions (DMOS); Morelos Payload Specialist Experiments (MPSE) and 
Orbiter Experiments (OEX). In payload bay: Get Away Special and IMAX Cargo Bay 
Camera (ICBC).

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