STS-51B Mission Patch

Description

17th Space Shuttle Mission7th Flight of Challenger Crew:Robert F. Overmyer, CommanderFrederick D. Gregory, PilotDon L. Lind, Mission SpecialistNorman E. Thagard, Mission SpecialistWilliam E. Thornton, Mission SpecialistLodewijk van den Berg, Payload SpecialistTaylor G. Wang, Payload Specialist The mission's primary payload was Spacelab-3. This was the first operational flight for the Spacelab orbital laboratory series developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). Studies were held in materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics and astronomy.