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Canceled Space Shuttle missions

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During NASA's Space Shuttle program, several missions were canceled. Many were canceled as a result of the Challenger and the Columbia disasters or due to delays in the development of the shuttle. Others were canceled because of changes in payload and mission requirements.

Canceled due to the late development of the Space Shuttle

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In 1972, NASA's planners had projected for 570 Space Shuttle missions between 1980 and 1991.[1] Later, this estimate was lowered to 487 launches between 1980 and 1992.[2] The details of the first 23 projected missions, listed in the third edition of Manned Spaceflight (Reginald Turnill, 1978) and the first edition of the STS Flight Assignment Baseline, an internal NASA document published in October 1977,[3] are presented below.

Later in the development process, NASA suggested using the first crewed Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, as a sub-orbital test of the Return to Launch Site (RTLS) flight profile devised for emergency abort scenarios.[11] Columbia would have launched from Kennedy Space Center, then executed a 180-degree turn at a speed of 8,400 kilometres per hour (5,200 mph), or 6.7 times the speed of sound, in order to land at the Kennedy Space Center runway. The mission was canceled when astronauts refused to fly it, having deemed the plan to be too dangerous. STS-1 commander John W. Young recalled that "I said no. I said let's not practice Russian roulette, because you may have a loaded gun there. So we didn't."[11]

Canceled between the first flight of the Space Shuttle (1981) and the Challenger disaster (1986)

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Canceled due to the Challenger disaster

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Canceled between 1988 and the Columbia disaster (2003)

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Canceled due to the Columbia disaster

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References

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  1. ^ Turnill, p.73
  2. ^ Turnill, inner cover
  3. ^ Portree, David S. F. "What Shuttle Should Have Been: The October 1977 Flight Manifest". Wired. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  4. ^ "STS-1 - First Space Shuttle Mission Press Kit" (PDF). Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. 1981. p. 46. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2012. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "Jack Lousma: We Were Going to Rescue Skylab". Air & Space. 18 November 2010.
  6. ^ "STS-2A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  7. ^ Lewis, Richard S. (11 May 1978). "Skylab brings NASA down to Earth". New Scientist. p. 350.
  8. ^ "STS-2 Conceptual Flight Profile" (PDF). NASA Mission Planning and Analysis Division. 1979. Retrieved 6 November 2012. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ Evans, Ben (2005). Space Shuttle Columbia: Her Missions and Crews. Praxis Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 0-387-21517-4.
  10. ^ "STS-7 Flight Feasibility Assessment" (PDF). NASA Flight Planning Branch. 1979. Retrieved 5 November 2012. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ^ a b Coledan, Stefano (December 2000). "Astronauts in Danger". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2006.
  12. ^ Evans, Ben (2007). Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys Into the Unknown. Praxis Publishing. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-387-46355-1.
  13. ^ a b NASA (3 August 2000). "Space Shuttle Mission Summaries". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
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  15. ^ "STS-61-G". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Atlantis". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Discovery". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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  27. ^ a b c Evans, Ben (2007). Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys Into the Unknown. Praxis Publishing. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-387-46355-1.
  28. ^ Evans, Ben (2007). Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys Into the Unknown. Praxis Publishing. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-387-46355-1.
  29. ^ "STS-81-M". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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  32. ^ a b c d e f "Endeavour". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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  35. ^ "STS-118". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
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  38. ^ "STS-123A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  39. ^ "STS-124A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  40. ^ "STS-125A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  41. ^ "STS-126A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  42. ^ "STS-127A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 20 June 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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  46. ^ "STS-131A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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