* Astronomy

STS-61-A was the 22nd Space Shuttle flight and the 9th by Challenger. It took off from Launch Pad 39-A on October 30, 1985 at 17:00:00 UTC. It landed at Edwards AFB on November 6, 1985 at 17:44:51 UTC. The main payload carried and placed into orbit was the German Spacelab D-1. Other payload placed in orbit was the Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite. 

STS-61-A (also known as D-1) was the 22nd Space Shuttle mission. It was a scientific Spacelab mission funded and controlled by West Germany - hence the non-NASA name of D-1 (for Deutschland 1). It was also the last successful mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. STS-61-A holds the record for the largest crew, eight people, aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.
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