STS-61-B

Mission Profile

Overview

STS-61-B was only the second flight of Atlantis, but it carried a historic first: payload specialist Rodolfo Neri Vela, an electrical engineer from Guerrero who became the first Mexican citizen in space. He flew to oversee Mexico's Morelos-B communications satellite, one of three comsats — alongside Australia's Aussat-2 and RCA's Satcom K-2 — deployed during the busy week-long mission. Neri Vela also ran biology and medical experiments and famously grew amaranth, a staple Mexican grain, in microgravity. The seven-person crew, the largest yet flown at the time, supported two ambitious spacewalks in which Jerry Ross and Sherwood Spring hand-assembled the EASE and ACCESS truss structures, rehearsing the orbital construction techniques that would later build space stations. Launched at night, Atlantis lit up the Florida coast.

Crew

Key Milestones

1. 1985-11-26

   Atlantis launches at night from KSC Pad 39A with seven crew

2. 1985-11-27

   Morelos-B and Aussat-2 communications satellites deployed

3. 1985-11-28

   Satcom K-2 satellite deployed

4. 1985-11-29

   First EVA: Ross and Spring assemble the ACCESS/EASE structures

5. 1985-12-03

   Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base, Runway 22

Key Achievements

• Rodolfo Neri Vela became the first Mexican citizen to fly in space

• Deployed three communications satellites in one mission: Morelos-B, Aussat-2 and Satcom K-2

• First hand-assembly of large space structures (ACCESS and EASE) on orbit by spacewalkers

Related Missions

Sources

1. NASA — STS-61B Mission Archive
2. Britannica — Rodolfo Neri Vela
3. Wikipedia — STS-61-B