William E. Thornton
American - (NASA)
Deceased
Date of Birth: April 14, 1929
Date of Death: Jan. 14, 2020
William Edgar Thornton is a former NASA astronaut.
Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-8
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Aug. 30, 1983, 6:32 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-8 was the third mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. It deployed an Indian 10 and Weather satellite. It was the first night launch and night landing of the Shuttle program. It also carried the first African-American astronaut; Guion Bluford.
Low Earth OrbitSpace Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-51-B
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
April 29, 1985, 4:02 p.m.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Long March 7A
Yaogan 46
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of ChinaClassified Earth observation satellite officially reported as for "national resources/hydrology/meteorology surveying & disaster management" purposes.
LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III)
CMS-03 (GSAT-7R)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, IndiaCommunications Satellite for the Indian Navy, replacing GSAT-7 for secure real-time links between Indian warships, submarines, aircraft, and shore-ba…
Falcon 9
Bandwagon 4 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USADedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 11-23
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Long March 2
Shenzhou 21
Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaTenth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.
