STS-51-G launched 1985

STS-51-G crew:

Front Row (L-R): Daniel Bradenstein, John Creighton

Back Row (L-R): Shannon Lucid, Steven Nagel, John Fabian, Saiman Al Saud, Patrick Baudry

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-G), launched June 17, 1985, carried Sultan Saiman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia into orbit.  He is the first Arab, first Muslim and the first member of a royal family to travel into space.

The entire crew consisted of Commander Daniel Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, John Fabian, Steven Nagel, Shannon Lucid, Patrick Baudry, and Saud (Royal Saudi Air Force).  During the mission, the Arabsat-1B (Arab Satellite Communications Organization) was deployed.

They returned to Earth June 24.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John Fabian!

John McCreary Fabian, born January 28, 1939 in Goose Creek, Texas, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions.  He joined the US Air Force in 1962, and received flight training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona.

His first mission into space was aboard Challenger (STS-7) in June 1983 as mission specialist.  Sally Ride was on board as the first U.S. female astronaut.  Ronald Reagan, then President, sent Jelly Belly jelly beans with the astronauts, the first jelly beans in space.

Fabian's second and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) in June 1985 as mission specialist.  It was the first flight for Shannon Lucid and the only flights for Patrick Baudry (CNES) and Sultan Salman al Saud, the first Arab, first Muslim and first royal astronaut.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Daniel Brandenstein!

Daniel Brandenstein, born January 17, 1943 in Watertown, Wisconsin, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  After college, he went in the US Navy and became a naval aviator.

His first flight was on Challenger (STS-8) as pilot in August-September 1983.  One of the mission's objective was to test the use of the Canadarm remote manipulator system to do some testing on the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, which had been launched previously.

He served as commander on his second flight, Discovery (STS-51-G) in June 1985.  It was also the first flight for Shannon Lucid and Sultan Salman Al Saud of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

His third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as commander in January 1990.  This mission deployed and captured satellites during its time in space.

Brandenstein's fourth and last flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-49) as commander in May 1992.  It took three astronauts in EVA to retrieve a communications satellite.