STS-62-A
# STS-62-A

STS-62-A was a planned NASA Space Shuttle mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload (Teal Ruby) into polar orbit. It was expected to use Discovery. It would have been the first crewed launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and the first crewed mission to go into polar orbit. The mission designation, STS-62-A, meant: 6=fiscal year 1986, 2=Vandenberg (1=Kennedy Space Center), and A=first flight in that fiscal year.

## Crew

| Position | Astronaut | Astronaut |
| - | - | - |
| Commander | Robert L. Crippen Would have been fifth spaceflight | Robert L. Crippen Would have been fifth spaceflight |
| Pilot | Guy S. Gardner Would have been first spaceflight | Guy S. Gardner Would have been first spaceflight |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Richard M. Mullane Would have been second spaceflight | Richard M. Mullane Would have been second spaceflight |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Jerry L. Ross Would have been second spaceflight | Jerry L. Ross Would have been second spaceflight |
| Mission Specialist 3 | Dale A. Gardner Would have been third spaceflight | Dale A. Gardner Would have been third spaceflight |
| Payload Specialist 1 | Edward C. Aldridge Jr. Would have been first spaceflight | Edward C. Aldridge Jr. Would have been first spaceflight |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Brett Watterson, Manned Spacecraft Engineer Would have been first spaceflight | Brett Watterson, Manned Spacecraft Engineer Would have been first spaceflight |

## Post-Challenger accident

The destruction of Challenger and subsequent halt of the Space Shuttle program led to the cancellation of the mission.

Guy Gardner, Jerry Ross, and Mike Mullane were members of the second post-Challenger mission STS-27 — a classified mission for the DoD — during which the Lacrosse-1 radar reconnaissance spacecraft was allegedly deployed.

