51F-05-003 (29 July-6 Aug 1985) --- Astronaut Anthony W. England, 51-F mission specialist, talks to ground controllers in Houston from the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting Challenger while Payload Specialist John-David Bartoe prepares to use binoculars through aft flight deck windows.

The crew assigned to the STS-51F mission included (kneeling left to right) Gordon Fullerton, commander; and Roy D. Bridges, pilot. Standing, left to right, are mission specialists Anthony W. England, Karl J. Henize, and F. Story Musgrave; and payload specialists Loren W. Acton, and John-David F. Bartoe. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on July 29, 1985 at 5:00:00 pm (EDT), the STS-51F mission’s primary payload was the Spacelab-2.

51F-06-017 (29 July-6 Aug. 1985) --- Crew portrait with sunglasses. C. Gordon Fullerton's head is at center. Others (bottom, l.-r.) are Roy D. Bridges, F. Story Musgrave and John David Bartoe; and (top) Karl J. Henize, Loren W. Acton and Anthony W. England.

S85-34378 (4 June 1985) --- Payload specialists John-David Bartoe, left, and Loren W. Acton listen to a briefing by a crew trainer (out of frame) during emergency egress training for members of the Challenger's next crew. Later, the seven crewmembers used sky-genies to practice quick egress from a potentially troubled Space Shuttle craft. They are standing near the crew compartment trainer in the Shuttle mockup and integration lab at JSC.

51F-13-021 (29 July-6 Aug 1985) --- Astronaut Story Musgrave, STS51F mission specialist, is seen hitching a zero-g ride on a blood centrifuge on the middeck of the space shuttle Challenger. "The centrifuge got more workout than just separation of our blood," crewmate John Bartoe, payload specialist, later told a gathering of media representatives at the 51F post-flight press conference, referring to Musgrave's off-duty antics. Photo credit: NASA

51F-S-161 (6 Aug 1985) --- The Space Shuttle Challenger, with its seven member crew and battery of scientific experiments aboard, eases its rear landing gear onto the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Onboard for the eight-day mission were C. Gordon Fullerton, Roy D. Bridges Jr., F. Story Musgrave, Karl J. Henize, Anthony W. England, Loren W. Acton and John-David Bartoe.

Tim Broach (seen through window) of NASA/Marshall Spce Flight Center (MSFC), demonstrates the working volume inside the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for use aboard the U.S. Destiny laboratory module on the International Space Station (ISS). This mockup is the same size as the flight hardware. Observing are Tommy Holloway and Brewster Shaw of The Boeing Co. (center) and John-David Bartoe, ISS research manager at NASA/John Space Center and a payload specialist on Spacelab-2 mission (1985). Photo crdit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Engineers from NASA's Glenn Research Center demonstrate the access to one of the experiment racks planned for the U.S. Destiny laboratory module on the International Space Station (ISS). This mockup has the full diameter, full corridor width, and half the length of the module. The mockup includes engineering mockups of the Fluids and Combustion Facility being developed by NASA's Glenn Research Center. (The full module will be six racks long; the mockup is three racks long). Listening at left (coat and patterned tie) is John-David Bartoe, ISS research manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center and a payload specialist on Spacelab 2 mission (1985). Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

S85-36655 (24 June 1985) --- The seven crewmembers for STS 51-F/Spacelab 2 pose for photographers following their pre-flight press conference in the Johnson Space Center's public affairs facility. Standing, l.-r., are Karl J. Henize, mission specialist; Roy D. Bridges, pilot; C. Gordon Fullerton, mission commander; F. Story Musgrave, mission specialist; John-David Bartoe, payload specialist; and Anthony W. England, mission specialist. Loren W. Acton, payload specialist, is seated. Launch is scheduled for July of this year.

From the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, guests joined Americans from coast to coast following the solar eclipse. Guest speakers were, astronaut John-David Bartoe, left, and communicator Jeff Lucas. Although a partial eclipse on Florida's Space Coast, young and old alike found many ways to watch the rare astronomical event. As the Moon passed between Earth and the midafternoon Sun, a shadow moved across the landscape. The 70-mile-wide totality path, or "umbral cone" -- where the entire Sun will vanish behind the Moon -- stretched across 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina.

From the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, guests joined Americans from coast to coast following the solar eclipse. Speaking at the event was astronaut John-David Bartoe. Although a partial eclipse on Florida's Space Coast, young and old alike found many ways to watch the rare astronomical event. As the Moon passed between Earth and the midafternoon Sun, a shadow moved across the landscape. The 70-mile-wide totality path, or "umbral cone" -- where the entire Sun will vanish behind the Moon -- stretched across 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina.

S85-29307 (May 1985) --- The seven crew members for the Space Shuttle STS-51F/Spacelab 2 mission take a pause from a KSC training session to pose for a pre-flight crew portrait. Astronauts C. Gordon Fullerton (kneeling center), mission commander; and Roy D. Bridges (kneeling right), pilot; are flanked by the payload specialists and mission specialists for the mission. Standing (left to right) are astronauts Anthony W. England, Karl J. Henize and Story Musgrave - all mission specialists; and payload specialist Loren Acton and John-David Bartoe.

51F-S-162 (6 Aug 1985) ---Mission Operations Director George W.S. Abbey, right, shakes hands with Astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton, as the seven-member 51F crew descends from its "home" for eight days. Other Challenger crewmembers egressing the spacecraft are, left to right, F. Story Musgrave, mission specialist; John-David Bartoe, payload specialist; Roy D. Bridges, Jr., Karl J. Henize, mission specialist; Loren W. Acton, payload specialist; and Anthony W. England, mission specicalist. Fullerton, commander, earlier successfully landed Challenger on a Mojave desert dry lake bed. Three years ago, Fullerton was pilot of STS-3, on which the Columbia's scheduled Edwards landing was moved to New Mexico because of weather and runway conditions here.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Retired payload specialist John-David Bartoe greets spectators during a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Fla. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S85-29498 (June 1985) --- The crew members of space shuttle mission STS-51F have chosen as their insignia this design by Houston artist Skip Bradley. The space shuttle Challenger is depicted ascending toward the heavens in search of new knowledge in the field of solar and stellar astronomy, with its Spacelab 2 payload. The constellations Leo and Orion are in the positions they will be in, relative to the sun during the flight. The nineteen stars signify that this will be the 19th STS flight. Crew members for the mission are astronauts C. Gordon Fullerton, commander; Roy D. Bridges, pilot; F. Story Musgrave, Anthony W. England and Karl J. Henize, mission specialist; and payload specialists Loren W. Acton and John David Bartoe. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

In this photo of the M2-F1 lifting body and the Paresev 1B on the ramp, the viewer sees two vehicles representing different approaches to building a research craft to simulate a spacecraft able to land on the ground instead of splashing down in the ocean as the Mercury capsules did. The M2-F1 was a lifting body, a shape able to re-enter from orbit and land. The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) used a Rogallo wing that could be (but never was) used to replace a conventional parachute for landing a capsule-type spacecraft, allowing it to make a controlled landing on the ground.