SPARTAN

SPARTAN (for Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy) was a series of satellites deployed and retrieved during Space Shuttle missions during the 1980s and 1990s. The practice took the place of sounding-rocket missions, having the Shuttle deploy the probes as satellites for the duration of the Shuttle flight, retrieving them to return. The satellites operated independently, recording data for later analysis. A series of probe designs were used, including SPARTAN-201, used for Solar research. Another was intended to view Comet Halley, but was lost in the Challenger launch disaster.