Loren Wilber Acton is an American physicist who flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-51-F as a Payload Specialist for the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory. He is also the father of Cheryll Glotfelty, a leading ecocritic.
Loren Acton
STS-51-F was the 19th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the eighth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 29, 1985, and landed eight days later on August 6, 1985.
Experiments in Challenger's payload bay
Front row (seated): C. Gordon Fullerton, Roy D. Bridges Jr. Back row (standing): Anthony W. England, Karl G. Henize, F. Story Musgrave, Loren W. Acton, John-David F. BartoeSpace Shuttle program← STS-51-G (18)STS-51-I (20) →
Aborted launch attempt at T-3 seconds on July 12, 1985.
The control panel of the Shuttle on the STS-51-F mission, showing the selection of the Abort-to-Orbit (ATO) option.