On April 12th, 1981, the first Space Shuttle mission ever was launched. Columbia made this famous maiden voyage with a crew of two on board for the ride. The names of these two brave men are: Commander John W. Young, Pilot and Robert L. Crippen. The orbiter was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at the KSC. Two days before at 7 a.m. EST. a launch attempt was scrubbed because if a timing problem in one of Columbia's general purpose computers.
This mission also marked the first use of solid rocket boosters (SRB) in an U.S. launch. Columbia holds the record for the most time spent in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) before a launch. 610 days was needed to replace many of the orbiter's heat shield tiles after the mission.
The 933,757-mile-long flight lasted two days, six hours, 20 minutes, and 23 seconds. The Space Shuttle Columbia landed on Runway 23 at Edwards AFB, CA, on 04/14/81, at 10:21 a.m. PST.
The inspection after the flight revealed that when the SRB ignited, they resulted in the loss of 16 heat shield tiles and 148 damaged others. Other than that the mission was a complete success.
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STS-2 First Time in History a Manned Space Vehicle was reused
11/12/81
The second Space Shuttle mission took place seven months after the first. On Nov. 12th, 1981, at 10:10 a.m. EST. The launch was planed for 7:30 a.m., but was postponed while a faulty data transmitting unit was replaced on the orbiter. Originally the launch was to be on Oct. 9th, but it was delayed because a nitrogen tetroxide spill during the loading of the forward Reaction Control Systems (RCS) tanks. The new launch date given was Nov. 4th, but once again scrubbed when high oil pressures were discovered in two of the three Auxiliary Power Units (APU) that control the hydraulic system on the orbiter.
This second flight made its way into the history books, by being the first manned space vehicle to be reflown with a second crew: Commander Joseph H. Engle, and Pilot Richard H. Truly. Columbia once again carried the DFI package as well as the OSTA-1 (name of the NASA Office of Space Terrestrial Applications) payload. Which was a number of remote sensing instruments mounted on the Spacelab pallet in the payload bay. The instruments on board for the mission, including the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-1), carried out remote sensoring of the Earth resources, environmental quality, ocean and weather conditions. The Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm was successfully used in all operating modes for the first time.
The mission was supposed to last a total of five days, but had to be cut short because of a bad fuel cell. The fuel cell produced electricity and drinking water for the crew to use on the flight. The Shuttle Columbia landed on Runway 23, at Edwards AFB, at 1:23 p.m. PST, on 11/14/81, after a 36-orbit, 933,757-mile long flight that lasted two days, six hours, 13 minutes, and 13 seconds.
Even thought the mission was cut short, more than 90 percent of the objectives were met. The modifications of the water sound suppression system at the pad, were made to absorb the wave of over pressure caused by the solid rocket boosters at liftoff worked. No tiles were lost and only 12 tiles were damaged.
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STS-3 First Middeck Locker Experiments were Carried out
03/22/82
Columbia was launched on its third flight at 11:00 a.m. EST, on March 22nd, l982, the planned launch date. The launch was delayed one hour because of the failure of a heater on a nitrogen gas ground support line. The crew for this mission consisted of two members they were: Commander Jack R. Lousma, and Pilot Charles G. Fullerton.
Major objectives of the mission were to continue the testing of the RMS arm, and to carry out extensive thermal testing of Columbia by exposing its tail, nose, and top to the sun for varying periods of time.
Columbia again carried the DFI package, and OSS-l (named for the NASA Office a of Space Science and Applications) which consisted of instruments mounted on a Spacelab pallet to gather data on Earth's environment and the extent of contamination caused by the orbiter itself on the environment. A test canister for the Small Self-Contained Payload program a.k.a. the Getaway Special (GAS), was mounted on the side of the payload bay.
For the first time a number of experiments were carried out in the mid-deck lockers of the Shuttle. These tests included a Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System experiment to study separation of biological components and a Monodisperse Latex Reactor experiment to produce uniform micron-sized latex particles. The first Shuttle Student Involvement Project (SSIP), the study of insect motion in space was also carried out in a mid-deck locker. Unfortunately both crew members experienced some space sickness. To add to their sickness the toilet decided to malfunction, one Auxiliary Pacer Unit overheated (but worked properly during descent), and three communications links were lost on March 26th, to top it off.
STS-3 was planned to be a seven day flight, but had to be extended one extra day because of high winds at the backup landing site, Northrup Strip, White Sands, N.M., since the planned landing site at Edwards AFB was too wet for a safe landing.
Columbia finally landed at 9:05 a.m. MST, March 30th, l982, at Northrup Strip (later renamed White Sands Space Harbor). The orbiter made 129 orbits and traveled 3.3 million miles, during its eight day, four minute, and 45 second flight. A total of 36 tiles were lost and 19 were damaged during the flight.
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STS-4 The Last Research and Delevopment Mission in The Program
06/27/82
This mission was first Space Shuttle mission to be launched at its scheduled launch time. This was also the last research and development flight in the program. Liftoff happened on June 27th, l982, at ll:00 a.m. EST, with commander Thomas K. Mattingly, and pilot Henry W. Hartsfield aboard for the ride. Its cargo consisted of the first Getaway Special payloads, which included nine scientific experiments provided by students from Utah State University, and a classified Air Force payload.
In the mid-deck, a Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor were flown for the second time. The crew conducted a lightning survey with hand held cameras, and performed medical experiments on themselves for two student projects. The astronauts also operated the RMS with a thing called the Induced Environment Contamination Monitor mounted on the end of the RMS designed to obtain information on gases or particles being released by the orbiter in flight into the atmosphere.
STS-4 was a planned seven day mission and landing of the occurred on July 4th, l982, at 9:10 a.m. PDT, on the 15,000 foot concrete Runway 22 at Edwards AFB (the first Shuttle landing on a concrete runway). The flight lasted seven days, one hour, nine minutes, and 40 seconds. Distance traveled was 2.9 million miles in 112 complete orbits. All the mission objectives were achieved. There was one malfunction with the two SRBs. The main parachutes failed to deploy causing the empty SRB casings to hit the water at high speeds and sink.
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The fifth launch of the Shuttle Columbia took place at 7:19 a.m. EST, Nov. llth, l982. The crew included commander Vance Brand, pilot Robert F. Overmyer, and the first mission specialists to fly in the Shuttle; Joseph P. Allen and William B. Lenoir. These four people made up the largest crew to fly in a Shuttle mission and also carried the first two commercial communications satellites to be flown.
The two communications satellites were deployed successfully and went into their operational geosynchronous orbits by booster rockets. Both were Hughes-built HS-376 series satellites (SBS-3 owned by Satellite Business Systems), and Anik owned by Telesat of Canada. In addition to the first commercial satellite cargo. The Space Shuttle Columbia carried a West German sponsored micro gravity GAS experiment canister in the payload bay. The Astronauts also conducted three student experiments during the flight.
To much of the crews disappointment a planned spacewalk had to be canceled when the two space suits that were to be used developed a few problems. This would have been the first space walk in the Shuttle program.
Columbia returned home on Nov. 16th, 1982, at 6:33 a.m., on Runway 22, at Edwards AFB. After traveling two million miles in 8l orbits during a mission that lasted five days, two hours, 14 minutes, and 26 seconds.
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On April 4th, 1983, the first Challenger mission, lifted off occured at 1:30 p.m. EST. This flight was the first use of a new lightweight external tank and lightweight SRB casings. The mission scheduled for launch on Jan. 30th, 1983, but a hydrogen leak in one of the main engines was discovered. After a flight readiness firing of the main engines on Jan. 25, 1983, fuel line cracks were found in the other two engines. A spare engine was installed to replace the engine with the leaky hydrogen line and the other two engines were removed and the cracked fuel lines were repaired and then the engines were reinstalled.
While, the engine repairs were underway, a severe storm caused contamination of the primary cargo to be used for the mission. The first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), while it was in the Payload Changeout Room on the Rotating Service Structure was contaminated at the launch pad. This meant the satellite had to be taken back to its checkout facility where it would be cleaned and rechecked. The Payload Changeout Room and the payload bay also had to be cleaned.
STS-6 carried a crew of four. Commander Paul J. Weitz, pilot Karol J. Bobko, Donald H. Peterson and Story Musgrave, both mission specialists. Using new space suits designed specifically for the Space Shuttle, Peterson and Musgrave successfully accomplished the program's first extravehicular activity (EVA). The two of them performed various tests in the payload bay. Their space walk lasted four hours an 17 minutes.
The 5,000 pound TDRS was successfully launch from the Challenger, its two-stage rocket booster (the Interim Upper Stage IUS), shut down to early, placing the satellite into a low elliptical orbit. Fortunately, the satellite contained extra propellant. Over the next few months the thrusters were fired at carefully planned intervals gradually moving TDRS-l into a geosynchronous operating orbit. Saving the $100-million satellite from destruction.
Other pieces of cargo included three GAS canisters, the continuation of the Monodisperse Latex Reactor, and the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis experiments.
Challenger returned to back home to Earth on April 9, 1983, at 10:53 a.m. PST, landing on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB. It completed 80 orbits, traveling two million miles in five days, 24 minutes, and 32 seconds.
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STS-7 The First American Woman in Space
06/18/83
The Challenger's second flight began at 7:33 a.m. EST, on June 18, 1983. This would be the first flight of an American woman in space "Sally K. Ride ", and also the largest crew to fly in a single spacecraft up to that time. A five person crew was on board the Shuttle orbiter.
Crew members included Commander Robert L. Crippen (making his second Shuttle flight), pilot Frederick C. Hauck, John M. Fabian and Norman Thagard, all of which were mission specialists. Thagard conducted medical tests of the Space Adaptation Syndrome nausea (nausea - feeling of throwing up) and sickness frequently experienced by astronauts during the early stages of a space flight. The cargo consisted of two communications satellites, Anik C-2 for Telesat of Canada, and Palapa B-l for Indonesia. Both were successfully put into orbiter during the first two days of Challengers mission. The mission also carried the first Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-l) built by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm, a West German aerospace firm. SPAS-l was unique in how the SPAS-1 was designed to operate. It could operate in the payload bay or be deployed by the RMS as a free-flying satellite. SPAS-1 carried ten experiments to study the formation of metal alloys in micro gravity, the operation of heat pipes, instruments for remote sensing observations, and a mass spectrometer to identify various gases in the payload bay. It was deployed by the RMS and flew alongside and over Challenger for several hours while a U.S. supplied camera took pictures from the SPAS-1 of the orbiter performing various maneuvers. The RMS later grappled the pallet and returned it to the payload bay.
Also brought along for the mission was seven GAS canisters which contained a wide variety of experiments, as well as the OSTA-2 payload, a joint U.S. West German scientific pallet payload. For the first time the orbiter's Ku-band antenna was able to relay data through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite to a ground terminal.
Challenger was scheduled to make the first Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. However, bad weather forced a change in plans. The obiter had to land at Runway 23 at Edwards AFB. The landing took place June 24th, 1983, at 6:57 a.m. PDT. The mission lasted six days, two hours, 23 minutes, and 59 seconds. The Space Shuttle covered about 2.2 million miles during its 97 orbits of the Earth.
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STS-8 The First Black American in Space
08/30/83
The five member crew made their mark in the books by having the first black American to fly in space on board. The crew consisted of mission specialist Guion S. Bluford Jr., Commander Richard H. Truly (making his second Shuttle flight), pilot Daniel C. Brandenstein, Bluford, Dale A. Gardner and William Thornton served as the mission specialists.
In addition to the INSAT, Challenger carried 12 GAS canisters in the payload. Four contained experiments while the remaining eight canisters contained special STS-8 postal covers. Two other boxes of covers were mounted on an instrument panel, bringing the total number of the special philatelic covers on board to 260,000. These were later sold to collectors by the Postal Service.
The fourth Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System experiment was also flown, using live human cells from a pancreas, kidney and pituitary gland this time. Six live rats were carried in an enclosure module being tested for the first time on the mission.
Other programs during the mission included a test of the RMS arm, by using a special 7,460 pound Development Flight Instrumentation Pallet. Numerous tests of the orbiter's S-band and Ku-band antenna systems were performed with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. William Thornton performed biomedical experiments on himself and other members of the crew in a continuation of the Space Adaptation Syndrome studies begun by Thagard during the STS-7 (the mission before) mission.
The astronauts also conducted the first night landing in the program at 12:40 a.m. PDT, Sept. 5, 1983, on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB. The mission lasted six days, one hour, eight minutes, an 43 seconds. Challenger traveled 2.2 million miles and orbited the Earth 97 times. It was back at KSC in the record-breaking time of four days after its California landing.
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For the next mission Columbia was back in orbit. The orbiter launched from KSC at ll a.m. EST, Nov. 28, 1983, after a two month delay because of a nozzle problem with one of the SRBs. Moving the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building was unavoidable, while SRB nozzle was replaced.
The six membered crew, a new manned space flight record for the most in space at the time, included commander John W. Young (his second Space Shuttle flight), pilot Brewster H. Shaw, Owen Garriott and Robert A. Parker, both of which were mission specialists, Byron K. Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold were the payload specialists. The first two non-astronauts to fly on board the Shuttle. Ulf Merbold of West Germany was the first foreign citizen to participate in a Shuttle flight. Byron K. Lichtenberg was a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The mission was devoted entirely to Spacelab 1, a joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) program designed to show the ability to conduct advanced scientific research in space. By using both astronauts and payload specialists working in the Spacelab module and arrange their efforts with scientists at the Marshall Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) then located at the Johnson Space Center. Funding for Spacelab 1 was provided by ESA.
The crew was divided into two teams, each working 12-hour shifts through out the mission. Young, Parker, and Merbold formed the Red Team, while Shaw, Garriott and Lichtenberg made up the Blue Team. Normally the commander and pilot team members are assigned to the flight deck. While the mission and payload specialists worked inside the Spacelab. Seventy-two scientific experiments were performed in the fields of atmospheric and plasma physics, astronomy, solar physics, material sciences, technology, life sciences and Earth observations. The effort went so well that the mission was extended an additional day. That made the mission a ten day operation, the longest duration Shuttle flight up to that time.
The Spacelab 1 mission was highly successful, having showed it was possible to carrying out complex experiments in space using non-NASA persons trained as payload specialists along with a POCC. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, now fully operational, was able to relay large amounts of information through its ground terminal to the POCC.
Columbia landed on Runway 17 at Edwards AFB, on Dec. 8, 1983, at 3:47 p.m. PST, completing 166 orbits and traveling 4.3 million miles.
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STS 41-B Many Satellites to Deploy
02/03/84
Following STS-9, the flight numbering system for Space Shuttle missions was changed. Thus, the next flight, instead of being designated STS-10, became STS 41-B. The new numbering system was designed to be more specific in that the first numeral stood for the fiscal year in which the launch was to take place, the "4" being 1984. The second numeral represented the launch site 1 for KSC and 2 for Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The letter represented the order of launch assignment, "B" was the second launch scheduled in that fiscal year. In turn "C" would be the third launch. (Following the Challenger accident, NASA reestablished the original numerical numbering system. Making the first flight following 51-L is STS-26.)
This was the fourth flight for the Challenger orbiter. Liftoff occurred at 8 a.m. EST, on Feb. 3, 1984. Two communications satellites were the cargo for this mission one for Western Union (WESTAR) and the other for Indonesia (Palapa B-2) were set into orbit about eight hours after launch. However, the Payload Assist Modules (PAM) for both satellites malfunctioned placing them into a lower orbit than planned. Both satellites were retrieved and successfully placed into orbit that following November during STS 51-A, the 14th mission, by the orbiter Discovery.
The STS 41-B crew included commander Vance D. Brand (his second Shuttle flight), pilot Robert L. Gibson; and mission specialists, Bruce McCandless II, Ronald E. McNair, and Robert L. Stewart were on board for the ride also.
A mission highlight took place on the first day of the when astronauts McCandless and Stewart performed the first untethered space walk operating the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) for the first time. McCandless (the first human Earth-orbiting satellite) ventured out 320 feet from the orbiter, while Stewart tested the "work station" foot restraint at the end of the RMS. The seventh day of the mission, both astronauts performed an EVA to practice capture procedures for the Solar Maximum Mission satellite retrieval and repair operation that would take place on the next mission, STS 41-C.
Another important highlight for flight was the reflight of the West German-sponsored SPAS-l pallet/satellite originally flown on STS-7. This time, however, it remained in the payload bay because of an electrical problem in the RMS. The Shuttle also carried five GAS canisters, six live rats in the mid-deck, a Cinema-360 camera and the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor experiments continued.
The seven day, 23-hour, 15-minute, an 55-second flight ended on Feb. ll, at 7:15 a.m. EST; at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. This was first landing of a spacecraft at its launch site ever. Challenger completed 127 orbits and traveled 2.8 million miles on its long voyage.
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STS 41-C Catch and Repair Solar Max , Deploy the Long Duration Exposure Facility
04/06/84
In April 1984, Challenger spread it's wings flew and off to space to perform the STS 41-C mission. Liftoff of the orbiter took place at 8:58 a.m. EDT, on April 6, 1984. The mission marked the first direct ascent trajectory for the Shuttle which reached its 288-mile-high orbit using the Orbiter Maneuvering System engines only once to circularize its orbit.
The flight had two primary objectives. The first was to deploy the huge Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), a passive, retrievable, 21,300-lb., 12-sided cylinder, 14 feet in diameter and 30 feet long carrying 57 experiments on board. The second objective was to capture, repair and redeploy the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite a.k.a. "Solar Max", which was launched in 1980.
The five-man crew included commander Robert L. Crippen (his third Shuttle flight), pilot Francis R. Scobee, and mission specialists, James D. Van Hoften, Terry J. Hart and George D. Nelson as well.
On the second day of the flight, the LDEF was grabbed by the RMS arm and successfully released into orbit. Its 57 experiments, mounted in 86 removable trays were contributed by 200 researchers from eight countries. Retrieval of the passive LDEF had been scheduled during 1985, but schedule delays and the Challenger accident have postponed the retrieval effort.
On the third day of the mission, Challenger's orbit was raised to about 300 miles, and it maneuvered to within 200 feet of Solar Max. Astronauts Nelson and van Hoften, wearing space suits, entered the payload bay. Nelson, using the MMU, flew out to the satellite and attempted to grasp it with a special capture tool called the Trunnion Pin Acquisition Device (TPAD). He made three attempts to clamp the TPAD onto the satellite and failed with every attempt. The satellite began tumbling when van Hoften attempted to grasp it with the RMS arm, and the effort was ended.
During that night, the Solar Max POCC, at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., was able to establish control over the satellite by sending commands ordering the magnetic torque bars to stabilize the tumbling. This was successful and the Solar Max went into a slow, regular spin.
The next day, Nelson and Van Hoften tried to capture Solar Max once again. This time the two of them succeeded to glass the satellite on the first try. They placed Solar Max on a special cradle in the payload bay using the RMS to maneuver it. They then began the repair operation, replacing the satellite's attitude control mechanism and the main electronics system of the chronograph instrument. The successful repair effort took two separate space walks to finish. Solar Max was deployed back into orbit the next day, thus completing one of the most unique rescue and repair missions in the history of the space program.
After a 30-day checkout by the Goddard POCC, Solar Max resumed full operation. Other STS 41-C mission activities included a student experiment located; in a mid-deck locker to determine how honeybees make honeycomb cells in a microgravity environment. The bees did successfully, just as they would on Earth.
The six day, 23-hour, 40-minute, seven second mission ended on April 13, at 5:38 a.m. PST, with Challenger landing on Runway 17, at Edwards AFB. The Space Shuttle Challenger had completed 108 orbits and traveled 2.87 million miles.
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The orbiter Discovery was launched on its maiden flight on Aug. 30, 1984. It was the third orbiter built and the lightest orbiter to be built because of its lightweight thermal blanket material. The mission was originally planned for June 25, but because of a variety of technical problems, including rollback to the VAB to replace a main engine. The launch did not take place until 8:41 a.m. EDT, Aug. 30, after a six minute, an 50 second delay because a private aircraft flew into the restricted air space near the launch pad. This was the fourth launch attempt for Discovery. Because of the two month delay, the STS 41-F mission was canceled (STS 41-E had been canceled) and its primary payloads were included on the STS 41-D flight. The combined cargo weighed over 47,000 pounds, a new Space Shuttle record for weight up to that time.
The six person flight crew consisted of commander Henry W. Hartsfield Jr.(his second Shuttle mission) pilot Michael L. Coats, and three mission specialists: Judith A. Resnik, Richard M. Mullane, and Steven A. Hawley, a payload specialist, Charles D. Walker, an employee of the McDonnell Douglas Corp. Walker was the first commercially sponsored payload specialist to fly aboard the Space Shuttle.
The cargo consisted of three communications satellites, SBS-D for Satellite Business Systems, Telstar 3-C for Telesat of Canada, and SYNCOM IV-2, or Leasat-2, a Hughes-built satellite leased to the Navy. Leasat-2 was the first large communications satellite designed specifically to be released from the Space Shuttle. All three satellites were deployed successfully and became operational.
The other piece of the payload was the OAST-l solar array. A device 13 feet wide, and 102 feet high, which folded into a package seven inches deep. The wing carried a number of different types of experimental solar cells and was extended to its full height several times during the mission. It was the largest structure ever extended from a manned spacecraft and demonstrated the feasibility of large lightweight solar arrays for future installment to large facilities in space such as Space Stations.
McDonnell Douglas sponsored the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) experiment, using living cells, was more elaborate then the one (CFES) flown before and payload specialist Walker operated the CFES for more than 100 hours during the flight. A student experiment to study crystal growth in microgravity was carried out during the mission. An to top it off the IMAX motion picture camera was operated during much of the flight. The mission lasted 6 days, an 56 minutes. The orbiter landed on Runway 17 at Edwards AFB, at 6:37 a.m. PDT, on Sept. 5th. It had traveled 2.21 million miles and made 97 orbits.
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STS 51-A First time in History a Satellite was deploy and another was retrived
08/30/84
The five crew consisted of commander Frederick H. Hauck (on his second flight), pilot David M. Walker; and three mission specialists, Anna L. Fisher, Dale A. Gardner, and Joseph P. Allen. Both Gardner and Allen were making their second Shuttle flights.
This mission made a mark in history by being the first mission where a Shuttle had deployed two communications satellites and then went around in orbit retrieving two other communications satellites from their orbit around Earth. B-2 and 6 had been deployed during the STS 41-B mission earlier in the year and had been placed into improper orbits because their kick motors malfunctioned.
The STS 51-A mission also carried the Diffused Mixing of Organic Solutions (DMOS) experiment. It was the first of a series of comprehensive organic and polymer science experiments sponsored by the 3M Corporation. This mid-deck experiment was successful and the proprietary results of the chemical mixes were turned over to 3M. One other experiment was conducted, the radiation monitoring experiment, was also performed during the mission. The mission ended at 7 a.m. EST, Nov. 16th, with Discovery landing on Runway 33, at KSC, after a seven day, 23-hour, an 45-minute flight, which covered a total of 3.3 million miles during 126 complete orbits. This was the third Shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center and the fifth and final Shuttle mission of 1984.
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STS 51-C Was a DoD Mission
01/24/85
Discovery would make its third flight to outer space in January 1985, to conduct the first mission totally dedicated to the Department of Defense. The classified payload was deployed successfully and boosted into its operating orbit by an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster according to an Air Force announcement.
The launch took place on 1/24/85, at 2:40 p.m. EST. The first of ten Shuttle missions to be conducted over the year. The launch was originally scheduled for the day before, but was delayed because of freezing weather conditions. Challenger was originally scheduled for this flight, but Discovery was substituted when thermal tile problems were discovered with Challenger.
The 51-C crew included commander Thomas K. Mattingly, pilot Loren J. Shriver, and two mission specialists, James F. Buchli and Ellison S. Onizuka; and Gary E. Payton, the payload specialist for the mission. The mission lasted three days, one hour, an 33 minutes total.
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 8:59 a.m. EST on April 12, 1985. This flight was a composite mission, carrying part of the original cargo and some of the cargo from mission 51-E, which had been canceled. The crew was entirely from the canceled mission except for one of the two payload specialists, Charles Walker, who substituted for Patrick Baudry because the latter's flight experiments were no longer on the manifest. This mission also featured the first flight of an elected official, Senator E.J. "Jake" Garn (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate committee with oversight responsibilities for NASA's budget.
The Anik C-1 spacecraft was deployed a few hours into the mission. Its PAM-D booster stage automatically fired 45 minutes later and lifted Anik C-1 into the planned elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Hughes SYNCOM IV-3 spacecraft, also called Leasat 3, was deployed on the second day. However, the booster stage did not fire as programmed. The orbiter returned to the vicinity of space and the crew examined the spacecraft. It was determined that the "sequence start" lever, which should have been automatically opened during the deployment sequence, was apparently not fully erected. After consultation with Hughes, Mission Control in Houston, directed the astronauts in the design of two "fly-swatter" devices capable of snagging and tugging on this lever. These were attached to the end of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS, or "Canadarm") during an EVA by Griggs and Hoffman. The mission was extended for two days to permit this try at activating the satellite. Seddon manipulated the Canadarm to hook the lever and tug hard on it, but this had no effect on the spacecraft. It was eventually repaired on a later mission.
Discovery landed at KSC on April 19th. The wheels on the orbiter came to a stop at 8:55 a.m. EST, after a mission duration of six days, 23 hours, and 55 minutes. A tire blew out just before the end of the rollout, causing all following landings to be at Edwards AFB until the inactive nose wheel steering system could be activated and tested.
The crew members for this particular mission was commander Karol J. Bobko, pilot Donald E. Williams, M. Rhea Seddon, S. David Griggs, and Jeffrey A. Hoffman, all three mission specialists; and Charles D. Walker, McDonnell Douglas, and E.J. "Jake" Garn, United States Senate, payload specialists.
Experiments onboard included the second use of the larger Continuous Flow Electrophoresis Experiment (successfully operated by Walker), an informal science study of the behavior of mechanical toys in microgravity; two Shuttle Student Involvement Project (SSIP) experiments, of which one was successful and one was not.
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The Space Shuttle Challenger blasted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:02 p.m. EDT on April 29, 1985. This was the second flight of the Spacelab, and the first Spacelab in a fully operational configuration. Spacelab capabilities for multi-disciplinary research in microgravity was successfully demonstrated. The gravity gradient attitude of the orbiter proved quite stable, allowing the delicate experiments in materials processing and fluid mechanics to operate normally. The crew operated in two 12 hour shifts once again. Two monkeys and 24 rodents were flown up in the Shuttle stored in special cages. this was first time American astronauts had flown with live mammals aboard a space vessel. The astronaut experimenters in orbit were supported a day of temporary Payload Operations Control Center, located at the Johnson Space Center. Challenger landed at Edwards AFB. The Shuttle came to an complete stop at 12:11 p.m. EDT on May 6, 1985, after a mission time of seven days, zero hours and eight minutes. The crew members were as fallows: commander Robert F. Overmyer, pilot Frederick D. Gregory, Don L. Lind, Norman E. Thagard and William E. Thornton, all mission specialists; and Lodewijk Van Den Berg, of EG&G Energy Management, Inc., and Taylor G. Wang, of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), payload specialists.
Spacelab 3 carried a large number of experiments, including 15 primary ones, of which 14 were successfully performed. There were five basic discipline areas -- materials sciences, life sciences, fluid mechanics, atmospheric physics, and astronomy -- with numerous experiments in each. Two Getaway Special experiments required that they be deployed from their canisters, a "first" in this program. These were NUSAT (Northern Utah Satellite) and GLOMR (Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite). NUSAT deployed successfully, but GLOMR did not deploy and was returned to Earth.
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STS 51-G A Bunch of Satellites were Deployed
06/17/85
The Orbiter Discovery lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 7:33 a.m. EDT on June 17, 1985. The largest items of cargo were three communications satellites. Also flown were the deployable/retrievable Spartan 1, six Getaway Special canisters, a High Precision Tracking Experiment (HPTE) for the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars"), a materials processing furnace, and French biomedical experiments.
All three communications satellites were successfully deployed and turned over to their owner-operators. Their PAM-D perigee booster motors fired and all three satellite reached geosynchronous orbit, where they entered checkout operations. Spartan 1 was deployed and recovered. All the experiments were successfully accomplished. Discovery landed at Edwards AFB at 9:12 a.m. EDT on June 24, 1985, after a mission duration of 7 days, one hour and 39 minutes. The crew members were commander Daniel C. Brandenstein, pilot John O. Creighton, Shannon W. Lucid, Steven R. Nagel, and John M. Fabian, all three mission specialists; and Patrick Baudry, and Prince Sultan Salman Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia, all payload specialists. Deployed the Arabsat 1-B (Arab Satellite Communications Organization); Morelos 1 (Mexico); and Telstar 3-D (AT&T). All three utilized PAM-D booster stages to achieve geosynchronous transfer orbits after deployment from the Discovery. The latter two spacecraft are variants of the Hughes-built HS-376 series of spin- stabilized satellites. Both of which use the Morton Thiokol Star 48 motor to circularize the orbit and align it with the equator at apogee. Morelos 1 provides 12 channels operating in the C-band and six channels operating in the Ku band. It can provide educational and commercial television programs, telephone and facsimile services, and data and business transmission services to even the most remote parts of Mexico. Telstar 3-D operates in the C-band only, and has 24 working channels. Using single sideband technology, a Telstar can relay up to 86,400 two-way telephone calls. Both spacecrafts are about 22 feet high and seven feet wide when deployed, and have a mass of around l,450 pounds when operational.
Arabsat- 1 satellites are built by an international team led by Aerospatiale of France. It is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft with two deployable solar array wings, making it almost 68 feet long and over 18 feet wide when deployed. It weighs about 2,800 pounds in its initial orbit, but some 1,490 pounds of this is propellant. It has an onboard low-thrust motor that utilizes hydrozine and nitrogen tetroxide, and transfers from an initial elliptical to geosynchronous orbit by firing this motor. The remaining propellant is then used for station-keeping or moving over the life of the satellite.
Spartan 1 measured 126 by 42 by 48 inches, and weighed 2,223 pounds. The Spartan is a carrier, designed to be deployed from the orbiter and fly free in space before being retrieved. Spartan 1 included 300 pounds of experiments in astronomy. It was deployed and operated successfully, independent of the orbiter, before being retrieved.
The materials furnace, French biomedical experiments, and six Getaway Special experiments were all successfully performed, although the GO34 Getaway Special shut down a little to soon. The Strategic Defense Initiative failed during its first try on orbit 37 because the orbiter was not at the correct attitude. It was successfully completed on orbit 64.
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On July 12, 1985, the Space Shuttle Challenger set off to distant space again. A launch attempt on July 12th was stopped at the T minis three seconds mark after a main engine ignition had occurred because of failed coolant valve in the number two engine and all three engines were shut down. The launch was postponed until July 29, when liftoff occurred at 5 p.m. EDT, after a 1-hour, 37-minute delay because of problems with the orbiter.
Although liftoff was normal, at five minutes, 45 seconds after launch, the number one main engine shutdown prematurely and an abort-to-orbit was declared. An orbit of 124 by 165 mile was achieved, and later raised to an altitude of about 196 mile by a series of Orbital Maneuvering System burns.
The seven man crew included commander Charles G. Fullerton, pilot Roy D. Bridges, and three mission specialists F. Story Musgrave, Anthony W. England and Karl G. Henize; and also two payload specialists Loren W. Acton of Lockheed Corp., and John-David Bartoe from the Naval Research Laboratory.
The Spacelab 2 consisted of an igloo and three pallets in the payload bay, containing scientific instruments dedicated to life sciences, plasma physics, astronomy, high-energy astrophysics, solar physics, atmospheric physics and technology research.
A major objective of the mission was to verify the performance of the Spacelab systems with the orbiter as well as to measure the environment created by the vehicle in space.
The flight marked the first time ESA Instrument Pointing System (IPS) was tested in orbit. This unique experiment pointing instrument was designed with an accuracy of one arc second. Initially, some problems were experienced when it was commanded to track the Sun. A series of software fixes were made and the problem was corrected. The flight crew and the experts on the ground in the Marshall POCC worked closely together and much valuable scientific data was acquired.
Inside the pressurized orbiter cabin four other experiments were carried out. These included two dealing with Vitamin D metabolites and bone demineralization which involved, among other things, taking physiological measurements of crew members. A third experiment dealt with determining the effect of microgravity on lignification in plants. Finally, the fourth cabin experiment, which was added late in planning for the mission, was concerned with protein crystal growth. All four experiments were successful.
The mission ended with Challenger landing at Edwards AFB, Calif., at 12:45 p.m. PDT, Aug. 6, on orbit 127. Mission duration was 7 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes,
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The Shuttle orbiter Discovery blasted of at 6:58 a.m. EDT, Aug. 27, 1985. After two earlier launch attempts were terminated, one on Aug. 24 and the other on Aug. 25 was scrubbed. The first because of poor weather and the second because the backup orbiter computer failed and had to be replaced. The launch on 8/27/85, was almost canceled due to an approaching storm. The Shuttle lifted off and the storm reached the launch site minutes later.
The five-man crew included commander Joe H. Engle, Richard O. Covey, pilot; and three mission specialists James van Hoften, John M. Lounge and William F. Fisher. Their primary mission was to deploy three commercial communications satellites and retrieve and repair IV-3 which was deployed during the STS 51-D mission in April 1985 and had malfunctioned. In addition, a mid-deck materials processing experiment was flown.
The three communications satellites included l, a multi-purpose spacecraft owned by Australia; the ASC-l owned and operated by the American Satellite Co.; and IV-4 leased to the Department of Defense by its builder, the Hughes Co. Both l and ASC-l were deployed on launch day, Aug. 27. IV-4, was deployed two days later. All three achieved proper geosynchronous orbits and became operational.
On the fifth day of the mission, astronauts Fisher and van Hoften began repair efforts on the malfunctioning IV-3 following a successful rendezvous maneuver with Discovery. The effort was slowed because of a problem in the RMS elbow joint. In any event, after a second EVA by Fisher and van Hoften, the lever was repaired, permitting commands from the ground to activate the spacecraft's systems and eventually sending it into its proper geosynchronous orbit. The two EVAs took ll hours and 27 minutes.
Discovery landed on Runway 23 at Edwards AFB at 6:16 a.m. PDT on Sept. 3rd. The flight took 7 days, two hours, 18 minutes, an 42 seconds, completing 111 orbits of the Earth.
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This was the second Space Shuttle mission completely dedicated to the Department of Defense. The cargo for this mission cargo was classified. Liftoff occurred on October 3, 1985, at 11:15 a.m. EDT, from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center. The orbiter used for this classified mission was Atlantis, making its first flight. The mission was classified as "Successful." After a duration of four days, one hour and 45 minutes, Atlantis landed on Runway 23 at Edwards AFB at l3:00 EDT on October 7, 1985.
The crew members were commander Karol J. "Bo" Bobko, pilot Ronald J. Grabe, David C. Hilmers and Robert L. Stewart, all three of which were mission specialists; and William Pailes, U.S. Air Force, payload specialist.
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The Orbiter Challenger headed off to space from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 12:00 noon EST on October 30, 1985. This was the first Space Shuttle mission largely financed and operated by another nation, West Germany. It was also the first Space Shuttle flight to carry a crew of eight. The primary mission was to operate a series of experiments, almost all related to how things function in microgravity, in Spacelab D-1, the fourth flight of a Spacelab. Two other mission assignments were to deploy the Global Low Orbiting Message Relay Satellite (GLOMR) out of a Getaway Special canister in the cargo bay, and operate five materials processing experiments mounted in the cargo bay on a separate device called the German Unique Support Structure.
NASA operated the Space Shuttle, and was also responsible for overall safety and control functions throughout the flight. West Germany was responsible for the scientific research carried out during the seven-day flight. To fulfill this function German scientific controllers on the ground worked closely with the personnel in orbit, operating out of the German Space Operations Center at Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, West Germany. The orbiting crew divided into two teams, and operated 24-hrs a day. Communications were very good throughout the mission and the ground and orbital crews were able to interact regularly. The overall system of one Center controlling spacecraft operations and a second controlling experiment functions worked very smoothly in practice.
The GLOMR satellite was successfully deployed during the mission. The five experiments mounted on the separate structure behind the Spacelab module obtained good data. Orbiter Challenger landed on Runway 17 at Edwards AFB on November 6, 1986. The finished rolling at 12:45 p.m. EST, after a mission that lasted seven days, and 45 minutes.
The crew for this mission was a fallows: commander Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., pilot Steven R. Nagel, Bonnie J. Dunbar, James F. Buchli and Guion S. Bluford, both mission specialists; and Ernst Messerschmid and Reinhard Furrer, West Germany, along with Wubbo Ockels, European Space Agency, payload specialists encompassed some 75 numbered experiments, most of which were performed more than once. Some of these experiments had predecessors which had returned data obtained on earlier flights. This made it possible to prepare experiment regimens that were "second generation" with respect to technical concept and experiment installation. Almost all of them took advantage of the microgravity environment to perform work not possible, or very difficult to do, here on Earth. The major area of concentration was materials science, in which West Germany has a well developed expertise.
The primary areas of experiment concentration were: fluid physics, with experiments in capillarity, Marangoni convection, diffusion phenomena, and critical point; solidification experiments; single crystal growth; composites; biological, including cell functions, developmental processes, and the ability of plants to perceive gravity; medical, including the gravitational perceptions of humans, and their adaptation processes in space; and speed-time interaction studies of people working in space.
One equipment item of unusual interest was the Vestibular Sled, an ESA contribution consisting of a seat for a test subject that could be moved backward and forward with precisely controlled accelerations and stops, along rails fixed to the floor of the Spacelab aisle. By taking detailed measurements on a human strapped into the seat, scientists gained data on the functional organization of the human vestibular and orientation systems, and the vestibular adaptation processes under microgravity conditions. The acceleration experiments by the sled riders were combined with thermal stimulations of the inner ear and optokinetic stimulations of the eye.
Overall, this was the most thorough series of experiments to date on materials processing in space and associated human activities, adding a rich store to humanity's knowledge. The data that was gained will require years of analysis.
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STS 61-B Demonstration of construction techniques
11/26/85
The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 7:29 p.m. EST on November 26th., 1985. This was the second night launch in the Shuttle program and the second only flight for Atlantis. The primary payload for this mission was three communications satellites. The three satellites were successfully deployed, one at a time, and a major demonstration of construction techniques on building structures in orbit. This activity was filmed by an IMAX large-film camera mounted in the cargo bay. The camera recorded some excellent coverage of the activity.
Three experiments located in the pressurized crew compartment were also completed, with good data obtained. The landing was at Edwards AFB, at 4:33 p.m. EST on December 3, 1985, after a mission duration of six days, 21 hours, and five minutes.
The crew members for this mission were commander Brewster H. Shaw, Jr., pilot Bryan D. O'Connor, Mary L. Cleave, Sherwood C. Spring, and Jerry L. Ross, all mission specialists. Rodolfo Neri Vela, from Mexico, and Charles Walker, McDonnell Douglas, were the payload specialists. AUSSAT-2 and Morelos-B, were the second satellite of that module in its series to be created (see missions 51-I and 51-G). Both satellites were Hughes HS-376 satellites outfitted with a PAM-D booster to propel them to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The third spacecraft was the SATCOM Ku-2, a version of the RCA 4000 series. RCA American Communications owns and operates the satellite system of which SATCOM Ku-2 is a part of. It was attached to a PAM-D2 booster, a larger version of the PAM-D. This was the first flight of the booster stage on a Space Shuttle.
All three spacecrafts were successfully deployed, one at a time, and the booster stages fired automatically to lift the crafts into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellites owners took control of the satellites after they were in orbit. The owners later fired the onboard kickmotors at apogee, to circularize the orbits and align them with the equator.
SATCOM Ku-2 has 16 channels and operates entirely in the Ku (14/12 GHz) range. Every channel has an output power of 45 watts and a bandwidth of 54 MHZ. Which is enough to make reception practical on a home antenna as small as three feet in diameter. This was the first of three Space Shuttle planned to form a complete operating system. Future missions plan to service areas that cannot receive cable television services, multi-unit residential complexes such as condominiums and apartment houses, hotels, hospitals, and schools; and a syndication system to deliver time-sensitive programming to commercial broadcast television stations.
A very interesting is the EASE/ACCESS, an experiment in assembling large structures in space. ACCESS was a "high-rise" tower composed of many small struts and nodes. EASE was a geometric structure shaped like an inverted pyramid, made of a few large beams and nodes. Together they demonstrated the feasibility of assembling large preformed structures in space. The IMAX camera mounted in the cargo bay filmed the activities of the astronauts engaged in the EASE/ACCESS work, as well as other activities.
Rudolfo Neri Vela completed a series of experiments, primarily in human physiology. Charles Walker operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System, the third flight of this larger and improved equipment to produce commercial pharmaceutical products in microgravity. An experiment in Diffusive Mixing of Organic Solutions (DMOS), was operated successfully for the 3M Company. The objective of these experiments is to grow single crystals in microgravity that are larger and more pure than any that can be grown on Earth. One Getaway Special canister in the cargo bay carried an experiment made up by Canadian students to build mirrors in microgravity with higher performance than mirrors made on Earth.
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The launch was originally scheduled for Dec. 18th., but the closeout of an aft orbiter compartment was delayed and the mission was rescheduled for the next day on Dec. 19th. Countdown was stopped at T-14 seconds because of a out of tolerance turbine reading on the right SRBs hydraulic system.
Another launch attempt on Jan. 6th., 1986, was terminated at T-31 seconds because of a problem in a valve located in the liquid oxygen system. The problem could not be fixed before the end of the launch window. Other launch attempts were made on Jan. 7th., scrubbed because of bad weather at contingency landing sites at Dakar, Senegal, and Moron, Spain; on Jan. 9th, delayed because of a problem with a main engine preheat valve; and on Jan. 10 because of heavy rain in the launch area.
The flight crew included Robert L. Gibson, commander; Charles F. Bolden, pilot; three mission specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Steven A. Hawley and George D. Nelson; and two payload specialists Robert Cenker RCA Astro-Electronics and U.S. Congressman Bill Nelson.
The primary objective of the mission was to deploy the Ku-l communications satellite, second in a planned series of geosynchronous satellites owned and operated by RCA Americom. The deployment was successful and the satellite eventually became operational. The flight also carried a large number of small experiments, including 13 GAS canisters devoted to investigations involving the effect of microgravity on materials processing, seed germination, chemical reactions, egg hatching, astronomy and atmospheric physics. Other cargo included a Materials Science Laboratory-2 structure for experiments involving liquid bubble suspension by sound waves, melting and resolidification of metallic samples and containerless melting and solidification of electrically conductive specimens. Another small experiment carrier located in the payload bay was the Hitchhiker G-l (HHG-l) with three experiments to l) study film particles in the orbiter environment, 2) test a new heat transfer system and 3) determine the effects of contamination and atomic oxygen on ultraviolet optics materials. There were also four in-cabin experiments, three of them part of the Shuttle Student Involvement Program.
Finally, an experiment called the Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program (CHAMP), consisting of a 35mm camera to photograph Comet Halley through the aft flight deck overhead window, was not successful because of battery problems.
Not only was the STS 61-C mission difficult to get off the ground, it proved to be difficult getting it back to Earth. A landing attempt on Jan. 16 was canceled because of unfavorable weather at Edwards AFB. Continued bad weather forced another wave-off the following day, Jan. 17. The flight was extended one more day to provide for a landing opportunity at KSC on the Jan. 18th -- this in order to avoid time lost in an Edwards AFB landing and turnaround. However, bad weather at the KSC landing site resulted in still another wave-off.
Columbia finally landed at Edwards AFB at 5:59 a.m. PST, on Jan. 18. Mission elapsed time was 6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, 51 seconds.
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