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Info on shuttle flights STS- 1 to 51- B
Space Shuttle Missions STS-1 through 51-C
STS-l
The first launch of the Space Shuttle occurred on April 12, l98l,
when the orbiter Columbia, with two crew members, astronauts John W.
Young, commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot, lifted off from Pad
A, Launch Complex 39, at the Kennedy Space Center -- the first of 24
launches from Pad A. It was exactly 7 a.m. EST. A launch attempt, 2
days before, was scrubbed because of a timing problem in one of the
Columbia's general purpose computers.
Not only was this the first launch of the Space Shuttle, but it
marked the first time that solid fuel rockets were used for a U.S.
manned launch. The STS-l orbiter, Columbia, also holds the record
for the amount of time spent in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)
before launch -- 610 days, time needed for replacement of many of its
heat shield tiles.
Primary mission objectives of the maiden flight were to check out
the overall Shuttle system, accomplish a safe ascent into orbit and
to return to Earth for a safe landing. All of these objectives were
met successfully and the Shuttle's worthiness as a space vehicle was
verified.
The only payload carried on the mission was a Development Flight
Instrumentation (DFI) package which contained sensors and measuring
devices to record orbiter performance and the stresses that occurred
during launch, ascent, orbital flight, descent and landing.
The 36-orbit, 933,757-mile-long flight lasted 2 days, 6 hours, 20
minutes and 32 seconds. Landing took place on Runway 23 at Edwards
AFB, Calif., on April 14, 1981, at 10:21 a.m. PST. Post-flight
inspection of the Columbia revealed that an overpressure wave which
occurred when the SRB ignited resulted in the loss of 16 heat shield
tiles and damage to 148 others. In all other respects, however,
Columbia came through the flight with flying colors, and it was to
fly the next four Shuttle missions.
Columbia was returned to Kennedy Space Center from California on
April 28 atop its 747 carrier aircraft.
STS-2
Launch of the second Space Shuttle took place 7 months later, on
Nov. 12, 1981, with liftoff at 10:10 a.m. EST. The planned launch
time of 7:30 a.m. was delayed while a faulty data transmitting unit
on Columbia was replaced. Originally the launch had been set for
Oct. 9, but it was delayed by a nitrogen tetroxide spill during
loading of the forward Reaction Control System (RCS) tanks. It was
next scheduled for Nov. 4, but was again scrubbed when high oil
pressures were discovered in two of the three Auxiliary Power Units
(APU) that control the orbiter's hydraulic system. Prior to launch
Columbia had spent 103 days in the OPF.
The flight marked the first time a manned space vehicle had been
reflown with a second crew: Joseph H. Engle, commander, and Richard
H. Truly, pilot. It again carried the DFI package, as well as the
OSTA-l payload -- named for the NASA Office of Space and Terrestrial
Applications -- which consisted of a number of remote sensing
instruments mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the payload bay. These
instruments, including the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-1),
successfully carried out remote sensing of Earth resources,
environmental quality, ocean and weather conditions. In addition,
the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm was
successfully operated in all its various operating modes for the
first time.
Although the STS-2 mission had been planned for 5 days, the flight
was cut short when one of the three fuel cells that produce
electricity and drinking water failed.
Landing took place on Runway 23, at Edwards AFB, at 1:23 p.m. PST,
Nov. 14, after a 36-orbit, 933,757-mile flight that lasted 2 days, 6
hours, 13 minutes, 13 seconds.
Despite the truncated flight, more than 90 percent of the mission's
objectives were achieved. Moreover, modifications of the water sound
suppression system at the pad to absorb the solid rocket booster
overpressure wave during launch were effective -- no tiles were lost
and only 12 were damaged. The Columbia was flown back to KSC on Nov.
25, 1981.
STS-3
Columbia was launched on its third flight at 11:00 a.m. EST, on
March 22, l982, the planned launch date. The launch was delayed 1
hour because of the failure of a heater on a nitrogen gas ground
support line. Columbia had spent only 70 days in the Orbiter
Processing Facility -- a record checkout time. The two-man crew
included Jack R. Lousma, commander, and Charles G. Fullerton, pilot.
Major objectives of the flight were to continue testing the RMS arm,
and to carry out extensive thermal testing of the Columbia by
exposing its tail, nose and top to the sun for varying periods of
time.
In addition, in its payload bay, Columbia again carried the DFI
package, and OSS-l -- named for the NASA Office of Space Science and
Applications -- which consisted of a number of instruments mounted on
a Spacelab pallet to obtain data on the near-Earth environment and
the extent of contamination caused by the orbiter itself. A test
cannister for the Small Self-Contained Payload program -- also known
as the Getaway Special (GAS) -- was mounted on a side of the payload
bay.
For the first time a number of experiments were carried in the
middeck lockers. These 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 -- also was carried in a middeck
locker.
During the flight, both crew members experienced some space
sickness, the toilet malfunctioned, one Auxiliary Pacer Unit
overheated (but worked properly during descent), and three
communications links were lost on March 26.
STS-3 was planned as a 7-day flight. However, it was extended an
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.
Touchdown finally took place at 9:05 a.m. MST, March 30, l982, at
Northrup Strip (later renamed White Sands Space Harbor). Columbia
had made 129 orbits and traveled 3.3 million miles, during its 8-day,
4-minute, 45-second flight. A total of 36 tiles were lost and 19
were damaged. It was returned to KSC on April 6, l982.
STS-4
This mission marked the first time the Space Shuttle was launched
precisely at its scheduled launch time. It also was the last
research and development flight in the program. Liftoff took place
on June 27, l982, at ll:00 a.m. EST, with Thomas K. Mattingly as
commander, and Henry W. Hartsfield as pilot. 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 middeck, a Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System and the
Monodisperse Latex Reactor were flown for the second time. The crew
conducted a lightning survey with handheld cameras, and performed
medical experiments on themselves for two student projects. They
also operated the RMS with an instrument called the Induced
Environment Contamination Monitor mounted on its end designed to
obtain information on gases or particles being released by the
orbiter in flight.
STS-4 was a planned 7-day mission and landing occurred on July 4,
l982, at 9:10 a.m. PDT, on the 15,000-ft. concrete Runway 22 at
Edwards AFB -- the first Shuttle landing on a concrete runway.
The flight lasted 7 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, 40 seconds. Distance
traveled was 2.9 million miles in 112 complete orbits. All mission
objectives were achieved, although the two SRBs were lost when their
main parachutes failed causing the empty casings to hit the water at
high speeds and sink. The Columbia was returned to KSC on July 15.
STS-5
STS-5, the first operational mission, also carried the largest crew
up to that time -- four astronauts -- and the first two commercial
communications satellites to be flown.
The fifth launch of the orbiter Columbia took place at 7:19 a.m.
EST, Nov. ll, l982. It was the second on-schedule launch. The crew
included Vance Brand, commander; Robert F. Overmyer, pilot; and the
first mission specialists to fly the Shuttle -- Joseph P. Allen and
William B. Lenoir.
The two communications satellites were deployed successfully and
subsequently propelled 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 flight carried a West German-sponsored microgravity GAS
experiment canister in the payload bay. The crew also conducted
three student experiments during the flight.
A planned spacewalk by the two mission specialists had to be
cancelled -- it would have been the first for the Shuttle program --
when the two space suits that were to be used developed problems.
Columbia landed on Runway 22, at Edwards AFB, on Nov. 16, l982, at
6:33 a.m. PST, having traveled 2 million miles in 8l orbits during a
mission that lasted 5 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes and 26 seconds.
Columbia was returned to KSC on Nov. 22.
STS-6
On April 4, 1983, STS-6, the first Challenger mission, lifted off at
1:30 p.m. EST. It was the first use of a new lightweight external
tank and lightweight SRB casings.
The mission originally had been scheduled for launch on Jan. 30,
1983. However, a hydrogen leak in one of the main engines was
discovered. Later, 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 replaced the engine with the hydrogen
leak and the other two engines were removed, repaired and reinstalled.
Meanwhile, as the engine repairs were underway, a severe storm
caused contamination of the primary cargo for the mission, the first
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), while it was in the Payload
Changeout Room on the Rotating Service Structure at the launch pad.
This meant the satellite had to be taken back to its checkout
facility where it was cleaned and rechecked. The Payload Changeout
Room and the payload bay also had to be cleaned.
STS-6 carried a crew of four -- Paul J. Weitz, commander; Karol J.
Bobko, pilot; 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), performing various
tests in the payload bay. Their space walk lasted for 4 hours, 17
minutes.
Although the 5,000-lb. TDRS was successfully deployed from the
Challenger, its two-stage booster rocket, the Interim Upper Stage
(IUS), shut down early, placing the satellite into a low elliptical
orbit. Fortunately, the satellite contained extra propellant beyond
what was needed for its attitude control system thrusters, and during
the next several months the thrusters were fired at carefully planned
intervals gradually moving TDRS-l into its geosynchronous operating
orbit thus saving the $100-million satellite.
Other STS-6 cargo included three GAS canisters and continuation of
the Monodisperse Latex Reactor and the Continuous Flow
Electrophoresis experiments.
Challenger returned to Earth on April 9, 1983, at 10:53 a.m. PST,
landing on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB. It completed 80 orbits,
traveling 2 million miles in 5 days, 24 minutes, 32 seconds. It was
flown back to KSC on April 16.
STS-7
The Challenger's second flight began at 7:33 a.m. EST, June 18,
1983, with another on-time liftoff. It was 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, five persons.
Crew members included Robert L. Crippen, commander, making his
second Shuttle flight; Frederick C. Hauck, pilot; Ride, John M.
Fabian and Norman Thagard, all mission specialists. Thagard
conducted medical tests of the Space Adaptation Syndrome nausea and
sickness frequently experienced by astronauts during the early phase
of a space flight.
Two communications satellites -- Anik C-2 for Telesat of Canada, and
Palapa B-l for Indonesia -- were successfully deployed during the
first 2 days of the 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 that it was designed to operate in the payload bay or be
deployed by the RMS as a free-flying satellite. It carried 10
experiments to study formation of metal alloys in microgravity, 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.
This mission also carried 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. Finally, the orbiter's
Ku-band antenna was able to relay data through the Tracking and Data
Relay Satellite to a ground terminal for the first time.
STS-7 was scheduled to make the first Shuttle landing at the Kennedy
Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. However, unacceptable
weather forced a change to Runway 23 at Edwards AFB. The landing
took place June 24, 1983, at 6:57 a.m. PDT. The mission lasted 6
days, 2 hours, 23 minutes, 59 seconds. It covered about 2.2 million
miles during 97 orbits of the Earth. Challenger was returned to KSC
on June 29.
STS-8
Challenger was back in space on Aug. 30, 1983, after it lifted off
at 2:32 a.m. EDT, following a 17-minute delay due to bad weather. It
was the first night launch in the Space Shuttle program. A night
launch required for tracking requirements for the primary payload,
the Indian National Satellite, INSAT 1B, a multipurpose satellite
owned by India that was deployed successfully on the second day of
the flight.
The 5-member crew, included the first black American to fly in
space, mission specialist Guion S. Bluford Jr. The commander was
Richard H. Truly, making his second Shuttle flight; Daniel C.
Brandenstein, was the pilot, while Bluford, Dale A. Gardner and
William Thornton served as mission specialists.
In addition to INSAT, the payload bay carried 12 GAS canisters.
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
flown, using live human cells from a pancreas, kidney and pituitary
gland. Also, six live rats were carried in an enclosure module being
tested for the first time.
Other activities during the mission included a test of the RMS arm,
using a special 7,460-lb. 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. Thornton
carried out 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 mission.
STS-8 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 6 days, 1 hour, 8 minutes, 43 seconds. Challenger had
traveled 2.2 million miles and orbited the Earth 97 times. It was
back at KSC in the record-breaking time of 4 days after its
California landing.
STS-9
For the STS-9 mission Columbia was once again back in orbit.The
launch occurred at ll a.m. EST, Nov. 28, 1983, after a 2-month delay
because of a nozzle problem with one of the SRBs. This necessitated
moving the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building where the
nozzle was replaced.
The 6-member crew -- a manned space flight record at the time --
included John W. Young, commander, on his second Shuttle flight;
Brewster H. Shaw, pilot; Owen Garriott and Robert A. Parker, both
mission specialists; and Byron K. Lichtenberg and Ulf Merbold payload
specialists -- the first two non-astronauts to fly on the Shuttle.
Merbold, a citizen of West Germany, also was the first foreign
citizen to participate in a Shuttle flight. Lichtenberg was a
researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The mission was devoted entirely to Spacelab l, a joint
NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) program designed to demonstrate the
ability to conduct advanced scientific research in space, with
astronauts and payload specialists working in the Spacelab module and
coordinating their efforts with scientists at the Marshall Payload
Operations Control Center (POCC) then located at the Johnson Space
Center. Funding for Spacelab l was provided by ESA.
The crew was divided into two teams, each working 12-hour shifts for
the duration of the mission. Young, Parker and Merbold formed the
Red Team, while Shaw, Garriott and Lichtenberg made up the Blue Team.
Usually, the commander and the pilot team members were assigned to
the flight deck, while the mission and payload specialists worked
inside the Spacelab.
Seventy-two scientific experiments were carried out 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
to 10 days, making it the longest duration Shuttle flight to date.
The Spacelab l mission was highly successful, having proved the
feasibility of the concept of carrying out complex experiments in
space using non-NASA persons trained as payload specialists in
collaboration with a POCC. Moreover, the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite, now fully operational, was able to relay vasts amounts of
data 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.
Columbia was ferried back to KSC on Dec. 15.
STS 41-C
The following April, Challenger was once again flying in space, this
time on the STS 41-C mission. Liftoff took place at 8:58 a.m. EDT,
on April 6, 1984. It 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. The second objective was to capture, repair
and redeploy the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite --
"Solar Max" -- launched in 1980.
The five-man crew included Robert L. Crippen, commander, on his
third Shuttle flight; pilot Francis R. Scobee; and mission
specialists, James D. van Hoften, Terry J. Hart and George D. Nelson.
On the second day of the flight, the LDEF was grappled 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). Three attempts to clamp the TPAD onto
the satellite failed. It began tumbling when van Hoften attempted to
grasp it with the RMS arm, and the effort was called off.
During the 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 action. This was successful and the Solar Max
went into a slow, regular spin.
The next day, Nelson and van Hoften tried to capture it again. This
time they succeeded on the first try. They placed Solar Max on a
special cradle in the payload bay using the RMS. They then began the
repair operation, replacing the satellite's attitude control
mechanism and the main electronics system of the coronagraph
instrument. The ultimately successful repair effort took two
separate space walks. Solar Max was deployed back into orbit the
next day, thus concluding 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 middeck locker to determine how honeybees make
honeycomb cells in a microgravity environment. They did so
successfully, just as on Earth.
The 6-day, 23-hour, 40-minute, 7-second mission ended on April 13,
at 5:38 a.m. PST, with Challenger landing on Runway 17, at Edwards
AFB. It had completed 108 orbits and traveled 2.87 million miles.
Challenger was returned to KSC on April 18.
STS 41-D
The orbiter Discovery was launched on its maiden flight --the 12th
in the program -- on Aug. 30, 1984. It was the third orbiter built
and the lightest one thus far 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 6-minute, 50-2nd delay when a private aircraft
flew into the restricted air space near the launch pad. It was the
fourth launch attempt for Discovery.
Because of the 2-month delay, the STS 41-F mission was cancelled
(STS 41-E had already been cancelled) and its primary payloads were
included on the STS 41-D flight. The combined cargo weighed over
47,000 lb., a Space Shuttle record up to that time.
The six-person flight crew consisted of Henry W. Hartsfield Jr.,
commander, making his second Shuttle mission; pilot Michael L. Coats;
three mission specialists: -- Judith A. Resnik, Richard M. Mullane
and Steven A. Hawley; and 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 Shuttle.
The primary 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 deployed from the Space Shuttle. All
three satellites were deployed successfully and became operational.
Another payload was the OAST-l solar array, a device 13 feet wide,
and 102 feet high, which folded into a package 7 inches deep. The
wing carried a number of different types of experimental solar cells
and was extended to its full height several times. It was the
largest structure ever extended from a manned spacecraft and
demonstrated the feasibility of large lightweight solar arrays for
future application to large facilities in space such as the Space
Station.
The McDonnell Douglas-sponsored Continuous Flow Electrophoresis
System (CFES) experiment, using living cells, was more elaborate then
the one flown previously and payload specialist Walker operated it
for more than 100 hours during the flight. A student experiment to
study crystal growth in microgravity was carried out, an the IMAX
motion picture camera was operated during much of the flight.
The mission lasted 6 days, 56 minutes, with landing on Runway 17 at
Edwards AFB, at 6:37 a.m. PDT, on Sept. 5. It traveled 2.21 million
miles and made 97 orbits. It was transported back to KSC on Sept. 10.
STS 41-G
On Oct. 5, 1984, Challenger returned to flight with its launch at
7:03 a.m. EDT, marking the start of the STS 41-G mission. It was
Challenger's sixth mission and the 13th liftoff in the Space Shuttle
program.
On board were seven crew members -- the largest flight crew ever to
fly on a single spacecraft at that time. They included commander
Robert L. Crippen, making his fourth Shuttle flight; pilot Jon A.
McBride; three mission specialists -- David C. Leestma, Sally K. Ride
and Kathryn D. Sullivan -- (the first time two female astronauts had
flown together); and two payload specialists, Paul Scully-Power and
Marc Garneau, the first Canadian citizen to serve as a Shuttle crew
member.
Astronaut Sullivan became the first woman to walk in space when she
and David C. Leestma performed a 3 hour EVA on Oct. ll demonstrating
the Orbital Refueling System (ORS) and proving the feasibility of
refueling satellites in orbit.
Nine hours after liftoff, the 5,087-lb, Earth Radiation Budget
Satellite (ERBS) was deployed from the payload bay by the RMS arm,
and its on-board thrusters boosted it into an orbit 350 miles above
the Earth. ERBS was the first of three planned satellites designed
to measure the amount of energy received from the sun and reradiated
into space. It also studied the seasonal movement of energy from the
tropics to the polar regions.
Another major mission activity, operation of the Shuttle Imaging
Radar-B (SIR-B) was conducted. SIR-B was part of the OSTA-3
experiment package in the payload bay, which also included the Large
Format Camera (LFC) to photograph Earth, another camera called MAPS
which measured air pollution, and a feature identification and
location experiment called FILE which consisted of two TV cameras and
two 70mm still cameras.
The SIR-B effort was an improved version of a similar device flown
on the OSTA-l package during STS-2. It had an eight-panel antenna
array measuring 35 by 7 feet. It operated throughout the flight but
problems were encountered with the Challenger's Ku-band antenna and
therefore much of the data had to be recorded on board the orbiter
rather than transmitted to Earth in real-time as originally planned.
Payload Specialist Scully-Powers, an employee of the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory, performed a series of oceanography observations
during the mission. Garneau conducted experiments sponsored by the
Canadian government, called CANEX, which were related to medical,
atmospheric, climatic, materials and robotic sciences. A number of
GAS canisters covering a wide variety of materials testing and
physics were also flown.
STS 41-G was an 8-day, 5-hour, 23-minute, 33-second mission which
traveled 4.3 million miles and completed 132 orbits. It landed at
the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC -- the second Shuttle landing
there -- on Oct. 13, at 12:26 p.m. EDT.
STS 51-A
Less than a month after the 41-G flight, the 14th Space Shuttle
mission and the second for Discovery, STS 51-A was launched at 7:15
a.m. EST, Nov. 8, 1984. A launch attempt the day before was scrubbed
at the T minus 20-minute built-in hold because of high shear winds in
the upper atmosphere.
The five-person flight crew consisted of Frederick H. Hauck,
commander, 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 was unique in that it marked the first time the Shuttle
had deployed two communications satellites and then went about
retrieving from orbit two other communications satellites. 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 two communications satellites successfully deployed were the
Canadian Anik D2 -- on the second day of the mission -- and IV-l,
also known as Leasat l, on the third day.
The orbiter then began a series of maneuvers to meet up with the
first of the two satellites to be recovered, PALAPA B-2. (The orbits
of both satellites had been lowered by ground commands from about 600
mile to 210 mile to facilitate recovery operations.) On day five,
the Discovery rendezvoused with PALAPA. Mission specialists Allen
and Gardner performed an EVA, capturing the satellite with a device
known as a "Stinger," which was inserted into the apogee motor nozzle
by Allen. The satellite's rotation was slowed to 1 RPM and Fisher,
operating from a position on the end of the RMS, attempted
unsuccessfully to grapple the satellite. However, was not lost,
because Allen was able manually to maneuver the satellite into its
cradle with Gardner's help and aided by the RMS which was operated by
Fisher. The successful, improvised rescue effort took two hours.
The recovery of Westar 6 was not as difficult and took place a day
later. This time Gardner, using the same muscle power technique
Allen had used for the rescue, captured the satellite. With Allen's
help, he placed it in a cradle in the cargo bay.
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 Corp. This middeck experiment was successful and the
proprietary results of the chemical mixes were turned over to 3M.
One other experiment, the radiation monitoring experiment, was also
performed.
This second Discovery mission ended at 7 a.m. EST, Nov. 16, with
landing on Runway 33, at KSC, after a 7-day, 23-hour, 45-minute
flight, which covered 3.3 million miles during 126 complete orbits.
It was the third Shuttle landing at KSC and the fifth and last
Shuttle mission of 1984.
STS 51-C
Discovery was to make its third flight 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 occurred on Jan. 24, 1985, at 2:40 p.m. EST -- the first
of 10 Shuttle missions that year. It was originally scheduled for
Jan. 23, but was delayed because of freezing weather conditions.
Challenger had been scheduled for this flight, but Discovery was
substituted when thermal tile problems were encountered with
Challenger.
The 51-C included Thomas K. Mattingly, commander; Loren J. Shriver,
pilot; two mission specialists, James F. Buchli and Ellison S.
Onizuka; and Gary E. Payton, a payload specialist.
The mission lasted 3 days, 1 hour, 33 minutes. Discovery touched
down on Runway 15 at KSC on Jan. 27 at 4:23 p.m. EST.
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