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Space Shuttle
Flight Details 1
ALT-1 to ALT-5 (Enterprise)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: During 1977, the United States conducted several unpowered flights of its new space shuttle. During February and March, five unmanned flights were made with the Enterprise mated to a 747 jumbo jet to test its aerodynamics. During May, June, and July, three manned mated flights were made. From August 12 to October 26, five manned approach and landing test (ALT) free-flights were made. The approach and landing test flights were made, alternately, by the crews Haise/Fullerton and Engle/Truly. All flights in the ALT series were performed at Edwards AFB, California.
STS-1 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: After an absence from manned spaceflight of almost 6 years, the United States returned to space in the new reusable space shuttle. This test flight was meant simply to prove the flight worthiness of the space shuttle system. Although minor mechanical problems occurred during the flight, it was a huge success, with Columbia landing at Edwards AFB, California.
STS-2 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: What was to have been a 6-day test of the space shuttle was cut to just over 2 days after a failure in the fuel cell system that produces electrical power for the shuttle. Fuels cells had been in use since the Gemini 5 flight of early 1965. The OSTA-1 experiment package carried in Columbia's payload bay conducted a series of Earth resources studies and completed over 90% of planned observations despite the shortened flight. Columbia landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-3 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The third space shuttle mission proved the shuttle's capabilities, with a duration of 8 days. The OSS-1 experiment package in the payload bay conducted a series of astronomy and space science studies. The shuttle's remote manipulator arm was first tested on this flight also. Landing Columbia, however, proved to be a difficult task, as rains made the Edwards AFB runways unusable. Columbia was diverted to the backup landing site at White Sands, New Mexico.
STS-4 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This flight of the space shuttle represented the final test and was also the first devoted entirely to Department of Defense experiments. In-flight publicity for the mission was restricted, but in addition to DOD experiments in its payload bay, Columbia carried student biological experiments and medicine-producing experiments for a commercial firm. The robot arm was also further tested. Columbia landed at Edwards AFB on July 4th.
STS-5 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The fifth flight of the space shuttle was its first commercial flight, carrying two communications satellites for paying customers. The two satellites were mounted in spring-loaded canisters in the shuttle's payload bay. After being ejected from the shuttle, the booster rockets in the satellites carried them to geosynchronous orbits. A planned space walk was canceled after problems were experienced with the newly-designed shuttle EVA suits. Columbia landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-6 (Challenger)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: The maiden flight of the second space shuttle, Challenger, also had the first space walk of the space shuttle program. For over 4 hours, Musgrave and Peterson worked in the payload bay, attached to tethers. Earlier in the flight, the TDRS 1 data relay satellite was ejected from the shuttle. However, a booster rocket malfunction in the TDRS resulted in the satellite being placed in a poor orbit. Some months later, ground controllers were able to correct TDRS's orbit somewhat. Challenger landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-7 (Challenger)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: On this flight, Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space. Ride was a mission specialist, responsible for operating the shuttle's remote manipulator arm. In addition to launching two communication satellites, Challenger deployed and later retrieved the SPAS scientific satellite. While SPAS free-floated near the shuttle, it sent back the first pictures of the shuttle in flight. Afters its successful mission, Challenger landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-8 (Challenger)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: Because of the timing requirements for deployment of the Indian Insat communications satellite, this flight was flown on a night-time flight plan. The shuttle lifted-off from the Kennedy Space Center at 2:32 a.m. (EDT) and landed some 6 days later at Edwards AFB at almost midnight local time. In addition to deploying the communications satellite, the crew conducted tests with the remote manipulator arm, using the Payload Flight Test Article, a large dumbell-like structure meant to test the sturdiness of the arm. Bluford was the first African-American astronaut to fly in space.
STS-9 (Columbia)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: During this flight, the longest to date of the shuttle program, six astronauts conducted a variety of biomedical and other scientific experiments aboard the European Spacelab. ESA astronaut Merbold also became the first non-American to fly on a United States space mission. The shuttle Columbia landed at Edwards AFB.
STS-41B/10 (Challenger)Mission Statistics:
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Mission Highlights: This was a mission of triumph and failure. McCandless and Stewart performed space walks to test the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) backpack that would be used in later flights. The MMU gives the astronauts the ability to float free of the shuttle to perform various retrieval, repair, and construction tasks. However, the mission encountered problems when the two communications satellites, after having been successfully deployed from the shuttle, failed to reach proper geosynchronous orbits. Challenger landed at Edwards AFB.
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1996-2013 Arnold E.
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