mission report second shuttle join nasa's sts fleet challenger launches first new tracking satellite

8/7/2019 Mission Report Second Shuttle Join NASA's STS Fleet Challenger Launches First New Tracking Satellite

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RciportSecond Shuttle Joins NA SA 's STS FleetC ha',;enger La unches First New Tracking Sa tell ite

The Tracking and Data Reloy `,atellite (TDRS), attached toIts Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster, Is poised inChallengersopen cargo bay April 5. ready for spring-actuated election into space.NASA made a major stride in readying a second

delivery vehicle for its Space Transportation System(STS) fleet with the perfect !anding of Shuttle OrbiterChallen^9r at Edwards Air Force Base, California,April 9, 1983.Besides being the first flight test of Challenger'sperformance, the mission marked the orbiting of the

first spacecraft in NASA's new Tracking and DataRelay Satellite System (TDRSS). The new family oforbiting space communications platforms is essen;tial to serve future Shuttle missions. Although the tInertial Upper Stage (IW) second stage engine ifiring failed to place TDRS in it3 final 35,888-kilometer (22,300-mile) geosynchronous orbit, itsrelease from the orbiter cargo bay went as planned.Launch officials were confident they can achieveis planned orbit in a matter of weeks.

First U.S. Space Walk In 9 YearsOther mission chores included a spacewalk in

which crew members practiced using tools andequipment-handling techniques in the cargo bay.These procedu r es are preparatory to making repairsto an ailing Earth satellite next year.

Challenger glided to a landing at 1:53 p.m. EST,April 9. The orbiter needed only 7,300 feet of thepaved landing strip at Edwards Air Force Base, com-ing to a halt with its nose wheel precisely on thecenter line.

More than 100,000 people welcomed the newspacecraft back to Earth after its maiden spacevoya^s, completing 80 orbits and 2.2 million miles inspace. The flight required 5 days, 0 hours, 23minutes and 42 seconds.VNNVv& ooaTDRSS Removed for Cleaningf PTechnicians and engineers had been frustrated bylaunching delays that kept the launch of Challengerabout 10 weeks behind schedule because of aseries of g,.s leaks associated with the orbiter's


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three high-pressure l iquid oxygen and h ydrogenengines, Al l three engines were repa ired and rein-stal led. The leaks had bee n repaired and agencyoff ic ials were hoping for an early M arch launch whensevere winds on February 28 lashed the launch area,breaching the weather seal between the changeoutroom and the orbi ter. Fine dust particles and otherimpuri ties were deposited on the TDRS S com -mu nications sa tel li te already stowed in the orbi ter 'scargo ba;' . Fol lowing a chec k which indicatedcontamination, TDRS -A was removed M arch 14 forcleaning and inspection and f inal ly returned toChal l enger on the launch pad, March 19.Continuing orbiter engine checkout, repairs, andveri f ications pa ral leled the cleaning and reinstal la-t ion of TD RS and i ts at tached IUS.Planned launching of Spacelab I in late September1983 and the comm unications requirements ofLandsat - 4, and S pace Telescope later, in the m id-1980's, masse launch of the first TDRS imperative onthe STS-6 fl ight, Without this new tracking satell i tesystem in orbit, the programs would be renderedirp9ffective or they w ould be delayed.Earliest STS-6 plans called for only a two-dayakedown m ission for tho primary purpose oforbit ing TD RS 1. But the mission was extended tof ive da ys to perm it the testing of the Shuttle spacesuits which had b een plagu ed with technicalproblems during the STS-5 mission. A venti latingfan in one sui t malfunctioned and pressure fai led tocom e up to the required levels in the other sui tduring their init ial f l ight tryouts in Nov em ber 198 2.

Launch B egins On- t im e F l ightChal lenger ' s first flight proved that the confidenceof her technical handlers wasn 't misplaced. Theorbi ter set new records for an on-time launch byl if t ing off the pad at 18 00 th of a second after thescheduled 1:30 p.m ., April 4, 1983.Com manding the mission was Paul J. Weitz, 50,who f lew on Skylab; Col. Karol J. Bobko, 45, USAF ,

pi lot; and m ission special ists Dr. Story M usgrave,47; and D onald K. Peterson, 49. If space agencytechnicians had wanted to entrust their often-delayed spacecraft to a crew seasoned by age, theycould scarcely have done better. Chal lenger ' s crewboasted the oldest average crew age for anAmerican spacecraft to date-48 years and threemonths.Only a 15 -minute launch window was ava ilablefor Chal lenger to leave the launch site for orbit,ma rking the f i rst afternoon launch for a Shu ttle

mission. (The f l ight originally was set for January 20at 9;00 a.m.)Launch of the TDRS from the Chal l enger wa saccom plished on time and w ithout Incident. It is oneof three tracking and data spacec raft scheduled tobe orbi ted within 11 m onths. The new trackingsatellites will relay communications for UnitedF,States spacecraft for the next 20 years.

iGIPeTDR S Released into Orbi tiAfter the spring-actuated release of TD RS-A andI ts IUS booster, the orbi ter backed off and waitedfor the first stage IUS b urn, lasting 2 minutes and 31seconds. The first stage was jettisoned as planned.After 6 a.m., A pri l 5, the scheduled upper stageIUS burn of 1 m inute and 43 seconds had continuedfor a li tt le more than 70 seconds w hen com mun ica-t ions wi th the IUS/TDRS were lost . Wi th the TD RS

and IUS apparently tumbl ing at a high rate,engineers and technicians were unable to con tactthe satell i te;Unless the IUS upper stage separated from TDR S1 and the solar arrays and communications antennashad deployed, the spaceborne comm unicationscenter was in imm inent danger of remainingpermane ntly deaf to Earth signals. If i t had no Su n-gene rated electrical supply, its batteries w ould fastapproach exhaustion. NASA a ntennas at theGoldstone tracking si te in the M ojave D esert wereused to transmit full power com mand s to thetumbl ing TD RS /IUS combinat ion, urg ing them to"separate". Then, just after 9 a.m., NAS A receivedthe message that the spacecraft had separated fromits IUS boo ster. Other messages conf i rmed thatTDR S had extended i ts solar panels and no longerdepended solely on batteries.W ith the sa tel li te back under control , the apparentmisfiring of the IUS upper stage had placed TDR S-AIn a highly el l iptical orbi t 24,359 ki lom eters(21,950) miles above the Earth at ite high point, and20,90 8 ki lometers (13,450 m iles) high at i ts lowestpoint. Instead of being in the plane of Earth'sequator, the satellite crosses the equa tor at an angleof 2.4 degrees. NAS A and A i r Force o fficials haveconve ned an inve stigation into the case of the IUSmisfiring.

Tracking Sate l li te A wai ts Orbi t Chan geRobert O. Aller, the tracking satell i te programdirector indicated that as m uch as several weekswould Ve required to check out TDR S performance.


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..Then, in a careful serleo of selected bu rns of thesatell ite's small adjustment rockets, placeme nt ofTDR S in its planned 35,888 ki lometer (22,300-mile)geosynchronous orbit would be attempted.Ailer explained that TDRS has some 50 0 ki lograms(1,300 pou nds) of hydrazine fuel in I ts tanks foradjusting i ts posi t ion in orbi t during I ts 10 -yeardesign l i fe. Satell ite engineers estimate that m orethan 385 kilograms (850 pounds) of the fuel can beused in efforts to mo ve the satellite to its plannedgeosynchronous orbit. The satel l ite has m anyredundant features that make con trol personnelconfident that Its planned orbit can be achieved .Payload is Heav iest to Date

TD RS is the heaviest payload released into orbi tby a S hutt le spacecraft to date. Each satel l iteweighs about 2,268 ki lograms (5,000 po unds), and,deployed In orbit, has two solar panels extending17.4 m eters (57 feet) from t ip to t ip and a pair ofcomm unications antennae, each 4.9 m eters (16 feet)In diameter. The IUS unit, spring-ejected with TDR Sf rom C hallenger's cargo bay, is 5.18 m eters (17feet) long and 2.7 m eters (9 feet) in diameter. Itweighs 14,515 kilogram s (32,000 pounds) and ItsNA SA version contained 13,247 ki lograms (27,000pounds) of solid fue! propellant.The TD RS S satellites, largest and most advancedyet developed, w ill be posit ioned 130 longitudedegrees apart In equatorial geosynchronous orbits.The first Is scheduled for a station above Bra zil at 41degrees w est longitude. Later In 1983 the secondwil l be posit ioned southwest of H awaii at 171degrees w est longitude. The in-orbit spare isdestined for a position at 79 degrees west longitudeover the Pacif ic Ocean o ff South Am erica. In theirgeosynchronous orbits they w il l remain ove r thesame Earth locations as their rotat ions keep pacewith the planet.TDR SS data wil l be relayed to a central groundterminal at W hite Sands, New M exico, then trans-mis"00 to Godd ard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,Maryland, where comm unicat ions for many ofNA SA 's unman ned satel l ites are controlled; and toJohnson S pace Cen ter, Texas, which m onitors al lNA SA m anned f lights.The TD RSS is being leased for the next ten yearsf rom the Space Com munir.,-,t ions Com pany(SPA CECO M), owne r, operator of this service forthe space agency.The Sh utt le is Lighter , Mo re Pow erful

Despite i ts f i rst-g lance resemblance to Columbia,Cha l lenger journeyed into space on i ts f irst f lightincorporating ma ny signif icant improvem ents over

Its predecessor. The newest orbiter's throttleableengines opera ted a t 104 percent o f Co lumbla ra tedpower output . This extra thrust gave C hal lenger anadded 1,804 ki lograms (4,000 p ounds) of payloadcapacity-1000 p ounds for each percentage pointadded.Not only do the new spaceship's engines developadded powe r, i t is l ighter and stronger, withoutalterations in Its basic dimensions.W hen launched on I ts f i fth mission on Novemb er11, 1982, Colum bia carried a payload of 14,554kilogram s (32,09 3 poun ds). On its first flight Intoorbit , Chal lenger l i fted an a ddit ional 6587.17 ki lo-grams (14 ,522 pounds) for a total of 21,140 kilograms(46,615 pounds).By eliminating st if feners and brackets to simplifythe structure and mountings for the huge m ainfuel tank, engineers were able to trim more than4,536 kilograms (10,000 poun ds). By redesigning thesolid-fuel boosters ' engine casings, ano ther 3,628ki lograms (8,000 pounds) were el iminated. The newl ighter, recoverable casings are Interchangeablewith the he avier earl ier version wh ich wil l st il l beuseable.

Addit ional weight reduction m easures throughoutthe spacecraft have saved another 1,128 ki lograms(2,48e poun ds). Ejection seats and their heavy railshave disappeared from C hallenger's cabin. Theywere replaced with lighter, operational seats for thismission's four-man crew. The two orbital maneu ver-ing engines a t the rear of the orbi ter are nowcovered w ith f lexible insulat ion blankets instead ofthe Indiv idual hea t-resistant t i les that f lew off on thef i rst Columbia mission.

Lightweight honeycomb materials have been intro-duced in the landing gear doors and in port ions ofthe tai l structure. Heat shields for the m ain enginesare also l ighter and suppo rt structures aroundengine thrust frames have been lightened bysimplify ing their design or combining them withother structural elem ents.A va riation of the prom pter's displays that assistspeakers on television has ap peared for the f irstt ime on C hal lenger's f light deck. Cal led "Heads U pDisplay", images appear on a transparent screenintroduced at eye level between the comm ander andpilot and the front windows. These images showvelocity numbers, a v iew of the runway and theship's angle o f descent, and the leveling-off fortouchdown.I f Chal lenger can be serviced and readied foranother f light within two m onths, NAS A hope s tomee t i ts comm itmen ts to f ly four mo re Shutt lemissions during this calendar year. Challenger's f irstflight performance pleased Its handlers who noted


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2525th Anniversary1958-1983 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OTr ICEt 1987- 381-792:NASA 1737

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only 22 flight plan anomaliescontrasted with 82 onColumbia's first flight. Lt. General James A.Abrahamson, I' SA Associate Administrator, has setthe second week in June 1983 as the tentative datefor the spacecraft's next flight.

Clad In his space suit, Astronaut Story Musgrave practicesusing special latch tools during an extravehicular activity(EVA! A pril 7, in Challenger's open cargo bay.

Astronauts Test Space SuitsIn the first spacewalk or extravehicular activity(EVA) by American astronauts in more than nine

years, Story Musgrave and Dona Id Peterson movedout of the Challenger's airlock at 4 . 20 p.m. April 7.Their activities outside the spacecraft cabin werecompleted during the 51st, 52nd and 53rd orbits at17,500 miles per hour and 284.8 kilome,-4rs (177miles) above the Earth. They were viewed ontelevision during a pass from the Pacific Ocean to

the Gulf of Mexico. As they went about their tasks Inthe cargo bay the astronauts seemed to move welldespite their 50-toot restraining tethers. Theyattached these Imes to fixed guide cables stretchedalong each side of the open compartment.

Before they left the airlock, Musgrave and Petersonspent three hours breathing pure oxygen to purgethe nitrogen from their blood. This procedure Isrequired to avoid the "bends" experienced by diversand space travelers when they undergo compressionor decompression too rapidly.

Just before they began their spacewalk, PresidentReagan had plsced a radio telephone call to thespacecraft. "Please know that all of us, theAmerican people, are proud of your service to yourcountry and what you're doing," he said. ThePresident said .ie would leave space suit activitiesto Shuttle crews and wished them success.

Peterson and Musgrave were the 28th and 29thAmericans to walk in spacethe first since February1974 when astronauts in the Skylab crew ''wentoutside" to retrieve film canisters from some of theorbiting laboratory's optical equipment.Astronauts Mon itor Experiments

In managing on-time completion of more than 95percent of their assigned tasks, the Pstronautstended three small self-contained "getawaySpecials". These included an artificial snow crystalexperiment by a Japanese newspaper; a paCKagedseed collection flown by a South Carolina seedcompany; and a five cubic foot composite experi-ment related to metals research, provided by cadetsat the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs.

Continuing investigations repeating other experi-ments flown on earlier Shuttles Included: testing ofa continuous flow electrophoresis system; continu-ing production in space of small monodisperse latexspheres; and more study of lightning associated withthunderstorms observed beneath Challenger's!light path.

mission report second shuttle join nasa's sts fleet challenger launches first new tracking satellite

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