STS-41-C (formerly STS-13) was
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's eleventh
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
mission, and the fifth mission of
Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. The launch, which took place on April 6, 1984, marked the first direct ascent trajectory for a Space Shuttle mission. During the mission, ''Challenger''s crew captured and repaired the malfunctioning
Solar Maximum Mission
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (or SolarMax) was designed to investigate Sun, Solar phenomena, particularly solar flares. It was launched on February 14, 1980. The SMM was the first satellite based on the Multimission Modular Spacecraft bus ...
("Solar Max") satellite, and deployed the
Long Duration Exposure Facility
NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility, or LDEF (pronounced "eldef"), was a school bus-sized cylindrical facility designed to provide long-term experimental data on the outer space environment and its effects on space systems, materials, operatio ...
(LDEF) experimental apparatus. STS-41-C was extended one day due to problems capturing the Solar Max satellite, and the landing on April 13, 1984, took place at
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, instead of at
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
as had been planned. The flight was
originally numbered STS-13.
[James D. A. van Hoften](_blank)
NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. December 5, 2007, Retrieved July 20, 2013 [Terry J. Hart](_blank)
NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. April 10, 2003, Retrieved July 20, 2013
Crew
Spacewalks
;EVA 1
* Personnel: Nelson and van Hoften
* Date: April 8, 1984 (14:18–17:17 UTC)
* Duration: 2 hours, 59 minutes
;EVA 2
* Personnel: Nelson and van Hoften
* Date: April 11, 1984 (08:58–16:05 UTC)
* Duration: 7 hours, 7 minutes
[
]
Crew seating arrangements
Mission summary
STS-41-C launched successfully at 8:58 a.m. EST on April 6, 1984. The mission marked the first direct ascent trajectory for the Space Shuttle; ''Challenger'' reached its - high orbit using its Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) engines only once, to circularize its orbit. During the ascent phase, the main computer in Mission control center (MCC) failed, as did the backup computer. For about an hour, the controllers had no data on the orbiter.
The flight had two primary objectives. The first was to deploy the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), a passive, retrievable, 12-sided experimental cylinder. The LDEF was in diameter and long, and carried 57 scientific experiments. The second objective of STS-41-C was to capture, repair and redeploy the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (or SolarMax) was designed to investigate Sun, Solar phenomena, particularly solar flares. It was launched on February 14, 1980. The SMM was the first satellite based on the Multimission Modular Spacecraft bus ...
satellite ("Solar Max"), which had been launched in 1980.
On the second day of the flight, the LDEF was grappled by the Remote Manipulator System
Canadarm or Canadarm1 (officially Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS, also SSRMS) is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, manoeuvre, and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' ...
(Canadarm
Canadarm or Canadarm1 (officially Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS, also SSRMS) is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, manoeuvre, and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle ''Columbia' ...
) 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 was initially scheduled for 1985, but schedule delays and the ''Challenger'' disaster of 1986 postponed the retrieval until January 12, 1990, when ''Columbia'' retrieved the LDEF during STS-32
STS-32 was the 33rd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the ninth launch of . Launched on January 9, 1990, it marked the first use of the Launch Complex 39A of Kennedy Space Center at since 1986; it also marked the first use of Mobil ...
.
On the third day of the mission, ''Challenger''s orbit was raised to about , and it maneuvered to within of the stricken Solar Max satellite. Astronauts Nelson and van Hoften, wearing space suit
A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...
s, entered the payload bay. Nelson, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (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. Solar Max began tumbling on multiple axes when Nelson attempted to grab one of the satellite's solar arrays by hand, and the effort was called off. Crippen had to perform multiple maneuvers of the orbiter to keep up with Nelson and Solar Max, and nearly ran out of RCS fuel.
During the night of the third day, the Solar Max Payload Operations Control Center (POCC), located at Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...
(GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland
Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921.
Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New Deal ...
, was able to establish control over the satellite by sending commands ordering the satellite's magnetorquer A magnetorquer or magnetic torquer (also known as a torque rod) is a satellite system for attitude control, detumbling, and stabilization built from electromagnetic coils. The magnetorquer creates a magnetic dipole that interfaces with an ambient ma ...
s to stabilize its tumbling. This was successful, and Solar Max went into a slow, regular spin. The next day, Crippen maneuvered ''Challenger'' back to Solar Max, and Hart was able to grapple the satellite with the RMS. They placed Solar Max on a special cradle in the payload bay using the RMS. Nelson and van Hoften then began the repair operation, replacing the satellite's attitude control
Attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of an aerospace vehicle with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, etc.
Controlling vehicle ...
mechanism and the main electronics system of the coronagraph
A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view ...
instrument. The ultimately successful repair effort took two separate spacewalks
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...
. Solar Max was deployed back into orbit the next day. After a 30-day checkout by the Goddard POCC, the satellite resumed full operation.
Other STS-41-C mission activities included a student experiment located in a middeck locker which found that honeybees
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...
can successfully make honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
beekeeping, Beekee ...
cells in a microgravity environment. Highlights of the mission, including the LDEF deployment and the Solar Max repair, were filmed using an IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
movie camera, and the results appeared in the 1985 IMAX movie '' The Dream is Alive''.
The 6 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes, and 7 seconds mission ended on April 13, 1984, at 5:38 a.m. PST, when ''Challenger'' landed safely on Runway 17, at Edwards Air Force Base, having completed 108 orbits. ''Challenger'' was returned to KSC on April 18, 1984.
File:EL-1994-00475.jpeg, The launch of STS-41-C on 6 April 1984
Image:STS-41-C-LDEF-deploy-small.jpg, The deployed Long Duration Exposure Facility
NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility, or LDEF (pronounced "eldef"), was a school bus-sized cylindrical facility designed to provide long-term experimental data on the outer space environment and its effects on space systems, materials, operatio ...
(LDEF), which became an important source of information on the small-particle space debris environment.
Image:Capturing the Solar Maximum Mission satellite.jpg, George Nelson attempts to capture the Solar Maximum Mission satellite.
File:STS-41-C landing.jpg, STS-41-C touches down at Runway 17, Edwards Air Force Base, on 13 April 1984.
Wake-up calls
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini
Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15
Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a ...
. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.[ ]
See also
* List of human spaceflights
This is a list of all human spaceflights throughout history. Beginning in 1961 with the flight of Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, human spaceflight occurs when a human crew flies a spacecraft into outer space. Human spaceflight is distinguished ...
* List of Space Shuttle missions
* Lists of spacewalks and moonwalks
Lists of spacewalks and moonwalks include:
By date:
* List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999
* List of spacewalks 2000–2014
* List of spacewalks since 2015
By space station:
* List of Salyut spacewalks
* List of Mir spacewalks
* List of ...
References
External links
STS-41-C press kit
NASA
NASA
NSS
''The Dream is Alive'' (1985)
IMDb
STS-41-C NST Program Mission Report
NASA
{{Orbital launches in 1984
Space Shuttle missions
Edwards Air Force Base
1984 in spaceflight
1984 in science
1984 in the United States
Spacecraft launched in 1984
Spacecraft which reentered in 1984
Articles containing video clips
Satellite servicing missions