Jump to content

40 Years Ago: STS-41B, the First Flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit


NASA

Recommended Posts

  • Publishers

On Feb. 3, 1984, space shuttle Challenger took off on its fourth flight, STS-41B. Its five-person crew of Commander Vance D. Brand, Pilot Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson, and Mission Specialists Ronald E. McNair, Robert L. Stewart, and Bruce McCandless flew an eight-day mission ending with the first return to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Many of the flight activities practiced tasks required for the upcoming Solar Maximum Mission satellite retrieval and repair mission. Among these, successful test flights of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) astronaut propulsion device during two untethered spacewalks proved the most critical, and visually spectacular. The two commercial communications satellites, Westar VI and Palapa-B2, successfully deployed during the mission ended up in non-operational orbits due to upper stage failures.

The STS-41B crew of Commander Vance D. Brand, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart, Ronald E. McNair, and Bruce McCandless, and Pilot Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson The STS-41B crew patch Challenger’s payload bay for STS-41B
Left: The STS-41B crew of (clockwise from bottom left) Commander Vance D. Brand, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart, Ronald E. McNair, and Bruce McCandless, and Pilot Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson. Middle: The STS-41B crew patch. Right: Challenger’s payload bay for STS-41B.

On Feb. 4, 1983, NASA announced Brand, Gibson, McNair, Stewart, and McCandless as the STS-11 crew. Brand, the flight’s only veteran, had flown on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 and commanded STS-5 in 1982. For the other four, STS-41B represented their first trip into space, although McCandless had served as an astronaut since his selection in 1966. He helped to develop the MMU and as a backup crew member for the Skylab 2 mission in 1973, he helped train astronauts to fly the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, the MMU’s predecessor, inside Skylab. Gibson, McNair, and Stewart joined NASA as astronauts in 1978. At the time of the crew announcement, the seven-day mission’s objectives included the Large Format Camera for Earth photography, deploying the Palapa-B2 communications satellite for Indonesia, and the Payload Deployment and Retrieval System (PDRS) to test the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or robotic arm. Over the course of the next year, both the mission’s designation and its payload complement changed due to a shuffling of payloads among shuttle flights. The PDRS moved up to STS-8, replaced by the Westar VI communications satellite for Western Union. In addition to the two spacewalks by McCandless and Stewart to test the MMU, the mission, re-designated STS-41B in September 1983, now included the Shuttle Pallet Satellite-01A (SPAS-01A), a reflight of the German-built deployable satellite flown on STS-7 in June 1983. The mission also included practicing rendezvous maneuvers with the Integrated Rendezvous Target (IRT), an inflatable 6-foot balloon deployed from the payload bay. During their spacewalks, McCandless and Stewart planned to perform the first tests of the Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR), a work platform attached to the end of the RMS.

Aerial view at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the Shuttle Landing Facility, where STS-41B made the first landing of the program Workers in the VAB prepare to lift space shuttle Challenger to mate it with its External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters The STS-41B crew arrives at KSC three days before launch
Left: Aerial view at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the Shuttle Landing Facility, where STS-41B made the first landing of the program. Middle: Workers in the VAB prepare to lift space shuttle Challenger to mate it with its External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters. Right: The STS-41B crew arrives at KSC three days before launch.

After its previous mission, STS-8, Challenger arrived at KSC on Sept. 9, 1983, and workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility to refurbish it for STS-41B. They replaced the orbiter’s three Auxiliary Power Units following a fire during Columbia’s landing on STS-9. They towed Challenger to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Jan. 6, 1984, for mating with its External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters, and rolled the completed stack to Launch Pad 39A six days later. The astronauts participated in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, a dress rehearsal for the actual countdown, on Jan. 16, and senior managers held the Flight Readiness Review on Jan. 25 to confirm the Feb. 3 launch date. Engineers began the countdown on Jan. 31, the same day the crew arrived at KSC.

Liftoff of space shuttle Challenger on the STS-41B mission Congressman C. William “Bill” Nelson, left, of Florida cheers on the STS-41B launch Challenger rises into the sky
Left: Liftoff of space shuttle Challenger on the STS-41B mission. Middle: Congressman C. William “Bill” Nelson, left, of Florida cheers on the STS-41B launch. Right: Challenger rises into the sky.

Liftoff occurred on schedule at 8:00 a.m. EST, with Challenger taking its five-member crew into the skies. Among the guests on hand to view the launch, Florida Congressman C. William “Bill” Nelson, who two years later flew on Columbia’s STS-61C mission, and in 2021 became NASA’s 14th administrator. Nine minutes after liftoff, Challenger’s three main engines cut off. The astronauts had reached space and experienced weightlessness for the first time, although they had not yet achieved orbit. The shuttle’s two Orbital Maneuvering System engines fired twice to complete the insertion into a circular 190-mile-high orbit.

Astronauts Ronald E. McNair, left, and Robert L. Stewart minutes after Challenger reached orbit Deploy of the Westar VI communications satellite for Western Union Deploy of the Palapa-B2 communications satellite for Indonesia
Left: Astronauts Ronald E. McNair, left, and Robert L. Stewart minutes after Challenger reached orbit. Middle: Deploy of the Westar VI communications satellite for Western Union. Right: Deploy of the Palapa-B2 communications satellite for Indonesia.

Once in orbit, the astronauts opened Challenger’s payload bay doors, deployed the Ku-band high-gain antenna to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, and closed the protective sunshields around the two satellites at the back of the payload bay. They tested the cameras in the payload bay and found that the one on the forward bulkhead’s starboard side did not tilt and panned only slowly, and only provided black and white imagery. Approximately eight hours into their first day, after opening its sunshield, the astronauts deployed the Westar VI communications satellite. Although the deployment went perfectly, 45 minutes later when the satellite’s Payload Assist Module-D (PAM-D) upper stage ignited to send it to geosynchronous transfer orbit, it fired for only a few seconds, stranding the satellite in a low, elliptical, and operationally useless orbit. Mission managers decided to delay the deployment of the Palapa satellite from the mission’s second day to the fourth day since it used an identical PAM-D upper stage. This provided engineers time to determine the cause of the first PAM-D failure. In place of the delayed deployment, the astronauts began several of the mission’s experiments, including activating the SPAS, and performed an initial checkout of the spacesuits. The third flight day included two retrograde OMS burns to lower Challenger’s orbit to a circular 173-mile-high orbit, and had planned to include the rendezvous operations with the IRT. However, shortly after its deployment from the payload bay, the balloon initially failed to inflate and then exploded, leaving no suitable target for a rendezvous. Using the shuttle’s radar and star trackers, the astronauts tracked the remains of the balloon to a distance of about 63 miles before abandoning the activity. In place of the IRT rendezvous, the crew checked out the RMS, with McNair at the controls.

The Shuttle Pallet Satellite-01A (SPAS-01A) in Challenger’s payload bay Robert L. Stewart wears the launch entry helmet during a prebreathe activity prior to a spacewalk
Left: The Shuttle Pallet Satellite-01A (SPAS-01A) in Challenger’s payload bay. Right: Robert L. Stewart wears the launch entry helmet during a prebreathe activity prior to a spacewalk.

The morning of flight day four, the astronauts decreased the shuttle’s cabin pressure from 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi. This reduced the time the two spacewalkers needed to prebreathe pure oxygen to rid their blood of excess nitrogen that could result in the bends when working in their spacesuits at 4.3 psi. The astronauts deployed the Palapa satellite, and oriented the orbiter so that cameras on the RMS could observe the firing of the PAM-D engine. The burn initially appeared to go as planned, but engineers later determined that this engine suffered the same failure as the Westar PAM-D, similarly stranding Palapa in a low, elliptical, and operationally useless orbit. As a footnote, spacewalking astronauts flying MMUs retrieved both satellites during the STS-51A mission in November 1984 and returned them to Earth for reflight.

View of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit View of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit View of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit View of Challenger from McCandless’ vantage point
Views of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit, and a view, right, of Challenger from McCandless’ vantage point.

On flight day five, McCandless and Stewart began the second spacewalk of the shuttle program. After opening the airlock hatch, McCandless checked out the MMUs, donning the port side unit, designated with a number “3,” while Stewart prepared the Trunnion Pin Attachment Device (TPAD) and the MFR for use later in the spacewalk. As he began his first test flight in the MMU, McCandless said, “that may have been one small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me,” humorously echoing Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong’s first words after stepping onto the lunar surface. As an historical footnote, McCandless has served as capsule communicator during Armstrong’s historic Moonwalk. Floating just outside the flight deck aft windows, McCandless checked out the MMU’s flying in all three axes. He next translated down the length of the payload bay before beginning his long-distance travel. He flew 150 feet away from the orbiter, with a helmet mounted camera showing the receding shuttle, returned to the spacecraft, then backed out again to 320 feet before returning to the payload bay and stowing the MMU. With McNair operating the RMS, Stewart attached the MFR to the arm’s end effector. With the astronauts running slightly behind schedule, Mission Control decided to skip Stewart’s checkout of the MFR so he could proceed to his checkout of the MMU, the same unit McCandless just finished flying. McNair maneuvered McCandless in the MFR to the the SPAS to practice activities required for the Solar Max repair mission. Meanwhile Stewart began his test of the MMU, flying out to 150 feet, stopping, flying out to 300 feet, and returning to the payload bay. Once there, he attached the TPAD to the front of the MMU and practiced docking to the trunnion pin attached to the SPAS. He then returned the MMU to its stowage location. The two astronauts ended the spacewalk after 5 hours 55 minutes.

View in Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during the first STS-41B spacewalk
View in Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during the first STS-41B spacewalk as Bruce McCandless makes the first flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

View of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair View of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair View of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair
Three views of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair.

Robert L. Stewart begins his first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Stewart during his flight away from the payload bay Bruce McCandless prepares to dock his MMU with the attached Trunnion Pin Attachment Device to the SPAS-01A in Challenger’s payload bay
Left: Robert L. Stewart begins his first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Middle: Stewart during his flight away from the payload bay. Right: Bruce McCandless prepares to dock his MMU with the attached Trunnion Pin Attachment Device to the SPAS-01A in Challenger’s payload bay.

Astronaut Ronald E. McNair poses with the camera for the Cinema 360 project, wearing a humorous “Cecil B. McNair” name tag, sunglasses, and beret McNair plays the soprano saxophone while floating in the middeck
Left: Astronaut Ronald E. McNair poses with the camera for the Cinema 360 project, wearing a humorous “Cecil B. McNair” name tag, sunglasses, and beret. Right: McNair plays the soprano saxophone while floating in the middeck.

On flight day six, McCandless and Stewart busied themselves with cleaning and recharging their spacesuits for the next day’s second spacewalk. McNair, an accomplished saxophonist, took some free time to play an instrument he brought along, the first musical instrument played on the shuttle. Space limitations in the shuttle precluded McNair flying his favorite tenor sax, so he learned to play the smaller soprano version of the instrument. McNair encountered unexpected effects of weightlessness on his playing. The water that normally accumulates inside wind instruments on Earth resulted instead in unwanted “bubbly” effects. The shuttle cabin’s dry air had unplanned effects on the instrument’s felt and leather pads, requiring several minutes of “rehydration” before proper playing. The reduced cabin atmospheric pressure for the spacewalks also required special reeds and mode of playing. Another historic event on this day, the Soviet Union launched a trio of cosmonauts to their Salyut-7 space station, bringing the total number of people in space to a then record-setting eight. This prompted one of the astronauts to comment, “It’s really getting to be populated up here.”

Bruce McCandless flies the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) above Challenger’s payload bay during the second spacewalk McCandless grabs the Manipulator Foot Restraint that had floated away Robert L. Stewart flies the MMU above Challenger’s payload bay
Left: Bruce McCandless flies the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) above Challenger’s payload bay during the second spacewalk. Middle: McCandless grabs the Manipulator Foot Restraint that had floated away. Right: Robert L. Stewart flies the MMU above Challenger’s payload bay.

On the seventh flight day, when Gibson began to operate the RMS, it did not respond as expected due to a failure in its wrist joint, and Mission Control requested that he stow it. Without the RMS, McCandless and Stewart could not practice docking with a slowly rotating SPAS, a critical test for the Solar Max mission. Instead, they practiced docking with the satellite berthed in the payload bay. McCandless placed himself in the starboard MMU, designated with a “2,” attached the TPAD, and practiced dockings before returning the MMU to its stowage location. Meanwhile, Stewart recharged the port MMU’s nitrogen tanks and took flight to practice dockings with the TPAD to the SPAS. He then returned the MMU to its portside location. At one point during the spacewalk, the MFR got loose and began drifting away. In an impromptu demonstration of rescuing an untethered astronaut, Brand maneuvered the orbiter so McCandless could retrieve it. McCandless donned the portside MMU to conduct evaluations of its automatic attitude hold and translation and rotational acceleration capabilities. In the meantime, Stewart practiced a hydrazine transfer operation using red-dyed freon as a substitute for the hazardous fuel. President Ronald W. Reagan called the astronauts during the spacewalk to congratulate them. McCandless returned the MMU to the port station while Stewart put away the fuel transfer equipment and tools. They climbed back into the airlock to close out the 6-hour 17-minute spacewalk, the longest of the shuttle program up to that time. Shortly after, the astronauts removed their spacesuits, exited the airlock, and repressurized Challenger’s cabin to 14.7 psi.

The STS-41B crew members pose near the end of their successful mission, in the middeck The STS-41B crew members pose near the end of their successful mission on the flight deck
The STS-41B crew members pose near the end of their successful mission, in the middeck, left, and on the flight deck, right.

On flight day eight, the day before entry, the astronauts busied themselves with stowing equipment. Brand and Gibson tested Challenger’s reaction control system thrusters and flight control surfaces in preparation for the next day’s landing. They held a 30-minute press conference with reporters on the ground asking them questions about their mission, with special emphasis on the historic spacewalks.

The astronauts close the payload bay doors at the end of the STS-41B mission Orange glow outside the windows during Challenger’s reentry A chase plane photographs Challenger during its descent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Left: The astronauts close the payload bay doors at the end of the STS-41B mission. Middle: Orange glow outside the windows during Challenger’s reentry. Right: A chase plane photographs Challenger during its descent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Space shuttle Challenger touches down on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Space shuttle Challenger touches down on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Space shuttle Challenger rolls down the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida STS-41B astronauts depart space shuttle Challenger at the SLF A welcome home ceremony for the STS-41B crew at the KSC Visitor Center
Left: Space shuttle Challenger rolls down the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: STS-41B astronauts depart space shuttle Challenger at the SLF. Right: A welcome home ceremony for the STS-41B crew at the KSC Visitor Center.

On entry day, Feb. 11, the astronauts opened the two sunshields that protected the two satellites before their deployments, retracted and stowed the Ku antenna, and closed the payload bay doors. Brand and Gibson oriented Challenger with its tail in the direction of flight and fired its two OMS engines to slow the spacecraft enough to drop it out of orbit. They reoriented the orbiter to fly with its heat shield exposed to the direction of flight as it entered Earth’s atmosphere. The buildup of ionized gases caused by the heat of reentry prevented communications for about 15 minutes. The shuttle’s reentry path took it over the U.S. Gulf coast as it traveled toward the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. At an altitude of 110,000 feet and traveling at Mach 4.3, Challenger crossed Florida’s west coast, carrying out roll reversal maneuvers to reduce its speed. As the shuttle went subsonic, it made its final turn onto the KSC runway. Gibson lowered Challenger’s landing gear and Brand brought the shuttle down for its first landing at KSC, just a few miles from where it launched 7 days 23 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Enjoy the crew narrated video of the STS-41B mission. Read Brand’s and Gibson’s recollections of the STS-41B mission in their oral histories with the JSC History Office.

View the full article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By Space Force
      Over the past two years, the first U.S. space service component has tripled in size, established a 24/7 space watch cell and executed three Tier 1 Combatant Command exercises.

      View the full article
    • By NASA
      Media are invited to learn about a unique series of flight tests happening in Virginia in partnership between NASA and GE Aerospace that aim to help the aviation industry better understand contrails and their impact on the Earth’s climate. Contrails are the lines of clouds that can be created by high-flying aircraft, but they may have an unseen effect on the planet – trapping heat in the atmosphere.
      The media event will occur from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25 at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. NASA Langley’s G-III aircraft and mobile laboratory, as well as GE Aerospace’s 747 Flying Test Bed (FTB) will be on site. NASA project researchers and GE Aerospace’s flight crew will be available to discuss the Contrail Optical Depth Experiment (CODEX), new test methods and technologies used, and the real-world impacts of understanding and managing contrails. Media interested in attending must contact Brittny McGraw at brittny.v.mcgraw@nasa.gov no later than 12 p.m. EST, Friday, Nov. 22.
      Flights for CODEX are being conducted this week. NASA Langley’s G-III will follow GE Aerospace’s FTB in the sky and scan the aircraft wake with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology. This will advance the use of LiDAR by NASA to generate three-dimensional imaging of contrails to better characterize how contrails form and how they behave over time.
      For more information about NASA’s work in green aviation tech, visit:
      https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics/green-aero-tech
      -end-
      David Meade 
      Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia 
      757-751-2034  davidlee.t.meade@nasa.gov
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read
      Sols 4366–4367: One of Those Days on Mars (Sulfate-Bearing Unit to the West of Upper Gediz Vallis)
      NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Right Navigation Camera on Nov. 14, 2024 — sol 4363, or Martian day 4,363 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission – at 02:55:34 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 15, 2024
      The Monday plan and drive had executed successfully, so the team had high hopes for APXS and MAHLI data on several enticing targets in the rover’s workspace. Alas, it was not to be: The challenging terrain had resulted in an awkwardly perched wheel at the end of the drive, so we couldn’t risk deploying the arm from this position. Maybe next drive!
      We did plan a busy weekend of non-arm science activities regardless. Due to a “soliday” the weekend has two sols instead of three, but we had enough power available to fit in more than three hours of observations. The two LIBS observations in the plan will measure the composition of the flat, reddish material in the workspace that is fractured in a polygonal pattern (“Bloody Canyon”) and a nearby rock coating in which the composition is suspected to change with depth (“Burnt Camp Creek”). One idea is that the reddish material could be the early stage version of the thicker dark coatings we’ve been seeing.
      A large Mastcam mosaic (“Yosemite”) was planned to capture the very interesting view to the rover’s north. Nearby and below the rover is the layer of rocks in which the “Mineral King” site was drilled on the opposite side of the channel back in March. This is a stratum of sulfate-bearing rock that appears dark-toned from orbit and we’re interested to know how consistent its features are from one side of the channel to the other. Higher up, the Yosemite mosaic also captures some deformation features that may reveal past water activity, and some terrain associated with the Gediz Vallis ridge. So there’s a lot of science packed into one mosaic!
      Two long-distance RMI mosaics were planned; one is to image back into the channel, where there may be evidence of a late-stage debris flow at the base of the ridge. The second looks “forward” from the rover’s perspective instead, into the wind-shaped yardang unit above us that will hopefully be explored close-up in the rover’s future. This yardang mosaic is intended to form one part of a stereo observation.
      The modern environment on Mars will also be observed with dust devil surveys on both sols, line-of-sight and tau observations to measure atmospheric opacity (often increased by dust in the atmosphere), and zenith and suprahorizon movies with Navcam to look for clouds. There will also be standard passive observations of the rover’s environment by REMS and DAN.
      We’ll continue driving westward and upward, rounding the Texoli butte to keep climbing through the sulfate-bearing unit. It’s not always easy driving but there’s a lot more science to do!
      Written by Lucy Lim, Participating Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
      Share








      Details
      Last Updated Nov 18, 2024 Related Terms
      Blogs Explore More
      2 min read Sols 4362-4363: Plates and Polygons


      Article


      6 days ago
      3 min read Peculiar Pale Pebbles
      During its recent exploration of the crater rim, Perseverance diverted to explore a strange, scattered…


      Article


      6 days ago
      2 min read Sols 4359-4361: The Perfect Road Trip Destination For Any Rover!


      Article


      1 week ago
      Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
      Mars


      Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…


      All Mars Resources


      Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…


      Rover Basics


      Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…


      Mars Exploration: Science Goals


      The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

      View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA/Ben Smegelsky & Virgil Cameron In this image from Aug. 26, 2023, participants from the 14th First Nations Launch High-Power Rocket Competition watch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 launch at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Students and advisors from University of Washington, University of Colorado-Boulder, and an international team from Queens University – the 2023 First Nations Launch grand prize teams – traveled to Kennedy for a VIP tour, culminating in viewing the Crew-7 launch.
      Grand prize teams also went on a guided tour of historic Hangar AE, led by James Wood (Osage Nation and Loyal Shawnee), chief engineer of NASA’s Launch Services Program, technical advisor for the Crew-7 launch, and First Nations mentor and judge.
      One of NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges, the First Nations Launch competition comprises students from tribal colleges and universities, Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions, and collegiate chapters of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society who design, build, and launch a high-powered rocket from a launch site in Kansasville, Wisconsin.
      Explore more Minority University Research and Education Project opportunities and resources here.
      Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky & Virgil Cameron
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      On Nov. 16, 2009, space shuttle Atlantis began its 31st trip into space, on the third Utilization and Logistics Flight (ULF3) mission to the International Space Station, the 31st shuttle flight to the orbiting lab. During the 11-day mission, the six-member STS-129 crew worked with the six-person Expedition 21 crew during seven days of docked operations. The mission’s primary objectives included delivering two external logistics carriers and their spare parts, adding nearly 15 tons of hardware to the station, and returning a long-duration crew member, the last to return on a shuttle. Three of the STS-129 astronauts conducted three spacewalks to transfer spare parts and continue assembly and maintenance of the station. As a group of 12, the joint crews celebrated the largest and most diverse Thanksgiving gathering in space.

      Left: Official photograph of the STS-129 crew of Leland D. Melvin, left, Charles O. Hobaugh, Michael J. Foreman, Robert “Bobby” L. Satcher, Barry “Butch” E. Wilmore, and Randolph “Randy” J. Bresnik. Middle: The STS-129 crew patch. Right: The ULF3 payload patch.
      The six-person STS-129 crew consisted of Commander Charles O. Hobaugh, Pilot Barry “Butch” E. Wilmore, and Mission Specialists Randolph “Randy” J. Bresnik, Michael J. Foreman, Leland D. Melvin, and Robert “Bobby” L. Satcher. Primary objectives of the mission included launch and transfer to the station of the first two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELC-1 and ELC-2) and their multiple spare parts, and the return of NASA astronaut and Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole P. Stott, the last astronaut to rotate on the shuttle.

      Left: In the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers finish processing Atlantis for STS-129. Right: Space shuttle Atlantis rolls over from the OPF to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

      Left: Atlantis rolls out to Launch Pad 39A. Right: The STS-129 crew during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test.
      Atlantis returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) from its previous mission, STS-125, on June 2, 2009, and workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to prepare it for STS-129. The orbiter rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Oct. 6, and after mating with its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on Oct. 14, targeting a Nov. 16 launch. Six days later, the six-member crew participated in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, essentially a dress rehearsal of the actual countdown for launch, returning to Houston for final training. They returned to KSC on Nov. 13 to prepare for launch.

      Left: With Atlantis sitting on Launch Pad 39A, the Ares 1-X rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B. Right: The payload canister arrives at Launch Pad 39A.

      Left: The STS-129 astronauts leave crew quarters for the ride to Launch Pad 39A. Right: Liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on STS-129.
      On Nov. 16, at 2:28 p.m. EST, space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Launch Pad 39A to begin its 31st trip into space, carrying its six-member crew on the ULF3 space station outfitting and resupply mission. Eight and a half minutes later, Atlantis and its crew had reached orbit. The flight marked Hobaugh’s third time in space, having flown on STS-104 and STS-118, Foreman’s and Melvin’s second, having flown on STS-123 and STS-122, respectively, while Wilmore, Bresnik, and Satcher enjoyed their first taste of weightlessness.

      Left: The two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers in Atlantis’ payload bay. Middle: Leland D. Melvin participates in the inspection of Atlantis’ thermal protection system. Right: The Shuttle Remote Manipulator System grasps the Orbiter Boom Sensor System for the inspection.
      After reaching orbit, the crew opened the payload bay doors, deployed the shuttle’s radiators, and removed their bulky launch and entry suits, stowing them for the remainder of the flight. The astronauts spent six hours on their second day in space conducting a detailed inspection of Atlantis’ nose cap and wing leading edges, with Hobaugh, Wilmore, Melvin, and Bresnik taking turns operating the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS), or robotic arm, and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS).

      Left: The International Space Station as seen from Atlantis during the rendezvous and docking maneuver. Middle: Atlantis as seen from the space station, showing the two EXPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELC) in the payload bay. Right: View of the space station from Atlantis during the rendezvous pitch maneuver, with the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System grasping ELC-1 in preparation for transfer shortly after docking.
      On the mission’s third day, Hobaugh assisted by his crewmates brought Atlantis in for a docking with the space station. During the rendezvous, Hobaugh stopped the approach at 600 feet and completed the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver so astronauts aboard the station could photograph Atlantis’ underside to look for any damage to the tiles. Shortly after docking, the crews opened the hatches between the two spacecraft and the six-person station crew welcomed the six-member shuttle crew. After the welcoming ceremony, Stott joined the STS-129 crew, leaving a crew of five aboard the station. Melvin and Bresnik used the SRMS to pick up ELC-1 from the payload bay and hand it off to Wilmore and Expedition 21 NASA astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams operating the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), who then installed it on the P3 truss segment.

      Images from the first spacewalk. Left: Michael J. Foreman unstows the S-band Antenna Support Assembly prior to transferring it to the station. Middle: Robert “Bobby” L. Satcher lubricates the robotic arm’s Latching End Effector. Right: Satcher’s image reflected in a Z1 radiator panel.
      During the mission’s first of three spacewalks on flight day four, Foreman and Satcher ventured outside for six hours and 37 minutes. During the excursion, with robotic help from their fellow crew members, they transferred a spare S-band Antenna Support Assembly from the shuttle’s payload bay to the station’s Z1 truss. Satcher, an orthopedic surgeon by training, performed “surgery” on the station’s main robotic arm as well as the robotic arm on the Kibo Japanese module, by lubricating their latching end effectors. One day after joining Atlantis’ crew, Stott celebrated her 47th birthday.

      Left: Space station crew member Jeffery N. Williams assists STS-129 astronaut Leland D. Melvin in operating the space station’s robotic arm to transfer and install the second EXPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC2) on the S3 truss. Middle: The station robotic arm installs ELC2 on the S3 truss. Right: Michael J. Foreman, left, and Randolph J. Bresnik during the mission’s second spacewalk.
      On the mission’s fifth day, the astronauts performed another focused inspection of the shuttle’s thermal protection system. The next day, through another coordinated robotic activity involving the shuttle and station arms, the astronauts transferred ELC-2 and its complement of spares from the payload bay to the station’s S3 truss. Foreman and Bresnik completed the mission’s second spacewalk. Working on the Columbus module, they installed the Grappling Adaptor to On-Orbit Railing (GATOR) fixture that includes a system used for ship identification and an antenna for Ham radio operators. They next installed a wireless video transmission system on the station’s truss. This spacewalk lasted six hours and eight minutes.

      Left: Randolph J. Bresnik during the third STS-129 spacewalk. Middle: Robert “Bobby” L. Satcher during the third spacewalk. Right: The MISSE 7 exposure experiment suitcases installed on ELC2.
      Following a crew off duty day, on flight day eight Satcher and Bresnik exited the airlock for the mission’s third and final spacewalk. Their first task involved moving an oxygen tank from the newly installed ELC-2 to the Quest airlock. They accomplished this task with robotic assistance from their fellow crew members. Bresnik retrieved the two-suitcase sized MISSE-7 experiment containers from the shuttle cargo bay and installed them on the MISSE-7 platform on ELC-2, opening them to begin their exposure time. This third spacewalk lasted five hours 42 minutes.

      Left: An early Thanksgiving meal for 12 aboard the space station. Right: After the meal, who has the dishes?
      Thanksgiving Day fell on the day after undocking, so the joint crews celebrated with a meal a few days early. The meal represented not only the largest Thanksgiving celebration in space with 12 participants, but also the most international, with four nations represented – the United States, Russia, Canada, and Belgium (representing the European Space Agency).

      Left: The 12 members of Expedition 21 and STS-129 pose for a final photograph before saying their farewells. Right: The STS-129 crew, now comprising seven members.

      A selection of STS-129 Earth observation images. Left: Maui. Middle: Los Angeles. Right: Houston.
      Despite their busy workload, as with all space crews, the STS-129 astronauts made time to look out the windows and took hundreds of photographs of their home planet.

      Left: The space station seen from Atlantis during the flyaround. Middle: Atlantis as seen from the space station during the flyaround, with a now empty payload bay. Right: Astronaut Nicole P. Stott looks back at the station, her home for three months, from the departing Atlantis.
      On flight day nine, the joint crews held a brief farewell ceremony. European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, the first European to command the space station, handed over command to NASA astronaut Williams. The two crews parted company and closed the hatches between the two spacecraft. The next day, with Wilmore at the controls, Atlantis undocked from the space station, having spent seven days as a single spacecraft. Wilmore completed a flyaround of the station, with the astronauts photographing it to document its condition. A final separation burn sent Atlantis on its way.
      The astronauts used the shuttle’s arm to pick up the OBSS and perform a late inspection of Atlantis’ thermal protection system. On flight day 11, Hobaugh and Wilmore tested the orbiter’s reaction control system thrusters and flight control surfaces in preparation for the next day’s entry and landing. The entire crew busied themselves with stowing all unneeded equipment.

      Left: Atlantis about to touch down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: Atlantis touches down. Right: Atlantis deploys its drag chute as it continues down the runway.

      Left: Six of the STS-129 astronauts pose with Atlantis on the runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Right: The welcome home ceremony for the STS-129 crew at Ellington Field in Houston.
      On Nov. 27, the astronauts closed Atlantis’ payload bay doors, donned their launch and entry suits, and strapped themselves into their seats, a special recumbent one for Stott who had spent the last three months in weightlessness. Hobaugh fired Atlantis’ two Orbital Maneuvering System engines to bring them out of orbit and head for a landing half an orbit later. He guided Atlantis to a smooth touchdown at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility.
      The landing capped off a very successful STS-129 mission of 10 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes. The six astronauts orbited the planet 171 times. Stott spent 90 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes in space, completing 1,423 orbits of the Earth. After towing Atlantis to the OPF, engineers began preparing it for its next flight, STS-132 in May 2010. The astronauts returned to Houston for a welcoming ceremony at Ellington Field.
      Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-129 mission.
      Explore More
      23 min read 55 Years Ago: Apollo 12 Makes a Pinpoint Landing on the Moon
      Article 4 days ago 12 min read 40 Years Ago: STS-51A – “The Ace Repo Company”
      Article 1 week ago 1 min read Oral History with Jon A. McBride, 1943 – 2024
      Article 2 weeks ago View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...