8/7/2019 Mission Report Free People Capable of Great Deeds, The Story of STS-1, The First Space Shuttle Mission

1/4

ki

E ^

1 aI ^ ,

t ^

'- c fXA

-_(NASA-TH-84653) A FREE PEUPLE CAPABLEar57GREAT DEEDS, THE STORY OF STS-1, THE FIRSTs p ACE SHUTTLE HISSIUN (Nationai Aeronauticsand Space Aduuistration)4p HC AU2/MF 22CSC1. 21A G3/16N of-10106

Unclas35708ff l7ri'tI . ;..Nat iona l Aeronaut ics and4-S77 . I TSpa ce Adm in is t ra tionSS pEpT

I " 7

M 8-001

"A Free People Capable of Great Deeds'The S to ry of^r YSTSAThe First Space Shuttle MissionOF POOR QUALITY

"Today our friends and adversaries are reminded thatwe are a fr ee people capable of great deeds. We are af ree people in search of progress for man kind."Pi es ident Reagan we lcoming the c rew o f Co l u nb i a ,Apri l 14, 198 1.A new era in space prom is ing cou nt less benef i ts forpeople everywhere opane: : a t 1 -21 a .m. E ST; Apr i l 14,198 1. At that time, the crew of the Space Shu tt le orbi terC o l u m b ia J o h n W . Yo ung, commander. and Robert L.Crippen, pi lotmade a perfect landing on the hard-packed t 3d of Rogers Dr y Lake in California's Mo javeDesert, after a nearly flawleis voyage in space.This was the first airplane-like landing of a craft fr omorbi t . M oreover, C o l u m b i a appeared h ardly the worse f , wear after its searing atmospheric entry when tempera-tures soared perhaps as high as 1650 C (30 000 F).Its appea rance was not deceptive. After a car eful in-spection o f Co l um b ia , NASA technicians reported that itscondi t ion a f ter i ts his tor ic f liaht w as ex cel lent an d thatC o l u m b i a should be capable of making at'east ahundred round tr ips between Earth and Earth orbi t .R eusab i li ty is )ne of the g oals of the Space S hutt le.The S hutt le inc ludes three major un ' ts : the orc: ter, ofwh ich C o l u m b i a is an example; two sol id rocket boost-ers, which also are recovered and reused ; and the orbi t -er's external fuel tank for which there are no plans forreuse at present.The solid rock ets that helped launch Co lumbia wererecovered A the Aflan.ic oif Daytona 8eaO, Florida.They were deterrni: i^d to be suitable for refurbishment aa fraction of the cost of buying new rockets.

Reusability of he orbiter and th z s o l id r o c k e t b o o s t e r sis one of the keys to si g nificant cost reductions in spaceoperations that the Snuffle is expected to make possible.The Shuttle is also cesigneo to facilitate space opera-t io n s a n d t o t 4 p ^ ) r ; spaceordinary people of al l n a ` . i o r swho have imp! riant work to do there. The Shuttle is thf-kingpin of NASA's Sr.ce Tr a g socr ta t i on System ,STS)which will Include many more f aci lities to improve andlower the cost of sr ace operations.

8/7/2019 Mission Report Free People Capable of Great Deeds, The Story of STS-1, The First Space Shuttle Mission

2/4

I

Oi MINAL PAGE IS*OF POOR QUALITY

.re_ ^. m s s .t. ^^1.. ;'.. +

1

C01 t :mb tat^.I

--.,.rtea Ij ' ^ + 1 Pho tog raph o f open ca rgo bay o f Co lumb ia . c lea r l ys h o w i n g m i s s in g h e a t - s h - e ld i n g t i l e s .Y o u n g ( le f t) a n d C n p p e n f r i g ht ) in space su i t s bes ideColumbia a f t e r l a n d i n g .P a r t o f c r o w d ( a e r i a l v ie w ) awa i ti n g l and i nn o' Co lurr,btE s t m a t e o t o t a l : we r e m o r e t h a n a m i ll io n a t la u n c h I n F l ^n d a : o n om o r e M a l a q u a r t e r -m i ll io n a t l ano .nq In add aon . t h e ; 6 o h t v . aobse r ved o n T V b y mi l l ions th rou ghou t the wor l

8/7/2019 Mission Report Free People Capable of Great Deeds, The Story of STS-1, The First Space Shuttle Mission

3/4

f i r s t s : t h e f i r s t 6 , ,* s td rocke ts have bee n usedM u n c h a m a n n e d s p a c e c r a f t a n d t h e f i r s t r e c o v e r o fb o o s t e r s f o r r e u s e .T h e S T S - 1 m is s io n , w a s a ls o t h e f ir s t tim e t h a t . .h yA m e r ic a n s p a c e c r a f t h a s b e e n p u t in t o o r b i t w i t h o u t p r io runmanned testing. As a result, the mission was cv n ser-v a t i v e l y p l a n n e d i n th e in t e r e s t o f s a f e t y . S T S - 1 n s i o nobjectives were a safe ascent and safe return ofC o l u m b ia a n d i ts c r e w .Another first was the launch of an arplane - like craftInto space with both wings and landing gear. STS-1 alsom a r k e d t h e r e t u r n o f A m e r i c a n s i o s p a c e a f te r a n a b -s e n o s o f n e a r l y s i x y e a r s .F o u r O r b i t a l F l ig h t T e s t s S c h e d u le dS T S - 1 I s t h e f i rs t o f f o u r p l a n n e d o r b i ta l t e s t f l i g h t s l e a d -i n g t o a n o p e r a t io n a l c a p a b i li ty l a t e in 1 9 8 2 . T h e f l ig h t sa r e d e s i g n e d t o p r o v e m n d im p r o v e th e N ig h t s y s te m a sw e l l a s r e f u r b i s h m e n t c a p a b i li t y , t u r n a r o u n d t im e ,payload capability, and tracking and data acquisition.Fleet of Orbiters PlannedColum bia w i l l b e u s e d f o r th e f l i g h t t e s t s . W h e n t h e S T SI s o p e r a t io n a l , Columbia w i ll b e j o in e d b y Challenger,w h i c h is i n p r o d u c t i o n , a n d l a t e r t h e p l a n n e d Discoverya n d Atlantis a n d p o s s i b l y a f if th o r b i te r , g i v in g t h e U n i te dS a t e s t h e w o r ld ' s f i r s t f le e t o f m a n n e d a e r o s p a c ev e h i c l e s .L a u n c h o f S TS -1A t 7 a . m . E S T , A p r i l 1 2 , 1 9 8 1 , C o l u m b i a 's t h re e m a i nl i q u i d - h y d r o g e n - f u e l e d r o c k e t e n g i n e s a n d t w o s o l i dr o c k e t b o o s t e r s g e n e r a te d n e a r ly 2 8 . 6 m i l l i o n n e w t o n s( 6 . 5 m i l li o n p o u n d s ) o f t h r u s t t o l if t th e a p p r o x i m a t e ly2 - m i l l i o n - k i l o g r a m (4Y2-mi l lion-pound ) Space Shu t t l efrom Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.R is in g o n a p i ll a r o f o r a n g e f la m e a n d w h i te s t e a m , th eS h u t t le c l e a r e d i ts 1 0 6 - m e t e r (3 4 8 - f o o t ) h i g h l a u n c ht o w e r in s i x s e c o n d s a n d r e a c h e d E a r t h o r b it in a b o u t 1 2m in u t e s . T h e s o l id r o c k e t b o o s t e r s a n d e x t e r n a l fu e l ta n kh a d b e e n s h e d p r io r t o o r b i t ."Man, that w as one fantastic ride," exclaimed Crippen,who was on his first space flight, as his heartbeat rosef ro m 6 0 t o 1 3 0 p e r m in u t e . Y o u n g , a v e t e r a n o f f o u r

s p a c e f l i g h t s in c l u tk r tg a n A p o l lo M o o n l a n d in g , h a d ah e a r tb e a t r is e of f ro m o n l y 8 0 t o 8 5 . L a t e r , t h e W y e a r -o k t Y o u n g s a i d h e w a s e x c i t e d to o n d J o c u la r ly a d d e d :' . f 3 t i t I j u s t c a n ' t m a k e it go a n y f a s t e r ."O r b it a l O p e r a t io n sY o u n g a n d C r ip p e r h c h a n g e d t h e i r o r b i t f ro m i t s o - '' in a lO p t ic a l 1 0 6 b y 2 4 .- { k ilo m e t e r s ( 6 5 b y 1 5 2 s t a tu t e m ite s )t o a c i r c u l a r o r b i t o f 2 4 5 k i lo m e t e r s b y f i r in g t h e i r O r b i ta lM aneuvering System at apogee (obit high point). Later,t h e y r a i s e d t h e i r o r b i t t o n e a r l y 2 7 7 k i lo m e t e r s ( 1 7 2 s t a t -u t e r i l e s ) . T h e y f o u n d Col umbi a e a s y t o c o n t r o l .T h e y t r i e d o u t a ll s y s te m s a n d c o n d u c t e d m a n y e n -g i n e e r i n g t e s ts . T h e y c h e c k e d t h e c o m p u t e r s , th eje t t h r u s t e r s u s e d in o r ie n t i n g Co lumb ia , a n d t h e o p e r h in gand closing of the cavernous cargo bay doors. Asidefrom the obvious reason of being able to releases a t e l l it e s i n t o a n d r e t r ie v e s a t e l l i te s f r o m s p a c e , o p e n i n gthe cargo bay doors is critical to deploy the radiatorsthat release the heat that builds up in the direv.,c o m p a r t m e n t . C lo s i n g t h e m is n e c e s s a r y f o r r e t u rnto Earth.Y o u n g a n d C r ip p e n a l s o d o c u m e n t e d t h e i r N i g h t in s t i l la n d m o t io n p i c tu r e s . O n e v i e w o f th e c a r g o b a y w h i c hwas teleca st to Earth indicated that all or part of 16h e a t -s h i e ld i n g t i l e s w e r e l o s t , p r o b a b ly d u e t o s t r e s s e s o flaunch, from two pods cn the tail section that house Co-l u m b i a ' s O M S r o c k e t s . T h e l o s s w a s n o t c o n s id e r e dcritical as these pads are not subjected to intense heat.How ever, there are areas on the spacecraft ' s underbelly,c h o s e , w i n g s , a n d t a i l w h e r e t h e f ri c ti o n a l h e a t g e n e r a t e db y e n t ry i n to t h e a t m o s p h e r e c o u l d re a c h 1 6 5 0 C ( 3 0 0 ( r F ) .A s i t t u r n e d o u t , t h e m o r e t h a n 3 0 , 0 0 0 t i le s a l l a d h e r e d .The tiles are made of a material that sheds heat soreadily that it can be red hot on one side and coole n o u g h t o t o u c h w i th t h e b a r e h a n d o n t h e o t h e r .M o r e o v e r , u n l i k e o t h e r h e a t - s h ie l d in g m a t e r ia l s u s e d o nprevious spacecraft, they are not burned awa y by hight e m p e r a t u r e s .Young and Crippen wore ordinary coveralls while ino r b i t. T h e y k e p t Columbia i n a t a i l - f o r w a r d p o s i t io n a n du p s id e d o w n r e la t iv e t o E a r t h . T h e u p s id e - d o w n p o s i t io nprovided a bettar view of E arth and its horizon for ori-entation.

i. ^.a::r^.^_.+..:^..s s :t,w j- i s. '. '-s.I.t .^ i, S w' . nr -fr.. .1 _t:- ..^ wa w ^rN.i1 ^1- . -... -jAa)'^ a I.^:, ^^ fa r3 ^"r-. h i yam I,. '..r a ' ^_-. =1 ORIGINALP'' ^."' (shaleO F P O O R Q U A L IT Y

8/7/2019 Mission Report Free People Capable of Great Deeds, The Story of STS-1, The First Space Shuttle Mission

4/4

I `

kWaedr

ORIGINAL PAGE IsOF P O O R QU A L I T Y

t . .

Return to EarthAbout 12:22 p.m. EST. Apri l 14, Young and Crippen firedtheir OMS rockets for approximately 2 minutes and 27seconds to reduce speed from their orbital velocity ofaround 28,000 ki lometers (17,500 miles) per hour. At thetime, they were over the Indian Ocean and began anhour-long descent to their landing field in California.They fired their attitude control (orientation) thrusters toturn Co lumb ia r ight side up relative to Ea rth and noseforward. Th ey fired thrusters again to pitch Columbia 'snose up 40 0 so that the brunt of atmospheric entrypressures and temperatures would be taken byColumb ia's broad well protected underside. Abo ut 12:48p.m. EST , while over the western Pacific O cean, Columbiabegan atmosphere entry.A fter completing the fiery entry into the atmosphere,Co lumb ia ' s comp uters transitioned from the steeringrockets to the rudder and elevons ( acombination of aile-rons and elevators comm only used or, delta-wingedcraft) to pilot Co lumb ia through the atmosphere. Theyfound the 89,000-kilogram (98-ton) Co lumb ia relativelyeasy to control.

Co l umb i a continued its descent l ike a powe rlessglider. Air drag caused it to steadily lose speed as its al-t i tude droppe d.According to plan.Young and Crippen guided Co lumb iaover their landing str ip on the bed of R ogers Dry L ake

Deadstick (powerless) landing of Columbia .

left, and looped back. T hey touched down a t a speed ofsome 3 46 ki lometers per hour (215 mph), which is abouttwice that at which commercial jetliners ordinarily land.The touchdown marked the successful conclusion ofST S-1 2 days,6 hours, 20 minutes and 52 seconds afterlift-off from Florida.As soon as Columb ia stopped, it was surroundedby a envoy of vehicles carrying specialists whotook measures to remove dangerous concentrationsof explosive or poisonous gases in Co l umb i a ' s cargo bayor in space surrounding its engines. T hey venti lated theentire craft, and withdrew residual fuel from engines. Ittook about an hour to assure that Co l umb i a ' s vicinity wassafe. The crew wFs then permitted to leave Columbiaand to go to a waiting medical van. Young exited first.Before gang to the van, he carefully inspectedCo l um&L ' s exterior. His inspection completed, he smiledbroadly and gave a thumbs-up sign.

STS-2 Crew NamedShortly after the successful conclusion of ST-1. NASAnamed astronauts Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly asthe crew of ST S-2, the second O rbital Fl ight Test of theSpace Shuttle. The mission is scheduled for Septemberor October 1981.