STS-2

USA

Manned Flight nº: 82

Earth orbit Flight nº: 79

USA manned Flight nº: 33

Launch, orbit & landing data:

Designation	12953 / 81111A
Launch date - time	12 Nov 1981 - 15:10:00 UT
Launch site	KSC, LC39A
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle (#2)
Orbiter	Columbia OV-102 (#2)
Primary payload	OSTA-1
Mass (kg)	8517
Call Sign	Columbia
Backup crew
Earth orbit on :
- Perigee / Apogee	222 / 231 km
- Inclination	38,0°
- Period	89,0 min
Landing date - time	14 Nov 1981 - 21:23:12 UT
Landing location	Edwards AFB,Runway 23
Flight Duration (d:hr:min)	2d 06h 13m
Nbr orbits	36 (37? ref:#16)
Distance traveled	1,729,347 km

Tested RMS arm, 5-day mission halved by fuel cell fault.

Flight Crew

Nr.	Surname	Given name	Job	Duration
1	Engle	Joe Henry	CDR	2d 06h 13m
2	Truly	Richard Harrison	PLT	2d 06h 13m

Summary:

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing on Edwards AFB, second testflight of the Space Shuttle; several scientific experiments including tests with the "Shuttle Imaging Radar" and of the 50-foot remote manipulator arm in space; planned five-day-mission was cut, because fuel cell number one failed (producing eletricity and drinking water); 90 % of mission objectives were achieved; good results of the OSTA-1 (Office of Space and Terrestical Applications-1) Earth observation experiment, which was mounted in the Spacelab pallet in the payload bay.

STS-2 - STS-2 suit preparation - Credit: NASA.

Summary: Second shuttle test flight. Payloads: Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA)-1 experiments, Orbiter Experiments (OEX).

Manned two crew Reusable space transportation system.

Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 104,647 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 92,650 kg. Payload to Orbit: 8,517 kg. Payload Returned: 8,517 kg. Landing Speed: 365 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 237 m. Landing Rollout: 2,350 m.

STS-2 - Space shuttle Columbia being lowered down toward the solid rocket boosters - Credit: NASA.

NASA Official Mission Narrative

Mission Name: STS-2 (2)
COLUMBIA (2)
Pad 39-A (14)
2nd Shuttle mission
2nd Flight OV-102
1st Flight of RMS
Shortened mission

Crew:
Joseph H. Engle (1), Commander
Richard H. Truly (1), Pilot Backup

STS-2 - Tile repair activities at Pad 39A after Nitrogen Tetroxide Spill - Credit: NASA.

Crew:
Thomas K. Mattingly (1), Commander
Henry W. Hartsfield (0), Jr., Pilot

Milestones:
04/29/81 - Move to OPF-1
08/10/81 - Move to VAB-3
08/31/81 - Move to PAD-39A (21 days)
11/12/81 - Launch
11/14/81 - Landing
11/25/81 - Return to KSC (11 days)

STS-2 - View of the STS-2 prime crew during Countdown demonstration test (CDDT) - Credit: NASA.

Payload:
OFT(MAPS,SIR-A,SMIRR,FILE,OCE),OSTA-A,DFI(2),ACIP(2),IECM
Mission Objectives:
Demonstrate safe re-launch and safe return of the orbiter and crew. Verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle - orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank.
Payloads included the Orbital Flight Test Pallet consisting of the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite (MAPS) experiment, the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) experiment, the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) experiment, the Features Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) and the Ocean Color Experimetn (OCE). Also included was the 11,048 lb Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) pallet, the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package (ACIP), the Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM) and the 5,395 lb Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications Pallet (OSTA-1).

STS-2 - Space Shuttle Columbia OV (101) launching from pad 39A begining STS-2 - Credit: NASA.

Launch:
November 12, 1981, 10:09:59 a.m. EST. Launch on Oct. 9 was rescheduled when nitrogen tetroxide spill occurred during loading of forward reaction control system (RCS). Launch Nov. 4 delayed and then scrubbed when countdown computer called for hold in countdown due to apparent low reading on fuel cell oxygen tank pressures. During hold, high oil pressures discovered in two of three auxiliary power units (APUs) that operate hydraulic system. APU gear boxes flushed and filters replaced, forcing launch reschedule Launch Nov. 12 delayed two hours, 40 minutes to replace multiplexer/demultiplexer and additional nine minutes, 59 seconds to review systems status. Modifications to launch platform to overcome solid rocket booster overpressure problem were effective.
Modifications of the water sound suppression system at the pad to absorb the solid rocket booster overpressure wave during launch were effective -- no tiles were lost and only 12 were damaged. Launch Weight: 320,708 lbs
Orbit:
Altitude: 157nm
Inclination: 38.0 degrees
Orbits: 37
Duration: Two days, Six hours, 13 minutes, 12 seconds
Distance: 1,074,757 miles

STS-2 - Aerial views of the STS-2 launch from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center - Credit: NASA. 28,758 bytes. 530 x 530 pixels.

Hardware:
SRB: BI-002
SRM: 002SW(SPM)
ET : 3/SWT-2
MLP: 1
SSME-1: SN-2007
SSME-2: SN-2006
SSME-3: SN-2005

Landing:
November 14, 1981, 1:23:11 p.m. PST, Runway 23, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 7,711 feet. Rollout time: 50 seconds. Mission shortened by approximately three days due to number one fuel cell failure. Orbiter returned to KSC Nov. 25,1981. Landing Weight: 204,262 lbs.

STS-2 - Wide angle view of overall activity in Mission Operations Control Room - Credit: NASA.

Mission Highlights:

The Orbiter Columbia lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 10:10 a.m. EST on November 12,1981. The launch was delayed from a planned 7:30 a.m. liftoff by the need to replace one of Columbia's on-board data trans- mitting units. It had previously been delayed from a planned November 4 launch because of an apparent low reading on fuel cell oxygen tank pressures, followed by the changing of oil filters in two of the three auxiliary power units. This time Columbia went through the Orbiter Processing Facility in 103 days. Modifications to the water sound suppression system to absorb the overpressure wave from the solid rocket boosters were successful. This was the first time a manned spaceship was reflown with a second crew. During the flight a problem developed with one of the three fuel cells, and the mission duration was shortened from its planned five days. The crew nevertheless achieved 90% of the mission objectives. Columbia landed on Runway 23, Edwards AFB, on November 14, 1981, at 4:23 p.m. EST, after a mission duration of two days, six hours, and 13 minutes. It had completed 36 orbits. Tile damage was minor.
Crew: The crew members were Joseph H. Engle, Commander, and Richard H. Truly, Pilot.
Payload and Experiments. Columbia again carried the OFI package of special sensors to report on the performance of the spacecraft and its various systems. The Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System arm (Canadarm) was operated by the crew in all its modes. The only payload was OSTA-1 (after the NASA "Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications"), a set of instruments mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the cargo bay. The experiments performed were in the areas of remote sensing of land resources, environmental quality, ocean conditions, and meteorological phenomena. One instrument, the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A), performed the unexpected feat of "looking through" several feet of dry sand in a desert region of North Africa to outline the original land surface, including dried riverbeds and rocky hills.

Planned five day mission cut nearly three days due to failure of one of three fuel cells that produce electricity and drinking water, but 90 percent of mission objectives achieved, including first time remote manipulator system tests. Mission scientists satisfied with data from Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications-1 (OSTA-1) Earth observation experiments mounted on Spacelab pallet in payload bay.
The flight marked the first time a manned space vehicle had been reflown with a second crew: Joseph H. Engle, commander, and Richard H. Truly, pilot. It again carried the DFI package, as well as the OSTA-l payload -- named for the NASA Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications -- which consisted of a number of remote sensing instruments mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the payload bay. These instruments, including the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-1), successfully carried out remote sensing of Earth resources, environmental quality, ocean and weather conditions. In addition, the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm was successfully operated in all its various operating modes for the first time.

STS-2 - Pilot Truly reviews TAGS teleprinter printout of instructions on middeck - Credit: NASA.

STS-2 - Baja California, Mexico - Credit: NASA.

STS-2 - Earth observation photo of Pusen, South Korea - Credit: NASA.

STS-2 - Astronauts Truly and Engle engaged in on-board activity - Credit: NASA.

STS-2 - View of the Columbia's open payload bay and the Canadian RMS - Credit: NASA.

STS-2 performs 1st & only completely hand-flown reentry & landing of Shuttle - Credit: NASA.

Ref.: #1, #6(PMS 003-A), #7, #8, #16, #125 - update: 19.11.13

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