STS-41B

USA

Manned Flight n°: 95

Earth orbit Flight n°: 92

USA manned Flight n°: 41

Launch, orbit & landing data:

Designation 14681 / 84011A
Launch date - time 03 Feb 1984 - 13:00:00 UT
Launch site KSC, LC39A
Launch vehicle  Space Shuttle (#10)
Orbiter Challenger OV-099 (#4)
Primary payload Westar 6 / Palapa B2
Mass (kg) 
Call Sign 
Earth orbit on :
   - Perigee / Apogee 306 x 322 km
   - Inclination 28.40°
   - Period 90.60 min
Landing date - time 11 Feb 1984 - 12:15:55 UT
Landing location KSC, Runway 15
Flight Duration  7d 23h 15m
Nbr orbits 128

First Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) test + SMM EVA - 1st KSC landing.

Flight Crew

Nr. Surname Given name Job Duration
1  Brand  Vance DeVoe  CDR 7d 23h 15m 
2  Gibson  Robert Lee "Hoot"  PLT 7d 23h 15m 
3  McCandless  Bruce II  MSP 7d 23h 15m 
4  McNair  Ronald Erwin  MSP 7d 23h 15m 
5  Stewart  Robert Lee  MSP 7d 23h 15m 

Mission report:

Launch from Cape Canaveral (KSC); landing in Cape Canaveral (KSC); deploying of communications satellite Westar-VI (USA) and Palapa B2 (Indonesia); both did reach only a radical low-Earth orbit; McCandless and Stewart tested in two EVA's on 07.02.1984 (5h 55m) and 09.02.1984 (6h 17m) the "Manned Maneuvering Unit" (MMU); deploying of "balloon satellite" IRT (Integrated Rendezvous Target) failed due to internal failure; testing procedures to retrieve and repair "Solar Maximum-Satellite" during next mission; experiments in Earth sciences, space technologies and navigation; first landing in Cape Canaveral (KSC).
Payload: Challenger F04 / SPAS 1A. Mass: 15,362 kg. Perigee: 307 km. Apogee: 316 km. Inclination: 28.5 deg. Period: 90.8 min.
STS-41-BSTS-41-B - Aerial view of the Vehicle Assembly Building and associated complex - Credit: NASA. 54,474 bytes. 616 x 616 pixels.

Manned five crew. Payloads: PALAPA-B2 (Indonesian communications satellite) with Payload Assist Module (PAM)-D and WESTAR (Western Union communications satellite)-Vl with PAM-D. Both satellites were deployed but the PAM-D in each satellite failed to ignite, leaving both satellites in earth orbit. Both satellites were retrieved and returned to earth for renovation on the STS-51-A mission. The manned maneuvering unit (MMU) was tested with extravehicular astronauts as free flyers without tethers as far as 98 m from the orbiter. Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS)-01 experiments, Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR), Isoelectric Focusing Experiment (lEF), Acoustic Containerless Experiment System (ACES), Cinema 360 cameras, five getaway specials (GAS), Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification (ACIP)/High Resolution Accelerom-eter Package (HIRAP).

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - Views of the STS-11 launch from pad 39A on Feb. 3, 1984 - Credit: NASA. 39,475 bytes. 619 x 619 pixels.
Orbits of Earth: 127. Distance traveled: 5,329,147 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 113,527 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 91,278 kg. Payload to Orbit: 15,362 kg. Payload Returned: 8,620 kg. Landed at: Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Landing Speed: 363 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 585 m. Landing Rollout: 3,296 m. EVA: Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart. EVA No. 1 duration 5 hours, 35 minutes, EVA No. 2 duration 6 hours, 2 minutes. First flight of the manned maneuvering unit (MMU). Bruce McCandless operating time one hour, 55 minutes; Robert Stewart, 44 minutes.
STS-41-BSTS-41-B - View of the Challenger from the fixed camera in McCandless's helmet - Credit: NASA. 23,857 bytes. 334 x 334 pixels.
NASA Official Mission Narrative

Mission Name: 41-B (10)
CHALLENGER (4)
Pad 39-A (22)
10th Shuttle mission
4th Flight OV-099
1st KSC landing

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - Close-up view of Astronaut McCandless during his EVA - Credit: NASA. 50,778 bytes. 481 x 481 pixels.
Crew:
Vance D. Brand (3), Commander
Robert L. Gibson (1), Pilot
Bruce McCandless II (1), Mission Specialist
Ronald E. McNair (1), Mission Specialist
Robert L. Stewart (1), Mission Specialist

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - View of the Challenger from the fixed camera in McCandless's helmet - Credit: NASA. 14,133 bytes. 310 x 310 pixels.
Milestones:
OPF - Sept. 10, 1983
VAB - Jan.6, 1984
PAD - Jan. 12, 1984

Payload:
PALAPA-B2,WESTAR-6,ACES,IEF,RME,MLR(4),SSIP(x1),IRT,GAS(x5)
Mission Objectives:

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - View of Astronaut Bruc McCandless during EVA - Credit: NASA. 30,305 bytes. 470 x 470 pixels.
Launch:
February 3, 1984, 8:00:00 a.m, EST. Launch set for Jan. 29 postponed five days while orbiter still in OPF to allow changeout of all three auxiliary power units (APUs), a precautionary measure in response to APU failures on previous STS-9 mission. Launch Weight: 250,452 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 189nm
Inclination: 28.5 degrees
Orbits: 128
Duration: 7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, 55 seconds.
Distance: 3,311,380 miles

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - View of retrieval of foot restraint which strayed from Challenger - Credit: NASA. 33,568 bytes. 482 x 482 pixels.
Hardware:
SRB: BI-010
SRM: 010MW(HPM)
ET : 10/LWT-3
MLP : 2
SSME-1: SN-2109
SSME-2: SN-2015
SSME-3: SN-2012

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - Astronauts McNair and Stewart prepare for reentry - Credit: NASA. 60,266 bytes. 622 x 622 pixels.
Landing:
February 11, 1984, 7:15:55 a.m, EST, Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Rollout distance: 10,815 feet. Rollout time: 67 seconds. First end-of-mission landing at KSC. Landing Weight: 201,238 lbs.

STS-41-BSTS-41-B - View of the Palapa-B and the Shuttle Challenger after deployment - Credit: NASA. 16,508 bytes. 346 x 346 pixels.
Mission Highlights:
First untethered space walks by McCandless and Stewart, using manned maneuvering unit. WESTAR-VI and PALAPA-B2 satellites deployed, but failure of Payload Assist Module-D (PAM-D) rocket motors left them in radical low-Earth orbits. German-built Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS), first flown on STS-7, became first satellite refurbished and flown again. SPAS remained in payload bay due to electrical problem with Remote Manipulator System (RMS). RMS manipulator foot restraint first used, practice procedures performed for Solar Maximum satellite retrieval and repair planned for next mission. Integrated Rendezvous Target (IRT) failed due to internal failure. Five Get Away Special canisters flown in cargo bay and Cinema-360 camera used by crew. Other payloads: Acoustic Containerless Experiment System (ACES); Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR); and Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME), and Isoelectric Focusing (IEF) payload.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - View of Astronaut Bruc McCandless during EVA - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - Views of the extravehicular activity during STS 41-B - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - Views of the extravehicular activity during STS 41-B - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - Views of the extravehicular activity of Astronaut Stewart during STS 41-B - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-BSTS-41-B - Views of the extravehicular activity during STS 41-B - Credit: NASA. 9,183 bytes. 384 x 384 pixels.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - Views of the extravehicular activity during STS 41-B - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - View of Astronaut Bruc McCandless during EVA - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - View of Astronaut Bruc McCandless during EVA - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - View of Astronaut Bruc McCandless during EVA - Credit: NASA.
STS-41-B STS-41-B - Views of the Challenger landing at Kennedy to end shuttle mission 41-B - Credit: NASA.
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