1981 жылғы Америка ғарыш сапары: STS-2 миссиясы

1981 American crewed spaceflight

In the early planning stages of the Space Shuttle program, STS 2 was intended to be a reboost mission for the aging Skylab space station. However, such a mission was impeded by delays with the Shuttle's development and the deteriorating orbit of Skylab. Skylab ultimately de orbited on July 11, 1979, two years before the launch of STS 2.

Engle had been the original selection as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17, but was bumped in favor of geologist Harrison Schmitt when it became clear that the mission would be the last lunar landing. As a consequence, both Engle and Truly were rookies during STS 2 (Engle had flown the X 15 above and so had earned USAF astronaut wings, but was still considered a NASA rookie), constituting the first all rookie crew since Skylab 4, and the first and only all rookie crew on the space shuttle. Engle was the last NASA rookie to command his first flight until Raja Chari in 2021 with SpaceX Crew 3. Engle and Truly had also served as one of the two Shuttle crews during the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) program in 1977. Following STS 2, NASA required all shuttle commanders to have previous spaceflight experience. Terry J. Hart
Frederick H. Hauck (entry CAPCOM)
Sally K. Ride (first American woman CAPCOM)

The second Space Shuttle mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 12, 1981, with liftoff occurring at 15:10:00 UTC, 7 months after STS 1. The planned launch time of 12:30UTC was delayed while a faulty data transmitting unit on Columbia was replaced with one from new , which had been shipped overnight from the Palmdale, California factory where Challenger was still being manufactured. Richard Truly became the first astronaut to fly into space on his birthday. Originally, the launch had been set for October 9, 1981, but it was delayed by a nitrogen tetroxide spill during the loading of the forward Reaction Control System (RCS) tanks. The spill necessitated the removal, decontamination and reapplication of over 300 thermal tiles. The tiles could be reached from platforms at Launch Complex 39A, allowing the work to take place without destacking Columbia and returning it to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). It was next scheduled for November 4, 1981, but was again scrubbed when high oil pressures were discovered in two of the three Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) that controlled the orbiter's hydraulic system. That issue was attributed to hydrazine seepage contaminating the lubrication system in the APUs. The flight marked the first time an orbital crewed space vehicle had been re flown with a second crew. Prior to launch, Columbia spent 103days in the Orbiter Processing Facility. 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 A), successfully carried out remote sensing of Earth's resources, environmental quality, and ocean and weather conditions. In addition, the Canadian built "Canadarm" Remote Manipulator System (RMS) was successfully operated in all its various operating modes for the first time. During the mission, the Mission Control Center was visited by President Ronald Reagan. He was supposed to visit during STS 1, but was forced to cancel due to an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981. Although the STS 2 mission had been planned for a duration of five days, with a few hours a day spent testing the Canadarm, the flight was cut short when one of the three fuel cells that produced electricity and drinking water failed. The mission was shortened to two days, and the Canadarm tests were canceled. The crew stayed awake during a scheduled sleep period and tested the arm anyway, working during the loss of signal (LOS) periods when they were not in contact with Mission Control. Contrary to the interviewer's assertion in a JSC Oral history conversation with Engle, he hand flew manoeuvres throughout the entire entry speed range, but not for the entire duration. As a consequence of STS 1 entry anomalies, the first roll manoeuvre was flown manually and the elevon scheduling was adjusted to offload the body flap. Chase 1 crewed by astronauts "Hoot" Gibson and Kathy Sullivan escorted Columbia on final approach. Landing took place on Runway23 at Edwards Air Force Base at 21:23UTC, on November 14, 1981, after a 37 orbit flight which covered a total of over the course of 2days, 6hours, 13minutes and 12seconds. This lack of paint gave the ET a distinctive orange brown color, which eventually became emblematic of the Space Shuttle. Decades later, in 2006, some in the spaceflight community questioned whether the white paint would have prevented the ice soaked foam shedding issue that led to the loss of Columbia. NASA consensus was that it would not.