Tag: Challenger

Posted on

STS-41-C

STS-41-C launched on April 6, 1984. The mission marked the first direct ascent trajectory for the Space Shuttle; Challenger reached its 288-nautical-mile-(533-km)-high orbit using its Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) engines only once, to circularize its orbit. During the ascent phase, the main computer in Mission Control failed, as did the backup computer.… Read the rest “STS-41-C”
Posted on

STS-41-B

NASA decided to change the launch numbering system. Apparently counting launches wasn’t complicated enough. STS-41-B (formerly STS-11) was the tenth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It launched on February 3, 1984, and landed on February 11 after deploying two communications satellites.… Read the rest “STS-41-B”
Posted on

STS-8

I remember getting up in the middle of the night to watch the televised launch of Challenger. Once the shuttle cleared the tower shortly after 2am, I went outside and looked down the street to see the flame from the rockets light up the sky form 150 miles away.… Read the rest “STS-8”
Posted on

STS-7

STS-7 was the second mission of Space Shuttle Challenger and Bob Crippen. It was also the long over due flight of the first American woman astronaut, Sally Ride. June 18, 1983. The mission featured the release of two satellites and the capture of one.… Read the rest “STS-7”
Posted on

STS-6

Launch: 4 April 1983 18:30:00 UTC STS-6 was the sixth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Launched from Kennedy Space Center on 4 April 1983, the mission deployed the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-1, into orbit, before landing at Edwards Air Force Base on 9 April.… Read the rest “STS-6”