Category Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006

EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 5 (ELC 5); EXPRESS Logistics Carrier 6 (ELC 6); two Shuttle-equivalent flights for contingency

ISS Assembly complete – Shuttle fleet retired Sep Soyuz TMA16 ? ISS-22 Russia No crew assigned

2011

Mar Soyuz TMA17 ? ISS-23 Russia No crew assigned

Apr

The following information was compiled with the help of Collect Space 7 Oct 2006, Robert Pearlman

Soyuz TMA-crewing 2007-2008

1961

Apr Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person fly into space and completes one orbit May Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space on a sub-orbital flight Aug Gherman Titov is launched on the first 24-hour mission, of 17 orbits

1962

Feb John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, with 3 orbits Jul First X-15 flight to exceed 50 miles (Robert White)

Aug Andrian Nikolayev sets new endurance record (3 days 22 hours)

1963

Jun Valeri Bykovsky sets new endurance record (4 days 23 hours)

Valentina Tereshkova becomes first woman in space (2 days 22 hours)

Aug Highest X-15 flight (66.75 miles) – Pilot Joseph Walker

1964

Oct First multi-person space crew (3) – Voskhod 1; First civilians in space

1965

Mar Alexei Leonov becomes first person to walk in space

Mar First US multi-person crew (2) on Gemini 3

Jun Ed White becomes first American to walk in space

Aug Gemini 5 sets new endurance record (7 days 22 hours)

Cooper becomes first person to orbit Earth a second time Dec Gemini 7 set new endurance record (13 days 18 hours)

First space rendezvous – Gemini 6 with Gemini 7

1966

Mar First space docking – Gemini 8 with Agena target

Sep Gemini 11 attains highest altitude of Earth orbital manned flight (850 miles)

1967

Jan 27 Three Apollo 1 astronauts killed in pad fire

Apr Soyuz 1 pilot Vladimir Komarov killed during landing phase

Oct X-15 fastest flight (4520 mph – Mach 6.7) (Pete Knight)

Nov X-15 pilot Michael Adams is killed in crash of #3 aircraft after attaining

50.4 miles

1968

Aug Thirteenth and final X-15 “astro-flight”

Oct First three-man Apollo flight (Apollo 7)

Schirra becomes first person to make three orbital spaceflights Dec Apollo 8 becomes first lunar orbital mission

1969

Jan Soyuz 5/4 first manned docking and crew transfer (by EVA)

Mar Manned test of LM in Earth orbit (Apollo 9)

May Manned test of LM in lunar orbit (Apollo 10)

Jul First manned lunar landing – Apollo 11

Oct First triple manned spacecraft mission (Soyuz 6, 7, 8)

Nov Second manned lunar landing Apollo 12

1970

Apr Apollo 13 aborted lunar landing mission

Lovell becomes first to fly in space four times Jun Soyuz 9 cosmonauts set new endurance record (17 days 16 hrs)

1971

Feb Third manned lunar landing (Apollo 14)

Apr Launch of world’s first Space Station – Salyut (de-orbits Oct 1971)

Jun First space station (Salyut) crew. Killed during entry phase (Soyuz 11) Jul Fourth manned lunar landing (Apollo 15)

1972

Apr Fifth manned lunar landing (Apollo 16)

Dec Sixth and final (Apollo) manned lunar landing (Apollo 17)

1973

Apr Salyut 2 (Almaz) fails in orbit (de-orbits in 26 days)

May Launch of unmanned Skylab (re-enters Jul 1979)

First Skylab crew sets new endurance record of 28 days Jul Second Skylab crew increases endurance record to 59 day 11 hrs

Nov 3rd and final Skylab crew increases endurance record to 84 days 1 hr

1974

Jun Launch of Salyut (Almaz) 3 (de-orbits Jan 1975)

Jul First successful Soviet space station mission (Soyuz 14)

Dec Launch of Salyut 4 (de-orbits Feb 1977)

1975

Apr Soyuz 18 crew survive launch abort

Jul Soyuz 19 and Apollo dock in space – first international mission

1977

Sep Salyut 6 launched (de-orbits Jul 1982)

Dec First Salyut 6 resident crew set new endurance record of 96 days 10 hrs

1978

Jan First Soyuz exchange mission (Soyuz 27 for Soyuz 26)

Mar First Soviet Interkosmos mission (Czechoslovakian)

First non-Soviet, non-American person in space (Remek)

Jun Second Salyut 6 crew sets new endurance record of 139 days 14 hrs

1979

Feb Third Salyut 6 resident crew increases endurance record to 175 days

1980

Apr Fourth Salyut 6 resident crew increases endurance record to 184 days 20 hrs Jun First manned flight of Soyuz T variant

1981

Apr First Shuttle launch (Columbia STS-1) on 20th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight

John Young becomes first to make five space flights
Nov First return to space by manned spacecraft (Columbia STS-2)

1982

Apr Salyut 7 launched (de-orbits Feb 1991)

May First Salyut 7 resident crew sets new endurance record of 211 days 9 hrs

Nov First “operational” Shuttle mission, STS-5, is also the first four-person

launch

1983

Apr First flight of Challenger

Jun Sally Ride becomes first US woman in space during STS-7, the first five – person launch

Sep Soyuz T10-1 launch pad abort

Nov First Spacelab mission – STS-9; first six-person launch John Young flies record sixth mission

1984

Feb First use of MMU (STS 41-B) on untethered spacewalks Feb Third Salyut 7 resident crew sets new endurance record of 236 days 22 hrs

Jul Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to walk in space (Soyuz T12/

Salyut 7)

Aug First flight of Discovery on STS 41-D Oct First seven-person launch (STS 41-G)

Kathy Sullivan becomes first American woman to walk in space

1985

Jan First classified DoD Shuttle mission (STS 51-C)

Jul First Shuttle Abort-to-Orbit profile (STS 51-F)

Oct First flight of Atlantis (STS 51-J)

Oct First eight-person launch (STS 61-A)

1986

Jan Challenger and its crew of seven lost 73 seconds after launch (STS 51-L) Feb Mir core module launched unmanned

Mar First resident crew to Mir (Soyuz T15)

1987

Feb Second Mir resident crew sets new endurance record of 326 days 11 hrs First manned Soyuz TM variant

Dec First flight of over a year as third Mir resident crew sets endurance record of 365 days 22 hrs

1988

Sep Shuttle Return-to-Flight mission (STS-26)

1990

Apr Hubble Space Telescope deployment (STS-31)

1992

May First flight of Endeavour (STS-49)

1993

Dec First Hubble Service Mission (STS-61)

1994

Jan Valery Polyakov sets new endurance record (437 days 17 hrs) for one mission (lands Mar 1995)

Feb First Russian cosmonaut to fly on Shuttle (Krikalev STS-60)

1995

Feb First Shuttle-Mir rendezvous STS-63/Mir

Eileen Collins becomes first female Shuttle pilot Mar First American launched on Soyuz (Thagard – TM21)

Jul First Shuttle docking with Mir (STS-71 – Thagard down)

Nov Second Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-74)

1996

Mar Third Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-76 – Lucid up)

Sep Fourth Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-79 – Lucid down, Blaha up)

Nov Longest Shuttle mission (17 days 15 hrs – STS-80)

Musgrave becomes only astronaut to fly all five orbiters

1997

Jan Fifth Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-81 – Blaha down, Linenger up)

Feb Second Hubble service mission (STS-82)

May Sixth Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-84 – Linenger down, Foale up)

Jun Collision between unmanned Progress vessel and Mir space station damages Spektr module

Sep Seventh Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-86 – Foale down, Wolf up)

1998

Jan Eighth Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-89 – Wolf down, Thomas up)

Jun Ninth and final Shuttle-Mir docking (STS-91 – Thomas down)

Oct John Glenn returns to space aged 77, 36 years after his first space flight Nov First ISS element launched – Zarya FGB Dec First ISS Shuttle mission (STS-88)

1999

Jul Eileen Collins becomes first female US mission commander (STS-93)

Aug Mir vacated for first time in ten years Dec Third Hubble service mission (STS-103)

2000

Apr Last (28th) Mir resident crew (72 days)

Oct First ISS resident crew launched

2001

Mar Mir space station de-orbits after 15 years service

Apr Dennis Tito becomes first space flight participant, or “tourist”

2002

Mar Fourth Hubble service mission (STS-109)

Apr Jerry Ross becomes first person to fly seven missions in space Oct First manned flight of Soyuz TMA

2003

Feb Columbia and crew of seven lost during entry phase of mission STS-107

Apr ISS assumes two-person caretaker crews

Oct First Chinese manned spaceflight (Shenzhou 5)

Yang Liwei becomes first Chinese national in space

2004

Sep Spaceship One flies to 337,500 ft (102.87 km)

Oct Spaceship One flies to 367,442 ft (111.99 km) claiming $10 million X-Prize

2005

Jul Shuttle Return-to-Flight mission 1 – STS-114 Oct First Chinese two-man space flight – Shenzhou 6

2006

Jul Second Shuttle Return-to-Flight mission – STS-121 Aug ISS returns to three-person capability

Resumption of ISS construction – STS-115

The authors have referred to their own extensive archives in the compilation of this book. In addition, the following publications and resources were of great help in assembling the data:

The Press Kits, News releases and mission information from NASA, ESA, CSA, RKK-Energiya, JAXA (NASDA), CNES, and Novosti have been invaluable resources for many years

Magazines:

Flight International 1961-2006

Aviation Week and Space Technology 1961-2006

BIS Spaceflight 1961-2006

Soviet Weekly/Soviet News 1961-1990

Orbiter, Astro Info Service 1984-1992

Zenit, Astro Info Service, 1985-1991

ESA Bulletin 1975-2006

British Interplanetary Society Books:

History of Mir 1986-2000; Mir: The Final Year Supplement, Editor Rex Hall 2000/ 2001

The ISS Imagination to Reality Volume 1 Ed Rex Hall 2002 The ISS Imagination to Reality Volume 2, Ed Rex Hall 2005

NASA Reports:

NASA Astronautics and Aeronautics, various volumes, 1961-1995

Mir Hardware Heritage, David S. F. Portree NASA RP-1357, March 1995. Walking to Olympus: An EVA Chronology, David S. F. Portree and Robert C. Trevino, NASA Monograph in Aerospace history, #7 October 1997

NASA Histories:

1966 This New Ocean, a History of Project Mercury, SP-4201

1977 On the Shoulders of Titans: A history of Project Gemini, NASA SP-4203

1978 The Partnership: A history of Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, NASA SP-4209

1979 Chariots for Apollo: A history of manned lunar spacecraft, NASA SP-4205 1983 Living and working in space: A history of Skylab NASA SP 4208

1977 Where No Man Has Gone Before: a history of Apollo lunar exploration missions, NASA SP-4214

2000 Challenge to Apollo: the Soviet Union and the Space Race 1945-1974, Asif Siddiqi, NASA SP-2000-4408

Other Books:

1980 Handbook of Soviet Manned Space Flight, Nicholas L. Johnson, AAS Vol 48, Science and Technology Series

1981 The History of Manned Spaceflight, David Baker

1987 Heroes in Space: From Gagarin to Challenger, Peter Bond

1988 Space Shuttle Log: The First 25 Flights, Gene Gurney and Jeff Forte

1988 The Soviet Manned Space Programme, Phillip Clark

1989 The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Space Technology, Chief Author Ken Gatland

1990 Almanac of Soviet Manned Space Flight, Dennis Newkirk

1992 At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program, Milton O. Thompson 1999 Who’s Who in space: The ISS Edition, Michael Cassutt 2001 Space Shuttle, History and Development of the National STS Program, Dennis Jenkins

Springer-Praxis Space Science Series (which include extensive references and bibliographies for further reading)

1999 Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions, David M. Harland

2000 Disasters and Accidents in Manned Spaceflight, David J. Shayler

2000 The Challenges of Human Space Exploration, Marsha Freeman

2001 Russia in Space: The Failed Frontier, Brian Harvey

2001 The Rocket Men, Vostok & Voskhod, the First Soviet Manned Spaceflights, Rex Hall and David J. Shayler 2001 Skylab:; America’s Space Station, David J. Shayler 2001 Gemini: Steps to the Moon, David J. Shayler

2001 Project Mercury: NASA’s First Manned Space Programme, John Catchpole

2002 The Continuing Story of the International Space Station, Peter Bond

Creating the International Space Station, David M. Harland and John E. Catchpole

Apollo: Lost and Forgotten Missions, David J. Shayler

Soyuz, a Universal Spacecraft, Rex Hall and David J. Shayler

China’s Space Programme: From Concept to Manned Spaceflight, Brian

Harvey

Walking in Space, David J. Shayler

The Story of the Space Shuttle, David M Harland

The Story of Space Station Mir, David M. Harland

Women in Space: Following Valentina, David J Shayler and Ian Moule

Space Shuttle Columbia: Her Missions and Crews, Ben Evans.

Russia’s Cosmonauts: Inside the Yuri Gagarin Training Center, Rex Hall, David J. Shayler and Bert Vis

Apollo: The Definitive Source Book, Richard W. Orloff and David M. Harland

NASA Scientist Astronauts, Colin Burgess and David J. Shayler

In the history of manned space flight, there have been numerous designs for systems to carry people into space. Many have reached the point of almost making a manned space launch, but have been cancelled prior to the event. Between 1961 and 2006, there have been just two “rocket planes” (X-15 and Spaceship One) that have touched space, while only eight launch systems (seven rockets and the Shuttle) have actually achieved manned space launcher status.

Astro-flights

Throughout the space age, there has been a worldwide uncertainty as to precisely where the atmosphere ends and space begins. Some say 50 miles (80.45 km), others 62 miles (100 km), and there are those who claim it doesn’t happen until you are in orbit. However, the X-15 rocket plane reached altitudes of between 50.70 and 66.75 miles

(81.59 and 107.42km) on thirteen “astro-flights” by eight pilots between July 1962 and August 1968. In the early 1960s, the USAF decided that a military pilot making a flight over 50 miles (80.45 km) would be eligible for the rating of Air Force Astronaut Pilot and awarded Astronaut Wings to those who achieved it. The five US Air Force pilots were awarded Astronaut Wings at the time, but the three civilian pilots had to wait until 2006 to receive theirs. The award should also therefore be given to Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, who flew the space tourist prototype vehicle Spaceship One in 2004.

The X-15 flights used the B-52 aircraft to “air-launch” the rocket research plane by dropping it from beneath the wing, usually at about 45,000 ft (13,716 m), where it began its descent to the ground either as a glide flight or by igniting its engines and completing its mission. Spaceship One was carried to 13,716 m and 14,356m by the White Knight launch aircraft for its two record-breaking missions.

There have been countless proposals and plans for programmes to support the manned exploration of space. Some never left the drawing boards, while others got as far as having hardware produced, only to be cancelled for a variety of reasons prior to the first manned flight. The following are the main manned programmes that have been conducted since 1961. For more in-depth information about these pro­grammes, see the Bibliography.

INTO SPACE

The Cold War-inspired space race launched man into space sooner than was perhaps planned, and with rapidly developed hardware. America developed the bell-shaped Mercury capsule and the Soviet Union came up with a “space ball”, all to achieve the goal of “Man in Space Soonest”, or “MISS”, as the Americans called it. The Soviet Union won this particular race, with their one-man Vostok capsule, shaped like a ball. It had an ejection seat to allow emergency escape and for the cosmonaut to eject prior to landing. It was one way of saving development time in order to get their “Man in Space Soonest”.

1962 alpha upsilon 1 (Vostok 3), alpha nu 1 (Vostok 4) 11 (Vostok 3) and 12 (Vostok 4) August 1962 Pad 1, Site 5, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan (both vehicles)

15 August 1962

South of Karaganda, Kazakhstan (Vostok 3), Vostok 4

landed a further 190 km away

R7 (8K72K); spacecraft serial number (11F63/3KA)

#5 (Vostok 3); and #6 (Vostok 4)

3 days 22hrs 22 min (Vostok 3); 2 days 22hrs 57 min (Vostok 4)

Sokol (Falcon) – Vostok 3; Berkut (Golden Eagle) – Vostok 4

Simultaneous extended-duration flight of two spacecraft

Flight Crew

NIKOLAYEV, Andrian Grigoryevich, 32, Soviet Air Force, pilot Vostok 3 POPOVICH, Pavel Romanovich, 31, Soviet Air Force, pilot Vostok 4

Flight Log

The dual flight of Vostok 3 and 4 resulted from a desire to demonstrate the ability to control two separate spacecraft in orbit at the same time (crucial to Soviet plans for multi-spacecraft exploration of the Moon and the creation of space stations) and to monitor the condition of two cosmonauts simultaneously during and after relatively long duration flights. This was not seen as the prime objective publicly, however, which was proved by the spectacular and ill-informed coverage of the missions in the western media in expectation of a space docking by the two spacecraft, and which only served to perpetuate the myth of a Soviet lead in space technology.

Vostok 3, with pilot Andrian Nikolayev, was launched at 13: 30 hrs Baikonur time on 11 August and was soon in a 64.93° orbit, with an apogee of 227 km (141 miles). The mission was described as a long-duration one by Soviet officials, who sprang a shock in the west at 13 : 02 hrs the following day by launching Vostok 4 crewed by Pavel Popovich, as Vostok 3 flew overhead. As Vostok 4 entered orbit, it passed to within 6.5 km (4 miles) of Vostok 3. The relatively close encounter was brief, and with no manoeuvring ability it was impossible to achieve a rendezvous in space. The western media, however, lapped it all up. The dual mission of “Nik and Pop”, as the cosmonauts were dubbed, was described as a rendezvous in space and the mission as a huge leap forward by the Soviets towards a manned landing on the Moon in a matter of years.

In their individual orbits – Vostok 4’s apogee was 234 km (146 miles), with a 64.98° inclination – Nikolayev and Popovich monitored their health and were allowed to undo their straps to float about freely in the rather spacious cockpit. This was not merely a luxury, but an experiment to see whether the unrestrained movement would bring about inner ear disturbance and cause nausea, which in the case of Nikolayev and Popovich it did not. They ate proper packaged food, such as cutlets, pies and fruit, and Nikolayev was the first cosmonaut to be featured on national TV programmes

from his cockpit. The official objectives of the two missions were to maintain radio contact with Earth; carry out regular psychological, physiological and vestibular tests; orientate the spacecraft using attitude control thrusters; make observations using binoculars and the naked eye; float free during the fourth and each second orbit for a period of between 50 to 60 minutes at a time; regulate cabin atmosphere; conduct biological experiments; take food four times a day; and record in a log book and tape recorder their observations and progress of the flight plan.

The missions were eagerly used by Premier Nikita Khrushchev for propaganda purposes, hammering home the Soviet lead over the USA. By the end of the Vostok 3 mission, after 64 orbits, Vostok 4 had drifted 2,720 km (1,690 miles) away. Nikolayev landed south of the town of Karaganda at T + 3 days 22 hours 22 minutes on 15 August, and the same day, Popovich landed 190 km (118 miles) away at T + 2 days 22 hours 57 minutes. Neither had succumbed to space sickness and this led to the conclusion that the affliction was experienced by only some space travellers and not all who made long journeys. Even longer Vostok missions were then planned.

Milestones

7th and 8th manned space flights 3rd and 4th Soviet manned space flights 3rd and 4th Vostok manned flights 1st joint manned space flight 1st in-flight public TV

Flight Crew

KOVALENOK, Vladimir Vasilyevich, 39, Soviet Air Force, commander, 3rd mission

Previous missions: Soyuz 25 (1977); Soyuz 29 (1978)

SAVINYKH, Viktor Petrovich, 41, civilian, flight engineer

Flight Log

The long-duration mission of Soyuz T4 was not originally intended as such but was more the result of rescheduling after the Soyuz 33 docking abort cancelled some international Interkosmos flights, leading to a situation where a Mongolian and a Romanian were still to visit Salyut. The station had fortunately been given a stay of execution by the Soyuz T3 mission. Soyuz T4, set for a mission that would last long enough to accommodate the two Interkosmos missions and verify a new Soyuz spacecraft for a period of extended docking with Salyut, took off at midnight from Baikonur, the second such launch since Soyuz 9. On board were Vladimir Kovalenok, who was already rather familiar with Salyut 6, and his flight engineer, Viktor Savinykh. Though he was a rookie, Savinykh nevertheless had the unique statistic of being both the hundredth person and the fiftieth Soviet to enter space. As the two visiting crews had not trained on Soyuz T and were not qualified to return in one, the resident crew would not have an exchange of vehicle to support an extended-duration mission, so no attempt would be made to exceed the space flight endurance record on this mission.

After docking with Salyut, the crew unpacked Progress 12 and finished off some refurbishment work, including repairs to a battery unit and a condensation unit on the thermal control system. This was necessary because only one solar panel was gen­erating enough power, and as a result excessive condensation was forming inside the station. Kovalenok and Savinykh then discarded Progress 12, the last unmanned tanker to berth at Salyut 6, and prepared for their first visit, on 23 March, by the

Mongolian mission of Soyuz 39. After the brief visit, the crew then changed the docking unit on Soyuz T4, possibly to demonstrate the space rescue capability. By taking the docking unit out of Soyuz, it was possible to dock another Soyuz with it, in an operation that may have been prompted by the near disaster on Soyuz 33 when the two crewmen could have been left stranded in space. Another international mission followed on 15 May, this time by a Romanian, before Kovalenok and Savinykh mothballed Salyut 6 for the last time and headed home.

Soyuz T4 landed at T + 74 days 17 hours 37 minutes 23 seconds, 124 km (77 miles) east of Dzhezkazgan. Maximum altitude achieved during the mission was 374 km (232 miles), at 51.6°. The mission of Salyut 6 was not over, however, as a new module called Cosmos 1267, the same size as Salyut, docked with it on 19 June, remaining in orbit until the whole combination was de-orbited in July 1982. The Cosmos 1267 Heavy Cosmos module, flight tested as Cosmos 929, was launched by a Proton booster on 25 April. It performed extensive orbital manoeuvres and even dispatched an unmanned re-entry capsule back to Earth for recovery on 15 May. Further orbital manoeuvres were made by the joint craft and it became evident that future Salyuts and other generation space stations would be enlarged by the addition of other Heavy Cosmos derivatives. Salyut 6 was not manned again after the end of the T4 mission.

It re-entered the atmosphere in July 1982, once Salyut 7 had been successfully placed in orbit to replace it. Salyut 6 had been an outstanding success for the Soviet Union, at a time when all bar three US astronauts were grounded between the end of Apollo and the beginning of the Shuttle program.

Milestones

78th manned space flight 47th Soviet manned space flight 40th Soyuz manned space flight 3rd Soyuz T manned space flight 100th person in space

Flight Crew

DZHANIBEKOV, Vladimir Aleksandrovich, 38, Soviet Air Force, commander, 2nd mission Previous mission: Soyuz 27 (1978)

GURRAGCHA, Jugderdemidyin, 33, Mongolian People’s Army, cosmonaut researcher

Flight Log

During the 1960s, the name of a certain Nigerian leader used to terrify newscasters. The name of the next spaceman could also have caused apoplexy in newsrooms around the world had he not been the one-hundred-and-first and a Mongolian. Jugderdemidyin Gurragcha and his commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov were launched at 19:59 hrs local time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and a day later were inside Salyut 6 with residents Kovalenok and Savinykh. The experiments were mainly medically oriented, but also included Gurragcha’s photography of his home­land to conduct an Earth resources survey of oil, gas and mineral deposits, and the use of a visual polarising analyser to assess the effects of prolonged exposure to space on the station’s portholes.

Maximum altitude achieved during the 51.6° mission was 355 km (221 miles). Gurragcha may have been one of the few space travellers to have reacted violently to weightlessness. Only one photo of him aboard Salyut 6 has ever been released, but he seemed in good spirits after landing in fog and drizzle at T + 7 days 20 hours 42 minutes 3 seconds, 169 km (105 miles) southeast of Dzhezkazgan.

Milestones

79th manned space flight 48th Soviet manned space flight

Flight Crew

BOBKO, Karol Joseph, 47, USAF, commander, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS-6 (1983)

WILLIAMS, Donald Edward, 42, USN, pilot GRIGGS, Stanley David, civilian, mission specialist 1 HOFFMAN, Jeffrey Alan, 40, civilian, mission specialist 2 SEDDON, Margaret Rhea, 37, civilian, mission specialist 3 GARN, Edwin Jacob “Jake”, 52, US Senator, payload specialist 1 WALKER, Charles David, 36, civilian, payload specialist 2, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS 41-D (1984)

Flight Log

This mission was originally designated STS-14or STS41-F. After the STS 41-D abort, much of the 41-F cargo was incorporated into a new flight attempt and the mission was re-designated as STS 51-E with a TDRS satellite as the primary payload. This flight was to use the original 41-F crew and the orbiter Challenger, plus two unique payload specialists, Frenchman Patrick Baudry and US Senator Jake Garn, the first space passenger-observer. The fated 41-F/51-E mission was again cancelled, this time because a fault was found in the TDRS satellite, due for launch in February. Challenger was rolled back to the VAB to be configured for a later mission, while 51-E and its crew took on the planned 51-D mission mantle, ousting that crew and now assigned both new payloads and a new orbiter, Discovery.

In the ensuing mammoth crew reshuffle for 1985 flights, Baudry was replaced by an original 51-D McDonnell Douglas payload specialist, Charlie Walker, making a unique second space flight. The new launch date was set as 12 April 1985, but when it arrived it was so dark and gloomy that observers were resigned to a launch scrub as the count was inevitably held for 55 minutes, following a short hold due to a stray ship in the SRB splashdown zone. With just 55 seconds of the launch window remaining, the

go-ahead was given to proceed with the count, surprising most observers including astronaut John Young, who was reporting rain drops on the window of the Shuttle training aircraft prowling the skies over the launch pad. Discovery disappeared into thick clouds seconds after lifting off in gloom at 08: 59 hrs local time.

The routine deployment of Anik was followed by that of Leasat. Deployment from the payload bay should have activated a spring on the satellite to initiate spin-up and antenna deployment, but clearly this had not happened and yet another Shuttle – deployed satellite was in deep trouble. A contingency EVA was suggested, during which Jeff Hoffman and David Griggs would manually deploy the spring by pulling an arming pin on the side of the satellite while Discovery performed an extremely close station-keeping manoeuvre. This was deemed far too risky and instead the crew manufactured a “fly swatter” device using on-board materials, which could be placed on the end of the RMS during an EVA so that the robot arm could pull the pin.

Hoffmann (EV1) and Griggs (EV2) did their job during a 3 hour 10 minute EVA on 16 April, and it was left to Rhea Seddon operating the RMS to try to pull the pin on Leasat as Discovery closed in. The attempt was useless and Leasat was left stranded. Observers noted that Jake Garn was missing from most of the in-flight TV broadcast and assumed correctly that the senator was having a rather uncomfortable time in the mid-deck getting used to weightlessness. His payload specialist colleague, Charlie Walker, busied himself operating CFES for a second time.

Discovery made the fourth consecutive landing at the Kennedy Space Center on runway 33 at T + 6 days 23 hours 55 minutes 23 seconds, damaging its brakes and bursting a tyre as commander Karol Bobko tried to compensate for crosswinds. Maximum altitude of the 28° orbit was 401 km (249 miles).

Milestones

104th manned space flight

47th US manned space flight

16th Shuttle mission

4th flight of Discovery

1st flight with unscheduled EVA

1st flight of a political observer

1st re-flight of a payload specialist

21st US and 30th flight with EVA operations

Flight Crew

GREGORY, Frederick Drew, 48, USAF, commander, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS 51-B (1985)

BFAHA, John Elmer, 47, USAF, pilot, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS-29 (1989)

CARTER Jr., Manley Fanier “Sonny”, 42, USN, mission specialist 1 MUSGRAVE, Franklin Story, 54, civilian, mission specialist 2, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-6 (1983); STS 51-F (1985)

THORNTON, Kathryn Cordell Ryan, 37, mission specialist 3

Flight Log

With STS-33 flying after STS-34 but before STS-32, it was understandably difficult to keep track of how many Space Shuttles had been launched by November 1989. STS-33 Discovery was the thirty-second Space Shuttle mission but only the thirty-first to reach space. It was due to launch in August 1989 but had to make way for the delayed STS-28 and for the STS-34 planetary launch window. It was also the first Shuttle to fly with a crewman replacing one who had died. Pilot David Griggs had been killed in the crash of an aerobatics plane in June 1989 and was replaced on the mission by John Blaha, recently returned from STS-29, who was thus making a second flight in a record seven months.

The mission was unusual in that while it was a classified military affair, it carried two civilian crew persons, mission specialists Kathryn Thornton on her first flight, and the veteran Story Musgrave on his third (though both had previous experience in classified roles. Thornton had worked with the Army Foreign Science and Technology Center before being selected for astronaut training and Musgrave had served in the USMC in the 1950s). The fact that the third mission specialist, Manley Carter, was a doctor like Musgrave and that Thornton was a nuclear physicist indicated that several biomedical-radiation crew experiments were on the schedule after the deployment of

the main payload. This was a SIGINT electronic signals intelligence satellite, ELINT, deployed in the 28° inclination, 561 km (249 miles) apogee orbit.

Discovery was raring to go on the first attempt and was held for just 90 seconds at T — 5 minutes before making a spectacular departure from Pad 39B at 19: 23 hrs local time, turning night into day and the quiet peace of the Cape’s lagoons into a frightening cacophony. The SIGINT was deployed on orbit seven. The flight was due to last four days but was extended for almost a day by excessive winds at Edwards, where it was to have made the first night landing since the Challenger accident. Discovery was waived off again by one orbit and after its long re-entry from high orbit was diverted from the concrete runway to runway 04 at Edwards, landing at T + 5 days 0 hours 6 minutes 48 seconds.

Milestones

129th manned space flight 62nd US manned space flight

1st military manned flight with “civilian” and female crew

32nd Shuttle mission

9th flight of Discovery

5th classified DoD Shuttle mission