STS-2

Flight Crew

ENGLE, Joseph Henry, 49, USAF, commander TRULY, Richard Harrison, 44, USN, pilot

Flight Log

As Columbia was being prepared for its second mission, originally scheduled for 10 September then pushed to 30 September, with 1,000 new tiles, new RCS com­ponents, an OMS nozzle and fuel cells, nitrogen tetroxide leaked from a ruptured fuel line during propellant loading, damaging another 240 tiles on its nose. The launch was postponed to 4 November. Things looked good but the launch was delayed for 2 hours 40 minutes and finally scrubbed, holding at T — 31 seconds, when an oil flush on one of the APUs failed and a computer malfunctioned. Both had to be replaced before a new launch attempt, eight days later.

The first flight of a re-used manned spacecraft began at 10: 10 hrs local time and astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly (marking a space first by being launched on his birthday) were at last on their way, into a 38° inclination orbit which would have a maximum altitude of 219 km (136 miles). A five day flight was on the agenda, with a complement of science experiments and the testing of the Remote Manipulator System robot arm, being carried for the first time. An increase in the alkaline level of the electrolyte in one of Columbia’s three fuel cells spoiled the day for Engle and Truly, who were told to cram five days work into two, as mission rules dictated.

The RMS did not work quite as well as planned since it suffered a back-up drive failure, but TV cameras at its end gave interesting views of the payload bay and other parts of the Shuttle. Engle did not get the chance to try out the Shuttle EVA suit inside the airlock. Mission scientists were pleased with the results from the science experi­ments, particularly the multi-spectral imaging radiometer and the Shuttle Imaging Radar. Columbia came home on the dry lake bed runway 23 at Edwards Air Force

Base, touching down at a speed of 361 kph (224 mph), at T + 2 days 6 hours 13 minutes 13 seconds, main gear touchdown time.

Milestones

82nd manned space flight

33rd US manned space flight

2nd Shuttle flight

2nd flight of Columbia

1st manned space flight by reused spacecraft

Truly celebrates his 44th birthday by being launched into space (12 November)