{"id":168371,"date":"2021-10-21T17:17:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T21:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-474809"},"modified":"2023-12-29T17:02:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T22:02:18","slug":"40-years-ago-sts-2-to-fly-the-first-space-shuttle-payloads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-2-to-fly-the-first-space-shuttle-payloads\/","title":{"rendered":"40 Years Ago: STS-2 to Fly the First Space Shuttle Payloads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By the middle of October 1981, ground crews had completed repairs to Columbia after an oxidizer spill damaged the space shuttle four weeks earlier. Mission managers had reset the launch date of STS-2 to Nov. 4 to allow adequate time for the repairs, consisting of the replacement of about 370 thermal protection tiles, to be completed at Launch Pad 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. With the additional time, STS-2 astronauts <a href=\"https:\/\/historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov\/JSCHistoryPortal\/history\/oral_histories\/EngleJH\/englejh.htm\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe H. Engle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov\/JSCHistoryPortal\/history\/oral_histories\/NASA_HQ\/Administrators\/TrulyRH\/trulyrh.htm\" rel=\"noopener\">Richard H. Truly<\/a> spent time in mission simulators to prepare for their planned five-day mission, the first space shuttle flight to carry a scientific payload. The suite of instruments designated OSTA-1, sponsored by NASA\u2019s Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications, was designed for Earth remote sensing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_1_technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981_10060455.jpg\" width=\"238\" height=\"260\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"sts-1_backup\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_2_sts-1_backup.jpg\" width=\"348\" height=\"260\"><br>\n<em>Left: A technician works to replace thermal protection system tiles on space shuttle<br>\nColumbia\u2019s nose. Right: STS-2 astronauts Joe H. Engle, left, and Richard H. Truly<br>\nin the motion base simulator at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-preparations-continue-for-columbias-return-to-space-on-sts-2\/\">nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer spill<\/a> from Columbia\u2019s forward reaction control system thruster pod on Sept. 22, with the shuttle already on Launch Pad 39A, resulted in about 370 thermal protection system tiles either falling off or needing to be replaced. By Oct. 13, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-one-month-until-space-shuttle-columbias-return-to-space-on-sts-2\/\">tiles on the orbiter\u2019s nose had been replaced<\/a> and ground crews reloaded the oxidizer, after filtering it to remove impurities, on Oct. 17. Managers had reset the launch date for Columbia\u2019s return to space from Oct. 9 to Nov. 4 to give ground crews time to complete the repairs. Countdown preparations began on Oct. 23, with the final 73-hour countdown scheduled to begin on Nov. 2. Meanwhile, Engle and Truly continued practicing various parts of their planned five-day mission in simulators at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"sts 2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_3_sts2-0062a-ksc-81pc-594-6.29.81.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"230\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"sts 2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_4_sts2-0065-s81-34390-6.29.81.jpg\" width=\"234\" height=\"230\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"sts 2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_5_sts2-0078-ksc-381c-2391.2-8.2.81.jpg\" width=\"230\" height=\"230\"><br>\n<em>Left: In the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center, ground crews load the OSTA-1<br>\npallet into space shuttle Columbia\u2019s payload bay. Middle: Engineers in the OPF Columbia\u2019s payload bay to<br>\nprepare the OSTA-1 payload for flight. Right: The OSTA-1 payload in Columbia\u2019s payload bay, shortly<br>\nbefore the payload bay doors were closed in preparation for the orbiter\u2019s rollover<br>\nto the Vehicle Assembly Building.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ground crews in KSC\u2019s Orbiter Processing Facility had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-preparations-for-sts-2-columbias-return-to-space\/\">installed the OSTA-1 payload<\/a> into Columbia\u2019s payload bay on June 29, 1981. The OSTA-1 payloads, a suite of seven instruments in the payload bay and the crew compartment designed for remote sensing of the Earth\u2019s atmosphere, oceans, and land resources, consisted of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(1) the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A), a side-looking synthetic aperture radar to generate maps of terrestrial features;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(2) the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) to test a technique to determine rock type from space-based observations;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(3) the Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) to help develop techniques to make data gathering by Earth resources satellites more efficient;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(4) the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS), an experiment to measure the amount of carbon monoxide in the middle and upper troposphere (7.5 to 11 miles altitude);<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(5) the Ocean Color Experiment (OCE) to detect differences in ocean color that may indicate concentrations of plankton and schools of fish;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(6) the Night\/day Optical Survey of Lightning (NOSL), an instrument to observe and record lightning discharges from space; and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(7) the Helfex Bioengineering Test (HBT), a precursor to future Spacelab plant growth experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first five instruments were mounted on a U-shaped Spacelab pallet, supplied by the European Space Agency, and located in the shuttle\u2019s payload bay. The pallet provided a structural interface, power, command and data handling, and cooling to the experiments. The NOSL and HBT experiments were located in the crew compartment. During its time in orbit, the Shuttle assumed an earth-viewing orientation to accommodate the viewing requirements of the OSTA-1 experiments. In this attitude, called Z-axis local vertical (ZLV), the Shuttle\u2019s payload bay faces the earth on a line perpendicular to the earth\u2019s surface. The OSTA-1 experiments were planned to be activated about 4.5 hours after liftoff. The overall goal of the OSTA-1 experiments during STS-2 was to demonstrate the capability of the space shuttle to conduct scientific research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"351\" height=\"220\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_6_osta-1_payload_schematic.png\" alt=\"sts 2 osta-1_payload_schematic\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"243\" height=\"220\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_7_osta-1_ground_coverage.png\" alt=\"osta-1_ground_coverage\"><br> <em>Left: Schematic of the payload bay mounted OSTA-1 experiments, shown installed  on the Spacelab pallet. Right: Schematic representation of the ground coverage of the OSTA-1 instruments.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"nasa-gb-align-full width-full maxw-full padding-x-3 padding-y-0 hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-related-articles\">\t\t<section class=\"hds-related-articles padding-x-0 padding-y-3 desktop:padding-top-7 desktop:padding-bottom-9\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"w-100 grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0 text-align-left\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-4\"><h2 style=\"max-width: 100%;\" class=\"width-full w-full maxw-full\">Explore More<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-4 desktop:margin-bottom-0 desktop:padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-one-month-until-space-shuttle-columbias-return-to-space-on-sts-2\/\" class=\"color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper cover-hover-zoom bg-carbon-black minh-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"239\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png?w=300\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png 965w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png?resize=300,239 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png?resize=768,611 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png?resize=400,318 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png?resize=600,478 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-1_month_1_engle_truly_in_mbs.png?resize=900,716 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-right-0 desktop:padding-right-10\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"subheading margin-bottom-1\">5 min read<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\"><h3 class=\"related-article-title\">40 Years Ago: One Month until Space Shuttle Columbia\u2019s Return to Space on STS-2<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"display-flex flex-align-center label related-article-label margin-bottom-1 color-carbon-60\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"display-flex flex-align-center margin-right-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg version=\"1.1\" class=\"square-2 margin-right-1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 16 16;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><g><g><path d=\"M8,0C3.5,0-0.1,3.7,0,8.2C0.1,12.5,3.6,16,8,16c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8C16,3.5,12.4,0,8,0z M8,15.2 C4,15.2,0.8,12,0.8,8C0.8,4,4,0.8,8,0.8c3.9,0,7.2,3.2,7.2,7.1C15.2,11.9,12,15.2,8,15.2z\"\/><path d=\"M5.6,12c0.8-0.8,1.6-1.6,2.4-2.4c0.8,0.8,1.6,1.6,2.4,2.4c0-2.7,0-5.3,0-8C8.8,4,7.2,4,5.6,4 C5.6,6.7,5.6,9.3,5.6,12z\"\/><\/g><\/g><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Article<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3 years ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-4 desktop:margin-bottom-0 desktop:padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-preparations-for-sts-2-columbias-return-to-space\/\" class=\"color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper cover-hover-zoom bg-carbon-black minh-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?w=238\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg 985w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=238,300 238w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=768,970 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=811,1024 811w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=317,400 317w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=475,600 475w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=713,900 713w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sts_2_l-3_months_1_sts2-0015a-martinmarietta-27645-4.22.81.jpg?resize=950,1200 950w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-right-0 desktop:padding-right-10\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"subheading margin-bottom-1\">6 min read<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\"><h3 class=\"related-article-title\">40 Years Ago: Preparations for STS-2, Columbia\u2019s Return to Space<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"display-flex flex-align-center label related-article-label margin-bottom-1 color-carbon-60\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"display-flex flex-align-center margin-right-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg version=\"1.1\" class=\"square-2 margin-right-1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 16 16;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><g><g><path d=\"M8,0C3.5,0-0.1,3.7,0,8.2C0.1,12.5,3.6,16,8,16c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8C16,3.5,12.4,0,8,0z M8,15.2 C4,15.2,0.8,12,0.8,8C0.8,4,4,0.8,8,0.8c3.9,0,7.2,3.2,7.2,7.1C15.2,11.9,12,15.2,8,15.2z\"\/><path d=\"M5.6,12c0.8-0.8,1.6-1.6,2.4-2.4c0.8,0.8,1.6,1.6,2.4,2.4c0-2.7,0-5.3,0-8C8.8,4,7.2,4,5.6,4 C5.6,6.7,5.6,9.3,5.6,12z\"\/><\/g><\/g><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Article<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3 years ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-4 margin-bottom-4 desktop:margin-bottom-0 desktop:padding-right-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-columbia-returns-to-space-on-the-sts-2-mission\/\" class=\"color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hds-cover-wrapper cover-hover-zoom bg-carbon-black minh-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"hds-media-background  \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1535\" src=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1535&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1535&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1920w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=300&h=240&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 300w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=768&h=614&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 768w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=1024&h=819&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1024w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=1536&h=1228&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1536w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=400&h=320&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 400w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=600&h=480&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 600w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=900&h=720&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 900w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/S81-34641\/S81-34641~large.jpg?w=1200&h=959&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-right-0 desktop:padding-right-10\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"subheading margin-bottom-1\">13 min read<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\"><h3 class=\"related-article-title\">40 Years Ago: Columbia Returns to Space on the STS-2 Mission<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"display-flex flex-align-center label related-article-label margin-bottom-1 color-carbon-60\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"display-flex flex-align-center margin-right-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg version=\"1.1\" class=\"square-2 margin-right-1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\" y=\"0px\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 16 16;\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><g><g><path d=\"M8,0C3.5,0-0.1,3.7,0,8.2C0.1,12.5,3.6,16,8,16c4.4,0,8-3.6,8-8C16,3.5,12.4,0,8,0z M8,15.2 C4,15.2,0.8,12,0.8,8C0.8,4,4,0.8,8,0.8c3.9,0,7.2,3.2,7.2,7.1C15.2,11.9,12,15.2,8,15.2z\"\/><path d=\"M5.6,12c0.8-0.8,1.6-1.6,2.4-2.4c0.8,0.8,1.6,1.6,2.4,2.4c0-2.7,0-5.3,0-8C8.8,4,7.2,4,5.6,4 C5.6,6.7,5.6,9.3,5.6,12z\"\/><\/g><\/g><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Article<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3 years ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By the middle of October 1981, ground crews had completed repairs to Columbia after an oxidizer spill damaged the space shuttle four weeks earlier. Mission managers had reset the launch date of STS-2 to Nov. 4 to allow adequate time for the repairs, consisting of the replacement of about 370 thermal protection tiles, to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":169767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":["168354","168363","168349"],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2671,2725,3030],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[12664],"coauthors":[11996],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"40 Years Ago: STS-2 to Fly the First Space Shuttle Payloads","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-2-to-fly-the-first-space-shuttle-payloads\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-2-to-fly-the-first-space-shuttle-payloads\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_1_technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981_10060455.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_1_technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981_10060455.jpg"},"articleSection":"NASA History","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"John Uri"}],"creator":["John Uri"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["Missions","Space Shuttle","STS-2","NASA History"],"dateCreated":"2021-10-21T21:17:00Z","datePublished":"2021-10-21T21:17:00Z","dateModified":"2023-12-29T22:02:18Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"40 Years Ago: STS-2 to Fly the First Space Shuttle Payloads\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-2-to-fly-the-first-space-shuttle-payloads\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_1_technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981_10060455.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2021-10-21T21:17:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA History\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Missions,Space Shuttle,STS-2,NASA History\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"John Uri\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":4,"time_ago":"3 years","featured_image":{"id":169767,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sts_2_l-3_weeks_1_technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981_10060455.jpg","title":"sts_2_l-3_weeks_1_technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981_10060455","alt":"technician_mounting_tile_after_oxidizer_spill_oct_1981","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168371"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":586125,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168371\/revisions\/586125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168371"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=168371"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=168371"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=168371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}