{"id":608259,"date":"2024-02-06T15:43:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=608259"},"modified":"2024-02-06T17:22:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T22:22:42","slug":"40-years-ago-sts-41b-the-first-flight-of-the-manned-maneuvering-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-41b-the-first-flight-of-the-manned-maneuvering-unit\/","title":{"rendered":"40 Years Ago: STS-41B, the First Flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On Feb. 3, 1984, space shuttle Challenger took off on its fourth flight, STS-41B. Its five-person crew of Commander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/brand_vance_0.pdf?emrc=666fb1db58b3d\">Vance D. Brand<\/a>, Pilot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/gibson-bio-current-gibson-robert.pdf?emrc=666fb1db58c74\">Robert L. \u201cHoot\u201d Gibson<\/a>, and Mission Specialists <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/mcnair_ronald.pdf?emrc=666fb1db58d9e\">Ronald E. McNair<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/stewart-robert.pdf?emrc=666fb1db58ec5\">Robert L. Stewart<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/mccandless_bruce_bio.pdf?emrc=666fb1db58feb\">Bruce McCandless<\/a> flew an eight-day mission ending with the first return to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Many of the flight activities practiced tasks required for the upcoming Solar Maximum Mission satellite retrieval and repair mission. Among these, successful test flights of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) astronaut propulsion device during two untethered spacewalks proved the most critical, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/photos-from-sts-41b\/\">visually spectacular<\/a>. The two commercial communications satellites, Westar VI and Palapa-B2, successfully deployed during the mission ended up in non-operational orbits due to upper stage failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608260\" width=\"198\" height=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg\" alt=\"The STS-41B crew of Commander Vance D. Brand, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart, Ronald E. McNair, and Bruce McCandless, and Pilot Robert L. \u201cHoot\u201d Gibson\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg 3166w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=294,300 294w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=768,784 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=1002,1024 1002w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=1504,1536 1504w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=2005,2048 2005w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=392,400 392w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=587,600 587w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=881,900 881w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=1175,1200 1175w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?resize=1958,2000 1958w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608262\" width=\"318\" height=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg\" alt=\"The STS-41B crew patch\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg 6468w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=300,191 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=768,488 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=1024,650 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=1536,976 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=2048,1301 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=400,254 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=600,381 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=900,572 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=1200,762 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-2-crew-patch-s83-45520.jpg?resize=2000,1270 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608263\" width=\"139\" height=\"202\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg\" alt=\"Challenger\u2019s payload bay for STS-41B\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg 2887w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=207,300 207w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=768,1115 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=705,1024 705w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=1058,1536 1058w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=1411,2048 1411w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=276,400 276w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=413,600 413w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=620,900 620w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=827,1200 827w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-3-payload-bay-opf-jan-24-1984-s84-26062.jpg?resize=1378,2000 1378w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 139px) 100vw, 139px\" \/><br><em>Left: The STS-41B crew of (clockwise from bottom left) Commander Vance D. Brand, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart, Ronald E. McNair, and Bruce McCandless, and Pilot Robert L. \u201cHoot\u201d Gibson. Middle: The STS-41B crew patch. Right: Challenger\u2019s payload bay for STS-41B.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Feb. 4, 1983, NASA announced Brand, Gibson, McNair, Stewart, and McCandless as the STS-11 crew. Brand, the flight\u2019s only veteran, had flown on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/45-years-ago-soyuz-and-apollo-launch\/\">Apollo-Soyuz Test Project<\/a> in 1975 and commanded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-5-columbias-first-satellite-deploy-mission\/\">STS-5<\/a> in 1982. For the other four, STS-41B represented their first trip into space, although McCandless had served as an astronaut since his selection in 1966. He helped to develop the MMU and as a backup crew member for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/50-years-ago-skylab-2-the-we-fix-anything-crew-2\/\">Skylab 2<\/a> mission in 1973, he helped train astronauts to fly the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, the MMU\u2019s predecessor, inside Skylab. Gibson, McNair, and Stewart joined NASA as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/45-years-ago-nasa-selects-35-new-astronauts\/\">astronauts in 1978<\/a>. At the time of the crew announcement, the seven-day mission\u2019s objectives included the Large Format Camera for Earth photography, deploying the Palapa-B2 communications satellite for Indonesia, and the Payload Deployment and Retrieval System (PDRS) to test the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or robotic arm. Over the course of the next year, both the mission\u2019s designation and its payload complement changed due to a shuffling of payloads among shuttle flights. The PDRS moved up to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-8-the-first-african-american-in-space-and-the-first-space-shuttle-night-launch-and-landing\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-8-the-first-african-american-in-space-and-the-first-space-shuttle-night-launch-and-landing\/\">STS-8<\/a>, replaced by the Westar VI communications satellite for Western Union. In addition to the two spacewalks by McCandless and Stewart to test the MMU, the mission, re-designated STS-41B in September 1983, now included the Shuttle Pallet Satellite-01A (SPAS-01A), a reflight of the German-built deployable satellite flown on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-7-and-the-flight-of-sally-ride\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-7-and-the-flight-of-sally-ride\/\">STS-7<\/a> in June 1983. The mission also included practicing rendezvous maneuvers with the Integrated Rendezvous Target (IRT), an inflatable 6-foot balloon deployed from the payload bay. During their spacewalks, McCandless and Stewart planned to perform the first tests of the Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR), a work platform attached to the end of the RMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608311\" width=\"241\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the Shuttle Landing Facility, where STS-41B made the first landing of the program\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg 4038w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=300,227 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=768,581 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=1024,775 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=1536,1163 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=2048,1550 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=400,303 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=600,454 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=900,681 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=1200,908 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-4-vab-and-slf-s83-45574.jpg?resize=2000,1514 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608312\" width=\"182\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg\" alt=\"Workers in the VAB prepare to lift space shuttle Challenger to mate it with its External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg 6851w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-5-vab-pre-hoist-jan-6-1984-s84-25872.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 182px) 100vw, 182px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608313\" width=\"230\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-6-crew-arr-ksc-jan-31-1984.jpg\" alt=\"The STS-41B crew arrives at KSC three days before launch\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-6-crew-arr-ksc-jan-31-1984.jpg 412w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-6-crew-arr-ksc-jan-31-1984.jpg?resize=300,237 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-6-crew-arr-ksc-jan-31-1984.jpg?resize=400,317 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><br><em>Left: Aerial view at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the Shuttle Landing Facility, where STS-41B made the first landing of the program. Middle: Workers in the VAB prepare to lift space shuttle Challenger to mate it with its External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters. Right: The STS-41B crew arrives at KSC three days before launch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After its previous mission, STS-8, Challenger arrived at KSC on Sept. 9, 1983, and workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility to refurbish it for STS-41B. They replaced the orbiter\u2019s three Auxiliary Power Units following a fire during Columbia\u2019s landing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-9-the-first-spacelab-science-mission\/\">STS-9<\/a>. They towed Challenger to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Jan. 6, 1984, for mating with its External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters, and rolled the completed stack to Launch Pad 39A six days later. The astronauts participated in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, a dress rehearsal for the actual countdown, on Jan. 16, and senior managers held the Flight Readiness Review on Jan. 25 to confirm the Feb. 3 launch date. Engineers began the countdown on Jan. 31, the same day the crew arrived at KSC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608317\" width=\"252\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg\" alt=\"Liftoff of space shuttle Challenger on the STS-41B mission\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg 5397w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=300,252 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=768,646 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=1024,861 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=1536,1292 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=2048,1722 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=400,336 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=600,505 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=900,757 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=1200,1009 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-7-liftoff-s84-26325.jpg?resize=2000,1682 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608318\" width=\"273\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg\" alt=\"Congressman C. William \u201cBill\u201d Nelson, left, of Florida cheers on the STS-41B launch\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg 930w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg?resize=300,232 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg?resize=768,595 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg?resize=400,310 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg?resize=600,465 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-8-rep-nelson-at-launch.jpg?resize=900,697 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608319\" width=\"144\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg\" alt=\"Challenger rises into the sky\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg 5468w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=204,300 204w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=768,1129 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=696,1024 696w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=1045,1536 1045w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=1393,2048 1393w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=272,400 272w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=408,600 408w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=612,900 612w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=816,1200 816w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-9-ascent-s84-28205.jpg?resize=1360,2000 1360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 144px) 100vw, 144px\" \/><br><em>Left: Liftoff of space shuttle Challenger on the STS-41B mission. Middle: Congressman C. William \u201cBill\u201d Nelson, left, of Florida cheers on the STS-41B launch. Right: Challenger rises into the sky.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Liftoff occurred on schedule at 8:00 a.m. EST, with Challenger taking its five-member crew into the skies. Among the guests on hand to view the launch, Florida Congressman C. William \u201cBill\u201d Nelson, who two years later flew on Columbia\u2019s STS-61C mission, and in 2021 became NASA\u2019s 14<sup>th<\/sup> administrator. Nine minutes after liftoff, Challenger\u2019s three main engines cut off. The astronauts had reached space and experienced weightlessness for the first time, although they had not yet achieved orbit. The shuttle\u2019s two Orbital Maneuvering System engines fired twice to complete the insertion into a circular 190-mile-high orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608321\" width=\"290\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg\" alt=\"Astronauts Ronald E. McNair, left, and Robert L. Stewart minutes after Challenger reached orbit\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg 4308w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg?resize=768,505 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg?resize=1024,673 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg?resize=1536,1009 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg?resize=400,263 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-10-fd1-post-ascent-mcnair-stewart-taken-by-mccandless-s84-27028.jpg?resize=2000,1314 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608322\" width=\"184\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-11-fd1-westar-vi-deploy-s84-27367.jpg\" alt=\"Deploy of the Westar VI communications satellite for Western Union\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-11-fd1-westar-vi-deploy-s84-27367.jpg 451w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-11-fd1-westar-vi-deploy-s84-27367.jpg?resize=287,300 287w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-11-fd1-westar-vi-deploy-s84-27367.jpg?resize=383,400 383w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 184px) 100vw, 184px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608323\" width=\"189\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg\" alt=\"Deploy of the Palapa-B2 communications satellite for Indonesia\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg 3681w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=295,300 295w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=768,780 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=1008,1024 1008w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=1512,1536 1512w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=2016,2048 2016w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=394,400 394w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=591,600 591w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=886,900 886w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=1181,1200 1181w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-12-fd4-palapa-deploy-s84-27029.jpg?resize=1969,2000 1969w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 189px) 100vw, 189px\" \/><br><em>Left: Astronauts Ronald E. McNair, left, and Robert L. Stewart minutes after Challenger reached orbit. Middle: Deploy of the Westar VI communications satellite for Western Union. Right: Deploy of the Palapa-B2 communications satellite for Indonesia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once in orbit, the astronauts opened Challenger\u2019s payload bay doors, deployed the Ku-band high-gain antenna to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, and closed the protective sunshields around the two satellites at the back of the payload bay. They tested the cameras in the payload bay and found that the one on the forward bulkhead\u2019s starboard side did not tilt and panned only slowly, and only provided black and white imagery. Approximately eight hours into their first day, after opening its sunshield, the astronauts deployed the Westar VI communications satellite. Although the deployment went perfectly, 45 minutes later when the satellite\u2019s Payload Assist Module-D (PAM-D) upper stage ignited to send it to geosynchronous transfer orbit, it fired for only a few seconds, stranding the satellite in a low, elliptical, and operationally useless orbit. Mission managers decided to delay the deployment of the Palapa satellite from the mission\u2019s second day to the fourth day since it used an identical PAM-D upper stage. This provided engineers time to determine the cause of the first PAM-D failure. In place of the delayed deployment, the astronauts began several of the mission\u2019s experiments, including activating the SPAS, and performed an initial checkout of the spacesuits. The third flight day included two retrograde OMS burns to lower Challenger\u2019s orbit to a circular 173-mile-high orbit, and had planned to include the rendezvous operations with the IRT. However, shortly after its deployment from the payload bay, the balloon initially failed to inflate and then exploded, leaving no suitable target for a rendezvous. Using the shuttle\u2019s radar and star trackers, the astronauts tracked the remains of the balloon to a distance of about 63 miles before abandoning the activity. In place of the IRT rendezvous, the crew checked out the RMS, with McNair at the controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608325\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg\" alt=\"The Shuttle Pallet Satellite-01A (SPAS-01A) in Challenger\u2019s payload bay\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=900,675 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-13-spas-01a-s84-29036-41b-32-1224.jpg?resize=1200,900 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608326\" width=\"335\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-14-stewart-prebreathe-s84-28516-41b-05-173.png\" alt=\"Robert L. Stewart wears the launch entry helmet during a prebreathe activity prior to a spacewalk\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-14-stewart-prebreathe-s84-28516-41b-05-173.png 608w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-14-stewart-prebreathe-s84-28516-41b-05-173.png?resize=300,215 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-14-stewart-prebreathe-s84-28516-41b-05-173.png?resize=400,287 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-14-stewart-prebreathe-s84-28516-41b-05-173.png?resize=600,430 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><br><em>Left: The Shuttle Pallet Satellite-01A (SPAS-01A) in Challenger\u2019s payload bay. Right: Robert L. Stewart wears the launch entry helmet during a pre<del>–<\/del>breathe activity prior to a spacewalk.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The morning of flight day four, the astronauts decreased the shuttle\u2019s cabin pressure from 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi. This reduced the time the two spacewalkers needed to prebreathe pure oxygen to rid their blood of excess nitrogen that could result in the bends when working in their spacesuits at 4.3 psi. The astronauts deployed the Palapa satellite, and oriented the orbiter so that cameras on the RMS could observe the firing of the PAM-D engine. The burn initially appeared to go as planned, but engineers later determined that this engine suffered the same failure as the Westar PAM-D, similarly stranding Palapa in a low, elliptical, and operationally useless orbit. As a footnote, spacewalking astronauts flying MMUs retrieved both satellites during the STS-51A mission in November 1984 and returned them to Earth for reflight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608330\" width=\"180\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg\" alt=\"View of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg 6852w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=298,300 298w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=768,774 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=1016,1024 1016w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=1524,1536 1524w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=2033,2048 2033w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=397,400 397w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=595,600 595w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=893,900 893w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=1191,1200 1191w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-15-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27017.jpg?resize=1985,2000 1985w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608331\" width=\"182\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg\" alt=\"View of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg 5735w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-16-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27018.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 182px) 100vw, 182px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608332\" width=\"182\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg\" alt=\"View of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg 8025w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-17-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27031.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 182px) 100vw, 182px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608333\" width=\"119\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg\" alt=\"View of Challenger from McCandless\u2019 vantage point\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg 2602w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=196,300 196w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=768,1176 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=669,1024 669w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=1003,1536 1003w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=1337,2048 1337w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=261,400 261w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=392,600 392w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=588,900 588w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=784,1200 784w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-18-fd5-eva1-challenger-from-mccandless-s84-27022.jpg?resize=1306,2000 1306w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 119px) 100vw, 119px\" \/><br><em>Views of Bruce McCandless during the first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit, and a view, right, of Challenger from McCandless\u2019 vantage point.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On flight day five, McCandless and Stewart began the second spacewalk of the shuttle program. After opening the airlock hatch, McCandless checked out the MMUs, donning the port side unit, designated with a number \u201c3,\u201d while Stewart prepared the Trunnion Pin Attachment Device (TPAD) and the MFR for use later in the spacewalk. As he began his first test flight in the MMU, McCandless said, \u201cthat may have been one small step for Neil, but it\u2019s a heck of a big leap for me,\u201d humorously echoing Apollo 11 astronaut <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/humans-in-space\/astronauts\/former-astronauts\/former-astronaut-neil-a-armstrong\/\">Neil A. Armstrong<\/a>\u2019s first words after stepping onto <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/50-years-ago-one-small-step-one-giant-leap\/\">the lunar surface<\/a>. As an historical footnote, McCandless served as capsule communicator during Armstrong\u2019s historic Moonwalk. Floating just outside the flight deck aft windows, McCandless checked out the MMU\u2019s flying in all three axes. He next translated down the length of the payload bay before beginning his long-distance travel. He flew 150 feet away from the orbiter, with a camera mounted on the MMU showing the receding shuttle, returned to the spacecraft, then backed out again to 320 feet before returning to the payload bay and stowing the MMU. With McNair operating the RMS, Stewart attached the MFR to the arm\u2019s end effector. With the astronauts running slightly behind schedule, Mission Control decided to skip Stewart\u2019s checkout of the MFR so he could proceed to his checkout of the MMU, the same unit McCandless just finished flying. McNair maneuvered McCandless in the MFR to the the SPAS to practice activities required for the Solar Max repair mission. Meanwhile Stewart began his test of the MMU, flying out to 150 feet, stopping, flying out to 300 feet, and returning to the payload bay. Once there, he attached the TPAD to the front of the MMU and practiced docking to the trunnion pin attached to the SPAS. He then returned the MMU to its stowage location. The two astronauts ended the spacewalk after 5 hours 55 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608338\" width=\"624\" height=\"253\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg\" alt=\"View in Mission Control at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston during the first STS-41B spacewalk\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg 6745w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=300,122 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=768,312 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=1024,416 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=1536,625 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=2048,833 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=400,163 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=600,244 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=900,366 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=1200,488 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-19-mcc-fd5-during-eva1-s84-26503.jpg?resize=2000,813 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><br><em>View in Mission Control at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston during the first STS-41B spacewalk as Bruce McCandless makes the first flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608339\" width=\"214\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg\" alt=\"View of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg 3704w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=300,295 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=768,756 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=1024,1008 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=1536,1512 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=2048,2016 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=400,394 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=600,591 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=900,886 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=1200,1182 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-20-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27037a.jpg?resize=2000,1969 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608340\" width=\"211\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg\" alt=\"View of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg 5000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-21-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27040.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608341\" width=\"211\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg\" alt=\"View of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg 4158w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-22-fd5-eva1-s84-27021.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/> <br><em>Three views of Bruce McCandless testing the Manipulator Foot Restraint at the end of the Remote Manipulator System, operated by Ronald E. McNair<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608347\" width=\"192\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg\" alt=\"Robert L. Stewart begins his first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg 4782w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-23-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27034a.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608348\" width=\"261\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg\" alt=\"Stewart during his flight away from the payload bay\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg 5742w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=300,220 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=768,564 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=1024,752 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=1536,1129 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=2048,1505 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=400,294 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=600,441 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=900,661 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=1200,882 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-24-fd5-eva1-stewart-s84-27033.jpg?resize=2000,1470 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 261px) 100vw, 261px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608349\" width=\"200\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce McCandless prepares to dock his MMU with the attached Trunnion Pin Attachment Device to the SPAS-01A in Challenger\u2019s payload bay\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg 4716w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=300,289 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=768,739 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=1024,986 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=1536,1478 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=2048,1971 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=400,385 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=600,577 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=900,866 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=1200,1155 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-25-fd5-eva1-mccandless-s84-27030.jpg?resize=2000,1925 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><br><em>Left: Robert L. Stewart begins his first test flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Middle: Stewart during his flight away from the payload bay. Right: Bruce McCandless prepares to dock his MMU with the attached Trunnion Pin Attachment Device to the SPAS-01A in Challenger\u2019s payload bay.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608350\" width=\"331\" height=\"221\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg\" alt=\"Astronaut Ronald E. McNair poses with the camera for the Cinema 360 project, wearing a humorous \u201cCecil B. McNair\u201d name tag, sunglasses, and beret\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg 1147w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-26-fd6-mcnair-w-cinema-360-camera-s84-27219.jpg?resize=900,600 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608351\" width=\"333\" height=\"221\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg\" alt=\"McNair plays the soprano saxophone while floating in the middeck\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg 3985w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=300,199 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=768,510 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=1024,679 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=1536,1019 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=2048,1359 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=400,265 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=600,398 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=900,597 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=1200,796 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-27-fd6-mcnair-playing-soprano-sax-s84-27211.jpg?resize=2000,1327 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px\" \/><br><em>Left: Astronaut Ronald E. McNair poses with the camera for the Cinema 360 project, wearing a humorous \u201cCecil B. McNair\u201d name tag, sunglasses, and beret. Right: McNair plays the soprano saxophone while floating in the middeck.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On flight day six, McCandless and Stewart busied themselves with cleaning and recharging their spacesuits for the next day\u2019s second spacewalk. McNair, an accomplished saxophonist, took some free time to play an instrument he brought along, the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/space-station-20th-music-on-iss\/\">musical instrument<\/a> played on the shuttle. Space limitations in the shuttle precluded McNair flying his favorite tenor sax, so he learned to play the smaller soprano version of the instrument. McNair encountered unexpected effects of weightlessness on his playing. The water that normally accumulates inside wind instruments on Earth resulted instead in unwanted \u201cbubbly\u201d effects. The shuttle cabin\u2019s dry air had unplanned effects on the instrument\u2019s felt and leather pads, requiring several minutes of \u201crehydration\u201d before proper playing. The reduced cabin atmospheric pressure for the spacewalks also required special reeds and mode of playing. Another historic event on this day, the Soviet Union launched a trio of cosmonauts to their Salyut-7 space station, bringing the total number of people in space to a then record-setting eight. This prompted one of the astronauts to comment, \u201cIt\u2019s really getting to be populated up here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608353\" width=\"182\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce McCandless flies the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) above Challenger\u2019s payload bay during the second spacewalk\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg 4142w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=900,900 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-28-fd7-eva2-mccandless-s84-27023.jpg?resize=2000,2000 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 182px) 100vw, 182px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608354\" width=\"185\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg\" alt=\"McCandless grabs the Manipulator Foot Restraint that had floated away\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg 3676w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=300,295 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=768,755 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=1024,1007 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=1536,1511 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=2048,2014 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=400,393 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=600,590 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=900,885 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=1200,1180 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-29-fd7-eva2-mccandless-retrieving-mfr-s84-27025.jpg?resize=2000,1967 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 185px) 100vw, 185px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608355\" width=\"281\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg\" alt=\"Robert L. Stewart flies the MMU above Challenger\u2019s payload bay\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg 4323w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=300,195 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=768,498 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=1024,665 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=1536,997 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=2048,1329 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=400,260 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=600,389 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=900,584 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=1200,779 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-30-fd7-eva2-stewart-s84-27216.jpg?resize=2000,1298 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 281px) 100vw, 281px\" \/><br><em>Left: Bruce McCandless flies the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) above Challenger\u2019s payload bay during the second spacewalk. Middle: McCandless grabs the Manipulator Foot Restraint that had floated away. Right: Robert L. Stewart flies the MMU above Challenger\u2019s payload bay.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the seventh flight day, when Gibson began to operate the RMS, it did not respond as expected due to a failure in its wrist joint, and Mission Control requested that he stow it. Without the RMS, McCandless and Stewart could not practice docking with a slowly rotating SPAS, a critical test for the Solar Max mission. Instead, they practiced docking with the satellite berthed in the payload bay. McCandless placed himself in the starboard MMU, designated with a \u201c2,\u201d attached the TPAD, and practiced dockings before returning the MMU to its stowage location. Meanwhile, Stewart recharged the port MMU\u2019s nitrogen tanks and took flight to practice dockings with the TPAD to the SPAS. He then returned the MMU to its portside location. At one point during the spacewalk, the MFR got loose and began drifting away. In an impromptu demonstration of rescuing an untethered astronaut, Brand maneuvered the orbiter so McCandless could retrieve it. McCandless donned the portside MMU to conduct evaluations of its automatic attitude hold and translation and rotational acceleration capabilities. In the meantime, Stewart practiced a hydrazine transfer operation using red-dyed freon as a substitute for the hazardous fuel. President Ronald W. Reagan called the astronauts during the spacewalk to congratulate them. McCandless returned the MMU to the port station while Stewart put away the fuel transfer equipment and tools. They climbed back into the airlock to close out the 6-hour 17-minute spacewalk, the longest of the shuttle program up to that time. Shortly after, the astronauts removed their spacesuits, exited the airlock, and repressurized Challenger\u2019s cabin to 14.7 psi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608358\" width=\"321\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg\" alt=\"The STS-41B crew members pose near the end of their successful mission, in the middeck\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg 4011w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=300,197 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=768,505 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=1024,674 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=1536,1011 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=2048,1348 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=400,263 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=600,395 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=900,592 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=1200,790 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-31-inflight-crew-photo-middeck-s84-27026.jpg?resize=2000,1316 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608359\" width=\"326\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg\" alt=\"The STS-41B crew members pose near the end of their successful mission on the flight deck\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg 1161w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg?resize=300,194 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg?resize=768,497 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg?resize=1024,663 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg?resize=400,259 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg?resize=600,389 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-32-inflight-crew-photo-flight-deck.jpg?resize=900,583 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><br><em>The STS-41B crew members pose near the end of their successful mission, in the middeck, left, and on the flight deck, right.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On flight day eight, the day before entry, the astronauts busied themselves with stowing equipment. Brand and Gibson tested Challenger\u2019s reaction control system thrusters and flight control surfaces in preparation for the next day\u2019s landing. They held a 30-minute press conference with reporters on the ground asking them questions about their mission, with special emphasis on the historic spacewalks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608361\" width=\"210\" height=\"163\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg\" alt=\"The astronauts close the payload bay doors at the end of the STS-41B mission\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg 927w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg?resize=300,233 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg?resize=768,597 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg?resize=400,311 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg?resize=600,466 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-33-fd9-plb-doors-closing.jpg?resize=900,699 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608363\" width=\"210\" height=\"163\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg\" alt=\"Orange glow outside the windows during Challenger\u2019s reentry\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg 928w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg?resize=300,233 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg?resize=768,596 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg?resize=400,310 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg?resize=600,466 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-35-fd9-reentry.jpg?resize=900,698 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608362\" width=\"249\" height=\"163\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg\" alt=\"A chase plane photographs Challenger during its descent to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg 4020w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=300,197 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=768,504 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=1024,672 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=1536,1009 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=2048,1345 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=400,263 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=600,394 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=900,591 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=1200,788 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-34-challenger-on-descent-from-chase-s84-27175.jpg?resize=2000,1313 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px\" \/><br><em>Left: The astronauts close the payload bay doors at the end of the STS-41B mission. Middle: Orange glow outside the windows during Challenger\u2019s reentry. Right: A chase plane photographs Challenger during its descent to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608378\" width=\"624\" height=\"284\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg\" alt=\"Space shuttle Challenger touches down on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg 14872w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=300,137 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=768,350 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=1024,467 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=1536,701 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=2048,934 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=400,182 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=600,274 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=900,411 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=1200,547 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-36-landing-at-slf-s84-27154.jpg?resize=2000,912 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><br><em>Space shuttle Challenger touches down on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608379\" width=\"268\" height=\"173\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg\" alt=\"Space shuttle Challenger rolls down the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg 4292w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=300,195 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=768,498 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=1024,664 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=1536,996 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=2048,1328 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=400,259 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=600,389 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=900,584 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=1200,778 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-37-rollout-onn-slf-s84-27155.jpg?resize=2000,1297 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608380\" width=\"216\" height=\"173\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg\" alt=\"STS-41B astronauts depart space shuttle Challenger at the SLF\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=300,240 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=768,614 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=1024,819 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=1536,1229 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=400,320 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=600,480 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=900,720 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-38-postlanding-crew-egress-ksc-84pc-0084.jpg?resize=1200,960 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608381\" width=\"187\" height=\"173\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-39-ksc-vc-post-landing-ceremony.jpg\" alt=\"A welcome home ceremony for the STS-41B crew at the KSC Visitor Center\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-39-ksc-vc-post-landing-ceremony.jpg 659w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-39-ksc-vc-post-landing-ceremony.jpg?resize=300,277 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-39-ksc-vc-post-landing-ceremony.jpg?resize=400,370 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-39-ksc-vc-post-landing-ceremony.jpg?resize=600,554 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" \/><br><em>Left: Space shuttle Challenger rolls down the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: STS-41B astronauts depart space shuttle Challenger at the SLF. Right: A welcome home ceremony for the STS-41B crew at the KSC Visitor Center.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On entry day, Feb. 11, the astronauts opened the two sunshields that protected the two satellites before their deployments, retracted and stowed the Ku antenna, and closed the payload bay doors. Brand and Gibson oriented Challenger with its tail in the direction of flight and fired its two OMS engines to slow the spacecraft enough to drop it out of orbit. They reoriented the orbiter to fly with its heat shield exposed to the direction of flight as it entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere. The buildup of ionized gases caused by the heat of reentry prevented communications for about 15 minutes. The shuttle\u2019s reentry path took it over the U.S. Gulf coast as it traveled toward the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. At an altitude of 110,000 feet and traveling at Mach 4.3, Challenger crossed Florida\u2019s west coast, carrying out roll reversal maneuvers to reduce its speed. As the shuttle went subsonic, it made its final turn onto the KSC runway. Gibson lowered Challenger\u2019s landing gear and Brand brought the shuttle down for its first landing at KSC, just a few miles from where it launched 7 days 23 hours 16 minutes earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy the crew narrated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rYdWQeViQVc\" rel=\"noopener\">video<\/a> of the STS-41B mission. Read <a href=\"https:\/\/historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov\/JSCHistoryPortal\/history\/oral_histories\/BrandVD\/brandvd.htm\" rel=\"noopener\">Brand<\/a>\u2019s and <a href=\"https:\/\/historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov\/JSCHistoryPortal\/history\/oral_histories\/GibsonRL\/gibsonrl.htm\" rel=\"noopener\">Gibson<\/a>\u2019s recollections of the STS-41B mission in their oral histories with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsc.nasa.gov\/history\/\" rel=\"noopener\">JSC History Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\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\/flag-day-2024-one-small-flags-incredible-journey\/\" 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=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg?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\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/flag-day-2024-11-us-flag-after-demo-2-mission-arrival-1.jpg?resize=900,675 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\">7 min read<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\"><h3 class=\"related-article-title\">Flag Day 2024 \u2013 One Small Flag\u2019s Incredible Journey<\/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 days 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\/55-years-ago-manned-orbiting-laboratory-cancellation\/\" 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=\"300\" height=\"212\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mol-cancellation-4-mol-group-1-astronauts.jpg?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\/2024\/06\/mol-cancellation-4-mol-group-1-astronauts.jpg 424w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mol-cancellation-4-mol-group-1-astronauts.jpg?resize=300,212 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mol-cancellation-4-mol-group-1-astronauts.jpg?resize=400,283 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/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\">10 min read<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\"><h3 class=\"related-article-title\">55 Years Ago: Manned Orbiting Laboratory Cancellation<\/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\t6 days 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\/55-years-ago-star-trek-final-episode-airs-relationship-with-nasa-endures\/\" 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=\"300\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/star-trek-final-episode-13-armstrong-at-doohan-farewell-anne-cusack-la-times-2004.jpg?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\/2024\/05\/star-trek-final-episode-13-armstrong-at-doohan-farewell-anne-cusack-la-times-2004.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/star-trek-final-episode-13-armstrong-at-doohan-farewell-anne-cusack-la-times-2004.jpg?resize=300,217 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/star-trek-final-episode-13-armstrong-at-doohan-farewell-anne-cusack-la-times-2004.jpg?resize=768,555 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/star-trek-final-episode-13-armstrong-at-doohan-farewell-anne-cusack-la-times-2004.jpg?resize=400,289 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/star-trek-final-episode-13-armstrong-at-doohan-farewell-anne-cusack-la-times-2004.jpg?resize=600,434 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/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\">15 min read<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-1\"><h3 class=\"related-article-title\">55 Years Ago: Star Trek Final Episode Airs, Relationship with NASA Endures<\/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\t2 weeks 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>On Feb. 3, 1984, space shuttle Challenger took off on its fourth flight, STS-41B. Its five-person crew of Commander Vance D. Brand, Pilot Robert L. \u201cHoot\u201d Gibson, and Mission Specialists Ronald E. McNair, Robert L. Stewart, and Bruce McCandless flew an eight-day mission ending with the first return to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":608260,"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":[],"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":[2671,2997],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[12664,11995],"coauthors":[11996],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"40 Years Ago: STS-41B, the First Flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-41b-the-first-flight-of-the-manned-maneuvering-unit\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-41b-the-first-flight-of-the-manned-maneuvering-unit\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.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-41B","NASA History"],"dateCreated":"2024-02-06T20:43:03Z","datePublished":"2024-02-06T20:43:03Z","dateModified":"2024-02-06T22:22:42Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"40 Years Ago: STS-41B, the First Flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/history\/40-years-ago-sts-41b-the-first-flight-of-the-manned-maneuvering-unit\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2024-02-06T20:43:03Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA History\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Missions,Space Shuttle,STS-41B,NASA History\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"John Uri\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":14,"time_ago":"4 months","featured_image":{"id":608260,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555.jpg","title":"sts-41b-1-crew-photo-s83-40555","alt":"The STS-41B crew of Commander Vance D. Brand, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart, Ronald E. McNair, and Bruce McCandless, and Pilot Robert L. \u201cHoot\u201d Gibson","caption":"The STS-41B crew of (clockwise from bottom left) Commander Vance D. Brand, Mission Specialists Robert L. Stewart, Ronald E. McNair, and Bruce McCandless, and Pilot Robert L. \u201cHoot\u201d Gibson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608259"}],"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=608259"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":609839,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608259\/revisions\/609839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608259"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=608259"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=608259"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=608259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}