# STS-4

Occurred 42 years ago

The final research and development flight of the Space Transportation System was also the last Shuttle mission to have a crew of only two astronauts,  Thomas K. Mattingly and Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr.

Orbiter

Mission Duration

Launch

Landing

Mission: Department of Defense/Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES)Space Shuttle: ColumbiaLaunch Pad: 39ALaunched: June 27, 1982 at 11:00:00 a.m. EDTLaunch Weight: 241,664 poundsLanding Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.Landing: July 4, 1982 at 9:09:31 a.m. PDTRunway: 22Rollout Distance: 9,878 feetRollout Time: 73 secondsRevolution: 113Mission Duration: 7 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes and 31 secondsReturned to KSC: July 15, 1982Orbit Altitude: 197 nautical milesOrbit Inclination: 28.5 degreesMiles Traveled: 2.9 million

## Mission Highlights

The Final Space Transportation System research and development flight. In addition to classified Department of Defense payload, cargo included first Get Away Specials, (G-001) which contained nine experiments from Utah State University; first commercial experiment involving Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES); Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR); Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM), which was deployed, and two Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiments. Crew performed medical experiments on themselves for two student projects, operated remote manipulator arm to swing IECM around orbiter, and took photos of lightning activity in Earth’s atmosphere. Two solid rocket booster casings were lost when main parachutes failed and they impacted the water and sank. Some rainwater penetrated protective coating of several tiles while orbiter on pad. On orbit, affected area turned toward sun and water vaporized, preventing further tile damage from freezing water.

          -  					Thomas K. Mattingly				 
          -  					Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr.				 

## Thomas K. Mattingly II

Commander

Astronaut Ken Mattingly was on the prime crew for the Apollo 13 mission prior to being removed from the mission due to exposure to German measles.  He subsequently got to fly to the Moon as the Command Module Pilot on Apollo 16 before being chosen to command STS-4, the fourth and final test flight of Space Shuttle Columbia.
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## Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr.

Pilot

Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. was assigned to the Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program as an astronaut in 1966 and joined NASA in 1969 after that program was cancelled. He served on the support crew for Apollo 16 and the Skylab 2, 3 and 4 missions before making his first space flight for STS-4.
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Featured Story

# 40 Years Ago: STS-4, Columbia’s Final Orbital Flight Test

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## STS-4

18 Images

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## 				Resources			

## STS-4 Press Kit

## Flights of Columbia

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-  									Page Last Updated:								  								Jul 07, 2023								 
-  									Page Editor:								  									Michele Ostovar								 
-  								Responsible NASA Official:							  								Abigail Bowman