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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

SPACE SHUTTLE 

MISSION 

STS-41B 

PRESS KIT 

FEBRUARY 1984 

UNTETHERED EVA; SHUTTLE PALLETT SATELLITE (SPAS-01A); 

PALAPA-B2 AND WESETAR VI DEPLOYMENT 
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STS-41B INSIGNIA 

S83-45520 -- The orbiter is flanked in the oval by an illustration of a PAM-D assisted satellite deployment; 

and an astronaut making the first non-tethered extravehicular activity; and eleven stars. The crew member 

at right is equipped with the manned maneuvering unit, a debuting backpack/motor apparatus allowing for 

much greater freedom of movement than that experienced by any previous space travelers performing 

EVA. The artist was Robert McCall. 

The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other 

official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the 

form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we 

do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced. 

PHOTO CREDIT: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
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RELEASE NO: 84-4 January 1984 

CONTACTS 

Jim Kukowski/David Garrett 

Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 

(Phone: 202/453-8590) 

Dick Young 

Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

(Phone: 305/867-2468) 

Terry White 

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 

(Phone: 713/483-5111) 

Bob Ruhl 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 

(Phone: 205/453-0034) 

Ralph B. Jackson 

Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif. 

(Phone: 805/258-8381) 

Jim Elliott 

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 

(Phone: 301/344-6256 
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RELEASE NO: 84-4 January 1984 

CONTENTS 

GENERAL RELEASE 5 

41-B PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE 7 

GENERAL INFORMATION 8 

MISSION FACTS 9 

SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES 10 

CONFIGURATION 11 

41-B FLIGHT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 13 

MANNED MANEUVERING UNIT 17 

TWO UNTETHERED “SPACEWALKS” PLANNED 20 

EVA TIMELINE 21 

SHUTTLE PALLET SATELLITE 22 

PAYLOADS (Palapa-B2, Westar VI) 23 

REHEARSAL RENDEZVOUS 24 

SHUTTLE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM 25 

GETAWAY SPECIAL PAYLOADS 26 

CINEMA 360 28 

EXPERIMENTS 29 

CREW INFORMATION 30 
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RELEASE NO: 84-4 January 23,1984 

ASTRONAUTS TO PRACTICE FOR SATELLITE RESCUE 

NASA astronauts will perform the first untethered space walks on the tenth mission of the Space Shuttle 

(41-B) scheduled for launch Feb. 3 from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Gas-powered backpacks will be used 

to demonstrate spacewalk techniques important for the successful retrieval and repair of the disabled Solar 

Maximum spacecraft. 

The primary goal on the eight day mission will be to deploy into orbit two commercial communications 

satellites -- Western Union's Westar VI and the Indonesian Palapa-B2. 

The remainder of the flight will be devoted to a series of rendezvous maneuvers using an inflatable balloon 

as the target, test flights of two Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU), and checkout of equipment and 

procedures in preparation for Challenger's next flight (41-C) in April, the Solar Maximum Repair Mission. 

The five-man crew for this mission is led by Commander Vance Brand, who also commanded the first 

operational flight of the Shuttle, STS-5. He is joined by pilot Robert "Hoot" Gibson and three mission 

specialists -- Bruce McCandless, Ronald McNair and Robert Stewart -- none of whom have flown in space 

before. 

Challenger, making its fourth trip into space, is scheduled to be launched from Kennedy Space Center on 

Feb. 3 at 8 a.m. EST, into a circular 189.7 statute mile orbit with an inclination to the equator of 28.45 

degrees. 

The first Shuttle landing at Kennedy is set for Feb. 11 at 7:19 a.m. A Kennedy landing on an earlier Shuttle 

flight was diverted to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., because of unsatisfactory weather conditions. 

Astronauts McCandless and Stewart are scheduled to perform two five-hour extravehicular activities 

(EVA), or "space walks," on the fifth and seventh days of the flight. The objectives of these space walks 

are to check out the critical equipment required for the Solar Maximum rescue mission; obtain engineering 

data on the performance of the Manned Maneuvering Units; and evaluate a special hydrazine transfer tool 

proposed for later satellite servicing missions. 

This will mark the first flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit -- a space-age propulsive backpack that, 

when donned by an astronaut, provides the capability to reach areas outside the orbiter's cargo bay. Two of 

the units will be carried on this mission. 

Several pieces of specialized equipment will be tested during the EVAs. The Manipulator Foot Restraint 

(MFR), a portable work station, will be attached to the end of and maneuvered by the Remote Manipulator 

System arm. Attached to the foot restraint, an astronaut can use the robot arm as a space-age "cherry 

picker" to reach and work on various areas of a satellite. 

The 50-foot-long Remote Manipulator System, built for the Shuttle by the National Research Council of 

Canada, will be used to deploy the Shuttle Pallet Satellite -- SPAS -- as a target for MMU-equipped 

astronauts to perform docking maneuvers. 

SPAS will be used as a simulated Solar Maximum satellite. Astronauts will replace electrical connectors 

attached to the SPAS during one of the space walks to verify procedures that astronauts will perform on the 

actual repair mission. 

The MMU-equipped astronauts will also attempt to dock with the pallet satellite, thereby simulating 

maneuvers needed to rendezvous, dock and stabilize the Solar Maximum satellite. 
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Two days of rendezvous activities using a target balloon will be conducted to evaluate the navigational 

ability of the Challenger's onboard systems, as well as the interaction between the spacecraft, flight crew 

and ground control. 

The activities are designed to obtain data from Challenger's various sensors (the rendezvous radar, star 

tracker and crew optical alignment sight) required for rendezvous and to exercise the navigation and 

maneuvering capabilities of the onboard software. 

Rendezvous is planned by maneuvering the orbiter to within 800 feet of a target from a starting distance of 

approximately 120 miles. In the process, additional sensor performance data will be gathered. 

A variety of other payloads will be carried aboard Challenger on flight 41-B. Two Cinema 360 cameras, 

one in the crew module and one in the payload bay, will provide a test for 35 mm motion picture 

photography in a unique format designed especially for planetarium viewing. 

Making its fifth flight into space, the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) is designed to manufacture tiny 

identical-sized latex beads which may have major medical and industrial research applications. 

The Acoustic Containerless Experiment System (ACES) is a materials processing furnace experiment 

located in the orbiter's middeck. The IsoElectric Focusing Experiment (IEF) will evaluate the effect of 

electro-osmosis on an array of eight columns of electrolyte as DC power is applied and pH levels between 

anodes and cathodes increase. 

A Shuttle Student Involvement Project experiment will test the effects of weightlessness on the 

development of arthritis using rats as the test subjects. The experiment was proposed by Dan Weber, now a 

student at Cornell University. Six rats will be carried into space aboard Challenger in an Animal Enclosure 

Module. 

Six Getaway Special canisters will fly in Challenger's cargo bay -- five will carry experiments and the sixth 

will carry the Cinema 360 camera experiment. 

Challenger is scheduled to make the first Shuttle landing on the 15,000-foot-long runway at Kennedy 

Space Center. Commander Brand will fire Challenger's twin, 6,000-pound-thrust orbital maneuvering 

engines on orbit 127 as the spacecraft passes off the northwest corner of Australia to slow the vehicle so 

that the earth's gravity begins to pull it down. 

Landfall over Florida will occur over the peninsula's west coast as the orbiter crosses the state on an almost 

due east ground track. Two distinct sonic booms will be audible the entire width of the central part of the 

state until the velocity of the spacecraft falls below the speed of sound. A sweeping right-hand turn over 

the Atlantic ocean will put Challenger onto its final approach for a southeast-to-northwest landing on the 

prime runway, Runway 33. Nominal landing will occur at Kennedy just minutes after sunrise at 

approximately 7 days, 23 hours and 19 minutes Mission Elapsed Time. 

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE; BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.) 
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41-B PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE 

Time Briefing Origin 

 

T-2 Days 

9:00 a.m. EST Countdown Status KSC 

9:30 a.m. EST Mission Summary/EVA and MMU KSC 

 TDRS/STDN operations KSC 

10:30 a.m. EST Westar VI KSC 

11:00 a.m. EST Palapa-B2 KSC 

11:30 a.m. EST SPAS-01A KSC 

1:00 p.m. EST Getaway Specials KSC 

2:30 p.m. EST Cinema 360 KSC 

3:00 p.m. EST Shuttle Student Involvement Project KSC 

 

T-1 Day 

9:00 a.m. EST Countdown Status KSC 

10:30 a.m. EST Prelaunch Press Conference KSC 

T-Day 

9:00 a.m. EST (approximately) Post Launch Press Conference KSC (local only) 

Launch Through End-of-Mission 

Times announced on NASA Select Flight Director Change of Shift Briefings JSC 

T+8 Days Inflight Press Conference JSC 

 

Landing Day 

8:30 a.m. EST (approximately) Post Landing Press Conference KSC 

 

Landing +1 Day 

11:00 a.m. EST Orbiter Status KSC 
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GENERAL INFORMATION

NASA Select Television Transmission 

The schedule for television transmissions from the Challenger for the change of shift briefings from the 

Johnson Space Center, Houston, will be available during the mission at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; Johnson Space Center and NASA Headquarters, 

Washington, D.C. The television schedule will be updated on a daily basis to reflect any changes dictated 

by mission operations. 

Status Reports 

Status reports on countdown progress, mission progress, on-orbit activities and landing preparations will be 

produced by the appropriate NASA news center (Kennedy for launch and landing; Johnson for mission and 

postlanding). 

Briefings 

Flight control personnel will be on eight-hour shifts. Change-of-shift briefings by the MOCR Flight 

Director will occur at approximately eight-hour intervals, if required. 

Miscellaneous 

Information about pre-launch countdown activities, tracking and data information, Huntsville operations 

and other activities related to the mission will be made available to the media at news centers in separate 

publications. 
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MISSION FACTS

Crew: Vance D. Brand, Commander 

 Robert L. Gibson, Pilot 

 Bruce McCandless, II, Mission Specialist 

 Robert L. Stewart, Mission Specialist 

 Ronald E. McNair. Mission Specialist 

Orbiter: Challenger (OV-099) 

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Pad 39A 

Launch Date/Time: Feb. 3, 1984, 8:00 a.m. EST* 

Altitude: 165 nautical miles 

Orbital Inclination: 28.5 degrees 

Mission Duration: 7 days, 23 hours, 19 minutes* 

Landing Date/Time: Feb. 11, 1984, 7:19 a.m. EST* 

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

(weather alternate) Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. 

Mission Firsts: First flight Manned Maneuvering Unit 

 First Extravehicular Activity with no extended prebreathe 

 First orbiter rendezvous using onboard navigation and sensors 

 First use of Manipulator Foot Restraint 

Principal Cargo: Palapa-B2 (Indonesian Satellite) 

 Westar VI (Western Union Satellite) 

 SPAS-01A (Shuttle Pallet Satellite) 

 IRT (Integrated Rendezvous Target) 

Experiments: Shuttle Student Involvement Project Experiment 

 IsoElectric Focusing Experiment 

 Monodisperse Latex Reactor 

 Acoustic Containerless Experiment System 

 Five Getaway Special Containers 

 Cinema 360 

* Subject to change 
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SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES 

Flight Day 1 Flight Day 5 

Cinema 360 heater activation Remote Manipulator System powerup 

Monodisperse Latex Reactor Extravehicular activity 

Westar VI deployment SPAS-01A operations 

 

Flight Day 6 

Flight Day 2 Animal Enclosure Module 

Acoustic Containerless Experiment SPAS-01A operations 

IsoElectric Focusing Experiment Cinema 360 

Handheld Radiation Monitor/Pocket Getaway Special activities 

Radiation Meter 

Cinema 360 Flight Day 7 

Palapa-B2 deployment Getaway Special activity 

Monodisperse Latex Reactor activities SPAS-01A operations 

SPAS-01A activities Cinema 360 

Animal Enclosure Module Extravehicular activity 

 Animal Enclosure Module 

 

Flight Day 3 

Integrated Rendezvous Target operations Flight Day 8 

Getaway Special activities On-orbit press conference 

 Getaway Special activity 

 

Flight Day 4 Flight Day 9 

Handheld Radiation Monitor Landing 

Rendezvous/proximity operations 

Integration Rendezvous Target separation 

SPAS-01A operations 

Getaway Special activities 
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CONFIGURATION 

Challenger has the 15.2 m (50 ft.) Canadian-built manipulator arm which will be used for extending the 

SPAS out and above the payload bay. 

Flight 41-B payloads, Westar VI and Palapa-B2 are housed in the aft area of the payload bay. There are six 

Getaway Special canisters located on the forward starboard side, the IRT canister port forward and two 

MMUs, one on each side, near the forward bulkhead. 

The MLR, student experiment and other experiments are located in the forward middeck. 

Major 41-B payload component weights are: Palapa-B2/PAM, 3,435 kg (7,574 lb.); PAM cradle, 1,084 kg 

(2,309 lb.); Westar VI/PAM, 3,325 kg (7,331 lb.); PAM cradle, 1,086 kg (2,394 lb.); SPAS-01A, 1,448 kg 

(3,192 lb.). 

Liftoff weight of the Challenger at SRB ignition will be 2,043,140 kg (4,504,350 lb.). 
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41-B FLIGHT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 

Event 

MET 

(h:m:s) 

Delta V 

(fps) 

Hp/Ha 

(n mi) 

 

Launch 00:00:00 

MECO 00:08:27 3x83 

OMS-l (2m 39s) 00:10:21 250.9 51x165 

OMS-2 (2m 10s) 00:45:04 202.7 165x165 

Westar deploy 07:59:23 

OMS sep from Westar 08:14:23 11 165x170 

Palapa-B2 deploy 27:37:11 

OMS sep from Palapa 27:52:11 11 165x176 

Orbit adjust maneuver 50:36:59 36.6 155x155 

Deploy rendezvous Target (IRT) 51:24:21 

Rendezvous separation 51:44:23 0.8 155x156 

Rendezvous transfer 52:16:55 2.8 154x156 

Rendezvous NCC 53:14:30 7.8 153x155 

Rendezvous NC 68:16:28 27.4 138x155 

Rendezvous NH 69:01:34 4.2 138x152 

Rendezvous NCC-1 70:20:23 0.4 138x152 

Rendezvous TI 71:15:52 21.0 149x152 

Rendezvous TF 72:36:20 5.6 150x152 

Rendezvous separation 74:20:01 4.0 152x152 

Deorbit OMS burn 190:22:39 278.4 0x152 

Landing at KSC-SLF 191:19:04 

IRT - Integrated Rendezvous Target NH - Normal Height 

NC - Normal Corrective TF - Transition Final 

NCC - Normal Corrective Combination TI - Transition Initiation 
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MANNED MANEUVERING UNIT 

Resembling its ancestor flown inside the Skylab orbital Workshop in the early 1970s, the Manned 

Maneuvering Unit (MMU) is a self-contained backpack with nitrogen gas propulsion that will allow orbiter 

crews to move outside the payload bay to other parts of the orbiter or to other spacecraft. The MMU 

latches to the spacesuit (Extravehicular Mobility Unit-EMU) backpack and can be donned and doffed by 

an astronaut unassisted. 

MMU controls follow the layout familiar to spacecraft crews: the left hand controller governs fore-aft, 

right-left, up-down translations, while the right hand controller handles roll, pitch and yaw motions. The 

controllers may be used singly or in combination to give a full range of movement within the operating 

logic of 729 command combinations, including attitude hold. 

Thrust impulses are from 24 dry nitrogen gas thrusters each with 7.56 Newtons thrust. Two 25-by-76 

centimeter (9.8-by-30 inch) Kevlar filament-wrapped aluminum nitrogen tanks each hold 5.9 kilograms (13 

pounds) of nitrogen when fully charged. Two 16.8-volt, 752 watt-hour silver zinc batteries supply MMU 

electrical power, enough for one six-hour EVA. The nitrogen tanks may be recharged in less than 20 

minutes at the payload bay MMU service rack. 

The MMU will have a 35 mm still photo camera operated by the astronaut during EVA/MMU operations. 

The two MMUs are located in the forward section of the orbiter payload bay. 

Built by Martin Marietta, Denver, Colo., the MMU is 1.2 m (49.4 in.) high, 81 cm (32.5 in.) wide, and 1.1 

m (44.2 in.) deep with control arms extended. The MMU weighs 136 kg (300 lb.) when charged with 

nitrogen. With a space suited crewman and consumables added, on-orbit mass is about 335 kg (740 lb.). 
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TWO UNTETHERED “SPACEWALKS” PLANNED 

Mission specialists Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart will conduct the Space Shuttle's second 

extravehicular activity or spacewalks with two five-hour EVAs on flight days five and seven. The two 

EVAs will combine engineering checkout of the Manned Maneuvering Unit with a rehearsal of Solar 

Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite orbital capture and repair planned for the next mission (41-C) in April. 

In addition to two MMUs in service racks in the cargo bay, a foot restraint attachment to the Remote 

Manipulator System (RMS) arm and a prototype hydrazine transfer device will be evaluated in the 10 

hours of EVA. 

McCandless and Stewart will don their spacesuits (EMUs) and do a shortened pre-breathe prior to moving 

through the airlock to the payload bay. The pre-breathe time is shortened because of the drop in cabin 

pressure from 14.7 psi to 10.2 psi. Cabin depressurization begins about nine hours before the first EVA. 

Each space suit will carry a small color TV camera attached to the EMU helmet. The hand-sized camera is 

solid state and housed above the helmet visor. It was developed for NASA by Fairchild Weston Systems 

Inc., of Syosset, N.Y. 

Both McCandless and Stewart will fly untethered from Challenger to distances of about 50 m (150 ft.), 

then to 100 m (300 ft.) and return. The SPAS-01, rotating slowly at the end of the RMS "hand, n will be a 

stand-in for the Solar Max as both astronauts will practice MMU approach, capture and stabilization of the 

SPAS using the MMU's thrusters to stop the pallet's rotation. 

During the EVAs, McCandless' call-sign on air-to-ground will be "EV-1" and Stewart’s will be "EV-2." 

The Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR) is a work platform that provides restrained access to EVA 

worksites within reach of the RMS. It can be easily attached to the end of the remote arm. It provides the 

astronaut positioning and restraint at the worksite location selected by the crew. In addition, it has a tool 

restraint deck and a safety tether. The restraint can also be adjusted for work activity by the spacesuited 

astronaut. This will he its first test 

The Special Equipment Stowage Assembly (SESA) provides a location for tools, hydrazine test equipment 

and the Trunnion Pin Attachment Device {TPAD) assembly. 

The attachment device assembly will be used by the astronaut, while strapped to the MMU, to dock with 

and stabilize the Solar Max satellite. It attaches to the MMU arms and actually contains two docking 

mechanisms, a primary and a secondary TPAD. It also provides an optional capability to attach a Remote 

Manipulator System grapple fixture to a satellite. 

The Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) is specially equipped with a trunnion pin for attachment device docking 

exercises and also contains a simulated Solar Max Main Electronics Box (MEB). 

Also located in the cargo bay is a contingency EVA tool box called the Cargo Bay Stowage Assembly 

(CBSA). 

During the EVA, Stewart (EV-2) will conduct a demonstration of space refueling. A fueling port mockup 

of a Landsat 4 satellite has been installed in the orbiter's special tool box. Stewart will attempt to hook up a 

newly designed hydrazine fueling line attachment. 
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EVA-1 TIMELINE (Day 5) 

Time EV-1 (McCandless) EVA-2 (Stewart) 

 

0:00 Egress Egress 

 MMU-1 Prep and checkout 

 

1:00 Extended movements - 150 to 300 feet 

 Trunnion Pin Attachment Device (TPAD) 

Preparations 

 

2:00 Don TPAD/Dock with Special Equipment 

Storage Assembly 

Grapple Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR) 

 Ingress 

 Evaluate MFR mechanisms 

 Recharge MMU MFR force evaluations 

3:00 MMU-1 Prep 

 Extended movements 

 150/300 ft. 

 Ingress MFR Don TPAD/Dock with SPAS in Bay 

4:00 Solar Max Electronics Box task simulation 

 Stow equipment Stow equipment 

5:00 Ingress Ingress 

EVA-2 TIMELINE (Day 7) 

Time EV-1 (McCandless) EVA-2 (Stewart) 

 

0:00 Egress Egress 

 MMU-2 Prep and checkout TPAD Prep 

 

1:00 Don TPAD/Dock with rotating SPAS 

2:00 Recharge MMU-2 Recharge MMU-1 

 MMU-2 Prep 

 

3:00 MMU-1 Prep 

 MMU Engineering Evaluation Hydrazine Tool Evaluation 

 

4:00 Stow equipment Stow equipment 

5:00 Ingress Ingress 
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SHUTTLE PALLET SATELLITE 

The Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01A) will fly for the second time in space, but remain in the attached 

mode during this mission. 

On flight day 7, the SPAS-01A will be raised out of the payload bay by the Remote Manipulator System to 

a position overhead about 1.5 to 3 m (5 to 10 ft.) from the forward payload bay bulkhead. In the attached 

mode, the SPAS-01A will be rotated at 1 degree per second to duplicate the attitude and dynamics of the 

Solar Max satellite. EV-1 (McCandless) will fly up to the SPAS-01A from a position near the aft bulkhead 

of the payload bay. EV-2 (Stewart) will follow in a similar Pattern. 

The astronauts will use the trunnion pin attachment device to dock with a trunnion pin located on the 

center-rear side of the SPAS . Located on the center-top, near the grapple fixture, is the simulated Main 

Electronics Box (MEB). This is designed to simulate an electronics box on the Solar Max satellite that will 

require replacement on flight 41-C. 

The West German-built platform will carry the same set of experiments that were aboard during STS-7. 

The SPAS-01A weighs 1,448 kg (3,192 lb.). It measures 4.8 m (15.7 ft.) across, 3.4 m (11 ft.) high and 1.5 

m (4.9 ft.) wide. 

A 70 mm Hasselblad still camera, a 16 mm motion picture camera and two color television cameras, built 

by Fairchild Weston Systems, Inc., of Syosset, N.Y., will be aboard the SPAS-01A. 

The SPAS was built by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB) GmbH, of Munich, Federal Republic of 

Germany. The West German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology supported the SPAS project 

and contributed substantially to the system. 
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PAYLOADS 

Palapa-B2 

Palapa-B2, the Indonesian national telecommunications satellite, will be deployed from Challenger on the 

second day of the mission. The satellite is the second Palapa to be placed into orbit by the orbiter 

Challenger; the first was during the STS-7 mission. 

Palapa-B2 will provide 24 additional transponders to the communications network that provides service to 

the island nation of Indonesia and also to ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asia Nations) which 

includes the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Papua, New Guinea. 

The spacecraft (with antennas deployed) is 6.8 m (22.4 ft.) high and 2.16 m (7 ft.) in diameter. Liftoff 

weight (with perigee stage) is 4,366 kg (9,625 lb.). Weight in orbit after reaching geosynchronous orbit is 

630 kg (1,400 lb.). 

A McDonnell Douglas Payload Assist Module (PAM) will be used to place the satellite into 

geosynchronous orbit. The PAM deployment includes spinup of the payload to 50 rpm, a spring assisted 

kick out of the cargo bay and solid rocket motor ignition on the spacecraft at deploy plus 45 minutes. 

The Palapa is built by Hughes Communications International, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. 

Westar VI 

Westar VI will be third advanced Western Union communications satellite in orbit and the first Westar 

satellite to be launched from the Space Shuttle. Previous Westars were launched aboard the NASA Delta 

launch vehicle. The current four-satellite Westar system provides continuous video, facsimile, data and 

voice communications service throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and 

the Virgin Islands. 

Westar VI has 24 transponders and six backup transponders. Each transponder is capable of handling 2,400 

one-way voice circuits or a color TV transmission. This particular satellite will be committed to business 

communications. 

The satellite was built by Hughes Aircraft Co. of El Segundo, Calif. It is similar in shape and size to the 

Palapa-B2 satellite. 

A McDonnell Douglas Payload Assist Module (PAM) will be used to boost the satellite into its 

geosynchronous transfer orbit. 
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REHEARSAL RENDEZVOUS 

As a forerunner to the Solar Maximum Repair Mission (41-C), the rendezvous, capture and on-orbit repair 

of the SMM satellite scheduled for April 1984, this flight will perform a closed-loop rendezvous sequence 

using a large balloon as a passive target. 

The Integrated Rendezvous Target (IRT) is a 2 m (6.4 foot) diameter balloon that will be deployed from a 

rack bolted to the forward end of the Challenger's longeron on the port side of the payload bay. The target 

and its canister will be ejected from the Challenger, on flight day 3, in a retrograde direction at 1.5 feet per 

second. One minute after ejection from the payload bay the canister will split in half and will be inflated 

automatically with nitrogen to a pressure of .3 psia. 

Built of one-mil thick aluminized Mylar, the IRT balloon is flat white in color except for one of the 24 

gores painted infrared black. The balloon, inflation equipment and sintered tungsten ballast results in a 

total weight of 90.7 kg (200 lb.). Following deployment and inflation the IRT will spin at a rate of 3 

revolutions per minute. 

Challenger will separate from the IRT and initially practice rendezvous maneuvers from 9.2 to 14.8 km (5 

to 8 mi.) away from the IRT. The next day, after a sleep period during which the orbiter will have drifted to 

a distance of approximately 222 km (120 mi.) behind the balloon, new state vectors and two maneuvers 

will be received from mission control. After executing the maneuvers, the crew will use the Ku-band 

ranging system and other rendezvous sensors to provide data to the General Purpose Computer's navigation 

software to update the state vectors. The updated state vectors will be used to compute the maneuvers that 

will place the orbiter into the proper rendezvous position. The maneuvers are designed to allow the orbiter 

to catch up to the IRT in two orbits. 
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SHUTTLE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM 

A student experiment carried in Challenger's middeck will test the effects of weightlessness on the 

development of arthritis. The experiment was one of the first group of 10 high school student proposals 

chosen in 1981 by NASA as part of the Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP). 

Dan Weber, now a student at Cornell University designed the arthritis experiment while a student at Hunter 

College High School in New York. For the past three years, he has been working closely with scientists at 

Pfizer, Inc., Groton, Conn., at General Dynamics Convair Div., San Diego, Calif., and with NASA 

advisors 

Weber's hypothesis -- that arthritis may be affected by gravity -- grew out of his relationship with his 

grandfather, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Weber knew that his grandfather's arthritis was relieved 

by swimming and hydrotherapy -which seemed to work by reducing the inflammation and pressure on the 

joints. He wondered if weightlessness might not have a similar effect on the disease. Weber had learned 

that astronauts gained up to an inch in height in space because with no gravity, the spine is not compressed 

as it is on earth. He wondered if this lack of pressure would relieve some of the symptoms of arthritis. 

Six rats will be carried into space this mission in the Animal Enclosure Module (AEM) developed by 

General Dynamics. The AEM flew with six normal rats on the eighth shuttle mission in August 1983. That 

hardware test was successfully completed. 

For this flight, three rats will be injected with complete Freund's adjuvant, which causes symptoms similar 

to rheumatoid arthritis in humans. This technique is used by pharmaceutical companies to study arthritis 

and arthritic medications. The other three rats will be flown as normal controls. Six additional animals will 

be kept at Kennedy Space Center as further controls for the experiment. 

The animals will be measured at Kennedy before the flight for weight, food and water consumption, paw 

volume and activity levels. A blood sample will be taken immediately after the flight to measure blood 

chemicals associated with arthritis. These same measurements will be made at Pfizer laboratories where 

Weber will work with his science advisor to determine the results of the experiment. X-rays will also be 

taken postflight to determine joint deterioration. 

Seven Shuttle Student Involvement Program experiments have flown on Space Shuttle missions prior to 

this one. The third Shuttle mission carried an SSIP study designed by Todd Nelson, on the effect of 

weightlessness on insect flight motion with bees, moths and flies. 

other SSIP studies have included a crystal growth experiment by Michelle Issel, a test of zero gravity on 

convection by Scott Thomas and the growth of sponges in weightlessness by Aaron Gillette -- all flown 

aboard the fifth Space Shuttle mission. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 26

GETAWAY SPECIAL PAYLOADS 

There are a total of six Getaway Special (GAS) canisters aboard the Challenger. Five of the canisters will 

carry Getaway Specials, while the other will carry a camera experiment, which is not cataloged as a 

"Getaway Special.” 

Utah State University-University of Aberdeen 

GAS-payload G-004 contains experiments designed and developed by students from Utah State University, 

Logan, and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. 

The payload was purchased by L.R. Megill, a professor at Utah State University, and donated to that 

institution. 

The canister is divided into three segments. Each experiment is allotted a volume approximately 10 cm (4 

in.) deep in a hexagon 48 cm (19 in.) between the corners, with a weight limit of approximately 8 kg (17.6 

lb.). Each "spacepak" contains a battery power supply and a computer driven controller. 

Experiment #1 was built by Taka Kitaura, a Utah State student from Japan. His experiment is designed to 

study capillary waves in liquids. The waves are driven by surface tension forces which are dominant in a 

microgravity environment. 

Experiment #2, built by USU student Scott Thomas, will study thermocapillarity, or the motion of liquids 

due to surface tension effects in which a temperature gradient has been established. These forces are 

dominant in a low gravity environment. 

The third "spacepak" contains three experiments developed by students from the University of Aberdeen. 

The experiments include a dimensional stability experiment, a light scattering experiment and the flight of 

some spores in space. 

AIAA-Utah Section 

GAS payload G-008 was purchased by the Utah Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics and donated to Utah State University. Three experiment shelves or "spacepaks", each 

weighing about 8 kg (17.6 lb.) are aboard the canister, each containing a battery driven computer 

controller. 

Spacepak #1 contains a seed growing experiment conducted by students at Brighton High School, Salt 

Lake City, in which radish seeds will be sprouted in a zero-g environment. A unique feature of the 

experiment is that about one-half of the germinated seeds have been flown in an STS-6 experiment by the 

Geo. W. Park Seed Co., Greenwood, S.C. 

The second experiment designed by the University of Utah, will be an attempt to crystallize proteins in a 

controlled temperature environment under zero-g conditions. The crystallization of proteins is necessary 

for studies in X-Ray crystallography. 

The third unit of the payload is two experiments devised by two Utah State students. The first is a reflight 

of a soldering experiment flown on the initial Getaway Special G-001. The second is a test of an 

experimental concept for the creation of a flow system for electrophoresis experiments. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 27

Atomic Oxygen Flux Monitor-GSFC, G-349 

The Atomic oxygen Flux Monitor G-349 is designed to measure the flow of atomic oxygen by determining 

the mass loss of two materials -- carbon and osmium -- known to readily oxidize. The mass loss will 

indicate the atomic oxygen flux as a function of time which can be correlated to altitude, attitude and 

direction. 

The package is very similar to a GAS payload flown on STS-8. Data from the experiment will provide 

insights into material behavior and environmental effects at high altitudes. 

Co-investigators are Jack Triolo, Roy McIntosh and Ray Kruger of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, 

Greenbelt, Md. 

Arc Lamp Research 

This experiment, G-0051 will pursue fundamental research on the configuration of an arc lamp in gravityfree surroundings. Arc lamps are normally used for outdoor lighting of football fields and indoor lighting 

of arenas. Scientists hope the experiment will pave the way for the development of a more energy-efficient 

commercial lamp. 

The experiment is being carried out by GTE Laboratories Inc., Waltham, Mass. 

Cosmic Ray Upset Experiment 

The Cosmic Ray Upset Experiment, or CRUX, is a repeat flight for Goddard Space Flight Center's G-0347 

Getaway Special initially flown on STS-8. The experiment is designed to resolve questions concerning 

upsets, or changes in the logic state of a memory cell, caused by highly active energetic particles passing 

through a sensitive volume in the memory cell. 

The reflight is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force. The principal investigator is John W. Adolphson of 

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 28

CINEMA 360 

Two Cinema 360 cameras will be carried aboard the Challenger to provide a test for motion picture 

photography in a unique format designed especially for planetarium viewing. One camera will be located 

in the crew cabin area and the other in a GAS canister in the payload bay. The primary objective is to test 

the equipment and concept. Film footage taken by the two systems will also be of considerable value. 

Arriflex 35 mm Type 3 motion picture cameras with an 8 mm/f2.8 "fisheye" lens will be used. The Cinema 

360 camera, including an accessory handle and lens guard/support, weighs approximately 9.5 kg (21 lb.). 

A system power supply weighs an additional 7.7 kg (17 lb.). 

Filming inside the orbiter will show activities on the flight deck. The camera system located in the GAS 

canister in the payload bay will provide film on exterior activities including EVA/ MMU operations, 

satellite deployment or Remote Manipulator System operations. Lens focus, diaphragm setting and frame 

speed will be preset, thus requiring no light level readings or exposure calculations by the crew. Each 

camera system will carry a 122-m (400-ft.) film magazine. 

Filming done on this flight and subsequent missions will be used in the production of a motion picture 

about the Space Shuttle program. 

Cinema 360 signed a joint endeavor agreement with NASA in 1983. Under terms of the agreement Cinema 

360 would develop the flight hardware and produce the film. 

Cinema 360 is a consortium of four planetariums, located in Tucson, Ariz.; Jackson, Miss.; Reno, Nev.; 

and Chicago. The Gannett Foundation of Rochester, N.Y., has agreed to assume the costs of the film 

production. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 29

EXPERIMENTS 

Monodisperse Latex Reactor 

The Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) has been carried on four previous Shuttle flights. The materials 

processing experiment is designed to develop identical-sized (monodisperse) latex particles. The particles 

may have major medical and industrial research applications. 

The reactor, developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., and at Lehigh 

University, Bethlehem, Pa., is mounted in a locker in the orbiter crew compartment. It consists of four .3-m 

(l-ft.) high reactors, each containing a chemical latex-forming recipe, housed in a .6-m (2-ft.) high metal 

cylinder . 

Acoustic Containerless Experiment System 

The Acoustic Containerless Experiment System (ACES) is a materials processing furnace experiment 

enclosed in two airtight canisters in the orbiter middeck. Activated at 23 hours mission elapsed time, the 

ACES will run a preprogrammed sequence of operations and shut itself off after two hours. 

IsoElectric Focusing Experiment 

The IsoElectric Focusing (IEF) experiment is another self-contained experiment package in the middeck 

lockers and activated by the crew at the same time the ACES is turned on. IEF evaluates the effect of 

electro-osmosis on an array of eight columns of electrolyte solutions as DC power is applied and pH levels 

between anodes and cathodes increase. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 30

STS-41B CREWMEMBERS 

S83-40555 -- Seated from left to right are Vance Brand, crew commander, and Robert "Hoot" Gibson, 

pilot. Both men are wearing shuttle blue flight suits. Standing from left to right are mission specialists 

Robert Stewart, Ronald McNair and Bruce McCandless. Both Stewart and McCandless are wearing 

extravehicular mobility units (EMU). 

No copyright is asserted for this photograph. If a recognizable person appears in the photo, use for 

commercial purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. It may not be used to state or imply the 

endorsement by NASA or by any NASA employee of a commercial product, process or service, or used in 

any other manner that might mislead. Accordingly, it is requested that if this photograph is used in 

advertising and other commercial promotion, layout and copy be submitted to NASA prior to release. 

PHOTO CREDIT: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 31

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA 

VANCE D. BRAND, 52, is commander of the 10th flight of the Space Shuttle. Brand, a native of Colorado, was 

selected as a NASA astronaut in 1966. 

Prior to joining NASA, he was a naval aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps and a civilian test pilot. He received two 

bachelor's degrees from the University of Colorado and a master's degree from the University of California. 

Brand's first space mission was as command module pilot on the Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission. Brand 

logged 217 hours on the unique international mission. 

Brand was commander of the STS-5 mission, the first fully operational flight of the Space Shuttle. The flight was 

launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Nov. 11, 1982, and saw the deployment of two communications 

satellites, later placed into geosynchronous orbit. The 122-hour mission concluded with a landing on a concrete runway 

at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. 

ROBERT L. GIBSON, 37, is pilot for the 41-B flight. Born in New York, he considers Lakewood, Calif., his 

hometown. A former Navy fighter pilot, who flew combat missions in Southeast Asia, Gibson was selected as a NASA 

astronaut in January 1978. 

Nicknamed "Hoot" by his friends, Gibson is married to astronaut mission specialist Dr. M. Rhea Seddon. 

This is his first space mission. 

He received a bachelor's degree from California Polytechnic State University. 

ROBERT L. STEWART, 41, is a mission specialist on this flight of the Challenger. It is his first space mission. Born 

in Washington, D.C., he considers E1 Lago, Texas, to be his hometown. 

Stewart was selected for the NASA astronaut corps in January 1978. He entered the U.S. Army in 1964 and has 

distinguished himself as a U.S. Army aviator, flying both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft. Stewart has logged 

approximately 5,200 hours flight time in 38 types of airplanes and helicopters. 

He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master's from the University of 

Texas. 

RONALD E. McNAIR, 33, is a mission specialist on flight 41B. He was born in Lake City, S.C. He graduated from 

North Carolina A & T University with a degree in physics and earned his doctorate in physics from Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Mass. 

McNair has studied extensively in the field of laser physics. He has published numerous papers on lasers and molecular 

spectroscopy. 

McNair was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1978. This will be his first space flight. 

BRUCE McCANDLESS II, 46, is a mission specialist on flight 41-B. Born in Boston, Mass., McCandless received 

his bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and a master's degree from Stanford University in 1965. 

McCandless was a naval aviator and has logged more than 4,000 hours flying time. He was selected for the NASA 

astronaut program in April 1966. McCandless has been involved in the development of the Manned Maneuvering Unit 

since the Skylab program in the early 1970s. This is his first space mission. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 32

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS AS OF FEBRUARY 1984 

9 TOTAL FLIGHTS OF THE SHUTTLE SYSTEM 

STS-9 

11/28/83 - 12/08/83 

STS-5 

11/11/82 - 11/16/82 

STS-4 

06/27/82 - 07/04/82 

STS-3 

03/22/82 - 03/30/82 

STS-8 

08/30/83 - 09/05/83 

STS-2 

11/12/81 - 11/14/81 

STS-7 

06/18/83 - 06/24/83 

STS-1 

04/12/81 - 04/14/81 

STS-6 

04/04/83 - 04/09/83 

 

OV-102 

Columbia 

(6 flights)

OV-099 

Challenger 

(3 flights)