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Original STS-2 press kit cover artwork 
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

SPACE SHUTTLE 

MISSION 

STS-2 

PRESS KIT 

SEPTEMBER 1981 

SECOND SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITAL FLIGHT TEST (OFT-2) 
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STS-2 INSIGNIA 

S81-29900 – Space shuttle orbiter 102, Columbia, is depicted along with the crewmembers surnames, and the 

merged eagle and American flag. The number two is significant, as it applies to the number of crewmembers as well 

as the second flight for the Columbia and the second in a series of space shuttle orbital flight test missions. 

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: 81-138 

CONTENTS 

GENERAL RELEASE 5 

SCHEDULED PRESS BRIEFINGS 7 

STS-2 OBJECTIVES: CONTINUING THE SHAKEDOWN 8 

ORBITER COLUMBIA'S SECOND FLIGHT 9 

LAUNCH PREPARATIONS, COUNTDOWN AND LIFTOFF 10 

LAUNCH WINDOW 12 

SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION EVENTS 13 

GUIDE TO USING THE FLIGHT PLAN 14 

LANDING AND POSTLANDING OPERATIONS 27 

SPACE SHUTTLE NOMINAL MISSION PROFILE FOR STS-2 28 

STS-2 DEORBIT-THROUGH-LANDING GROUNDTRACK 29 

STS-2 POSTBLACKOUT ENTRY GROUNDTRACK 30 

IF THINGS GO WRONG 31 

MISSION OPERATIONS CONTROL ROOM (CHART) 32 

HUNTSVILLE OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER 33 

OSTA-1 PAYLOAD 34 

STS-2 ORBITER EXPERIMENTS 43 

ORBITER'S ROBOT "ARM" 48 

TRACKING AND DATA NETWORK 50 

STS-2 TELEVISION SCHEDULE 54 

SHUTTLE STANDARD OFT MENU 55 

CREW BIOGRAPHIES 56 

SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 60 

ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS 62 
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RELEASE NO: 81-138 September 22, 1981 

David Garrett 

Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 

(Phone: 202/755-3090) 

Dick Young 

Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

(Phone: 305/867-2468) 

Terry White 

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 

(Phone: 713/483-5111) 

SHUTTLE TO CARRY SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD ON SECOND FLIGHT 

In a major space first, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia will become the first spacecraft ever to make more than 

one trip into space when it is launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., now scheduled for no earlier than 

8 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, 1981. 

This is the second in a series of four test flights to qualify the nation’s new Space Transportation System for routine 

space operations. First flight of the Columbia was April 12-15, 1981. 

Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly are the crew for the flight, STS-2, which is scheduled for a duration of five days, 

four hours and 10 minutes. 

Neither of the astronauts has previously flown in orbit, although three of Engle's 16 flights in the rocket-powered X15 were above 80 kilometers (50 miles). Engle and Truly flew the orbiter Enterprise in two of the five approach and 

landing glide flights in 1977 in which the orbiter was released from a 747 aircraft. 

On this second flight, the orbiter will carry the first scientific and applications payload to fly on the shuttle and a 

Canadian-built remote manipulator arm which someday will be used to deploy and retrieve space payloads. 

One major objective for STS-2 is the evaluation of Columbia's ability to serve as a steady platform for Earthviewing instruments. The OSTA-l (office of Space and Terrestrial Applications) package in the payload bay calls 

for Columbia to be flown in an upside down position (-Z local vertical) for most of the flight. Except for activation, 

deactivation and occasional data takes, OSTA-1 experiments are largely automated and require little crew attention. 

Another major operation will be unloaded testing Canadian-built 15-meter (50-foot) long remote manipulator arm. 

Orbiter systems testing will continue for measuring space radiator, attitude control, electrical power generation and 

other systems performance. 

STS-2 will be launched into a 38-degree inclination orbit, circularized first at 222 km (120 n.m.) and later boosted 

to 253.7 km (137 n.m.) for the remainder of the flight. The first day will be taken up with OSTA-1 and orbiter 

systems activation and tests of the payload bay door opening/closing mechanisms. 

The second flight day will include checkout of the remote manipulator system in direct, manual, automatic and 

backup modes, and in activating and stowing the robot arm. 
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Day 3 will include an airlock extravehicular activity demonstration in which Engle will don a Shuttle spacesuit and 

walk through the EVA procedures, stopping just short of airlock depressurization. Data from remote manipulator 

arm operations will also be evaluated. 

Day 4 activities will be deactivation of OSTA-1 experiments and general clean-up, catch-up prior to entry day. 

Before buttoning up the payload bay doors on entry day, Engle and Truly will don the escape pressure suits, align 

Columbia’s inertial measurement unit and prepare for the orbital maneuvering system deorbit into the atmosphere to 

Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. During final approach to Edwards, Columbia will be guided automatically 

by the microwave scanning beam landing system on the lakebed down to flare, where the crew will land manually. 

Engle and Truly will not be tethered by microphone/headset cables in Columbia's cabin, but for the first time, will 

use wireless microphones tied into orbiter's communications system. 

Entry groundtrack to landing will be almost identical to that of Columbia's maiden flight -- deorbit burn over the 

Indian ocean, entry into the atmosphere over the western Pacific, crossing the California coast near Monterey, 

letting down over the San Joaquin Valley to a landing on Runway 23 at Edwards in the Mojave Desert. Landing 

teams from Kennedy Space Center will remove the crew and “safe” Columbia after landing. 

(END OF GENERAL RELEASE; BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS.) 

Note: Technical descriptions of orbiter and booster structures and systems are in the Space Shuttle News Reference 

book. Press kits for each of the Shuttle missions will contain information on payloads, timelines, flight crew and 

other details peculiar to each flight. 
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SCHEDULED PRESS BRIEFINGS 

Date Time (EDT) Briefing Location 

T-4 9:00 a.m. Countdown Status KSC 

T-3 9:00 a.m. Countdown Status KSC 

 10:30 a.m. STS-2 Vehicle KSC 

 1:30 p.m. Terminal Countdown and Mission Rules KSC 

T-2 9:00 a.m. Countdown Status KSC 

 10:30 a.m. STS-2 Flight Plan KSC 

 1:00 p.m. OSTA-1 Payload KSC 

 3:00 p.m. Remote Manipulator System KSC 

T-1 9:00 a.m. Countdown Status KSC 

 1:30 p.m. Prelaunch Press Conference KSC 

T (approx. 1 hour after launch) Postlaunch Press Conference KSC 

T thru T+5 Flight Director Change of Shift Briefings JSC 

T+3 Spacesuit Briefing JSC 

T+4 a.m. Chase Pilot Briefing DFRC 

 p.m. Landing Operations Briefing DFRC 

T+5 (approx. 2 hours after landing) Post Landing Briefing DFRC 

T+6 2:00 p.m. Orbiter Status Briefing DFRC 

NOTE: Times are subject to adjustment 
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STS-2 OBJECTIVES: CONTINUING THE SHAKEDOWN 

Second in the series of four engineering test flights readying the Shuttle system for operational flight, STS-2 will 

stress Columbia's load-carrying capabilities and structure somewhat greater than the benign first flight. Columbia's 

payload bay will house developmental flight instrumentation and orbiter experiments as well as the first scientific 

payload to be carried by the Space Transportation System. 

The Canadian-built remote manipulator arm, or payload deployment and retrieval system, is scheduled to be flown 

and operated during STS-2, STS-3 and STS-4. While the 15-m (50-ft.) long robot arm will not move a payload 

during this flight, an induced environment contamination monitor and a plasma data package will be aboard 

Columbia for its next flight, STS-3, now tentatively scheduled for late January 1982. Each of the packages will be 

grabbed and "waved" around the orbiter to measure spacecraft-made "contaminations" from thruster exhausts to 

water dumps. 

Qualifying the Space Shuttle for routine operational flight will be done by the building-block approach -- 

progressively adding new tasks and operations in each successive flight of the four orbital flight tests. 

STS-2 primary flight objectives are to fly the vehicle with a heavier payload than the first flight, test Columbia's 

ability to hold steady attitude for Earth-viewing payloads, measure the range of payload bay environment during 

launch and entry, run further tests on the payload bay doors and space radiators and operate the remote manipulator 

arm. 

An array of seven Earth-viewing experiments are in the OSTA-1 payload described in detail in another part of this 

press kit. Farther aft in the payload bay, a cruciform truss carries the developmental flight instrumentation package 

and the induced environment contamination monitor. 

Also mounted in the payload bay is the aerodynamic coefficient identification package -- a box packed with 

accelerometers and gyros for measuring and recording orbiter aerodynamic performance in hypersonic, supersonic 

and transonic flight. Passive experiments in the orbiter experiments series carried on STS-2, and not requiring crew 

attention or spacecraft maneuvers, are tile gap heating effects, catalytic surface effects, and dynamic, acoustic and 

thermal environment. 

Program engineers have defined 82 functional test objectives and 40 functional supplementary objectives for the 

orbital flight test program in mandatory and highly-desirable categories. The STS-2 crew activity plan schedules S8 

test and 27 supplementary objectives in the timeline. During entry, a series of aerodynamic response tests will be 

run in all speed regimes from hypersonic down through subsonic to evaluate Orbiter stability and control system 

effectiveness. Aerodynamic stick outputs and programmed test inputs will cycle reaction control system and the 

aerosurface control system in combination and singly to induce attitude oscillations. Similar tests were run at 

subsonic speeds during the 1977 approach and landing test flights with orbiter Enterprise. No such tests were 

performed on STS-1. 

Shuttle spacesuits, or extravehicular mobility units, are stowed in the airlock for a contingency spacewalk to close 

balky payload bay doors. Should such a spacewalk become necessary, Columbia's cabin pressure would be lowered 

from 14.5 pounds per square inch (21/79 percent oxygen/nitrogen mix) to 9 psi (28/72 percent oxygen/nitrogen). 

Lowering cabin pressure to 9 psi eliminates the need for Engle to p e-breathe oxygen on an umbilical or on a 

portable oxygen system to "wash" suspended nitrogen from his blood before going out to haul the doors shut. 
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ORBITER COLUMBIA'S SECOND FLIGHT 

(Configuration) 

Columbia's payload bay is somewhat more crowded on STS-2 than it was on the first flight. The orbital flight test 

development flight instrumentation and orbiter experiments have been joined by the OSTA-1 payload. 

OSTA-1, mounted on a Spacelab pallet, is an array of Earth viewing instruments to demonstrate the orbiter's 

research capabilities. 

Also carried in the payload bay are the induced environment contamination monitor mounted on the instrumentation 

truss and the aerodynamic coefficient identification package. 

Down between the mid-fuselage frames and below the payload bay floor, an additional set of cryogenic oxygen and 

hydrogen tanks has been installed to supply reactants to the Columbia's fuel cells for extending electrical power 

capacity. 

Elsewhere aboard Columbia, auxiliary power unit No. 2 has been replaced. This unit experienced failure of both 

heaters in the gas generator during STS-1. All three fuel cell power plants have been replaced with improved 

versions. Again, additional water has been loaded in potable and waste water tanks to feed the flash evaporators for 

a minimum six orbits after launch to cover the contingency of failure of the payload bay doors to open and expose 

the space radiators for spacecraft cooling. 

Creature comforts provided Engle and Truly are not as sophisticated as they will be for operational flights. Meals 

stowed in the middeck food lockers will be heated in a carry-on food warmer until airliner-type galleys are installed 

on Columbia and subsequent orbiters. 

One sleeping bag is stowed in the middeck for evaluation during STS-2. The bag is attached by pip-pins to modular 

storage locker fronts, and is similar to the sleep restraints used in Apollo. The crewman not using the sleeping bag 

will sleep strapped into his ejection seat on the flight deck. Sleep kits, with ear plugs and eye covers, are provided. 

After STS-4, the ejection seats will be removed from Columbia. Until then, crews will wear modified Air Force 

high altitude pressure suits during launch and entry. 

Columbia and its tank and boosters will weigh seven tons more at liftoff than on STS-2. Total vehicle weight for 

STS-1 was 2,023,750 kilograms (4,461,620 pounds); for STS-2 the vehicle will weigh 2,030,250 kg (4,47S,943 lb.) 

at launch -- 6,500 kg (14.323 lb.) more. 

Payload bay cargo weights are: OSTA-l, pallet, wiring harness, attach fittings, etc. 2,425 kg (5,347 lb.); DFI, IECM, 

ACIP, orbiter experiments, mounting hardware, etc. 6,370 kg (14,041 lb.) for a total payload weight of 8,795 kg 

(19,388 lb.). 
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LAUNCH PREPARATIONS COUNTDOWN AND LIFTOFF 

Assembly of the Space Shuttle "stack" for the STS-2 mission began soon after the completion of STS-1. Erection of 

the twin solid rocket boosters for the second mission began in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space 

Center on May 20 on the same mobile launcher platform used for the first mission. 

The orbiter Columbia arrived at Kennedy from the Dryden Flight Research Center in California aboard the 747 

Shuttle carrier aircraft on April 28, and was moved into the orbiter Processing Facility for extensive post-mission 

examination the next day. Refurbishment of the orbiter, its thermal protection system and the preparations for the 

installation of the Remote Manipulator System, OSTA-1 payload and flight instrumentation began immediately. 

The external tank for STS-2 arrived at Kennedy via an oceangoing barge on April 22, and was taken into the 

Vehicle Assembly Building for Systems checkout in High Bay 4. 

The tank was mated to the twin solid rocket boosters in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building on June 30. 

The Canadian-built remote manipulator arm to be used to deploy and retrieve Shuttle payloads arrived at Kennedy 

on April 22 and was taken to the operations and Checkout Building in the Industrial Area for assembly and 

checkout. It was moved to the Processing Facility on June 20 for installation in the orbiter's payload bay. 

The OSTA-1 scientific package underwent assembly, checkout and flight validation in the operations and Checkout 

Building and was transported to the orbiter Processing Facility on July 1 and inserted in the Columbia's payload 

bay. The OSTA-1 Interface Verification Test was conducted July 18-20 to make certain the orbiter and payload 

were properly integrated. 

The Columbia was moved from the Processing Facility to the Assembly Building on Aug. 10, and was hoisted into 

place on the back of the external tank/solid rocket booster combination. This mating completed the Space Shuttle 

vehicle for the STS-2 mission. 

The Shuttle Interface Test was conducted in late August to verify the mechanical and electrical connections between 

the various elements and to verify the functioning of the onboard systems. 

The assembled Space Shuttle and its mobile launcher platform were moved to Pad A of Launch Complex 39 on 

Aug. 31 to undergo final processing prior to launch. Pad to vehicle connections were verified, the hypergolic 

systems were serviced and a dry countdown demonstration test was performed, clearing the way for the actual 

countdown and launch. Additionally, the communications loop between the Payload operations Control Center and 

the OSTA-1 payload was exercised. 

The launch countdown for STS-2 will be conducted in Firing Room 1 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center by 

a government/ industry team of about 200. 

The STS-2 pre-count will begin at the T-73 hour mark with a call-to-stations for the launch team. The final 

countdown begins at about the T-5 hour point, and includes opportunities for several hold Periods. 

Pre-count and final countdown activities will include powering up of the vehicle, servicing the orbiter's fuel cell 

reactant tanks, pressurizing the orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control System propellant tanks, software 

loading of the orbiter's computer mass memory units and warm-up of the inertial navigation units. 
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Among the major milestones in the countdown are: 

Count Time Event 

T-20 hours Retract Rotating Service Structure. 

T-10 hours Sound suppression water tank fill. 

T-7 hours Begin clearing pad for countdown. Clearing complete by T-5 hours. 

T-5 hours Begin final countdown. Begin chilldown and fill of external tank. 

T-3 hours, 30 min. Wake up flight crew for breakfast and suiting. 

T-2 hours, 15 min. External tank filled, in top off mode. 

 

T-2 hours, 5 min. Enter one hour built-in hold. Crew starts move to pad during hold. 

T-1 hour, 50 min. Crew entry and hatch close-out begins. Complete by T-1 hour, 5 min. 

T-30 min. White room crew clears pad. 

T-20 min. Enter 10 minute built-in hold. 

T-9 min. Enter 10 minute built-in hold. 

T-9 min. Launch Director "go-for-launch" received. Start ground launch sequencer (auto 

sequence) 

T-7 min. Retract crew access arm. 

T-5 min. Start orbiter auxiliary power units. Arm external tank/solid rocket boosters ignition 

and range safety systems. 

T-30 min., 30 sec. Orbiter transfers to internal power. 

T-2 min., 55 sec. Begin pressurization of liquid oxygen tank; retract vent hood (beanie cap). 

T-1 min., 57 sec. Begin pressurization of liquid hydrogen tank. 

T-28 sec. Solid rocket booster hydraulic power units activated. Orbiter computers assume 

control of terminal countdown. 

T-7 sec. Main engine start sequence. 

T-3 Seconds Main engines at 90 percent thrust. 

T-0** Solid rocket booster ignition and holddown post release. Liftoff. 

** STS-1 had two T-0s, one at the estimated main engine 90 percent thrust time and the second at planned SRB 

ignition. The STS-2 countdown has been adjusted so that there is only one T-0. 
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LAUNCH WINDOW 

STS-2 will be launched from Pad A of Complex 39 no earlier than Oct. 9, 1981. The launch window on that date 

opens at 8 a.m. EDT and closes at 1:40 p.m. for a launch opportunity of four hours, 52 minutes in duration. The 

period from 11:38 a.m. to 12:26 p.m. is not available in order to avoid an unfavorable Sun angle on landing at the 

end of the mission. The window assumes a nominal landing on Runway 23 on Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden 

Flight Research Center but offers the option of landing on Runway 15 if conditions are favorable for gaining 

landing experience under crosswind conditions. 

Among the key considerations in establishing the launch window are lighting conditions which will permit 

photographic documentation of the launch and sufficient lighting for a safe landing at any of the designated landing 

sites. 

STS-2 will be flown in an orbit with an inclination of 38 degrees at a planned altitude of 254 km (137 n.m.) above 

the Earth’s surface. 
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SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION EVENTS 

Event 

Time 

(h:m:s) 

Alt 

(km) 

Alt 

(mi) 

Rel Vel 

(km/hr) 

Rel Vel 

(mph) 

Range 

(km) 

Range 

(mi) 

SSME Ignition -000:00:07 0 0 0 0 0 0 

SSMEs at 90 percent thrust -000:00:03 0 0 0 0 0 0 

SRB Ignition/Holddown 

Bolts Triggered 

 000:00 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Liftoff 000:00.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Clear Tower 000:06.8 106 a 347 b 119 74.3 0 0 

Begin Pitchover 000:07.3 137 a 400 b 129 80.5 0 0 

Maximum Dynamic 

Pressure (Max Q) 

 000:51.6 7.9 4.3 1,222 764 3.5 1.9 

SRB separation 000:02:07 50.6 27.3 4,592 2,870 46.7 25.2 

Main engine cutoff 000:08:39.4 118.0 63.7 26,669 16,668 1,399 755 

External tank jettisoned 000:08:51.4 120.8 64.2 26,664 16,666 1,501 810 

OMS-1 Ignition 000:10:33.4 126.2 68.1 16,646 80.2x13.5 1,275 

OMS-1 Cutoff 000:11:56.4 131.6 71.0 V-146 fps 16,730 120.2x53.5 1,619 

OMS-2 Ignition 000:41:51.4 223.7 120.7 16,473 8,954 

OMS-2 Cutoff 000:43:04.4 222.4 121.0 V-122 fps 16,554 120.2x120.2 9,047 

OMS-3A Ignition 006:20:43.5 17,391(I) 

OMS-3A Cutoff 006:20:55 V-10 fps 17,397(I) 120x119 

OMS-3B Ignition 006:24:55 17,398(I) 

OMS-3B Cutoff 006:25:19 V-21 fps 17,413(I) 137x120 

OMS-4 Ignition 007:09:27 17,328(I) 

OMS-4 Cutoff 007:10:04 V-30 fps 17,348(I) 137x137 

Deorbit Ignition 123:12:04 850,073 17,345 137.23x133 

Deorbit Cutoff 123:14:18 17,352 136.8x94 

Entry Interface 123:38:18 400,000 Mach 25** 

Enter TAEM* Interface 124:03:58 81,748 1,700** 59.6 

TAEM Autoland Interface 124:09:03 9.925 400** 35,000 ft 

from 

runway 

threshold 

Weight on Wheels 

 (Main Gear) 

 124:10:24 227** 

Wheel Stop 124:11:02 

NOTE: Trajectory parameters may be subject to minor modification prior to launch. I=Inertial Velocity a = meters; b = feet 

* Terminal Area Energy Management ** Relative Velocity 
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GUIDE TO USING THE FLIGHT PLAN 

1. Summary Level Timeline (12-hour time span) 

The following letters (a-j) reference those in Figure 2-1. 

a. Timescales: Two time references are presented in this section. The two time references used are Central 

Daylight Time (CDT) (or TIG minus) and Mission Elapsed Time (MET). MET is referenced to liftoff 

beginning at 00/00:00:00 (days, hours, minutes and seconds). 

b. Crewmen (CDR & PLT): This is the column where titles of scheduled activities are shown for the 

commander (CDR) and pilot (PLT) at the appropriate times. 

c. Day/Night and orbit: 

1) Day/Night - The orbital day/night intervals are shown by black bars when the orbiter is in darkness. 

2) Orbit - Indicates which orbit the spacecraft is in by numerical sequence. The beginning of an orbit 

occurs when the orbiter crosses the Earth's equator going from the southern to the northern hemisphere 

(ascending node). The succession of orbits is numbered in this column starting with orbit 1 for launch. 

d. Earth Trace W/SAA: This is a display of the groundtrack of the orbiter and when it passes over the South 

Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) (indicated by a ' ---- '). 

e. GSTDN Coverage: The GSTDN communication coverage periods are indicated in this area with a 

horizontal line indicating when communication is available; the GSTDN site is identified to the right of the 

line. 

f. SIR-A, SMIRR, OCE: Times are identified in these areas for referenced experiment data-takes. TIMES 

enclosed by a box represent alternate data opportunities. 

g. OPS: The GPC software configuration in use during the flight is indicated in this area. 

h. Deorbit OPT: Times are identified in this area when deorbit burn opportunities exist for Edwards AFB 

(EDW). 

i. Attitudes and Maneuvers: 

1) Attitude - The current attitude of the vehicle is identified in this area, i.e., IMU, -ZLV. 

2) Maneuvers - An ` ‘ is placed at the time an attitude maneuver occurs. 

j. TV: TV is indicated in this area with a ` ---’. 
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LANDING AND POSTLANDING OPERATIONS 

The Kennedy Space Center is responsible for ground operations of the Space Shuttle, including preparations for 

return of Columbia to Kennedy Space Center for STS-3. 

A recovery convoy will move to begin preliminary securing and safing operations as soon as the Columbia has 

come to a stop. Some of those operations include establishment of communications with the flight crew, connection 

of ground cooling and purge air units, conduct a post-landing inspection and connection of the ground tow vehicle. 

The operation should allow the flight crew to leave the vehicle approximately 45 minutes after landing. 

The 18-unit ground convoy consists of the elements needed to detect and disperse hazardous vapors, service the 

Columbia's systems, transport ground support personnel wearing protective garments, provide access to the crew 

compartment and transport the flight crew and their replacement ground crew, and also provide fire-fighting 

protection. 

The ground operations are conducted basically as follows: 

After the vehicle comes to a stop on the dry lake bed at Dryden Flight Research Center, the flight crew will safe the 

Columbia's orbital maneuvering and reaction control systems. 

Next, ground personnel wearing protective garments will approach the Columbia and use sensitive "sniffer" 

equipment to verify that no hazardous gases are present around the orbiter. A mobile wind machine will be used to 

reduce the possibility that explosive or toxic gases exist in dangerous concentrations. 

Vehicles with maneuverable access platforms will then be positioned at the rear of the orbiter near its umbilical 

connection panels. Large transporters carrying purge air and cooling units will then be moved into place behind the 

orbiter and their lines connected to the orbiter umbilical panels. 

Once the connections are made, Freon from one transporter will begin flowing through the orbiter's cooling 

systems, and purge air from the other transporter will supply air conditioning for temperature and humidity control 

of the orbiter payload bay. 

Following a safety assessment, the flight crew will be permitted to leave the orbiter and will be replaced by a 

ground operations crew. The orbiter will then be towed to the Dryden Center. 

The elapsed time from orbiter stop to beginning of towing should be approximately one hour. An additional week to 

10 days will be spent in ferry preparations and mating of the orbiter to the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Nominal 

flight time to return the orbiter to Kennedy Space Center will be two days, including one overnight stop for 

refueling and crew rest. 
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IF THINGS GO WRONG 

(Contingencies) 

While there has never been a launch abort in any U.S. manned space flight program, flight crews and flight 

controllers must still train and plan for emergency early landing. The safe return of the flight crew, the orbiter and 

its payloads to an intact landing is emphasized in abort planning philosophy. 

The preferred type of Shuttle launch abort is the abort-to-orbit in which combined thrust from main engines and 

orbital maneuvering system engines is enough to reach a minimal 194 km (105 n.m.) orbit. An abort-to-orbit would 

be called for if one main engine should shut down before enough velocity is reached to yield a 235 km (127 n.m.) 

orbit. 

Earlier shutdown of one main engine would force an abort-once-around situation in which Columbia would land 

near the end of one orbit at Dryden Flight Research Center. Also, any critical systems failure aboard Columbia after 

orbital insertion calls for an abort-once-around landing. 

Loss of a second main engine during launch forces a trans-Atlantic abort landing, or "Press to Rota" in which the 

flight crew would steer the vehicle toward a main engine cutoff velocity and position that would allow gliding 

Columbia to the runway at the U.S. Naval Air Station, Rota, Spain. 

Shutdown of one or more main engines early in the launch phase calls for a return-to-launch-site abort. Once an 

abort decision is made, Columbia and the external tank would be flown in a pitch-around maneuver to heads-up and 

pointed back along the ground track to Cape Canaveral. Whatever main engine thrust still available would then be 

used to kill off eastward velocity, and reverse direction until the Kennedy Space Center runway could be reached by 

gliding along a normal entry trajectory. Major orbiter systems failure during ascent could also force a return-tolaunch-site abort. 

Loss of control or impending catastrophic failure during ascent, from tower clear to 30,480 m (100,000 ft.) calls for 

crew ejection. Loss of two main engines prior to seven minutes of flight also calls for crew ejection. 

The STS-2 alternate landing site is Northrup Strip on the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, N.M., if autumn 

rains muddy up Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden Center at Edwards. Contingency landing sites, in addition to 

Edwards and Northrup, are Hickam Air Force Base/Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii; Kadena Air Base, 

Okinawa; and Rota Naval Station, Spain. 
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HUNTSVILLE OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER 

A team of Space Shuttle systems experts participates in launches of the Shuttle from the Huntsville operations 

Support Center, a special facility situated at Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 

During pre-mission, countdown, launch and powered flight toward orbit, Marshall engineers, development project 

managers and their contractors man consoles in the support center to monitor real time data being transmitted from 

the Shuttle. Their purpose is to evaluate and help solve any problems that might crop up with Marshall-developed 

Shuttle elements, including the Space Shuttle main engines, external tank and solid rocket boosters. They also are 

concerned with problems in the overall Main Propulsion System and Range Safety System. 

The data, which provide information on the "health" of these systems, are gathered by sensors aboard the Shuttle 

and are instantaneously transmitted from the launch site to the support center. There the information is processed by 

computers and displayed on screens and other instruments at 12 stations in the Engineering Console Room. More 

than 3,000 temperature, pressure, electrical voltage and other measurements are made every second. During the 10 

hours of peak activity before and during launch, more than 11 million measurements are assessed by teams of 

experts. 

In addition to monitoring this data, support center personnel view the Shuttle on the launch pad via two closed 

circuit television lines. They also have access to more than 50 direct communications lines that link them with the 

launch site at Kennedy Space Center, Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center, and with responsible 

contractor plants. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 34 

OSTA- 1 PAYLOAD 

The OSTA-l payload developed by NASA's office of Space and Terrestrial Applications is the first science and 

applications payload scheduled by the Space Transportation System and will provide an early demonstration of the 

Space Shuttle's research capabilities. 

During the second Shuttle flight, STS-2, the orbiter Columbia will assume an Earth-viewing attitude called Z-axis 

local vertical in which the instruments carried in the payload bay will be aimed at the Earth's surface. The OSTA-l 

experiments concern remote sensing of land resources, environmental quality, ocean conditions, meteorological 

phenomena and life sciences. Five of the experiments will be located on a Spacelab pallet in the payload bay. Two 

will be carried in the crew compartment. 

The experiments mounted in the payload bay include the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A), a side-looking synthetic 

aperture radar which maps terrestrial features; the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) which will 

test a technique to determine rock types; Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) which will help 

develop techniques to make data gathering by Earth resources satellites more efficient; Measurement of Air 

Pollution from Satellites (MAPS), an experiment to measure the amount of carbon monoxide in the middle and 

upper troposphere (12-18 km or 7.5-11 mi.) and the ocean Color Experiment (OCE), an instrument to detect 

differences in ocean color which may indicate concentrations of plankton and schools of fish 

The two experiments carried in the crew compartment include the Heflex Bioengineering Test (HBT), designed to 

prepare the way for a later Spacelab experiment in micro-gravity plant growth, and the Night/Day Optical Survey of 

Lightning (NOSL), an instrument for observing and recording lightning discharges from the vantage point of space. 

The payload is located on mountings close to the center of the Columbia's payload bay and weighs 2,542 kg (5,347 

lb.). 

Orbital Flight Test Pallet 

The five OSTA-1 experiments being flown in the orbiter's payload bay are being carried on a special "U"-shaped 

structure called an orbital flight test pallet. The 3 by 4 m (10 by 13 ft.) aluminum frame and panel structure 

weighing 1,218 kg (2,685 lb.), is an element of Spacelab, a reusable, modular research facility being developed for 

the Space Transportation System by the European Space Agency (ESA) in cooperation with NASA. Spacelab will 

be carried inside the orbiter's cargo bay on missions set to begin in 1983. 

The pallet was originally designed to hold a group of experiments requiring direct exposure to space during a 

Spacelab mission. It allows many experiment payloads to be prepackaged and checked out as a unit prior to 

installation in the orbiter. The experiment equipment is connected to a series of hardpoints on the main (frame) 

structure of the pallet. Attachment of a pallet to the orbiter is accomplished through the use of trunnions and keel 

fittings. 

The pallet being carried on STS-2, is an engineering model of the flight version pallet. This engineering unit has 

been certified for flight and has been adapted for use with special subsystems which provide interfaces between the 

payload and orbiter systems. These subsystems were developed by NASA using, for the most part, off-the-shelf 

hardware. 

The pallet's active thermal control subsystem employs coldplates and a pallet-mounted Freon pump to reject heat, 

generated by the experiments, by sending it through the orbiter's payload heat exchanger. A power subsystem 

includes a control box mounted to the pallet to distribute orbiter electrical power to the payload and provide fused 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 35 

wire protection. The experiment control and data handling subsystem includes a pallet mounted multiplexer/ 

demultiplexer which provides for control of the payload from the orbiter and for the return of data from the 

experiments. 

The Spacelab Program office at Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., is responsible for design, 

development and integration of the overall orbital flight test pallet system. 

The pallet is built by the British Aerospace Corp. under contract to ERNO (Zentral Gesellschaft VFW-Fokker mbh) 

and ESA. 

Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A) 

The Shuttle Imaging Radar-A antenna is the most prominent portion of the OSTA-1 payload. It will send and 

receive microwave radiation to create map-like images of the Earth's surface. Similar radar systems have uncovered 

ancient Mayan canals and have flown on an ocean-surveying satellite (Seasat) to study ice flows and ocean wave 

patterns. This application to Earth land resource study in delineating faults and other geological formations may aid 

in locating oil and other mineral deposits. 

Because radar uses its own energy source rather than relying on reflected energy from another point such as the 

Sun, it is independent of day/night cycles in recording images. It also can penetrate cloud cover and vegetation, 

giving an accurate picture of the Earth's surface, even under a tropical rain forest. 

The imaging radar will be operated over selected targets primarily in the United States. The instrument will be 

turned on by an automatic sequencer, but may be overridden by commands from the ground. 

A radar image 50 km (31 mi.) wide will be recorded along the Shuttle's ground track. During its planned operating 

time of eight hours, the instrument will take data covering a total 10 million square km, or about the size of the 

United States. The system has a resolution of 40 m (131 ft.). 

The imaging radar antenna is 9.35 m (31 ft.) long, 2.16 m (7 ft.) wide, and 15 cm (5.9 in.) thick and weighs 181 kg 

(399 lb.). It is formed by seven epoxy fiberglass panels supported by an aluminum truss structure mounted to the 

pallet so that the viewing angle is 47 degrees from nadir. 

Electronics for the radar are coupled to coldplates and mounted on the pallet. The electronics module measures 1.5 

m (4.9 ft.) long by 1 m (3.2 ft.) wide by 25 cm (9.8 in.) deep. It weighs 136 kg (300 lb.). Included in the module are 

a transmitter, receiver, calibrator and control computer. 

The transmitter generates a frequency modulated rf pulse. The pulse repetition frequency can be changed to 

accommodate a varying range, preventing the instrument from transmitting while signals are being received. The 

receiver contains a variable gain amplifier to control sensitivity to the return signal and a video amplifier to maintain 

a relatively constant amplitude in the signal output to the optical recorder. 

The calibrator generates a controlled amplitude signal which is fed to the receiver and used to measure the intensity 

of the echo. 

The computer controls all operating modes for the radar. 

The radar's optical recorder is a spare from the Apollo program modified to increase its film capacity from two to 

eight hours. The optical recorder is mounted on the experiment shelf and measures 60 by 60 by 50 cm (24 by 24 by 

20 in.) and weighs 68 kg (150 lb.). After the data film is returned it is processed to produce a two-dimensional 

image. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 36 

Radar images collected by the instrument will be compared with other data, particularly Landsat images, to develop 

geologic information for locating hydrocarbon and mineral deposits. 

Principal investigator is Charles Elachi, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 

Co-investigators are Walter E. Brown, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Louis Dellwig, University of Kansas; Anthony 

W. England, Johnson Space Center; Max Guy, Centre National Etudes Spatiales, France; Harold MacDonald, 

University of Arkansas; R. Stephen Saunders, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Gerald Schaber, U.S. Geological 

Survey at Flagstaff, Ariz. 

Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) 

The Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer complements the imaging radar instrument by working to determine 

the best spectral bands to use in remote sensing of rock types. That information, taken together with the delineation 

of geographical features provided by the radar, could help develop a global map of mineral indicators. The spectral 

bands investigated by the infrared radiometer could be incorporated into such remote sensing spacecraft. 

The instrument will evaluate 10 bands in the 0.5 to 2.5 u m range. Data will be correlated with field spectrometer 

data to determine whether the data gathered on the ground is sufficient for determining the best spectral bands to use 

in geological mapping from spacecraft. 

The instrument will operate during daytime passes over land areas when cloud coverage is less than 30 percent. It 

will not be operated within 10 minutes of a Shuttle water dump or fuel cell purge because the optics are sensitive to 

moisture and contamination. A data taking cycle may last from two to 20 minutes with a data recording capacity of 

six hours. 

The infrared radiometer equipment consists of a telescope, a filter wheel, two detectors, two film cameras and 

related electronics. The entire unit weighs 99 kg (218 lb.) and measures 56 by 94 by 117 cm (22 by 37 by 46 in.). 

The telescope is a modified version of the Mariner instrument that gathered images of Venus and Mercury in 1973. 

Calibration lamps are mounted inside the telescope barrel. An opaque cover rotates over the top of the telescope to 

protect the instrument when the experiment is not in operation. 

A filter wheel with 15 evenly spaced positions rotates at 100 revolutions per second. Every third opening is opaque 

to provide a zero based for the detector electronics. The other 10 positions contain filters to sample the spectral 

bands of interest. 

Two mercury-cadmium-telluride detectors convert photons to electrons which comprise the transmission signal. The 

detector assembly is mounted to a thermoelectric cooler to maintain a temperature of minus 81 degrees Celsius. 

The 16 mm cameras correlate the data with the ground view over which it will be taken. One camera is black and 

white, the other color. Both will be triggered each 1.28 second cycle, half a cycle or 0.64 second apart. 

The electronics assembly amplifies the detector signal, integrates the signal over the time an individual filter is in 

the optical path, and converts the signal from analog to digital form for recording on the payload recorder. 

The timing and control electronics coordinate the filter wheel. the detector readout and the cameras. 

Principal investigator is Alexander F. H. Goetz, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 

Co-investigator is Lawrence C. Rowan, U.S. Geological Survey at Reston, Va. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 37 

Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) 

The Feature Identification and Location Experiment is designed to help develop equipment which will make remote 

sensing instruments such as Shuttle Imaging Radar-A and Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer more efficient 

by activating them only when conditions are right for taking data. 

Using the ratio between visual red reflectance and near infrared reflectance, this experiment will attempt to 

characterize scenes as either vegetation, water, snow or clouds, or bare ground. It will suppress further data 

collection in a certain category after it has acquired a given number of scenes. 

The long-term goal, extending over several Shuttle flights, is to develop landmark tracking technology that will 

meet the needs of future Earth resources and global monitoring missions. These needs include the automatic 

acquisition of specific landmarks or generic surface features such as coniferous or deciduous forests, the location of 

those surface features without precise knowledge of spacecraft position, and the suppression of data acquisition 

when the scientific objectives are not in view or when cloud cover is excessive. 

Once the Shuttle assumes its Earth-viewing attitude, the feature identification instrument will be turned on and 

operate thereafter at the direction of its Sun sensor. 

The experiment's system consists of a sunrise sensor, two television cameras, a decision-making electronics unit, a 

buffer memory, a tape recorder and a 70 mm camera. 

The sunrise sensor will activate the experiment when the Sun is 60 degrees from the Space Shuttle's zenith (30 

degrees above the horizon ) 

One of the two television cameras is equipped with an optical filter for visual red; the other with a filter for the near 

infrared. The output of these cameras is sent to the decision-making electronics unit, where the ratio of the 

television camera measurements for each picture element (pixel) is determined. The experiment will contain scene 

class counters to determine when the instrument has recorded an adequate number of scenes of a certain type and 

suppress further data acquisition from such scenes. 

The buffer memory accepts the high-speed output of the decision-making electronics unit and sends it to the tape 

recorder at the lower speed it can accept. 

The digitized video signal and the classification data will be recorded on a Lockheed Mark V tape recorder. 

The Hasselblad 70 mm camera will take a color photograph for each frame of the television data. 

Principal investigator is Roger T. Schappell, Martin Marietta. Denver, Colo. 

Co-investigators are John C. Tietz, Martin Marietta; and W. Eugene Sivertson and R. Gale Wilson, both of NASA 

Langley Research Center. Hampton, Va. 

Measurement of Air Pollution From Satellites (MAPS) 

The Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites experiment will measure the distribution of carbon monoxide in 

the middle and upper troposphere (that part of the atmosphere from the Earth's surface to an altitude of between 12 

and 18 km -- 7.5 to 11 mi.). The experiment will evaluate the performance under varying conditions of techniques 

which may be used in later spacecraft to monitor air pollution. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 38 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 39 

The experiment consists of an electro-optical head, an electronics module, a digital tape recorder and an aerial 

camera. The package measures 90 by 76 by 58 cm (35 by 30 by 23 in.) and weighs 80 kg (176 lb.). The equipment 

is attached to a coldplate and mounted to the pallet. 

The electro-optical head contains two gas cells, one with carbon monoxide at a pressure of 266 torr, the other with 

carbon monoxide at 76 torr; their corresponding detectors; a direct radiation detector; an external balance and gain 

check system; and an internal balance system. 

The electronics module consists of the signal processors, the balance system controls and the circuits needed to 

operate the system. 

The Lockheed Mark V digital tape recorder operates at 50 bits per second. 

The aerial camera is equipped with a light sensor and will photograph the ground track during sunlight. 

The core of the experiment's instrument is a gas filter correlation radiometer. Thermal radiation passes through the 

atmosphere into the viewport of the downlooking instrument. The carbon monoxide in the air produces unique 

absorption lines in the transmitted energy. 

A beam of the incident radiation passes through the high pressure carbon monoxide gas cell and onto a detector. 

The cell acts as a filter for the effects of carbon monoxide present at low altitudes. 

A second beam falls directly onto a detector without passing through any gas filter. The voltage difference between 

the signals from these two detectors can be used to determine the amount of carbon monoxide present in the 

atmosphere at an altitude of 7 to 8 km (4.3 to 4.9 mi.). 

A third beam passes through the low pressure carbon monoxide gas cell and onto a detector. The low pressure cell 

filters out the effects of carbon monoxide present at high atmospheric levels. The difference from this signal's 

voltage and that from the direct detector provides a measurement of carbon monoxide concentration at an altitude of 

10 to 12 km (6 to 7.5 mi.). 

The instrument is powered on after the Shuttle assumes the -Z local vertical attitude and, after a 30-minute warmup, takes data throughout the Earth-viewing orientation. 

Principal investigator is Henry Reichle Jr., NASA Langley Research Center. 

Co-investigators are William L. Chameides, Georgia Institute of Technology; W. Donald Hesketh, Langley 

Research Center; Claus B. Ludwig, Photon Research, Inc.; Reginald E. Newell, Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology; Leonard K. Peters, University of Kentucky; Wolfgang Seiler, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry at 

Mainz; John W. Swinnerton, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; and H. Andrew Wallio, Langley Research Center. 

Ocean Color Experiment (OCE) 

The ocean Color Experiment is designed to test equipment which will distinguish high concentrations of algae in the 

ocean from the other obscuring reflections, such as high sediment concentration and the sea floor. By detecting the 

green color of chlorophyll, the dominant pigment in this basis of the ocean food chain, satellites can help locate 

schools of fish or point out pollution areas. 

To avoid the reflective interference encountered in coastal waters, the instrument will gather its data in the eastern 

areas of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Still, only 10 to 20 percent of the radiation detected will be usable by 

the instrument in detecting chlorophyll. Most of the light reflected from the ocean surface will be scattered by air 

molecules and atmospheric aerosols. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 40 

About 25 two- to 13-minute ocean flyovers will be recorded on the instruments data tapes, these taken during sunlit 

passes over two main areas -- the friction area between the Canary Island current and equatorial countercurrent and 

the upwelling area off the coast of Peru. The experiment also will take data along the eastern coast of the United 

States in the areas of Cape Cod and Georgia. Surface data will be gathered by ships and lowflying aircraft in these 

four areas 

The experiment's instrument is a modified version of the U-2 ocean Color Scanner. It consists of two main modules 

-- the scanner and the electronics. 

The 34-kg (74-lb.) scanner module is a cylinder 75 cm (30 in.) long flattened on one side 27 by 23 cm (11 by 9 in.) 

mounted on the pallet. The instrument components are mounted on an aluminum plate which is divided into four 

sections by bulkheads. The first section houses the motors for the scanner mirror and doors and the devices for 

timing pickup. The second section contains the scanner mirror and is equipped with bomb bay type doors which 

protect the instrument during ascent and entry. The third section contains the telescope. The fourth section houses 

the optics and an electronics box. 

The electronics module weighs 60 kg (132 lb.) and measures 29 by 71 by 91 cm (11 by 28 by 36 in.). It consists of 

the signal amplifiers, a digitizer and the data handling system. 

The rotating mirror on the experiment instrument scans plus or minus 45 degrees from nadir across the direction of 

flight and reflects radiations into a telescope. The telescope images the scene through a 1 by 2 mm field stop and 

onto a diffraction grating. The diffraction light (that is, light separated into its component colors) is directed onto a 

bundle of 24 glass fibers, and a different spectral band is channeled through each glass fiber. The fibers are coupled 

to eight silicon photodiode detectors. 

The signal from the 700 to 800 nanometer channel contains almost none of the information sought by this 

experiment (subsurface scattering) because the water itself absorbs radiance in this spectral range. The signal is 

caused mostly by light reflected from the surface and scattered off air molecules. Thus, this signal can be used to 

calculate the contribution of these noise factors to the radiance received by the other spectral channels. The useful 

information is contained in the difference between the total radiation registered in each of the other channels and the 

radiation registered in the 700 to 800 nanometer channel. 

The signal from each of the other channels will be examined to determine what color bands were scattered by the 

ocean contents. 

Principal investigator is Hongsuk H. Kim, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 

Co-investigators are Lamdin R. Blaine and Robert S. Fraser, both of Goddard Space Flight Center; Norden E. 

Huang, NASA Wallops Flight Center, Wallops Island, Va.; Heinz van der Piepen, DFVLR (West German Research 

and Development Institute for Air and Spacecraft). 

Night/Day optical Survey of Lightning (NOSL) 

The Night/Day optical Survey of Lightning is one of two OSTA-1 investigations carried in the crew compartment 

and it will involve the use of astronauts in observing and recording lightning and thunderstorms. 

Many observers of thunderstorms, including astronauts in space, have commented on the unusual nature of some 

lightning phenomena. The experiment instrument will be used in an attempt to gather quantitative data on these 

events from the unique vantage point of space. 

The crew will use a motion picture camera to film lightning flashes in nighttime thunderstorms. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 41 

A diffraction grating will be attached to the lens during these observations to provide lightning spectrographs which 

can be used to determine the temperature, pressure, molecular species, electron density and percent ionization in the 

lightning's path. 

A photo-optical system will be used to record lightning flashes during the daytime passes. The system will generate 

audio impulses which will be recorded on magnetic tape. 

The experiment equipment consists of the camera, the attached photocell sensor and the connected tape recorder. 

The equipment is stowed in lockers until ready for use on orbit. 

The motion picture camera is a 16 mm data acquisition camera, a model which has been flight tested on Apollo and 

Skylab missions. The camera will run on 28 Vdc power supplied by the Shuttle orbiter. 

The photocell sensor is mounted on top of the camera and its field of view is aligned with the camera. The 

camera/sensor package is 40 by 24 by 20 cm (16 by 9 by 8 in.) high. 

The stereo cassette tape recorder is a Sony TC124. 

Twenty 43-m (140-ft.) film magazines, three 60-minute tape cassettes and spare batteries will be kept in a stowage 

apron mounted on the crew cabin wall. 

Principal investigator is Bernard Vonnegut of the State University of New York at Albany. 

Co-investigators are Otha H. Vaughan Jr., NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., and Marx Brook, 

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. 

Heflex Bioengineering Test (HBT) 

The Heflex Bioengineering Test is not a full-blown experiment, but a preliminary test in support of a later Spacelab 

experiment in micro-gravity plant growth. The Spacelab Heflex (for Helianthus annus Flight Experiment) depends 

on dwarf sunflower plants grown to a particular height range. The test flown on STS-2 will investigate the 

relationship between plant height and initial soil moisture content in a near weightless environment. 

Shortly before launch, a suitcase-like container will be loaded aboard Columbia containing 72 sealed plant modules 

varying in soil moisture content from 58 to 80 percent by weight. The container will be stowed in a locker in the 

crew compartment and removed unopened as soon as possible after flight for evaluation. 

Principal investigator is Allan H. Brown of the University of Pennsylvania. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 42 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 43 

STS-2 ORBITER EXPERIMENTS PROGRAM 

A complete and accurate assessment of Shuttle performance during the launch, boost, orbit, atmospheric entry and 

landing phases of a mission requires precise data collection to document the Shuttle's response to these conditions. 

The office of Aeronautics and Space Technology through its orbiter Experiments Program, is providing research 

experiments onboard the Shuttle orbiter to record specific, research-quality data. The data will verify the accuracy 

of wind tunnel and other ground-based simulations made prior to flight; verify ground-to-flight extrapolation 

methods, and verify theoretical computational methods. The data also will be useful to the office of Space 

Transportation Systems to further certify Shuttle and expand its operational envelope. 

The primary objective of the orbiter Experiments Program is to increase the technology reservoir for development 

of future (21st Century) space transportation systems. The following experiments are currently included in the 

program and are slated to fly on early Shuttle flights. 

Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package (ACIP) 

The primary objectives of the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package are: 

• To collect aerodynamic data during the launch, entry and landing phases of the Shuttle; 

• To establish an extensive aerodynamic data base for verification of and correlation with ground-based data, 

including assessments of the uncertainties of such data; 

• To provide flight dynamics data in support of other technology areas, such as aerothermal and structural 

dynamics. 

Instruments in this package include dual-range linear accelerometers and rate gyros. Also included are the power 

conditioner for the gyros, the power control system and the housekeeping components. The package is installed colinearly with the geometric axes of the orbiter and post-installation measurements made to establish the position 

within 10 arc minutes. The instruments continuously sense the dynamic X, Y and Z attitudes and performance 

characteristics of the orbiter through these critical flight phases. The Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification 

Package also provides high rate sampling of the positions of orbiter control surfaces for recording with the 

package's attitude data. 

Principal technologist is D.B. Howes of Johnson Space Center. Houston. 

Materials and Structures Research 

During the launch and entry phases of orbiter flight and in certain types of on-orbit operation, the outer skin of the 

vehicle will be subjected to conditions that increase the surface temperatures to very high values. The thermal 

protection system has the function of attenuating these temperatures to an acceptable level to protect the primary 

structure and skin of the orbiter. This is achieved through the use of three different materials in three different 

manners. 

One material, rigidized silica fibers, is coated with one of two different coating materials to become either hightemperature reusable surface insulation or low-temperature reusable surface insulation. 

The second material, Nomex felt, is called flexible reusable surface insulation and is applied as a blanket to the 

orbiter skin surfaces that receive lower heating effects. The third material, reinforced carbon-carbon, is used in place 

of metal structures on the leading edges of the wings and stabilizer and on the nose cone, the surfaces which become 

hottest during launch and entry. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 44 

These three materials and applications are supplemented by additional thermal protection at other locations. For 

example, gap-filling material is fitted between the tiles; thermal barriers are installed at the perimeters of hatches, 

doors and other penetrations; and aerothermal seals are installed at the hinge joints of the elevons and body flaps. 

The requirements for the thermal protection system specify reusability with a minimum of unscheduled maintenance 

and the accomplishment of scheduled maintenance within the time allotted for turnaround of the orbiter. 

Meeting these specifications requires extensive knowledge of performance of thermal protection system materials 

and components. The Tile Gap Heating Effects and the Catalytic Surface Effects experiments will provide this 

information. 

Tile Gap Heating Effects (TGH) Experiment 

Analyses and ground tests have shown that the gaps between the tiles of the thermal protection system generate 

turbulent airflow, which will cause increased heating during the reentry phase of flight. Tests have also shown that 

the heating effect may be reduced by optimum design of the gaps and by altering the radii at the edges of the tiles. 

The tile gap experiment was devised to further the investigations of heating phenomena. The results will enable 

improvements in reusable element thermal protection systems to reduce the convective heating caused by gaps and 

other discontinuities. 

The orbiter will be instrumented with a removable panel 45.7 cm (18 in.) square, which will carry 11 tiles of 

baseline material and size. The panel will be fitted to the underside of the orbiter fuselage. The gaps between tiles 

will be carefully calculated and controlled during fitting to ensure that the heating rates generated during entry will 

be no higher than those of the baseline tile array. The aim will be to produce a design that will result in heating rates 

lower than those of the baseline system. 

In addition to gap spacing, the gap depth will also be controlled through the use of fillers fitted at the bottom of 

certain gaps; i.e., at the junction of the tiles and the orbiter fuselage skin. The radii at the outer edges of the tiles will 

be controlled during fabrication to conform to calculations that show the reduced effects in combination with the 

spacing. 

Thermocouples will be fitted to the tile surfaces and at various depths in the gaps to measure temperatures during 

reentry. The output of the thermocouples will be recorded on the orbiter's development flight instrumentation 

system. To assist in evaluation, Tile Gap Heating Effects data will be compared to development flight 

instrumentation data obtained from earlier missions. 

Principal technologist is F. Centolanzi, Ames Research Center. 

Catalytic Surface Effects (CSE) Experiment 

A strong shockwave will encompass the Shuttle orbiter during the atmospheric reentry maneuver. The shock wave 

severely compresses and heats the air flowing through it, causing the molecules to dissociate and react chemically 

with each other. 

Computations show that as the dissociated atomic oxygen approaches the cooler regions of flow adjacent to the 

orbiter, the atomic oxygen fails to recombine into molecular oxygen. 

This experiment will investigate the chemical reaction caused by impingement of atomic oxygen on the Shuttle 

thermal protection system which was designed under the assumption that the atomic oxygen would recombine at the 

thermal protection system wall. This chemical reaction releases additional heat which results in higher thermal 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 45 

protection system temperatures. In this case, the surface is referred to as being a catalytic surface, that is, it allows 

the chemical reaction to take place. 

If the thermal protection system surface is non-catalytic, then atomic oxygen will not recombine into molecular 

oxygen and the heating rates will be lowered. Thus, the temperature of the orbiter during reentry will be lower. With 

lower temperatures, orbiter thermal protection system weight could be reduced, its flight envelope could be 

expanded, or greater reusability could result. 

The technology objective is to verify analytical predictions which could not be adequately simulated in groundbased facilities. The results will provide data and improved computational techniques for future thermal protection 

system designs. 

The Catalytic Surface Effects will use two baseline tiles, selected from those having development flight 

instrumentation thermocouples, located on or near the orbiter lower fuselage centerline. These tiles will be sprayed 

with an overcoating mixture of chrome-iron-spinel, a highly efficient catalytic material and a vinyl acetate binder 

which will protect the overcoat during ground operations. The mixture is compatible with the existing tile and 

coating and will not alter the thermal or mechanical properties of the uncoated portions of the thermal protection 

system. During orbiter ascent, the vinyl acetate will burn off the tile surface, leaving the chrome-iron-spinel 

exposed. 

Thermocouple measurements recorded during reentry will be used to determine Catalytic Surface Effects 

performance. Comparison of this experiment data with data taken on previous flights from uncoated tiles will aid in 

the performance evaluation. 

At the end of each mission, the overcoat will be removed from the tiles, leaving the thermal protection system in its 

original condition. 

Principal technologist is D. Stewart, Ames Research Center. 

Structural Dynamics

Dynamic Acoustic and Thermal Environment (DATE) Experiment 

To fully and economically exploit the benefits of the orbiter's large cargo-carrying capability, it is necessary to 

predict payload environments with accuracy and dispatch. 

Such predictions will facilitate payload development and reduce the need for ultraconservative design and test. The 

Dynamic, Acoustic and Thermal Environment experiment will collect information for use in making credible 

predictions of cargo-bay environments. These environments are neither constant nor consistent throughout the bay 

and are influenced by interactions between cargo elements. The experiment instrumentation which includes 

accelerometers, microphones, thermocouples and strain gages have been installed on both the DFI pallet and the 

OSTA-1 pallet on STS-2. Sensor outputs will be recorded for post-flight interpretation. The Goddard Space Flight 

Center, Greenbelt, Md., will be responsible for the data reduction. 

Principal technologist is W. Bangs, Goddard Space Flight Center. 

Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM) 

The Induced Environment Contamination Monitor is a desk-sized detector containing 10 instruments for 

contaminants in and around the Space Shuttle orbiter cargo bay which might adversely affect delicate experiments 

being carried aboard. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 46 

The monitor, developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., is in the Shuttle cargo bay on the 

second, third and fourth missions. It also will be a part of Spacelab missions one and two. It will operate during prelaunch, ascent, on-orbit. descent and Post-landing. 

With the monitor instrumentation, contaminant sources may be identified and eliminated. It will also provide data 

on the interaction of the induced and natural environments, and will provide critical data for planning of future 

Shuttle payloads. 

Contaminants to be monitored during Shuttle flights include any outgassing from materials within the Shuttle, as 

well as gases from the reaction jets which control the vehicle in orbit. 

The on-orbit measurements include molecular return flux, background spectral intensity, molecular deposition and 

optical surface effects. During the other mission phases, dew point, humidity, aerosol content and trace gas will be 

measured, as well as optical surface effects and molecular deposition. 

After each Shuttle flight, the monitor will be returned to Marshall for refurbishment. The flight data will be 

combined with orbiter data furnished by the Johnson Space Center, Houston, for a comprehensive analysis. 

The detector will operate attached to a release mechanism (also developed by Marshall) on the Development Flight 

Instrumentation pallet during the second Shuttle mission, but on the third and fourth flights it will be moved around 

and outside the cargo bay by the orbiter's Remote Manipulator System and then reattached. On Spacelab missions 

one and two, it will be attached to the Spacelab pallet. 

Measurements will be made with 10 separate instruments: a humidity monitor, dew point hygrometer, air sampler, 

cascade impactor, passive sample array, optical effects module, temperature-controlled quartz crystal microbalance, 

cryogenic quartz crystal 

microbalance, camera/photometer and mass spectrometer. 

A brief description of the objectives of each of the IECM instruments follows: 

Mass Spectrometer -- The Mass Spectrometer has been incorporated into the detector to measure molecular return 

flux, from which molecular column density may be calculated. 

The purpose of the Mass Spectrometer measurement is twofold: to define the offgassing and outgassing molecules 

transported to surfaces in the Shuttle bay for correlation to actual deposition measurements on optical and 

temperature-controlled surfaces, and to define the gas cloud (induced atmosphere) through which optical 

experiments must look. 

Camera/Photometer -- of particular concern to the astronomical community is the effect on astronomical 

experiments of induced contamination in the form of individual particles and general background. Even a moderate 

particulate generation rate by the Shuttle would severely limit the performance of an infrared telescope. 

To make optical measurements of both the induced particulate environment and the background brightness, two 

automated camera/photometers have been placed aboard the detector unit. 

Cryogenic Quartz Crystal Microbalance -- The objective of the Cryogenic Quartz Crystal Microbalance is to 

provide a record of the adsorption and desorption of molecular contamination in the Shuttle cargo bay. On specific 

Shuttle missions when the cargo bay is oriented so that it does not receive direct solar heating for long periods of 

time, the instrument will have the special objective of measuring molecular water vapor. 

Temperature-Controlled Quartz Crystal Microbalance -- The Temperature-Controlled Quartz Crystal Microbalance 

is designed to detect the adsorption or desorption of molecular contamination in the Shuttle cargo bay as a function 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 47 

of temperature. The contamination sources will be characterized as a function of direction and events. 

Contamination will also be grouped into categories according to desorption activation energies. 

Optical Effects Module -- The optical Effects Module is designed to provide the Shuttle cargo bay user community 

information applicable to assessing the contamination hazards likely to be encountered by optical components of 

space-borne instrumentation. 

The optical degradation of some typical window materials will be measured and monitored during pre-launch, 

orbital and post-landing phases. Optical property changes due to deposition of particulates and molecular films will 

be discriminately measured utilizing an integrated scattered light measurement in conjunction with direct, selfcalibrating transmission measurements. 

Passive Sample Array -- An array of optical samples will be exposed to the natural and induced environments of the 

Shuttle cargo bay for later return and analysis on the ground to evaluate the optical effects of contamination. 

Inclusion of the Passive Sample Array permits the greater scope and range of analysis required to more fully assess 

the physical mechanisms of degradation due to deposited contaminants. 

The samples are measured in the laboratory prior to experiment integration. Control samples are included in these 

measurements and are then stored in a controlled, "clean" environment. Following retrieval of samples, whether 

during pre-flight activities or after the flight, the measurements are repeated and the analysis is based on any 

encountered changes. 

Cascade Impactor -- The Cascade Impactor provides a determination of concentration and particle size distribution, 

as a function of time, of air-suspended contaminants in the spacecraft environment during ground-based, ascent, 

descent and post-landing phases. 

In addition to the cascade stages, the impactor measures the amount of airborne nonvolatile residue for molecules 

with sufficiently high sticking coefficient at the temperature encountered. 

Air Sampler -- The objective of the Air Sampler is to determine the gaseous contaminants in the cargo bay area of 

the Shuttle during orbital missions. Basically, the requirements can be categorized into three groups: ground-based; 

ascent; and descent sampling phases. 

During the ground-based sampling, the presence of organic and silicone polymers (such as hydraulic fluids and 

lubricants) is of most concern. During ascent, the primary interest is in hydrochloric acid from the solid rocket 

booster plume as well as hydrocarbons and silicones. During descent, the gaseous sources of greatest concern are 

expected to be nitrogen compounds resulting from reentry effects on the adhesives for the thermal protective 

system; hydrocarbons and silicones can also be sampled during descent. 

Dew Point Hygrometer -- The Dew Point Hygrometer will measure the dew point of the air surrounding the 

monitor. The measurements will be made prior to launch and as long as the vehicle is within the Earth's atmosphere, 

including ascent, reentry and landing. 

Humidity Monitor -- Humidity measurements will be made while the vehicle is the Earth's atmosphere to produce a 

humidity/temperature profile of the environment within the cargo bay. The Humidity Monitor will measure the 

relative humidity from 0 to 70 degrees Celsius (32 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature measurement (0 to 

100 C or 32 to 212 F) will be made by a thermistor located within the humidity sensor mounting. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 48 

ORBITER'S ROBOT "ARM" 

(Remote Manipulator System) 

Columbia has been fitted with a Canadian-built remote manipulator system for initial testing during STS-2. Part of 

the payload deployment and retrieval system, the mechanical arm will be used in operational flights to deploy 

satellites and other payloads or to grapple payloads for stowing in the payload bay and subsequent return to Earth. 

Designed as an analog to the human arm, the manipulator system has shoulder, elbow and wrist joints driven by DC 

electric motors controlled by the flight crew using a combination of direct visual observation and television cameras 

on the elbow and wrist joints. The arm may be operated in five different modes ranging from full manual to 

computer-controlled through hand controls and keyboard at the payload station on the flight deck. 

The manipulator system is installed on the left payload bay longeron for STS-2. A second one can be installed on 

the right longeron for specific payload tasks, although both arms could not be operated simultaneously. 

The arm, built of a light-weight carbon composite tubing 38 cm (15 in.) in diameter, is 15.3 m (S0.25 ft.) long, and 

weighs 408 kg (900 lb.). A thermal blanket provides temperature control for protecting joint-drive mechanisms and 

electronics. Brushless electric motors and gear trains drive the joints for pitch up/ down, yaw left/right and wrist roll 

motions. The "hand," called an end effector, has snare wires that engage a grapple fixture on the payload. 

Television cameras at the wrist and elbow provide the operator visual cues for maneuvering the end effector toward 

a grapple fixture or other target. Operator hand controllers are similar to those used for spacecraft maneuvers -- a 

rotational hand controller for roll, pitch and yaw motions, and translational hand controller for up/down, left/right 

and fore/aft motions. When deactivated, the arm is latched into three cradle pedestals along the left longeron. If the 

drive mechanisms jam and the arm cannot be moved to its stowed position, and if contingency spacewalks are 

unsuccessful in restowing, the arm can be amputated with a pyrotechnic device. 

The five arm operating modes are as follows: 

• Automatic -- operators select autosequence loaded into general purpose computer software which then moves 

arm through sequence; or, operator enters desired position coordinates into computer with keyboard at 

operator's station. 

• Manual Augmented -- operator drives arm end effector with hand controllers without controlling individual 

joint motions. 

• Manual Single Joint Drive -- operator drives arm through control panel switches o a joint-by-joint basis. 

• Direct Drive -- operator controls motion through hardwired command from control panel that bypass the 

general purpose computer. 

• Backup Drive Control -- Essentially same as direct drive, only commands pass through backup electronics and 

wiring. 

The arm was developed and built under a cooperative agreement between NASA and the National Research Council 

of Canada. Spar Aerospace Limited is system prime contractor. Canada has absorbed the costs of research and 

development of the first arm installed aboard Columbia. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 49 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 50 

TRACKING AND DATA NETWORK 

One of the key elements in the Shuttle mission is the capability to track the spacecraft, communicate with the 

astronauts and to obtain the telemetry data that informs ground controllers on the condition of the spacecraft and its 

astronauts. The heart of this complex network is located at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., just 

outside Washington, D.C., where the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network and the NASA Communications 

Network is located. 

With the exception of very brief periods during the launch and recovery of STS-2, Goddard serves as the heartbeat 

of the mission, receiving all telemetry, radar and air-to-ground communications and relaying that information to the 

Johnson Space Center in Houston and to other NASA and Department of Defense facilities participating in the 

mission. Most video (TV) transmission facilities used during the mission are provided by and monitored for quality 

by Goddard personnel. 

Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network 

The Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network is a highly complex NASA worldwide system that provides reliable, 

real-time communications with the Space Shuttle orbiter and crew. The network is maintained and operated by the 

Goddard Space Flight Center. 

The network for the orbital Flight Test Program consists of 18 ground stations equipped with 4.3, 9, 12 and 26 m 

(14, 30, 40 and 8S ft.) S-band antenna systems and C-band radar systems, augmented by 1S Department of Defense 

geographical locations providing C-band support and one Department of Defense 18.3-m (60-ft.) S-band antenna 

system. In addition, there are six major computing interfaces located at the Goddard Center; Network operations 

Control Center; Western Space and Missile Center, Calif.; Air Force Satellite Control Facility, Colo.; White Sands 

Missile Range, N.M.; and Eastern Space and Missile Center, Fla., providing real-time network computational 

support. 

The network has support agreements with the governments of Australia, Spain, Senegal, Botswana, Ecuador, Chile, 

United Kingdom and Bermuda to provide NASA tracking stations support to the Space Transportation System 

program. 

In the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network operations Control Center at Goddard, the network director and a 

team of operations managers and network systems specialists, keep the entire network tuned for the mission support. 

Should the Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center be seriously impaired for an extended time, facilities 

serving the Network operations Control Center become an emergency mission control center manned by Johnson 

personnel, with the responsibility of safely returning the Space Shuttle orbiter to a landing field. 

The Merritt Island, Fla., S-band station provides the appropriate data to the Launch Control Center at the Kennedy 

Space Center and the Mission Control Center at Johnson during prelaunch testing and the terminal countdown. 

During the first minutes of launch and during the ascent phase, the Merritt Island and Ponce de Leon, Fla., S-band 

and Bermuda S-band stations, as well as the C-band stations located at Bermuda; Wallops Island, Va.; Grand 

Bahama; Grand Turk; Antigua; Cape Canaveral; and Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., will provide appropriate tracking 

data, both high speed and low speed, to the Kennedy and Johnson Control Centers. 

The Madrid, Spain; Indian ocean Station Seychelles; Orroral and Yarragadee, Australia; and Guam stations provide 

critical support to the orbital Maneuvering System 1 and 2 burns on the first revolution. During the orbital phase all 

the S-band and C-band stations that see the Space Shuttle orbiter at 30 degrees above the horizon will support and 

provide appropriate tracking, telemetry, air-ground and command support to the Johnson Mission Control Center 

through Goddard. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 51 

During the nominal reentry and landing phase planned for Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; the Goldstone and 

Buckhorn, Calif.; S-band stations and C-band stations at the Pacific Missile Test Center, Vandenberg Air Force 

Base, Edwards Air Force Base and Dryden Flight Research Center will provide highly critical tracking, telemetry, 

command and air-ground support to the orbiter and send appropriate data to the Johnson and Kennedy Control 

Centers. 

NASA Communications Network 

The tracking network is linked together by the NASA Communications Network. All information flows to and from 

the Johnson Mission Control Center and the orbiter Columbia over this communications system. 

The communications network consists of more than two million circuit miles of diversely routed communications 

channels. It uses domestic and international communications satellites, submarine cable and terrestrial landlines and 

microwave radio systems to interconnect the myriad of tracking stations, launch and orbital control centers, and 

other supporting locations. 

The hub of the communications network is the main switching center at Goddard Space Flight Center. From 

Goddard, NASCoM personnel direct overall network operation including those at supporting communications 

network switching centers in Madrid, Spain; Canberra, Australia; and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 

Additionally, communications network support activities are provided by Air Force communications centers at Cape 

Canaveral, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base. 

Since its support of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project in July 1975, the communications network has been significantly 

enhanced and changed to ready it for Space Shuttle support. A key change has been implementation of two 

simultaneous air/ground S-band voice circuits in addition to UHF radio capability. In all previous Apollo missions 

only one S-band circuit was provided. Telemetry data circuitry from tracking stations was increased in size to 

handle 128,000 bits per second (128 Kbps) in real-time versus the 14-21 Kbps in previous programs. 

Correspondingly, the command data circuit to a station was increased from 7.2 Kbps to a 56 Kbps capability. 

To accommodate the increase in data quantity, the communications network real-time data switching system at 

Goddard was enhanced to deal with the higher data rates. 

During previous manned program support, use of communications satellites was limited to those connecting the 

United States with foreign locations (Intelsat system). Since then, domestic communications satellites have become 

available and have been fully exploited so they now play a key role in extending voice, data and television signals 

from key locations and stations in the United States. Additionally, they provide for extending data between Goddard 

and foreign locations as well as between Goddard and Johnson. Their availability, in fact, has allowed for the 

implementation and operation of the complex voice, data and television network assembled for Space Shuttle 

support. 

Much of the communications network developed for Space Shuttle support has been exercised during normal 

support of the worldwide Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network as well as during extensive testing in preparation 

for the Space Shuttle missions. 

Network Systems Support 

At fraction-of-a-second intervals, the network's data processing systems, with Johnson's Mission Control Center as 

the focal point, "talk" to each other or to the spacecraft. High-speed computers at the remote site relay commands at 

a 56 kilobit data rate on such matters as control of cabin pressure, orbital guidance commands or "go-no-go" 

indications to perform certain functions. In addition, they provide digital voice uplink and downlink from the 

stations to the orbiter Columbia. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 52 

The command and air-ground voice is mixed together at the remote station and uplinked to the orbiter at a 72 or 32 

kilobit rate. 

Such "uplink" information is communicated at a rate of about 4,800 bits per second. Communication between 

remote ground sites, via high-speed communications links, occurs at the same rate on a 56 kilobit line. Houston 

reads information, two channels at a time, from these ground sites at 1,544,000 bits per second. 

The computer systems perform many other functions, including: 

• Assuring the quality of the transmission lines by continual 1Y exercising data paths; 

• Verifying accuracy of the messages; and 

• Constantly updating the flight status. 

For downlink data, sensors built into the spacecraft continually sample cabin temperature, pressure and physical 

information on the astronauts such as heartbeat and respiration. These data are transmitted to the ground stations at 

96, 128 or 192 kilobits. 

At Mission Control Center, the computers: 

• Detect and select changes or deviations, compare with their stored programs, and indicate the problem areas or 

pertinent data to the flight controllers; 

• Provide displays to mission personnel; 

• Assemble output data in proper formats; and 

• Log data on magnetic tape for reply for the flight controllers 

Real-time orbital television will be received by the Merritt Island, Fla.; Madrid, Spain; Kauai, Hawaii; and 

Goldstone, Calif.; S-band stations and transmitted to the Johnson Mission Control Center, via Goddard.. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 53 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 54 

STS-2 TELEVISION SCHEDULE 

Elapsed Time 

Day /Hours Subject

 

00/01:35 - 01:42 Payload bay camera view of payload bay door tests and checkout. 

00/07:42 - 07:56 Cabin and payload bay cameras show activation of OSTA-1 payload. 

00/09:18 - 09:21 Night/Day optical Survey of Lightning (NOSL) setup and demonstration 

from cabin camera. 

00/23:50 - 23:58 

01/00:07 - 00:13 Deployment of the remote manipulator arm. 

01/02:52 - 03:07 Operation of remote manipulator arm. 

03/19:01 - 19:08 Teleprinter message removal. 

04/02:28 - 02:44 Meal preparation on middeck. 

04/05:37 - 05:51 EVA/airlock operation demonstration. 

04/21:44 - 21:53 Cycling of aerosurfaces shown by payload bay camera. 
Edited by Ric

SHUTTLE - STANDARD OFT MENU 

Day 11, 5 Day 2, 6 Day 3,7 Day 4,8 

Peaches (T) Applesauce (T) Dried Peaches (IM) Dried Apricots Beef Pattie (R) Dried Beef (NF) Sausage (R) Breakfast Roll Scrambled Eggs (R) Granola (R) Scrambled Eggs (R) Granola w/BlueberrBran Flakes (R) Breakfast Roll (I)(NF) Cornflakes (R) Vanilla Inst. BreakfCocoa (B) Chocolate. Instant. 

Breakfast 

(B) Cocoa (B) Grapefruit Drink 

Orange Drink (B) Orange-Grapefruit 

Drink 

(B) Orange--Pineapple Drink (B) 

Frankfurters (T) Corned Beef (T)(I) Ham (T) Ground Beef w/PickTurkey Tetrazzini (R) Asparagus (R) Cheese Spread (T) Noodles & Chicken Bread (2X) (I)(NF) Bread (2X) (I)(NF) Bread (2X) (I)(NF) Stewed Tomatoes Bananas (FD) Pears (T) Green Beans & Broccoli (R) Pears Almond Crunch Bar (NF) Peanuts (NF) Crushed Pineapple (T) Almonds Apple Drink (2X) (B) Lemonade (2X) (B) Shortbread Cookies (NF) Strawberry Drink  Cashews (NF)  Tea w/Lemon & Sugar 

(2X) 

(B) 

Shrimp Cocktail (R) Beef w/BBQ Sauce (T) Cream of Mushroom 

Soup 

(R) Tuna 

Beef Steak (T)(I) Cauliflower w/ 

Cheese 

(R) Smoked Turkey (T)(IM) Macaroni & Cheese 

Rice Pilaf (R) Green Beans w/ 

Mushrooms 

(R) Mixed Italian Vegetables (R) Peas w/Butter Sauc

Broccoli au Gratin (R) Lemon Pudding (T) Vanilla Pudding (T) Peach Ambrosia Fruit Cocktail (T) Pecan Cookies (NF) Strawberries (R) Chocolate Pudding 

Butterscotch Pudding (T) Cocoa (B) Tropical Punch (B) Lemonade Grape Drink (B) 

Abbreviations

T = Thermostabilized I = Irradiated R= Rehydratable IM = Intermediate Moisture FD = Freeze-Dried NF = Natural Form 

1 NOTE: Day 1 (launch day) consists of Meal B and C only. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 56 

STS-2 CREWMEMBERS 

S81-34641 – Official portrait of STS-2 crewmembers Joe H. Engle (commander), left, and Richard H. Truly (pilot) 

posing in ejection escape suits (EES) with a model of the space shuttle. 

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 57 

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA 

NAME: Joe Henry Engle (Colonel, USAF) - STS-2 Commander 

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Born Aug. 26, 1932, Abilene, Kans.; Home - Chapman, Kans. 

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Blond hair; hazel eyes; height: 6 feet; weight: 160 pounds. 

EDUCATION: Attended primary and secondary schools in Chapman and is a graduate of Dickinson County High 

School; received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1955. 

MARITAL STATUS: Married to the former Mary Catherine Lawrence of Mission Hills, Kans. 

CHILDREN: Laurie J., April 25, 1959; Jon L., May 9, 1962. 

RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: His hobbies include flying (including World War II fighter aircraft), big game 

hunting, back packing and athletics. 

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. 

SPECIAL HONORS: For flight testing of the NASA-USAF X-15 research rocket airplane, he received the: 

• USAF .Astronaut Wings (1964) 

• USAF Distinguished Flying Cross (1964) 

• AFA* outstanding Young USAF officer of 1964 

• U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce -- one of the Ten outstanding Young Men in America (1964) 

• AIAA* Lawrence Sperry Award for Flight Research (1966) 

• AIAA* Pioneer of Flight Award (1965) 

For flight testing of the Space Shuttle Enterprise during the Approach and Landing Test (ALT) program in 1977, he 

received: 

• USAF Distinguished Flying Cross (1978) 

• SETP* Iven C. Kincheloe Award for Flight Test (1977) 

• NASA Exceptional Service Medal 

• NASA Special Achievement Award 

• AFA* David C. Schilling Award for Flight 

• AIAA* Haley Space Flight Award for 1980 

• AAS* Flight Achievement Award 

• Soaring Society of America - Certificate of Achievement 

* AFA - Air Force Association AIAA - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SETP - Society of 

Experimental Test Pilots AAS - American Astronautical Society -64 

EXPERIENCE: Engle was a test pilot in the X-15 research program at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., from June 

1963 until his assignment to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Three of his 16 flights in the X-15 exceeded an 

altitude of 50 miles (the altitude that qualifies a pilot for astronaut rating). Prior to that time, he was a test pilot in 

the Fighter Test Group at Edwards. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 58 

He received his commission in the Air Force through the AFROTC program at the University of Kansas and entered 

flying school in 1957. He served with the 47th Fighter Day Squadron and the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron at 

George Air Force Base, Calif. He is a graduate of the USAF Experimental Test Pilot School and the Air Force 

Aerospace Research Pilot School. 

He has flown over 135 different types of aircraft during his career (25 different fighters), logging more than 10,000 

hours flight time -- 6,800 in jet aircraft. 

NASA EXPERIENCE: Col. Engle is one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He was backup 

lunar module pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. 

He was commander of one of the two crews who flew the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test flights from 

June through October 1977. In this series of flight tests, he and crewmate Richard H. Truly evaluated the orbiter 

handling qualities and landing characteristics. They also obtained the stability and control and performance data in 

the subsonic flight envelope for the Space Shuttle. Engle and Truly flew the first flight of the Space Shuttle in the 

orbital configuration (i.e., with the tail cone removed). 

Engle was the backup commander for STS-1, the first Shuttle orbital test flight. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 59 

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA 

NAME: Richard H. Truly (Captain, USN) - STS-2 Pilot 

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Born in Fayette, Miss., on Nov. 12, 1937. He is the son of James B. Truly of Forest, Miss. 

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Brown hair; brown eyes; height: 5 ft. 8 in.; weight: 150 lb. 

EDUCATION: Attended schools in Fayette and Meridian, Miss.; received a bachelor of aeronautical engineering degree 

from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959. 

MARITAL STATUS: Married to the former Colleen Hanner of Milledgeville, Ga. Her mother, Mrs. Daniel M. Hanner, 

resides in Rutledge, Ga. 

CHILDREN: Richard Michael, May 10, 1961; Daniel Bennett, Aug. 9, 1963; Lee Margaret, Sept. 8, 1969. 

RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: He enjoys general outdoor sports and is a stamp collector. 

SPECIAL HONORS: Presented two NASA Exceptional Service Medals (1973 and 1978); the Johnson Space Center 

Superior Achievement Award (1972) and Special Achievement Award (1978; the Soaring Society of America's Certificate 

of Achievement Award (1978); the SETP's Iven C. Kincheloe Award (1978); the Air Force Association's David C. 

Schilling Award (1978); the American Astronautical Society’s Flight Achievement Award for 1977; the Navy 

Distinguished Flying Cross (1979); the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Haley Space Award for 1980. 

EXPERIENCE: Truly received his commission through the Naval Reserve officer Training Corps (NROTC) program at 

Georgia Tech. 

He completed naval flight training in 1960 at Beeville, Texas, and was assigned to Fighter Squadron 33 from 1960 to 

1963. During this period, he served aboard the USS INTREPID (CVS 11) and the USS ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)65) and 

has made more than 300 carrier landings. He was a member of Class 64A at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, 

Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and was subsequently assigned there as an instructor upon graduation. 

From November 1965 to September 1969, he was assigned to the USAF Manned orbiting Laboratory Program on 

astronaut status. 

With over 6,000 hours in jet aircraft, he has acquired proficiency in the F-8, F-9, F-11, F-101, F-104 and F-106. 

NASA EXPERIENCE: Capt. Truly became a NASA astronaut in September 1969. He was a member of the astronaut 

support crew and a capsule communicator for all three of the Skylab missions and the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. 

Truly and Joe H. Engle were one of the two two-man crews who flew Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test flights 

during the period June through October 1977. This series of critical orbiter flight tests involved initially Boeing 747/ 

orbiter captive-active flights, followed by air-launched, unpowered glide, approach and landing tests (free flights). There 

were three captive tests with the orbiter Enterprise carried atop the Boeing 747 carrier aircraft allowing inflight test and 

checkout of orbiter systems, and five free flights which permitted extensive evaluations of the orbiter's subsonic flying 

qualities and performance characteristics during separation, up and away flight, flare, landing and rollout -- providing 

valuable real time data duplicating the last few minutes of an operational Shuttle mission. Truly and Engle flew the second 

and fourth free flights, with Free Flight 4 being the first flight in the orbital configuration (with the tailcone removed). 

He was backup pilot for STS-1, the first orbital flight test of the Shuttle. 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 60 

SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 

NASA Headquarters 

James M. Beggs Administrator 

Dr. Hans Mark Deputy Administrator 

L. Michael Weeks Acting Associate Administrator for Space Transportation Systems 

David R. Braunstein Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Transportation Systems (Management) 

Daniel M. Germany Director, Orbiter Programs 

Walter F. Dankoff Director, Engine Programs 

Edward P. Andrews Director, Ground Systems and Flight Test 

LeRoy E. Day Director, Systems Engineering and Integration 

Frank Van Rensselear Director, Upper Stage 

Jerry J. Fitts Director, Solid Rocket Booster and External Tank 

Johnson Space Center 

Christopher C. Kraft Director 

Clifford E. Charlesworth Deputy Director 

Glynn S. Lunney Manager, Space Shuttle Program 

Donald K. "Deke" Slayton Manager, Orbital Flight Test 

Aaron Cohen Manager, Space Shuttle Orbiter Project Office 

George W. S. Abbey Director of Flight Operations 

Maxime A. Faget Director of Engineering and Development 

Lynwood C. Dunseith Director of Data Systems and Analysis 

Kennedy Space Center 

Richard G. Smith Director 

Dr. Robert H. Gray Manager, Shuttle Projects Office 

John J. Neilon Manager, Cargo Projects 

George F. Page Director, Shuttle Operations 

Thomas S. Walton Manager, Cargo Operations 

Marshall Space Flight Center 

Dr. William R. Lucas Director 

Thomas J. Lee Deputy Director 

Robert E. Lindstrom Manager, MSFC Shuttle Projects Office 

James E. Kingsbury Director, Science and Engineering Directorate 

James B. Odom Manager, External Tank Project 

George B. Hardy Manager, Solid Rocket Booster Project 

James R. Thompson Jr. Manager, Space Shuttle Main Engine Project 

James M. Sisson Manager, Engineering and Major Test Management office 

Dryden Flight Research Center 

Isaac T. Gillam IV Director 

Robert F. Johannes Deputy Director 

John A. Manke Chief of Flight Operations 

Mel Burke Shuttle Project Manager 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 61 

Goddard Space Flight Center 

A. Thomas Young Director 

Dr. John H. McElroy Deputy Director 

Richard S. Sade Director of Networks Directorate Space Tracking and Data Network 

Walter LaFleur Deputy Director of Networks Directorate (STDN) 

William B. Dickinson Division Chief, NASA Communications Network 

Donald D. Wilson Chief, NASA Communications Network 

Daniel Spintman Chief, Network Operations Division 

James M. Stevens Shuttle Network Support Manager 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 62 

ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS 

AA Accelerometer Assembly, Angular Accelerometer 

A/A Air-to-Air 

ACCEL Accelerometer 

ACCU Audio Center Control Unit 

ACIP Aerodynamic Coefficients Identification Package 

ACN Ascension Island (STDN site) 

ADI Attitude Directional Indicator 

AGO Santiago, Chile (STDN site) 

ANG Angle 

ANT Antenna 

AOA Abort Once Around 

AOS Acquisition of Signal 

APU Auxiliary Power Unit 

ATO Abort to orbit 

AUD Audio 

AUTO Automatic 

BDA Bermuda Island (STDN site) 

BOT Botswana (STDN site) 

BRT Bright 

BUC Buckhorn, Calif. (STDN site) 

CAL Calibration 

CAMR Camera 

CCTV Close Circuit Television 

CCU Crewman Communications Umbilical 

CDR Commander 

CNSL Console 

CNTLR Controller 

C/O Checkout 

COAS Crewman optical Alignment Sight 

CONT Continuous 

CRT Cathode Ray Tube 

CRT Center 

C/W Caution and Warning 

DAP Digital Auto Pilot 

DB Deadband 

DFI Development Flight Instrumentation 

DISC Discrete 

DKR Dakar, Senegal (STDN site) 

DTO Detailed Test objective 

ECLS Environmental Control Life Support 

ESW Edwards AFB, Calif. (Deorbit optional site) 

EES Emergency Ejection Suits 

EET Entry Elapsed Time 

EI Entry/Interface 

ET External Tank 

FCS Flight Control System 

FDF Flight Data File 

FM Frequency Modulation 

FRD Flight Requirements Document 

FSO Functional Supplementary Objective 

FTO Functional Test Objective 

GDS Goldstone, Calif. (STDN site, 1st antenna) 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 63 

ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS (continued) 

GDX Goldstone, Calif. (STDN site, 2nd antenna) 

GLRSHLD Glareshield 

GMT Greenwich Mean Time 

GNC Guidance Navigation and Control 

GPC General Purpose Computer 

GWM Guam Island, U.S. (STDN site) 

HAW Hawaii (Kauai, STDN site) 

HIC Hickam AFB, Hawaii (Deorbit optional site) 

HTR Heater 

IECM Induced Environmental Contamination Monitor 

IMU Inertial Measurement Unit 

INRTL Inertial 

IOS Indian Ocean Station (STDN site) 

ITS Interim Teleprinter System 

KAD Kadena AB, Ryukyu Islands (Deorbit optional site) 

KSC Kennedy Space Center, Fla. (Deorbit optional site) 

L Left 

LH2 Liquid Hydrogen 

LON Longitude 

LOS Loss of Signal 

LOX Liquid Oxygen 

LTG Lighting 

LVLH Local Vertical Local Horizontal 

MAD Madrid, Spain (STDN site, 1st antenna) 

MAN Manual 

MAX Madrid, Spain (STDN site, 2nd antenna) 

MECO Main Engine Cutoff 

MET Mission Elapsed Time 

MIL Merritt Island, Fla. (STDN site, 1st antenna) 

MLX Merritt Island, Fla. (STDN site, 2nd antenna) 

MNVR Maneuver 

NOR Northrup FLT Strip, N.M. (Deorbit optional site) 

NOZ Nozzle 

O2 Oxygen 

OF Operational Flight Instrumentation 

OI Operational Instrumentation 

OMS Orbital Maneuvering System 

OPR Operator 

OPS Operations, Operational Sequence 

ORB Orbiter 

ORR Orroral Valley, Australia (STDN site) 

OVHD Overhead 

PA Power Amplifier 

PCM Pulse-Code Modulation 

PL Payload 

PLBD Payload Bay Doors 

PLT Pilot 

PM Phase Modulation 

PMC Private Medical Communication 

PNL Panel 

POS Position 

PRO Proceed 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 64 

ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS (continued) 

PTC Passive Thermal Control 

PWR Power 

QTY Quantity 

QUI Quito, Ecuador (STDN site) 

R Right 

RCDR Recorder 

RCS Reaction Control System 

REF Reference 

REFSMMAT Reference Stable Member Matrix 

RELMAT Relative Matrix 

RGA Rate Gyro Assembly 

ROS Regulated Oxygen System 

ROT Rota, Spain (Deorbit optional site); Rotation 

RT Rotation Discrete Rate 

SA South Atlantic Anomaly 

SEL Select 

SEP Separation 

SGLS Space Ground Link System 

SPKR Speaker 

SPLY Supply 

SV State Vector 

SYS Systems 

TB Talkback 

TDRS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 

TK Tank 

T/L Timeline 

TRKR Tracker 

TUL Tula Peak, N.M. (STDN site) 

TV Television 

UHF Ultra High Frequency 

VAC Vacuum 

VLV Valve 

VTR Video Tape Recorder 

WCS Waste Collection System 

WIN Yarragadee, Australia (STDN site) 

WMC Waste Management Compartment 

XFER Transfer 

X-POP X Body Axis Perpendicular to orbit Plane 

Y-POP Y Body Axis Perpendicular to orbit Plane 

-ZLV -Z Local Vertical (-Z body axis towards Earth) 
Edited by Richard W. Orloff, 01/2001/Page 65 

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS AS OF SEPTEMBER 1981 

1 TOTAL FLIGHT OF THE SHUTTLE SYSTEM 

STS-1 

04/12/81 - 04/14/81 

OV-102 

Columbia 

(1 flight)