- STS-6
Infobox Space mission
mission_name = STS-6
insignia = Sts-6-patch.png
shuttle = Challenger
launch_pad = 39-A
launch =April 4 ,1983 , 18:30:00UTC
landing =April 9 ,1983 , 18:53:42 UTC
Edwards Airforce Base
duration = 5d/00:23:42
altitude = 330 km
inclination = 28.5°
orbits = 81
distance = 3,370,437 km
crew_photo = Sts-6-crew.jpg
crew_caption = L-R Peterson, Weitz, Musgrave, Bobko
previous =STS-5
next =STS-7 STS-6 was a
Space Shuttle mission conducted byNASA using Space Shuttle "Challenger". LaunchedApril 4 ,1983 , STS-6 was the sixth space shuttle mission and the first of the ten missions flown on "Challenger". The mission took off fromKennedy Space Center launch pad 39-A, and landed atEdwards Air Force Base .Crew
Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
*
Paul J. Weitz (2) - Commander
*Karol J. Bobko (1) - Pilot
*Donald H. Peterson (1) - Mission Specialist
*F. Story Musgrave (1) - Mission SpecialistMission parameters
*
Mass :
**"Orbiter Liftoff:" 116,457 kg
**"Orbiter Landing:" 86,330 kg
**"Payload:" 21,305 kg
*Perigee : 288 km
*Apogee : 295 km
*Inclination : 28.5°
*Period: 90.4 minpace walk
* " Musgrave and Peterson " - EVA 1
*EVA 1 Start:April 7 ,1983 , 21:05 UTC
*EVA 1 End: April 8, 01:15 UTC
*Duration: 4 hours, 10 minutesMission highlights
On
April 4 1983 STS-6, the first "Challenger" mission, lifted off at 1:30 p.m. EST. It was the first use of a new lightweight external tank and lightweight SRB casings.The mission originally had been scheduled for launch on
January 30 1983 . However, ahydrogen leak in one of the main engines was discovered. Later, after a flight readiness firing of the main engines onJanuary 25 1983 , fuel line cracks were found in the other two engines. A spare engine replaced the engine with the hydrogen leak and the other two engines were removed, repaired and reinstalled.Meanwhile, as the engine repairs were underway, a severe storm caused contamination of the primary cargo for the mission, the first
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), while it was in the Payload Changeout Room on the Rotating Service Structure at the launch pad. This meant the satellite had to be taken back to its checkout facility where it was cleaned and rechecked. The Payload Changeout Room and the payload bay also had to be cleaned.STS-6 carried a crew of four --
Paul J. Weitz , commander;Karol J. Bobko , pilot;Donald H. Peterson andStory Musgrave , both mission specialists. Using newspace suit s designed specifically for the Space Shuttle, Peterson and Musgrave successfully accomplished the program's firstextravehicular activity (EVA), performing various tests in thepayload bay . Their space walk lasted for 4 hours, 17 minutes.Although the 5,000-lb. TDRS was successfully deployed from the "Challenger", its two-stage booster rocket, the
Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), tumbled out of control, placing the satellite into a lowelliptical orbit . Fortunately, the satellite contained extra propellant beyond what was needed for its attitude control system thrusters, and during the next several months the thrusters were fired at carefully planned intervals gradually moving TDRS-l into its geosynchronous operating orbit thus saving the $100-million satellite.Other STS-6 cargo included three GAS canisters and continuation of the Monodisperse Latex Reactor and the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis experiments.
"Challenger" returned to
Earth onApril 9 1983 at 10:53 a.m. PST, landing on Runway 22 atEdwards AFB . It completed 80 orbits, traveling 2 million miles in 5 days, 23 minutes, 42 seconds. It was flown back to KSC onApril 16 1983 .Mission insignia
The six white stars in the upper blue field of the mission patch tell the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.
ee also
*
Space science
*Space shuttle
*Space Shuttle Challenger
*List of space shuttle missions
*List of human spaceflights chronologically External links
* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-6.html STS-6 Mission Data]
* [http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/chron/sts-6.htm STS-6 Mission Chronology]
* [http://www.nss.org/resources/library/shuttlevideos/shuttle06.htm STS-6 Video Highlights]
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