STS-5

This article is about the Space Shuttle mission STS-5. For the hominid fossil, see STS 5.

STS-5
The SBS-3 satellite with attached PAM-D motor is deployed from Columbia.
NamesSpace Transportation System-5
Mission typeCommunications satellites deployment
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1982-110A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.13650Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration5 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes, 26 seconds
Distance travelled3,397,082 km (2,110,849 mi)
Orbits completed81
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Columbia
Launch mass112,088 kg (247,112 lb)
Landing mass91,841 kg (202,475 lb)
Payload mass14,551 kg (32,079 lb)
Crew
Crew size4
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 11, 1982, 11:19:00 (November 11, 1982, 11:19:00) UTC (7:19:00 am EST)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateNovember 16, 1982, 14:33:26 (November 16, 1982, 14:33:26) UTC (6:33:26 am PST)
Landing siteEdwards, Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[1]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude294 km (183 mi)
Apogee altitude317 km (197 mi)
Inclination28.50°
Period90.50 minutes

STS-5 mission patch

From left: Allen, Brand, Overmyer and Lenoir
← STS-4
STS-6 →

STS-5 was the fifth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. It launched on November 11, 1982, and landed five days later on November 16, 1982. STS-5 was the first Space Shuttle mission to deploy communications satellites into orbit, and the first officially "operational" Space Shuttle mission.

Crew

[edit]
Position Astronaut
Commander Vance D. Brand
Second spaceflight
Pilot Robert F. Overmyer
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Joseph P. Allen
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2
Flight Engineer 		William B. Lenoir
Only spaceflight

Support crew

[edit]

Crew seat assignments

[edit]
Seat[2] Launch Landing
Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck.
Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
1 Brand
2 Overmyer
3 Unused
4 Lenoir Allen
5 Allen Lenoir
6 Unused
7 Unused

Mission summary

[edit]

Columbia launched on schedule from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 07:19:00 a.m. EST, on November 11, 1982. The shuttle carried a crew of four – the largest spacecraft crew up to that time – and the first two commercial communications satellites to be flown aboard a shuttle.

The commercial satellites were deployed successfully and subsequently propelled into their operational geosynchronous orbits by McDonnell Douglas PAM-D kick motors. The two satellites were SBS-3, owned by Satellite Business Systems, and Anik-C3, owned by Telesat Canada; both were Hughes-built HS-376-series satellites. In addition, STS-5 carried a West German-sponsored microgravity Getaway Special (GAS) experiment canister in the payload bay. The crew also conducted three student-designed experiments during the flight.

Lenoir and Allen were to perform a spacewalk, the first of the Space Shuttle program, to test newly developed space suits. The space suits were developed as cheaper and less complicated alternatives to the Apollo versions. The test was delayed by one day due to Lenoir succumbing to motion sickness.[3] Then a poorly functioning oxygen regulator in Lenoir's suit and a broken recirculation fan in Allen's caused them to cancel the extravehicular activity (EVA) entirely.[4] It was the first time in the history of the space program that an EVA had been cancelled due to space suit issues.[5]

Columbia landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base on November 16, 1982, at 06:33:26 a.m. PST, having traveled 3,397,082 km (2,110,849 mi) in 81 orbits during a mission that lasted 5 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes and 26 seconds.[6] Columbia was returned to KSC on November 22, 1982. STS-5 was the first Space Shuttle flight in which the crew did not wear pressure suits for the launch, reentry, and landing portions of the flight, similar to the Soviet Voskhod and Soyuz missions prior to the ill-fated Soyuz 11 mission in 1971.

Operational status

[edit]

The Space Shuttle was formally declared "operational" after STS-4. However, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), in its report on the loss with all crew aboard of Columbia during STS-107 in 2003, asserted that the orbiter should never have been considered operational and that, while not intrinsically unsafe, it was in fact an experimental vehicle. The CAIB's rationale was that civilian and military aircraft that are considered operational must have been tested and proven over thousands of safe flights in their final operational configurations, whereas the shuttle had conducted under 200 flights, with continuous modification. NASA operated the Space Shuttle as an experimental vehicle for the remainder of the program.[7]

Mission insignia

[edit]

The five points of the blue star of the mission patch indicate the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.[citation needed]

Wake-up calls

[edit]

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.[8]

Flight Day Song Artist/Composer
Day 2 "76 Trombones" The Music Man
Day 3 "Cotton Eyed Joe"
Day 4 "Marine Hymn" United States Marine Band
Day 5 "The Stroll" The Diamonds/Clyde Otis
Day 6 "Take Me Home, Country Roads" John Denver
[edit]
  • Columbia is launched from Launch Pad 39A on its fifth flight and first operational mission.
    Columbia is launched from Launch Pad 39A on its fifth flight and first operational mission.
  • Anik-C3 being deployed.
    Anik-C3 being deployed.
  • Columbia concluding its mission with an early morning landing at Runway 22 of Edwards Air Force Base.
    Columbia concluding its mission with an early morning landing at Runway 22 of Edwards Air Force Base.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan (January 6, 2022). "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "STS-5". Spacefacts. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "Suit Failures Scuttle Walks in Space". LNP Always Lancaster. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Shuttle's 'Can Deliver' Crew Grilled". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. November 17, 1982. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "$2 Million Space Suit Fails Its First Test". LNP Always Lancaster. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Shuttle Crew Back in Houston". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 17, 1982. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Columbia Accident Investigation Board" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved August 16, 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ Fries, Colin (June 25, 2007). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2007. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to STS-5.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=STS-5&oldid=1238777904"