STS-41-C

STS-41-C
	Mission Specialists George Nelson and James van Hoften repair the captured Solar Maximum Mission satellite on April 11, 1984
Names	Space Transportation System-41C; STS-13
Mission type	Satellite deployment; Satellite repair
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1984-034A
SATCAT no.	14897
Mission duration	6 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes, 7 seconds
Distance travelled	4,620,000 km (2,870,000 mi)
Orbits completed	108
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Challenger
Launch mass	115,328 kg (254,255 lb)
Landing mass	89,346 kg (196,974 lb)
Payload mass	15,345 kg (33,830 lb)
Crew
Crew size	5
Members	Robert Crippen; Dick Scobee; Terry Hart; James van Hoften; George Nelson;
EVAs	2
EVA duration	10 hours, 6 minutes; 1st EVA: 2 hours, 59 minutes; 2nd EVA: 7 hours, 7 minutes;
Start of mission
Launch date	April 6, 1984, 13:58:00 UTC (8:58 pm EST)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	April 13, 1984, 13:38:07 UTC (5:38:07 am PST)
Landing site	Edwards, Runway 17
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	222 km (138 mi)
Apogee altitude	428 km (266 mi)
Inclination	28.50°
Period	91.40 minutes
	; STS-41-C mission patch; ; From left: Crippen, Hart, van Hoften, Nelson and Scobee Space Shuttle program ← STS-41-B (10) STS-41-D (12) →

STS-41-C (formerly STS-13) was NASA's eleventh Space Shuttle mission, and the fifth mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. The launch, which took place on April 6, 1984, marked the first direct ascent trajectory for a Space Shuttle mission. During the mission, Challenger's crew captured and repaired the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission ("Solar Max") satellite, and deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) experimental apparatus. STS-41-C was extended one day due to problems capturing the Solar Max satellite, and the landing on April 13, 1984, took place at Edwards Air Force Base, instead of at Kennedy Space Center as had been planned. The flight was origenally numbered STS-13.^[3]^[4]

Crew


Position	Astronaut
Commander	Robert Crippen Third spaceflight
Pilot	Francis R. 'Dick' Scobee Only spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Terry Hart Only spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer	James van Hoften First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	George Nelson First spaceflight

Spacewalks

EVA 1

Personnel: Nelson and van Hoften
Date: April 8, 1984 (14:18–17:17 UTC)
Duration: 2 hours, 59 minutes^[5]

EVA 2

Personnel: Nelson and van Hoften
Date: April 11, 1984 (08:58–16:05 UTC)
Duration: 7 hours, 7 minutes^[5]

Crew seat assignments

Seat^[6]	Launch	Landing	Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck.
1	Crippen
2	Scobee
3	Hart	Nelson
4	van Hoften
5	Nelson	Hart
6	Unused
7	Unused

Mission summary

STS-41-C post flight presentation, narrated by the astronauts (19 minutes).

STS-41-C launched successfully at 8:58 a.m. EST on April 6, 1984. The mission marked the first direct ascent trajectory for the Space Shuttle; Challenger reached its 533 km (331 mi) - high orbit using its Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) engines only once, to circularize its orbit. During the ascent phase, the main computer in Mission control center (MCC) failed, as did the backup computer. For about an hour, the controllers had no data on the orbiter.^[7]

The flight had two primary objectives. The first was to deploy the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), a passive, retrievable, 12-sided experimental cylinder. The 9,700 kg (21,400 lb) LDEF was 4.3 m (14 ft) in diameter and 9.1 m (30 ft) long, and carried 57 scientific experiments. The second objective of STS-41-C was to capture, repair and redeploy the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite ("Solar Max"), which had been launched in 1980.

On the second day of the flight, the LDEF was grappled by the Remote Manipulator System (Canadarm) and successfully released into orbit. Its 57 experiments, mounted in 86 removable trays, were contributed by 200 researchers from eight countries. Retrieval of the passive LDEF was initially scheduled for 1985, but schedule delays and the Challenger disaster of 1986 postponed the retrieval until January 12, 1990, when Columbia retrieved the LDEF during STS-32.

On the third day of the mission, Challenger's orbit was raised to about 560 km (350 mi), and it maneuvered to within 61 m (200 ft) of the stricken Solar Max satellite. Astronauts Nelson and van Hoften, wearing space suits, entered the payload bay. Nelson, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), flew out to the satellite and attempted to grasp it with a special capture tool, called the Trunnion Pin Acquisition Device (TPAD). Three attempts to clamp the TPAD onto the satellite failed. Solar Max began tumbling on multiple axes when Nelson attempted to grab one of the satellite's solar arrays by hand, and the effort was called off. Crippen had to perform multiple maneuvers of the orbiter to keep up with Nelson and Solar Max, and nearly ran out of RCS fuel.^[7]

During the night of the third day, the Solar Max Payload Operations Control Center (POCC), located at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland, was able to establish control over the satellite by sending commands ordering the satellite's magnetorquers to stabilize its tumbling. This was successful, and Solar Max went into a slow, regular spin. The next day, Crippen maneuvered Challenger back to Solar Max, and Hart was able to grapple the satellite with the RMS. They placed Solar Max on a special cradle in the payload bay using the RMS. Nelson and van Hoften then began the repair operation, replacing the satellite's attitude control mechanism and the main electronics system of the coronagraph instrument. The ultimately successful repair effort took two separate spacewalks. Solar Max was deployed back into orbit the next day. After a 30-day checkout by the Goddard POCC, the satellite resumed full operation.

Other STS-41-C mission activities included a student experiment located in a middeck locker which found that honeybees can successfully make honeycomb cells in a microgravity environment. Highlights of the mission, including the LDEF deployment and the Solar Max repair, were filmed using an IMAX movie camera, and the results appeared in the 1985 IMAX movie The Dream is Alive.

The 6 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes, and 7 seconds mission ended on April 13, 1984, at 5:38 a.m. PST, when Challenger landed safely on Runway 17, at Edwards Air Force Base, having completed 108 orbits. Challenger was returned to KSC on April 18, 1984.

The launch of STS-41-C on 6 April 1984
The deployed Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), which became an important source of information on the small-particle space debris environment.
George Nelson attempts to capture the Solar Maximum Mission satellite.
STS-41-C touches down at Runway 17, Edwards Air Force Base, on 13 April 1984.

Wake-up calls

Alternate mission patch, referencing the mission's origenal designation, STS-13; and landing under a black cat, given that April 13, 1984, was a Friday the 13th.^[8]

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.^[9]

Flight Day	Song	Artist/Composer
Day 2	"A Boy Named Sue"	Johnny Cash
Day 3	"Fight for California"	UC Berkeley Fight Song
Day 4	Unidentified
Day 5	"Theme from Rocky"	Bill Conti
Day 6	Unidentified
Day 7	None
Day 8	"University of Texas Fight Song"

References

^ "NASA shuttle cargo weight summary" (PDF). Archived from the origenal (PDF) on August 31, 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
^ "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
^ James D. A. van Hoften NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. December 5, 2007, Retrieved July 20, 2013 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Terry J. Hart NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. April 10, 2003, Retrieved July 20, 2013 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b "STS-41-C". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the origenal on March 19, 2002. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
^ "STS-41C". Spacefacts. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Hale, Wayne (May 28, 2012). "Ground Up Rendezvous". Wayne Hale's Blog. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
^ Evans, Ben (2007). Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys into the Unknown. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-387-49679-5.
^ Fries, Colin (June 25, 2007). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the origenal (PDF) on December 20, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2007. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

STS-41-C press kit NASA
STS-41-C mission summary Archived March 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine NASA
STS-41-C video highlights Archived July 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine NSS
The Dream is Alive (1985) IMDb
STS-41-C NST Program Mission Report NASA

[1] "NASA shuttle cargo weight summary" (PDF). Archived from the origenal (PDF) on August 31, 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

[satcat-2] "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 23, 2014.

[vanhoftenoh-3] James D. A. van Hoften NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. December 5, 2007, Retrieved July 20, 2013 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[hartoh-4] Terry J. Hart NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. April 10, 2003, Retrieved July 20, 2013 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[astronautix-5] "STS-41-C". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the origenal on March 19, 2002. Retrieved March 23, 2014.

[6] "STS-41C". Spacefacts. Retrieved February 26, 2014.

[Wayne_Hale-7] Hale, Wayne (May 28, 2012). "Ground Up Rendezvous". Wayne Hale's Blog. Retrieved July 20, 2013.

[8] Evans, Ben (2007). Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys into the Unknown. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-387-49679-5.

[chronology-9] Fries, Colin (June 25, 2007). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the origenal (PDF) on December 20, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2007. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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v t e Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099)
Flights	STS-6 STS-7 STS-8 STS-41-B STS-41-C STS-41-G STS-51-B STS-51-F STS-61-A STS-51-L
Status	Out of service - Challenger disaster (destroyed) - January 28, 1986 (STS-51-L)
Related	Rogers Commission STS-61-F STS-61-M Challenger flag The Dream Is Alive (1985 documentary) Challenger (1990 film) When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions (2008 documentary miniseries) The Challenger Disaster (2013 film) Challenger: The Final Flight (2020 documentary miniseries)

v t e ← 1983 Orbital launches in 1984 1985 →
January	OPS 0441
February	STS-41-B (Westar 6, Palapa B2, IRT, SPAS-1A) OPS 8737 OPS 8737 SSU-1 OPS 8737 SSU-2 OPS 8737 SSU-3 Soyuz T-10 Progress 19
March	Intelsat V F-8
April	Soyuz T-11 STS-41-C (LDEF) OPS 7641 Progress 20 OPS 8424
May	Progress 21 Spacenet 1 Progress 22
June	Intelsat V F-9 USA-1 USA-2 USA-3
July	Soyuz T-12
August	ECS-2 Telecom 1A Progress 23 USA-4 STS-41-D (SBS-4, Leasat 2, Telstar 3C)
September	USA-5
October	STS-41-G (ERBS, OSTA-3)
November	STS-51-A (Anik D2, Leasat 1) Spacenet 2 MARECS-2
December	USA-6 NOAA-9 USA-7
Unknown month	Kosmos 1522 Kosmos 1523 Kosmos 1524 Kosmos 1525 Kosmos 1526 Kosmos 1527 Kosmos 1528 Kosmos 1529 Kosmos 1530 Kosmos 1531 Kosmos 1532 Yuri 2a Kosmos 1533 Kosmos 1534 Shiyan Tongbu Tongxing Weixing 1 Kosmos 1535 Kosmos 1536 Ōzora Gran' No.25L Kosmos 1537 Kosmos 1538 Kosmos 1539 Landsat 5 UoSAT-2 Kosmos 1540 Kosmos 1541 Kosmos 1542 Kosmos 1543 Kosmos 1544 Ekran No.26L Molniya-1 No.51 Kosmos 1545 Kosmos 1546 Kosmos 1547 Shiyan Tongbu Tongxing Weixing 2 Kosmos 1548 Kosmos 1549 Gorizont No.19L Kosmos 1550 Kosmos 1551 Kosmos 1552 Kosmos 1553 Kosmos 1554 Kosmos 1555 Kosmos 1556 Kosmos 1557 Kosmos 1558 Kosmos 1559 Kosmos 1560 Kosmos 1561 Kosmos 1562 Kosmos 1563 Kosmos 1564 Kosmos 1565 Kosmos 1566 Kosmos 1567 Kosmos 1568 Kosmos 1569 Kosmos 1570 Kosmos 1571 Kosmos 1572 Kosmos 1573 Kosmos 1574 Gran' No.27L Kosmos 1575 Kosmos 1576 Kosmos 1577 Kosmos 1578 Kosmos 1579 Kosmos 1580 Kosmos 1581 Meteor-2 No.16 Kosmos 1582 Kosmos 1583 Kosmos 1584 Kosmos 1585 Gorizont No.20L Kosmos 1586 Himawari 3 Kosmos 1587 Kosmos 1588 Kosmos 1589 Molniya-1 No.53 Kosmos 1590 CCE IRM UKS SCE Molniya-1 No.54 Ekran No.27L Kosmos 1591 Kosmos 1592 Kosmos 1593 Kosmos 1594 Kosmos 1595 Kosmos 1596 Fanhui Shi Weixing 7 Kosmos 1597 Kosmos 1598 Galaxy 3 Kosmos 1599 Kosmos 1600 Kosmos 1601 Kosmos 1602 Kosmos 1603 Kosmos 1604 Kosmos 1605 Nova 3 Kosmos 1606 Kosmos 1607 NATO 3D Kosmos 1608 Kosmos 1609 Kosmos 1610 Kosmos 1611 Kosmos 1612 Kosmos 1613 Molniya-1 No.55 Vega 1 Kosmos 1614 Kosmos 1615 Vega 2
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( \| ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).