STS-5 - Columbia - Space Shuttle's First Operational Missions 1983

[catdlr]

Space Shuttle's First Operational Missions: "We Deliver" 1983 NASA STS-5, STS-6, STS-7, & STS-8


Jeff Quitney
Published on Nov 16, 2017

"The first four operational missions of the Space Transportation System (STS) - flights STS-5, 6, 7, and 8 - are covered. The common denominator of these missions, satellite deployment, is stressed. Also included are some of the more important onboard experiments and the significant secondary achievements, such as EVA's, first female astronaut (Sally K. Ride), first black astronaut (Guion S. Bluford, Jr.), first night launch (STS-8), and first night landing (STS-8)."

NASA film JSC-830

Reupload of a previously uploaded film, in one piece instead of multiple parts, and with improved video & sound.

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-6

STS-6 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission conducted using Space Shuttle Challenger, carrying the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-1, into orbit. Launched on 4 April 1983, STS-6 was the sixth shuttle mission and the first of the ten missions flown by Challenger. The mission took off from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on 9 April. This was the first Space Shuttle mission during which a spacewalk was conducted, and the first in which the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-7

STS-7 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Challenger deployed several satellites into orbit. The shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center on 18 June 1983, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on 24 June. STS-7 was the seventh shuttle mission, and was Challenger's second mission. It was also the first American spaceflight involving a female astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-8

STS-8 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission which launched on 30 August 1983 and landed on 5 September; it conducted the first night launch and night landing of the program, and flew the first African-American astronaut, Guion Bluford. The mission was a notable success, achieving all of its planned research objectives, but was marred by the subsequent discovery that a solid-fuel rocket booster had almost malfunctioned catastrophically during the launch. STS-8 was the eighth Shuttle mission and the third flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

The primary payload was INSAT-1B, an Indian communications and weather observation satellite, which was released by the orbiter and boosted into a geostationary orbit. The secondary payload, replacing a delayed NASA communications satellite, was a four-metric-ton dummy payload, intended to test the use of the shuttle's "Canadarm" remote manipulator system. Scientific experiments carried on board Challenger included the environmental testing of new hardware and materials designed for future spacecraft, the study of biological materials in electric fields under microgravity, and research into space adaptation syndrome (also known as "space sickness"). The flight furthermore served as shakedown testing for the previously launched TDRS-1 satellite, which would be required to support the subsequent STS-9 mission.

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Originally a public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

[Hog]

I always wondered if there was any RCS activity to counteract the satellite "spinup" or if the Orbiters inertia was sufficient to counteract the torque forces?

[Jim]

I always wondered if there was any RCS activity to counteract the satellite "spinup" or if the Orbiters inertia was sufficient to counteract the torque forces?

there was some, but it was inhibited right before deploy.

[Vahe231991]

Given that the videos in the first post of this thread were taken down due to the termination of the Youtube account that was associated with those videos, the documentary "We Deliver - Summary of Shuttle Flights 5, 6, 7 and 8" discussed in the first post of this thread is now available for viewing at this new link on Youtube:

[catdlr]

Preparing Space Shuttle Columbia for Launch | STS-5 Rollout & Rollover | Nov 11, 1982

Mar 1, 2025  #STS5 #SpaceShuttle #NASA
Go behind the scenes as Space Shuttle Columbia is prepared for launch on STS-5, the first operational shuttle mission. This video captures Columbia’s rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where it is mated with the Solid Rocket Boosters and External Tank, followed by its rollout to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. After months of preparation, Columbia launched on November 11, 1982, carrying a four-person crew and deploying the first commercial satellites from a shuttle.

Video courtesy NASA/National Archives, no audio.

Columbia STS-5 Astronaut Crew:
Commander: Vance Brand
Pilot: Bob Overmyer
Mission Specialist 1: Joe Allen
Mission Specialist 2: William Lenoir