Challenger STS-7 – Sally’s Ride

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Another MOMS image shows the mountainous border between Bolivia and Chile. Volcanic peaks and lava flows are seen; the mountain peaks (at the bottom) are snow-capped. The white area (upper right) is a large salt pan, the Salar de Coipasa. It is interlaced with yellow-green streaks indicating the presence of salt water.

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A VIABLE COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE

“We are absolutely looking to make the shuttle a viable commercial Enterprise,” General Abrahamson looked into the future of the Space Transportation System after completion of mission STS-7. “But like every one of these enterprises in the beginning part it’s not going to be self-sustaining. And, of course, we’re looking for it to become self-sustaining out in the 1988 time plan. We think that’s the crossover point in general.”

In April 1983, the National Research Council had told Congress that they did not believe that NASA could reach its goal of 24 launches by 1988, and 30 by 1990, 40 by 1992. They thought 18 launches were more realistic. “There are some very important points that the Research Council report makes,” said Abrahamson, “in particular, the points about being able to get above 24 per year. There is additional investment that must be made. There are some additional things that we do not yet have in place in order to handle 24 per year. And one of the main ones is a full Solid Rocket Booster refurbishment facility, and that will now be part of our request for proposal, as we go out and compete in that effort.”

“So I think that the report is indeed fairly accurate,” the shuttle chief concluded, “but you also must factor in that we have plans and budgets to complete that along a schedule. So we feel that we can reach 24 by 1988, but we have to carry out the plans that are in process at this point.”

(KSC post-flight press conference, June 24, 1983; JSC Space News Roundup, July 1, 1983; David Shapland & Michael Rycroft, “Spacelab – Research in Orbit,” page 88, Cambridge University Press, 1984 – edited)


MLR – Latex Spheres Pass Space Test

Recent shuttle flights have proven that higher-quality monodisperse latex spheres can be grown in space than on the ground, according to Dr. J.W. Vanderhoff of Lehigh University. Monodisperse latex spheres, which have a market value of about $3 million a pound, are microscopic or submicroscopic particles used for instrument calibration and medical research.

In a test on the seventh shuttle flight this June, space manufacturing gained its edge over ground processing as the size of the spheres grew above five micrometers. Spheres of 18 micrometers grown on the shuttle had five times the uniformity of 18-micrometer spheres grown on the ground, Vanderhoff reported to a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

Space manufacture of latex spheres could be a highly profitable business, Vanderhoff said, but not a large one. World consumption of latex spheres totals only a few pounds a year, he said.

(Space Business News, Sep. 12, 1983)

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And the Ants?

“Protect the Queen!” – “Which one’s the Queen?” – “I’m the Queen.” – “No, you’re not!”

- Confused ants, “Deep Space Homer,” The Simpsons, Season 5, Episode 15 (1994)


“You fool! Now we may never know if ants can be trained to sort tiny screws in space.”

- Buzz Aldrin, “Deep Space Homer,” The Simpsons, Season 5, Episode 15 (1994)

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July 7, 1983: JERSEY STUDENTS’ SPACE ANTS APPARENTLY DIED
The first ants in space apparently did not survive. Students at two high schools in Camden, N.J., who worked on a five-year science project that culminated in their ant colony's orbiting the Earth aboard the recent flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger, were told this week that their ants had died. When the canister containing the colony was taken off the shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and opened Tuesday, the students were told, the carpenter ant colony was found dehydrated, and Norma, the queen, and all her 50 to 100 subjects were dead.

''We don't know the cause of death,'' said Fred Reiss, a teacher and the project's coordinator at Camden High School. ''If they died in orbit, that is significant.''

Klisha Buell, a student at Camden High who brought the colony back from Kennedy Space Center to Camden yesterday, said she still held out hope that some were alive. Nick Timpanelli, coordinator of the project at Woodrow Wilson High School, said that while he doubted that the ants had survived, there was still a slim hope. But the consensus among those involved in the project was that the ants were dead.

The colony is in a transparent Plexiglas container in the canister, and while the canister has been opened and the colony has been viewed, the container itself has not been opened.

James Barrowman, a project manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said that ''apparently none were alive.'' But he said the canister and the microprocessor, power and photographic systems, all designed by the students, had worked perfectly.

Mr. Reiss said students would now search for eggs that might be saved and perform a lengthy post-mortem, including protein tests and microscopic examination of cells. Films and videotapes taken of the colony during flight are expected to show what went wrong, although the ants may have died during the seven weeks that they were aboard the shuttle before lift-off. The seven-week stay is required by NASA regulations. It is possible they may have died after landing in California, when the shuttle sat in the desert for almost a week.

The project was undertaken to study the effects of weightlessness on the ants biologically, as well as on their sophisticated social structure. Students and teachers hope that the ants lived in space long enough to provide some clues. The project was deemed important enough by NASA to qualify for its Small Self-Contained Payloads program, known informally as the ''Getaway Special'' program, which is open to those with scientific research projects and the $3,000 to $10,000 fare.

Although Miss Buell said she was ''a little disappointed,'' she added that she was elated that all the complex systems had performed well and she pronounced the project ''a success.''

Mr. Reiss, among others, had said before liftoff that ''even if all the ants die, this project has been an overwhelming success.'' He said yesterday: ''The purpose of the project was to get students interested in science, and enrollment in our science classes has gone up 50 percent. Many students have gone on to prestigious universities to major in science and engineering. A number of others who were ready to drop out of high school have stayed to graduate because of their involvement in the project.''

''It is unbelievable,'' said Riletta Cream, principal of Camden High. ''The project has brought pride to our students, our school and our city. So many students now see a real future for themselves.''

Several hundred students at Camden and Woodrow Wilson High Schools have been involved in the project. Students in science classes, doing research in entomology and astrophysics, designed the experiment. Students in drafting classes drew blueprints, and those in metal, wood and electrical shop classes put it together. Students developed flow charts and programs for the microprocessor that controlled cameras and the studentdesigned regulators for light and temperature. Journalism classes wrote newsletters and press releases. Art students painted murals of space scenes in the hallways.

Other students have been involved in producing school assembly programs on the project, where a number of dignitaries have spoken. Among them was the administrator of NASA at the time, Robert Frosch, and Lieut. Col. Guion S. Bluford, who has been named to the crew for the next shuttle flight. Colonel Bluford told the students, ''I'm an engineer, and I'm black and I'm lonely out there.'' Governor Kean recently came to Camden to congratulate the students, and President Reagan made many complimentary remarks about the project before the shuttle flight.

''This investment of time and money by RCA and individual professors and engineers in minority students has been tremendous,'' said Miss Buell. ''We were getting tired of being called hopeless ghetto kids that couldn't be taught anything.'' The RCA Corporation, headquartered in Camden, provided the $10,000 fare for the colony's space flight. A spokesman said the company had offered to provide the fare for another project that the students develop. (William E. Geist, The New York Times, July 7, 1983)


July 12, 1983: SPACE SHUTTLE ANTS ARE FOUND DEAD
The ants sent into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger as part of a science project at two Camden, N.J., high schools all died, students in the project said yesterday. The ants may have died of dehydration on the ground before or after their journey into space last month, the students said.

At a news conference at Camden High School, a dozen students and the teachers who coordinated the project said that preliminary examination had shown no signs of life and a dried-out environment in the 30-gallon container that housed the colony of ants on the trip with five astronauts.

Some students said the 100 carpenter ants had died in the Florida heat during the seven weeks they were aboard the shuttle before blastoff on June 18. Others said the ants had survived the flight but had died during two weeks in the heat of California's desert after landing.

Fred Reiss, a teacher-coordinator, called these comments ''supposition.'' Videotapes made of the colony during flight do not show how or when the ants died, Mr. Reiss said. He said extensive tests next fall would be needed to determine the facts. (The New York Times, July 12, 1983)


Ants in Space – Part Two

(By Fred Reiss, Coordinator, Orbit ’81 program, Camden High School)


“An experiment in space by Camden, New Jersey, high school students was a small failure for science, but a triumph for science education.”


BITTERSWEET RESULTS

Although history recorded that the ants died, it is our belief that history also recorded that Orbit ’81 was a success, indeed, a triumph for space science education. The real experiment was not the life or death of an ant colony, but that a group of minority students could be motivated to pursue careers in science, engineering, and computer science. History has shown that this experiment succeeded. Our students are now working on the postflight analysis of the causes.

Moreover, the science enrollment in our school has increased; nearly one out of every two students will be taking a science course. Intangibles, such as pride and the excitement of being part of something worthwhile, have been observed not only among the students, but among the faculty and the citizens of Camden.

What history has yet to record is this: Will the success of our schoolwide science project act as an impetus for industry to continue supporting our science efforts with greater commitment? Will the success of Orbit ’81 stir others within the science education community to attempt similar long-range high school projects?

(Fred Reiss, “Ants in Space,” Educational Leadership, Dec. ‘83/Jan. ‘84 – edited)


http://www.spacepatchdatabase.com/patches/space-shuttle/sts-7-woodrow-wilson-high-school-orbit-81-getaway-special-v2

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We Are The Astronauts!

“After landing, your duties didn’t stop. You still had crew activities that you did,” Rebecca Wright stated during Sally Ride’s JSC Oral History Project interview in 2002, and then asked, “How much of that, again, was because of actual normal duties, if we can say normal at STS-7 level, but normal duties that flight crews do after landing, and how much of it, again, was due to the fact that you were the first woman that had flown?”

“A huge amount of it was a result of being the first woman to fly,” Ride said. “I think that’s when all the attention really hit me. While I was in training, I had been protected from it all. I had the world’s best excuse: ‘I’ve got to train, because I have this job to do.’ NASA was very, very supportive of that. So my training wasn’t affected at all. But the moment we landed, that protective shield was gone. I came face-to-face with a flurry of media activity. There was a lot more attention on us than there was on previous crews, probably even more than the STS-1 crew.”

“She was a big hero as we went around, and everybody wanted to meet Sally,” said STS-7 commander Bob Crippen. “There were many people trying to get after her or get to her, for whatever reason, so that part of the commander’s job was to make sure that she was protected from that, without being overprotective; just whatever she wanted to make sure that she didn’t get overwhelmed by it.”


Wright: Did you have assistance from NASA in dealing with all of the requests and even maybe some preparation before you walked into some of these events?

Ride: Yes and no. A lot of help with fielding the requests. All the requests went through NASA, through the Public Affairs Office and through the Astronaut Office, but very little help in preparing to talk with either the press or to make public appearances. Now, of course, all astronauts learn “on the job” how to give a talk and how to work with the public and with various organizations. I’d done my share of public appearances and speeches before I’d gone into training, so I knew how to talk to the press and I knew how to go and show my slides and give a good speech. But just the sheer volume of it was something that was completely different for me, and people reacted much differently to me after my flight than they did before my flight. Everybody wanted a piece of me after the flight.


“Oh, we had lots of PR work, yes, and to help shield Sally to some extent,” STS-7 pilot Rick Hauck explained in 2003. “I think in many cases she’d be asked to go somewhere, and in many cases it would be ‘You either get the whole crew or you don’t get anybody,’ and that kind of helped keep the traffic down. That certainly wasn’t exclusively true, and I’m sure Sally would tell you, ‘God, I wish that were true.’ But we went and did a number of PR things.


Wright: Were there times that you felt some of the events that you went to or some of the times during the events that people asked questions that were not necessarily NASA-related that got into too much of your personal life and activities, or how your new life was affecting your personal life?

Ride: Occasionally, but not too much. Most often, people were just interested in the flight, in my experience, in my view of the historical nature of the flight, that sort of thing. Not too much on my personal life. That really wasn’t as much of a problem for me as the sheer volume of things that I had to do. It was just incessant for months.


“We went to the White House for a state dinner. It was a Reagan state dinner in honor of the Emir of Bahrain, and we carried with us a flown flag, Bahraini flag, and had a little photo opportunity just before the cocktails,” Rick Hauck remembered. “The way this works at the White House, at least from the two times that I’ve done it, for a state dinner, people come in, are announced, go into a cocktail reception in the West Room, I think. I think that’s right. Then there’s a reception line formed and everybody troops through and is greeted by the President and the First Lady and the honored guests. And after we’d all gone through the receiving line, they organized a little standup with the President and Mrs. Reagan and the Emir and the five of us presenting this thing. So that was fun. I enjoyed that.”

Mission Specialist John Fabian added that it wasn’t all fun for everyone – at least not for Dr. Thagard. “When we went to Washington (…) there was a lot of media attention to the fact that Sally was there, and Norm Thagard was knocked into the wall by a photographer, I mean, in trying to get to Sally, you know, trying to get to Sally. And they’re not courteous people. I mean, to be real honest with you, there’s something of the vulture that’s going on there, and there’s a story here, because Sally is here. Sally was married at the time to Steve Hawley, and we went someplace, and Steve was with us. And we went through the door, and someone went like this, ‘Stop! You can’t come here. This is for the astronauts.’ And Steve says, ‘We are the astronauts!’ Really funny. Really funny.”


Wright: It wasn’t too long after you landed that you were advised that you’d be flying again.

Ride: Thank goodness. Back into training, safe again.


“Sally in New York or Sally in Washington, D.C., she was a huge target. I mean, she really was a huge target,” John Fabian said in 2006. “I think we would really be concerned about it today. If we were going through that experience in today’s political and terrorist environment, I think we would have reason to really be concerned about it. But fortunately, at the time all we had to worry about was Norm getting knocked into the wall.”

(NASA JSC Oral History Project interviews – Sally Ride, Oct. 22, 2002; Frederick Hauck, Nov. 20, 2003; John Fabian, Feb. 10, 2006; David Hitt & Heather R. Smith, “Bold They Rise,” University of Nebraska Press 2014 – edited)

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Postscript I: Sally Ride and the Future of Space (1985)

America’s first woman astronaut reviews her historic trips to the stars and looks ahead to new adventures in space exploration.

(By Scott Zachek)

Dr. Sally K. Ride earned her place in history, June 18, 1983, when she became the first American woman in space. The 34-year-old native of Los Angeles was selected in 1978, along with five other women, for NASA’s astronaut program. The same year, she earned her doctorate degree in Physics from Stanford. For her historic flight aboard the orbiter Challenger’s second flight, Mission Specialist Dr. Ride operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite. In October 1984, she made her second flight with the largest shuttle crew (including Dr. Kathryn Sullivan) to date. Dr. Ride kindly took a few minutes from her busy schedule to speak with Starlog.

Starlog: What have you been doing at NASA since your historic shuttle flight two years ago?

Ride: I had my second flight last October and right now, I am in between flights and just working in support of some other Space Shuttle flights.

Starlog: How has NASA changed since 1978, when you and five other women were admitted to the space program?

Ride: I don’t really think NASA has changed too much since then. By the time we came, NASA had made the transition into the shuttle era. They had been working on the Space Shuttle for several years and all of their attention was focused on the shuttle program. That continues to be true.

Starlog: The addition of women to the program has not altered it too much?

Ride: I can’t speak for how the program has changed because I wasn’t there at the beginning. There were women engineers before we got here, there were a few women flight controllers. There are certainly more women engineers and flight controllers now than there were in 1978. I think it’s a great sign; a trend I am sure will continue.

Starlog: Although there has been an increase in woman scientists and engineers, they seem to be overlooked as pilots. Why?

Ride: Let me backtrack a little. NASA has some very specific applicant requirements for pilot astronauts; those requirements include about 1,500 hours in high-performance jet airplanes. It is highly recommended that test pilot school be part of the person’s background. Now, if you look at the number of women who meet those qualifications, you won’t find many. There are only a couple of women who’ve graduated from military test pilot school. As soon as we get more women graduated, I’m sure you’ll be seeing more qualified women applying to and being accepted in the pilot astronaut program.

Starlog: You have said private industry would soon replace NASA as the “engine” of the space program. Given the current emphasis on reducing the national deficit, does that seem even more likely?

Ride: It’s hard to say how soon that will come to pass. I think it certainly will; you only need to look at the communications industry to see that. Back twenty years or so, NASA was the only game in town. Now, the communications industry really is an industry; it is private industry that is building communications satellites and paying to put them up.

Starlog: If private industry takes over, what do you think your role will be in such an environment?

Ride: First, let me quibble with you phrase – “take over.” It is certainly true that private industry will play a much more important role in the Space Shuttle as we  go along and in the space station once NASA gets it developed and operational, but I think NASA will always be involved in the forefront of space exploration and development. The Space Shuttle, although we are calling it operational, is still right at the edge of technology in many respects. It is important for NASA to continue to operate the Space Shuttle until we have had a chance to wring out all the potential problems.

NASA is the agency with the expertise to put up a space station and I think NASA will be doing that, both designing the space station, and then using the shuttle to built it. Once we get a space station, then you can foresee private industry taking over more of the “day-to-day” operations and you can envision NASA beginning work on future projects – maybe a trip to Mars or a return to the Moon. NASA will always have a role, but NASA’s role should never be operating an “airline.”

Starlog: Before your first shuttle flight, the media portrayed you as a reluctant role model, and you responded that it was unfortunate such emphasis was put on you being female, when you wanted to be thought of as a human being first. Was that an unrealistic expectation?

Ride: There are a couple of ways to answer that; one is how I personally felt about being cast in that role and the other is whether I felt it was important that someone fill that role. I personally joined the space program because I wanted to go into space and be part of the Space Shuttle program; I didn’t go into the Space Shuttle program to be the first woman in space. On the other hand, when I was growing up, there were no role models for my job; there were no woman astronauts and not many visible woman scientists. I think it is critical that girls growing up have role models they can look up to and realize that any job is open to them.

Starlog: As a heroine and role model to young women, what advice do you have on fighting gender role stereotyping?

Ride: It is important for girls and young women to understand that they can do anything they want to do. There really should not be any restrictions on their potential because they are female – or, for that matter, on boys because they’re male. But, you have to start fighting gender stereotypes with the adults in our society who impose sexual stereotypes on girls growing up today.

Starlog: You have overcome society’s rigid gender roles. Do you attribute that to your upbringing or do you have an “inner voice” that you listen to?

Ride: In retrospect, I probably owe that to my parents. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my parents were very open-minded and held no preconceptions of what I should be. They were very willing to let me do what I wanted and didn’t try and impose any of their personalities or stereotypes on me. As a result, I didn’t feel the pressure to go into other, at the time, more traditionally female jobs.

Starlog: Did attending an all-girl high school help you feel more secure and less self-conscious about excelling in math and science?

Ride: Again, in retrospect, I think it probably did. I went there because they had a good tennis team and I had a tennis scholarship. The fact that I was at an all-girl school meant I was not subject to much of the peer pressure associated with public schools, pressure which could have dissuaded me from going into math and science.

Starlog: As a child, you were an avid reader of science fiction. Did this influence your eventual career choice?

Ride: I don’t think so. I would characterize myself more as an avid reader, than as an avid reader of science fiction, so I really don’t think reading science fiction shaped my career.

Starlog: What advice do you have for high school and college students who are interested in space and becoming astronauts?

Ride: It’s hard to give advice, other than to say it certainly is a field worth pursuing; it’s an exciting field to be in, but there is no way to guess the type of people NASA is going to be looking for five to ten years from now. What I can say is that NASA and the whole space community is looking for people with all kinds of scientific backgrounds.

Starlog: Do you have any suggestion for those who want to show their support for NASA and further space exploration?

Ride: NASA, of course, depends upon the public for its support. NASA has very broad-based public support and it is important for that public support to get translated into votes in Congress. Now, what is the most efficient way to do that? I don’t know and I’m probably not the person to ask.

Starlog: Does a show of popular support translate into a larger budget for NASA?

Ride: A show of public support is critical for NASA to maintain its budget.

Starlog: Earlier, you mentioned the possibility of a mission to Mars. Do you foresee that happening in the next ten to fifteen years?

Ride: I think it’s inevitable that it will happen someday. Of course, right now, there is no Congressional funding for a trip to Mars. There is work going on in the country, investigating what would be the optimum scenario of such a trip. There are people thinking about Mars now, but how soon their thoughts get translated into reality is difficult to predict.

Starlog: Prior to your historic mission, you became an instant celebrity and there were rumors that Jessica Lange would star in a movie based on your life. Yet, you commendably resisted cashing in on your fame.

Ride: Well, it’s not quite as commendable as you might think; it was a choice between cashing in on the fame and keeping my job. NASA has restrictions now and the astronauts in the program are not allowed to make endorsements or profit from any project – movies, books, anything like that. I could have given my consent for a movie on my life, but number one, I’m not the sort of person who would enjoy having a movie made about my life yet, and number two, I couldn’t have profited by it anyway, so there really wasn’t much point in committing myself.

Starlog: What do you do to relax? Or do you?

Ride: Well, I like my job and the job really takes up most of my life and I think that’s true of most of the astronauts here. That, I think, is something which speaks very well for the program. We like what we’re doing and don’t really see the need to get away from the space program.

(Starlog, Issue No. 97, August 1985)

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 Postscript II: It Was A Great Ride

“I was asked at a press conference just before our flight what I thought about being the first U.S. woman astronaut. I was quoted as saying that it was no big deal. What I actually meant to say was that technically, as far as NASA is concerned, it was no big deal; NASA didn’t have to do anything different. They didn’t alter their flight, they did nothing special for me; I got all the same training that the guys on our flight got. But I think that, on another level, the United States sending a woman into space was a very important event for at least 53 percent of the population. And I’m very proud of that.”

- Sally Ride (1951 – 2012)


(By Lynn Sherr)

As an anchor of ABC News’ space coverage, I’d gotten to know Sally well. An astrophysicist with a poetic sensibility, she hooked me in our first interview with her direct manner and determination. “Why do you want to go into space?” I asked. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I’ve discovered that half the people would love to go into space and there’s no need to explain it to them. The other half can’t understand and I couldn’t explain it to them. If someone doesn’t know why, I can’t explain it.”

She also acknowledged unequivocally that the feminist movement had made her selection possible; that NASA, with its 20-year heritage of white male fighter pilots with The Right Stuff was finally doing the right thing. We became friends immediately, bonding over cold shrimp and funny stories at a variety of local dives. And the home she shared with her then-husband, astronaut Steve Hawley, was my beer-and-pizza hangout during other shuttle missions.

We knew each other so well, that one day before her big flight – in those early shuttle days, when astronauts were traditionally off-limits to the press and quarantined from human contamination – she telephoned me while I was working on that night’s script from the ABC workspace. “Hi there!” came a familiar, cheery voice. “In five minutes, why don’t you walk outside your trailer and look down towards the parking lot.”

I put down the phone and complied. There was Sally, about 50 yards away, wearing shorts and a T-shirt and waving to me from a car parked off the main drive. I wasn’t allowed to get closer – and she knew I wouldn’t try – but it was reassuring to see her in such good spirits. And I could report exclusively that night on the air that the woman most in demand at the Kennedy Space Center at that moment was doing just fine.

And pushing the envelope, as she always did, with a playful, anti-authoritarian attitude – up to a point. Sally Ride broke every rule she could, which made her great fun as a friend. But make no mistake: she also was a dedicated team player who could line up behind her commander and take orders like a trooper. All of which made her a hero and a role model for us all – and for all ages.

Eager to share the excitement of her first launch, I’d invited my mother and sister to the Kennedy Space Center. When finally hooked up after the day’s news had settled down, they were glowing. “Fabulous,” said my sister excitedly, having seen such things only on television up to then. My mother, about to turn 80, put it all in perspective: “I’ve seen the horse and buggy, I’ve seen the car and the train and the airplane,” she said. “And now this. Perfect.” She also sent Sally some home-made brownies.

Sally’s own mother was equally elated, but slightly more frazzled. When reporters asked for her advice to future space travelers, Joyce Ride responded with understandable angst, “Think about your mother!” A few minutes later, she regained her composure and suggested this coda to the whirlwind day: “How about, God bless Gloria Steinem?”

For a time, Sally was the most famous woman in the world, her face plastered on magazine covers, her every exploit recorded glowingly. The London Sunday Mirror summed her up as “Super Sally.” Little girls in droves decided then and there to become astronauts. In technological terms, NASA was pushing ahead toward the 21st century. But in human terms, it had finally entered the 20th. And it could not have picked a better pioneer.

Sally wore her celebrity well, graciously signing every piece of paper or cloth pushed in front of her, and saving her groans of annoyance for long after the crowds had left. She was especially generous with children, so eager to infect them with her love of space travel, she wrote several children’s books about the experience. She lectured, she explained, she cut ribbons, she went back to training. And after she’d flown again – by which time the concept of women in space was feeling quite natural, thank you – and was prepared to go yet again, the unthinkable happened.

In 1986 Challenger – the shuttle she’d flown into space – exploded on lift-off, killing the entire crew. Sally was quickly enlisted onto the investigative commission, the one that concluded NASA had been guilty of severe mismanagement and flawed decision-making. Not to mention faulty o-rings. In the midst of the disclosures, she agreed to an exclusive interview – not on the investigation itself, but on the impact of the revelations. Early one morning, she slipped into my motel at Cocoa Beach, near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sat down, took off her shoes, and said how “disturbed” she was about what they’d learned.

“Knowing what you know now,” I asked, “would you fly again?”

“I am not ready to fly again now,” she said. “I think there are very few astronauts who are ready to fly again now.”

For the respected agency that had put men on the Moon and inspired a generation of Americans, it was a stunning setback. NASA and the shuttle would recover, but it would take years. Sally, however, had another important mission.

She retired from NASA and started her own company, a for-profit way to get youngsters – mostly girls – interested in science and math. She trekked across the country holding Sally Ride Science Fairs and talking about her adventures while little mouths gaped in awe. But it wasn’t about Sally – it was about them, about passing the torch and lighting the fires to make Earth a better place. I don’t know how many children – especially female children – are signing up for physics classes today because Sally Ride said they should. And could. But I’m sure it’s substantial.

Sally used to have a running joke with me, and it had to do with the speeches she gave around the world – first for NASA, then for her own business. She’d tell the audience about her flights, and she’d show some slides – gorgeous, eye-popping pictures taken from, or on board, the shuttle. She’d show the one with her long curly hair floating in zero gravity; the one with the robot arm shaped like a number 7 for that seventh shuttle mission; the one showing the Sun illuminating the Earth as she clicked the camera from on high. They were magnificent, but, um, I’d seen them a few times already. And had no desire to sit through yet another showing. Still, every time we made a date to get together, she’d ask innocently, “Oh, have you seen my slides?”

I’m thinking that she’s got a whole new audience for those slides right now. And that it wouldn’t hurt the rest of us to watch them again. It was a great ride.

(Lynn Sherr, “Sally Ride’s Heroic and Trailblazing Life as an Astronaut,” July 24, 2012 – edited)

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See also:

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-060314a-sally-ride-biography-sherr.html

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“When she climbed into Challenger on June 18, 1983, and the hatch was closed and sealed behind her, a far bigger cultural door opened – and every American woman who has flow a military plane, or a commercial jet, or a spacecraft since followed her through it. Godspeed, Sally Ride.”

- Jeffrey Kluger, senior writer at Time magazine, 2012


https://sallyridescience.com/about-us/dr-sally-ride/remembering

Sally Ride posthumously awarded Medal of Freedom

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-112113a.html

NSF STS-7 high-res photographs

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=12501.0

[Ares67]

All Good Things… Will Be Continued!

“This will never end
'Cause I want more
More, give me more
Give me more”

-  Fever Ray, “If I Had A Heart,” Rabid Records 2008 (“Vikings” theme)


Okay, okay… “more” is coming up as soon as possible here at NSF:


Challenger STS-8 – In the Dark of the Night

I’ve already done some preliminary work on that project.


And of course there’s the “bonus” thread coming up shortly

OV-101 Enterprise – It’s Been A Long Way

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=35828.msg1269814#msg1269814


Hope you’ll join me again for that one.


Until then, live long and prosper… I bet you saw that one coming…   

Bye, bye.

- Oliver, aka Ares67

****

[Ares67]

Hey, I've just noticed that I've passed the 10,000 posts mark during this thread...

... and this thread was viewed just over 10,000 times during the last two weeks.

Hope you liked what you saw...

And, yes... back to the magic number: Seven "likes"...

 

[billshap]

What did the crew have to do to "configure AOS" and "configure LOS?"  Were these procedures strictly pre-TDRSS?

[Ares67]

On this Day in 1983 - Launch of STS-7

I just came across this news item:

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/245364-a-woman-will-replace-hamilton-on-the-10-bill

Well, it's for the Americans to decide, but I've got a suggestion...   

[catdlr]

Through the Clouds

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when the space shuttle Challenger launched on mission STS-7 from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-7 crew consisted of astronauts Robert Crippen, commander, the first two-time space shuttle astronaut; Frederick H. Hauck, pilot; and three mission specialists -- Ride, John M. Fabian and Norman E. Thagard.

This high-angle view of the shuttle liftoff, showing a lengthy stretch of Florida Atlantic coastline and a number of large cumulus clouds, was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera by astronaut John W. Young, who piloted the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) for weather monitoring at launch and landing sites for STS missions.

One of Sally Ride's jobs was to call out "Roll program" seven seconds after launch. "I'll guarantee that those were the hardest words I ever had to get out of my mouth," she said later.

Image Credit: NASA

Last Updated: June 18, 2015
Editor: NASA Administrator

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/galleries/ride_9.html

[catdlr]

bump for her statue...

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Unveils Sally Ride Monument

[catdlr]

STS-7 Second Challenger Flight - 1983, Shuttle Launch, Landing, Historical Footage, Sally Ride, NASA

Nov 2, 2023  #sts #spaceshuttle #nasa
Documentary about the STS-7 mission, entirely based on historical narration, mission audio, and footage. The full mission is covered, showing launch, satellite deployment, SPAS deployment using the RMS arm, life onboard, on-orbit imagery, experiments, landing, and results.

STS-3 was NASA's seventh Space Shuttle mission. Columbia launched on June 18, 1983, and landed on June 24, 1983. The mission was crewed by Commander Robert Crippen (second spaceflight), Pilot Frederick Hauck (First spaceflight), Mission Specialist 1 John M. Fabian (First spaceflight), Mission Specialist 2 Sally Ride (First spaceflight) and Mission Specialist 3 Norman Thagard (First spaceflight).  STS-7 carried Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut.
_______________________________________________________
CHAPTERS

00:00 STS-7 Crew
05:31 Mission Objectives
06:47 Launch Day
08:54 STS-7 Launch
11:48 First Orbits
13:02 ANIK C Satellite Deployment
17:01 Palapa B Satellite Deployment
19:17 OMS Burns
19:58 Middeck Experiments
23:33 Jellybeans
24:18 CFES
25:05 SPAS Proximity Operations
33:54 SPAS Inertial Fly-Around Approach
37:52 Other Middeck Experiments
39:32 STS-7 Reentry and Landing
47:23 Press Conference

______________________________________________________

The footage was AI upscaled  (Topaz AI) on some segments, besides the usual color correction. The footage is usually shown in real speed and wide camera lens were corrected. Ambient audio was recreated based on historical elements. Sequences are shown in proper mission context as much as possible.

Historical narration (from mission commentary, NASA documentaries and progress reports) is used in an attempt to capture the feeling of the times. Language and attitudes should be seen in that context.

Research, cleanup, editing, and processing by Retro Space HD.

[catdlr]

Space Shuttle Flight Control Background Audio | STS-7 Landing Day

Apr 23, 2024
This file is an audio only mic capture of the Johnson Space Center Flight Control Room at the end of the STS-7 Challenger mission. The quality is not great and not much context but this file is being made available in the spirit of the historical record. Please leave your comments of who may be speaking and why the practice of recording such audio tracks. Audio track courtesy the National Archives & NASA.

STS-7 was the seventh flight of the Space Shuttle program and the first mission to include a female astronaut, Sally Ride. The crew deployed two communications satellites and retrieved the SPAS-1 pallet satellite.

Challenger STS-7 Crewmembers:
Commander: Robert Crippen
Pilot: Rick Hauck
Mission Specialist 1: John Fabian
Mission Specialist 2: Sally Ride
Mission Specialist 3: Norman Thagard

[catdlr]

Space Shuttle STS-7 Astronaut Crew Press Briefing - Audio Only

Sep 12, 2024  #spaceshuttle #nasa #challenger
Space shuttle mission STS-7 crew conference recorded on May 24, 1983. Courtesy NASA/National Archives, audio only.

The STS-7 Challenger Space Shuttle mission launched on June 18, 1983 and was the second flight of the new orbiter.

Challenger crew members:
Commander: Robert Crippen
Pilot: Frederick Hauck
Mission Specialist 1: John Fabian
Mission Specialist 2: Sally Ride
Mission Specialist 3: Norman Thagard