Coats

Hartsfield

Hawley

Mullane

Resnik

Walker

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STS-41-D Credit - NASA

30 August 1984 12:43 GMT. Landing Date: 1984-09-05 13:39:16 PM. Flight Time: 6.04 days. Flight Up: STS-41-D. Flight Back: STS-41-D. Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Coats, Hartsfield, Hawley, Mullane, Resnik, Walker. Program: STS.

Of note: First flight of shuttle Discovery.

What went wrong: First launch aborted at T-3 seconds. The SSME's ignited, but then shutdown due to a Redundant Set Launch Sequencer Abort.

In orbit a urine icicle developed on the outside of the shuttle due to a failure of the waste water venting system. A contingency operation using the shuttle robot arm had to be developed and used to break off the icicle so that it didn't happen during reentry, damaging the heat tiles on the OMS pods. The crew was unable to use the toilet for the remainder of the flight.

Experienced primary O-ring erosion in both the right-hand forward field joint and the left-hand nozzle joint. There was a small amount of soot behind the primary O-ring, indicating short duration blow-by. This was the first occurrence of blow-by in either the case-to-case or nozzle-to-case joints. Manned six crew. First flight of space shuttle Discovery; deployed SBS 4, Leasat 1, Telstar 3C. Payloads: Satellite Business System (SBS)-D commu-nications satellite with Payload Assist Module (PAM)-D deployment, Syncom IV-2 communica-tions satellite with its unique stage deployment, Telstar (American Telephone and Telegraph) 3-C with PAM-D deployment, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST)-1 experiments. Deployment and restowing of large solar array. Continuous Flow Electrophoresis (CFES). IMAX camera.

STS-41-D Credit- www.spacefacts.de

Orbits of Earth: 96. Distance traveled: 4,007,266 km. Orbiter Liftoff Mass: 119,511 kg. Orbiter Mass at Landing: 91,476 kg. Payload to Orbit: 21,552 kg. Payload Returned: 5,123 kg. Landed at: Runway 17 dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, . Landing Speed: 370 kph. Touchdown miss distance: 765 m. Landing Rollout: 3,131 m. A student experiment, sponsored by Rockwell International, of indium crystal growth using the float zone technique was successful, although a blown fuse resulted in a premature shutdown.

Mission Name: 41-D (12)
DISCOVERY (1)
Pad 39-A (24)
12th Shuttle Mission
1st Flight OV-103
RSLS Abort after SSME Ignition (1)
2nd Rollback

Crew:
Henry W. Hartsfield (2), Jr., Commander
Michael L. Coats (1), Pilot
Judith A. Resnik (1), Mission Specialist 1
Steven A. Hawley (1), Mission Specialist 2
Richard M. Mullane (1), Mission Specialist 3
Charles D. Walker (1), Payload Specialist 1

Milestones:
OPF-Nov. 10,1983
VAB-Dec. 9,1983
(storage)
Flow A:
OPF - Jan. 10, 1984
VAB - May 12,1984
PAD - May 19,1984
Flow B (rollback):
VAB - July 14, 1984
OPF - July 17,1984
VAB - Aug. 1,1984
PAD - Aug. 9, 1984

Payload:
SBS-D,TELSTAR-3C,LEASAT-1,OAST-1,CFES(5),RME(3),SSIP(x1),CLOUDS,
IMAX-CAMERA(2)
Mission Objectives:

Launch:
August 30, 1984, 8:41:50 a.m, EDT. Launch attempt June 25 scrubbed during T-9 minute hold due to failure of orbiter's back-up general purpose computer (GPC). Launch attempt June 26 aborted at T-4 seconds when GPC detected anomaly in orbiter's number three main engine. Discovery returned to OPF and number three main engine replaced. (To preserve launch schedule of future missions, 41-D cargo remanifested to include payload elements from both 41-D and 41-F flights; 41-F mission cancelled.) Shuttle restacked and returned to pad. Third launch attempt Aug. 29 delayed when discrepancy noted in flight software of Discovery's master events controller relating to solid rocket booster fire commands. A software patch was verified and implemented to assure all three booster fire commands were issued in the proper time interval. Launch Aug. 30 delayed six minutes, 50 seconds when private aircraft intruded into warning area off coast of Cape Canaveral. Launch Weight: 263,477 lbs.
Orbit:
Altitude: 184nm
Inclination: 28.5 degrees
Orbits: 97
Duration: Six days, zero hours, 56 minutes, four seconds.
Distance: 2,490,000 miles

STS-41-D View of foot restraint strayed from Discovery... Credit- NASA

Hardware:
SRB: BI-011
SRM: 013LW(HPM)
ET : 13/LWT-6
MLP : 2
SSME-1: SN-2109
SSME-2: SN-2018
SSME-3: SN-2021

Landing:
September 5, 1984, 8:37:54 s.m. PDT, Runway 17, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Rollout distance: 10,275 feet. Rollout time:60 seconds. Landing planned for Edwards desert runway because it was Discovery's first flight. Orbiter returned to KSC Sept. 10, 1984. Landing Weight: 201,674 lbs.

Mission Highlights:
Three satellites deployed: Satellite Business System SBS-D, SYNCOM IV-2 (also known as LEASAT2) and TELSTAR. The 102- foot-tall, 13-loot-wide Office of Application and Space Technology (OAST-1) solar wing extended from payload bay. Wing carried different types of solar cells and extended to full height several times. It demonstrated large lightweight solar arrays for future in building large facilities in space such as Space Station. Other payloads: Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) Ill; Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME); Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) experiment; lMAX camera, being flown second time; and an Air Force experiment, Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems (CLOUDS).

• 1984 Jun 26 - Shuttle Discovery Pad Abort  Spacecraft: Discovery. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle.

  The countdown for the second launch attempt for Discovery's maiden flight ended at T- 4 seconds when the orbiter's computers detected a sluggish valve in main engine #3. The main engine was replaced and Discovery was finally launched on August 30, 1984.

• 1984 Aug 30 - STS-41-D  Crew: Coats, Hartsfield, Hawley, Mullane, Resnik, Walker. Spacecraft: Discovery. Payload: Discovery F01 / SBS 4[PAM-D] / Telstar 302[PAM-D]. Mass: 21,552 kg (47,514 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. Duration: 6.04 days. Perigee: 300 km (180 mi). Apogee: 307 km (190 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 90.60 min.

  Manned six crew. First flight of space shuttle Discovery; deployed SBS 4, Leasat 1, Telstar 3C. Payloads: Satellite Business System (SBS)-D commu-nications satellite with Payload Assist Module (PAM)-D deployment, Syncom IV-2 communica-tions satellite with its unique stage deployment, Telstar (American Telephone and Telegraph) 3-C with PAM-D deployment, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST)-1 experiments. Deployment and restowing of large solar array. Continuous Flow Electrophoresis (CFES). IMAX camera.

• 1984 Sep 5 - Landing of STS-41-D 

  STS-41-D landed at 13:39 GMT.