40 Years Ago: One Month to the Launch of STS-1, the First Space Shuttle Mission
In March 1981, following the successful Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) of Columbia’s main engines, NASA managers remained optimistic of launching the space shuttle on its first flight in April. Significant work remained at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, such as inspection and testing of all the shuttle components after the FRF, including reverifying the main engines after the test and completing repairs of insulation on the external tank. The STS-1 prime crew of Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert L. Crippen, and backups Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, continued mission simulations with teams at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston. A final countdown rehearsal was planned for later in March.
Three views of technicians at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center working to repair damaged insulation on the external tank resulting from a test in January 1981 that loaded the tank with super cold liquid hydrogen. Credits: NASA
After the successful FRF on Feb. 20, engineers at Kennedy retested all systems on the space shuttle orbiter Columbia, its external tank, solid rocket boosters, and ground systems. Engineers inspected the three main engines and found them to be in good condition, requiring only minor repairs, such as rewelding two pinhole leaks and inspecting a valve.
Workers at NASA’s National Space Testing Laboratories in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, completed acceptance testing on a space shuttle main engine and shipped it to Kennedy as a spare for Columbia’s first mission. On March 9, workers at Launch Pad 39A began a two-week effort to repair debonded insulation on the external tank. The three areas of debonding resulted from a test in January, during which engineers pumped super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the external tank in preparation for the FRF. Following the repairs, engineers planned to conduct two additional tanking tests to ensure the debonding did not reoccur prior to clearing the tank for Columbia’s first launch.
Managers planned a final countdown demonstration rehearsal, including all elements of the mission, and a Flight Readiness Review for late March to clear the vehicle for its first launch. The astronauts continued simulations of various aspects of their mission — in particular, ascent and entry, together with flight controller teams in Johnson’s MCC, led by Flight Directors Neil B. Hutchinson, Charles R. “Chuck” Lewis, and Donald R. Puddy.
Left: STS-1 Pilot Robert L. Crippen tests the new suit for conducting spacewalks. Middle: STS-1 backup Pilot Richard H. Truly begins a spacewalk training exercise in the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) at Johnson. Right: Truly during spacewalk training in the WETF. Credits: NASA
Although the mission plan for STS-1 did not include a spacewalk, in case of a problem such as the payload bay doors not closing on command at the end of the mission, Crippen and his backup Truly trained to perform such a contingency spacewalk using a new spacesuit developed for the Space Shuttle Program. The new suit, comprised of three parts — a rigid upper torso, a lower torso with legs, and a helmet — featured several improvements over the previous suit used during Apollo and Skylab. Unlike the earlier suits that were custom made for each astronaut, the shuttle suits came in predetermined sizes to accommodate the larger range of astronauts, including women, who would be using them. The newer suits also offered more flexibility than their predecessors. Young and Crippen tested their suits in a vacuum chamber at Johnson in early March. Finding them satisfactory, workers then shipped them to Kennedy, where they were installed inside Columbia’s airlock.
Left: During a visit to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy, Vice President George H.W. Bush, center, flanked by STS-1 astronauts Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young, receives a model of the space shuttle from acting NASA Administrator Alan M. Lovelace as his wife Barbara looks on. Middle: In the White Room, Bush, center, prepares to board Columbia, assisted by NASA astronaut Frederick D. Gregory. Right: Bush, left, sits in Columbia’s commander’s seat with Young and Crippen. Credits: NASA
Vice President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara paid a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 17. Following a morning jog with Young and Crippen, the vice president and Mrs. Bush toured Launch Pad 39A, where Columbia sat awaiting its first launch. Accompanied by Young and Crippen, Bush, a naval aviator during World War II, climbed aboard the orbiter. He sat in the commander’s seat, noting afterward that being on his back with the orbiter in the vertical orientation, “for the first 30 seconds I was a little dizzy lying there with the blood rushing to my head.” Bush accepted a model of the space shuttle from acting NASA Administrator Alan M. Lovelace and addressed workers in the Launch Control Center, praising them for their hard work in preparing Columbia for its first launch.
To be continued …
Significant world events in March 1981:
March 2 – Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWDC radio in Washington, D.C.
March 6 – Walter Cronkite signs off as anchor on the CBS Evening News after 19 years.
March 9 – Dan Rather becomes the new anchor on the CBS Evening News, serving for 24 years.
March 10 – Kim Carnes releases her single, “Bette Davis Eyes.”
March 12 – The Soviet Union launches Vladimir Kovalenok and Viktor Savinykh as the final long-duration crew to the Salyut-6 space station.
March 22 – Soviets launch Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Jugderdemidiyn Gurragcha from Mongolia on an eight-day visiting mission to Salyut-6 as part of the Interkosmos program.
March 22 – The United States raises first-class postage from 15 cents to 18 cents.
March 24 – Nightline with Ted Koppel premieres on ABC.
March 30 – President Ronald W. Reagan survives an assassination attempt while three others are wounded.