ancy scrubbedColumbia’s launch,
but on April 12 thespace shuttle was
successfully launched. For thirty-six
orbits, Young and Crippen evaluated
systems, executed thruster firings,
and held public affairs events.After
two days, Young gently landedCo-
lumbiaon Edwards Air Force Base’s
dry lake bed. Columbialaunched
again on November 12. STS-2 in-
cluded testing of the Remote Ma-
nipulator System (RMS), a mechan-
ical arm designed to manipulate
cargo aroundColumbia’s payload bay
Data were collected with an imaging
radar system that filled up the bay.
Columbiareturned to Edwards Air
Force Base after two days because of
a fuel cell problem.
Columbialaunched on March 22,
1982, for the seven-day STS-3 test
flight, which included RMS arm op-
erations and demonstrations of the
shuttle middeck’s utility to support
research. The RMS arm grappled
the Plasma Diagnostics Package, an
instrument that recorded magnetohydrodynamic en-
vironments aroundColumbia. Unacceptable weather
delayedColumbia’s reentry.Columbiawas diverted to
Northrup Strip at White Sands Missile Range, New
Mexico.
Columbia’s final test flight launched on June 27.
Both solid rocket boosters (SRBs) were lost when
parachutes failed to deploy properly. That had no ef-
fect on the shuttle’s reaching orbit. Aboard was the
classified military payload Cirris. STS-4 demon-
strated that NASA could fly shuttles under Depart-
ment of Defense (DOD) secrecy regulations. The
mission ended after seven days, providing a patriotic
setting for a Fourth of July celebration. President
Ronald Reagan and shuttlesEnterpriseandChallenger
were in place by Edwards Air Force Base’s concrete
runway to greet the returning astronauts. Reagan
declared the STS fleet operational and signaled
NASA’s 747 carrier aircraft to taxi down the runway,
beginningChallenger’s delivery flight to KSC.
Columbia’s STS-5 mission launched on November
11 with the first four-person crew, and two com-
munications satellites. Those satellites were housed
within protective enclosures until deployment and
equipped with solid-fueled Payload Assist Modules
(PAMs) to boost them to geosynchronous positions.
An attempted space walk (or extravehicular activity,
EVA) was thwarted by space suit problems.Columbia
landed at Edwards Air Force Base after five days.Challengerand Spacelab 1 Challengerfirst launched
on April 4, 1983. Aboard was a four-person crew and
a Tracking and Data-Relay Satellite (TDRS), the first
component in NASA’s network of geostationary com-
munications satellites designed to establish continu-
ous communications during shuttle missions. TDRS
needed the more powerful Inertial Upper State (IUS)
solid-fueled booster for its boost to geostationary alti-
tude. STS-6’s TDRS suffered an IUS motor failure.
Over the course of many weeks, thrusters eventually
nudged TDRS-A into operational position. Astro-
nauts tested EVA translation methods withinChal-
lenger’s payload bay. The shuttle landed at Edwards
Air Force Base after five days.Challenger’s STS-7 mis-
sion began on June 18. Among this initial five-person
crew was the first American woman in space, Dr. Sally
Ride. Two commercial satellites were deployed. Al-
though scheduled to attempt the first landing atThe Eighties in America Space shuttle program 897
The space shuttleColumbialifts off on its first mission on April 12, 1981.(NASA
CORE/Lorain County JVS)