STS-2/Columbia

After narrowly missing his chance to go to the Moon on Apollo 17, former X-15 pilot Joe Engle finally gets to fly

 

Prime Crew: Joseph H. Engle (Commander)

Richard H. Truly (Pilot)

Backup Crew: Thomas K. "Ken" Mattingly (Commander)

Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. (Pilot)

Shuttle Orbiter: Columbia (OV-102)

November 12, 1981

Mission Duration: 2 Days 6 Hours

36 Orbits

Landing: November 14, 1981-Runway 23, Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards AFB, CA

 

 

 

The STS-2 prime crew, Commander Joe Engle and Pilot Richard Truly, in the Shuttle Mission Simulator at KSC. Joe flew the X-15 on several flights over 50 miles in altitude before being selected as one of the Original 19 in 1966. (By the Air Force's definition, he was an astronaut before NASA's selection, and had flown in space; however, by NASA's definition, he was an astronaut only AFTER their selection, and had NOT flown in space.) He watched as others in his group got to land on the Moon or orbit in CSMs, or fly Skylab or ASTP missions. He was the original Lunar Module Pilot on Gene Cernan's crew when they were backing up Alan Shepard's crew on Apollo 14, and therefore, by the established crew rotation, he should have walked on the Moon with Cernan on Apollo 17. But the scientific community intervened and insisted that a trained geologist-namely Harrison Schmitt-should be aboard the last Apollo Moon mission. They won-and Joe saw his Moon landing slip through his fingers. But he stayed on with NASA, putting his extensive flight test experience to good use during the development of the Space Shuttle. Richard Truly, born on Nov. 12, 1937 in Fayette, MS, graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's in aeronautical engineering. Like STS-1's Bob Crippen, he had been a Naval Aviator and military MOL astronaut until that military space station project was cancelled. If it had gone on as planned, he and another Navy astronaut-probably Crippen or Bob Overmyer-would have ridden a modified Gemini spacecraft and Titan II to the orbiting MOL module on the fourth MOL mission sometime in 1974. But Congress basically decided that they weren't going to fund two separate manned space programs, one military and one civilian-and that spelled the end of MOL. So Truly had some decisions to make, career-wise. And like MOL men Crippen, Overmyer, Karol Bobko, Gordon Fullerton, Henry Hartsfield (his backup on this mission), and Don Peterson, he went to NASA in 1969. Joe and Richard both worked on the Shuttle Approach and Landing Test Program (ALT), test-flying the Shuttle Enterprise 3 times between late-June and mid-Oct. 1977. NASA Photo.

 

Columbia was originally scheduled to fly the STS-2 mission on Oct. 9, 1981. The main mission objective was the accomplishment of a second test flight, but of course, there were many payload experiments as well. These included the Orbital Flight Test Pallet, consisting of the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite (MAPS) experiment, the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) experiment, the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) experiment, the Features Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) and the Ocean Color Experiment (OCE). Also included was the 11,048 lb Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) pallet, the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package (ACIP), the Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM) and the 5,395 lb Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications Pallet (OSTA-1).

 

As the first reusable spacecraft, the Shuttle's "turnaround" phase-getting it ready for the next mission-is vital-especially right after the very first flight. After returning from Edwards at the end of STS-1, Columbia was gone over with a fine-toothed comb by NASA and the contractors, checking every system to see how it withstood that first space flight, and making sure everything was ready to go for STS-2 in the Fall. Here, technicians prepare to remove one of the OMS pods in the VAB on May 7. NASA Photo.

 

Joe and Dick arrive at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility on Sept. 8, flying one of the NASA Gulfstream II Shuttle Training Aircraft (STAs). The Shuttle flies a VERY STEEP and very fast approach, and NASA needed a way to train astronauts to land it. While some astronauts, like Joe, had flown similar approaches in the X-15 and Lifting Bodies, most, like Truly, had not. Rather than haul something like an X-15 or X-24B out of the museums for training, NASA purchased two Gulfstream II buisiness jets and modified them. If you drop the G-II's main gear, throw the engines into reverse-thrust, and point the nose down, the G-II STA drops out of the sky like a flying safe-just like the Shuttle. The left pilot's seat is equipped with a panel and controls setup exactly like the Commander's seat in the Shuttle. NASA Photo.  

The planned Oct. 9 launch was postponed when the forward RCS fuel (nitrogen tetroxide) was accidentally spilled during loading, requiring a thorough cleanup. A second attempt was made on Nov. 4, but was scrubbed due to fuel cell and APU problems. The launch was rescheduled for Nov. 12-which meant that Richard Truly would get his first-ever space flight for his 44th birthday.

 

After the second scrub, Joe and  Dick flew back to Houston, where the press met them on the ramp at Ellington Field. Note the ALT Program patches on their flight suits, in addition to their STS-2 mission patches. Before they left to return to KSC on Nov. 11, Truly got some special birthday gifts made by students at Carver-Jones Elementary School in Baytown, TX. NASA Photo.

 

10:09:59 AM, Nov. 12, 1981: Columbia is on the way back into space. (Happy birthday, Mr. Truly!) STS-2 is the last Shuttle mission to fly with the plain-Jane white external tank. NASA Photo.  

 

Here's a new view of a Shuttle launch for you! NASA range safety personel, the FAA and the Air Force keep the airspace over and around KSC under tight security during launch windows, for obvious reasons, so you don't get to see this kind of thing from your airliner or Cessna. This photo was taken from NASA's Gulfstream II Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) as Joe and Richard rocketed into the sky. The photographer is a fellow by the name of John Watts Young. NASA Photo.

 

Higher up, as Joe Engle throttles up the SSMEs on the way to orbit, 2 more NASA chase aircraft are there to observe and take photographs. These 2, of course, are the ubiquitous NASA T-38 Talons. This photo was taken from the back seat of the lead aircraft by one of the first female American astronauts, Mission Specialist Kathryn D. Sullivan, selected with the 1978 group (known as the TFNGs, or, "Thirty-Five New Guys"). NASA Photo.

 

After the SRBs separated, they splashed down in the Atlantic by parachute. They are designed to rotate and float vertically. Here, one of the SRBs (right) is recovered by  the recovery vessel UFC Liberty. NASA Photo.

 

 

In the middeck area, Dick reviews the instructions printed out for the crew on the Text And Graphics System (TAGS) printer. TAGS allows the Shuttle astronauts to have a hard copy of any data or new procedures the controllers want them to have-a direct predecessor of the fax machine. (Jim Lovell and his crew probably would have loved to have had this on Apollo 13.) NASA Photo.

 

 

Like Skylab almost a decade earlier, the Shuttle was roomy enough for scientists to send along all kinds of experiments-and for the astronauts to try out new equipment designed to make space travel easier for future crews. Here, Joe puts in a little exercise time on a specially-designed treadmill. Note the straps and cords anchoring Joe to the floor; without 'em, you would bounce off the floor with the first step and hit the ceiling! NASA Photo.

 

On the next-to-last day of the mission, President Reagan stopped by Mission Control in Houston to talk to the astronauts. Seated next to him is CapCom astronaut Daniel C. Brandenstein (another one of the Thirty-Five New Guys). Standing behind them are, L-R, NASA Deputy Administrator Terry Hart, NASA Administrator Dr. Hans Mark, Johnson Space Center Director James M. Beggs, and Chris Kraft Jr. Visible just above President Reagan's head is Gene Kranz, who is by this time the Flight Operations Director. President Reagan was an enthusiastic supporter of the space program. Here, the Great Communicator, as he was known, has just asked Joe Engle if the Shuttle can drop by Washington DC on the way home and give him a ride out to California. (Really!)  NASA Photo.

 

Columbia (sans President Reagan) re-entered and headed for the Edwards lakebeds the next day. Here, the pilots of the T-38 chase planes give the descending orbiter the once-over at altitude. NASA Photo.

 

 

Joe lands Columbia on the same lakebed where he once recovered the X-15 over a dozen times. Note the T-38 a good distance off the far wing; this photo was taken from the back seat of another T-38. NASA Photo.

 

After returning to Kennedy Space Center, Dick and Joe are presented a framed picture of their launch. Joe's next assignment was as Commander of the August, 1985 STS-51-I satellite-repair mission aboard Discovery. Richard Truly would go on to command STS-8 aboard Challenger, the first night launch and landing; that mission would also feature the first African-American astronaut, Mission Specialist Guion S. Bluford, Jr. NASA Photo.