We Are Dinosaurs?
Bill Ferreira gives us another great article through Shuttle Recollections #6.
Do you have a shuttle story to share? We want to hear it.
Abort
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STS-4 JULY 4th LANDING OF COLUMBIA
July 4th for the space shuttle program will always be remembered for the return of Columbia on STS-4 and the departure of Challenger on the delivery flight to the Kennedy Space Center. Commander Ken Mattingly and Pilot Hank Hartsfield piloted Columbia to a landing on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base on July 4, 1982. This marked the end of the test phase of the program and the last time only two crew members would fly at once. See the video section for the full mission highlights video.
June 5, 1991 – Mission Control considers an unscheduled spacewalk during STS-40 after a payload bay door seal had come loose. Controllers were concerned that the payload bay doors would not close properly prior to Columbia’s landing.
After much evaluation and practice spacewalks on the ground, it was determined the doors would close properly. Landing occurred on June 14 at Edwards AFB.
Visit our Video Section for more coverage of the STS-40 payload bay door seal problem.
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