![]() After a traditional steak and eggs breakfast at 2:45 a.m., they suited up and crawled into the Columbia at 4:23 a.m. The Columbia is the largest, most sophisticated manned spacecraft ever launched, capable of carrying up to seven astronauts in normal flights and 10 in an emergency, plus a cargo the size of a bus.Ĭrippen and Young awoke at 2:05 a.m. Communication was also difficult, and Hutchinson blamed the problem on the shuttle’s antenna being blocked from ground stations by the orbiter itself. A data-gathering device that monitors the spacecraft’s performance began running continuously and had to be turned on and off by the astronauts with a circuit breaker. Other problems encountered during the first day in apace were minor. and installed by Rockwell, 30,922 protective tiles coat the shell of the orbiter like a heat-resistant skin. (Orlando Sentinel)įabricated by Lockheed Corp. The front page of the Orlando Sentinel on April 13, 1981, reporting the first flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. Of all the trials and tribulations to beset the $10 billion shuttle, the tiles have been the greatest headache. The team also will investigate detailed films of the engine pods taken during the launch, information supplied by contractors, and data from instruments that record heat on the shuttle’s surfaces during launch. Hutchinson said a contingency team would study Air Force photographs of the orbiter shot from Malabar, south of Melbourne, and the Hawaiian island of Maui. “People are not scurrying around thinking doomsday things.” “There Is no reason to believe we have more serious problems anywhere else,” said flight director Neil Hutchinson. The tiles protect the shuttle from Intense heat when it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.ĭownplaying the damage, NASA officials said none of the tiles was in a critical area and would not prevent the Columbia from landing safely. (AP Photo/NASA) (AP)Īt Mission Control, experts theorized that a sonic shock wave shook the tiles loose shortly after launch. Crippen, pilot, of the first orbital space flight of the space shuttle Columbia which launched on April 12, 1981. This 1979 picture shows astronauts John W. Scanning the far end of the 60-foot bay, television cameras aboard the spacecraft revealed 13 to 15 tile cavities atop the maneuvering engine pods that power the shuttle in space. But no sooner was the shuttle up than Mission Control discovered the potential problem with the tiles, which they noticed missing 90 minutes after launch as Crippen and Young opened the Columbia’s cargo bay doors for the first time. In the launch firing room, 150 engineers waved American flags and cheered. George Page, NASA director of shuttle operations, called it a “picture book” launch, and agreed that it went much better than launch crews expected. “It sure hasn’t changed any,” Young said. “That was one fantastic ride I highly recommend it,” Crippen said as he entered space for the first time. Crippen’s heartbeat pulsed at 130 beats per minute during the 43-year-old astronaut’s first minutes in space. Young, 50, who set a human record with his fifth blastoff into space, had a heartbeat of 75 to 80 beats a minute during liftoff.
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