Sep 3 1984
From The Space Library
September 3-5: NASA officials were concerned that the buildup of two ice blocks, one about 30 by 18 inches and weighing between 8 and 20 pounds and another about 10 pounds, that covered an excess water-dump nozzle, might break off the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission 41-D (a combination of missions 41-D and 41-F) during its return to Earth, causing damage to the orbiter's protective tiles. The agency said that they had three options for removing the ice, the last of which, a space walk, could delay reentry by at least a day. The crew continued their efforts to melt or shake loose the ice, and Discovery's cabin pressure was lowered as a preliminary step in case a space walk was required, although NASA officials said that a space walk was the last option.
Discovery was oriented with the port side in direct sunlight, so when the crew awoke the next morning they found about half of the large ice block had melted. Then, astronaut Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., switched on heaters in the pipes leading to the nozzle and fired the orbiter's thrusters to see if the vibrations would shake the ice free. Next, Hartsfield, assisted by Judith Resnik, took the controls of the mechanical arm and following procedures outlined by Sally K. Ride on the ground knocked off with little difficulty all but about 5 inches of the ice chunk. The remaining ice apparently then melted in the warmth of the sunlight.
Discovery landed September 5 at Edwards Air Force Base, completing its six-day maiden flight. During the flight, crew deployed three communications satellites, LEASAT-I (SYNCOM-I), Telestar-3, and SBS-D in the first three days of the flight; extended an experimental solar-powered array in a test for future Space Station construction; and processed a sample of a hormone that could lead to a commercial pharmaceutical product. Lt. Col. Richard M. Mullane, one of the astronauts on board, said that Discovery "performed superbly," while NASA officials pointed out that all the mission's objectives were accomplished. (W Post, Sept 4/84, A-6; NY Times, Sept 3/84, A-1, Sept 4/84, A-1, Sept 5/84, A-1; W Times, Sept 5/84, 4A)
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