STS-41B

**STS-41B**
Organization	NASA-Office of Space Flight (United States)
Mission type	Human Crew
Launch date	February 3, 1984
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, United States
COSPAR ID	1984-011A
Inclination	28.45 degrees
Experiments	Here
Alternate Names	STS 10,14681
Additional Information	Here
Data Collection	Here
Payload Mass Up	15342 kg
Payload Mass Down	8638.64 kg
Orbiter	Challenger
Lift Off Mass	2,044,746.82 kg
Orbiter Weight at Liftoff	113,765.91 kg
Orbiter Weight at Landing	91,471.82 kg
Landed	Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Orbits of Earth	127
Orbital Altitude	165 nautical miles (189 statute miles)

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Crew

Commander: Vance Brand
Pilot: Robert Gibson
- Mission Specialist 1: Bruce McCandless
- Mission Specialist 2: Robert Stewart
- Mission Specialist 3: Ronald McNair

Mission

STS 41-B was the fourth Challenger shuttle flight with Vance Brand, Robert Gibson, Bruce McCandless, Ronald McNair, and Robert Stewart on board. Misson Highlights consisted of the first untethered space walks by McCandless and Stewart, using manned maneuvering unit. WESTAR-VI and PALAPA-B2 satellites were deployed, but failure of Payload Assist Module-D (PAM-D) rocket motors left them in radical low-Earth orbits. German-built Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS), first flown on STS-7, became the first satellite refurbished and flown again. SPAS remained in the payload bay due to electrical problem with Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The RMS manipulator foot restraint was first used, and practice procedures performed for Solar Maximum satellite retrieval and repair planned for next mission. Integrated Rendezvous Target (IRT) failed due to internal failure. Five Get Away Special canisters were flown in the cargo bay and a Cinema-360 camera was used by the crew. Other payloadsconsisted of : Acoustic Containerless Experiment System (ACES); Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR); and Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME), and Isoelectric Focusing (IEF) payload. The mission duration was 191 hours 15 minutes 55 seconds.

EVA

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) conducted by Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart during two spacewalks for a total of 11 hours, 37 minutes. EVA 1, 5 hours, 35 minutes; EVA 2, 6 hours, 2 minutes. First flight of the manned maneuvering unit (MMU). McCandless operating time 1 hour, 55 minutes; Stewart, 44 minutes.

Payload

PALAPA-B2 (Indonesian communications satellite) with Payload Assist Module (PAM)-D and WESTAR (Western Union communications satellite)-Vl with PAM-D deployment. Both satellites were deployed but the PAM-D in each satellite failed to ignite, leaving both satellites in Earth orbit. Both satellites were retrieved and returned to Earth for renovation on the STS-51-A mission. The manned maneuvering unit (MMU) was tested with extravehicular astronauts as free-flyers without tethers as far as 320 feet from the orbiter. Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS)-01 experiments; Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR); Isoelectric Focusing Experiment (lEF); Acoustic Containerless Experiment System (ACES); Cinema 360 cameras; five getaway specials (GAS); Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification (ACIP)/High Resolution Accelerometer Package (HIRAP)

Mission patch: