STS-41-B

STS-41-B
Bruce McCandless II demonstrates the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), floating in space above a clouded Earth.
NamesSpace Transportation System-41B
STS-11
Mission typeCommunications satellites deployment
Equipment testing
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1984-011A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.14681
Mission duration7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, 55 seconds
Distance travelled5,329,150 km (3,311,380 mi)
Orbits completed128
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Challenger
Launch mass113,603 kg (250,452 lb)
Landing mass91,280 kg (201,240 lb)
Payload mass12,815 kg (28,252 lb)[1]
Crew
Crew size5
Members
EVAs2
EVA duration
  • 12 hours, 12 minutes
  • 1st EVA: 5 hours, 55 minutes
  • 2nd EVA: 6 hours, 17 minutes
Start of mission
Launch dateFebruary 3, 1984, 13:00:00 (February 3, 1984, 13:00:00) UTC (8:00 am EST)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateFebruary 11, 1984, 12:15:55 (February 11, 1984, 12:15:55) UTC (7:15:55 am EST)
Landing siteKennedy, SLF Runway 15
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[2]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude307 km (191 mi)
Apogee altitude317 km (197 mi)
Inclination28.50°
Period90.80 minutes

STS-41-B mission patch

Standing: Stewart, McNair and McCandless. Stewart and McCandless are wearing Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs).
Seated: Brand and Gibson
← STS-9
STS-41-C (11) →

STS-41-B was NASA's tenth Space Shuttle mission and the fourth flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It launched on February 3, 1984 and landed on February 11, 1984, after deploying two communications satellites. It was also notable for including the first untethered spacewalk.

Following STS-9, the flight numbering system for the Space Shuttle program was changed. Because the original successor to STS-9, STS-10, was canceled due to payload delays, the next flight, originally and internally designated STS-11,[3][4] became STS-41-B as part of the new numbering system.

  1. ^ "NASA shuttle cargo summary" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Legler, Robert D.; Bennett, Floyd V. (September 2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary" (PDF). Mission Operations Johnson Space Center. p. 2-10. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  4. ^ Barton, Dick; Cometa, Sue; Gordon, Bob; Green, Bill; Howard, Bob; Schilder, Shirley (January 1984). "41-B Press Information" (PDF). Rockwell International Office of Public Relations. p. 1. Retrieved December 21, 2023.