STS-41-C

STS-41-C
Mission Specialists George Nelson and James van Hoften repair the captured Solar Maximum Mission satellite on April 11, 1984
NamesSpace Transportation System-41C
STS-13
Mission typeSatellite deployment
Satellite repair
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1984-034A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.14897
Mission duration6 days, 23 hours, 40 minutes, 7 seconds
Distance travelled4,620,000 km (2,870,000 mi)
Orbits completed108
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Challenger
Launch mass115,328 kg (254,255 lb)
Landing mass89,346 kg (196,974 lb)
Payload mass15,345 kg (33,830 lb)[1]
Crew
Crew size5
Members
EVAs2
EVA duration
  • 10 hours, 6 minutes
  • 1st EVA: 2 hours, 59 minutes
  • 2nd EVA: 7 hours, 7 minutes
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 6, 1984, 13:58:00 (April 6, 1984, 13:58:00) UTC (8:58 pm EST)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateApril 13, 1984, 13:38:07 (April 13, 1984, 13:38:07) UTC (5:38:07 am PST)
Landing siteEdwards, Runway 17
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[2]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude222 km (138 mi)
Apogee altitude428 km (266 mi)
Inclination28.50°
Period91.40 minutes

STS-41-C mission patch

From left: Crippen, Hart, van Hoften, Nelson and Scobee
← STS-41-B (10)
STS-41-D (12) →

STS-41-C (formerly STS-13) was NASA's eleventh Space Shuttle mission, and the fifth mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. The launch, which took place on April 6, 1984, marked the first direct ascent trajectory for a Space Shuttle mission. During the mission, Challenger's crew captured and repaired the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission ("Solar Max") satellite, and deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) experimental apparatus. STS-41-C was extended one day due to problems capturing the Solar Max satellite, and the landing on April 13, 1984, took place at Edwards Air Force Base, instead of at Kennedy Space Center as had been planned. The flight was originally numbered STS-13.[3][4]

  1. ^ "NASA shuttle cargo weight summary" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2000. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  2. ^ "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  3. ^ James D. A. van Hoften NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. December 5, 2007, Retrieved July 20, 2013 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ Terry J. Hart NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. April 10, 2003, Retrieved July 20, 2013 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.