The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1958, the latest event was in 2012
Two milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1983- LAUNCH: STS-8 (Challenger), LC39A, KSC – 5 person crew, Insat-1B deployment. Crew: Richard Truly, Daniel Brandenstein, Guion Bluford, Dale Gardner, Williams Thornton. First night launch of shuttle.
1984 – LAUNCH: STS-41-D (Discovery), LC39A, KSC – 6 person crew, three Hughes communications satellites deployed – First flight of OV Discovery – MILESTONE: 40 years ago. Crew: Henry Hartsfield, Michael Coats, Richard Mullane, Steve Hawley, Judy Resnik, Charles Walker.
Military and Classified Programs:
1961 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Discoverer 29, Thor/Lockheed Agena B, SLC1W, VAFB
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
2012 – LAUNCH: RBSP A, B, ULA Atlas V 401, LC41, CCAFS – Radiation Belt Storm Probes
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
NONE
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1958 – LAUNCH: Lockheed X-17, Platform AVM1, Atlantic – Argus II
1960 – LAUNCH: Martin Titan I, LC20, CCAFS
1963 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, LC25A, ETR
1963 – LAUNCH: MM Titan I, 395-A3, VAFB
1991 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Trident D5, SSBN737, ETR
1995 – LAUNCH: LM Peacekeeper, LF02, VAFB
Other:
1994 – Lockheed and Martin Marietta first propose a merger of “equals” – MILESTONE: 30 years ago
The photos today are from the STS-41-D mission in 1984. This was the first flight of the OV Discovery. The photos include the launch and the crew. Photo Credits: NASA.
This mission had a serious pre-launch anomaly in June, 1984 that delayed its launch until August. Here is the story from NASA public sources and Wikipedia:
During the June 26, 1984, launch attempt, there was a launch abort at T–6 seconds, followed by a pad fire about ten minutes later. Because the center engine had not started when the abort was triggered, confusion ensued as the flight controllers were unable to verify its state:
Commentary: “We have a cut off”.
“NTD [NASA Test Director] we have a RSLS [Redundant Set Launch Sequencer] abort”.
Commentary: “We have an abort by the onboard computers of the orbiter Discovery”.
“Break break, break break, GLS [Ground Launch Sequencer] shows engine one not shut down”.
“OK, PLT [pilot]?”
“CSME [Space Shuttle Main Engines] verify engine one”.
“You want me to shut down engine one?”
“We do not show engine start on one”.
“OTC [Orbiter test conductor] I can verify shutdown on verify on engine one, we haven’t start prepped engine one”.
“All engines shut down I can verify that”.
Commentary: “We can now verify all three engines have been shut down”.
“We have red lights on engines two and three in the cockpit, not on one”.
“All right, CSME verify engine one safe for APU [Auxiliary Power Unit] shutdown”.
“If I can verify that?”
“OTC GPC [General Purpose Computer] go for APU shutdown”.
Mission Specialist Steve Hawley was reported as saying following the abort: “Gee, I thought we’d be a lot higher at MECO (Main Engine Cut-Off)!”.About ten minutes later, the following was heard on live TV coverage:
“We have indication two of our fire detectors on the zero level; no response. They’re side by side right next to the engine area. The engineer requested that we turn on the heat shield fire water which is what could be seen spraying up in the vicinity of the engine bells of Discovery‘s three main engines”.
While evacuating the shuttle 20 minutes later, the crew was doused with water from the pad deluge system, which was activated due to a hydrogen fire on the launch pad caused by the free hydrogen (fuel) that had collected around the engine nozzles following the shutdown and engine anomaly. Because the fire was invisible to humans, had the astronauts used the normal emergency escape procedure across the service arm to the slidewire escape baskets, they would have run into the fire.
Changes to procedures resulting from the abort included more practicing of “safing” the orbiter following aborts at various points, the use of the fire suppression system in all pad aborts, and the testing of the slidewire escape system with a real person (Charles F. Bolden, Jr.). It emerged that launch controllers were reluctant to order the crew to evacuate during the STS-41-D abort, as the slidewire had not been ridden by a human.
Examination of telemetry data indicated that the engine malfunction had been caused by a stuck valve that prevented proper flow of LOX into the combustion chamber.
