STS-4 was the fourth NASA Space Shuttle mission, and also the fourth for Space Shuttle Columbia. Crewed by Ken Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield, the mission launched on June 27, 1982,[1] and landed a week later on July 4, 1982.[2] Due to parachute malfunctions, the SRBs were not recovered.
![]() Columbia begins its final test flight from Launch Complex 39A of KSC | |
Names | Space Transportation System-4 |
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Mission type | Test flight |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1982-065A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 13300 |
Mission duration | 7 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, 31 seconds |
Distance travelled | 4,700,000 km (2,900,000 mi) |
Orbits completed | 113 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Space Shuttle Columbia |
Launch mass | 109,616 kg (241,662 lb) |
Landing mass | 94,774 kg (208,941 lb) |
Payload mass | 11,109 kg (24,491 lb) |
Crew | |
Crew size | 2 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | June 27, 1982, 15:00:00 UTC |
Rocket | Space Shuttle Columbia (mission 4) |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | Rockwell International |
End of mission | |
Landing date | July 4, 1982, 16:09:31 UTC |
Landing site | Edwards Air Force Base, Runway 22 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 295 km (183 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 302 km (188 mi) |
Inclination | 28.50° |
Period | 90.30 minutes |
![]() STS-4 mission patch ![]() Hartsfield and Mattingly Space Shuttle program |
STS-4 was the final test flight for the Space Shuttle; it was thereafter officially declared to be operational. Columbia carried numerous scientific payloads during the mission, as well as military missile detection systems.[3]
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Commander | Ken Mattingly Second spaceflight | |
Pilot | Henry Hartsfield First spaceflight |
STS-4, being the last test flight of the Space Shuttle, was also the last to carry a crew of two astronauts. Commander Ken Mattingly had previously flown as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 16, and was also the original Command Module Pilot for Apollo 13 before being replaced by his backup, Jack Swigert. Hartsfield was a rookie astronaut who had transferred to NASA in 1969 after the cancellation of the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program. He had previously served as a capsule communicator on Apollo 16, all three Skylab missions, and STS-1.
From STS-4 onwards, NASA halted the appointment and training of complete backup flight crews. Instead, individual flight crew members were assigned backups who could take their place within the prime crew. The decision on whether to appoint a reserve crew member was made on a per-flight basis by flight management teams at Johnson Space Center. Consequently, the last NASA flight to have a full-time backup crew was STS-3.
STS-4 launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on June 27, 1982, at 15:00:00 UTC, with Ken Mattingly as commander and Henry Hartsfield as pilot.[1] This mission marked the first time the Space Shuttle launched precisely at its scheduled launch time. It was also the last research and development flight in the program, after which NASA considered the shuttle operational. After this flight, Columbia's ejection seats were deactivated, and shuttle crews did not wear pressure suits again until STS-26 in 1988.
STS-4's cargo consisted of the first Getaway Special (GAS) payloads, including nine scientific experiments provided by students from Utah State University,[4][5] and a classified U.S. Air Force payload of two missile launch-detection systems. A secret mission control center in Sunnyvale, California participated in monitoring the flight. Mattingly, who was an active-duty naval officer, later described the classified payload – two sensors for detecting missile launches – as a "rinky-dink collection of minor stuff they wanted to fly". The payload failed to operate.[6]
In the shuttle's mid-deck, a Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System and the Mono-disperse Latex Reactor flew for the second time. The crew conducted a lightning survey with hand-held cameras, and performed medical experiments on themselves for two student projects. They also operated the Remote Manipulator System (Canadarm) with an instrument called the Induced Environment Contamination Monitor mounted on its end, designed to obtain information on gases or particles being released by the orbiter in flight.[3]
Columbia landed on July 4, 1982, at 16:09:31 UTC, on the 15,000 ft (4.6 km) concrete runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, the first orbital Shuttle landing on a concrete runway. This time the lead escorting T-38 "Chase 1" was piloted by Guy Gardner with crewmate Jerry L. Ross. President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy greeted the crew upon arrival. Following the landing, President Reagan gave a speech to the crowd gathered at Edwards, during which he declared the Space Shuttle operational.[2] He was followed by remarks from Mattingly and Hartsfield and a flyover of the new shuttle Challenger atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), headed for KSC.
The flight lasted 7 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 31 seconds, and covered a total distance of 4,700,000 km (2,900,000 mi) in 112 complete orbits. The mission achieved all objectives except for the Air Force payload, but the SRBs were lost when their main parachutes failed, causing the empty casings to impact the ocean at high velocity and sink.[1] This and STS-51-L were the only missions where the SRBs were not recovered. Columbia returned to KSC on July 15, 1982.
The path of the red, white, and blue streak on the mission patch forms the numeral "4", indicating the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15.[7] Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.[7]
Flight Day | Song | Artist/Composer |
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Day 2 | "Up, Up and Away" | The 5th Dimension |
Day 3 | "Hold That Tiger" | Auburn University Band |
Day 4 | Taped message for Hank Hartsfield on his wedding anniversary | |
Day 5 | "Theme from Chariots of Fire" | Vangelis |
Day 6 | Delta Tau Delta fraternity song (Mattingly), Delta Chi fraternity song (Hartsfield) | |
Day 7 | "This Is My Country" | Don Raye |
Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) | ||
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Flights | ||
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Related |
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U.S. Space Shuttle missions | |||||||||||
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Completed (crews) |
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Cancelled |
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Orbiters |
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← 1981 · Orbital launches in 1982 · 1983 → | |
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Kosmos 1331 | Kosmos 1332 | Kosmos 1333 | Satcom 4 | Kosmos 1334 | OPS 2849 | Kosmos 1335 | Kosmos 1336 |Ekran No.22L | Kosmos 1337 | Kosmos 1338 | Kosmos 1339 | Kosmos 1340 |Westar 4 | Molniya 1-53 | Kosmos 1341 | Taifun-2 | Intelsat V F-4 | Kosmos 1342 | OPS 8701 | Gorizont No.14L | Kosmos 1343 | STS-3 | Molniya 3-18 | Kosmos 1344 | Meteor 2-8 | Kosmos 1345 | Kosmos 1346 | Kosmos 1347 | Kosmos 1348 | Kosmos 1349 | INSAT-1A | Kosmos 1350 | Salyut 7 (Iskra 2) | Kosmos 1351 |Kosmos 1352 | Kosmos 1353 | Kosmos 1354 | Kosmos 1355 | Kosmos 1356 | Kosmos 1357 · Kosmos 1358 · Kosmos 1359 · Kosmos 1360 · Kosmos 1361 · Kosmos 1362 · Kosmos 1363 · Kosmos 1364 | OPS 5642 · OPS 6553 | Soyuz T-5 | Kosmos 1365 | Zenit-6 | Kosmos 1366 | Kosmos 1367 | Kosmos 1368 | Progress 13 | Kosmos 1369 | Kosmos 1370 | Molniya 1-54 | Kosmos 1371 | Kosmos 1372 | Kosmos 1373 | Kosmos 1374 | Kosmos 1375 | Kosmos 1376 | Kosmos 1377 | Westar 5 | Kosmos 1378 | Yantar-4K2 | Kosmos 1379 | Kosmos 1380 | Kosmos 1381 | Soyuz T-6 | Kosmos 1382 | STS-4 | Kosmos 1383 | Kosmos 1384 | Kosmos 1385 | Kosmos 1386 | Progress 14 | Kosmos 1387 | Landsat 4 | Kosmos 1388 · Kosmos 1389 · Kosmos 1390 · Kosmos 1391 · Kosmos 1392 · Kosmos 1393 · Kosmos 1394 · Kosmos 1395 | Molniya 1-55 | Ekran No.23L | Kosmos 1396 | Kosmos 1397 | Kosmos 1398 | Kosmos 1399 | Kosmos 1400 | Soyuz T-7 | Kosmos 401 | Anik D1 | Molniya 3-19 | Kosmos 1402 | Strela-2M | Kosmos 1403 | Kosmos 1404 | Kiku-4 | Kosmos 1405 | Kosmos 1406 | Marecs B · Sirio 2 | Fanhui Shi Weixing 0-5 | Kosmos 1407 | Kosmos 1408 | Ekran No.24L | Progress 15 (Astrozond) | Kosmos 1409 | Kosmos 1410 | Intelsat V F-5 | Kosmos 1411 | Kosmos 1412 | Kosmos 1413 · Kosmos 1414 · Kosmos 1415 | Kosmos 1416 | Kosmos 1417 | Gorizont No.16L | Kosmos 1418 | Satcom 5 | DSCS II F-16 · DSCS III A-1 | Progress 16 (Iskra 3) | Kosmos 1419 | Kosmos 1420 | STS-5 (SBS-3 · Anik C3) | OPS 9627 | Kosmos 1421 | Strela-1M (x8) | Gran' No.21L | Kosmos 1422 | Kosmos 1423 | Meteor 2-9 | Kosmos 1424 | OPS 9845 | Kosmos 1425 | Gran' No.22L | Kosmos 1426 | Kosmos 1427 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |