STS-4
STS-4 was the fourth manned space mission in the Space Transportation System (STS) program conducted by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A crew of two NASA astronauts, Commander Thomas K. Mattingly II and Pilot Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., conducted the 7 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 31 seconds mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia.
| Mission statistics | |
|---|---|
| Mission name: | STS-4 |
| Launch: | 27 June 1982 |
| Landing: | 4 July 1982 |
| Duration: | 9 days, 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 31 seconds |
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Mission Details
This fourth mission was the last to test the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle. The shuttle carried a classified Department of Defense payload and various experimental payloads. These payloads included the first commercial experiment involving Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES).
When the main parachutes failed on the casings of two solid rocket boosters, they were lost after they impacted the water and sank. While Discovery was on the pad some rainwater penetrated the protective coating of some of the tiles. The water however did not freeze while in orbit because the water vaporized as the affected area was turned toward the sun. This prevented any further tile damage.
Crew
- Thomas K. Mattingly II, Commander
- Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., Pilot