Description : FDC Space travel and Houston mission control and SRBS separate.
The second flight of the Space Shuttle (STS-2) carried the first scientific payload OSTA-1 (Office of Space and Terrestrial Application 1). The instruments from the OSTA-1 payload were designed to perform remote sensing of the earth`s atmosphere, oceans, and land resources. During its time in orbit, the Shuttle assumed an earth-viewing orientation, thus accommodating the experiments of the OSTA-1 payload. In this attitude, called Z-axis local vertical (ZLV), the Shuttle`s payload bay faces the earth on a line perpendicular to the earth`s surface.
Due to the loss of one of three fuel cells, the STS-2 mission was shortened from the planned 124-h to a 54-h minimum mission. The OSTA-1 payload was activated approximately 4.5 h after launch. The earth-viewing time was reduced from the planned 88 h to 36 h. The STS-2 mission successfully demonstrated the capability of the Space Shuttle to conduct scientific research.

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Space Event :

STS 2 (COLUMBIA) · ENGLE & TRULY · 2ND FLIGHT