Blast From The Past - November 14, 1981 - Ground crews inspect and check the exterior of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-2) after it touched down on runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. This was the second time the Columbia used the Edwards AFB landing site and I was so excited that I was one of the Air Force Photojournalists assigned to cover the landing! I had always dreamed of going into space, ever since I joined the Air Force in 1971, and this is as close as I would ever come to that dream. Still, it was a thrill to say the least. According to the NASA Archives, The STS-2 Crew was Commander Joe H. Engle, Pilot Richard H. Truly and back up crew members, Thomas K. Mattingly II and Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. The Mission Objectives were to demonstrate safe re-launch and safe return of the orbiter and crew. Verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle - orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank. Payloads included the Orbital Flight Test Pallet consisting of the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite experiment, the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer experiment, the Shuttle Imaging Radar experiment, the Features Identification and Location Experiment and the Ocean Color Experiment. Also included was the 11,048 lb. Development Flight Instrumentation pallet, the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package, the Induced Environment Contamination Monitor and the 5,395 lb. Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications Pallet. Mission Highlights: Launch originally set for Oct. 9 was rescheduled when a nitrogen tetroxide spill occurred during loading of the forward reaction control system. The launch scheduled for Nov. 4 delayed and then scrubbed when the countdown computer called for hold in the count due to an apparent low reading on fuel cell oxygen tank pressures. During the hold, high oil pressures were discovered in two of three auxiliary power units (APUs) that operate hydraulic system. APU gear boxes needed to be

Blast From The Past – November 14, 1981 – Ground crews inspect…

Blast From The Past – November 14, 1981 – Ground crews inspect and check the exterior of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-2) after it touched down on runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, California.