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40 Years Ago: Preparations for STS-3, Columbia’s Third Trip to Space

Space shuttle Columbia returned from its second flight into space on Nov. 14, 1981. Eleven days later, the world’s first reusable orbital spaceship arrived back at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) following a cross-country flight. Ground crews began preparing Columbia for its third mission, STS-3, planned for a March 1982 launch. Workers were preparing other shuttle components already at KSC for flight, such as the external tank, solid rocket boosters, and the mission’s science payload. NASA formally announced the STS-3 crew of NASA astronauts Jack R. Lousma and C. Gordon Fullerton, with Thomas K. “TK” Mattingly and Henry W. “Hank” Hartsfield as their backups. The astronauts’ ongoing training included simulator runs, preparations for spacewalks, and experiencing brief periods of weightlessness.

sts 3 crew announcement press conf nov 30 1981 sts 3 crew_announcement nov 30 1981
Left: STS-3 astronauts C. Gordon Fullerton, left, and Jack R. Lousma accepting
the “key” to space shuttle Columbia. Right: Fullerton, left, and Lousma pose
with a model of the space shuttle.

On Nov. 30, 1981, at the conclusion of the STS-2 crew’s postflight press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Chief of the Astronaut Office John W. Young formally introduced Lousma and Fullerton as the STS-3 crew, presenting them with an oversized carboard key with “COLUMBIA” written on it. Looking over at STS-2 astronauts Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, Lousma quipped, “I’m wondering where the slip is for the 900,000-mile oil change – have you guys got it?”

lousma_wetf_trng_jun_19_1981 fullerton_kc-135_zero-g_training_jul_22_1981
Left: As part of spacewalk training, technicians lower STS-3 astronaut Jack R. Lousma
into the Weightless Environment Training Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in
Houston. Right: STS-3 astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton experiences brief periods of
weightlessness during parabolic flights aboard NASA’s KC-135 zero-g aircraft.

lousma_fullerton_bldg_5_simulator_sep_11_1981 oss-1_arr_oc_sep_30_1981
Left: STS-3 astronauts Jack R. Lousma, left, and C. Gordon Fullerton in the shuttle
simulator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Right: The OSS-1 payload
for STS-3 after arriving in the Operations & Checkout Building at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Having served as the backups to STS-2 astronauts Engle and Truly, Lousma and Fullerton had already completed much training by the time Young presented them with the key to Columbia. They continued training runs in the space shuttle simulator, practiced for spacewalks – although none were planned for their mission – in the Weightless Environment Training Facility, and learned to work in brief periods of weightlessness aboard NASA’s KC-135 zero-g aircraft. Engineers at KSC began preparing the payload for STS-3, called OSS-1 after its sponsor, the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, after its arrival on Sep. 30.

sts 3 roll_to_opf_nov_26_1981
Left: The first rust-colored external tank, assigned to STS-3, arrives at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the Vehicle Assembly Building visible in
the background. Right: Following its arrival back at KSC after the STS-2 mission,
workers tow space shuttle Columbia from the Shuttle Landing Facility to
the Orbiter Processing Facility.

The external tank (ET) that arrived at KSC on Oct. 5 for the STS-3 mission differed noticeably from the tanks used for the first two missions. In contrast to the gleaming white tanks flown on STS-1 and STS-2, this third one was rust-colored. Managers decided that the white paint used to protect the tanks from ultraviolet light while sitting on the launch pad was not needed, leaving the rust-colored spray-on foam insulation visible. The change saved about 600 pounds, which increased the shuttle’s payload carrying capacity. After space shuttle Columbia arrived back at KSC on Nov. 25 atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, workers towed it from the Shuttle Landing Facility to the Orbiter Processing Facility to begin processing it for STS-3. Early in the new year of 1982, technicians installed the OSS-1 payload into Columbia’s cargo bay in preparation for the orbiter’s rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building and mating with the ET and the solid rocket boosters.

To be continued…

World events in December 1981:

December 2 – Singer Britney Spears is born in McComb, Mississippi.

December 11 – Muhammad Ali’s 61st and last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision.

December 11 – The first European-built Spacelab module arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

December 20 – “Dreamgirls” opens at the Imperial Theater in New York City, and goes on to run for 1,522 performances.

December 28 – Warner-Elektra-Atlantic raises the price of 45 records from $1.68 to $1.98.

December 31 – CNN Headline News channel debuts.