STS-41-C was the 11th space shuttle mission and the fifth for Challenger. The launch was the first direct ascent trajectory for a Shuttle mission. The mission was extended one day due to problems capturing the Solar Max satellite, and the landing was at Edwards Air Force Base instead of Kennedy Space Center as planned.
The flight was originally numbered STS-13.
Liftoff took place at 8:58 a.m. EDT, on April 6, 1984. It marked the first direct asce...
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STS-41-C was the 11th space shuttle mission and the fifth for Challenger. The launch was the first direct ascent trajectory for a Shuttle mission. The mission was extended one day due to problems capturing the Solar Max satellite, and the landing was at Edwards Air Force Base instead of Kennedy Space Center as planned.
The flight was originally numbered STS-13.
Liftoff took place at 8:58 a.m. EDT, on April 6, 1984. It marked the first direct ascent trajectory for the Shuttle which reached its 288 nautical miles (533 km) high orbit using the Orbiter Maneuvering System engines only once -- to circularize its orbit.
The flight had two primary objectives. The first was to deploy the huge Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), a passive, retrievable, 21,300 lb (9,660 kg), 12-sided cylinder, 14 feet (4.3 m) in diameter and 30 feet (9 m) long carrying 57 experiments. The second objective was to capture, repair and redeploy the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite -- "Solar Max" --...
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