Space Shuttle Columbia

by Evans, Ben

• ISBN13: 9780387215174
• ISBN10: 0387215174
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Praxis

Summary

"Space Shuttle Columbia is the first book to tell the story of the most successful spacecraft ever developed. The world's first truly reusable spacecraft entered service in 1981, and completed 28 missions before the devastating event of 1 February 2003 when Columbia and her seven-person crew were lost during her return to Earth. Containing many unique photographs from the various missions, Space Shuttle Columbia - Her Missions and Crews is a fitting tribute to both this remarkable machine and those who flew in her."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	xiii
Preface	xvii
Acknowledgements	xix
1 "It will take a hundred flights"	1	(54)
The Astronauts' Astronaut	1	(2)
Birth pains	3	(1)
A calculated risk?	4	(1)
The butterfly and the bullet	5	(1)
The rocky road to STS-1	6	(4)
Software: the biggest stumbling block	10	(1)
Ride of a lifetime	11	(5)
Checking out Columbia	16	(2)
A spacious, spartan home-from-home	18	(1)
Return to California'	19	(4)
A race against time	23	(2)
Birthday thrills, spills and dirty windows	25	(1)
A halved mission	26	(2)
Flexing Canadarm's muscles	28	(2)
A scientific bounty	30	(2)
An ambitious mission	32	(1)
Space sickness	33	(1)
Substitution: IECM 'off, PDP 'on'	34	(1)
Pathfinder for Spacelab	35	(4)
A monster storm	39	(3)
Room for improvement	42	(2)
"It will take a hundred flights"	44	(2)
A quiet mission	46	(1)
"It just goes"	47	(2)
Thermal tests	49	(1)
Tying up loose ends	50	(1)
Veil of secrecy	51	(1)
Date with the President	52	(3)
2 Columbia delivers	55	(44)
An unprotected crew	55	(2)
Space truck	57	(2)
The 'Ace Moving Company'	59	(3)
Spacewalking from the Shuttle	62	(2)
Practice for the Solar Max repair	64	(1)
Spacewalk cancelled	65	(1)
A hellish ride home	66	(2)
Spacelab: a multipurpose research facility	68	(3)
Spacelab-1: a 'free-for-all' mission	71	(1)
'Spacelab Only' modifications to Columbia	72	(1)
Assembly of Spacelab-1	72	(1)
A complex mission	73	(5)
Pilots: avoid the Spacelab!	78	(2)
Problems before re-entry	80	(2)
New mission, new number	82	(2)
A 'new' Columbia	84	(2)
A political flight	86	(2)
'Mission Impossible'	88	(1)
The curse of Steve Hawley	89	(3)
A triumphant start to a tragic year	92	(1)
STS-61C: "The end of innocence"	93	(2)
Tough to launch, tougher to land	95	(4)
3 Recovery after Challenger	99	(48)
A busy year cut short	99	(3)
The 'Real Astronaut' look returns	102	(1)
Secret mission	103	(1)
A mysterious, 'flashing' satellite	104	(2)
Columbia back in business	106	(1)
An urgent mission	106	(1)
A leased satellite	107	(2)
Pushing the envelope	109	(1)
One down, one to go	110	(2)
What you saw was what you got	112	(3)
LDEF comes home	115	(1)
A mini-Spacelab mission	116	(2)
A record-setting flight	118	(1)
Well-weathered	119	(1)
Unfinished business	120	(2)
ASTRO-1: four powerful eyes on the Universe	122	(2)
An ambitious venture	124	(1)
Hydrogen leaks	125	(4)
ASTRO-1 comes alive	129	(4)
Success from failure	133	(1)
An earlier-than-planned landing	134	(1)
Return of Spacelab	135	(3)
A single-shift mission	138	(2)
A modern-day torture chamber	140	(1)
Rodent studies	141	(2)
First jellyfish in space	143	(1)
A contingency spacewalk?	143	(4)
4 Extended capabilities	147	(88)
A personal connection	147	(1)
The benefit of longer Shuttle missions	147	(2)
A scientific and psychological challenge	149	(4)
Crystal growth	153	(3)
RCRS problems	156	(1)
A steady mission	156	(2)
Fluid physics	158	(3)
Combustion research	161	(1)
Biotechnology	162	(1)
A fit and healthy crew	163	(3)
Half-full or half-empty?	166	(1)
A satellite for the past, present and future	167	(1)
Testing Nobel Prize science	168	(1)
Flight rules overruled	169	(1)
LAGEOS-2 deployment	170	(3)
'Telescience' put to the test	173	(1)
Preparing for space station operations	174	(3)
Columbia returns 'home' to KSC	177	(2)
"You wouldn't believe me!"	179	(1)
Mini-marathons	180	(1)
An important mission for Germany	181	(2)
A troubled road to space	183	(2)
Red lights in the cockpit	185	(3)
'There's only one Jerry Ross!'	188	(2)
A full plate of experiments	190	(2)
Torture chamber	192	(1)
Robotic experiments	193	(2)
An extended mission	195	(1)
John Blaha and the long road to SLS-2	196	(2)
A controversial flight	198	(2)
Off to work	200	(5)
A productive mission	205	(3)
Cool crew	208	(1)
USM P-2: long-term payoff	209	(4)
OAST-2: a technology testbed	213	(3)
Preparing for the space station	216	(2)
Solar studies	218	(1)
A superb scientific success	219	(1)
Two historic 'Columbias'	220	(1)
IML-2: an international triumph	221	(2)
Four Shuttles in Florida	223	(1)
A busy, around-the-clock mission	224	(553)
Practising for the space station	777
A smooth flight	232	(1)
Record-breakers!	233	(2)
5 Golden age	235	(58)
Overhaul	236	(1)
A difficult road to space	237	(2)
Seventh time lucky	239	(2)
Important government business for Fred Leslie	241	(2)
Crystal growth research	243	(1)
Growing crops in space	243	(1)
The 'big picture'	244	(2)
The strange behaviour of fluids in microgravity	246	(2)
Semiconductor factory in space	248	(2)
A flawless mission	250	(1)
Satellite on a string	251	(2)
Bad simulation run	253	(1)
Learning to walk	254	(2)
Bloodied noses	256	(4)
USM P-3: torchbearer of the 'Semiconducor Age'	260	(1)
Mission extended	261	(1)
The Middeck Glovebox	262	(2)
A bittersweet mission	264	(2)
Short-notice Spacelab	266	(2)
A worrying discovery	268	(2)
The busiest day	270	(2)
Fluid physics research	272	(2)
Medical experiments	274	(2)
Columbia's 'other" passengers	276	(1)
Record-breakers	277	(1)
Space station practice	278	(2)
ORFEUS-SPAS-2: a free-flying observatory	280	(2)
Booster concerns	282	(2)
WSF-3: an orbiting semiconductor factory	284	(2)
A shorter-than-planned free-flight	286	(1)
'Bionic eyes'?	287	(1)
"A little more elbow grease"	288	(2)
Columbia breaks her own record	290	(3)
6 A miniature space station	293	(84)
A broken ankle	293	(2)
Pen ultimate Spacelab	295	(2)
MSL-1: investigating physical science phenomena	297	(2)
Understanding combustion on Earth and in space	299	(1)
Change of fortune	300	(3)
A productive, albeit short, flight	303	(5)
Reflight	308	(1)
Making lemonade out of lemons	309	(2)
Combustion science experiments	311	(3)
Space station hardware demonstrations	314	(1)
Materials research	315	(1)
The 'revolutionary' TEMPUS	316	(2)
Success, second time around	318	(1)
Leonid's long wait	318	(1)
First spacewalk from Columbia	319	(1)
A free-flying solar observatory	320	(2)
Doing the twist	322	(1)
Spartan in a spin	323	(2)
Rescuing Spartan	325	(2)
"Our last chance to look at this"	327	(2)
AERCam/Sprint	329	(1)
Refining spacewalking techniques	330	(2)
Free-flying camera	332	(1)
USMP-4: "a great mission"	333	(3)
A redeployment of Spartan9	336	(1)
Bittersweet voyage	337	(2)
No blame for Chawla	339	(2)
Torn Cruise's stuntman	341	(1)
"Everyone is a Mission Specialist"	341	(1)
Neurolab and the 'Decade of the Brain'	342	(1)
Abseiling into the Spacelab	343	(1)
"Incredible!"	344	(2)
An extra push along the way	346	(1)
A several-thousand-strong crew	347	(1)
A magnificent mission	347	(2)
RCRS problems	349	(1)
Rodent experiments	350	(3)
Neonatal deaths	353	(1)
A fast pace on board 'Blurrolab'	354	(6)
Strictly non-station missions only	360	(1)
A heavy payload	361	(2)
II.S problems	363	(1)
Making Superman jealous	364	(1)
Astronomical targets	365	(1)
Genesis of Chandra	366	(2)
The rocky road to space	368	(1)
"Cutoff! Give cutoff!"	369	(1)
Doing her job	370	(2)
Near-disaster	372	(1)
Chandra ready to open its X-ray eyes	373	(1)
Middeck experiments	374	(3)
7 Uncertain future	377	(52)
A ship without a mission	377	(1)
A near-disastrous ascent	378	(1)
Lean, mean machine	379	(2)
An astronomical icon	381	(2)
HST SM-3: 'The biggie'	383	(4)
A long road to space	387	(1)
"Getting outta town in a hurry!"	388	(2)
Not out of the woods yet	390	(2)
Hubble captured	392	(3)
"Masterful" performances	395	(4)
A more capable Hubble	399	(5)
Homeward bound	404	(1)
"Just a research mission"	405	(2)
An Israeli in space	407	(2)
An important mission for science	409	(1)
A purpose-built research module	410	(5)
A long wait	415	(2)
"Bingo! We nailed one!"	417	(2)
Hot science in a warm lab	419	(5)
Small wonders and joys	424	(1)
"Absolutely no concern for entry"	425	(1)
Last day	426	(3)
8 "In my book, they always landed"	429	(28)
Premonitions	429	(3)
"Lock the doors"	432	(2)
The golden egg	434	(2)
Timeline to tragedy	436	(5)
Debris searching and soul searching	441	(5)
More stable than launch'?	446	(5)
A very 'human' machine	451	(6)
Columbia's missions	457	(18)
Index	475