[AS] ‘A Heck of a Push’: 30 Years Since the Dramatic Rescue of Mission 51I

[Orionid]

‘Winging It’: 30 Years Since the Dramatic Rescue of Mission 51I (Part 1)
by Ben Evans August 29, 2015


In a triumphant ending to a triumphant space salvage, James “Ox” van Hoften strikes a Charles Atlas pose on the end of the shuttle’s RMS mechanical arm, seemingly hoisting the world on his shoulders. Photo Credit: NASA

When Discovery touched down at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on 19 April 1985—suffering seized brakes and a burst tire in the process—she left a spot of unfinished business in low-Earth orbit. A few days earlier, her 51D crew had deployed an important U.S. Navy communications satellite, called Leasat-3, whose antenna had stubbornly refused to unfurl and whose Perigee Kick Motor (PKM) had failed to ignite. Despite sterling efforts on the part of the crew and Mission Control to fashion a makeshift “flyswatter” and sending astronauts Jeff Hoffman and Dave Griggs on a contingency EVA, the crippled satellite lingered in an orbit far lower than its intended 22,600 miles (35,700 km). Within days of the incident, NASA’s bulletproof, pre-Challenger attitude prompted mutterings of a shuttle mission to recover, repair, and reboost Leasat-3 to its operational geostationary location. Thirty years ago, this week, Mission 51I succeeded spectacularly and amply demonstrated the shuttle’s myriad capabilities.
https://www.americaspace.com/2015/08/29/winging-it-30-years-since-the-dramatic-rescue-of-mission-51i-part-1/

[Orionid]

‘A Heck of a Push’: 30 Years Since the Dramatic Rescue of Mission 51I (Part 2)
by Ben Evans  August 30, 2015


The sheer size of the 15,000-pound (6,800-kg) Leasat-3 satellite is illustrated in this view of James “Ox” van Hoften manhandling it into space on Mission 51I. Photo Credit: NASA

For Dick Covey, the instant Space Shuttle Discovery broke the shackles of Earth on the cusp of daybreak on 27 August 1985 had been a long time coming. In fact, he was the last of his 35-strong astronaut class, chosen seven years earlier, to reach space. “I got that distinction,” he told the NASA oral historian, “and that was hard to take.” At the time of his assignment to what was then listed as “Mission 51C” in December 1983, Covey knew that he would not fly until at least the end of the following year. “At the time, I didn’t realize I was going to be the very last one,” he said, “but I knew I was going to be somewhere down there.” However, it was not to be a disappointing mission. As described in yesterday’s AmericaSpace history article, the flight which morphed into Mission 51I was tasked with three satellite deployments and the rescue, repair, and reboost of the crippled Leasat-3 communications satellite for the U.S. Navy. Thirty years ago, this week, the five astronauts of Mission 51I—Commander Joe Engle, Pilot Dick Covey, and Mission Specialists James “Ox” van Hoften, Mike Lounge, and Bill Fisher—accomplished one of the most spectacular satellite rescues ever completed in the shuttle program’s history.
https://www.americaspace.com/2015/08/30/a-heck-of-a-push-30-years-since-the-dramatic-rescue-of-mission-51i-part-2/