Start Date

4-1984 8:00 AM

Description

On 4 April 1983, the shuttle or biter Challenger released the Flight 1 spacecraft of trie Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System ITDRSS) and Its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster In low altitude orbit. Altho perogee burn of the IDS was accomplished without incident, approximately threequarters of the way through the orbital injection burn, the IDS lost control. At the completion of the IUS burn, the spacecraft- IUS stack was tumbling violently in an anomalous eliptic orbit. During the succeeding hours spacecraft separation was accomplished and the spacecraft was stabilized and placed under positive attitude control. After assuring spacecraft safety and analyzing the state of health of onboard equipment, firings of the spacecraft onboard attitude and velocity control engines were used to raise the spacecraft from its eliptic orbit into the desired circular synchronous orbit. Final orbit correction was accomplished on 29 June 1983, almost 3 months after initial launch. This paper describes the spacecraft and its mission, the sequence of events leading to and following its injection into anomalous orbit, a description of onboard propulsion and attitude control equipment, and how this equipment was used to correct the orbit.

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Apr 1st, 8:00 AM

Rescue in Space - TDRS Flight 1

On 4 April 1983, the shuttle or biter Challenger released the Flight 1 spacecraft of trie Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System ITDRSS) and Its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster In low altitude orbit. Altho perogee burn of the IDS was accomplished without incident, approximately threequarters of the way through the orbital injection burn, the IDS lost control. At the completion of the IUS burn, the spacecraft- IUS stack was tumbling violently in an anomalous eliptic orbit. During the succeeding hours spacecraft separation was accomplished and the spacecraft was stabilized and placed under positive attitude control. After assuring spacecraft safety and analyzing the state of health of onboard equipment, firings of the spacecraft onboard attitude and velocity control engines were used to raise the spacecraft from its eliptic orbit into the desired circular synchronous orbit. Final orbit correction was accomplished on 29 June 1983, almost 3 months after initial launch. This paper describes the spacecraft and its mission, the sequence of events leading to and following its injection into anomalous orbit, a description of onboard propulsion and attitude control equipment, and how this equipment was used to correct the orbit.

 

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