STS-3

Mission facts

Date: 22–30 March 1982
Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Body: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Launcher: Space Shuttle
Mission: STS-3

#Space Shuttle#Columbia#STS-3

Contents · 13

01Crew
02Mission timeline
03The third orbital test
04Heating and cooling in sunlight
05A robotic arm becomes a research tool
06Experiments aboard Columbia
07A landing shaped by weather
08Flight in numbers
09Did you know?
10Gallery
11Related articles
12Sources
13Connections

Crew

CommanderJack R. LousmaAmerican astronaut and test pilot; commander of STS-3. He led Columbia’s thermal and orbital test programme and the landing at White Sands.
PilotC. Gordon FullertonAmerican test pilot and NASA astronaut; pilot of STS-3. He worked with Jack Lousma on spacecraft tests and the scientific programme during Columbia’s third orbital flight.

Mission timeline

3 chapters

Select a phase to read what happened. Every chapter has its own detailed page.

Columbia launches on STS-3 on 22 March 1982.

22. 3. 1982

Columbia begins its third orbital flight

Lousma and Fullerton lifted off from Florida for another stage of shuttle testing.

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The third orbital test

STS-3 continued the Space Shuttle’s early flight-test programme with Columbia and a two-person crew: commander Jack R. Lousma and pilot C. Gordon Fullerton. It launched from Kennedy Space Center on 22 March 1982. The flight expanded knowledge of how the orbiter behaved in space while also supporting a package of scientific instruments. [1, 2]

Heating and cooling in sunlight

A major engineering objective was to measure Columbia’s thermal response. The crew held the spacecraft in different attitudes relative to the Sun, exposing different parts of it to prolonged heating and cooling. The resulting measurements helped engineers evaluate the spacecraft’s systems across changing thermal conditions rather than judging performance from a single orientation. [1, 3]

A robotic arm becomes a research tool

Canadarm testing continued after its introduction on STS-2. During STS-3 the arm handled the Plasma Diagnostics Package (PDP), a collection of electromagnetic and particle sensors. Moving the package away from its mounting position allowed investigation of the plasma environment around Columbia and the interaction between the spacecraft and that environment. The exercise linked payload handling with scientific measurements. [1, 2, 4]

The Plasma Diagnostics Package held by Canadarm during STS-3, with OSS-1 equipment in the cargo bay.

Experiments aboard Columbia

The OSS-1 science package included investigations of the space environment and solar ultraviolet radiation. Other work took place inside the crew compartment: photographs document Lousma recording plant-growth data, and the programme also included biological and materials experiments. The mission therefore tested both the shuttle as a vehicle and its usefulness as a working laboratory. [1, 2]

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A landing shaped by weather

Wet conditions at Edwards Air Force Base led NASA to use the alternate landing site at White Sands, New Mexico. High winds then postponed the planned return by a day. Columbia landed on Northrup Strip’s Runway 17 on 30 March 1982, completing 130 orbits in 8 days, 4 minutes and 46 seconds. The flight supplied thermal, robotics and science data while showing how landing-site weather could reshape shuttle operations. [1, 2, 3]

Flight in numbers

Flight duration: 8 d 0 h 4 min 46 s
Earth orbits: 130
Crew members: 2

Did you know?

STS-3 carried two astronauts, Jack Lousma and Gordon Fullerton. [1]
The mission’s insignia depicts the orbiter against the Sun, reflecting its thermal tests. [2]
Canadarm held the Plasma Diagnostics Package outside its mounting position for measurements. [4]
The return was delayed by a day because of high winds at White Sands. [1, 2]