"[BIRDS CHIRPING]" "[BOOMING]" "MAN 1 [ON RADIO]:" "Sonic booms just heard at the Kennedy Space Center." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Yeah; okay;" "I got a tallyho on the cape." "Looking good;" "Vance." "You can hear the wind real loud." "NARRATOR:" "At the end of a 3-million-mile journey..." "... thespaceshuttleiscominghome." "MAN 2:" "The APU's are looking good;" "Vance." "NARRATOR:" "The commander has to make a perfect landing now." "He has no engines to take him around again." "MAN 2:" "Boy;" "I tell you; that's a good one." "Yeah;" "looking good." "MAN 3:" "Okay." "MAN 2:" "Okay; get them." "Put on the gear." "MAN 3:" "Gear is on; got a light." "Four hundred; 300." "Gear's coming." "One hundred; 255." "MAN 4:" "Gear's down." "MAN 3:" "Fifty feet at 240." "Thirty feet at 235." "Twenty feet at 225." "Eight feet at 250." "Five feet at 21 0." "Two feet at 200." "One foot." "MAN 4:" "Touchdown." "MAN 3:" "One-ninety-five." "One-seventy." "One-sixty-five." "One-sixty." "One-fifty." "Ninety at 5." "Seventy at 5." "Fifty knots at 5 deceleration." "Thirty at 5." "NARRATOR:" "Here, in the middle of a Florida wildlife refuge, the shuttles land." "They are serviced and are launched again." "MAN 3:" "Okay;" "Houston; wheels are stopped." "MAN 2:" "Way to go; guys." "MAN 3:" "Great job!" "MAN 4:" "Magnificent." "NARRATOR:" "This is Kennedy Space Center, America's spaceport." "[CROWD CHEERING]" "NARRATOR:" "The people we hear about most are the astronauts." "But, actually, there are thousands more working behind the scenes..." "... tokeeptheshuttlesflying." "They inspect and maintain the more than 30,000 tiles  thatprotecttheorbiter from the heat of re-entry." "WOMAN [OVER PA]:" "Steve Neihardt." "Lockheed Comm." "MAN [OVER PA]:" "I say again; "Hazardous operations are continuing in the VAB."" "NARRATOR:" "They watch over the mating of the components: the solid rockets..." "...the massive external tank, and the orbiter." "MAN [OVER PA]:" "All unofficial personnel clear level 3 in the transfer aisle." "NARRATOR:" "Two weeks to launch, the shuttle rolls out to the pad." "The flight crew has been training at Johnson Space Center near Houston." "They've come here to Florida..." "... totakepartina dressrehearsal with the launch team." "ln preparation for a potential emergency..." "... theypracticerapidegress from the orbiter..." "... andthepossibleuse  of an escape basket." "MAN:" "Okay; baby;" "let's go." "That's four good HPU's." "Four good ones." "All right;" "I got four." "All the pix are up." "[RUMBLING]" "Fly; baby; fly." "MAN 1 [ON RADIO]:" "Thrust tailing off in SRB." "Standing by for separation." "Separation confirmed." "Nominal first-stage performance." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Okay; nominal." "NARRATOR:" "Now the engines have stopped." "We are in space, 280 miles up." "At last, we can see our magnificent Earth..." "... inallitssplendor." "MAN 1 [ON RADIO]:" "Mission Control to Houston." "Challenger crossing the coast of Baja California." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "LDEF deploy." "NARRATOR:" "The LDEF satellite weighs 1 0 tons..." "... andisthesizeofaschool bus." "It carries 57 experiments..." "... theworkof morethan200scientists from eight countries." "LDEF will stay up here for more than a year..." "... exposingvariousmaterials to the vacuum of space." "WOMAN:" "Okay; the VTR's are running." "Next thing's at 30 seconds." "I'll delay it a little bit." "MAN 1 :" "I'll count by tens till I get to 1 5." "Forty seconds." "MAN 2:" "Don't forget free drift;" "Mike." "[MAN 1 CLEARS THROAT]" "NARRATOR:" "For us inside the spacecraft, there is a new experience:" "Weightlessness." "[RIDE LAUGHING]" "RIDE:" "Whoo!" "NARRATOR:" "A typical crew consists of five to seven people." "Some are career astronauts, others are specialists in a variety of fields..." "... representingvariouscountries." "MAN:" "Sally?" "RIDE:" "Yes." "MAN:" "We're hooked up." "Checking." "NARRATOR:" "Above is the flight deck, with windows facing up and back..." "... intothepayloadbay ." "[ELECTRIC SHAVER HUMMING]" "NARRATOR:" "Below, the mid deck functions as living room, dining room..." "... bedroom,workshopandstudy." "MAN [ON RADIO]:" "Discovery;" "Houston." "You're looking good for deploy." "NARRATOR:" "Commander Hartsfield and Pilot Coats..." "... navigatetheorbiter to a predetermined point in space..." "... sothatthecommunicationssatellite they are deploying..." "... willbepreciselypositioned." "[THUMP]" "WOMAN:" "Gee." "Look at that!" "MAN 1 :" "That's a big hummer; isn't it?" "Look at that!" "Get some shots of that!" "[CAMERAS CLICKING]" "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Syncom's deployed;" "Houston." "NARRATOR:" "Much of the time, the orbiter flies with its payload bay facing the Earth." "So, to see our planet's features, the crew uses the overhead windows." "WOMAN:" "That's pretty." "NARRATOR:" "As we cross the Alps into Italy, Genoa is on the left..." "... homeofChristopherColumbus." "Eastward, the Po River flows down to the Adriatic..." "... andjustnorthofitsmouth , glorious Venice." "This is the Italy of the Renaissance." "It was here that Leonardo first said, "We can fly."" "And now, we circle the Earth every 90 minutes..." "...at 1 7,000 miles an hour." "It's as if we're in a time machine..." "... lookingbackacrossthe centuries at our own history." "The boot of Italy." "Islands of the Mediterranean, of Homer's Odyssey." "Now on toward Crete, site of the ancient Minoan culture." "The great city of Alexandria..." "... oncetheworld'scenteroflearning." "Beyond it, the lush delta of the River Nile..." "... spreadingdownto theMediterranean from Cairo." "It is thought that thousands of years ago..." "... everythingbelowus nowwas fertile..." "... buta changein climate turned North Africa into a desert." "What will future climatic changes do to our Earth and to us?" "MAN 1 [ON RADIO]:" "We're still looking for a deploy; as planned..." "... overthenextMILApass ...." "RIDE:" "Okay; how's that?" "MAN 2:" "I'll pass you the camera." "NARRATOR:" "ln search of the answer, Sally Ride deploys a satellite called ERBS." "RIDE:" "That's a pretty spacecraft." "MAN 3 [ON RADIO]:" "Challenger;" "it's Houston." "You're "go" for release." "MAN 4:" "Okay; we'll put it in work." "NARRATOR:" "ERBS will help us to know..." "... whetherthere'llbe moresandstorms in our future..." "...or blizzards, or hurricanes  likeJosephine..." "... 500milesin diameter..." "... andpackingwindsof90miles anhour." "MAN 1 :" "You're only seeing not even half of it; right here." "MAN 2:" "There's the eye of the storm." "MAN 1 :" "The East Coast of the U.S. is to your right." "NARRATOR:" "Now the mid deck has become part gymnasium and part factory." "While Steve Hawley exercises..." "... CharlieWalkeroperates a compact laboratory on the far bulkhead." "This is a commercial venture." "It's object:" "To develop new kinds of medicines..." "... thatcanonlybemade inzerogravity." "MAN 1 :" "Ten seconds." "Nine; eight; seven; six; five." "Got it armed?" "Three; two; one." "WOMAN:" "Yay." "MAN 1 :" "There she goes." "The five-string arm is off." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Congratulations!" "Three for three." "MAN 1 :" "I'm going to close the sun shield." "NARRATOR:" "The communications satellite is deployed by Judy Resnick..." "... andphotographedby MikeMullane." "MAN 1 :" "Okay; deploy was on time." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Discovery;" "it's Houston." "Good news;" "Steve..." "... we'rewatchingit  with a lot of smiles down here." "STEVE [ON RADIO]:" "Yeah; there's a lot of them up here too." "NARRATOR:" "The crew eats and sleeps pretty much..." "... accordingtothesameschedule as on Earth." "ln the early days of space we sometimes heard complaints about the food..." "... whichwasmostlysqueezed out of toothpaste tubes." "Now the crews get to eat what they want:" "Steak, strawberries, shrimp cocktail." "MAN 1 [ON RADIO]:" "I would say that the extension..." "... wasaboutas nominal as you could expect." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "We copy that;" "Henry." "NARRATOR:" "On this flight we have extended an experimental solar array." "MAN 1 :" "It is not budging one iota." "It's solid as a rock." "MAN 2:" "We're about ready to retract now." "WOMAN:" "It's folding smoothly." "NARRATOR:" "ln the future, such a device may tap the sun's energy..." "... tohelppowerthe spacestation." "WOMAN:" "It's got a little wiggle in it." "NARRATOR:" "The leaves are so thin..." "... andthemastsoingeniouslycontrived..." "... thatthe100-foot-highstructure folds into a box..." "... 7inchesdeep." "While the crew sleeps, flight controllers on the ground..." "... watchovertheorbiter." "The Hawaiian Islands." "The Andes Mountains in South America." "Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center, our home port." "South Florida and the Keys." "The deep blue of the Gulf Stream..." "... andtheturquoisereefsoftheBahamas." "The vast craters of the Galápagos Islands." "An orbital sunrise." "MAN 1 [ON RADIO]:" "Altitude: 2000 feet." "Range: 1 2;000 feet." "NARRATOR:" "As this is Discovery's maiden voyage..." "... atEdwardsAirForceBase inCalifornia." "He's got lots of room..." "... buthe'dliketotouchdownonthose two black stripes ahead on the runway." "MAN 1 :" "Touchdown." "Discovery safely back on Earth after having traveled..." "... 2.1 7 millionnauticalmiles..." "... in6daysand57minutes." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Welcome home." "NARRAΤOR:" "Discovery rides back to Florida atop NASA's 747." "With four orbiters in the fleet, new astronauts are needed." "Thousands of candidates apply." "Few make it." "MAN:" "Check your body position." ""Bail out!" "Bail out!" "Bail out!"" "MAN 1 :" "Hook is down." "Keep on walking !" "MAN 2:" "Whoo!" "NARRATOR:" "Although some are pilots, many are engineers, medical doctors..." "... andscientists." "MAN:" "Keep your heels in the water!" "Good job!" "[MAN 1 YELLING INDISTINCTLY]" "MAN 2:" "Yeehaw!" "MAN 1 :" "Delay canopy for a release." "MAN 3:" "Release!" "MAN 2:" "Whoo!" "MAN 1 :" "Okay; head on down." "MAN 3:" "Keep your eyes on the horizon." "Get your elbows in tight." "MAN 4:" "Keep it together." "MAN 3:" "There you go." "MAN 4:" "Elbows in." "MAN 3:" "Whoa." "Whoa!" "NARRATOR:" "Once selected, the new astronaut develops specific skills..." "... leadingto an eventual flight assignment." "Then, training for that mission begins." "This is James van Hoften, otherwise known as "Ox."" "And this is George Nelson, known as "Pinky."" "Together they'll attempt something..." "... whichhasneverbeendone before:" "The capture and repair of a satellite in space." "The satellite, called Solar Max, broke down after its first few months..." "... andisnowrotatinginorbit , partially crippled." "HART [OVER PA]:" "Okay; we show a dock." "Okay;" "Len; how about if I..." "... takePinkyandrollhimupsidedown and get him back here" "NARRATOR:" "They will be assisted by astronaut T.J. Hart." "And here he goes with a roll." "I'll pick him back up again." "NARRATOR:" "The shuttle's arm plays a vital role in the repair..." "... and" T.J.",astheycallhim, isan expert." "HART:" "And back up to the satellite." "Whoops." "NARRATOR:" "An astronaut, fully dressed in a spacesuit, weighs close to 400 lbs." "ln space, he'll weigh nothing at all." "Pinky and Ox practice the repair in a tank at Johnson Space Center." "It's the closest one can come on Earth to weightlessness." "MAN 1 :" "What was that?" "This must be space." "MAN 2:" "Isn't that great?" "MAN 3 [ON RADIO]:" "Houston to Challenger." "You are unreadable." "Big echo; big echo." "MAN 4:" "Safety divers; take the subjects down..." "... forfinalballastinginheads-upposition." "MAN 5:" "Sam; bring the pressure down on eV1 ." "MAN 6:" "Okay; and I'm about ready to jump out of restraints here and do a check flight." "NARRATOR:" "On Pinky's back is a mock-up of the manned maneuvering unit." "A one-man spacecraft that will propel him away from the shuttle..." "... andoverto theailingsatellite." "MAN 3:" "Roger;" "Ox." "We'd like you to press on with the MEB change out..." "... beingcarefultokeep thestuff  out of the inside of the spacecraft." "VAN HOFTEN:" "It doesn't work." "MAN 3:" "You've got all day to do it;" "Ox." "VAN HOFTEN:" "I'll get it;" "I promise." "MAN 5:" "I figured you would; eventually." "VAN HOFTEN:" "I tell you; it's not as easy as I had thought." "NARRATOR:" "For one year they've rehearsed this scenario, over and over again." "And now, it's time to go." "MAN 1 [OVER PA]:" "T minus 20 seconds." "T minus 1 7..." "... 1 6 ;1 5 ..." "... 1 3 ;1 2 ..." "... 1 1 ; 1 0 ." "Weare"go " for main-engine start." "Eight; seven; six." "We have main-engine start." "Three; two..." "... one." "Solid motor ignition and liftoff." "MAN 2:" "Good roll; standing by to throttle down." "Throttles down to 67 percent through its period of maximum dynamic pressure." "Standing by to throttle back up." "Passing through the speed of sound." "MAN 1 :" ""Go" at throttle up." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "This mission is one for the Guinness Book of Records..." "... withthesizeofflightcrewaboard :" "3305." "That is five humans and 3300 honey bees." "NARRATOR:" "The bees are part of a student experiment." "Their efforts to build a zero-gravity honeycomb..." "... sooncapturethecuriosityofthecrew." "MAN 3:" "There's too many of them to really see a hive..." "... butit surelookslike they 'rehavingfun." "NARRATOR:" "Forty-eight hours into the mission..." "... bringtheorbitertowardrendezvous with Solar Max." "MAN 1 :" "Twelve thousand feet;" "closing at 1 6 feet per second." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "Challenger;" "Houston." "The Solar Max is ready for capture." "MAN 3:" "Roger; we copy." "Ready for capture." "NARRATOR:" "According to plan, Pinky dons the man-maneuvering unit." "ln Mission Control, the mood is optimistic." "MAN 1 :" "Looking good;" "Pinky." "NELSON [ON RADIO]:" "Okay." "This is a pretty good flying machine you got here." "MAN 2:" "Roger;" "I can see the smile on your face from here." "NELSON:" "The satellite looks in excellent condition." "MAN 3 [ON RADIO]:" "It doesn't work." "[ALL LAUGHING]" "NELSON:" "Picky; picky; picky." "MAN 1 :" "Pinky; are you reading us?" "MAN 2:" "I don't know if he's docked yet or not." "MAN 3:" "The jaws didn't fire." "MAN 4:" "EVA?" "The jaws didn't fire; do you have a--?" "MAN 3:" "They did it again." "They didn't fire again." "MAN 4:" "Okay; didn't fire again." "MAN 2:" "Apparently the trunnion-pin adaptor did not latch properly." "No joy there." "NARRATOR:" "The orbiter backs away." "To make matters worse, the satellite is now tumbling..." "... andlosingpower." "Throughout the night, the flight team concentrates on finding a solution." "Finally, near dawn, a new plan for the capture is hammered out." "It will call upon all the skills of Commander Bob Crippen..." "... tobringtheorbiterwithinarm's reach  of the wobbling satellite..." "... andonT.J.Harttotryto grappleit." "MAN 1 :" "Roger." "Copy that." "We know we're in good hands and use nice; soft gloves." "MAN 2 [ON RADIO]:" "This is Mission Control;" "Houston." "Loss of signal at the tracking satellite." "NARRATOR:" "Crippen's maneuvering fuel is nearing the red line..." "... runninglow." "There are serious doubts that the operation is possible at all." "MAN 1 :" "The remote manipulator arm was in motion..." "... atthetimeofloss ofsignal..." "... sohopefully;at reacquisition..." "... weshouldhave..." "... confirmationofwhether the first grapple attempt was successful." "HART [ON RADIO]:" "Okay; we've got it..." "... andwe'rein theprocess of putting it in the FSS." "MAN 2:" "Outstanding." "CRIPPEN:" "That is fantastic;" "T.J. !" "HART:" "You make it look easy;" "Crippen;" "moving it like that." "I'll tell you; when Crip flies like that it makes it so easy." "That's our ticket to a margarita or two now." "NARRATOR:" "Solar Max, now safe in the cargo bay..." "... isrotatedintopositionforrepair." "Even if they can't fix it here..." "... theycouldtake the satellite back to Earth..." "... repairitthere,and redeployit..." "... usinganothershuttle." "But nobody wants to do that." "MAN 1 :" "This is Mission Control;" "Houston." "The next step:" "EVA for both repair functions." "NARRATOR:" "Ox and Pinky prepare to move outside..." "... tobegintheirworkinthepayloadbay." "Without their suits they could not survive in the vacuum of space." "The suits provide protection, warmth, and oxygen..." "... andwillkeepthemalive for up to eight and a half hours." "MAN 1 :" "Lift me up a little?" "MAN 2:" "Mission Control;" "Houston." "The EVA is working along very well." "They've pulled out the old ACS module..." "... endeavoringtotakethe new one  and place it in the Solar Max." "We're about an hour and nine minutes into the Extra Vehicular Activity." "MAN 3:" "Don't drop anything on us; guys." "MAN 1 :" "Okay." "Jerry; the hinge is on." "MAN 4:" "Roger; it's all downhill from here." "MAN 1 :" "Yeah." "Right." "Everything's on." "I've double-checked all the little clips..." "... thatareoverthe connectors and I'm gonna get ready to button it up." "MAN 5:" "Houston;" "Challenger:" "Has Ox got a "go"?" "NARRATOR:" "Because Ox finishes the repair faster than anyone expected..." "... hehastimetotake  the man-maneuvering unit for a test flight." "VAN HOFTEN:" "Hello;" "Houston !" "MAN 1 :" "Hello; space!" "MAN 2:" "Have we got a "go" for Ox and Pinky to come in?" "Is that affirm?" "MAN 1 :" "That's affirm." "It's time for Jimbo and Pinky to come in and get their hands washed for supper." "MAN 2:" "Sounds like a winner." "We got steaks on tonight." "[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]" "NARRATOR:" "Now Solar Max's circuits are checked out..." "... andtheGoddardengineers make certain that it works perfectly." "T.J. holds it facing the sun until its batteries are recharged." "Then, gently, he returns it to orbit." "MAN:" "And we have release." "NARRATOR:" "As Challenger and her crew pull away  theyleavebehindvividproof that we can work in space." "This repair is only the first step." "Already, people like you and me are beginning to travel into space." "Some of our children will live in space..." "... andtheirchildren may even be born there." "Soon, we will use the shuttle  tobuildaspacestation in permanent orbit..." "... operatedbyinternationalcrews." "Pilot John McBride is preparing David Leestma and Kathy Sullivan..." "... foranEVA." "Kathy will be the first American woman to walk in space." "RIDE:" "I hear somebody kicking the orbiter." "SULLIVAN:" "Hi; guys." "LEESTMA:" "Can't believe we're doing this." "SULLIVAN:" "That makes two of us." "NARRATOR:" "Floating free, we look back at the majestic panorama of Earth:" "Our home." "Like Columbus, "We dream of distant shores we've not yet seen."" "Now that we know how to live and work in space..." "... westandat thethreshold of a new age of discovery." "[ENGLISH SDH]"