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Questions and Answers
Besides deploying the orbiting laboratory, what other responsibility did Sally Ride have during the Challenger mission?
Besides deploying the orbiting laboratory, what other responsibility did Sally Ride have during the Challenger mission?
- Communicating directly with the President of the United States.
- Conducting experiments in the orbiting laboratory.
- Serving as the flight engineer, responsible for checking the spacecraft's workings. (correct)
- Piloting the shuttle during reentry.
Why was it important for the astronauts to stow away loose items before the Challenger returned to Earth?
Why was it important for the astronauts to stow away loose items before the Challenger returned to Earth?
- To prevent the items from becoming dangerous projectiles once gravity took effect. (correct)
- To keep the interior of the shuttle neat and organized for the cameras.
- To make room for the communication satellites being returned to Earth.
- To prevent the items from interfering with the air suction device in the toilet.
What was the primary purpose of equipping the Challenger with special heat tiles?
What was the primary purpose of equipping the Challenger with special heat tiles?
- To maintain a constant internal temperature for the comfort of the astronauts.
- To regulate the temperature inside the orbiting laboratory.
- To reflect sunlight and prevent the shuttle from overheating in space.
- To protect the shuttle from burning up during reentry into Earth's atmosphere. (correct)
What adjustment did the astronauts' bodies make to the weightlessness of space, and what countermeasure did they take upon returning to Earth?
What adjustment did the astronauts' bodies make to the weightlessness of space, and what countermeasure did they take upon returning to Earth?
Why did night and day have little meaning for the astronauts aboard the Challenger?
Why did night and day have little meaning for the astronauts aboard the Challenger?
How was the orbiting laboratory deployed from the Challenger?
How was the orbiting laboratory deployed from the Challenger?
What was unique about Bob Crippen's experience on the Challenger mission compared to the other crew members?
What was unique about Bob Crippen's experience on the Challenger mission compared to the other crew members?
What did Dr. Ride report to ground control that they had aboard the Challenger, using a coded message?
What did Dr. Ride report to ground control that they had aboard the Challenger, using a coded message?
According to the passage, how did the astronauts dispose of bodily waste in space?
According to the passage, how did the astronauts dispose of bodily waste in space?
What made Sally Ride's mission on the space shuttle Challenger historic?
What made Sally Ride's mission on the space shuttle Challenger historic?
Flashcards
Sally Ride
Sally Ride
First American woman in space on June 18, 1983, aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
Capacious cargo bay
Capacious cargo bay
Located behind the crew's living quarters and held communication satellites (comsats) and a $23 million orbiting laboratory.
Robot arm
Robot arm
Used to remove the orbiting laboratory from the cargo bay and recover it after experiments.
Water
Water
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Decelerate
Decelerate
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Heat tiles
Heat tiles
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Study Notes
- On June 18, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger launched for a five-day mission, marking Sally Ride as the first American woman in space.
- Two Soviet female cosmonauts had flown in space before Ride.
- Challenger orbited approximately 200 miles above Earth in less than ten minutes.
- The only sound in orbit was the quiet hum of the fans.
- The five crew members experienced weightlessness upon release from their harnesses.
- Bob Crippen, the shuttle commander, was the only crew member to have flown in space before.
- Ride jokingly informed ground control about having "three turkeys and two hams" on board, without revealing the identities.
- The shuttle orbited the Earth every ninety minutes, causing sunrise and sunset sixteen times every twenty-four hours.
- Ride soon adjusted to the routine aboard the shuttle after sleeping fitfully during her first rest period.
- She was careful to stow away items when not needed due to cramped living quarters.
- Astronauts did not sprinkle salt because it would float away.
- An air suction device was used in the toilet to dispose of bodily waste.
- The cargo bay, behind the crew's living quarters, held two large communication satellites (comsats).
- A $23 million orbiting laboratory, designed for experiments separate from the shuttle, was also in cargo bay.
- In addition to her flight engineer duties, Ride was in charge of deploying the orbiting laboratory.
Robot Arm
- Ride was adept at handling the robot arm, a jointed fifty-foot pole with a grapple.
- The robot arm was remotely controlled from the shuttle's flight deck.
- Ride used the robot arm to release the orbiting laboratory from the cargo bay.
- A camera in the orbiting laboratory, from a distance of 1,000 feet, took pictures of the shuttle.
- Ride recovered the lab with the robot arm after the experiments.
Shuttle Re-entry
- Crew members prepared for Earth’s return after completing their work, drinking copious amounts of water to readjust to weightlessness.
- Upon return to Earth’s gravity, stowed items would fall to the floor.
- A proper angle was crucial when reentering Earth's atmosphere for a successful landing.
- The shuttle needed to decelerate sharply during reentry.
- Friction from air resistance would heat the shuttle's exterior to over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Special heat tiles prevented the shuttle from burning up while keeping the interior comfortable.
- Challenger landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California after a ninety eight orbit flight of 2.5 million miles.
- A banner read “HERSTORY MADE TODAY BY SALLY RIDE” greeted Ride upon her return.
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