On this day in history, April 7, 1983, astronauts Don Peterson and Story Musgrave performed the first extravehicular activity (EVA) of the NASA Shuttle Program. On the STS-6 mission, the two men floated in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger. Tethers connected to safety slide wires restricted their “floating.”
Yesterday: Planes Leave on 1st Around-the-World Flight
The Space Shuttle Challenger launched on her maiden voyage on April 4, 1983 from Kennedy Space Center. The mission also deployed the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-1, into orbit. The Space Shuttle returned to Earth on April 8, landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base. The vessel completed 80 orbits and traveled 2 million miles in the 5 day period.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
