The first reusable Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted into orbit. Only carrying two astronauts and a relatively light payload, it stayed in orbit a little over two days. The Shuttle astronauts communicated on the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) until the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) became operational later in the…
The first reusable Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted into orbit. Only carrying two astronauts and a relatively light payload, it stayed in orbit a little over two days. The Shuttle astronauts communicated on the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) until the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) became operational later in the decade. Stations that were added to the STDN included: Dakar, Senegal; Gaborone, Botswana; Seychelles; Yarragadee, Australia; Ponce de Leon, Florida; and Tula Peak, New Mexico. Stations that were dropped from the STDN included: Winkfield, United Kingdom (1980), Rosman, North Carolina (the Department of Defense gained control in January 1981) and Quito, Ecuador (1982)