Launch from Cape Canaveral (
KSC); landing on
Edwards
AFB. It was the
first night launch and first night landing of a Space Shuttle.
The
primary payload was INSAT-1B, an Indian communications and weather observation
satellite, which was released by the orbiter and boosted into a geostationary
orbit. The secondary payload, replacing a delayed
NASA
communications satellite, was a four-metric-ton dummy payload, intended to test
the use of the shuttle's "Canadarm" remote manipulator system. Scientific
experiments carried on board Challenger included the environmental testing of
new hardware and materials designed for future spacecraft, the study of
biological materials in electric fields under microgravity, and research into
space adaptation syndrome (also known as "space sickness"). The flight
furthermore served as shakedown testing for the previously launched
TDRS-1
satellite, which would be required to support the subsequent
STS-9 mission.
While on orbit,
Challenger made a number of altitude and attitude adjustments, in order to test
the behavior of a Shuttle orbiter and to perform some experiments in different
thermal conditions. By exposing or shading areas from the sun in an unusual
way, it was possible to induce particularly warm or cold conditions and observe
any resulting problems