#sts-55

"STS-55 Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV-102), SSME abort at KSC LC Pad 39A

The second Space Shuttle launch attempt of 1993 comes to an abrupt halt when one of the three main engines on the orbiter Columbia shuts down at T -3 seconds, resulting in an on-the-pad abort of Mission STS-55. This was the first time in the post-Challenger era that a main engine shutdown has halted a Shuttle launch countdown, and only the third time in the history of the program. In 1984, STS-41-D was scrubbed at T -4 seconds when the orbiter General Purpose Computer detected an anomaly in a main engine, and in 1985, STS-51-F was halted at T -3 seconds due to a main engine malfunction that caused shutdown of all three engines. On Launch Pad 39B is the Space Shuttle Discovery, undergoing preparations for lift off on Mission STS-56.'

NASA ID: STS055-S-001

Date: March 22, 1993

arbitrary astronaut photosets (7/?): favorite shuttle crew gag photos

STS-32 (January 1990) || STS-61-C (January 1986)

STS-40 (June 1991) || STS-92 (October 2000)

STS-46 (July – August 1992) || STS-61-E (cancelled)

STS-54 (January 1993) || STS-111 (June 2002)

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This orbiter tribute of space shuttle Columbia, or OV-102, hangs in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tribute features Columbia, the “first of the fleet," rising above Earth at the dawn of the Space Shuttle Program. Columbia's accomplishments include the launch and deployment of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory on STS-93, the first shuttle landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on STS-3, the first deployment of commercial satellites and the first four-member crew during STS-5, the first Spacelab mission and first six-member crew on STS-9, the first female commander, Eileen Collins, on STS-93, as well as several laboratory missions with international partners. Crew-designed patches for each of Columbia’s missions lead from Earth toward a remembrance of the STS-107 crew, which was lost during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003. Five orbiter tributes are on display in the firing room, representing Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Endeavour and Discovery."

Date: July 29, 2010