Perfect Shuttle Launch Lights Southern Skies

Driven by a 700-foot shower of flame, the space shuttle Atlantis lit the skies of at least four Southern states Tuesday as it made a perfect liftoff on a weeklong mission that will include a Thanksgiving dinner in space.

In a perfectly clear sky against the background of a full moon, shuttle mission 61-B used its 4.25 million pounds of propellant to stage a fireworks show that rivaled those of the nation’s Bicentennial.

The shuttle’s three rocket motors could be seen from Kennedy for a full seven minutes, until the orbiter was nearly 690 miles away.

‘Just Great’

Shortly after the launch began on time at exactly 7:29 p.m., capsule communicator Fred Gregory told shuttle commander Brewster Shaw Jr. that everything looked “just great.”

“It’s a nice smooth ride,” Shaw radioed.

This is the 23rd shuttle mission, the second flight of the orbiter Atlantis and only the second night launch in the shuttle program’s history. Atlantis, which carried a crew of six men and one woman, had been prepared “in record time” after its premiere flight in October, according to Kennedy’s shuttle chief Robert Sieck.

Referring to the need to prepare for the Dec. 18 launch of the orbiter Discovery from the same launch pad, 39-A, Sieck said: “We really needed this one.”

Valve Replaced

The launching came after a nearly flawless countdown. The only problem occurred early Sunday morning when the imminent failure of a valve in one of three hydraulic systems was detected. The valve was replaced with one from Atlantis’ sister ship Discovery, and the countdown proceeded on schedule.

Launch director Gene Thomas said: “This is the smoothest countdown I have ever been associated with.”

About 90 minutes after liftoff, the astronauts opened the massive shuttle bay doors in preparation for the deployment of the Mexican communications satellite, Morelos B.

It was the need to place Morelos B in a fuel-saving orbit that necessitated the rare night launching. The orbit chosen will allow the Morelos B to coast to its ultimate geosynchronous orbit. The satellite will not be activated until 1989.

Deploying Satellites

The mission specialists are also scheduled to deploy an Australian communications satellite, Aussat 2, tonight and an RCA satellite, Satcom K-2, on Thursday afternoon.

After that deployment Thursday, the crew will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of chicken soup, smoked turkey, corn, green beans, pasta, cranberry sauce and butter cookies--each item sealed in its own foil pouch.

The crew were each allowed to select from several menus for their meals, said Billie Deason, a NASA public affairs specialist, “but for Nov. 28, everybody picked the same thing.” Thanksgiving afternoon football will also be televised to the crew.

“The only thing they won’t have is their families,” said Deason. “They’re going to have to be their own families up there for this Thanksgiving.”

During the mission, the Atlantis’ slightly inclined orbit will take it only as far north as mid-Florida and the southern tip of Texas. At the other extreme, its orbit will reach the southern tip of Africa.

Photograph Drought Areas

NASA officials hope that the payload and mission specialists will be able to take advantage of this orbit to photograph areas of Africa stricken by drought to search for evidence of hidden water sources. The crew may also have a chance to photograph the Colombian volcano that erupted two weeks ago.

Payload specialist Rudolfo Neri, the first Mexican astronaut, is also expected to take extensive photographs every time the Atlantis passes over Mexico. That photographic coverage will emphasize the areas of Mexico City damaged by the recent earthquake.

On Friday and Sunday, mission specialists Sherwood Spring and Jerry Ross will emerge from the Atlantis to assemble Tinkertoy-like structures designed to test construction techniques in space.

Other members of the crew include mission specialist Mary Cleave, payload specialist Charles Walker and pilot Bryan O’Connor, who was born in Orange, Calif., but now considers Twentynine Palms his hometown.

Atlantis is scheduled to land at Edwards Air Force Base on Tuesday afternoon.