Editing STS-2 (section)

{{Short description|1981 American crewed spaceflight}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = STS-2
| image              = STS-2 Canadarm debut.jpg
| image_caption      = [[Canadarm]]'s in-flight test during STS-2
| names_list         = [[Space Transportation System]]-2
| mission_type       = [[Flight test]]
| operator           = [[NASA]]
| mission_duration   = '''Achieved''': {{time interval|November 12, 1981, 15:09:59|November 14, 1981, 21:23:11|show=dhms|sep=,}}<br/>'''Planned''': 5 days
| distance_travelled = {{cvt|1730000|km}}<ref name="NASA - STS-2"/>
| orbits_completed   = 37
| spacecraft         = {{OV|102}}
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|104647|kg}}
| landing_mass       = {{cvt|92650|kg}}
| payload_mass       = {{cvt|8517|kg}}
| crew_size          = 2
| crew_members       = {{Unbulleted list|[[Joe Engle]]|[[Richard H. Truly]]}}
| launch_date        = {{Start date text|November 12, 1981, 15:10:00|timezone=yes}}{{nbsp}}[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] (10:10{{nbsp}}am{{nbsp}}[[Eastern Standard Time|EST]])
| launch_site        = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Rockwell International]]
| landing_date       = {{End date text|November 14, 1981, 21:23:12|timezone=yes}}{{nbsp}}UTC (1:23:12{{nbsp}}pm{{nbsp}}[[Pacific Standard Time|PST]]) 
| landing_site       = [[Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards]], Runway{{nbsp}}23
| orbit_reference    = [[Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime       = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis    = {{cvt|222|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{cvt|231|km}}
| orbit_inclination  = 38.03°
| orbit_period       = 89.00 minutes
| apsis              = gee
| instruments        = {{ubl|Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI)|Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR)}}
| insignia           = Sts-2-patch.png
| insignia_caption   = STS-2 mission patch
| crew_photo         = Sts-2_crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = [[Joe Engle|Engle]] and [[Richard H. Truly|Truly]]
| programme          = [[Space Shuttle program]]
| previous_mission   = [[STS-1]]
| next_mission       = [[STS-3]]
}}

'''STS-2''' was the second [[Space Shuttle]] mission conducted by [[NASA]], and the second flight of the orbiter [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']]. The mission, crewed by [[Joe Engle|Joe H. Engle]] and [[Richard H. Truly]], launched on November 12, 1981, and landed two days later on November 14, 1981.<ref name="NASA - STS-2">{{cite web |title=STS-2 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html |access-date=May 9, 2008 |publisher=NASA}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> STS-2 marked the first time that a crewed, reusable orbital vehicle returned to space.{{efn|name=reusable|group=note|The uncrewed [[Gemini 2]] suborbital capsule was reused in another uncrewed, suborbital test for the [[Manned Orbiting Laboratory]] (MOL) project after significant refurbishment. Also, two [[North American X-15|X-15]] airframes (flown by STS-2 Commander Joe Engle) were reused on several suborbital space missions.}} This mission tested the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR) as part of the OSTA-1 (Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications) payload, along with a wide range of other experiments including the Shuttle robotic arm, commonly known as [[Canadarm]].<ref name="spacefacts.de">{{cite web |url=http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-2.htm|title=Spaceflight mission report: STS-2|first=Joachim|last=Becker|website=spacefacts.de|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref>

Other experiments or tests included Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer, Feature Identification and Location Experiment, Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites, Ocean Color Experiment, Night/Day optical Survey of Lightning, Heflex Bioengineering Test, and Aerodynamic Coefficient Identification Package (ACIP).<ref name="spacefacts.de" /> One of the feats accomplished was various tests on the [[Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System|Orbital Maneuvring System]] (OMS) including starting and restarting the engines while in orbit and various adjustments to its orbit.<ref name="americaspace.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.americaspace.com/?p=96090|first=Ben|last=Evans|title=Flying a Used Space Shuttle: 35 Years Since the Short Mission of STS-2 (Part 1)|date=November 12, 2016|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> The OMS tests also helped adjust the Shuttle's orbit for use of the radar.<ref name="americaspace.com" /> During the mission, [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]] called the crew of STS-2 from [[Mission control center|Mission Control Center]] in [[Houston]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Jim |title=Remembering Ronald Reagan |url=https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_183_reagan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040608173856/http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_183_reagan.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 8, 2004 |access-date=December 30, 2017 |publisher=NASA}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

In the early planning stages of the [[Space Shuttle program]], STS-2 was intended to be a [[Cancelled Space Shuttle missions#STS-2A (Columbia)|reboost mission]] for the aging [[Skylab#Shuttle mission plans|Skylab]] [[space station]].{{efn|name=Haise|group=note|[[Fred Haise]] and [[Jack Lousma]] were named as the prime crew for the original STS-2 mission, with [[Vance D. Brand]] and [[C. Gordon Fullerton]] as backups}} However, such a mission was impeded by delays with the Shuttle's development and the deteriorating orbit of Skylab. Skylab ultimately [[Atmospheric entry|de-orbited]] on July 11, 1979, two years before the launch of STS-2.<ref>{{cite book|first=David|last=Shayler|title=Skylab|place=Berlin|publisher=Springer|year=2001|page=311|isbn=1-85233-407-X}}</ref>