Image: Wikimedia Commons

STS-2

Human spaceflight

Spacecrafthuman spaceflight flight testingQ217538

Launched: November 12, 1981
2
Sources
1.Stated in Jonathan's Space Report
2.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Landed: November 14, 1981
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Operator: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Launch vehicle: Space Shuttle
Mass: 104,647 kg
, 92,650 kg
, 8,517 kg
Start point: Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A
2
Sources
1.Stated in Jonathan's Space Report
2.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

STS-2 was the second Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, and the second flight of the orbiter Columbia. The mission, crewed by Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, launched on November 12, 1981, and landed two days later on November 14, 1981. STS-2 marked the first time that a crewed, reusable orbital vehicle returned to space. This mission tested the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR) as part of the OSTA-1 payload, along with a wide range of other experiments including the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, commonly known as Canadarm.

Overview

All data

36 statements · 33% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Follows: STS-1
Followed by: STS-3
Type of orbit: low Earth orbit
Website: nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
Crew members: Joe Engle subject has role: spacecraft commander
Richard H. Truly subject has role: Space Shuttle pilot
Vessel: Columbia
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Location of landing: Edwards Air Force Base runway: 23
Orbits completed: 37
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Part of: Space Shuttle program
Orbital period: 89 min
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Inclination: 38 degree
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Runtime: 195,192 s
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Apoapsis: 222 km relative to: Earth
Periapsis: 231 km relative to: Earth
Backup or reserve team or crew: Ken Mattingly subject has role: spacecraft commander
Henry Hartsfield subject has role: Space Shuttle pilot
Significant event: landing(November 14, 1981) location: Edwards Air Force Base
1
Sources
1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
rocket launch(November 12, 1981) location: Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A
2
Sources
1.Stated in Jonathan's Space Report
2.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Archives at: Lunar and Planetary Institute applies to part: 70 mm film · described at url: library.lpi.usra.edu

On other databases

6 identifiers linking STS-2 across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

33%

externally sourced

Source last edited April 13, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

Suggest a fact or correction

Links

Use this data

curl https://aidb.si/api/v1/entities/Q217538

API docs, limits & keys

Cite this page

AIDB. (2026). STS-2 (Q217538). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/sts-2-Q217538