 This is shuttle launch control. We have now joined history's largest crew of astronauts in the operations and checkout building as they wait for their breakfast. The seven-person crew is the largest ever to be launched in this space by any nation, and in fact is as large as the entire Mercury program astronaut corps was 21 years ago. At the head table in the center is mission commander Bob Crippen and and the other members are displayed about him on either side. To Bob Crippen's immediate left is Sally Ride on her second trip into space. Bob Crippen of course has completed three trips. This will be his fourth mission in space. Seated to commander Crippen's right is Kathy Sullivan. She's a space rookie of course on her first mission and to her right is Canadian Mark Garno and we'll be panning around a table here to see the other crew members as well. This is John McBride and Paul Scully Power noticeable for his beard. He's the payload specialist and John McBride is the pilot on this particular flight. At the opposite end of the table was mission specialist three David Liesma and we understand that the crew is at this point beginning to make their way out of the crew quarters and we see commander Bob Crippen and Sally Ride leaving the crew quarters followed by Kathy Sullivan and Mark Garno of Canada distinctive with a maple leaf flag on his flight suit. Paul Scully Power with the beard and also followed by George Abbey several of the support team astronauts and security personnel all climbing into the elevator to go down to the ground floor. Crew now leaving the operations and checkout building led by the two women on this flight Kathy Sullivan and Sally Ride. Commander Crippen and all the other crew members for history's largest astronaut crew climbing into the Astro van which is a modified camper style vehicle. Incidentally the camper vehicle was purchased by NASA because of the increasing size of shuttle flight crews. The former vehicles were proving just too small to carry all the people for the nine mile trip out to the flight bed to launch pad. Crews being sent off by a crowd of media representatives and employees which traditionally gather at the walkway leaving the operations and checkout building and the Astro van will move off in just a few seconds for the nine mile trip out to launch pad 39A. Bob Crippen now donning his helmet he'd already put on his his vest. This procedure of course is very familiar to Bob Crippen. He's had three launches already in space and numerous tests where he's done this equipment. Commander Crippen at 47 years of age is the old man of this particular mission. He was born in Beaumont Texas and he joined the astronaut corps in 1969. He was selected to be the pilot of the first space shuttle mission with John Young and has since flown two other space missions for a total of three. This makes him NASA's most experienced shuttle astronaut. He's one of the five members of this mission with naval backgrounds. Commander Crippen is listed as a Navy captain. He was a naval attack pilot aboard the carrier USS independence for more than two years before joining NASA. Mission Specialist 1 Kathy Sullivan now boarding Challengers cockpit and Dr. Sally Ride is now entering Orbiter Challenger for her second flight into space. The technician wiping down the soles of her shoes to make sure that no excess dirt would be tracked into the Orbiter Columbia Challenger rather. About to enter Challengers cockpit now is Canadian Mark Garno who is the first Canadian selected to fly in space aboard a space shuttle. Garno is also a PhD with a specialty in electrical engineering. He's an employee of the Canadian Navy and is along on this mission to perform primarily 10 experiments in three different scientific fields for Canada. He's one of six Canadian astronauts selected earlier this year for training an eventual flight. And now entering Challengers cockpit is Paul Scully Power. Scully Power is the most recent addition to this crew list. He's a civilian employee of the US Navy and he has considerable experience and time performing oceanographic research as a senior scientist or chief scientist on 24 research cruises. He was born and educated in Australia and has since become a United States citizen. He will be conducting a wide range of oceanographic studies for the Navy during the flight. Inclination with the crew heads down and wings level any two percent to 65 percent Q of maximum dynamic pressure on the ship feet per second now altitude 11 miles distance down range eight miles engines are running at 100 percent of rated thrust APU performance nominal altitude 4200 feet altitude 18 miles 19 miles velocity 100 feet per second distance down range 29 miles cursor to SRB separation which should come momentarily copy go for command pass the RF and PI setup and that'll be in work in just a second. Make that correction the payload they cameras on if if you want to play with us but you really can't fit seven people in here. A bit crowded though. Houston challenger we're all squared away and ready for set whenever you guys are. Roger Crip we'll be with you momentarily. He's back in the arm off of the. Okay run ahead the pictures that you see now. Yes that movement looks surprisingly smooth for a structure like that. Challenger you've been with you through Hawaii for eight and a half minutes. We have a teleprinter message coming up at this time. We'd like for you to leave the TV control and panel. Individuals into the into the picture now that's that's a great shot. Okay we're watching. See the only spot that's a good close-up thanks. Holder to that dark state but it looks pretty black. Well we're going LLS and we won't be talking to you until Vandenberg at nine plus three zero. We'd like you to dump tank A down to 70 percent and Bravo down to 20 percent. That should be about 30 minutes. Okay at a time at your convenience. Challenger Houston with you through TDRS. How do you read? Okay we read you loud and fair. How was run? We read you loud and clear. Go ahead USIA commentator. This is Houston Press Center again. Do you read us USIA studio? Okay this is the Houston Press Center Challenger. We're ready for questions now from Houston. Okay we're ready now for questions from Houston. If I don't identify you by name and affiliation please do so. Paul Racer Associated Press. Based on the television views that we've seen of you people in your space cabin you look you resemble sometimes a cantilever anchovies. I'm wondering for Bob Crippen when you return are you going to really recommend that seven crew members again are flown aboard the space shuttle? That's a very tough question and one that I considered a lot prior to taking properly disciplined and at least with the kinds of tasks. Martin Dean, Bob Crippen, how difficult or discouraging has it been for you to deal with a mission that has had so many troubles, problems? By follow-up is this a mission? Yeah we've had some probably been more tough for the ground to deal with. The problem we ran into with the KUVN antenna I know is certainly all their data. I believe that marvelous job that it normally does and coming up with work around a lot in the general tenure of the way we do business no work out we'll make the best of what we have. I believe we're getting good data for them. We had a little problem with our tests I think that we've got that on. This is for Commander Crippen and Sally Ride. Could you compare this mission with the other missions that you've been on comparing the problems and the the crowded conditions and the heat as well as the accomplishments of what you think you're doing up there? We've got there eight hours a day you're spent conducting experiments and another eight hours if you're lucky you're sleeping. Are you getting much time just to gaze out the window and wonder at the splendor of it all? Sort of look like that at first. Should play EMU number three, checked out no problems at all and so far on EMU's number one and two has had absolutely no problems. See now Dave and everybody down there the two EMUs that we're going to use for the EVA tomorrow. Dave being EV one and Cathy being EV two. Now we're going to hook up the lower torsos at the helmet, hook up the FPUs and we're going to go through a pressurization check make sure that everything works. Check me to read up that attitude or Ron I'm just going to call for it. Okay that's easy way. You're Houston you're loud and clear Crippen. Reversal as they approach the Florida State already 3,000 feet. Velocity 6,300 feet per second in the shape of a space shuttle older named Challenger. Now at a velocity of 4,200 feet per second altitude 104,000 feet, 109 nautical miles from the runway for Houston 75,000 feet 46 nautical miles to touchdown velocity now 1800 feet per second sink rate 226 feet per second altitude now 73,000 feet. We're seeing long range obstacles from Cocoa Beach Patrick Air Force Base Challenger right on her ground track now 1500 feet per second 34,000 feet degrees onto the hack per second altitude 27,000 feet 13 nautical miles 179 22,000 feet now sink rate 223 feet per second 4.5 degrees 994 feet per second 800 feet range 1.3 nautical miles TSE but the beers when the time coming out of the mission control room here is the crew exits the orbiter commander Bob Crippen second hands of the ground crew pilot John McBride Kathy Sullivan Mark Grono Sally Ride Paul Scully Power