The Challenger's second flight began at 7:33 a.m. EST, June 18, 1983, with another on-time liftoff. It was the first flight of an American woman in space, Sally K. Ride, and also the largest crew to fly in a single spacecraft up to that time, five persons.

STS-7 was scheduled to make the first Shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. However, unacceptable weather forced a change to Runway 23 at Edwards AFB. The landing took place June 24, 1983, at 6:57 a.m. PDT. The mission lasted 6 days, 2 hours, 23 minutes, 59 seconds. It covered about 2.2 million miles during 97 orbits of the Earth. Challenger was returned to KSC on June 29.

The Crew

Crew members included Robert L. Crippen, commander, making his second Shuttle flight; Frederick C. Hauck, pilot; Sally K. Ride, John M. Fabian and Norman Thagard, all mission specialists. Thagard conducted medical tests of the Space Adaptation Syndrome nausea and sickness frequently experienced by astronauts during the early phase of a space flight.

The Artwork

The Orbiter Challenger, making its second flight into space on STS-7, is featured in the art for the insignia for that NASA flight. The remote manipulator arm is positioned such that, the number 7 is formed. Likewise seven stars are visible against the black sky. Within the sun's center are representations for the five crewmembers, including, for the first time in NASA's space program, a woman-Dr. Sally K. Ride, mission specialist. The crewmember's surnames are listed along the outside edge of the sphere. The flight is scheduled for the first week of June 1983.