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[b]Space Cover #252: STS-41B: First Space Shuttle Landing at KSC[/b] Thirty years ago on February 11, on STS-41B, the tenth Space Shuttle flight, OV-99 Challenger achieved the first landing of a Shuttle orbiter at KSC, thus becoming the first spacecraft to land at its launch site. STS-7 was originally scheduled to make the first landing at KSC, but unacceptable weather caused a wave-off and subsequent landing at Edwards AFB, CA. Shown here are three STS-41B covers canceled at KSC on February 11, 1984, marking the first KSC Shuttle landing. The cover at the top, a "mission patch" cacheted cover, is nicely autographed by the 5-person crew (which required five separate mailings to JSC, from December 1984 to May 1985). This landing cover is cacheted with a special "Challenger/First KSC Landing" printed cachet and nicely canceled for the landing from four KSC-area post offices (via Ken Havekotte). These "Challenger/First KSC landing" cacheted covers were originally designed and intended to be used for the planned STS-7 landing at KSC, but were saved and later used for the 41B landing. While 41B is primarily known for achieving the first landing at KSC, it also had several other notable events, including Bruce McCandless achieving the first untethered spacewalk using an MMU; the failed PAM deployment of two communication satellites; and the first reflight of a refurbished satellite, SPAS-2 (which had to remain in the payload bay because of a RMS problem). Space Shuttle orbiters landed at only three locations: Edwards AFB, CA, White Sands Missile Range, NM, and KSC, FL. I've never seen a cover with a cancel from each of the Shuttle orbiter's first landings at these three sites (EAFB/STS-1; WSMR/STS-3; and KSC/STS-41B). Are any out there?
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