OSS-1 - A pathfinder mission for space science on Shuttle

On the third Shuttle flight (STS-3), the Orbiter carried a payload of nine scientific instruments. The payload was designated OSS-1 because the program was originaly managed by the Office of Space Science. The OSS-1 objectives are discussed, taking into account the Plasma Diagnostics Package, a study concerned with vehicle charging and potential, the Thermal Canister Experiment, the Solar Flare X-ray Polarimeter, the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor, the study of the influence of weightlessness on lignification in developing plant seedlings, the Microabrasion Foil Experiment, the Contamination Monitor Package, and a study of the characteristics of the Shuttle/Spacelab induced atmosphere. The OSS-1 payload was launched on STS-3 on March 22, 1982.