NASA STS Space Shuttle

[Matt]

The information in these posts will not necessarily relate directly to the photos included in the posts. Overall, it will all relate. It would be way too much work to try to sort all the photos to coincide with the text.

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The Space Shuttle Enterprise never flew in space. It was the first Space Shuttle built (completed on September 17, 1976), and was used only for aeronautical flight testing. The Enterprise arrived at Dryden in January 1977 for a flight program involving a Boeing 747 airliner that had been modified for use as a shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA).



The first flights with the Space Shuttle attached to the SCA were done to find out how well the two vehicles flew together. Five "captive-inactive" flights were made during this test phase; there was no crew in the Enterprise. The next series of tests were done with a flight crew of two onboard the Space Shuttle during three captive flights, with the Enterprise piloted and its systems activated. All of this led to the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), which began on August 12, 1977.



The ALT program allowed pilots and engineers to learn how the Space Shuttle handled during low-speed flight and landing. The Enterprise was flown by a crew of two after it was released from its pylons on the SCA at an altitude of 19,000 to 26,000 feet.



The Enterprise did not have a propulsion system, but its first four glides to the Rogers Dry Lake runway provided realistic, in-flight simulations of how subsequent Space Shuttles would be flown at the end of an orbital mission. The fifth approach and landing test, with the Enterprise landing on the Edwards Air Force Base concrete runway, revealed a problem with the Space Shuttle flight control system that made it susceptible to Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO), a potentially dangerous control problem during a landing. Further research using other NASA aircraft, especially the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft, led to correction of the PIO problem before the first orbital flight.

The Enterprise's last free-flight was on October 26, 1977. The following spring it was ferried to other NASA Centers for ground-based flight simulations that tested the Space Shuttle systems and structure.

[Wolf03]

The last picture is just too cool. I wish I could go into space. It looks like an awesome experience.

[Rockefella]

I made a mistake in the voting, I meant to say no. I wasn't considering the actual 'crash' of the challenger when voting. I don't think it's necessary to post those photos.

[Matt]

Space Shuttle (STS) SCA Ferry
NASA uses two modified Boeing 747 jetliners, originally manufactured for commercial use, as Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). One is a 747-100 model, while the other is designated a 747-100SR (short range). The two aircraft are identical in appearance and in their performance as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

The SCAs are used to ferry space shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center, and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation. The orbiters are placed atop the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures which hoist the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing, and then mate them with the SCAs for ferry flights.

[Matt]

Since the idea of a reusable rocket-plane was first seriously-studied by Eugen Sänger in the 1930s, the concept has exerted strong influence on the development of human spaceflight. In the United States, detailed proposals for a reusable space vehicle were developed as early as the 1950s, and several projects reached the design and test stage in the 1960s.

Initially, the Space Shuttle was envisioned as a fully reusable, commercial spaceplane. During the early 1970s, however, its development faced considerable obstacles, budgetary shortfalls, some congressional opposition, increasing public apathy, and design difficulties. What emerged was a smaller, semi-reusable vehicle, advertised as an economical and efficient means of space transport.

Whether the Shuttle has fulfilled these goals is a topic of some controversy. Even so, the Space Shuttle has been the cornerstone of the U.S. space program, and the driving force behind much of the budget and programs of NASA for over two decades.

America's Space Shuttle orbiters are named after pioneering sea vessels which established new frontiers in research and exploration. NASA delved through the history books to find ships that achieved historical significance through discoveries about the world's oceans or the Earth itself. Another important criterion in the selection process was consideration for the international nature of the Space Shuttle program. The name of NASA's newest orbiter, Endeavour, was selected from names submitted by school children around the world.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Rockefella

I made a mistake in the voting, I meant to say no. I wasn't considering the actual 'crash' of the challenger when voting. I don't think it's necessary to post those photos.

Just to let everyone know: They are not gruesome photos. They are photos of the Challenger on it's previous flights. There are photos of the explosion. There are photos of the wreckage after it was collected. There are PR photos and training photos of the crew. And there are photos of the memorial to the accident and the crew.

[Matt]

Space Shuttles are the main element of America’s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis.
Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse.

Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines withtwo solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused.

When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields.

The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle’s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit.

The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International’s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell’s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. MartinMarietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks.

Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site.

[Matt]

Post-flight servicing of the orbiters, and the mating operation, is carried out at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, at the Mate-Demate Device (MDD).

When the orbiters land at Dryden, they are towed to the MDD. It is a large gantry-like structure where the orbiters receive post-flight servicing and are prepared for the ferry flights back to the Kennedy Space Center with the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).

Before the ferry flights begin, all orbiter systems are checked thoroughly and certain fuel lines and tanks are purged. Post-flight servicing and ferry flight preparations at the MDD normally take about five days. When the orbiter is ready for the ferry flight, it is lifted by the MDD and placed on special mounts atop the Boeing 747 SCA fuselage. Ferry flights back to the Kennedy Space Center usually take one to two days, based on weather along the route.

The 100-foot high steel truss cantilevered facility is capable of precision positioning of more than 220,000 pounds and is used to raise the orbiters onto jacks for ferry-flight servicing, and then hoist them higher to mate them atop the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).

The MDD, which features three seperate hoist units, each capable of lifting 100,000 pounds, was designed by Connell Associates, Inc., Coral Gables, Fla., and built by the George A. Fuller Co., Chicago, Ill., at a cost of $1.7 million.

[Matt]

The STS-76 Atlantis launched 22 March 1996, from Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the 76th Shuttle Mission and the 3rd MIR docking.

The crew consisted of Kevin P. Chilton, Commander; Richard A. Searfoss, Pilot; and Mission Specialists Shannon W. Lucid, Linda M. Godwin, Michael R. Clifford, and Ronald M. Sega.

The primary mission objective was the third docking between the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Space Station Mir. It included a crew transfer, an extravehicular activity (EVA), logistics operations and scientific research.

Rendezvous and docking with Mir was on flight day three using the same approach as previously used during STS-74. Docking occured between the Orbiter Docking System in the forward area of Atlantis' payload bay and the Docking Module installed during STS-74 on Mir's Kristall module docking port.

The mission also featured a SPACEHAB module, middeck experiments, a Get Away Special (GAS) canister and a 6-hour EVA.

Over 1,900 pounds (862 kilograms) of equipment were being transfered from Atlantis to Mir including a gyrodyne, transformer, batteries, food, water, film and clothing. Launch was at 3:13:04 a.m. EST, with 145 (estimated) orbits.

The mission lasted 9 days, 5 hours, 16 minutes, and 48 seconds, with the shuttle traveling and estimated 3.8 million miles. Landing was at Edwards AFB (EAFB) 31 March 1996, at 8:28:57 a.m. EST, on Runway 22. Conditions at EAFB were clear and calm with no weather concerns. Landing was 11 min before daylight at 5:29 a.m. local time, which is considered a daylight landing under flight rules.

The deorbit burn fired at 7:24 a.m. EST. Atlantis executed a 275 degree left overhead turn into the landing strip and twin sonic booms were heard at Edwards 3 minutes before landing. Main gear touchdown occurred at 9 days 5 hours 15 min. 53 sec. or 8:28:57 EST.

[Matt]

STS-92 was the 100th mission since the fleet of four Space Shuttles began flying in 1981. (Due to schedule changes, missions are not always launched in the order that was originally planned.) The almost 13-day mission was the last construction mission for the International Space Station prior to the first scientists taking up residency in the orbiting space laboratory the following month. The seven-member crew on STS-92 included mission specialists Koichi Wakata, Michael Lopez-Alegria, Jeff Wisoff, Bill McArthur and Leroy Chiao, pilot Pam Melroy and mission commander Brian Duffy.

[Matt]

Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at 12:33 p.m. February 20, 2001, on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is located. The mission, which began February 7, logged 5.3 million miles as the shuttle orbited earth while delivering the Destiny science laboratory to the International Space Station. Inclement weather conditions in Florida prompted the decision to land Atlantis at Edwards.

[Matt]

Space Shuttle Program Begins with Launch of STS-1

Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on April 12, 1981, at 6 a.m. CST (12:00 GMT) to begin the first shuttle mission, STS-1. The primary mission objectives for STS-1 were to accomplish a safe ascent into orbit, check out all the systems on the space shuttle and to return to Earth for a safe landing. All of these objectives were met successfully.

The main payload carried on STS-1 was a Development Flight Instrumentation package, which contained sensors and measuring devices to record orbiter performance and the stresses that occurred during launch, ascent, orbital flight, descent and landing.

Postflight inspection of Columbia revealed that an overpressure wave, which occurred when the solid rocket boosters ignited, resulted in the loss of 16 heat shield tiles and damage to 148 others.

[Matt]

RELEASE No: 81-39
March 18, 1981

David Garrett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Phone: 202/755-3090)

Dick Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Phone: 305/867-2468)


Terry White
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
(Phone: 713/483-5111)

COLUMBIA'S FIRST FLIGHT SHAKES DOWN SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

The Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia, first in a planned fleet of spacecraft in the nation's Space Transportation System, will liftoff on its first orbital shakedown flight in April 1981. Launch will be no earlier than 45 minutes after sunrise from the NASA Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A.

Crew for the first orbital flight will be John W. Young, commander, veteran of two Gemini and two Apollo space flights, and U.S. Navy Capt. Robert L. Crippen, pilot. Crippen has not flown in space.

Columbia will have no payloads in the payload bay on this first orbital flight, but will carry instrumentation for measuring orbiter systems performance in space and during its glide through the atmosphere to a landing after 54 1/2 hours.

Extensive testing of orbiter systems, including the space radiators and other heat rejection systems, fills most of the STS-1 mission timeline. The clamshell-like doors on Columbia's 4.6 by 18-meter (15 by 60-foot) payload bay will be opened and closed twice during the flight for testing door actuators and latch mechanisms in the space environment.

Other tests will measure performance of maneuvering and attitude thrusters, the Columbia's computer array and avionics "black boxes," and, during entry, silica-tile heatshield temperatures.

The first of four engineering test flights, STS-1, will be launched into a 40.3 degree inclination orbit circularized first at 241 kilometers (130 nautical miles) and later boosted to 278 km (150 nm). Columbia will be used in these four test flights in proving the combined booster and orbiter combination before the Space Transportation System becomes operational with STS-5, now forecast for launch in September 1982.

After "tower clear" the launch team in the Kennedy Space Center Firing Room will hand over STS-1 control to flight controllers in the Mission Control Center, Houston, for the remainder of the flight.

Columbia's two orbital maneuvering system hypergolic engines will fire at approximately 53 1/2 hours over the Indian ocean to bring the spacecraft to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., an hour later. The approach to landing will cross the California coast near Big Sur at 42,670 m (140,000 ft.) altitude, pass over Bakersfield and Mojave, and end with a sweeping 225-degree left turn onto final approach.

Young and Crippen will land Columbia manually on this first test flight. A microwave landing system on the ground will be the primary landing aid in subsequent flights, with optional manual takeover. Kennedy landing teams will remove the flight crew and "safe" the orbiter after landing.

The first three test flights land on Rogers Dry Lake, the fourth on the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base, and STS-5 will land on the 4,570-m (15,000-ft.) concrete Shuttle Landing Facility runway at Kennedy Space Center.

STS-1 will be the first manned flight using solid rocket boosters. No previous U.S. space vehicle has been manned on its maiden flight.

[Matt]