yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (11/27/90)
The following is an excerpt from the STS-41 Press Kit (found in the space
archive on ames.arc.nasa.gov). It lists the abort modes and landing sites.
-Peter Yee
yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov
ames!yee
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SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES
Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy is to achieve a safe and intact
recovery of the flight crew, orbiter and its payload.
Abort modes include:
% Abort-To-Orbit (ATO)
Partial loss of main engine thrust late enough to permit
reaching a minimal 105-nautical mile orbit with orbital
maneuvering system engines.
% Abort-Once-Around (AOA)
Earlier main engine shutdown with the capability to allow one
orbit around before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.;
White Sands Space Harbor (Northrup Strip), N. Mex.; or the
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center, Fla..
% Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL)
Loss of two main engines midway through powered flight would
force a landing at Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain; or
Banjul, The Gambia.
% Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS)
Early shutdown of one or more engines and without enough
energy to reach Ben Guerir, would result in a pitch around and
thrust back toward KSC until within gliding distance of the
Shuttle Landing Facility.
STS-41 contingency landing sites are Edwards AFB, White Sands,
Kennedy Space Center, Ben Guerir, Moron and Banjul.c8921212@frey.nu.oz.au (luke plaizier) (11/27/90)
yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) writes: >The following is an excerpt from the STS-41 Press Kit >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES > Abort modes include: > % Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) {.............} > % Abort-Once-Around (AOA) {............} > % Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) {............} > % Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) Aaahhh...but Pete, you forgot two quite important ones, of which one has already happened... % Crash Into The Ground (CITG) Where all three main engines shut off during SRB burn and the stack cannot correct itself well enough. Results in severe damage to the orbiter with NASA saying they had always WANTED to maintain flight crew and orbiter safety. % Explode In Might Flight (EIMF) This abort mode is caused by a variety of Criticality 1 elements within any stage of the flight from T-minus several days to T-plus several days. The result is COMPLETE destruction to flight crew and orbiter with huge scandals about how NASA operate its flight program ensuing. I certainly hope there's an administrator out there who'll take off the blindfolds soon :-) (-:. Luke.
andrew@resam.dk (Leif Andrew Rump) (11/27/90)
In <1990Nov26.222928.6431@news.arc.nasa.gov> yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) writes: >The following is an excerpt from the STS-41 Press Kit (found in the space >archive on ames.arc.nasa.gov). It lists the abort modes and landing sites. > Abort modes include: > % Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) > ... > % Abort-Once-Around (AOA) > ... > % Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) > ... > % Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) > > Early shutdown of one or more engines and without enough > energy to reach Ben Guerir, would result in a pitch around and > thrust back toward KSC until within gliding distance of the > Shuttle Landing Facility. I have been told that even in theory that situations leading to RTLS would probably tear up the craft before the pilot was able to release the engines or maybe even because the still working engine _was_ released! Is this folklore? Leif Andrew Leif Andrew Rump, AmbraSoft A/S, Stroedamvej 50, DK-2100 Copenhagen OE, Denmark UUCP: andrew@ambra.dk, phone: +45 39 27 11 77 / Currently at Scandinavian Airline Systems =======/ UUCP: andrew@resam.dk, phone: +45 32 32 51 54 \ SAS, RESAM Project Office, CPHML-V, P.O.BOX 150, DK-2770 Kastrup, Denmark > > Read oe as: o <backspace> / (slash) and OE as O <backspace> / (slash) < <
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (11/28/90)
In article <1990Nov27.084918.2732@resam.dk> andrew@resam.dk (Leif Andrew Rump) writes: >I have been told that even in theory that situations leading to RTLS >would probably tear up the craft before the pilot was able to release >the engines or maybe even because the still working engine _was_ >released! Is this folklore? There is no "engine release" in RTLS; RTLS is available only after SRB burnout. (There is no, repeat no, abort method while the SRBs are burning.) The hypersonic 180-degree turn for RTLS is something the astronauts are not enthusiastic about. -- "I'm not sure it's possible | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology to explain how X works." | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry