barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin) (04/27/84)
-------------------- Does anyone know what happens say if the shuttle is up in space the maximum number of days, HAS to land, and there's bad weather at both the Cape and Edwards? Other military airports? -------------------- I think this is a very unlikely situation. First of all, the mission schedules probably leave lots of leeway between the planned landing and the "HAS to land" time, so it is unlikely that the weather would be bad at both EAFB (in a desert) and KSC. Also, the shuttle CAN land in imperfect weather; NASA has just chosen so far to play it extremely safe, since we are still new at this game. Finally, in an extreme emergency, I have heard a rumor that it is possible to land the shuttle on some ordinary runways (like Kennedy Int'l in NYC, although they would probably choose a military airport); one problem with this would be that they would have to erect a crane there in order to mount the shuttle on the 747 to bring it back to the Cape. -- Barry Margolin ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar
levaseur@nmtvax.UUCP (04/27/84)
Don't forget, there is Northrup Strip at White Sands Missile Range here in New Mexico.... we don't get much weather here, or so it seems for many days (weeks) at a time. When they landed there in the spring of 82, they had to put togeather a makeshift rig of cranes to lift it up and get the 747 carrier under it; it was a challange, but they were able to do it. roger
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (04/27/84)
Barry Margolin comments:
.......................................... Finally, in an extreme
emergency, I have heard a rumor that it is possible to land the shuttle
on some ordinary runways (like Kennedy Int'l in NYC, although they would
probably choose a military airport); one problem with this would be that
they would have to erect a crane there in order to mount the shuttle on
the 747 to bring it back to the Cape.
It's not that bad. The Shuttle is capable of landing on any decent
runway, although it helps if the right navigational aids are available.
Just about any 747-capable airport would suffice, and lesser ones would
probably be OK in a pinch.
You actually need two cranes to hoist the shuttle onto a 747. One is
a standard commercial heavy crane; the other is a special beastie that
NASA keeps on hand just in case. (It was originally used for hoisting
what is now Challenger for static tests at Marshall, and was deliberately
kept around in case of a shuttle recovery at an unplanned site.) You
need two cranes, not because of the mass, but because both the shuttle
and the 747 have wings which get in the way.
--
Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henrylmc@denelcor.UUCP (Lyle McElhaney) (04/27/84)
As someone pointed out earlier, Lee Corey's novel "Shuttle Down", besides being a very good adventure story, contains a lot of detail (all factual, as far as I could tell) concerning what the repercussions of a shuttle landing at an unexpected location could be, both technical and political. Some of the problems: The shuttle comes down very fast and at a high angle. The runway has to be long (at least 15000 ft) and strong enough to handle the load. Expected facilities include sophisticated navigation gear (only one try, remember?) and safing/cooling services provided as soon as landing is done. As it sits, its a hot tank of explosives. Then you have to consider how to get the beast back out. Just heft it up on top of this here 747, will ya? Lots of technical know-how is required on the spot to do the last two tasks. Get a copy of Corey's book (if you can find one; somebody got mine and I haven't seen it around lately). Corey is a pen name for G. Harry Stine, a recognized guru in aerospace engineering. You'll like it. -- Lyle McElhaney (hao,brl-bmd,nbires,csu-cs,scgvaxd)!denelcor!lmc
mees@dcdwest.UUCP (04/29/84)
All this talk of landing at alternate sites (military or civilian) brings to mind the problem of purging the fuel immediately following shuttle touchdown. As I remember, at both Edwards and KSC there are a veritable plethora of strange and unique looking vehicles which flock about the shuttle The question thus remains, can it REALLY land at an alternate site, you know, one that isn't equipped to handle the shuttle's remaining corrosive propellants. jim
marcum@rhino.UUCP (Alan M. Marcum) (04/29/84)
As a previous article mentioned, there are numerous emergency landing strips available. If I recall, in addition to those right around The Cape, White Sands can be used, and there is a runway at Honolulu Int'l built specifically for use by the Shuttle in an emergency (I think it's 8R/26L, the "Coral Runway"). I also suspect that, if a real emergency cropped up, most any ol' 'port ina storm would suffice (i.e. ~10000' runway with few obstructions around). -- Alan M. Marcum Fortune Systems, Dearborn, Michigan ...!hplabs!hpda!fortune!rhino!marcum