rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe) (04/11/84)
> So the MMU's fuel reserve was OK, but not the shuttle's. > What good is the shuttle then? > Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz ihnp4!homxa!osd7 The shuttle is being expected to do a number of extraordinary things this mission. In the first place, there was a very massive (22100 lbs.) satellite that had to be carried up to an altitude of 250 nautical miles. Already this is much higher than any shuttle had been before; STS-4 only went up to 175 nm and with no significant payload mass. I think this is also one of the biggest payloads the shuttle is expected to carry, although Spacelab might have been more. Once LDEF was deployed the shuttle had to increase apogee to 265 nm to reach SMM's present orbital altitude. Then all the station-keeping done with RCS (reaction control subsystem) takes more fuel. Not to mention how much must be kept in reserve for the event of an astronaut on EVA needing to be scooped up. But this still isn't all that the OMS (orbital maneuvering subsystem) is expected to do this mission! Plans before launch said they would go up to 285 nm with SMM still in the payload bay and redeploy it there. Of course, the OMS always has to have enough left for the deorbit burn. I think it's fantastic that the shuttle can even make it up to 300 miles, never mind all that maneuvering, orbit changing, and satellite carrying. With the exception of the TPAD, I'm very impressed with the people and the machines involved in this mission. Roger Noe ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
osd7@homxa.UUCP (Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz) (04/12/84)
Well, if this was an exceptional mission with respect to the maneuvers the shuttle had to perform, are there any plans to upgrade the fuel capacity so that the shuttle can be effective on Space Station construction, etc.? I just want to learn more, not critizicing. -- Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz/AT&T Bell Laboratories/201-949-1532 ....ihnp4!homxa!osd7 /Crawfords Crnr. Rd., Holmdel, NJ, 07733
karn@allegra.UUCP (Phil Karn) (04/12/84)
Yes, there is something called an "OMS kit" which can be installed in the orbiter's cargo bay to carry extra propellants for the Orbital Maneuvering System. This is intended mainly for very high altitude (relatively speaking) missions such as those to sun-synch orbit from Vandenburg. Phil