jlg@lanl.ARPA (12/14/84)
> <eat before reading> > > I believe the answer is "yes". I know that the on-board flight > computers land the vehicle but I don't remember if they also inject > the Shuttle into the re-entry path. I also think that it wasn't > until the sixth misssion that a pilot actually landed the craft > manually. Knowing NASA, it seems to me that they probably could land > the Shuttle without human help for safety reasons if nothing else. I remember it the other way around! I don't think the computer was allowed to control the whole landing sequence until the fifth or sixth flight. The reentry burn has traditionally been computer (or even ground) controlled* but the actual landing of the shuttle is similar enough to conventional aircraft that the final part of the landing sequence is usually handled by the pilot. Except for the Shuttle and some carrier based aircraft I don't think that there are ANY aircraft that are presently even capable of fully automated landing. As I remember, the Shuttle was landed manually for the first few flights in order to more fully test the flight computer. Each of the first few flights remained under computer control until successively later times in the reentry sequence, until the computer finally landed the craft on its own. Is there anyone out ther who actually KNOWS? * - Remember the problems caused when the automatic controls failed on the Mercury flights and the pilot had to control the attitude for the reentry burn manually.
eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (12/16/84)
> > <eat before reading> > > > > I believe the answer is "yes". I know that the on-board flight > > computers land the vehicle but I don't remember if they also inject > > the Shuttle into the re-entry path. I also think that it wasn't > > until the sixth misssion that a pilot actually landed the craft > > manually. Knowing NASA, it seems to me that they probably could land > > the Shuttle without human help for safety reasons if nothing else. No, not quite. The Shuttle is not THAT automated. You give it too much credit. > > > I remember it the other way around! I don't think the computer was > allowed to control the whole landing sequence until the fifth or sixth > flight. The reentry burn has traditionally been computer (or even > ground) controlled* but the actual landing of the shuttle is similar > enough to conventional aircraft that the final part of the landing > sequence is usually handled by the pilot. Except for the Shuttle and > some carrier based aircraft I don't think that there are ANY aircraft > that are presently even capable of fully automated landing. As I > remember, the Shuttle was landed manually for the first few flights in > order to more fully test the flight computer. Each of the first few > flights remained under computer control until successively later times > in the reentry sequence, until the computer finally landed the craft > on its own. Is there anyone out ther who actually KNOWS? > > * - Remember the problems caused when the automatic controls failed on > the Mercury flights and the pilot had to control the attitude for > the reentry burn manually. jlg is right. Some Shuttle pilots went thru here the other day, and I will be going down to Dryden next month [to look at our ELXSI] and I can inquire about reentry burn. To be fully truthful about the computers, it's a matter of degree [just like there are dozens of different types of flight simulators (some move, other don't, some don't have the pretty pictures, etc.)]. The Shuttle is not a "fly by wire" craft like a 747. Everything is digitally relayed so computers "fly" to differing degrees. A fair portion of this is due to pilot desire [everybody else at Ames is going to jump on me for this!]. We had a Director's Colloquia on the subject automating aircraft. Many PILOTs don't want this. [You read or see Tom Wolfe?] One plane to watch by the way is the X-29 which is heavily wired. --eugene miya NASA Ames Research Center {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,vortex}!ames!aurora!eugene emiya@ames-vmsb.ARPA