I'd be surprised if nobody has asked this question before, but since this is now a 5 part thread with lots of posts, it's not easy to check.What is the theoretical maximum altitude of the Shuttle? Obviously we have the Hubble's altitude of just over 600 km as an maximum that was actually reached during the STS program, but is there anywhere that details any possibilities higher than that?Obviously the question marks are how much payload is in the bay to begin with, and how much dV the OMS has for circularisation and deorbit. So, let's go with an empty payload bay, a Hubble-ish weight in the payload bay, and something half way between. Any ideas?
100lb per nautical mile was the rule of thumb for trades.
Thanks Jim. Presumably that only works until the OMS tanks are full. Which would be reached first? A full OMS tank or an empty cargo bay?
An OMS payload bay kit was planned which would have greatly increased the available delta-v. When I was working on the SMS in the early 80s there were scars in the models related to this kit. It never flew though.
Does somebody happen to be familiar with the XO coordinates of the FWD/aft Orb/ET attachment points?
Quote from: DaveS on 10/14/2014 09:42 pmDoes somebody happen to be familiar with the XO coordinates of the FWD/aft Orb/ET attachment points?From the SLWT bible drawings:Forward attachment XO = 338.045Aft attachments XO = 1317 YO ±96.50(these are orbiter referenced, i.e. not XT values)http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=14350.msg317169#msg317169
I just noticed in video #3 on the Discovery press day L2 videos, that there is a few moments where the Ascent Abort selector is visible.(pause at 14:15 of the video)L2 video: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/downloads/l2/Discovery_Media_Event_Pt3.wmvThe Abort Mode selection order on the dial of Discovery as of 2011 with her glass cockpit is "RTLS/OFF/ATO/TAL".A picture taken during STS-51F Challenger, where you can se that Abort To Orbit(ATO) is selected. On Challenger the Abort selector's sequence is "OFF/RTLS/TAL-AOA/ATO".Were these changes made during the "glass cockpit" upgrading?What was the rational for the order of the Abort Modes on the dials?
One of the calls made to the crew during ascent was something called "droop". What does this mean?Thanksedit- Also mentioned here- http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940017386.pdf