Author Topic: Columbia 80s absence  (Read 3698 times)

Offline t walker

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Columbia 80s absence
« on: 12/29/2005 02:34 pm »
Between STS-5 and STS-61-C there were no flights using Columbia. Where was she?

Any clues as to where she was, whether or not she was eing upgraded or why she was unable to fly would be apreciated.

Thanks all

Offline psloss

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #1 on: 12/29/2005 02:38 pm »
Columbia also flew the first Spacelab mission, STS-9, in late 1983.

Lots of modifications, though, occurred before and after that flight (between STS-5 and STS-9 and between STS-9 and 61-C).

Offline Flightstar

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #2 on: 12/29/2005 10:24 pm »
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psloss - 29/12/2005  9:38 AM

Columbia also flew the first Spacelab mission, STS-9, in late 1983.

Lots of modifications, though, occurred before and after that flight (between STS-5 and STS-9 and between STS-9 and 61-C).

Yes, extensive modifications following the four 'test' flights.

Offline psloss

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #3 on: 12/30/2005 04:59 am »
If I'm recalling from Jenkins' 3rd edition correctly, the mods between STS-5 and STS-9 were done at Kennedy, while much of the modification work between STS-9 and 61-C was done at Palmdale.  (The most noticeable change being the SILTS pod on the tail; SILTS = Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing.)

Offline t walker

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #4 on: 12/30/2005 04:22 pm »
Thats great thanks!

Now does anybody know what happened to Atlantis between STS-46 and STS-66? It missed all of 1993...

Offline psloss

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #5 on: 12/30/2005 04:41 pm »
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t walker - 30/12/2005  12:22 PM

Thats great thanks!

Now does anybody know what happened to Atlantis between STS-46 and STS-66? It missed all of 1993...
Same thing -- something eventually referred to as an orbiter maintenance down period or OMDP.

All of the flight orbiters have gone through periods like this (with the possible exception of Challenger), most of them multiple times.  Here's a KSC press release that preceded Atlantis' second OMDP:
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/1997/212-97.htm

William Hartenstein has posted plentiful pictures related to that OMDP:
http://www.ktb.net/~billmeco/atldemat1.html
http://www.ktb.net/~billmeco/atlmod2.html

Philip Sloss

Offline shuttlefan

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #6 on: 09/28/2006 02:29 pm »
I think the bottom line is that Columbia was more or less turned from a test to an operational spacecraft during that time period.

Offline Jim

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Re: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #7 on: 09/28/2006 02:58 pm »
That's why it was the 1st hangar queen.  More so than OV-104

Offline Flightstar

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RE: Columbia 80s absence
« Reply #8 on: 09/28/2006 06:29 pm »
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shuttlefan - 28/9/2006  9:12 AM

I think the bottom line is that Columbia was more or less turned from a test to an operational spacecraft during that time period.

Correct.

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