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#1680
by
subisnack
on 28 Feb, 2011 00:19
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#1681
by
AnimatorRob
on 28 Feb, 2011 17:13
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
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#1682
by
Jim
on 28 Feb, 2011 17:26
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
No,
Even though PR shots always show the vehicle uncovered, in real life, the shuttle is always covered.
It is uncovered only a few times during a mission.
1. rollout
2. APU hot fire
3. Payload installation into the PCR
4. launch
Only 1 & 4 happen every mission. The other two happen occasionally and only for a day
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#1683
by
Namechange User
on 28 Feb, 2011 17:33
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
I believe during roll-out to the pad, the public is still allowed to see it from the pad tourist location/gantry. I think that would be your best bet.
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#1684
by
ChrisGebhardt
on 28 Feb, 2011 18:03
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
I believe during roll-out to the pad, the public is still allowed to see it from the pad tourist location/gantry. I think that would be your best bet.
Yes, but rollouts occur during non-public tour times.
Both STS-134 and STS-135 will target rollouts in the evening/overnight hours.
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#1685
by
AnimatorRob
on 28 Feb, 2011 18:47
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
I believe during roll-out to the pad, the public is still allowed to see it from the pad tourist location/gantry. I think that would be your best bet.
Yes, but rollouts occur during non-public tour times.
Both STS-134 and STS-135 will target rollouts in the evening/overnight hours.
Thanks for the responses guys, it looks like I may be out of luck. Still at least I can get a pic of him while the RSS is closed. Not as cool, but still I think he'll appreciate it when he's older. I wish I had a photo of myself with a Saturn on the pad. At least he'll be able to see the actually flown orbiters in a museum.
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#1686
by
DarkenedOne
on 01 Mar, 2011 15:42
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Regarding the Shuttle I was wondering if anyone knew why the main engines of the shuttle were attached to the Shuttle itself. It would of made sense to me if the shuttle had the capability to store a significant amount of fuel on board and there was some sort of fuel depot architecture that would allow the shuttle to refuel in orbit. Now I understand that the current architecture does make the engines reusable, but as I understand it the need to completely rebuild the engines at every launch makes the re-usability hardly any better than the expendable one.
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#1687
by
Namechange User
on 01 Mar, 2011 15:45
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Regarding the Shuttle I was wondering if anyone knew why the main engines of the shuttle were attached to the Shuttle itself. It would of made sense to me if the shuttle had the capability to store a significant amount of fuel on board and there was some sort of fuel depot architecture that would allow the shuttle to refuel in orbit. Now I understand that the current architecture does make the engines reusable, but as I understand it the need to completely rebuild the engines at every launch makes the re-usability hardly any better than the expendable one.
The orbiter does have a significant amount of prop onboard. However, they are not used by the SSMEs. They do not function for the duration of the flight after MECO. You essentially answered your own question about why they are on the back of the orbiter so they can be reused.
The engines are also not "completely rebuilt".
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#1688
by
pummuf
on 01 Mar, 2011 15:56
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Regarding the Shuttle I was wondering if anyone knew why the main engines of the shuttle were attached to the Shuttle itself. It would of made sense to me if the shuttle had the capability to store a significant amount of fuel on board and there was some sort of fuel depot architecture that would allow the shuttle to refuel in orbit. Now I understand that the current architecture does make the engines reusable, but as I understand it the need to completely rebuild the engines at every launch makes the re-usability hardly any better than the expendable one.
The orbiter does have a significant amount of prop onboard. However, they are not used by the SSMEs. They do not function for the duration of the flight after MECO. You essentially answered your own question about why they are on the back of the orbiter so they can be reused.
The engines are also not "completely rebuilt".
What is involved in servicing between missions?
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#1689
by
Namechange User
on 01 Mar, 2011 16:14
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Not completely sure of the exact requirements since I am not on SSME Project but inspections, functional checks, green runs, etc.
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#1690
by
alexw
on 01 Mar, 2011 20:34
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Regarding the Shuttle I was wondering if anyone knew why the main engines of the shuttle were attached to the Shuttle itself. It would of made sense to me if the shuttle had the capability to store a significant amount of fuel on board and there was some sort of fuel depot architecture that would allow the shuttle to refuel in orbit. Now I understand that the current architecture does make the engines reusable, but as I understand it the need to completely rebuild the engines at every launch makes the re-usability hardly any better than the expendable one.
...
The engines are also not "completely rebuilt".
Nowadays they may not be, but earlier in the program they were wrestling with e.g. cracked turbopump turbine blades. SSME saw a lot of redesign work over the past thirty years to get them to this stage, with the most recent upgrades even in 2007.
DarkenedOne, you may find "The Space Shuttle Decision" illuminating
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4221/sp4221.htm There were indeed earlier proposals with large internal fuel tankage, then (IIRC?) just the LOX tank interior and the ET holding LH2, before arriving at the final configuration.
-Alex
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#1691
by
Namechange User
on 01 Mar, 2011 20:38
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Nowadays they may not be, but earlier in the program they were wrestling with e.g. cracked turbopump turbine blades. SSME saw a lot of redesign work over the past thirty years to get them to this stage, with the most recent upgrades even in 2007.
That doesn't mean the engines were "completely rebuilt". I'm not suggesting there isn't maintenance, inspections, etc.
There have been a lot of redesigns/upgrades/improvements over the years across the entire vehicle. SSME is not unique to this.
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#1692
by
10W29
on 01 Mar, 2011 21:09
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
No,
Even though PR shots always show the vehicle uncovered, in real life, the shuttle is always covered.
It is uncovered only a few times during a mission.
1. rollout
2. APU hot fire
3. Payload installation into the PCR
4. launch
Only 1 & 4 happen every mission. The other two happen occasionally and only for a day
The RSS is also extended for a tanking test, which STS-134 is scheduled to perform, immediately followed by pyld installation, so there will be a couple of days where the RSS will be extended.
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#1693
by
JayP
on 02 Mar, 2011 03:08
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I would very much like to get a photo of my ( now 6 month old ) son with a shuttle stack behind him. I'm thinking probably not until STS-135 Atlantis as he's still fussy on long car rides. The question is is there a reliable opportunity to get such photos without the RSS blocking the view?
No,
Even though PR shots always show the vehicle uncovered, in real life, the shuttle is always covered.
It is uncovered only a few times during a mission.
1. rollout
2. APU hot fire
3. Payload installation into the PCR
4. launch
Only 1 & 4 happen every mission. The other two happen occasionally and only for a day
The RSS is also extended for a tanking test, which STS-134 is scheduled to perform, immediately followed by pyld installation, so there will be a couple of days where the RSS will be extended.
Even so, the angle from the viewing gantry is not great. The open RSS would still block your view of the orbiter
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#1694
by
Lee Jay
on 02 Mar, 2011 03:29
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One of the ladies on ISS during STS-133 (couldn't tell which one) just said something really odd to me during the daily highlights. They were equalizing the pressure between ISS and the PMM and there was a lot of flow audible.
What she said was, "it smells like....space". Another crew member said "yep" to that. What does that mean?
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#1695
by
Jim
on 02 Mar, 2011 10:44
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One of the ladies on ISS during STS-133 (couldn't tell which one) just said something really odd to me during the daily highlights. They were equalizing the pressure between ISS and the PMM and there was a lot of flow audible.
What she said was, "it smells like....space". Another crew member said "yep" to that. What does that mean?
They smell the same thing when returning EVA crewmembers enter the station. The vacuum/atomic oxygen causes a unique smell.
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#1696
by
iskyfly
on 02 Mar, 2011 14:22
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/flyfeature_shuttlecomputers.html"Well, it has been 24 years since the last time a software problem required an on-orbit fix during a mission. In the last 12 years, only three software errors have appeared during a flight. But perhaps the most meaningful statistic is that a software error has never endangered the crew, shuttle or a mission's success."
I am looking for more information / details regarding the on-orbit fix and the three software errors.
Thanks!
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#1697
by
billshap
on 02 Mar, 2011 17:16
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What do the numbers "19" and "20" mean on the WVS from the EVAers helmet cams? For many missions, the numbers were "16" and "18." What are the numbers' significance, and why did they change?
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#1698
by
MP99
on 02 Mar, 2011 21:00
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#1699
by
Lee Jay
on 02 Mar, 2011 21:49
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One of the ladies on ISS during STS-133 (couldn't tell which one) just said something really odd to me during the daily highlights. They were equalizing the pressure between ISS and the PMM and there was a lot of flow audible.
What she said was, "it smells like....space". Another crew member said "yep" to that. What does that mean?
They smell the same thing when returning EVA crewmembers enter the station. The vacuum/atomic oxygen causes a unique smell.
Interesting. One of the posts from Martin said it smelled like Ozone. I wonder if it really is Ozone (atomic Oxygen joining with O2).
Thanks to both of you.