Gary - 20/12/2006 9:42 AMTrue, But STS-51D landed at KSC and used differential braking thanks to crosswinds and it resulted in a tire blow out and brake damage. All landings used Edwards as primary until the nose gear steering was certified.http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-d/mission-51-d.html
rdale - 20/12/2006 9:33 AMWhen I said I 'voted' for White Sands, I meant that was where I believe the shuttle will land - not registering a preference ;>
Fred Clausen - 20/12/2006 10:38 AMQuoterdale - 20/12/2006 9:33 AMWhen I said I 'voted' for White Sands, I meant that was where I believe the shuttle will land - not registering a preference ;>While I have nothing significant to add, I live about 20 minutes from the White Sands area and would love to see a landing here.
rdale - 20/12/2006 11:33 AM Edwards AFB forecasters have now gone with the worse forecast on today's update, WNW 18G25. http://www.edwards.af.mil/text/fiveday.htm The computer that had been saying NE winds at 20+mph now says WNW 20-25mph. When I said I 'voted' for White Sands, I meant that was where I believe the shuttle will land - not registering a preference ;>
Any difference in the crosswind constraint at Edwards? Is it same as KSC which I think is 15knts?
Sorry about the double post, not sure what I did and don't have the usual delete button.
The only pre-positioned equipment at White Sands is a shuttle tow bar, a tractor for towing the orbiter to a servicing area, a set of stairs to position by the ship's side hatch and a motor home to serve as an "astrovan."After landing on the gypsum runway, the crew would power down the shuttle's electrical systems, exit and depart the area. Discovery would be towed to a concrete pad that is somewhat out of the wind to minimize damage cause by blowing gypsum dust.And then the shuttle would simply sit, awaiting equipment and personnel from Kennedy and Edwards. With no power or heated purge air, Discovery would be exposed to sub-freezing temperatures for two days, possibly causing thruster seals to rupture. That would require time-consuming repairs back at Kennedy should that actually occur.Once power and purge air are available, engineers would service the shuttle's hydraulic system and rocket engine valves and position the ship's three main engines for attachment of an aerodynamic cone required for the ferry flight back to Florida. The cone itself would have to be disassembled at Edwards, shipped to White Sands and then re-assembled.Likewise, engineers would have to move and re-assemble a huge harness-like device to eventually pick the shuttle up for attachment to its 747 transport jet. The huge cranes required to do the heavy lifting would have to be shipped in and assembled on site.
hutchel - 20/12/2006 12:30 PMThe term UGLY comes to mind - so much for the CY2007 Schedule if White Sands is where Discovery comes to a stop.Safety is Safety though.
RedSky - 20/12/2006 3:39 PMI don't understand the issue of having an orbiter out in the cold (possibly freezing temps) at White Sands. Is there no spare hanger it could be towed into after safing? Couldn't they rig forced air heaters to pump in dry warm air? They make it sound like she'll be stranded out in the open in the wilderness. They must have electricity there... no?
STS-500Cmdr - 20/12/2006 4:40 PMLanding at WSSH/NOR you got a lakebed, sand or gypsum--and when you talk of the stairs being rolled up to the side and the RV--sounds to me like the good ol' days of the shuttle era--like it was in the '80's.I was going to ask-i know i ran a similiar q by Jim in the Q&A 2 yesterday but i was going to ask if the lakebed rwys at Edwards were being tossed around with the wind direction and such and when you need to get on the ground like they do on Friday. but as i was typing a question-Phil Engelhauf just answered it for me--EDW lakebed is for emergencies.Forgive me i was much younger and kinda missed the 80's good ol' days of shuttle.
psloss - 20/12/2006 3:54 PMQuoteRedSky - 20/12/2006 3:39 PMI don't understand the issue of having an orbiter out in the cold (possibly freezing temps) at White Sands. Is there no spare hanger it could be towed into after safing? Couldn't they rig forced air heaters to pump in dry warm air? They make it sound like she'll be stranded out in the open in the wilderness. They must have electricity there... no?At least one issue is that the vehicle will still have hazardous chemicals in it -- the hypergolics, for example.Same thing at Edwards -- the orbiter is towed to and stays at the mate-demate facility, which is exposed. (Edwards has the facilities for the orbiter, but the low temp this morning was in the teens, I believe, so pretty cold there, too.)
Jim - 20/12/2006 6:36 PMNo hangArs at WSSH.
RedSky - 20/12/2006 8:50 PMQuoteJim - 20/12/2006 6:36 PMNo hangArs at WSSH. So what is there that qualifies it as a "space harbor"?
